“Who called that motherfucker a piccolo player?”
Kenton laughed so deeply upon telling the punchline he fought to catch his breath. Almost immediately his laughing became so hard his eyes were watering. As he continued to cough and slap his knee with one hand, he raised his free hand to wipe the tears from his face. Having never seen him act like this, I began to laugh as well. I turned to face Victoria, who began laughing.
“I want the man sittin’ next to the man who was sittin’ next to the man…” Victoria laughed.
“Oh hell. I’m sorry, Parker. I had to tell it. I’ve always loved that joke,” Kenton wiped his eyes and sat down in his chair.
“I enjoyed it,” I chuckled.
As we all sat attempted to catch our breath, Downes stepped into the edge of the room from the kitchen hallway.
“Mr. Ward?” he motioned into the corridor as he spoke.
“Excuse me,” Kenton said as he stood from his chair.
Slowly, he walked into the hallway with Downes.
“That Downes makes me nervous. He’s big and scary. Is he Kenton’s bodyguard or something?” Victoria asked in a shallow whisper.
“Actually, he’s quite nice once you get to know him. Really. And no, he’s just Kenton’s friend. He’s like an assistant. Maybe he’s kind of like a filter between Kenton and the normal day-to-day bullshit someone like him is exposed to. He pays the bills, and greets guests. I don’t know. But he’s actually nice,” I said softly.
Almost immediately, Kenton walked into the room and sat down into his chair. With a tone of disappointment in his voice, he sat on the outer edge of the cushion and spoke.
“Well, I’m sorry to say this, but Karen has fallen rather ill. She won’t be cooking dinner for us like I had hoped. I actually didn’t realize so much time had passed. We’ve been sitting here talking for almost four hours. Maybe we can all get in my SUV and go get something to eat,” he sighed.
“Or I could drive,” I said.
“What was she going to prepare?” Victoria asked softly as she stood from the loveseat we were seated on.
“Excuse me?” Kenton asked.
“What was she going to cook? What does she have available?” she asked.
“Oh, I’m not sure she got that far along, why?” Kenton responded.
“What’s wrong, Victoria?” I asked as I stood.
“Oh, nothing’s wrong. I was just wondering. I could cook for us. I mean, if you’d let me, sir,” Victoria said.
“Let you?” Kenton chuckled.
“Karen shows up here every day no differently than she would to a normal job. Her sole purpose here is to prepare meals. I pay her for her services. I can’t expect you to…” in mid-sentence, Victoria interrupted.
“I know you don’t expect me to. But I want to. Please,” she whined.
“Very well,” Kenton smiled as he stood.
“Downes,” Kenton shouted.
All but instantly, Downes opened the door and stepped into the room.
“Yes?” Downes asked into the open room.
“Show Miss Fisker into the kitchen, please.” Kenton said.
“Very well. Miss Fisker, follow me.” Downes said as he turned toward the doorway.
“Victoria. Please, call me Victoria,” she smiled.
“You better do what she says, Downes. She just might kick a bucket of chicken guts your direction and call you a motherfucker,” Kenton chuckled.
“Very well, Mr. Ward,” Downes nodded his head once toward Kenton.
“Victoria,” Downes continued as he motioned to the doorway.
Naturally, I began walking in Victoria’s direction as she followed Downes out of the room.
“Stay here and visit. It won’t take long, and I won’t need any help from either of you two. Sit down, both of you,” Victoria demanded.
Not knowing what to do, I turned to face Kenton. As he lowered himself into his chair, he motioned toward the loveseat.
“Sit,” he said, shaking his head from side to side.
“She’s a piece of work, Parker. I must say, I’m quite attached to her already. She’s got a fabulous personality. And she just,” he paused and rubbed his forehead with his index finger as he looked down at the floor.
“She fits,” he said as he looked up.
“She fits,” he said again, nodding his head slowly.
“Just what does she fit?” I asked.
