SETTLING IN
Zoe has moved into Heidi's house and the two women are still getting to know each other but things are changing as Zoe begins to take more of an assertive role. Heidi finds herself beginning to adjust to the other woman in subtle ways but soon she is faced with the possibility of a life-changing event. Can she muster enough courage to take that step or will she stay in her safe space and watch from the sidelines?
You never really know someone until you live with them. To a certain extent some of your independence has been sacrificed, you accept the positive and negotiate compromises when it comes to negative aspects. It was something Heidi had been dealing with for years and yet for the first few weeks it seemed as if she'd entered some parallel universe. Their musical tastes were quite similar, although Zoe's music collection was much bigger thanks to her ability to find 'all the best torrents.' Their taste in movies was a little different, Zoe was a Marvel girl but Heidi liked foreign movies and shows, and had a passion for Nordic Noir.
One of the earliest changes came about when Zoe hooked up an old computer salvaged from work to the television. It was loaded with Kodi and the staggering array of movies and television shows got a definite thumbs up from Heidi and when she introduced Zoe to Swedish and Danish tv shows she too became a Nordic Noir girl. Whilst binge watching The Bridge, Heidi found herself talking more about life in Sweden and by logical extension Zoe wanted to learn some Swedish.
"It's one of the things I've always wanted to do, learn another language."
In response, Heidi wanted to know more about Linux and Zoe was more than willing to show her the basics of a Linux operating system. Granted there were some minor adjustments along the way but compared to the benefits of having an intelligent, free thinking housemate these were minor, but things were slowly changing as the two women adjusted to each other and a few weeks later the dynamic between them did change.
It happened the night they came back from dinner at Jodie's house one Saturday night. Zoe had driven her car but because Heidi had to work the following day she had to wait for Heidi to back her car out of the drive first. The driveway cut in at an angle and took a sharp right hand turn in front of the house. At one point in the past it had ended at the garage attached to the house, but a pile of dirt had been put in front of the garage. Zoe had commented on it a few days after she first moved in because it seemed odd but when Heidi showed her the interior of the garage she understood. It had been turned into temporary storage for the owner. The mound of earth had been shifted from the front of the house when the driveway was extended and simply left there.
When Heidi pulled in behind Zoe a few minutes later she found the older woman standing in front of the house and squinting along the drive as if taking measurements.
"I've been thinking," she looked up the incline to the road. "This drive could be widened to take two cars side by side and that pile of shit could be carted away."
"Good luck with that one," she wrapped her arms around herself against the bitter wind, "I did raise that with the landlord when I first moved in. Not widening the driveway, I wanted that pile of dirt moved but he said it would take extra money. I wasn't willing to press the matter just in case he upped the rent to cover the cost."
"Who is your landlord?"
"Some English guy," she mounted the steps to the verandah, "an older man who bought this as his retirement portfolio."
"Uh huh," Zoe followed her.
"Look I can ask him again but I hate having to deal with him, he does his six monthly inspections and it's always a nightmare having him here because he picks on every little detail. I've already lost part of my bond because I put up pictures on the wall. He said I was putting holes in his retirement portfolio, so I took them down," she turned the key in the lock.
"But the next time he came around he said it was okay to put up pictures, so there's a bit of give and take it's just that dealing with him can involve serious negotiating."
"Would you like me to talk to him?"
"If you like," she shrugged, "but he might put up the rent and I'd find it harder."
"Well we can't have that," Zoe closed the door behind them.
She didn't say anything else about it until they were sitting down to a cup of coffee in the living room some ten minutes later.
"What if I could get that driveway widened, the earth moved and the shit out of the garage without raising the rent?"
"I'd say you were Superwoman," she managed a crooked smile, "what are you planning?"
"Leave it to me, it's what I do best," she raised her mug in salute, "negotiate."
When Heidi came home from work that following day there was a Toyota Hilux parked in the drive and Zoe was talking to a man dressed in casual clothes who was standing not far from Peter. It wasn't until she got up closer that she noticed the startling resemblance between Zoe and the man, and a slight similarity between Peter and the man in the cut off denim shirt and jeans.
"This is Bob, my brother," Zoe introduced him, "and Peter's cousin."
"Heidi," she shook his hand.
"All right then," he released her hand and nodded at his sister, "the boys will drop by tomorrow arvo, just make sure nobody is parked in the drive and they'll just get on with it."
He smiled at Heidi.
"It's what big brothers do," he moved towards his pickup, "see ya round, nice meeting ya, Heidi."
"That was quick," Heidi commented as he backed out of the drive, "have you called the landlord yet?"
"Not yet," she smiled at her, "I told you, leave this one to me, it's what I do best."
