The Roomer

Heather Mondan was by all accounts a sensible young woman who was employed as the junior librarian at a local college. However, the job meant she had to move into new accommodation, and luckily found a small flat in a large house but needed to sublet in order to pay the rent. It was all perfectly fine with the landlord, and a student at college called Janice, who needed a place to stay eagerly took up the spare room.

The room was formally a parlour, and was right next to Heather's bit of the house. But the enterprising landlord put a bed and tv in it to squeeze a few more pounds out of the situation. The landlord was also very security conscious, a sentiment shared by Heather who made sure her new tenant got the message too. Locking doors, windows and gates was crucial when going out or coming in. Opportunistic burglars were always on the lookout for an open window or a front or back door on a jar.

But not all young students with their heads into their studies and boyfriends are always mindful of such prosaic things. Janice, who now occupied the parlour was just a tad bit careless if not outright thoughtless. In fact, it was a cause for concern for Heather whose sense of home security and peace of mind was compromised by her tenant's slightly irresponsible behaviour.

Janice would come in at funny hours, she wouldn't always lock the doors, she was messy, she would come home drunk, and she wasn't above being outspoken, if not rude. She was not the dream tenant by any means. However, bit by bit she was yielding to Heather's demands.

By contrast, for Heather at work, there was the sudden and unexpected promise of romance which surprised her. Indeed, she couldn't wait to tell her mother about it. For a moment, life was looking good. To Heather it seemed that things could work out and get ironed out. She was optimistic. But then, typically for her, the past had to rear its ugly head again and get in the way of a normal life. That unfortunate seed in Heather's soul began to sprout once more and there was no telling what was going to happen next.