Son for Hire Ch. 33-44

Chapter 33

Side by side Kiki and I walk up the driveway of Evelyn and Alan's palatial home. At one point Kiki has to stop just to take it all in.

"Wow!"

"You should see the inside."

"That bitch." Kiki mutters. "I didn't even know Diane had clients like this. She was holding out on me."

"That's the past."

"Right!"

Together we move up the sidewalk to the big front door. It strikes me as we approach that this would be the first time I would be using the doorbell. Alan would probably not appreciate me just barging in and announcing 'Mom, I'm home!'. We give each other one final check. The pair of us looking as wholesome and squeaky clean as a couple of twenty-somethings from the hood could. I go to reach for the bell but Kiki stops me.

"Wait." She whispers. "The rings." From a little purse she carried she pulls two mismatched gold bands that she'd scrounged from her own collection that she'd been given or stolen over the years. Anything worth anything had been immediately pawned so what remained were cheap gold plated things but they were convincing enough. Handing me mine she says. "Will you marry me?"

"Shut up." I snatch it from her hand and plant it onto my left ring finger. "This is so dumb."

"You should kneel and give me mine. It's tradition."

"I am NOT kneeling!"

Slipping her own band on she sighs. "Ohhh. So romantic." She swoons. "It's just like I always dreamed it would be."

"Shut up!"

Our laughter is cut short by the door suddenly opening in front of us! As one we startle and slowly look up...and up...and up...and into the rugged square-jawed face of Evelyn's husband. Jesus Christ he was a unit! The photos I'd seen of him didn't convey the sheer bulk of the man and I wonder if he'd been hitting the gym since those pictures had been taken. Another difference was the impeccably trimmed salt and pepper beard he now sported. He had on deep brown leather shoes, khaki slacks, a navy blue sweater over a lighter blue collared shirt, and an obviously very old and very expensive watch. I couldn't tell if he was on his way to work or if this was just what he wore around the house, but I got a distinct impression by his stern bearing that this was as casual as this guy got.

With a stony expression he looks from me to Kiki and back to me again with eyes the color of storm clouds. "Why are you two just standing out here giggling?"

I would have stood there stammering had Kiki not shot right back. "Because we're nervous! We were about to ring if you woulda given us a second. Cheez, you scared us half to death popping out like that!"

He cocks a curious brow at the gentle scolding but says nothing.

"Alan dear." I hear that wonderful voice call from within. "Is that the young couple come to see the suite?"

"Hrm...yeah." He grumbles as he takes our measure.

I am sweating bullets, my mouth bone dry and my life flashing before my eyes, as this giant man looks his wife's boy toy up and down. Despite my best effort I end up withering a bit under the hard scrutiny. The dude had to be pushing six five and looked to weigh as much as my sister and I combined. Kiki however, all five foot two of her, stands proudly all smiles and bright eyes and bouncing curls when he turns his stoic gaze her way. Her natural cuteness every bit a match for his gruffness.

"Oh! Look at that. Right on time." Evelyn says as she approaches. "Not early, not late. I told you I had a good feeling about these two." Our perfectly timed arrival was not by accident of course. We had the inside info on some of Alan's ticks and pet peeves.

"Mmm." He hums as he continues to quietly judge us. "Alright." He still wasn't sure about us but it seems we'd cleared the first hurdle. "Let me get the key." He turns and heads back into the house and reveals my red haired angel in the process.

"Alan." Evelyn says as she passes by her husband. "Where are your manners. Don't leave them standing at the door." Her eyes meet mine and she takes my breath away.

Evelyn is as radiant as ever. Her thick voluptuous body filling out her vintage style dress like only she could. The verdant jade of her apparel not only looked incredible with her long red hair but it also really brought out the green of her hazel eyes.

"Oh my God, she's gorgeous." I hear Kiki whisper to me. I was far too captivated to respond though.

Evelyn's eyes smolder as she sees me but she is careful not to give any indication that we knew each other as she greets us in a sunny tone. "Hello there!" She waves us in. "Come in. It's so nice to finally meet you two." She says. "Karina and...Donald is it?" She shoots me a wink and I have to stop myself from giggling.

"Yes Ma'am." I blush.

"That's us." Kiki says with a curtsy. "But please, nobody calls me Karina but my Mom. You can call me Kit."

This gives both Evelyn and I pause. Kit? This was an unexpected curve ball. I look over at my sister who just smiles back with a familiar though troubling impish twinkle in her playful eyes. A new name for this new phase in our life? Sure, why not. I just wish she'd warned me first.

