Chapter 6

Kara calling his name woke Adam. For an instant he didn’t recognize his surroundings. As wakefulness replaced slumber he remembered where he was and the events that brought him there.

He rolled to face her. They embraced and kissed. “Good morning,” she said. “Sleep well?”

“Mmm ... I could’ve slept longer.”

“Sorry to get you up so early. I need to get ready to take Mom to church.”

“Are you religious?”

“Not in the least, and Mom isn’t very devout, either. It’s a big part of her social life, however. I dress up, drive to the house, pick her up and take her to church. We endure the service; she spends an hour hobnobbing with her friends and then I take her to brunch at Park Place. After brunch I take her home, change into comfortable clothes and help her with errands around the house. Then, she asks me to stay for dinner and we have something she whipped up the previous Saturday. I’m usually home between eight and nine in the evening and ready for bed. It’s the same routine every blasted Sunday.”

“I think at some point you’ll want to introduce me to her.”

“Careful what you wish for, Adam. I love my mother, but I can’t live with her. We get on each other’s nerves. That’s why I moved out and bought this place. Also, Mom’s been getting into the dating scene. I hope to God she finds some guy who’ll take over my Sunday obligations.”

“You said your mom is seventy-one?”

“Correct.”

“Well, seventy is the new sixty. She probably has some romance left in her.”

“Eww ... I guess children, even grown ones, don’t like to think of their parents as sexual beings.”

“Well, my folks always have been demonstrative ... although I never stumbled across them laying pipe.”

“I’m going to need to shower and shampoo my hair -- if you’d like to use the bathroom first.”

“I’ll do my business but since I don’t have fresh clothes to change into I’ll defer the shower until I get home.”

“Bathroom’s down the hall. I’m not a breakfast person, so if you want to make some toast before leaving...”

“I’ll be good until I get home.” Adam stood and gave Kara a hand so she could rise. They embraced and kissed. “I love feeling my nude body against yours,” he said.

“Mmm...” They kissed again.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“I feel so content, no amount of shit from my mother will disturb me.”

“I’ll give you a call later tonight to see how things went.”

“I love it when you call me in the evening.”

“I’ll get out of your hair,” he said. “Enjoy your Sunday.”

Adam placed the call and it rang through. He heard Kara’s soft alto voice. “Hullo...”

“Kara -- it’s Adam.”

“Oh, hi. I have some news.”

“I tried calling Sunday and Monday but it kept going to voice mail.”

“Sunday I was out late. It has to do with my news. Monday I had the phone forwarded to Mom’s so she could field my calls. I guess she was otherwise occupied -- also to do with my news.”

“Well, I have news, too. You go first.”

“Mom has a boyfriend!” Kara exclaimed. “His name is Arthur Gallagher and he is a charmer. Apparently Mom has had an ongoing online relationship with him for a few months. He’s in town for a few days and staying at the house. Oh, Adam -- Arthur is dapper with well-groomed white hair and a moustache. He has twinkling blue eyes. If I were Mom’s age, I’d have a crush on him.”

“Good for your mom,” Adam replied. “I hope when you’re your mom’s age, you’ll still have a crush on me.”

“Oh, I think I will Adam. Arthur drove us to church in a new Lincoln. Afterward instead of brunch at Park Place, he took us across town to the Fleur de Lis.”

“That’s the fancy -- and, expensive -- French place, isn’t it?”

“Oh, it is. Arthur picked up the check. After that, we drove to the Raptor Rescue Center...”

“The what?”

“The Raptor Rescue Center. I guess Mom told Arthur she liked bird watching. The center is where injured birds of prey are rehabilitated. If they’re too badly damaged to be returned to the wild, they’re put on display at the Center. Mom and I had our pictures taken with their big snowy owl. I’ll email you a copy.”

“You said Arthur is from out of town -- how would he know about the Raptor Rescue Center? I never heard of it.”

“I guess he researched places to take Mom when he visited. I think that’s sweet, don’t you?”

“I suppose ... Was it Arthur’s suggestion to go to the French restaurant?”

