Page 4 of Walk the Line

“You still think I’m lying about why I’m here?” I say.

“It would be silly of me not to check,” she says.

I don’t have a rebuttal to that. “Fine. Fair.”

“I would also prefer it if you didn’t look at my room. Because it’s not exactly an option anyway.”

“Your room,” I say wryly. “That’s funny.”

“Not really but why?”

My mood is worsening by the minute, so I don’t even stop myself from saying, “I reserved that room. And now you’re in it,” even though I stopped caring about the room twenty minutes ago.

“No one told me about a reserved room,” she says.

“Okay,” is my only response.

I can only have myself to blame for her carrying on the conversation by saying, “Are you accusing me of stealing your room? Because you realise how ridiculous that sounds, right?”

I do realise how ridiculous it sounds, which is why I didn’t do it.

“I said, “Okay,” and you added sixteen more words to it.”

With a scoff, she says, “This might be the most immature conversation I’ve ever had. And I’m sure you’re a grown ass man, but maybe that’s something I’m assuming and you’re actually a child.”

“Goo Goo Ga Ga.”

I’m not proud to admit I enjoyed that.

“Please stay out of my room,” she responds, a hint of disbelief in her voice.

“Had the same thought myself,” I say, and decide against checking the other upstairs room as well.

I’m fine with just not going up there for anything.

“Cool.”

And then she’s gone.

Probably the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had.

“That took a little longer than expected, sorry,” I hear a few seconds later as Greg comes back into the room. “I know the new tenant just came down, I don’t know you saw her.”

“Yeah, I spoke to her.”

“Oh, that’s great,” he says. “What are your thoughts on the place so far?”

“I’ll take it,” I say.

That room right out there is mine, and that’s all I need to know.

“You haven’t seen upstairs quite just yet.”

“I don’t need to “ I say. I’ve seen enough. “I won’t be going up there anyway. I want the last room we saw.”

“Well, I don’t see why I would argue with that. Can you pay the deposit today?”

“I’ll send it over right now.”