Kenton leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his thighs. As he lowered his chin into his hands, he smiled.
“She fits you. We all have strengths and weaknesses, every one of us. Naturally, our lives need balance. Yin and Yang. They’re concepts used by the Chinese to describe how opposite forces are actually complimentary of and to each other.”
“I know, the little symbol,” I said as I drew a circle in the air with my index finger and made an “s” shape through the center.
“Chinese philosophers are of the belief, and I must say I totally agree,” he paused and outstretched his arms, curling both his palms upward.
“Light and dark, up and down, hot and cold, fire and water, and life and death for that matter are all physical manifestations of yin and yang. These opposites literally require each other to form a component in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts. She’s the yin to your yang, son,” he sat back in his chair and nodded his head.
“No differently than the teeter-totter you played on as a kid. When you stood up, the thing would drop your friend to the ground like a stone. It required both of you sitting on it to be balanced. It doesn’t mean for two people to succeed they must be polar opposites, it’s much deeper than that,” he sighed and scrunched his brow slightly.
“I understand,” I said as I nodded my head.
“Do you?” he asked, looking up and in my direction.
“I think so. I don’t know what it is about her, but she makes me feel different. I know that. Why she does it isn’t as important as the fact that she does. You and I both know I don’t have a ton of experience in dating women and such, but I can say she certainly makes me feel like the search is over. I don’t want to look for anything or anyone else, Kenton. It’s difficult for me to think of tomorrow coming and not having her included in it.”
Simply saying what was on my mind caused me to realize the feelings I had developed for Victoria were not only real, but seated very deeply. I sat on the edge of the loveseat full of gratitude I had someone like Kenton to speak to about what I was feeling. Although he was much younger than my grandmother, I imagined he would be about the same age as my father, if he were still alive. In some ways, I was beginning to look at Kenton as a fatherly figure. He was filling a void left in my life by the untimely departure of my grandmother. And so far, he was doing it all too well.
“Tell her how you feel, and include her in all of your tomorrows, Parker. If you’re able, that is. She fits you,” he stood from his chair and began to step toward me.
Naturally, I stood from my seat as he stood. As I did, he extended his hand in my direction. Confused, I reached for his hand. As he took my hand in his and shook it, he smiled a smile of tremendous pride.
“Parker, I’m proud to call you a friend. You’re one of few I can say this to. In a short period of time I’ve come to really care for you, son. I really have,” he said as he shook my hand.
“Likewise,” I nodded.
As I spoke, I got a feeling in my throat as if I wasn’t going to be able to continue to speak if I tried. Emotion seemed to fill me as I stood with his hand in mine. Having Kenton treat me in the manner he did wasn’t something I expected when I agreed to be in his employ. He truly acted as if he cared about me. His advice to me was heartfelt and well thought out. He had yet to offer me shallow meaningless advice, for which I was grateful. His statement of being friends and calling me son, however, was a little more than I expected. I realized he didn’t intend for me to receive the son remark in the manner in which I did, but f
or now it filled me with an unfamiliar warmth – warmth I am now certain I have yearned for a lifetime to feel.
As I released his hand, I noticed Downes walking into the room.
“Miss Victoria is ready, gentlemen,” he said with a tone of authority.
“Victoria, Damnit. I heard that. I’m not Miss anything. I’m Victoria, you big goof,” I heard her scream from the kitchen.
Downes widened his eyes and smiled as he turned around and began to walk through the doorway. Kenton and I stood simultaneously and started walking in his direction. As we followed him into the kitchen, I watched as Victoria placed the fourth plate onto the table.
“Hurry, before it gets cold. Pan sautéed filet mignon with caramel-brandy mushroom sauce, what appeared to be some fairly fresh green beans, and garlic mashed potatoes. I threw the salad together with vinaigrette, so no choice on dressing, fellas. Come on, let’s get to it,” she said as she pulled a chair away from the table and stood beside it.
