Kathy had just gotten out of her car and was reminiscing about the previous night with Dave when she stopped dead in her tracks. Pain streaked through her psyche as apprehension froze her in place. This can’t be happening. Her parents had showed up in a spray-painted bright pink van. For as long as she lived Kathy would never understand why they did the things they did. Looking around her apartment parking lot she couldn’t help but wonder if she should make a run for it. Maybe she was wrong and that wasn’t her parents’ van? She hadn’t seen them yet, right? They hadn’t called to say they were coming for a visit if they even owned a phone. Things had ended badly on their last stopover when Evaan and Telia expressed that they needed the phones and expected Kathy to let them use her credit to get them. Not only did they want her to sign the cell plan, they wanted her to give her credit card number for payment and they would send her money every month. Yeah, right.
Kathy stood in the afternoon sun, the cheery light beams smiling upon her shoulders and the new warmth of spring made the air smell fresh and new. She closed her eyes and hoped when they opened the van would be gone. It wasn’t. And as she walked to it Kathy remembered the news report only a few days after her parents left last time. An old trailer in Rector County that was part of a traveling RV group had been seized. Contents: massive amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia; people responsible: unknown. Kathy laughed so hard her sides hurt. She knew it had been her parents’ place because the news showed the inside of the confiscated RV decorated with wild colors and crazy decor. Anyone who knew Evaan and Telia knew it was them.
Biting the bullet Kathy knocked on the van door and hoped she was wrong. But when it slid open, her father’s face split into a grin.
“Karma! Honey, come look! It’s Karma.”
“Oh, we missed you so much!” Telia leaped out of the bubble gum–colored vehicle and hugged her daughter. “I’d been afraid you moved because you didn’t come home last night.”
They smelled bad, like they hadn’t showered in a week. She cleared her throat before her gag reflex fully developed. “Why don’t you come inside and clean up,” she offered.
“Do you have any food?” Evaan looked hopeful.
“I’m sure there’s something. I have a few hours before work so that’ll give you enough time to clean up and do whatever it is you need to do.” As Kathy walked away from them, her heart pulled at her to be nicer, while her brain said not to let them stay at her place.
“Can I do some laundry?” her mother called out.
“You have enough time for one load.”
Kathy rushed into her residence then kicked off her high heels. They landed with a thump against the entryway wall. At least she had on a jacket to cover the back of her dress. Not that that would stop them from commenting on her attire. Her feet marched down the hall and into her room where she slammed the door with retaliation. Damn them for coming and ruining her day. Now instead of going to work and giving Dave seductive eyes, talking him into letting her come over for “dinner,” she would have to be home making sure nothing got stolen. With her mood ever souring, Kathy began undressing.
“Karma, dear!” her father called out. “Where are you?”
“I’m changing.” The doorknob jiggled, reminding Kathy why, even after years of living on her own, she still locked the door when she changed.
“I’d like to talk to you about something serious,” Evaan told her.
“I already know about Todd, Dad. And I’ll be out in a minute.”
“I know you do. We talked to him and—”
“Damn it! I’ll be out in a minute!” She sat on the bed with her face in her hands. Why did they never listen? His footsteps thumped away—heavy and disapproving of her outburst. Evaan and Telia didn’t like raised voices, it was a sign of uneasiness in the soul. As far as Kathy was concerned, it seemed to be the only way to get them to halfway listen.
The buzzing in her purse was a sweet distraction from the mess outside her door and she scurried to find her phone before it stopped ringing.
“Hello?”
“What’s wrong?” Dave’s voice demanded.
“My parents are here and I can’t get them to leave.”
“I’ll be over in five.”
“No, Dave. I don’t want you to come.” Yes I do, desperately. He’d be able to support her, tell her that she wasn’t the one who was wrong. But her parents were so embarrassing and subjecting Dave to that side of her life was something she couldn’t let him see.
“Five minutes, Muffin.” Then he hung up.
Relief washed over her. She would have backup. For the first time in her life there would be someone there for her.
Telia knocked on the door. “Kathy, honey. Where’s your detergent?”
Of course they didn’t bring their own. “Under the sink.” With an engorged lump lodged in her throat, she opened the door and faced her parents.
