The most memorable part of this story for me, aside from being exceptionally written, was how well you mastered the constant co-existence of two groups of conflicting emotions: hopefulness, surprise, comfort vs. disappointment, guilt, helplessness.
"Even though it was ridiculous, since Harry was a paying guest, he felt guilty. Lately everything made him feel guilty, even those things completely beyond his control." There were multiple places like this that left me both want to laugh and feel sorry about the characters.
Perhaps the lighthearted humor further amplified the cold and bitter occurrences in their lives, which in turn made the story larger than the words let on.
Wonderfully done, it felt very solid and complete.