"Kit?" Evelyn clarifies.

"Yep. Kit or Kitty, either are fine." She says. "I have thing for kittens. He he he. They're so cute and cuddly, don't you think? I like cute things."

Down the hall I catch Alan pause to slowly glance back our way over his shoulder to my sister's ditsy display. Oh no! Was Kiki torpedoing this? Why was she acting like this?

"Erm. You know there are no pets allowed." Evelyn presses, a hint of nervousness coming out in her voice.

"Oh yes. Sadly I'm allergic to the little cuties." Kiki sighs dramatically. "Isn't that right babe?" She takes my hand and holds it and squeezes tight to my side. Her head flops onto my shoulder.

"Huh? Oh. Yes." I bumble at the lie. "Terrible cat allergy."

Evelyn gives me a pointed look as if to say WTF? All I can do is cringe. Kiki swore to me that she'd be on her best behavior. I would have taken my sister to the side to talk with her but Alan was already on his way back down the hall with the keys in his hand.

"This is SUCH a nice place." Kiki says as she looks around in wide-eyed wonder. "Wow! You have incredible taste."

"You aren't staying here." Alan says bluntly as he waves us back out the door. "The basement has a separate entrance."

The four of us step back out to the front of the house then fall in behind Alan as he leads us toward the driveway and the walk that lead around the side of the house beyond. To my surprise Kiki breaks from me to hurry forward and walk beside him. There...she begins to natter.

"Nice day, huh?"

"Sure."

"This whole place is yours?"

He looks down at her with annoyance. "Yes. Whose else would it be?"

"Sorry. Of course." She giggles. "I'm so nervous. Donny and I really want this place. We're so grateful you agreed to show the place to us."

"Hrm."

"I'm usually kinda shy."

"Right."

"Ha ha ha! It's true! But I'm so nervous right now, ya know?"

"Mmm."

"When I'm nervous I start to talk and talk and talk. Ya know?"

"Wouldn't know."

"Yeah." She laughs. "I guess not. Probably nothin scares a big strong guy like you, huh?"

"Mmm."

"Yeah." She says, bobbing along beside him. "Everything scares me. I'm such a wimp. Ha ha ha! If you hear a scream one night that's probably me trying to watch a scary movie."

"We haven't agreed yet."

"Oh right. Sorry. He he he."

"And we expect quiet. At all hours."

"Right." She nods. "No screaming. You won't hear a peep out of....AAAAHHH!" She screams. "You have a pool! Oh my God!" Kiki prances forward to look down into the azure waters. I could practically hear Alan's teeth grinding as she bends over to splash her hand in the water.

"That isn't included in the rent!" He bellows as he marches toward her to shoo her away from his precious pool.

Evelyn and I hang back near the door and watch helplessly as her husband and my 'wife' clash. The pair were a study in contrasts. Kiki was all outgoing and upbeat while Alan was sullen and stuffy. My sister wasn't rude or disrespectful but her burbling exuberance seemed to leave the stiff and controlling Alan a bit flummoxed on how to deal with her. He was a man accustomed to his lessers groveling and kissing his ass. The fact he absolutely dwarfed her only made the differences all the more hilarious.

"The rent includes the suite and one parking spot. That is it." He explains as he towers over her like some great ogre about to stamp on a pesky pixie. "The pool is off limits."

Deferential but not the least bit intimidated she looks up at him, bouncing on her toes and arms behind her back, and nods. "Yes Sir."

"So is the yard. We expect quiet and we expect privacy. This isn't a public park. We don't want renters just wandering about."

"Yes Sir." She peeps as her eyes begin to wander as he lays down the law. "What about the chairs?"

"Chairs?"

"The deck chairs. Can those be used?"

"What did I just say!?"

"No yard, no pool." She bats her big brown eyes. "You didn't mention the chairs. I mean, they're just chairs."

"No, you cannot use the chairs. The chairs are in the yard." He snaps. "You are only to be back here to get to your door and that's it."

"You? Your door? You as in...me?" She points at herself, her face beaming with excitement. "So we've got the place!?" With a huge smile she does a little happy dance right there on the spot. "Heeeee! Thank youuuu!"

"What? I never said...pbbbbt!" He sputters, at a loss for words. It had taken Kiki all of five minutes to turn Alan from stern and aloof to utterly exasperated.

She hops up and gives him a little peck to the cheek. "Oh! Thank you! Thank you! I'm so happyyy!"