“Indeed it was. After the raptor center we drove home. Arthur is quite the conversationalist. He told us he founded a technology company in the nineties that’s been successful, and after he retired he spent his time traveling. He had stories about Costa Rica and New Zealand. When it was dinner time none of us felt particularly hungry, so Arthur took us to a tapas bar on the south side so we could nosh and talk.”

“I wouldn’t know where to look for a tapas bar in this town.”

“Mom took me aside on a pretext -- she said she had to powder her nose, so I went with her to the ladies’ room. She asked me what I thought. You know, Adam, a few weeks ago I would’ve found such a late stage romance odd or unsavory. Since I’ve known you, I have a different opinion. Mom’s been a widow for three years. She’s done her mourning. I told her if Arthur makes her happy, then I’m happy for her. I also told her I have a boyfriend and I told her about you. She wants to meet you, Adam.”

“It sounds like I couldn’t hold a candle to Arthur when it comes to romance,” Adam replied coldly.

“Don’t be jealous, Adam. You’re still early in your career. You don’t know what we’ll be like when we’re in our seventies.”

“I’m not jealous. I just hope he’s legit.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You hear about romance scammers who target vulnerable older folks, groom them and then take them for all they’re worth.”

“Do you think Arthur is a scammer?”

“I don’t know. I’m just saying if something -- or, someone -- is too good to be true, he probably isn’t. To an average guy, he sounds too good to be true.”

“Maybe he’s older, wiser and more accomplished than the average guy.”

“Maybe,” Adam replied. “I hope for your mom’s sake, he’s legit and he can make her happy. Do you want to hear my news?”

“Oh, sure Adam.”

“I got the report back on the well and septic. It turns out Ginny replaced the septic system in the eighties, so it’s in good shape. As for the well -- it’s a hundred and fifty feet deep, but the water level is high. I do want to put in a submersible pump and upgrade the pressure tank.”

“That is good news,” she replied.

“Based on that report, I called Peter and gave him a verbal offer of eighty. They countered at one ten and I re- countered at ninety-five. Peter called back and said they simply couldn’t go lower than a hundred, so I had him write that up. So -- we bought a house.”

“You bought a house, Adam,” she replied.

“You’ve been in on it from the start, Kara. You feel like a partner to me.”

“So, what’s the next step?”

“I called my banker...”

“You have a banker?”

“Yeah, he worked with my dad all these years. Since there’s so much work that needs to be done, he’s arranging a building loan, secured by my seventy-five thousand and the property. We added a good measure of contingency in the loan, just to be safe. Once the work is done, we’ll write a mortgage to pay off the bridge loan. I’m hoping we can have it wrapped up this week yet.”

“I should be wrapping up my current job next week, so I can pencil you in on my calendar,” she replied.

“I don’t know how quickly I can line up the other trades. For the indoor work, it’s mainly plumbing and HVAC. Can you pass along some recommendations?”

“Sure. I can ask around and see who might have some capacity in the next few weeks.”

“So -- have you been thinking about Friday?”

“Adam -- it’s all I can think of. I’ll be working and my mind will wander.”

“I want to make it a special evening. I have something in mind.”

“What?” she asked.

“I want it to be a surprise. Do you by any chance have an evening dress?”

“An evening dress? Like a cocktail gown?”

“Something like that.”

“I’ll have to look in my closet and maybe see if I left anything at Mom’s place. Adam -- I won’t have time to go shopping if I don’t. I hope I won’t disappoint you.”

“If it’s something you’re comfortable wearing to a nice place, I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Well, Fleur de Lis was a nice place and I wore my church outfit there.”

“Sounds like it would be fine. Well, I have an appointment at the bank in the morning and I’m behind on some proposals. If I don’t get them finished, the whole house thing will be moot.”

“Good night, Adam,” she said. “I can’t wait until we can get together again.”

Adam parked his Mustang in Kara’s drive, next to her white Buick. He was wearing gray dress pants, a white shirt with tie and a navy blazer. He stepped to her front door and rang the bell.