Chapter 7

Ken opened the door to discover a large boisterous man standing on the front step.

"Hello?"

"Hi there! I'm Marc La Rossa, are you Kathy?"

"Yes, but..." Ken looked up, confused. Marc was wearing a plaid shirt with jeans and carried a tape measure and a clipboard.

Marc extended a hand. "Pleased to meet ya Ma'am. I'm here to look at the bathroom tile? Tim Downey sent me over, said you had some trouble?"

"The bathroom tile... ? Oh! Yes! Please come in!" Ken ushered him in.

"Yeah, Tim's father, Mr. Downey, wants to install a cabana outside his pool, so I happened to be in the area ... Hey look, you have a pool, too."

"Who is it, Kathy?" Tina walked in, curious. Michael was in his playpen enjoying himself and Julie was at school.

"Tina, meet ... ah..." Ken hesitated.

"Marc La Rossa, Ma'am. Boy, it's been near 20 years since I've been in this place."

"You've been here before?" Tina asked, curiouser and curiouser.

"You bet. 'Course I was working for my dad at the time. We put up all these walls right here," Marc thumped the wall to the side of the foyer.

"What do you mean?" Ken asked.

"You mean, you don't know? Well, you see, Isaac Johnson, he was the one who started that investment banking firm, right?"

"Brian's grandfather," Tina supplied.

"So it's his grandson which lives here now, right? Anyway, ol' man Isaac broke his hip one day, by that time his wife had died, you knew that, right?"

"Uh, of course," Tina mumbled, although it was clear she was hearing this for the first time.

"Anyway, as I said, he broke his hip and decided to set up a bedroom downstairs, so he wouldn't have to walk up and down the stairs all the time. And then, after his hip healed, he decided to make it permanent, so he hired my dad to put up all these walls. And that's why you have, maybe, twice as many rooms on the first floor than you ought to have."

"Oh!" Ken exclaimed. "So that's why!"

"What's why?" Tina asked.

"That's why the layout of the first floor is so strange."

"Well," Marc continued, "all I know is that this," pound, "this," pound, "and this didn't exist before. And in here..." Marked walked into the living room, pounding on walls, trailed by Ken and Tina, "these three rooms were all one room, and the bathroom here didn't exist at all. Basically the first floor had just four rooms: Kitchen, living room / foyer, dining room, and the library, which I guess is now Mr. Johnson's office over there, instead of seven, like it has now."

"Wow," Tina's eyes started to glimmer. "Wouldn't that make a wonderful space for entertaining?"

"And look at this!" Marc pointed. "That big wheel there by the ceiling? That holds up a door, one of two, which used to divide the living room and dining room. You could slide those doors apart so you have this great big opening between the two rooms."

"Like one big party space!" Tina nearly bubbled over.

"I wonder what it would take to put it back the way it was," Ken mused.

"I'll write up an estimate, if you'd like," Marc offered.

"No, I didn't mean..." Ken stammered

"No, I'm curious," Tina interjected. "Any idea of a ballpark estimate?"

"I'm thinking..." Marc scratched his head behind the ear and did some mental math, "maybe 75 to 100 thousand dollars?"

"Oh!" Ken was astounded. That was as much as a new house! Just to tear down some walls?

"Well, that's not bad!" Tina said. "Boy, I would love to do it."

"OK, I'll take some measurements and write something up for ya. Now, suppose I take a look at the bathroom? Oh, and hey, should I send someone to clean up that pool in your backyard?"

"Yes!" Tina and Ken both fairly shouted, in unison.

"Hi Kathy!" Tim walked over and then sat down on the bench. Ken was waiting for Julie's bus to arrive home.

"Hi Tim!" Ken smiled. "I wanted to thank you so much for sending Marc over to look at the bathroom. He's wonderful!"

"Isn't he? And did he tell you his real name? He's Italian, and his real name is 'Marco Polo LaRossa', isn't that great?"

Ken giggled, delighted. "That's wonderful! I'll have to kid him about it later."

Ken smiled at Tim, who seemed to be nervous and fidgety.

"Kathy?" Tim asked, tentatively.

"Yes Tim?"

"I ... ah ... would you like to go ... out... " Tim's voice trailed off to nothing.

Ken noticed for the first time that Tim was flushed. "Sorry, Tim?"

"Oh, I understand if you can't. After all, your real home is a thousand miles away..."

"No no, I meant, sorry, but I just didn't hear you. What did you say?"

Tim cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I would like to take you out to dinner and a show," the words all tumbled out in a rush, "my dad has tickets to the touring production of this Broadway show, and I know this great restaurant, and I think it would be really great if you could accompany me andwouldyouliketogooutonadatewithme?" Tim held his breath.

"What?" Ken was flustered, "you mean you're asking me out on a date??"

"Well ... yes, I was hoping ... please?"

"Oh, Tim, I can't go out with you!" Ken was aghast.

"Why not?"

Shit! Ken thought to himself. Why not, exactly? Because I'm a man!!! Ken screamed to himself.

"Because I ... Oh, I don't know ... It's ... ah ... all so sudden..." Ken trailed off, lamely, his mind spinning. All of a sudden he felt nauseous and for a split second thought about running home to go throw up in the toilet. This can't be happening to me, Ken thought to himself, Tim is such a nice guy, I really like Tim! What am I going to do??

Beeeep Just then the bus rolled up. There is a God, Ken thought to himself.

"Well, just think about it, OK? The tickets are for a week from now, that is, you know, next Thursday? I mean, I know it's short notice..."

Tim looked so abashed, that Ken almost said yes, right then and there.

"What Kathy? Tickets for what?" Julie ran up, grasped Ken's hand, and pulled him upright.

"I've asked Kathy out on a date!" Tim exclaimed.

"A date! A date! Ooooooh a date! Kathy has a daa-aate. Kathy has a daa-aate!"

Ken looked at Tim, shooting daggers. Now that Julie knew, Ken knew he wouldn't get a moment's rest. "Good bye Tim," Ken said, with annoyance, as he walked and Julie skipped back to the house.

"Good bye!" Tim called back, "I'll talk to you tomorrow!"

Ken and Julie skipped home together, but as they approached the house, Ken could feel that something was wrong. First, there was Brian's car parked in the front driveway. And as he opened the front door, he could hear shouting.

"You bastard! Fine! Just get out, if that's what you're going to do!" Ken heard Tina scream at the top of her lungs.

"Stop that! You're not listening!" Brian shouted, and then Ken heard something smash against the countertop. Both of them appeared to be ignoring Michael, who was wailing at the top of his lungs upstairs.

Ken quickly reversed course.

"Let's go for a walk in the park, okay Julie?"

"Okay, Kathy," she said, quietly.

After a few moments of walking in silence, Julie just stopped and looked up Ken, her eyes moist. "What's wrong with Mommy and Daddy, Kathy?"

Ken squatted down and pulled Julie into a warm embrace. "I don't know Julie," he said softly.

"Are they angry with me?"

"Oh no!" Ken hugged her tighter. "Of course not. They both love you very much. It's just that ... sometimes grownups just need to let off steam, sometimes."

"Let off steam?"

Ken thought. "Well, you know how you threw that terrible temper tantrum last week when I wouldn't let you wear your pink leotard to school?"

"Yes..."

"Well, sometimes grownups need to throw a temper tantrum too. Do you see?"

"I guess so..."

"And when they're done, everything will be okay. You'll see."

"Okay"

Please let it be okay, Ken thought to himself.

Waiting in the courtesy club for his flight to leave, Brian ran through the argument in his mind, getting more and more angry with himself each time.