"Erm, uhh." He bristles and wipes his cheek of her smooch.

Taking his massive meaty hand in hers she tugs at him and points back toward the house. "Can I see our place now?"

"I think he hates her." Evelyn whispers.

"She's ruined everything." I say despondently. "I am so sorry about this."

I look over to Evelyn to apologize further for my sister's weird behavior to find Mom biting her lips to hold back laughter.

***

Chapter 34

"Can I unlock it?" My trouble-making sister asks as they near the door.

Alan hands the keys over as he glares at his wife for setting this meeting up. He was just enduring it now, probably counting the seconds until he could get us off of his property for good. I wouldn't be surprised if he demanded they take the suite right off the market again after this. I am shook when that same hard glare shifts to me.

At our side comes the jangle of keys being rattled. "I think it's stuck."

"For the love of..." Alan sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "It isn't stuck. You're just...you're doing it wrong."

"Oh." She pulls the key out, looks at it, then puts it back in again and jingles some more.

"The key isn't even all the way in!"

"Oh." Kiki giggles. "At our old place you have to pull it back just a little to make it work. It's not like that here?"

"Give me that." Alan steps in and unlocks the bolt for her as if she were an invalid. "There."

"Thank you!" She beams up at him. Turning to me, that mischievous twinkle still shining bright, she reaches out. "Come along my darling."

"Of course my dear wife." I am cringing even as I say it, we were laying it on way too thick. He was going to see right through this facade any moment.

I summon my courage, trying to act as casual as I possibly could around this well groomed gorilla named Alan, and approach the door. Kiki opens the door and natural light floods down the wide flight of stairs. Together we descend with Evelyn and Alan at our six. Alan grumbles something which I can't make out. We come through the second door and out into the main room. Kiki lets out a gasp.

"This is...wonderful!" She hurries out into the center and spins around taking everything in. "Ohhhh, it is just what we were hoping for. Cozy and clean and perfect."

Happy for Kiki to be the center of attention I fade off toward the kitchen, pretending to check the appliances and faucet for the first time. "Real nice."

Evelyn goes to join 'Kitty' and starts to run down some of the features of the place. The pair talk in a jovial manner, doing a much better job than me pretending that everything was normal. I am watching the kitchen faucet run when I sense a looming presence immediately beside me. I glance up at Alan and flash him a friendly grin. There is no smile in return.

"Hey. Sorry about my...uh...wife." I say. "Kik...K-Kit can be a bit much when she's nervous." Even as I talk to him all I am thinking is 'please don't crush me'.

"Hrm."

"Once you get to know her she'll settle down."

"We have other applicants." He tells me. "A lot of other applicants."

"Oh...of course."

"Applicants with good jobs." He leans in closer in a clear effort to intimidate. It works!

"Yeah...jobs...uh...I'm...uh...I'm thinking...classes...um..."

Possibly because they sensed a raising of the tension in the room or perhaps because they simply heard my inane babbling but for whatever reason suddenly the two women are right there with us. Evelyn is at my side and Kiki is at his. My bubbly sister tugs at his sweater and breaks his train of thought as well as his focus on me. He looks down at his sweater where she'd touched him as if it were some great offense and then to her about to say something when she interjects with a question.

"Are you a daddy?" She asks with a syrupy sweet earnestness.

This gives him pause. "Ex-cuse me?"

"A daddy. Are you a daddy? You look like a daddy." She asks again, eyes huge and innocent. You could hear pin drop until she clarifies. "Do you have kids?"

"Oh, well, yes." He shifts uncomfortably. "One son. Eugene. He's away at school right now."

"Oh! I bet he's as handsome as his Papa." My sister says.

"He is." Evelyn says proudly, causing a pang of jealousy to shoot right through my heart. A light brush of my hand signals to me that Mom hadn't forgotten her other baby boy.

"I knew you were a daddy! Ha ha ha! I could just tell."

He looks at her like she's crazy...and so do I. "Why are you asking me if I have kids?" He says.

"Donald and Kitty are thinking about children she tells me." Evelyn offers. "That's why they're after a two bedroom. She and I were just talking about it."

"Alright." He says as looks back and forth between us clearly not liking what he'd just heard. "You two want to have kids?"

"Yep!" Kiki chirps. "Donny wants to be a daddy too."

He scowls at me. "You?"

"Erm, right, what she said." I concur. "We want children."

"Children are..." Alan starts.

"A blessing." Evelyn cuts him off pointedly. "And absolutely none of our business dear."

