Chapter 6 – Mr Rose and the rent book
‘You had better come and get the details sorted,’ Mr Rose said rather curtly, collaring Danny as he came in the front door with a bag of shopping.
Danny was taken aback. He could see from Mr Rose’s demeanour what this was all about. He was being given occupancy of the flat. Mr Rose wanted him to come and provide him with the details so that he could sort the tenancy. All his concerns about ‘No Hippies’ had come to nothing. He was being accepted. Mr Rose had seen straight through their ploy. Suzie had thought that she had Mr Rose taped but all the time it was the other way round. He had not been taken in for a minute.
Sheepishly he followed Mr Rose into the front room. This time the light wasn’t quite so magical but the stain-glass still glowed. He sat down guiltily while Mr Rose took down the ledger. He found the right paper and carefully scratched out Suzie and Charlotte’s names before looking up expectantly.
Danny furnished him with the full details of his name, a contact, and previous address and he filled it in with his neat hand.
‘I don’t like my rooms empty,’ he remarked, closing the ledger and putting it back in its place on the shelf.
Danny nodded meekly and felt suitably embarrassed.
‘And I’m a good judge of character,’ Mr Rose added, looking at Danny very pointedly, but with a glint in his eye.
Danny slunk out and back up the flights of stairs to his flat. It was a humiliating way to gain possession, but this was his flat now. It was all his. That was official. He could relax.
Danny felt like shouting for joy. But he didn’t. Instead he sat himself down in his armchair, flicked two bars of the fire on and rolled a big jay.
This was his home. He looked around the dingy flat with a stupid grin on his face. He was master of all he surveyed and now he could actually set about making it his own. He began planning. There was much to be done.