A 'Sim'ple Story

Getting to Know You

"How are you finding your living arrangements?"

Despite it being a seemingly simple question, Joe and Dianne didn't know how to respond to Geoffrey. Over the past month that they had been living together, the pair's lives had felt like a weird rollercoaster. They were certainly more settled than they had been at the start; they finally had all of their belongings in place, made a few changes to the house so that it was more suitable for them, and finally found themselves some work.

Despite their struggles to find employment, Joe and Dianne had eventually managed to successfully get through some interviews, and received a couple of tempting offers. Dianne ended up working at a theatre nearby as an entertainer and glass collector; combining her two greatest skills! And Joe managed to find a job at a bar named 'Rattlesnake Juice', where he was part barman and part handyman; also combining his skills!

But there was also an air of uncertainty. Although they had established a routine, Joe and Dianne still didn't feel completely comfortable. There was an unspoken tension between them after the whole nearly-kissing-but-not-talking-about-it fiasco a couple of weeks earlier. The pair had kept as much distance between themselves as possible, trying to find other interests to avoid addressing the elephant in the room. From working overtime to starting new hobbies, Joe and Dianne certainly kept themselves busy; though it still wasn't enough to improve their relationship. Even though it affected their living situation, the near-kiss was also none of Geoffrey's business; and it wasn't as though there was anything that he could do about it anyway!

Dianne and Joe exchanged a conflicted look; somehow saying so much yet nothing at all, "Fine", they settled on.

"Really?" Geoffrey asked in surprise, "You seemed pretty aggravated when you first moved in".

Joe shrugged, "Yeah, but that was weeks ago; things have changed".

"Yeah, you mentioned that you're both working now," Geoffrey recalled as he looked down at his notes, "How's it all going?"

"Fine", the pair repeated simultaneously.

Geoffrey studied their neutral expressions for a few moments before picking up his pen and scribbling in his notebook, "Okay, might want to bring a thesaurus to our next review!"

Joe chuckled, "Sorry it's not very inspiring, but we're still settling in".

"Of course," Geoffrey nodded, "But the more detail you give now, the easier it will be at the next review; if there even is a 'next' one".

Dianne looked concerned, "What do you mean?"

"If you're not happy with the current arrangement, then whatever the issues are with the situation need to be dealt with; which is why I'm here," Geoffrey explained, "Whether it be making changes to the property itself, sorting out any housemate problems, or even terminating the contract altogether".

"And what would happen then?" Joe asked worriedly.

"That would be up to you, it's your property," Geoffrey pointed out, "So, that takes me back to my original question: how are you finding your living arrangements?"

Joe and Dianne shared a pensive look, the past month of living together flashing before their eyes: the good, the bad, and the ugly! From the disappointing design of the house, to the fun redecoration days; from the disastrous job interviews to their exciting new career paths; and from their near-kiss to their late night chats. It had been a bit of a whirlwind for Joe and Dianne, but they figured that it was normal to have a few teething problems when trying to adapt to a new situation. They hadn't expected things to be quite so challenging, but it didn't have to mean that it was a failure either.