“Sit down, you big fucking brute,” she motioned toward Downes as she spoke.
Downes chuckled and turned toward Kenton as if waiting for approval to sit.
“Sit down, Downes. This is her show,” Kenton laughed as he walked around the table, looking down at the food placed carefully on the plates before him.
“You know,” Kenton said as he sat at the bench beside Downes.
“I bought this table at Downes’ recommendation. I really liked the look of it,” he paused and traced his hand along the top of the table.
“But I don’t think I’ve sat down here for one meal yet,” he turned toward Victoria and smiled.
The table was very large and rectangular in shape. The top was constructed of an oiled butcher block approximately four inches thick. The outer legs were held together by a rustic steel rod with a turnbuckle in the center. On one side was a leather covered wooden bench, and on the other, large wooden chairs with leather seats. It was very fitting for the stainless steel and wooden theme of Kenton’s kitchen.
“Well, although I love to cook, and I’ve memorized about every recipe I’ve ever read, this is the first time I’ve actually cooked a meal for a group of people. My mother doesn’t really eat, so I primarily cook for myself. So, if it helps, this concept is new for both of us. Come on, let’s eat,” she said as she sat down beside me.
“It’s almost as if we’re a family,” I said as I looked across the table toward Kenton.
As I spoke, Victoria reached over and squeezed my hand lightly in hers. I realized as she held my hand she probably felt the same way I did. Her living a life of solitude with her sick mother prevented her from being able to enjoy the things most people take for granted. A straightforward meal with friends to her and I was something much more.
“I hate to muddy the waters, but if I sit at the table to eat, I have to say a simple prayer. It’s a requirement of sorts, I guess. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this, so I’ll make it brief,” Kenton said as he looked down at his plate and clasped his hands together.
I squeezed Victoria’s hand lightly in mine as I closed my eyes.
“Lord. Please bless this food we are about to partake of so it may strengthen and nourish our bodies, allowing us to serve you further. I thank you, Lord for placing these people in my life, people who are far more than friends, Lord. Lord, we sit before you tonight and ask that you bless this food as a family, one which I am truly grateful you’ve blessed me with. And we ask these things in your name, Amen.”
I opened my eyes.
A family.
Although I was touched deeply by Kenton’s rather poignant prayer, I became concerned Victoria may view what he said about being a family as somewhat pretentious. My entire body filled with emotion, I turned to face her, hoping for some form of assurance she was comfortable with everything Kenton said. As I did, she rotated to her left, leaned into me, and rested her face on my shoulder. As she turned her head to look up into my eyes, she smiled.
“I think I’m falling in love with you, Parker. Now eat, before it gets cold,” she whispered.
Incapable of speaking, I simply stared and smiled.
These opposites literally require each other to form a component in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts.
She truly was the yin to my yang.
PARKER. Kenton paused and leaned onto the shaft of his putter, “I don’t make promises I can’t keep, and I’ll never say something I don’t truly mean. So, I will rarely provide assurance to anyone about anything. Inevitably something goes to hell in a hand basket and it later makes me out to be a liar. But let me tell you something Parker Bale. And I can assure you of this.”
Nervous of where this conversation was headed, I stood in wait. Kenton invited me over to talk. In our first post contract conversation he expressed his displeasure regarding speaking on the phone, and had always waited for me to make some type of contact with him. My uninvited arrivals at his home had become quite the norm.
“Victoria can cook like no other,” he smiled, looked down, and smoothly swung his putter.
This was a very difficult twenty five foot putt on a surface which was far from flat. As the ball appeared to be headed three feet to the right of the cup he turned away. Now facing me and smiling, he raised his right hand to his ear and closed his eyes.
“Listen,” he whispered.
I chose to watch.
As the golf ball topped the crest of the path it was traveling along, it began to gain speed and roll to the left. Now racing directly toward the cup, it was apparently on the right path all along. I grinned and continued to watch as Kenton stood with his hand to his ear and his eyes closed.
