IT WAS A QUICK process. Karlee and her cousin got their own condo in one of her uncle and aunt’s buildings. They owned several in the downtown area. Theirs was on the waterfront. Jody wasn’t surprised by where they lived because she was used to her parents’ rich lifestyle. She embraced it far more than Karlee ever could.
Karlee went to the Lassiters dozens of times during her childhood, spending the night there when she was younger at sleepovers and family parties. Jody had a brother, five years younger, who had autism. Jayden, who went by JayJay, was a treasure to Karlee and her sisters. They all adored him. So did Jody, who was his fiercest protector and friend, as well as his older sister.
JayJay could not live on his own as an adult. He needed guidance, direction and some supervision. He benefited from long-term therapy that was occupational and physical. He learned almost everything to expect from daily life, starting with how to tie his shoes and including all the denominations of cash and coinage so he could buy the things he needed or wanted.
“Can I visit you, Jodeee?” JayJay asked the day Karlee and Jody moved in. They were arranging the new furniture, which their wealthy parents gave them for a housewarming. JayJay always elongated the second syllable of Jody’s name stretching out the “e” sound.
Jody kissed his cheek. He was quite a bit taller than she, standing at six feet barefoot and weighing about two hundred pounds. His brain’s age belonged to a boy of twelve or thirteen although his body housed a man. There were discrepancies regarding what he could and could not do and he surprised them sometimes by doing something incredibly advanced for his brain’s age. Other times, the child in him shone through. JayJay blushed and smiled with a huge grin when Jody showered him with love and affection. “Always, JayJay. But you have to ask me first. Right?” she reminded him.
Jody always looked out for him, kindly reinforcing the rules to keep him safe. As wild as Jody was, she showed a very sweet, domesticated side when it came to her younger brother. He seemed to bring out the best in her.
“Which you’ll do, huh, bud?” Uncle Nick’s voice entered the room before he did. He stopped and kissed his son’s head with a loud lip smack and a grin as he walked towards Jody. Nick was tall and slender with blond hair that was streaked with silver. He always looked so distinguished in his suit and glasses. Outwardly, he appeared solemn and reserved, but he was warm and caring to Karlee and the rest of the family.
Rob and Nick originally detested each other for several years. The stress on the family during those years was very uncomfortable until they agreed to have a truce. Although it took some time for the friendship they now shared to develop, they were long past being enemies.
The family was rather big. Karlee’s mom was one of five children: four sisters and Nick, her only brother. All her siblings had families and their own kids now. Most of Karlee’s aunts’ kids were older than she. Karlee was the youngest until Jody and JayJay popped up. Ironically, Nick was the oldest sibling and he had the youngest kids.
Nick’s strong family ties extended to his autistic son whom he so obviously adored. “Let’s give your sister some time to herself and be sure to call her and knock before we come to visit,” he said with a pointed look at Jody.
Jody laughed as she walked over to hug him. “Yes, please do that. You never know when my French lover might be here and I would be mortified if you happened to catch us in a scandalous liaison…” she goaded him. Nick groaned, hugging her with a weary expression that indicated he actually wondered how serious she was. Honestly? So did Karlee.
Jody had a list of lovers and boyfriends that began back in early high school at her exclusive Seattle private school. She got caught kissing boys, drinking on campus, as well as smoking, and a litany of minor rebellions in her history there. Her parents often had to be called and she was suspended once. She always sloughed it off, taking her punishment with grace and dignity. Shrugging, she explained she was just trying stuff out. Nothing serious. She wasn’t interested in drugs. She didn’t try to spend all their money. And she was careful not to get pregnant. It made her father cringe and Karlee laugh. Jody wasn’t shy but she wasn’t too rebellious either. Her excuse was truly experimentation. Or because she liked someone. Or because something seemed fun. There was no malice in her towards her parents or anyone else. She was witty and funny and she liked a good time, although she tried to avoid doing anything that might hurt her parents.
Karlee never had that kind of personality. Jody could get away with it because she was guileless, loveable and adorable. One time, she left Karlee at a party all alone. Jody apologized after realizing how hurt Karlee was by her unexpected departure and she soon burst into tears as she begged for Karlee’s forgiveness. Not the obnoxious, fake crying, but real tears of regret for being so careless. It was impossible for Karlee to stay mad at her.
Ever.
Karlee pitied anyone who tried to pin Jody down. Commitment? Routine? Adherence to anything? Not really her cousin’s forte.
