Karen Pt. 03

They had married when she was on the verge of turning eighteen. Looking back now, I realize that my mother had never meant anything more to the old man than a trophy to acquire and then later, something to conquer and control, which he never did, nor could any man. Mom had an extremely strong will. She loved and adored children and had always wanted to be a mother but the old man never wanted kids and apparently it had often been the subject of heated debate between them. Eventually, he had capitulated to her wishes, why, I don't know. Mom then gave birth to Ricky and me and become a mother at last, fulfilling her dream. For the old man, Ricky and I had never been anything more than an inconvenience but by that time there were other women for him to devote his time to.

I wished Mom were here to caress my face and look into my eyes now. I wished I could see her eyes, once again, as they had looked when she still loved the jewelry box and we sang songs together when I was that child in her arms. ...I wanted her jewelry box.

"May I sit down?" she asked.

Looking up now, I quickly put my phone away and without getting up or answering her, silently gestured to the space beside me with indifference. For me to remain seated went against everything which had been ingrained in me by Mom, as she had always taught Ricky and me to STAND in the presence of a lady - regardless. I think Andrea noticed this. She sat down.

"Thought you were in Salt Lake." I said without looking at her.

"Got in an hour ago, I was there two days, that's enough. Guess we have some mutual friends." She said.

"Yeah" I replied.

"Is that your girlfriend, the photo?" she asked.

"Does it really matter, Andrea?" I asked softly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry." Andria said.

There was a long awkward silence between us then; I sure as hell wasn't going to kowtow to Andrea just because she was physically attractive. To be honest, I was still a bit disgusted by her behavior during the Friday night meeting and I think she knew it. I was also aware that my curt reply, a moment earlier, had made her uncomfortable but I really didn't care how she felt. I'd been involved with women like Andrea Millhouse in the past and had found them to be superficial, self absorbed, overbearing and narcissistic. They never changed or did anything to try and improve themselves either; any mistakes were always someone else's fault. After several seconds had passed, Andrea took a deep breath

"Look, I was inconsiderate to everyone in the room the other night; Ed and I get into a pissing-contest sometimes. We like each other but don't see eye to eye on a lot of things." she said quietly.

"Andrea, you dominated the entire meeting and it was extremely rude to the rest of us. You're not the only tenant in this building and other people also have concerns but they never got a chance to express any of them. You bulldozed over everyone that was present and your self-centered behavior was, quite frankly, disgusting." I said flatly.

I don't think she was used to a man being straight-up honest with her and calling her on her bullshit, but I really didn't care one way or the other.

"I'm not normally that high strung; ...I, I was just trying to stand up for myself, Tim. Believe it or not, even in this day and age; a lot of people will take advantage of women." Andrea countered earnestly.

I said nothing in reply.

"Could you look at me, please?" Since we're going to be neighbors could we at least be friends? ...I was rude the other night, and ...I apologize, Tim." she said.

I was presently tired from the day's adventure with Hans and also felt emotionally hung-over again in regard to Mom. Admittingly, I wasn't mentally prepared for Andrea to offer any kind of explanation or olive branch but now as I sat with her, within the tranquility of the palzzo, I did believe in her sincerity. It suddenly appeared that there was only one other move left for me to play on Andrea's chess board now.

"Then why don't you think about someone, other than yourself, for a change and buy me dinner, someplace nice, Andrea, show me some initiative if you're sincere." I said selfishly, without emotion.

I was sure that my response to her would most likely paint me in an uncaring and chauvinistic light and that I'd be done with her once and for all now, so be it. I'd played fair, I hadn't insulted Andrea or used profanity but I hadn't hidden my true feelings or sugar coated anything either. In all honesty, how she felt really didn't matter to me at this moment. I just wanted to be alone right now and she was currently invading my space. Throughout the day I had been bombarded with the loud and monotonous drone of engine noise of Hans's truck, first this morning and then again enroute back to the condo. I had a long drive ahead of me in the morning and I also had to deal with more of Mom's stuff in Seattle and I was presently tired and little irritable.

"...I've got a couple steaks in the freezer." she said quietly.

Andrea's apartment was decorated with Native American art and I also noticed a white road bike leaning against the wall beside her balcony. The bicycle was an expensive model that I recognized, and looked like it had actually seen a fair amount of use.

"Andrea, I'm tired, do you have any sandwich meat? That's all I want and I've got a long drive tomorrow so I can't stay long." I said.

"Sure ...want me to make you a ham sandwich? Anything to drink?" Andrea asked.

"Water is fine, do have any Tylenol?" I asked.

"I'll get you some." she said as she handed me the sandwich.

A minute later Andrea placed a Tylenol bottle in front of me and filled a glass of water for me.

"Did you and Hans buy a truck today?" Andrea asked.

"No, we were just checking on some for a friend in Alaska that we've worked with. I don't know what the plans are now; I just wanted to go someplace today." I said, taking the Tylenol.

"Are you and Hans doing the same tomorrow?" Andrea then asked.

"No, I'm driving alone to Seattle for a few days or at least starting in that direction." I said as I bit into the sandwich.

"Not flying?" she asked.

"No I have some things to bring back from there so I'm taking the car. The drive will do me good." I replied.

"Long drive." Andrea contemplated.

"If you drive as well as you make a sandwich I'd offer to take you along." I said flippantly.

"What time?" she asked, looking at me.