"They're noisy." He mutters under his breath with a glance toward Evelyn that signaled that they would be talking about this later. "And messy. Anyways. This is the place." He says curtly in an effort to wrap this up. "Any questions?"

"So many!" Kiki seizes on the offer and his hand. Pulling a flustered Alan along behind her she hurries toward the washroom. "I saw in the pictures that the bathtub has a door on it! Ha ha ha! I've never seen that before. You gotta show me how it works. Doesn't it leak? What if the tub is full?"

Alan looks back at us for help but Evelyn just smiles and waves as the pair disappear into the washroom.

"We're doomed." I whisper.

"Probably." She says. "It's been a hoot to watch though."

A hoot? Ha! I just loved Evelyn's old-timey expressions. Reaching down Evelyn grabs my hand...and brings it to her ass. I grip onto her full soft booty and let out a sigh. God it was so nice to feel her again. That said I am ready to pull away from her like she were red hot if her muscular husband stepped back in. She then does the same to me, groping my tush as she shifts closer.

"Your sister is...interesting."

"You could say that." I sigh. "She's having fun with us. All of us. She can be a real brat when she wants to be. It's been a long time since she's been this, erm, spirited though." It would have been awesome to see Kiki reclaiming some of her lost verve had this not been so important to me. "I should have warned you she could be like this."

"Too late to change course now. I'll do what I can." She sneaks a kiss to my cheek. "How's my little prince today?"

"Better." I grin. "Although..." I thumb toward the washroom. "...he's humongous! Alan could squish me between two fingers! Geez!"

Mom chuckles strokes her hand up to rub my back. "Don't be scared of him. I told you, I won't let him hurt you."

"And what is with this marriage idea? She's my sister!"

"This is going to be a lot easier with a married couple than a couple of single younger folk. Less parties, less trouble, etcetera."

"It's so weird."

"Are you regretting it? We still have time to..."

"No, no, no. I'd do anything to be here. Anything."

She smiles and ruffles my hair. "That's my boy. Have faith. Nothing's decided yet."

With only one footstep's worth of notice Alan reappears, Evelyn and I barely have time to separate when his big head pops back into the room. "Something's wrong with your wife." He says urgently.

Oh no! I rush forward, Evelyn close behind, and squeeze past Alan's bulk to find my sister sitting on the toilet holding the side of her head. She'd lost the color from her cheeks and a very fine sheen of sweat had broken out across her face.

"I'm okay Donny." I hear a familiar weakening tremor in her voice. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing." I say softly as I hug her head to my chest. I knew we'd rushed this. We were all so eager to make this happen quickly that we had been fools about it. We should have waited another week. A shiver starts up in Kiki's now cold hands which she does her best to hide.

"What is wrong with her?" I hear Alan whisper from just past the doorway. "She nearly passed out. Something's wrong."

"I don't know dear. Let's give them space." Evelyn says. "Do you two need anything?"

"Something to drink please." I say.

"Is she sick?" Alan asks, his deep voice surprisingly compassionate. "Is it a blood sugar thing? Is she diabetic?"

"Just a bit under the weather." I say.

"I'll be okay." Kiki says with effort.

"Take your time." Evelyn says as she closes the door to give us privacy.

"They're trying to have a kid. Maybe she's..." Alan's voice fades away as the pair head upstairs to get Kiki a drink.

My sister looks at me with apologetic eyes. "I think I overdid it kid."

"Ya think?" I say. "You gonna throw up?"

She shakes her head and swallows hard. "Just give me a minute." She leans into me and just focuses on slow deep breaths. "I was doing so good too." She swallows. "Evelyn is beautiful. I see the way she looks at you. You're a lucky guy."

"Thanks." I say as I stroke her hair. "Just relax. We'll finish this up and get you home soon."

"I like this place." She says weakly. "It's as nice as you said it was."

"Yeah." I reply. I couldn't completely hide my disappointment at how this had gone. I sense the final nails going into the coffin of what was probably always a hopeless scheme. This had been a unfolding disaster from the moment Kiki scolded Alan at the door to her nearly passing out here in the washroom. There was no way Alan was going to agree to take us into his home after everything. God damn it! This was not the time to berate her though. I hold her and rub her back as she fights through this spell. It isn't long before a very quiet knock comes to the door. "Come in."

The door swings open and in walks Evelyn. She had an iced tea in one hand and a glass of water in the other, both half full of ice and wet with condensation. She sets them on the counter. "I wasn't sure what she'd prefer."