Living alone in downtown Seattle was an amazing experience. Heavenly, perhaps. Made all the better by the gorgeous condo, minimalist, contemporary style and simple décor. It was elegantly posh. They had views all the way to Elliot Bay and Pier 57, including the giant Ferris Wheel.
Karlee and Jody often strolled through Pike Place Market, frequenting the waterfront near the Aquarium. They decided Capitol Hill had the best bars for dancing and feeling safe while drinking and socializing. Neither one was looking for a man for any reason. “We are dick-free at last. Got it? For at least six months. We both need that,” Jody announced their first night together in the new pad. They were eating pizza and ice cream at two in the morning.
Karlee cringed. Yeah, not how she usually talked. But Jody was impossible to resist. Lifting her glass of beer, Jody indicated for Karlee to do the same. They clinked their glasses. “Dick-free,” they said together before falling into peals of laughter.
They hung out with newly made friends, and some older ones that Jody knew. She didn’t miss a beat after her two years in London; she was ready to catch up with her Seattle crew. She had so many friends, both male and female, that Karlee never tried to remember them all.
And Jody was productive too, a little beehive of energy, so they started to manifest their plan.
They picked the location, which was designed to create a flow between the downstairs offices, conference room and classroom. They decided where the living quarters should be and how many. “Let’s start with four. We’ll have four dormitory rooms.”
Start small and grow big. That was Jody’s motto. Learn it, then grow it. Girl was good. Karlee also had big ideas and energy for the startup. Karlee was the voice of reason and caution. The nuts and bolts. She made sure all the t’s were crossed and the i’s were dotted. She perused the contracts and the dull, dry but essential stipulations and conditions. There had to be rules and regulations.
It was invigorating and time-consuming. Karlee felt good to be away from the woods and her parents’ house. Things were different now. Blessedly new, redefined and different.
Jody and Karlee made a dynamic team that lived and worked together better than either of them expected. They had more fun than they argued. But when they did lock horns, it was a huge confrontation since neither backed down. After they cooled off, all was forgiven easily and without delay.
The first task was overseeing the construction on the remodel, which lasted four months. Then they began designing their business model. They finished it all the way down to the modules for employees. They agreed to sub out many of their services and had to compare bids to decide which subcontractors to hire.
When construction came to an end, all the paperwork was in place. Licenses, insurance, and lawyers on retainer. Every decision, big and small, had to go through them. Finally, the small grand opening was arranged.
It was literally attended by the members of their enormous family. Rob and Rebecca, her two sisters and their spouses, Aunt Sophie and her husband and five kids, now all well into their thirties, Aunt Carrie and her husband and four grown kids, and Aunt Trina and Uncle Gavin and their two kids. One was older and the other several years younger than Karlee. Grandma Debbie also came, though much frailer nowadays. She lived in the same building as Uncle Nick and Aunt Joelle, who owned the whole damn high-rise. A year or two ago, Grandma sold her house and moved into one of the luxury penthouses. She wanted to be closer to Nick and looked forward to having an easier lifestyle.
It was like a family reunion party with plenty of food, drink, teasing, and chatter.
Karlee and Jody’s project sounded like a mysterious adventure that no one knew what to make of. They boiled it down to an internship program for new musicians, a pathway to becoming paid performers. Using the backing and input of Zenith and their hand-picked staff, they planned to provide a course for people seeking successful music careers.
They were flooded with applicants. As soon as the portal opened, hundreds of applications rolled in.
Desperate artists, seeking help and guidance and a chance responded. The tone of most of the applications was similar: if only an influencer could hear their music.
How many artists suffered from that? If only a gallery would hang a new artist’s painting or show a sculpture. If only a publisher would read a new author’s book. If only! If only!
There was a lot of raw talent out there. No way could they ever make a dent by sponsoring so few. Jody nodded, crossing her legs and saying, “True. But the ones we can help will change their lives. A seashell with a living crab inside washes up onto a beach. You throw a few dozen back into the sea. The rest of them, which could number in the hundreds or thousands, will be left to die. But the ones you tossed back into the ocean will be grateful for a chance to live…”
“We can’t help everyone who needs it. We live for the successes that do go somewhere,” Karlee explained
“Yes. Exactly,” Jody agreed.
“Look at this one. He’s a cello player.”
They listened and stared at each other. “That one definitely needs Rob and Spencer to take a look at it.” Karlee and Jody handled the business end, which included screening the applicants. The final decision belonged to the real musicians.
