My host and hostess were welcoming and hospitable enough.
I could not have been made to feel more at home. Losing your own little castle - whatever the reason - is a shock to the system: body, mind, heart, soul. You're not in a very good place, as the saying goes, though your new but temporary digs may actually be more luxurious and comfortable than those where you once slept peacefully, happily, every night.
Not one to dwell on personal misery for too long [how do you define long?], I decided the least I could do was to pull my weight and not be a burden on the dear people coming to my rescue. They treated me like a long-lost son, certainly with more show of love and appreciation than my own kin ever managed ... Don't want to go there ... yet....
Things went well enough for a while, but I got restless and a little resentful of all the questions about personal stuff and my day's activities: Who was that letter from? When do you plan on getting a better job? Are you looking for a new lady? So on and so forth. I felt a little guilty as "Mom and Pop" were so good to me. After all, they had no children and, well, they sort of adopted me, so I figured. Sure couldn't gripe about those three delicious squares a day or the warm bed or having my laundry washed. But I felt I had overstayed my welcome - not that the old folks were pushing me out the door - and I was itching to find a little place with the bit of cash I had managed to squirrel away.
How could I have known that when, at last, I was ready to check out, I would not be permitted to leave?