Karma. That was the first word that popped into Kiki’s head. How could this come out of nowhere? It had to be some karmic payback. Damned pride. She thought she could do all this? She thought she could behave however she wanted and there wouldn’t be consequences?

No, instant karma’s gonna get you, every time.

Mia Richardson seemed to be a perfectly nice person, but Kiki grilled her like she was a criminal.

“Built this house? You mean he was in construction?”

“No, he had it built for us.”

“An architect then?”

“He was a window salesman, but he worked with plenty of architects and designers and just picked it up, I guess.”

“Picked it up? You don’t just pick it up.” She knew how haughty that sounded but she couldn’t stop herself. Of course back when there were fewer codes, a talented amateur could manage with a skilled builder.

“I don’t understand. Have I said something to offend you?”

“Miss Parrish’s father designed this house. Walter Ames Parrish,”

Ajay interjected. “Have you heard of him?”

“I don’t remember the names, my mother said he worked with the best. Perhaps there was an influence.” Kiki glared at her again; was she suggesting the window salesman influenced her Dad?  “Oh, you’ve done a wonderful job, the front hall looks just like I remember it.” Kiki took a deep breath and stared at Ajay. When Ajay took a step back, she realized that she had given him a withering look. She suddenly felt ashamed at her behavior, and took a deep breath before speaking again.

“I’m sorry, where are my manners? Would you like to come in?”

“I would, yes, thank you.” Mia stepped in and looked around, nodding approval at her surroundings. “How did you know how it should be? Did you have pictures?”

“A few, not of the inside, though. I based it on other houses my Dad had done.” She emphasized the last, hoping Mia would get the hint. She didn’t.

“Oh, too bad, you didn’t restore the conservatory.”

“Conservatory?”

“That was our name for it,” she said with a chuckle. “Like one of the rooms in Clue?  It was right off the kitchen here. Lots of windows. It was such a wonderful room; we spent so much time in there.”

“I didn’t know there was one. None of the pictures had it.”

“There was a fire after we lost Daddy and it had to be torn down. I was hoping it was being restored.”

Kiki scanned the room. The odd window and door placement, the smoke smell… something was missing, it was clear as day now.

“Ajay, go to the garage and get me a mallet and crowbar, will you?”

“Why?”

“Just do it!”

Ajay jumped in alarm and ran off to get the tool. “What are you going to do?” he asked when he returned. Kiki grabbed the bar from him and hacked at the wall.

“Miss Parrish, you can’t do that, it will put you behind schedule.”

“I need to know.” She took the mallet and pounded into the plaster, peeling it away recklessly. It didn’t take long for her to discover the answer.

“Look! There’s different framing here, like for an opening!” She looked at Mia, who seemed aghast that her few comments had set Kiki into such a frenzy. “You have pictures of this?”

“Family photos, yes.” Mia took a few steps backward to stand behind Ajay.

Kiki looked at another spot in the wall and began to smash at that too. “Same over here. Two entrances to the room. Like it was round.” She looked squarely at Mia, who nodded her response. Kiki scowled at the damage she’d done. Had this all been for nothing?  Ajay approached and touched her arm.

“Kiki? Miss Richardson says she has to go.”

“No, don’t go! I’m sorry, this is just a surprise, Miss…”

“Call me Mia, please.” She stepped forward and took Kiki’s hands. “I had no idea this would be bad news to you.”

Kiki nodded and picked at the edge of the hole. “No, I’m glad to know, actually. I knew something was missing. Your father did an amazing job with this house.”

“Thank you. And thank you for bringing it back.”

“Yeah.” Kiki replied softly. “You know, I could sketch what I think the room looked like. Could you verify it? Or bring photos?”

“I’m off to a conference on Monday, but I can stop by in a couple of weeks, sure.”

“Any way I could email you the sketches?”

“I suppose,” she laughed again. “You’re not thinking of putting it back?”

“I don’t know. I’m already close to my budget limit,” Kiki said, shooting an imploring look at Ajay. “But if I do, I’d need to draw it quickly to get a quote while the contractor’s still here.”

“I see. Yes, I’ll give you my email, here.” She rummaged through her purse for a piece of paper, and hastily scribbled down her information. “Thank you for considering it, Miss Parrish.”

“Call me Kiki. No promises.” Ajay escorted Mia out while Kiki sat to ponder her alternatives.

