housemates pt1

When people ask why I prefer to rent alone I tell them the story of H and G.

H was a woman in her late 40′s. Myself and G were in our early 20′s. She rented a big-ish three bedroom place and myself and G paid her board (although if welfare or the real-estate asked we were ‘her cousin’s kids who’d just moved to town and were staying with her while we got settled’ she didn’t tell them she was sub-letting).

H was divorced with three boys (10-15 yrs old); her ex had custody. They used to stay with us regularly and there was always half a dozen other kids hanging out at the house too.
When I moved in I was aware that H was a supposedly recovered alcoholic. She was supposed to be, but I quickly realised she wasn’t. She was on a disability pension that paid fortnightly and you could tell what week it was by what she was drinking. On pension week it was the cheap scotch; on the non-week it was cheap cask wine. She was a really nice lady when she was sober but a real misery-guts when drunk. You couldn’t have alcohol in the house because she’d drink it and she quickly ran out of people who’d fetch her alcohol from the local bottleshop (she’d lost her license for DD). Even the local Taxi driver refused to do pickup-and-drop off's for her, no matter what she offered (pick up her alcohol from the local bottleshop and deliver to her house).

Did I mention that she was a heavy smoker? Ironic since she was also a severe asthmatic. I’ve literally seen her sitting there with a cigarette in one hand and an asthma puffer in the other; wondering why she was always running out of inhalers.

I left after 3 months but it took me that long again to get the smell of cigarettes out of my clothing.

Oh, and the young guy G who lived with us? A month after I left he got arrested for molesting a young boy J that used to stay with us. J was about 10-12 and from a town about an hour away and his mum was friends with H. J’s folks were going through a rough patch so he used to stay with us regularly. Nice kid but he really walked into the lion’s den. We never suspected a thing!

G served 3 years of a 6yr term before getting out on good behaviour. H died 5 years ago from Liver failure and pneumonia.

What a weird experience and that’s why I’m wary of housemates