Nevertheless, she did worry that night. What if Zoe had underestimated Ronald McCarthy? The older man could be pleasant enough but he had a steely eye for making money whenever he saw a chance. She'd once commented to a former housemate that Ron could sell ice to Eskimos. Peter seemed unconcerned however as he handed his laptop over to Zoe to fix something.
"Don't worry about it, she's helped me with my landlord and I thought she was the original iron lady," he smirked.
"She was a pussy," Zoe rebooted the computer, "now, this comes at a price. If I fix this, you wash the bloody dishes."
"Your wish is my command," he began to stack the plates.
As it happened, Heidi was home when Bob's boys turned up in a large truck and a ute with a trailer, she watched from the window as they carted the mound of dirt to the trailer and then widened the driveway and cut out a bit from the bank up at the road. Bob turned up just before they finished and inspected the work, he issued a few more directions and then spent some time on the phone. When the job was done Heidi came out to see him.
"That's much better," she commented.
"I know," he winked, "I'm surprised he didn't do this in the first place."
"He's a tight arse," she replied.
"So, what's the damage?" Heidi went on.
"Ah, now that is the brilliant part. It's a tax dodge, I bill her and she offsets it against her tax bill, so ultimately everyone wins."
Zoe laughed when Heidi relayed Bob's comment.
"Yeah, he just called me, it's the sweetest money he's made in months," she dumped her laptop bag and handbag on the coffee table, "you wearing that tonight?"
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Heidi looked down at her tee shirt and jeans.
"Put on something," she slipped a hand beneath the collar of her red blouse, "nicer, we've got company tonight."
"Who?"
"Ronald, so find something that screams fuck me and let me do the talking, inspection is in forty five minutes," she picked up her things again.
"Fuck," she blanched, "you might have warned me."
"I did, you've got forty five minutes," Zoe glanced at a slab of minced beef sitting on a plate, "go and get changed while I defrost the meat."
Heidi slid the door back and stared at her clothes. She did have dresses that would fit the bill but they were more appropriate for a night club, not her landlord. She flicked through them and finally settled on an off the shoulder dress that stopped just above her knees. She had just finished zipping it up when Zoe stepped into the room. The only wardrobe adjustment she'd made was a pair of tight, white jeans and a pair of black boots.
"What?" Heidi stared at Zoe as the older woman moved around behind her.
"Perhaps I used the wrong word," she opened the wardrobe door, "let's try seductive instead of fuck me instead."
She pulled out a white blouse with black buttons, the sleeves were a series of flares that ended with a flared cuff.
"I like this," she held it against Heidi's front, "very nice, a pair of jeans and some shoes," she sank down to pick up a pair of white wedges. She handed them over and smiled.
"Let's try the office look, do you um, want me out of here?"
"No, it's fine, we're both women," she tugged at the zip, "so, what's the general plan?"
"We negotiate," Zoe sat on the bed, "basically speaking, I've paid Bob a sum of money to fix the driveway, which I'll get back on my tax because I use part of the office, which is classed as a work expense. He is in breach of current regulations because his shit is still in the garage, which means you can't use it, I'll let him know that while I have paid for it out of my money I can bill him for the work if he decides to dispute it or raise the rent."
"You're much better at this than me."
"Stands to reason, I'm older and I have the cash flow to cover the expenses," she smiled as Heidi's dress hit the floor, "you should have seen the problems I had when I was younger, I had to take one landlady to court, and I not only won my case but she was fined for breaches of agreement."
Heidi said nothing to that as she changed into the white blouse and a fresh pair of jeans that she'd bought to celebrate losing more weight recently. She did a little pirouette and finished with an exaggerated curtsey.
"Seductive enough?"
"Almost," Zoe rose from the bed and took a few steps forward, "just a little adjustment," she undid a button and Heidi looked down but didn't flinch.
"Those brown beads would look nice," she took a half step back, "you listening?"
"Huh?" Heidi came to a moment later, "yeah, sorry, I was distracted."
"Sorry, I should have let you do that," Zoe apologised, "force of habit."
"You didn't do anything wrong," Heidi walked to the dressing table and picked up a necklace made of wooden beads and slipped it over her head. She flicked her hair over it and arranged it while Zoe looked on with mild amusement.
"Yeah, now that's fuckable," she nodded at the door, "shall we? Remember, it's my plan so just smile and nod, it's all about projection," she gestured.
"Men talk to the face but look at the breasts, it's a natural male instinct and while we can't stop them doing it, we can use that to our advantage."
Nevertheless she felt a trifle nervous as she returned to the living room. What if everything turned to shit? She looked at the television screen.
Should I be doing this?