“Like I was saying,” her father announced, “we talked to Todd and he told us you were a little frantic and not yourself. It was hard for us to hear the news, too.”
“Yeah,” Kathy drew out. “I wouldn’t say I was ‘frantic.’ ”
“Oh, my dear.” Telia came over and wrapped her arms around her daughter. “He is such a gentleman. Would always think of his lovers before—”
“Gross, Ma. Very gross.” Kathy pulled away from Telia to lean against her empty counter with her arms crossed. “I can’t believe you would give Todd my information. I am not okay with that.”
Telia’s large breath brought her bony chest up and straightened her back. “I thought you were over that teenage crush, Karma.”
“Crush?” She opened her mouth to continue but the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Evaan announced before Kathy could even move to greet her savior.
* * *
The door opened to a thin, grungy man with even grimier clothes. The smell that permeated from him made Dave take a step back. This is Kathy’s father? The realization would have been funny if he hadn’t been so horrified. The stringy hair, the off-grayish color of his skin, and the yellow nails he was now chewing on made Dave’s stomach sour.
“Is Kathy here?”
The man surveyed him while chewing. “Yeah.” But he didn’t move.
“Can I see her, please?”
“I’m her father and we’re having a family—”
“Dave.” Kathy appeared breathless and relieved.
“Hi, Muffin.” He leaned around her father to kiss her cheek. “Thought I’d stop in before work and see if you wanted to ride in together.”
“Oh, you work with Karma?” Telia asked. There was a slight slyness to her smile and Dave instantly knew that her mother didn’t think he knew Kathy’s former name.
“Actually I do work with Kathy.” He smiled at Telia while reaching out a hand. “I’m Dave.”
“Nice to meet ya, I’m Telia. My husband, Evaan.”
The two men only nodded at each other.
“Do you want some coffee, Dave?” Kathy pulled him in by the arm.
“I would love some. So how long are you folks in town?” He caught Kathy’s eye and winked, trying to ease her mind about her parents’ arrival.
At first he thought of her as shy but now he truly saw the error of his thinking. The woman standing before him might be cautious but not the least bit unsure. No, this woman, Karma, was the one who fought to release herself from the restrictions of her family and was unmistakably determined to see them out the door as soon as she could.
“We’re not sure.” Evaan sat down at the tiny kitchen table.
“Dad, you should take a shower. You only have an hour before Dave and I leave for work.”
“Well, why can’t your mother and I stay here while you’re out working for the Man?”
“I’ll never understand why you’d want to work anyway.” Her mother tsk-tsked her.
Dave saw and understood what these freeloaders were doing. “I like to work,” he told them. “There’s something fulfilling about it.”
“I like being my own man,” Evaan announced.
“I am my own man,” Dave told him then took a casual sip of his coffee.
Evaan pulled himself out of the chair then just stood. His beady eyes narrowed on Dave. “That’s what every man says when he wants to keep his job and impress his woman. I prefer the truth. Work sucks and I don’t like doing it.”
“Well, that may be…” Dave took his time sipping his coffee. “But I happen to actually enjoy my life—and job. It certainly beats the alternative. I really hated having to live off of others when I couldn’t find work. It’s kind of degrading, don’t ya think?” He motioned with his cup for Evaan to agree but the older man turned and walked away.
“I agree,” Telia said. “There’s nothing like a job well done when you work for it. I’m gonna check on Dad and get in the shower too.”
Kathy cleared her voice then glanced at Dave. “You want a bagel or something?”
“I’d love one. And a better kiss than the one you gave me when I came in.”
“Well, if that’s all.” She wrapped her arms around his neck but instead of kissing him Kathy leaned her head on his chest. “This is terrible. Horrible.”
“I’m glad I could be here with you.”
“I didn’t want you to meet them. They’re awful people, Dave. My family isn’t like yours.”
His heart went out to her. She truly felt alone when it came to people being compassionate about her background—he understood the feeling well. “I’m sure they have their good points.”
“Ha! Very few.”
He stroked his hand over her hair while his mind wandered back to the carefree woman he spent the night with. The one he had been so close to telling the truth about wanting to spend the rest of his life with her. But he knew she wouldn’t believe him, and now he understood why. Being raised by two people who thought only of themselves and found no shame in the fact they lived off their children and others was enough to make any person weary of love and relationships.