“Wow. We’ve already got twenty-two to consider.”
“Think that’s enough for now?”
“Yes. Which ones do you think they’ll pick?”
Karlee leaned back and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Honestly? I don’t know. I know one thing a thousand percent though: I do not envy them. I mean, they are all so different. Every story is so compelling and they sound so talented for the instruments they play. How can you make a decision with so much talent waiting to be discovered?”
“I know. I guess it will come down to personal preference.”
“Hence the trial, tribulations and injustice of being a musician or an artist. It’s all subjective.”
“It has to be.”
Tired, Karlee trudged home and did a faceplant on her bed without even eating dinner.
But she loved her new life. She was busy and invigorated. She had a new place to live and work. Exciting times filled their weekends and they loved the condo. The exposure to so many musicians eventually motivated them to pursue the ones from Seattle and their condo became a bit of a hangout for them. They met rock star wannabees, pressed and starched classical musicians, all kinds of singers, and a variety of instrument players. One guy played freaky stuff. He made music from anything he could find: pots, pans and even buildings near him became his instruments. It was incredible to see how much he delighted in playing them all. Finding a market for him was a new challenge, and Karlee didn’t yet have a plan but she was creating one.
A series of quirky, interesting people came and went with unusual talents that needed a conduit to achieve fame or wealth no matter how much their talent deserved recognition. Once, Karlee thought maybe that was why Xavier… but no! She refused to waste any sympathy on him.
Ever.
One day, a headline in the news sent her heart racing before slamming into a brick wall with a splat.
Xavier Moon and Effie were married in a ceremony on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
Effie wore a bikini bottom and held a bouquet in front of her naked chest; Xavier wore what looked like board shorts and nothing else.
Karlee pushed her computer away. She fought the urge to swipe it off her desk and break it. But no. No! She would not do that. Not over him.
Disgusting asshole.
So typical. Right? He did every single, typical, stupid thing.
Even his radical, strange wedding out of nowhere to a topless model was stupid.
She snorted and clenched her fist. The impulse to smash her fist into the computer screen with the stupid picture of Xavier on it was almost irresistible.
Xavier.
Married.
She swallowed the lump in her throat as she let her gaze settle on him. His hair was the same. All shaggy and haphazard but he arranged it that way. The dark eyes, strong jaw, and the skinny chest. He couldn’t keep weight on. Effie was quite a bit taller and even her shoulders were wider than his. Kinda funny. Right?
Right?
No. Her eyes blurred and she bent over, cupping her face as she started to cry.
Jody found her like that twenty minutes later. “Karlee? What happened?” She rushed towards her and Karlee motioned at her computer. Jody tapped the screen, and a second later, she dropped before Karlee. “Oh, honey, he’s such a scrawny, little asshole piece of shit.”
Karlee hiccupped. “You’re scrawny and little too.”
“But I’m not a douchebag. God, she’s so classy. Topless? Geez. Come on.” Jody was pulling her now, tugging her out of the office. She shut the doors and locked up. “We. Are. Getting. Drunk,” Jody announced as a statement. No argument there.
“I don’t get drunk.”
When Karlee drank, she had one or two and nothing more.
Jody straightened, turning towards her and grabbing her hand. “Well, tonight you will. That would make any girl… Fuck! Karlee, you need a drink.”
She let Jody take the reins. They went to a favorite bar they frequented on Capitol Hill. She drowned her sorrow and jealousy with cocktails. All the grief she held inside her seemed so insignificant after two years.
But that night, she was a little girl again, all alone in the hotel lobby, begging her mom to bring her home.
While she moved on, so did the world and now Xavier was married to someone else.
A few months later, the rumor that Effie was pregnant and due that month made Karlee snort. At least now she knew why Xavier married her.
She felt the pain of separation more acutely knowing he was having a baby. A baby!
It was different. Deeper. Sharper. More real.
All of the greed, hedonism, addiction, and the pitfalls of fame were still present and accounted for. This was real life. A baby?
Did they plan it? Did he really love Effie? Were they happy?
Karlee went home for a few days to hibernate.
The baby wasn’t included in his quest for fame. It hindered it. Stopped it. Altered it forever.
He’d barely enjoyed it for two years. His dance with fame. And then he gave it up. For a baby and a wife.
But not for her.
Not for Karlee.
That played over and over in her brain, ruining all the healthy progress she’d made.