Roomie Update

Well, apparently Katie is like Big Foot and Nessie (aka the Loch Ness monster). She exists and leaves evidence of her existence, but few people have ever seen her.

For example, I left keys for her outside our apartment on the fourth. She was going to move in that day. Then, I departed for the baseball game. She called me while I was there and said she'd be by later. I told her where the keys were and anticipated meeting her before the fireworks show. By the time I had returned (approximately four hours later), the keys were gone and the window unit in her room was running.

But no Katie was seen.

I took a nap. I thought I heard noises in the hall. Could it be? I opened the door and peeked.

Nope. No Katie.

I went into her room, turned off the window unit, and left to see the fireworks. When I returned, the apartment was dark. I walked in and searched the place. I had not caught a Katie yet. Elusive.

I went to bed. No traces of Katie were there in the morning. The cookies I'd left out weren't touched and the milk was still there (oh wait... that's Santa).

Peculiar. Thought today was her first day at work. I thought of a few reasons why she didn't move in the day before as promised. Maybe she stayed with her boyfriend one more night (he lives in Vienna). Perhaps the storm yesterday afternoon deterred her moving. After thinking about it a couple more minutes, I stopped and went on to other thoughts not concerning Katie.

I went to work. Well, you know what I mean. I went and sat at my desk and played on the computer.

Mal called (from NC) in the afternoon. "Katie's not going to live with us." Say what? She continued after I just kinda stammered a bit, "She left me a message on my phone. She said that she doesn't like it, that it's not for her, and that she's going back to NC." I don't know if I was more surprised at more evidence of her existence or at the situation. I hung up the phone.

Later, as I walked into our apartment, I looked around for any evidence that maybe Katie had changed her mind. There was nothing. No boxes, bags, or clothes strewn around. Her room was still empty.

The evening passed and morning came. The cookies and milk were still out. Just kidding... by this point I had eaten the cookies and dumped the milk.

I went to work again. Mal called in the afternoon. "Any sign of Katie?" I asked her. "Nope. She's already gone back to NC." She continued on to tell the story of her sighting. It was yesterday afternoon and brief. Mallory's co-workers saw her for a few hours in the office. I meant to ask if anyone actually touched her. You know how those mythical creatures can be. She apparently seemed unhappy and withdrawn. She was unimpressed with our planet, perhaps? Disappointed??

Another day at work was over. I walked home and changed. Remembering where I'd left the keys, I tore down the stairs and ran outside. I moved the planter.

There they sat.

I picked them up and turned them over in my hand. She had been back, be it briefly, to return what she'd taken.