I work for a corporation in a big city. I have always loved living in the city. I grew up here and have never wanted to leave until recently. The cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment eats away at my bank account and forces me to do contract work during my time off. With my thirty-fifth birthday on the horizon, I finally made my mind up to buy a place in a suburban area located on the outskirts of the city. Problem is, I don't know many people who live in the suburbs. I started asking around the office for people's opinions on the best place to move and getting different opinions.
One day a co-worker named Betty came into my office and asked, "Hey Jim, how's the suburban search going?"
"Hey Betty, nothing yet. I'm struggling on where to look."
Betty is a nice lady, has been married to her high school sweetheart, and has been with the company since she graduated college. She has the look of an old school librarian, glasses, short, chubby but not overly heavy woman. On occasion, Betty would wear tight-fitting clothes, and I would notice her hips or breasts and think, not bad for a fifty-three-year-old woman. Everyone liked Betty, and she was perpetually a nice woman. Kind of like having your nice aunt always being around.
"I don't know if you would be interested, but there is a unit for sale where my husband and I own. It's a one-bedroom unit and always quiet there. I know the seller and could set up a showing if you would like?"
I had to think for a minute, do I really want to be that close to someone I work with? Especially, Betty, I like her, but she is a square woman, who probably has never done anything exciting in her life. I like to have random women over and tend to stay to myself wherever I have lived. I also didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I said, "That would be awesome. Think you could set it for Saturday?"
"Yes, do you want to exchange numbers, so I can get you the information?"
Betty and I exchanged cell numbers. I asked Betty if she preferred text or actual calls?
Betty gave me a funny look and replied, "Jim, I may be old, but I do know how to text. How old do you think I am for Christ's sakes?" Then she smiled and winked at me. While walking away, I sent her a sad face emoji. To my surprise, she sent me a kissing emoji.
Did she just flirt with me? That was the thought in my head. I went about the rest of my day.
On Friday, Betty approached me in the hallway at work to tell me, "Hey Jim, the owners are going to show you the condo on Saturday at six PM, does that work for you? I can text you the address and meet you there if you want? It is in the same building as my condo."
"That is perfect, Betty. Thank you very much! Are you sure you don't mind being neighbors with someone you work with though?"
Betty's response was actually pretty funny, "Jim, I wouldn't want to live in the same zip code with most of the people we work with. You are the only one I would not mind having as a neighbor. You are a sweet young man."
I met Betty about twenty minutes before six. She came out to the parking lot and told me, "Come on in. You are early, we can hangout in my place for a few."
Betty's place was exactly what I thought it would be, plain. The actual condo was genuinely nice, but the décor was simple and generic, like Betty.
I liked the condo and made an offer on the spot without thinking. I asked Betty if it would bother her being neighbors with me?
Betty's response was, "Absolutely not. You are a sweetheart. Please don't tell people at work that I said that."
"Well, it looks like we're going to be neighbors, so we should get used to complete honesty with each other." We both laughed, and I went back to my apartment in the city.
The whole process of purchasing the condo took about a month. It was finally over, and time to move in. I decided to take a few days off from work to get settled in my new place. To my surprise Betty was checking in on me and made me dinner my first night there. I was thinking I could get used to someone cooking for me.
Then Betty asked me, "Do you want me to call in sick to help you finish getting settled? I think in fifteen years I've only called in once."
I didn't know how to react to that question. I could use some help, but it would be Friday, and I still had the weekend to finish up. I quickly went back and forth in my head, then finally said, "I don't want to take advantage of you. Plus, I'm sure your husband wouldn't want you hanging with me all the time."
"My husband doesn't care, as long as he doesn't have to do anything. You would not be taking advantage of me. I need things to do, and you are fun to be around. But don't tell people at work that I called in to help you. You may not realize this, but they all like to gossip there. I don't want to be a part of that. Deal?"
I thought this is going to be a big help for me to finish everything. Selfishly, in the future. "Deal, Betty! I am already like being neighbors with you."
Betty helped me unpack and organize my belongings all day Friday and Saturday. I couldn't believe how much we got done in two days.
On Saturday night, I ordered takeout for us to eat, and we both just sat on the couch talking and finding out about each other's lives. Betty made me aware that her husband wasn't around a lot, and when he was, he had no interest in spending any time with her. I felt bad hearing this. She went on to tell me that it had been years since there was any intimacy in her marriage. Then told me, "Don't worry about me sharing any information about women coming to see you here. I won't be telling the gossipers anything. They have already started saying they want updates."
I jokingly asked Betty, "What happens here stays here, right?"
Betty responded, "Absolutely! Deal! But if I'm going to be hanging out here, you are going to need to get some wine next time."
I put the TV. We sat on the couch, exhausted from all our hard work. Betty looked tired, and I felt horrible that I had exhausted her on her days off. We both dozed off. I woke up about three in the morning, and Betty was laying down with her feet on my lap. I wiggled her feet and asked her if she needed to go home? Betty said, "I don't have to, and I really don't feel like getting up. Do you care if I stay here?"
"No, not at all, Betty. I'm going to head into my bed. Feel free to join me if you want." I was joking when I said she could join me. I went into my bedroom, and when I turned around, I realized she was literally coming into my bedroom. Betty climbed into the bed and went right to sleep.
I woke up the next morning to a note on the kitchen counter. "Hi Jim, thank you for letting me get some rest here last night. Just a thought, we can carpool to work if you want. Just send me a text if you want to. I'm giving you a break from hanging with the old saddlebag today. Enjoy your Sunday!"