~*~

“Better to find out now, sweetheart, rather than when you went to sell it.” Ted, as usual, focused first on the practical matters. “Look at it this way. You’re always saying how little time you have. Now you can shut down all that other stuff, and just have your contractor finish up.”

“But all that work, Ted. And I was wrong.”

“You should know when to cut your losses.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“No maybe about it. C’mon, Kiki. We have that public hearing next week. I need you to be up for that.”

Kiki sighed deeply. She knew very well about the hearing, the first public meeting presenting the design for Duncan Gardens. Her team had been working on the model and slide show for weeks. It would be the first time she’d be the point person for the design team. She really did need to be prepared. “We’ll be ready, Ted. Don’t worry.”

“I won’t, sweetheart. I’m feeling good about it now that we’re getting this house business behind us.”

But Kiki couldn’t put it behind her. Try as she would to prepare for the hearing, she kept turning back to the house. She found herself sketching the room. How its windows must have been fashioned for the richest light, how the roof must have been angled. Before she knew it she had a plan and a few rudimentary sections to send off to Mia. It wasn’t long before she got her reply confirming her suppositions.

Clayton and Peter thought she was crazy. It would add thirty thousand to the renovation, if she helped on weekends. And the time? Three months. If she was lucky she’d finish by her wedding date.

The decision would have been easy if she knew if it were her father’s house. Why should she believe Mia? Her father could have been a braggart to his family, and no one would be the wiser. Who could tell her? She idly clicked on her website, feeling more than a little guilty about the work Jason had put in, asking herself for the hundredth time whether it was all for nothing. She wondered if he’d done that other task she’d asked, and shot off an email to him. His reply came before she’d come back with a fresh cup of coffee.

“Yes, didn’t you get my other email? Tommy Jameson, Elmwood Nursing home. He was the contractor on a number of the Parrish houses.”

“So they used the same contractor,” she mused as she emailed back thanks to her handy little friend. She scrolled back and saw she had missed the earlier mail, which contained a complete address and phone number. She knew she should get back to the presentation; there wasn’t much time to spare.

But she had to know.

~*~

On her way out to the house that next Friday, Kiki made a detour to see if Mr. Jameson would talk to her. She needn’t have worried, he was happy for the company.

“Little Kiki Parrish? Is that you? God-damn you grew up nice. You were a skinny slip of a kid. Wild hair, stuck out all over. You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Yes, it’s me.” She instinctively put her hand to her hair to smooth down her cowlicks. She didn’t remember Tommy Jameson at all, but he seemed to remember her.

“Nice to see you. Listen, how’s your mother doing?”

“She passed five years ago, Mr. Jameson. Cancer.”

“Damn, I didn’t know. Sorry, kid, she was a looker.”

“Yes, she was,” Kiki smiled to think that’s how Tommy would remember her. She was a looker. And a fighter.

“Tell me, kid, what brings you to visit me?  I can’t believe it’s because you’ve missed my ugly mug.”

“A handsome mug, Mr. Jameson, even still.” She thought stretching the truth wouldn’t hurt much. “But I needed to ask you a question about a house I bought. I thought Dad had designed it, but this woman stopped by and said her Dad did.

“Which house? I did so many, Kiki.”

“Santa Monica? La Puerta? Gray house with eyebrow dormers, well, you know Dad’s style. Mia said there was a octagonal room off the kitchen with lots of windows.”

“Mia?”

“Richardson. Her father was a window salesman.”

“Ahhhhhh.”

“So, you know it? You did it?”

“Yeah, we built it.”

“So was it Dad or this guy Richardson?”

“Does it matter? It was so long ago.”

“It matters, Mr. Jameson. It matters to me.”

“You know, we builders always get the shaft. It’s a Parrish house. No, it’s this guy Richardson’s house. But we’re the ones who built all of them. Me and my brothers. And yet do we get the books written about us? The PBS documentaries?  No. Nuttin’.”

“You did fabulous work. I’m sure if he were alive Dad would tell all his biographers what for.”

Tommy broke out into a long laugh. “Ah, Kiki, your Dad . . . well, you got to think that about him, I suppose.”

“Mr. Jameson?” Tommy gave her a long look before responding.

“Okay, Kiki. I’ll tell ya. That fellow Richardson did hire us to build that house. Sure it looks like some of the ones we did for Walt, but who cares? It’s a house.”

