Jeremy was only a few months out of college when he finally landed a decent job. He'd been working part-time and living at home while he was job-shopping for a 'career' position that was somehow related to his studies as a Marketing major.
He had been applying for many positions in different locations, and it was a great relief when he'd been offered and accepted a position in the marketing department for a large pharmaceutical company. It was a great load off his mind for a number of reasons, but primarily because it would get his old man off his back, he'd make some decent money and he could afford to get out of his parents' house once and for all. After four years living on his own while away at school, living back at home had become a major pain in the ass.
The job he'd accepted was in a city about three hours from where his parents lived. On the Saturday before the Monday he was to begin work he loaded up his fifteen year-old Volvo wagon with all of his stuff and was ready to drive to his new city. The plan was to get a cheap hotel room at first and he would scope out the local area for a place to rent. He was hoping to find a reasonable place that was furnished.
His mother Dana came out to his car to say goodbye. His dad was off playing golf.
"Now, drive safely, Jeremy, and call me when you get settled in and let us know where you're staying," Dana said. "And I'll scope around on-line for some rentals and I'll send you any that look interesting."
"Okay Mom, thanks. I'm sure I'll be able to find something before too long. If not I'll just pick up a chick in a bar and go home with her!"
"Oh, stop! I'm sure a tall, handsome young man like you would have no trouble doing so, but I hope it doesn't come to that!"
"Don't worry, Mom, it'll work out," Jeremy said, and hugged her. "Goodbye, and say bye to Dad for me."
----
Jeremy drove the three hours and checked into a Red Roof Inn about a mile from his office. After getting situated in his room he called Dana as requested and then went out to eat. His plan was to get a Sunday paper and drive around to learn the area. Then on Monday morning he'd start his orientation and training.
----
A couple days later Dana was on the phone with her friend Mary, who lived a couple blocks away with her husband Jim and their two children. Dana was forty-two, and although Mary was seven years younger, they got along well and shared many of the same interests. They'd met at the country club, played tennis regularly, and socialized quite a bit.
Dana told Mary about Jeremy's new job in the city and his need to find a place to live.
"You know something, Dana?" Mary said. "My mother lives not far from there. And she has a good-sized property with a pool and a garden and an outbuilding that is an old garage but it has a nice little apartment above it. My father used it as a studio before he died.
"Anyway," she continued, "We've encouraged her to rent it out, just to have somebody else around, but she never has because she didn't want to risk getting some lunatic in there and then she couldn't get them out! But it would be perfect for one person."
"Really?" Dana said excitedly. "Do you think she'd rent it to Jeremy?"
"She might, I'll ask her. It's full of junk and will need some cleaning up, but it's a nice little place. It has a kitchenette and bathroom and one extra-large room. And it's only ten or twelve minutes from downtown."
"Wow, that sounds great. And it would save him a lot of stress too, I'm sure!"
"I'll call her tonight. I think she might go for it, I will encourage her to, anyway. I'd feel better knowing she had someone else around. Plus she knows you, so that should help. It will probably come down to whether or not she really wants somebody around."
----
Mary called back that night and told Dana that she'd talked to her mother and she was open to the idea of renting to Jeremy, but she wanted to meet him and interview him first before making a decision. Dana agreed that that made perfect sense, she would do the same.
"My mother said to have Jeremy call her and they'll arrange a time for him to come over. I think it might work out, Jeremy always makes a good impression." She gave Dana her mother's cell number.
"Oh, that's wonderful, Mary! I'll call Jeremy right away, I'm sure he'll be ecstatic. He's been so busy with the new job I know he was not looking forward to apartment hunting."
They said their goodbyes and hung up and Dana immediately called Jeremy's cell phone. He didn't pick up, which was absolutely normal for him, but she left a specific message and he called back in a few minutes. He said thank you very much, and to please thank Mary too. He said he'd call in the morning.
----
Jeremy made the call the next morning and left a voicemail. She called back around lunchtime. He recognized the number.
"Hello, is this Miss Lily?" he answered.
"Why, yes it is, but please, just 'Lily' will do. Formalities are not necessary. Is this Jeremy?"
