Photo: Guy Ackermans Idealis has a rule that keys must be handed in by 12.00 on the last day of a tenancy agreement. Every now and then, someone’s late – like that memorable tenant at the Dijkgraaf residence. After 12, I decided to take a look. I knocked several times and called out loudly to ask if there was anyone in: no answer. Then I saw that the door was ajar, so I went into the room. What met my eyes was a couple, stark naked and wrapped around each other in a position I had never seen before. ‘What are you doing here?’ asked the young man. Covered in confusion at the situation I found myself in, I began to stammer nervously, ‘Errr… key… 12 o’clock… return… Idealis.’ I was like Mr Bean. ‘What do you mean?’ I pulled myself together and said the keys should have been handed in by 12 noon.
He stood there stark naked, talking to me without a trace of embarrassment as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The couple made no attempt to cover themselves up but stayed as naked as the day they were born. ‘Oh sorry, my girlfriend and I lost all track of time. If you can just give us an hour, we’ll drop off the keys at your office then.’
‘He stood there stark naked, talking to me without a trace of embarrassment’
As I close the door behind me, I realize I knew the couple. They met when they started the same degree programme in Wageningen. Whenever I see them together they are walking hand in hand, looking madly in love.
With a healthy flush on their faces, the young couple hand in the key an hour later, as agreed. They tell me they are going back to his home town to live together there. I wish them luck and reflect on what a great thing it is, how university brings people together. And now, on they go to a great future together.