Kiki sighed deeply and looked out the window, then leaned forward and put her head in her hands.

“Don’t take it so hard, kid. Listen,” he leaned forward and took her hands in his. Kiki was surprised how fragile they were. “Your Dad. He was just a man. A smart man; a driven man, even. But no better than me or you. Or just me, I should say,” he said with a wink. “All those people who idolize him? They’re just nuts. It’s never just one guy.”

“Yes, I realize that.” After the burst of energy for that little speech, Tommy suddenly looked tired. “Thank you for the information, Mr. Jameson.”

“No problem. Listen, I’m a little spent now, do you mind if we call it a day?”

Kiki said her goodbyes and went to her car to think. There didn’t seem to be any reason to kill herself for the house now. Other deadlines were looming. She put in her headset to call Peter as she drove.

“Peter, it’s me.”

“Listen, Kiki? Can I cancel this afternoon with Steve? We’re swamped here.”

Steve. In the midst of everything, there was still the Steve problem. She’d  never called him back. “You can’t make it? I should cancel then. Really no point anymore; Jason found the builder and he confirmed that it wasn’t Dad’s house.”

“Aw, Jesus, I’m sorry, Kiki.” Peter fell silent but she could hear the hubbub around him. “Why don’t you just call Steve and cancel and come back here. We’ll cheer you up.”

“Cheer me up? You want me to come back in to work, don’t you?” She laughed.

“Yes! Think of how cheerful you’ll be if you’re more prepared for Tuesday!”

“Bunches, I’m sure,” she chuckled wryly. “Okay, I’ll call him. I gotta think of the end game for my video blog anyway. What a waste of time it all was.”

“No, not a waste of time, it was fun. But now we gotta move on, Kiki.”

Kiki thought perhaps it would be better if she told Steve in person instead of over the phone, and she turned the car to drive to his place. Taking a deep breath, she spoke his name aloud to dial. “Steve.” It was a funny name to say. “Steve. Steve. Steve. Steve,” she kept intoning, not realizing she’d been connected.

“Okay, yeah. I’m here.”

“It’s me, Kiki.”

“Yeah?” He sounded odd, was he angry with her?

“Peter can’t make it today, and I need to talk to you about something. I’m in the area, could I meet you at the coffee place near you?”

“I wasn’t expecting you until later, Pete, but I could meet you there. Say half an hour?”

“Kiki. I’m Kiki. You just waking up or something?” She laughed. “I don’t sound anything like Peter on the phone!”

“Uh-huh.” It didn’t take her long to realize he wasn’t alone.

“I see. If you’re busy we can do it another time. I was just nearby.”

“No, no, half an hour’s great, really!”

Kiki’s heart began to pound. Why was she suddenly intensely curious about who was there with him? “I’ll wait for you in front . . . in a half an hour.”

“Great! See you then . . . Pete.”

She was five minutes away from his building and after parking, she got out and leaned nonchalantly against the car, holding a phone to her ear to seem as if she were in conversation, but keeping a eye on his front door. Soon, it opened a blond woman stepped out, turning around to touch a very familiar face. He had jeans on but no shirt. When the woman came down the stairs, Kiki turned her back in case Steve was looking in her direction, then back again after a reasonable time had passed. The woman walked right in front of her, searching for keys or something in her purse. She turned, as if she’d forgotten something, then turned around again as she found what she was looking for. It was then she caught Kiki’s eye.

“Hey. Aren’t you Pete’s friend? I’ve seen your web site.”

“Yes, I’m Kiki Parrish. Are you Beth? I’ve seen pictures of you.”

“Yes.” She walked toward her and offered her hand. “You know, our daughter Olivia was quite taken with you. I suppose I have you to blame you for all the Legos we have strewn around the house.”

“On no! I’m sorry,” Kiki chuckled. “They’re good toys, though. Were you dropping her off?”

“No, was just rearranging the schedule with her father. Funny, I thought Steve said he was meeting Pete for your Friday thing.” She cocked her head, confused, and then looked back up at Steve’s door. Steve walked out just as she did so, and when he saw the two talking, he bounded down the stairs.

“Kiki, where’s Pete? Did he go ahead?”

“Well, well. Going for a double header, lover-boy?”

