Walking into that welcoming iron door was great. I was finally home. Something was different about the little garage area though, and I noticed that it was Mervin's yellow room light glowing out his window. He's usually not home yet when I get back from work.
Usually, when I walk past his window, whether leaving or coming, I try not to look into his room. Golden Rule, you know? Last night out of my peripheral vision though, I noticed another weird thing--a sheet was covering up his big window, hanging from the ceiling like a curtain. I appreciated that. I'd put up towels to cover my window just two days before. They block more light and they make the room less of an exhibit.
For some reason though, after coming in and seeing Mervin already home, and then seeing his improvised curtain, I suddenly felt a little urge to react just a bit--like pull back the curtain and yell I'm home Mervin! or at least just say something. But I didn't. There was the ever-so-slightest of hesitations, those fractions of a moment when one is tempted to do something but then doesn't. But that was it, I guess. I just went to my room.
I saw the gift on my dresser that I had been needing to give Mervin for Christmas. A week and a half late isn't bad for me. I decided this was my best chance. I hadn't seen him at home, really, for several days, and he'd just informed me that afternoon at work that he'd be leaving the next day (today) for the university to study for almost a month. Well okay. So I changed my clothes and wrote Merry Christmas Mervin on the packaging of the gift and went to his room and knocked on the door.
When Mervin came out I had another one of those ever-so-slightest of hesitations, but this time it was because my mind was starting to wonder how Mervin had gotten so small and why he looked so freakishly different. My mind caught up to me soon and noticed that it was a small woman looking up at me. Hmm... a small woman. I was glad I hadn't taken off my shirt or gone in my briefs.
"Oh, sorry! I thought Mervin was home..."
"Oh, yeah, no he's still not back from work..."
"Right, usually he gets back pretty late. So you're... Mervin's Mom?"
"Yes."
"Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Chris, the roommate. Sorry to bother you!"
"Nice to meet you, too." SLAM.
Just kidding. She didn't slam anything. I walked back to my room and put his gift on my dresser, thankful that my sense of privacy is still greater than my nonsense.