A Room to Rent

It's blazing hot here in Vegas, so when I driving back from my errands this afternoon and saw a women trudging down the street carrying three huge bags, I stopped the car and asked if she needed a ride anywhere.  "I need a room," she said with a desperate tone in her voice.  "Do you know of anyone in this neighborhood with a room to rent?"

I didn't.  But I couldn't very well let her stay on the street so I said she could come back to my house and we'd make some calls to find her somewhere to stay.  She was beautiful by anyone's standards, wearing a super revealing outfit and jumpy as all get-out.  "Thank you so much," she said, "I don't want to talk about my situation, but I really need a place to stay right now.
"There's a local women's shelter close by," I offered.  They always have rooms available and I could drop you off right now."
"No, no," she said distractedly.  "I don't want to talk about my situation.  I just need a place to stay."

So I brought her back to my home.  As we walked through the door, I let her know that she was welcome to stay for the day and could have any food in my kitchen and use of my phone.  But she wasn't listening.  Instead, she was slowly looking around my home with wide eyes.  Then said to me with great concern, "has someone been in here?"
"What do you mean?"
"It looks like you've been robbed."
"Oh no, I just have little kids and haven't cleaned the house since Friday.  It's always a little messy," I assured her. Sure, my house was a little untidy, but I didn't feel like it was anything out of the ordinary.  My guest didn't look convinced.  She slowly reached for my hand.
"Are you okay?" she asked me?  "Are you in trouble?"  Her eyes were filled with terror.
"No, really, I'm just a little messy.  My family is out of town this weekend and I've been doing projects so the place is a mess."
"Do you need to hire someone to help you clean?  I know someone..."
"No thanks," I laughed.  "It's just part of having kids."  My casual attitude didn't calm her.
She looked at a the dishes strewed around the kitchen and then blurted out, "I have to go.  Something is wrong about this place.  I can't stay."
And so she picked up her three huge bags and high-tailed it for the door, casting terrified looks at my untidy house on the way back out into the 110 degree heat.
Now I'm no Martha Stewart, but I'd like to think that my home would be a very nice place for a drugged out gal to spend an afternoon.  Then again, I probably didn't want my home robbed so maybe it's for the best.  But it still smarts a bit that she'd pick the Vegas elements over my childrens' mess.  Maybe I'm the crazy one for living like this.  Anyone have a room I could rent?

Comments

Nancy Ross said…
Er, you could stay at my house, but I have two toddlers and its a mess...
The Editor said…
Er, I'm speechless. Maybe you should just keep trying until you find someone so spaced out they don't notice the mess. It may take some time; I'm warning you.
newlymed said…
do you watch the middle? there is an episode where the family goes out of town and asks their neighbor to watch their house while they're gone. Well, on day one when the neighbor brings the mail inside she immediately calls the family to come home telling them they've been robbed! Upon arriving home they realize it's just their own mess! it's a funny episode :)

In your case it sounds like there is something wrong with your guest and nothing wrong with you!
Recession Cone said…
I wouldn't take it personally - her reaction could very well have been driven by underlying mental illness or past trauma. But you should feel like you did your part to make the world a better place, even if it didn't work out like you expected.
Shiloh said…
She probably would've had a nervous breakdown if she'd come to my house!
Jillybean said…
I've always thought that our house was pretty safe from being robbed because if someone came in to steal our stuff, they would look at the mess and just assume that someone else had already beat them to it.

Just so you know, when it comes to messing up the house, having teenagers isn't much better than toddlers.
Colleen said…
Maybe she was just possessed and saw a churchy picture or something and it freaked her out. That's super funny.
Jessica said…
She must not know anybody with kids... and there's a good chance she was high on something that made the small heaps look like mountains
Nancy Sabina said…
Somebody is coo-coo for cocoa puffs!
Annie said…
Sarah,
Call me about the time Mary had a toothache..... this post is HILARIOUS! I could totally see you writing sitcoms...
Tracie said…
Ha ha, that's funny! I'll be passing through Vegas in August... If I walk down your street with three big bags and two small children in tow maybe you'll give me a room to rent? I'm impressed with your kindness and willingness to serve!
e. said…
This is so funny! This is the last time you try to be like Jesus, no?
Suzie Petunia said…
This is one of the most hilarious things I've heard in a long time. Reader's Digest material for sure.

P.S. You are awesome for trying to help her.
Seeker said…
Hilarious! You are so amazing for offering to help her. I'm glad she didn't see my home! Her avoidance of "authority" and not wanting to talk suggests she was so high on something that she might have been seeing anything in your house - my toddler swears that there are dragons behind every piece of furniture, maybe she was seeing them too.

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