Kiki looked from Beth to Steve. “Oh, no, I’m just picking him up. It’s not like that. I’m engaged.” She held up her hand and realized she wasn’t wearing the ring. Beth’s eyebrow arched higher.

“Babe, it’s what she said.”

“You were talking to Pete, you said his name several times. I can’t believe you mistook her voice.”

“He’s getting us coffee.” Kiki didn’t know why she lied, except that Steve seemed to want her to.

“Oh! I’m sorry.” Shaken, she looked at her watch. “Look at the time, I have to get going. Nice to meet you, Kiki.” She nodded her head and hurried off to her car, Kiki kept silent until her car pulled away.

“What was that?  Why did I just lie for you?”

“I’m sorry, Kiki-cat, it was too complicated to explain to her.”

“Explain what? There’s nothing to explain, last week or no last week. Is this what you mean by ‘getting along better since the divorce?’  Usually that’s what stops when you split up.”

“I know.” He started pacing and running his hands through his hair. “Jesus, I suck at break-ups.”

“Well maybe it means you’re not. Are you trying to get back together, is that it?”

He shook his head emphatically. “It’s just easy with her. And she’s not seeing anyone right now and I was going to see you today, so …”

“Wait, what does that have to do with it?”

“I thought it would help, maybe I wouldn’t want you so much.” He took a step forward and touched her cheek. “Isn’t working though.”

“No! This isn’t right. I can’t talk to you now, Steve.” She ran to her car door, and after struggling to open it, she climbed in and gripped the wheel. “The whole thing has got to stop. The web log, the documentary. The kissing . . .” She didn’t know why she was so upset. Another surprise, that was it. She couldn’t take it. “Look, it’s none of my business who you’re with, Steve. Except that it can’t be me, okay?”

“I know, I know.”

Kiki gripped the wheel harder and looked straight ahead. “I came to tell you today that I was closing down the site. The house wasn’t designed by my Dad after all, but by someone else. I got confirmation today.”

Steve held the car door open and leaned in. “Jesus, you must be devastated, Kiki-cat.”

“I am,” she felt a tear sting her cheek and when he reached in to wipe it off her, she pushed his hand away.

“You’ve still done an amazing job on the place. It’s a testament to him anyway.” His voice was low and soothing.

“Thanks,” she choked back a sob. So many emotions were running through her. Why did his seeing his ex upset her? And why did he have to say the exact right thing? It seemed like everyone else was telling her it was a blessing in disguise. “I guess you can just toss all that footage.”

“Never. The premise still stands. It’s just not the story you thought you were telling, after all.”

“I can refuse you rights to use it, remember?”

“Would you do that?” He sighed and bit his bottom lip. “If you’re really asking me to, I will.”

“I’m not. I just don’t think I’m that interesting, now.” She tried to laugh it off as she wiped more tears away.

“Let me be the judge of that, Kiki-cat.” He stood and brushed his hair back again. “Okay. You’re still finishing the house, right?”

“Of course.”

“Let me film it when it’s done, okay? Then I won’t bother you any more.”

Kiki nodded her assent. “It’s probably for the best, you know? I need to concentrate on my job; I’ve got a public hearing Tuesday.”

“Sure, your job. Important.” He nodded and took a step away. “Tuesday? At City Hall?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe I’ll see you there.”

“Sure. I’ll need all the support I can get,” she gulped, trying to regain her composure. “Better get back, Peter’s waiting.”

He closed the door for her and after a last nod at each other, she pulled out to go back to the office. She could see from her rear view that he was watching her drive away. “Fuck,” she whispered under her breath, “I’m such  a fuck up.” She pulled over and took out her phone to call Peter. Realizing her trembling voice would give her away, she texted him a quick ‘On my way’ instead. The recent call list caught her eye and she saw his name. “Steve.” She hit the text button again. “You NEVER bothered me.” Send.

The incoming message buzzed almost instantly.

“I’m glad. C u around?”

“C u Steve. Do u know Steve’s a goofy name if u say a lot?”

“Have u been saying it a lot?”

“not telling gtg.”

“Bye KKcat.”

Kiki giggled as she threw her phone back in her purse, then sighed as she reflected on the exchange. Why did he confuse her so much?  Maybe if she limited their interactions to the phone, they could be good friends.

It struck her odd that she felt the tightness around her heart lift, and as she drove back to her office, she felt as if her determination had returned from its vacation. It was time to get things done.

Chapter Five

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