"Yes," he said.
"My daughter tells me you just started a new job nearby and need to find a place to live."
"Yes, that's right. I just started Monday and I'm staying in a hotel until I find something. Your place sure sounds convenient." He went on to tell her all about the new job he'd landed.
"Well, I have a small apartment above the old garage. It's not much, and will need to be cleaned out, but it would work for a single person. I've thought about renting it for some time but just never seemed to get around to it. And of course, I need to make sure I have a good tenant!"
"I assure you, Lily, I would be an ideal tenant. I'll pay my rent on time and you'll probably hardly hear a peep out of me; they will have me working pretty long and hard at the office for the foreseeable future!"
"You sound like a bright young man. Your employer has a reputation for hiring the sharpest young recruits. Why don't you come over and we can talk and I will show you the place. How about tomorrow evening?"
Jeremy said that would be fine. He was excited with the possibility, unless the place turned out to be a dump. With a little luck he might have a place by the weekend.
----
They had set it up for seven p.m. With Daylight Savings Time in effect, there would be plenty of daylight left in which to see the place. Jeremy found the property easily. It was much larger than he'd expected, perhaps two acres or close to that. There was a long driveway leading up to an old, brick ranch house. There was an attached two-car garage, and he could see another building about fifty yards behind the house. It was two stories with bay doors. He figured that was where the apartment was.
He rang the bell. Lily answered the door promptly.
"You must be Jeremy!" she said enthusiastically.
"That's me. And you must be Lily!"
"The only and only! Come on in and let's sit by the pool and get acquainted. I have a pitcher of iced tea!"
Jeremy followed her. She looked much younger than he expected, and he was quite surprised by how attractive she was. He knew Mary was a few years younger than his own mother, and Lily had to be in her mid-fifties anyway, but she looked ten or fifteen years younger than that. She was maybe five-five, with a healthy, sturdy look. Her hair was shoulder-length, light brown with a narrow streak of gray. You could tell she took care of herself. She wore blue denim cut-offs, had a shapely butt, and her white t-shirt hugged her upper body. Her breasts weren't large, but were perky.
"Please forgive me for the way I look," Lily said. "I spent some time working in the garden when I got home from work."
They walked out onto the screened lanai and sat in lawn chairs while Lily poured tea. Jeremy glanced around at the kidney-shaped pool, at the fountain of water splashing into it, and at the adjacent hot tub.
"You have a beautiful home!" Jeremy said.
"Oh, thank you, Jeremy. It's kind of big for just one person though, and a lot of work!"
"And it looks like your garden is pretty big!" He could see it out back and it looked huge.
"Yes, that's a hobby of mine. I love to garden and I love seeing it grow and then picking the vegetables and canning them. I eat my own vegetables all year long! I rarely have to buy a vegetable at a grocery store."
They made idle chatter for a few minutes while they sipped their drinks. Jeremy liked Lily already, she was very down-to-Earth and easy to talk to, which didn't really surprise him because Mary was the same way. But he was very relieved that they were already so relaxed with one another.
"So, would you like to see the apartment? Lily asked.
"Yes, I would love to."
"Okay, let's go." As they walked Lily told him what to expect.
"Now, don't expect too much, Jeremy. It's a mess and needs a thorough cleaning, so I hope you can see past that. It's full of junk, most of which can be moved downstairs into the garage, and some I'm sure can be thrown out. But it has a full bath, a small kitchenette, a nice-sized closet and a very large room. And there are a few pieces of furniture which you are welcome to use, although you will need to bring your own bed.
They reached the building and climbed the outdoor stairway to the second floor. They entered the apartment, and it was about as good as Jeremy could have hoped for. True, it was full of stuff that had to be moved—stacked boxes, old exercise equipment, record albums, odds and ends—but it would more than suffice for his needs. There was small sofa and chair, end table, and a table with three chairs. The kitchen was equipped with a sink, small fridge, a two-burner stove, microwave and toaster oven. There was a large walk-in closet—also full of stuff—and a small bathroom with a shower stall.
