The Roommate Situation

I don't think I've written much about my roommate/apartment situation since the first week I was here, so today seems like a perfect occasion to do so.

Leslie is from Colombia, but she graduated from Audencia's European MBA program a couple years ago. When I found her ad for a roommate online, it sounded perfect, and she was very understanding of my need to just rent a room for 4 months. The ad mentioned a washer and dryer, and a dishwasher, both of which are fairly rare in France from what I understand. I would have my own bedroom, and we would share the bathroom, kitchen and living room. No problem.

When I first arrived, Leslie was busy moving her stuff out of the larger bedroom into the smaller bedroom. She was giving me the larger of the two bedrooms because it had a desk for me to use when I studied. Very nice of her. What I don't think I've explained yet is the other roommate-- Antoinne. The day I arrived, Leslie's boyfriend was also busy moving a lot of her stuff from the apartment down to his car. She told me that it was because her friend Antoinne was staying in our apartment while he completed an assignment for work. He'd be gone in a couple weeks, but until then, she would just stay at her boyfriend's house. She also said that since Antoinne was from Paris, he usually left Nantes on Friday afternoon, stayed in Paris for the weekends, and came back Monday evenings. I met Antoinne very briefly the Friday I moved in, and then, sure enough, he was off to Paris.

I should also mention the key debacle(s) that took place my first weekend here. The Friday I moved in, Leslie hadn't made me a set of keys yet. She had to go to a hair appointment, and ended up being gone for about 3 hours. The whole time, I was stuck in the apartment because if I left, I would have no way to get back in. Awesome. So when she got back that night, she told me she and her boyfriend were leaving town for the weekend and would be back Sunday night. I asked for a set of keys, and she said "well, since I'm going to be gone, you can just have my set." I told her that was fine, but that I'd be leaving for Madrid on Monday, so we needed to make sure we each had a set of keys before I left. "No problem," she said. Sunday night came and went. I tried calling her, but her voicemail picked up right away. I left her text messages Monday morning, and didn't receive any replies. I had to leave for Paris to go to the airport, and I had to lock up the apartment, so I took the keys with me.

Once I got to the airport, I had 5 missed calls from Leslie. When I called her back, she told me she was at the mall, and wondered where I was. I told her I was in Paris, on my way to Madrid. Of course, she wanted to know where her keys were. Of course, they were with me.

Me: "I tried calling you and I left you a message. I didn't know what else to do. I'm really sorry."
Leslie: "But that's the only set of keys I have. I can't get back into my apartment. When do you get home?"
Me: "Not until Wednesday night, but Antoinne is coming home tonight, right? He can let you in."
Leslie: "OK, then I'll see you tonight."
Me: "No, I'm going to Madrid until Wedesday night. Antoinne should be home tonight from Paris."
Leslie: "OK, no problem."

And that was that... I thought. I should probably mention that there are three keys to the apartment: one to get into the building, a second for the "Storm door" to our apartment, and a third that finally gets you into the apartment. The first two locks require the normal kinds of keys that are easily copied. The third lock requires a skeleton key... which apparently cannot be easily copied, as Antoinne did not have a copy of said key. Therefore, even though he was able to get Leslie into the first two doors, there was no way to get into the third door without a locksmith....or a really really strong and determined boyfriend.

I got home from Madrid around midnight on Wednesday, and found the door frame completely busted. Apparently it was easier to break the door frame than to call someone who could get into the lock without damage, or it was just too urgent when Leslie needed to get into the apartment. I felt bad, but at the same time, I did try to call her, and even if I'd left the keys in the apartment, she wouldn't have been able to get in without Antoinne. The door frame has been fixed since then, but it was still a sticky situation.

So over the last few weeks, Leslie has been coming over a few times a week to do laundry or cook dinner or do other chores. She never stays long, and she's always very pleasant. Odd thing is, she also keeps taking more and more stuff out of the apartment. First it was the dish soap, then laundry detergent, toilet paper and paper towels. No big deal, I can buy my own. When I got home today, though, I thought I was going to freak out. The dining room table was gone, as was the dishwasher. The nice leather couch had been replaced with an old canvas one, and the washer and dryer was replaced with an older version that doesn't dry. Her clothes were piled up outside, and there were a couple suitcases that looked ready to be taken away.

She also decided that today was the day to de-ice the freezer (which is just a small box near the top of the fridge), which meant that she took all of the food out of the fridge, put it on the counter, and left the door wide open with a bucket below to catch the melted ice. Luckily I hadn't gone grocery shopping lately, but I did have some lunchmeat, cheese and milk in there, and I was concerned that it had been out for a long time.

My biggest concern was that she was moving out, and I was going to be left to find a new apartment really really quickly. When she came home a few minutes after I arrived, I asked right away: "Leslie, what is going on?"

Leslie: Oh, I'm just moving some things around.
Me: I saw that you took away the dishwasher and replaced the couch?
Leslie: Yeah, I'm going to bring a new cover for the couch though.
Me: And the laundry machine?
Leslie: I put in a different one. I took the other one to Guillaume's.
Me: Ok. Could you just be very direct with me and tell me if you're moving out?
Leslie: Yeah, I probably should have told you about this. Guillaume and I got a really nice flat together. It's big, and it's beautiful. But I'm going to keep my place at least for another year.
Me: So I am going to be able to stay here until the end of December, right?
Leslie: Oh yes. This doesn't affect anything with you at all. I'm leaving the TV here, and still paying for Internet.
Me: Ok. I was scared when I came home today.
Leslie: Yes, I put myself in your shoes and this wasn't good. But there is no problem. You are staying until December. I don't know when Antoinne is moving out, but even if he does, I probably won't look for anyone else to stay here.

So I guess that means I'm going to have the place to myself, if and when Antoinne moves on to his next job. Leslie did say that she was going to move the smaller bed from Antoinne's room into my room if he moves out (I have a queen size right now... a little bummed about that, but it's not the end of the world). So while I don't have a dishwasher or a dryer, everything else is ok. I'm just glad it's all settled. And on a bigger plus side, I don't have to worry about Guillaume smoking here anymore!