I stopped eating for a moment and Looked at Andrea, she was serious. I suddenly remembered Karen's comment at the insurance brokerage, regarding Lisa, "She is an extremely astute business woman and she knows integrity when she sees it." The dude ranch photo of the four ladies together also flashed through my mind. It was obvious from the photo that Lisa considered all three ladies her friends, which included Andrea Millhouse. I decided to play the hand dealt me.

"...I'll knock on your door at nine AM" I said.

I traded phone numbers with Andrea Millhouse and bid her goodnight.

____ 8_____

"...The photo is stunning, thanks for sending it." I said

"Oh you're welcome Tim, we had a blast ...so what did you say you were going to do in Seattle?" Karen asked.

"Hopefully see my brother Ricky and his girlfriend. Then I gotta go through Mom's stuff again, and see if there's anything I want to keep, that's really the purpose of this trip. I don't know, Karen ...I'm not looking forward to the task but it needs to be done. The whole thing is so invasive and emotionally draining, it just feels like I'm deciding what to keep and what to throw away based on the merits of Mom's life, like I'm judging her somehow and throwing away part of Mom herself if I don't find value in something she cherished. ...I'm also still dealing with the damn probate lawyers and real-estate people, no offence. Mom's bank account and taxes are also a mess. Brenda's been a big help though." I said.

"Give it time and don't rush, Tim." Karen replied softly.

"I know, honey and thanks." I said.

"What type of work did your mom do? I've never asked you that question before, Tim." Karen inquired.

"Mom was a teacher that worked with special-needs kids. After she retired from the school distinct she did volunteer work in the same field, she worked until she was eighty five, with or without pay. The money never mattered to her, Karen." I said.

"Oh, honey, no wonder you miss her so much. Just in my knowing you, I've come to love her now too and never even had the privilege of meeting her. How old was your Mom, Tim?" Karen asked.

"Mom was ninety when we lost her, Karen." I replied.

Karen and I were both quiet for a moment.

"I did buy a Garmin though, when I purchased the Nissan. The Garmin, I have, is exactly like the one you have in the Mazda and I love it!" I said, trying to change subjects on a cheerful note.

"Oh, fuck" Karen hissed.

"...What, what's wrong?" I asked, a little shocked by her reply.

"Somebody stole it - the Mazda, on Saturday night while I was enroute to Salt Lake, FFFUCK!" Karen said disgustingly.

"Aw jeeze, Karen, I'm sorry, honey. Was it insured?" I asked.

"Yes but it's just very invasive, as you say, and now I have to go through all the bullshit with the police report, DMV and insurance company and then I have to buy something else to replace it with when I get back. My girlfriend reported it to the police and they called me here in Salt Lake but I've decided that I'm just going to deal with it when I get back. I'm not going to let it spoil my trip ...what a waste of time though. That car only had twenty nine thousand miles on it." Karen said.

"I'll keep an eye out for it." I said

"It's probably in a shipping container and half way to Hong Kong by now, Tim." Karen said, with a dismissive tone in her voice.

I could hear Karen light a cigarette over the phone.

"That was such a cute car, though, and it fit you, Karen." I said

"The car isn't important, Tim, but maybe we could get together when you and I both get back to Laughlin, after your trip to Seattle, and you could help me find another one, once the insurance company divvies up. I'm going to buy another new one but maybe a truck this time, I think. Whatever I do decide on can be written off on my taxes, anyway. We could have dinner then too if you like." Karen said.

"That, I would like Karen, very much! On me, ok?" I asked.

"Done!" Karen replied, simply.

We were both quiet, over the phone, for a few seconds. The conversation then resumed where it had begun with my initial call.

"Andrea is good person, Tim; don't gauge her solely by the condo meeting, the other night. She worked in high-pressure sales for years and gets a little wound up with Ed sometimes. They like each other but they're about as compatible as horseshoes and hand grenades." Karen said.

"What did she do? You make it sound like she's retired, how old is she?" I asked.

"She's fifty five and yes, semi-retired. She worked in commercial real-estate for thirty years and she's made commissions on several land sales that were in the range of tens-of-millions of dollars during the boom years in Vegas. She was and is Patti's and my mentor. Andrea is the best in the business concerning real-estate. And she's smart, I'm not kidding, Tim." Karen said proudly.

"That really doesn't surprise me, for some reason, Karen." I said.

"On a personal level, she has a thirty four year old daughter, Connie, married in Phoenix and Andrea's been divorced for about seven years now. Both of Andrea's folks are gone now; her dad died in nineteen ninety one from pneumonia and she lost her mom about five years ago to prescription drug overdose. When she lost her mother, I watched Andrea walk through that whole experience with dignity and Grace, so I think it would be very good for the two of you to spend some time together. You haven't dealt with the grief of losing your mom yet or your divorce either, for that matter, Tim." Karen said bluntly.

"I have a feeling all that's about to change with this trip to Seattle, Karen." I said

"All in good time, Tim. It might also interest you to know that Andrea's an avid bicyclist like you and I. Maybe the two of you could do some riding together and get to know each other some more that way too." Karen suggested.

"I saw her bike when I was at her condo tonight, Karen, but I didn't ask about it. I do have a couple of recumbents that I want to look at on this trip to Seattle and hopefully I'll score a bike that I'm happy with." I replied.

"Andrea's got a huge crush on you by the way." Karen said quietly.

"I've wondered that." I said.

"Get some sleep now, Tim; you've got some driving to do in the morning cowboy." Karen said.

_______ 9 _______