Ker-plunk.
“I love that sound,” he breathed.
“It sure didn’t look like it was headed in that direction,” I shook my head in disbelief.
“It was an easy lie to read, Parker. I figured it’d break about three feet. It did,” he said as he walked toward the cup.
“There was a number of ways for me to get there. None would have been wrong. Temperature, time of day, Downes’ maintenance of the green, the force in which my putter makes contact with the ball,” he paused as he pulled the ball from the cup.
“All of these things have an effect on the putt. We don’t all read the green the same, Parker. But putting is like making the commitment to have sex. Everything has to be perfect, or it’s just another stroke on your scorecard. Once you pull the trigger there’s no changing things. So, take all the time you need to prepare. And when you commit, know deep in the pit of your gut it’s what is right, because you only have one chance to do things properly.”
Kenton providing me with advice regarding the sacred nature of sex felt hypocritical at first. As I stood and considered what he said, and the fact he said it, I placed more value on the statement. His advice was sound and solid. I suppose there’s no one person more apt to provide accurate information on securing your home from a burglar than the burglar himself.
“I won’t have sex with Victoria,” I blurted.
“Ever?” he looked confused.
“Well, I shouldn’t say never. But I won’t until we’re married,” I rolled my shoulders forward and looked down at the surface of the green.
Feeling rather embarrassed, I stood quietly as I waited for Kenton to respond. Most don’t understand or agree with saving sex for marriage. When people learn the existence of a twenty-three year old male virgin, they immediately claim he is a liar. Upon assurance the statement is an accurate one they assume there must be something wrong with him. It’s virtually impossible for people in this day and age to digest such a thing. Almost always, upon learning of my virginity, the remark is something along the line of why?
“Interesting. And, I must say, quite admirable,” he paused mid-stride and nodded his head as he walked toward the shaded upper deck.
“It’s how I was raised,” I said proudly as I followed him toward the deck.
&
nbsp; “By your grandmother?” he asked as he sat down.
I nodded my head, “Yes sir.”
“You’re a virgin?”
“Yes sir.”
“And you expect you’ll wait to have sex until you’re married?”
“I don’t expect I will. I’m quite certain of it. I owe it to my grandmother. And to myself, I suppose. I’ve waited this long, I’m not going to sacrifice a lifelong belief for an evening of pleasure.”
“I admire you, Parker. I certainly do. So, how’s long has it been?” he asked as he positioned his face over the pitcher of tea and inhaled a breath through his nose.
The thought of Kenton admiring me was very reassuring. It provided me with a sense of achievement and filled me with self-worth to think of someone such as Kenton admired me for my choices in life. In our time together, he always provided me with two things – sound advice and a warm feeling in my heart.
“Peach. Fabulous,” he smiled as he raised the pitcher.
“What? How long?” I was confused by his question.
“How long have you been seeing Victoria now?”
“Oh, roughly seven weeks,” I responded.
“Roughly seven?” he chuckled.
“Yes sir.”
“Just a rough guess?” he smiled as he poured a glass of tea and pushed it across the table toward me.
“Seven weeks and three days, to be a little more exact,” I laughed.
“Your thoughts, in summary?” he asked as he gazed into his glass of tea.
“Regarding her? Us?” I asked.
He nodded his head as he continued to appear distracted by the contents of his tea glass.
“Well, the same as before, I guess,” I paused, wondering if there was anything new to offer since our last discussion.
“The fibers. The peach matter stays suspended in the liquid, like little floating hairs. It must be why I enjoy this so much more than the raspberry. The raspberries simply sink to the bottom of the pitcher,” he shook his head as he looked up from the glass, “my apologies. Continue, please.”
“I don’t know if I have anything new to offer,” I shrugged.
“Well, a reiteration will suffice. I enjoy hearing about you two immensely. Tell me about the girl, Parker. You’re beginning to bore me,” he chuckled.