was exactly who and what Francesca wanted as a tenant or roommate. And Eileen looked unimpressed when Francesca commented on it.
“He’s too quiet,” Eileen said without much interest. He was too old for her anyway. She said she liked boys her own age, most of whom were just graduating from college, as she had. Chris seemed very mature at thirty-eight, and in some ways even older than Todd. Francesca suspected that having a child had made him that way, or his divorce. Whatever it was, Francesca thought he seemed like a responsible adult, which was just what she wanted in a tenant.
He moved in the following weekend with his drafting table and art supplies. He set them up carefully, along with a set of barbells, a flat-screen TV, a sound system, and his clothes. His bedroom furniture had been delivered the day before, and she was startled to see he had bunk beds, which seemed a little odd. She assumed they were for his son.
He kept to himself once he moved in and Francesca didn’t see him all day, since she was at the gallery. And by the time she came home, he had moved in, made himself something to eat, and was back on his floor, working. And Eileen was away for the weekend. The house was orderly and quiet. She didn’t even see him until Sunday, when she met him in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. She asked if everything was all right, and he said it was. He sat quietly at the kitchen table, drank his coffee, read the paper, poured himself a second cup, and went back upstairs. He didn’t engage in conversation with her, and she noticed that there was something sad about his eyes. Whatever his story was, he had no desire to discuss it. Chris seemed to have no interest in making friends. He was pleasant and polite, and as cool as he had been with her when they first met. It suited Francesca just fine.
She told Avery about his moving in when she called that night.
“He sounds like the perfect tenant,” Avery commented. “Good boundaries, good manners, good credit. Have you met his kid?”
“Not yet. I guess he’ll be here next weekend.”
“Let’s hope he’s not a brat.”
“Chris doesn’t look like the kind of guy who would tolerate that. He isn’t a lot of fun. There’s something sad about him. He’s very quiet.”
“Maybe he’s had a rough time. Or maybe he’s just that kind of guy. Not everyone is as charming and chatty as your father,” she said, and they both laughed. “Any prospects for the unit downstairs?” Avery was impressed by how easily the other two had fallen into place, and it sounded like Francesca had lucked out with two ideal tenants. One was pleasant and sweet, and the other serious and quiet. It didn’t get much better than that. “Any news from Todd?”
“He called at the gallery a few days ago, but I was out, visiting an artist, and picking up some new work.” To save money and keep their overhead down, she did all the menial work herself. “He left me a message saying that he hopes I’m okay. I hate to say it, but I miss him. I miss the way it was in the beginning, not the way it was for the last year. Life is pretty quiet. All I do is work, come home at night, eat, watch TV, and go to sleep.”
“Things will pick up again. You need to get out, go to some openings and some parties.” But Francesca wasn’t in the mood. She told Avery about a new artist she had found through one of the gallery artists, in Brooklyn. They talked about her father for a few minutes, he was working hard on his upcoming show, and Avery said his newest work was fabulous. She was his biggest fan. And after they hung up, Francesca turned off the light and lay in bed in the dark. She could hear the sound of the TV in Eileen’s room, and Chris moving around downstairs. It was kind of reassuring not to be alone in the house. She liked the feeling, even though she hardly knew either of them, and maybe never would. And as she thought about it, she drifted off to sleep.
Francesca opened a show at the gallery the following week. Openings were always hectic and stressful. She had to make sure she had the work in the gallery in time, which often meant harassing the artists to get it ready, right down to the last minute, getting the invitations out to their clients, begging art critics to come to the show to review it, and hanging and lighting the show herself. By the time they opened their doors for the opening, she was exhausted.
The artist she was featuring this time was difficult, and kept insisting she move everything around. They sold four pieces the first night, and for several weeks she was too busy to check for new responses to her ad. She kept meaning to but forgot. She needed another tenant but she didn’t have time to pursue it. And she never saw Chris or Eileen. The arrangement was working well. It was three weeks after Chris had moved in that she finally met his son. She was sitting in the kitchen checking her e-mail, when she heard a sound, startled, and looked up. It was a little boy in a red sweater and jeans, who was staring at her with interest.
“I like your house” was the first thing he said, and then he smiled. He had dark hair, and big blue eyes, and looked nothing like his dad. “I’m Ian,” he said politely, and held out his hand to shake hers. He was very cute and looked like a kid in an ad.
“I’m Francesca. Would you like something to eat?” It was eight in the morning, and there was no sign of his father. Ian had dressed and come downstairs on his own.
“Okay. Could I have a banana?” She had a bunch of them in a bowl on top of the fridge, reached for one, and handed it to him, and he thanked her.
“Would you like some cereal to go with it?” He nodded, and she poured some cornflakes into a bowl, with milk, and gave him a plate for the banana.
“I make my own breakfast every day,” he announced. “My mom likes to sleep late. She goes out a lot at night,” he volunteered and Francesca didn’t comment. She wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t used to kids his age.
“What grade are you in?” she asked as he took two bites of the banana, which puffed out his cheeks, and she smiled. It took him a minute to answer.
“Second. I changed schools this year. I liked my old one better, but my mom says it’s too far away.” As he said it, Chris walked into the room and took in the scene. He smiled as he looked at his son, and then at Francesca when he saw that she had fed him. She hadn’t seen him look that happy since he moved in. Suddenly he looked relaxed, friendly, and warm. It was obvious that he was crazy about the boy, and very proud.
“Thank you for feeding him. He got away while I was in the shower.”
“We’ve been having a very nice time,” Francesca reassured him, and Ian looked pleased. He’d been having a good time too. He seemed very self-sufficient and totally at ease with adults.
“We’re going to the zoo,” Ian told Francesca. “They have a new polar bear, and a kangaroo.”
“That sounds like fun to me,” Francesca said easily, as Chris made some of the eggs he had bought, and he fried one for Ian too.
“Do you want to come?” Ian asked her happily, and she smiled.
“I’d love to, but I have to work.”
“What do you do?” Ian asked her.
“I have an art gallery a few blocks from here,” she explained to him. “I sell paintings. You can come to see it if you like.”
“Maybe we will,” Chris said as he set the egg down in front of Ian, and then sat down next to him with his own. And then Francesca went back to reading her e-mail while they ate. She’d had another response to the ad, from a woman in Vermont who said she was looking for a pied-a-terre in New York, and was interested in seeing the room that Francesca was renting. She had given her phone number, and said that she hoped it was still available and that Francesca would call. Francesca jotted it down along with another one, but the woman from Vermont sounded more appealing, and it didn’t sound as though she would be there all the time, which might be good. It was very comfortable now the way things were. And Ian seemed like a pleasant addition to the group. He was obviously a nice kid.
She chatted with him again for a few minutes, wished them a fun time at the zoo, and went back upstairs. They had already left by the time she went out.
She had a busy day at the gallery after that and sold another painting. They had been selling well for months- the problem was that their prices weren’t high enough to make much of a profit. She had been thinking of raising them again, and Avery insisted that she should.
It was midafternoon when Francesca remembered the woman in Vermont who had responded to her ad. She dialed the number, and a young woman answered. She sounded about Francesca’s age, and she was cheery and pleasant on the phone. Francesca told her the unit was still available and described it as best she could, without glorifying it. She said that the room was small, and it was a studio, had a pretty view of the garden, and was next to the kitchen, and it had its own bath.
