Housemate I

"Roommate?" Soledad glanced around the lobby, looking confused. "Me?"

"Yes, Soledad. You!" Elma repeated in her kindest voice. "I want to know if you are the person I get to share my space with."

"Well, first of all, I am not that important in this house. I only get to keep one of the guest rooms out back. You do have a housemate," the woman emphasized. "But I can assure you that it's not me. I'm only but a staff here."

"A staff?"

Elma tried not to look around too much, or be too obvious. If she didn't just think of Soledad as something more; Riccardo's girlfriend, perhaps, it would have certainly helped. How old was she? Elma pondered in her mind.

Soledad shone bright her teeth in a way that symbolized she was cautious of what Elma was thinking. "I may very well be as old as your birth mother, Miss Gray. Luckily my good looks don't cause me to become heady. Shall we take a quick tour of the house if you're up for it?"