Chapter 9

When we pulled up to the mansion, the property manager was outside waiting for us. "Hello, you must be Constance Ames and Kevin Townsend. Welcome to Kirby House. I understand you will be staying in the carriage house while you recover from your episode with the gunman. I am Joseph Cotton, and I will be here to see after your needs." He was slight of build, and quite gay. His high forehead was even higher because he swept his hair straight back, over the top, making his face look impossibly tall and glacial white.

"My bosses have made it clear that you are to have the run of the place while you are here. I will show you around, after you've had a chance to settle in a little. The Kirby's had a wonderful indoor fitness center built a few years ago, complete with a full-time trainer, indoor pool and spa, exceptional training equipment, and the rest of the works. This was for one of their sons, who used it to train to compete in the Olympics.

"The carriage house is at the end of the drive off to the left. Just follow it around; the lights are on and everything is running. If you need anything, the Kirby's have an account at every quality shop in town, and you are invited to shop on their accounts.

"Mrs. Kirby was quite emotional when she saw the news clip of your shooting. You will find the Kirby's are wonderful people, full of warm wishes and good cheer." We arrived outside the cottage, and he hopped out of the car and said, "If you need anything, pick up the house phone and dial four. That'll come to me, wherever I am, and I can answer all your questions.

"Enjoy the hospitality of the Kirby family, and I look forward to seeing you soon." He was gone as fast as he talked.

We looked at each other and tried not to laugh, but it was hard.

The estate was amazing. The guest house was precious, and Constance was as impressed as I was. We spent a long time walking through and getting a feel for the place. She opened every door, looked in every cupboard, and touched everything.

We flopped down on one of the opposing sofas in the rear-facing, great room, where a roaring, gas fire welcomed us. The air was chilled but not wintery, yet. If I stayed here very long, that fire was going to be my very best friend.

Constance pressed her hands down into the impossibly soft leather of the sofa and asked, "Can I PLEASE live here with you? This is a million times more comfortable than my place, and I thought I lived very nicely. If you ever get lonely, call and I will run right over to keep you company." She laughed at the absurd idea of a grown woman living with a sixteen-year-old boy just so she could get to enjoy the amenities.

We chattered until it was time to eat and since I hadn't been to the grocery store, or bought a car, Constance took me out for a very fine, Italian dinner in Chevy Chase.

We enjoyed ourselves.

Our conversation was light, but pleasant, and covered all the basics of a first date, which is exactly what Constance said. "We are NOT on a date, Kevin, so get any idea out of your head that this is anything more than two hungry people eating."

Which I took to mean that this was exactly what she said it wasn't – a first date.

I looked hurt and she slapped my hand, gently. "Don't even try to play the hurt suitor card. Guys have played that game on me since I was in seventh grade. It didn't work then and it won't work now." She smiled when she said it, to take any sting out of her comment.

I was enjoying doing nothing. We were in a fine dining establishment, having an exceptional meal, and our conversation was appropriate for the occasion. "I graduated from Yale Law, if you can believe it. My dad was a Yale man, and my mother was determined that I would grow up to be a legacy grad.

"Daddy died a year before I graduated, but I took a photo of the two of us together and pinned it inside my gown at graduation. He was there with me, and I was proud to have him there." Her eyes glistened when she talked about losing her dad, and I gave her time to reminisce in her head, without speaking.

When she realized she had left me behind, she shook herself and started to apologize. "Constance. Never even consider apologizing for having someone you loved so much, that just thinking about them gives you joy. A lot of people wish they had fond memories of their childhood to look back upon."

She thought I was referring to being an orphan, but I cut her off from going there, and we talked about her current life, instead. "My current love life is non-existent. I've been a three-time loser in long-term relationships, but avoided the altar each time, so at least I'm not divorced like my entire peer group.

"My brother died when I was an undergrad. He liked cocaine too much, and mixed it with other things, one time too many. That almost killed my mother, but my father was our rock, and got us through it. Jeremiah Ames was a rake, and a womanizer, but he could talk any women out of her panties, and if cocaine hadn't killed him, eventually some women's husband would have.

"Nothing bothered Jerry. He rolled with every punch, dealt with every problem, settled every dispute, and solved every puzzle life threw at him, except drug abuse..." She went away in her head, again. I suspected there was more to that story, but didn't press it.

"Growing up, Daddy was always working, and when he wasn't, he was frequently with a mistress somewhere, instead of home with us. Mom loved to sit on boards, belong to clubs, and go to meetings. Jerry and I raised ourselves, and did a pretty good job of it." She said that like there was some question about it. Again I passed on pressing for details.

"When I got my first period - I CAN'T believe I'm telling you this - when I got my first period, I was twelve, not fourteen like my friends. Mom and Dad were doing whatever they did to avoid being home with us, and Jerry took me to the bathroom that we shared, showed me a pamphlet that mom kept in her bathroom about the proper use of tampons and feminine napkins, and read to me the section on menstruation. When he finished, he very proudly handed me a box of feminine napkins, and said to follow the directions.

"By the time I turned fifteen and wanted to start having sex, Jerry was the one I went to for advice. He took me to the family planning clinic and got me started on birth control, helped me remember to take it until it was second nature, and answered all my questions about human sexuality.