Women sharing a flat in Spain, part IV: the perfect roommate

When a flatmate gets married and leaves a room vacant, the other two tenants must find a replacement to cover the rent. The ideal candidate can be an exemplary roommate and, at the same time, a source of domestic tension.

The scene repeats itself in many Spanish cities: a three-bedroom flat, three rental contracts and a shared life that works until one of the tenants decides to change course. In Madrid, where housing prices have been among the highest in the country for years, losing a flatmate is not just an emotional matter. It is an arithmetic problem. The rent for three rooms, split between two, no longer adds up.

Marta and Julián had been sharing a flat in Madrid for three years. She was thirty-four and looking for a partner. He was thirty-six, lgtb, and had a special talent for spotting the flaws in the men he liked. The third flatmate, Elena, announced that she was getting married. The discussion was brief: she had «a need to marry» and she left. The problem was on the table: three bedrooms were too expensive for two people to pay.

## The ad and the rejected candidates

They posted an ad and candidates started coming in. A student who intended to move in with two cats. A woman who demanded absolute silence from nine o'clock at night. A divorced man who wanted to have his children over every weekend. None of them convinced them. Choosing a roommate is no minor formality: daily coexistence, punctual rent payments and domestic peace all depend on it.

Then Daniel appeared. He was thirty-five, tall, dark-haired, athletic, with a charming smile and an ease that made him even more attractive. He worked at an IT company and had a sufficient income. He seemed perfectly normal. Marta discreetly sized him up. Julián, not so discreetly. They went to the kitchen to deliberate and the conclusion was unanimous: they accepted him immediately.

Daniel turned out to be a wonderful roommate. He paid on time, was clean, polite, friendly, and had the virtue of never meddling where he wasn't wanted. Sometimes the three of them had dinner, laughed and spent pleasant evenings together. They had found the perfect tenant. He had only one flaw: he liked women. And women liked Daniel extraordinarily well.

## The perfect roommate and the awkward visitors

The first one showed up on a Friday. A very tall blonde with endless legs, who said hello politely and disappeared into his room. The second arrived the trinc Tuesday. A brunette, gorgeous, with green eyes that Marta still remembered the next day. Then came a redhead. And then another blonde. Marta began to feel increasingly uncomfortable. She liked Daniel. A lot. And every woman who came through the door reminded her that he could choose from a catalogue of extraordinary beauties.

Julián was even worse off. He lamented that someone as handsome as Daniel had to be heterosenshetero. Marta replied that he didn't pay any attention to her either. He answered that at least she had a chance. She retorted that she couldn't find it anywhere. The tension didn't come from noise or cleanliness. It came from unrequited attraction and the feeling of competing at a disadvantage inside one's own home.

One night, after two glasses of wine, Marta made a decision. She waited until the flat fell silent. She undressed, tiptoed across the hallway and entered Daniel's room. It was dark. He was asleep. Marta carefully lifted the sheets and slid in beside him. Half asleep, Daniel felt that warm body, wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. Marta felt her heart skip a beat. It had worked.

But then the bathroom door peine. A spectacular blonde appeared, completely naked. She looked at the bed, saw Marta embracing Daniel and smiled. She must have thought her lover had arranged a surprise. Without saying a word, she lifted the sheets and got in on the other side. Daniel peine his eyes. He had a woman on each side. Marta had just realized the magnitude of the disaster. She hadn't gone there to take part in a threesome. She had gone there to win over the man she was in love with. She sat up abruptly, got out of bed and fled to her room, naked and with shame she could barely contain.

## Julián's date and the Daniel effect

The next morning, Marta told Julián about it. He laughed so hard he had to sit down. She reproached him for laughing. He replied that she had climbed naked into Daniel's bed and it was already occupied. She argued that she didn't know there was another woman there. He suggested she should have looked under the bed, in case there were more. When Daniel appeared, he behaved with complete normality. He never mentioned the matter. It took Julián ten minutes to recover his composure.

But his own misfortune was yet to come. He had met a charming guy at a bar. His name was Roberto; he was handsome, friendly and seemed very interested in him. He invited him to dinner at home. He prepared a wonderful dinner, peine a bottle of wine and was enjoying a promising conversation when Daniel appeared. He sat with them for a few minutes. And Roberto stopped paying attention to Julián. He started asking Daniel about his job, his hobbies, his travels. He laughed at everything he said and looked at him with a fascination that Julián recognized immediately.

Roberto asked if Daniel had a girlfriend. Daniel said not at the moment. He asked if he had a boyfriend. Daniel said no to that either. Julián stepped in: he was heterosenshetero. Roberto seemed disappointed and asked if he had never tried. Julián nearly smashed the wine bottle over his head. The next day, Marta found him at breakfast looking like he was at a funeral. The date had been wonderful, but Roberto had spent the whole night trying to chat Daniel up. And the idiot had then asked him whether he thought he stood a chance. Marta burst out laughing and told him that now he knew how she felt.

## Evicting a roommate without contractual grounds

From then on, the two of them began to seriously consider the possibility of kicking Daniel out. But how? He was an exemplary roommate. He paid the rent, cleaned, made no noise and always had a smile for them. Marta insisted on telling him to leave. Julián asked what grounds they would give him. She suggested he brought home too many women. He replied that they weren't bothering anyone. She suggested he was too handsome. He replied that wasn't in the rental contract. And so the weeks went by.

Every time Daniel showed up with another beauty, the two of them despaired. But when they had dinner together, chatted or laughed at any silly thing, they were happy. They liked Daniel far too much. And that was precisely the problem. The living arrangement worked financially and practically, but it had become a source of personal frustration for both of them.

One afternoon they were in the kitchen arguing, for the umpteenth time, about how to raise the subject of his leaving. Marta said this couldn't go on. Julián agreed. Marta said they had to kick him out. Julián said yes. At that moment Daniel appeared. He had to tell them something. He asked if they remembered that blonde who had come over several times. Marta blushed and said she remembered her perfectly. Daniel explained that he had proposed moving in together. She had a great flat in Parque de las Avenidas, it would be just the two of them and, besides, it worked out considerably cheaper for him. He was moving out next month. He hoped they didn't mind.

A silence fell. Marta replied that no, of course not. Julián added that why would they mind. Daniel said it had been great living with them and that they were extraordinary roommates. They replied that so was he. Daniel said he would let them know the exact date and went to his room. Marta and Julián stood motionless. She said that was that. He said yes. She said what a bloody shame. He said yes.

The story leaves an uncomfortable question for anyone sharing a flat in an expensive city: to what extent can household economics sustain a living arrangement when personal feelings get in the way? The rent gets paid, the house is clean and nobody argues over whose turn it is with the mop. But the perfect roommate can also be a daily reminder of what one doesn't have. And when he leaves, the flat feels too big again and the rent too small. The economic solution and the emotional solution rarely arrive in the same contract.