She gave me a look, one that said she expected more than ‘oh’.
“Perhaps, your mum or anyone close to him can persuade him to be less… obstinate?” I urged, not knowing what other solution to proffer.
She sighed, which made me think she had considered the suggestion already.
“They are all loyal to him…….My ma, she would never…She would…I …” She sputtered again, and then stopped altogether. “He is the ‘Man of the House’,” she exclaimed with a hand quote.
I had no words of condolence to offer. Saying to hell with your parents was never a bit of advice given lightly, and indeed not my place to tell her.
I also didn’t know how to navigate around the truth that she felt her mother wouldn’t prioritise her. It was a truth I knew too well; my father hadn’t chosen me, us.
“What are you going to do? You have savings to bank on, don’t you? I mean, that and your monthly income ought to keep you afloat with how sudden all this is?” I asked.
She gave me an annoyed look. “My savings plus my pay of six months precisely, is what it would take to cover a month’s rent. My trust fund isn’t available to me yet, and I am pretty sure by the time I get back to my apartment, I’d find my things outside and locked out.”
“Ah, I see,” I remembered then that she resided in Knightsbridge. It also meant it was not the first time she had been given the ultimatum, only she’d decided that she was not backing down.
Her shoulders slacked in defeat as she chatted. “Honestly, the only problem I have is where to stay. You are right; I do have a decent amount to rely on. Enough to keep me afloat for a long time, even without my wages. But if I splash that money on where I’m staying, I’ll be broke within the blink of an eye.”
She thoughtfully considered her options while looking amiss. “I need to move, and if I know my papa well, he has someone packing up for me. Motivation to bring me begging at his knees.”
I pondered on what to say, but I knew I never wanted to meet her parents if I had anything to do with it. “Don’t you have friends or family you could stay with, just until you can find something else you can afford? That is until you can stand on your own feet without falling?”
She scoffed.“You don’t know the people I roll with or let me say used to. The news that they cut me off will spread like wildfire. Trust me when I say, I’ll become ‘persona non grata’ to them in the blink of an eye, the prodigal daughter.”
“Do I even want to know who your parents are? Perhaps, I should Google them,” I said, disgusted by the situation and the people who made it so.
She smiled. “Don’t just ask me to get you autographs. They are high society and not entertainment celebs okay.” She teased back.
I chuckled.
“Do you have many friends?” She randomly asked.
I laughed. “Was that your subtle way of changing subjects?”
“Is that your subtle way of evading the question?” She retorted, raising her left eyebrow at me in a challenge.
I smiled. I knew that if we stayed friends, she wasn’t going to let me get away with a lot unless she wanted to.
“Honestly, no. I know a lot of people, acquaintances. But, I have got a best friend and this other friend who I frustrated with my lack of good communication.” I answered, once again reminded of how Ashraf and I could quickly go south with the same issue. I found it extremely hard to communicate with people in absentia.
“Go figure,” she commented, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“That obvious?”
“Well, I guess you didn’t see how much you isolated yourself at the office. And you seemed content that way. Not wistful but content.”
I hummed in agreement.
“Which is why I am surprised I am even here. I didn’t think you would give me the time of the day when I tried talking to you. Next thing I know, I was inviting myself over, and you weren’t objecting to it and jeez, why is your room and entire home so darkly themed. Well, it oddly works out fine, but…”
Just then, a thought came to me. I put it out there before I could overthink it. I was going to do what had been done to me, for me.
“I was thinking of putting an ad out for a flatmate,” I said, interrupting her gauge of my dark-hued home.
“You want me to help you with that?”
I sighed. She wasn’t getting the drift, or maybe she was purposely being dense. “Can I ask a question?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Am I supposed to say no?”
I chuckled. I wouldn’t have said that out loud if I had been in Evelina’s shoes. She was indeed a breath of fresh air.
“Supposing you were scouting for a flatmate, would you rather put an ad out to choose from a catalogue of strangers, or just go with a co-worker who coincidentally needs a place to stay?”
Her eyes broadened as soon as the understanding hit. “You don’t know me well,” she stated in a very enthusiastic effort to dissuade me.
“No less than I would know whoever I find online.”
“You are asking me to live in your apartment? Are you serious? Deadly serious?”
“Yes, I am asking you to move into my flat, but on a condition,” I replied, hesitating.
Her forehead creased, but she said nothing. Maybe because she was still caught by surprise.
So I went ahead.“You aren’t allowed to pay rent.”
She opened her mouth to argue with me, but I stopped her with a raise of a hand. “Let me finish.”
She nodded slowly.
“I am not even paying for this space; it was a gift. I don’t know how I can then in my right mind ask you to pay rent. If you insist on some kind of payment, then donate to some accredited charity, and that ought to do it. That’s my condition. Take it or leave it.”
She shook her head. “I can chip in, water bill, heating, and all of that”
I held up my hand in protest and repeated my words. “Take it or leave it.”
Her eyes lit up with astonishment. “Don’t expect me to say no to that offer.”
“I offered, didn’t I?”
She gave me a once over. “You don’t have any ulterior motive, do you? This is too good; I couldn’t even afford the rent, you know?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know if it will make you feel better. How about you be in charge of groceries or household necessities.”
She suddenly spread her face into a wide smile. “Deal, I promise you won’t regret it. And you should get ready now; I’ll wait outside,” she halted as she stood. “Is it okay if I take a tour? You know—acquaint myself and all.”
I laughed. “Sure, there are two other bedrooms. You might as well check them out.”
I beamed, watching her saunter out of my room with renewed vigour, her joy concentrating on her swagger as she did so.
She walked into my room a girl without a home, and I changed that. It felt damn good. My beam turned into a sad smile because I knew why I was doing it for her. I was homeless once, and someone saved me.
Chapter 4
The Mayfair Club was fine, a definite socialite club. Maybe I would have spotted a few famous faces if I kept up with British Pop Culture, but I didn’t.