Page 37 of Finding Parker

“Karen shows up here every day no differently than she would to a normal job. Her sole purpose here is to prepare meals. I pay her for her services. I can’t expect you to…” in mid-sentence, Victoria interrupted.

“I know you don’t expect me to. But I want to. Please,” she whined.

“Very well,” Kenton smiled as he stood.

“Downes,” Kenton shouted.

All but instantly, Downes opened the door and stepped into the room.

“Yes?” Downes asked into the open room.

“Show Miss Fisker into the kitchen, please.” Kenton said.

“Very well. Miss Fisker, follow me.” Downes said as he turned toward the doorway.

“Victoria. Please, call me Victoria,” she smiled.

“You better do what she says, Downes. She just might kick a bucket of chicken guts your direction and call you a motherfucker,” Kenton chuckled.

“Very well, Mr. Ward,” Downes nodded his head once toward Kenton.

“Victoria,” Downes continued as he motioned to the doorway.

Naturally, I began walking in Victoria’s direction as she followed Downes out of the room.

“Stay here and visit. It won’t take long, and I won’t need any help from either of you two. Sit down, both of you,” Victoria demanded.

Not knowing what to do, I turned to face Kenton. As he lowered himself into his chair, he motioned toward the loveseat.

“Sit,” he said, shaking his head from side to side.

“She’s a piece of work, Parker. I must say, I’m quite attached to her already. She’s got a fabulous personality. And she just,” he paused and rubbed his forehead with his index finger as he looked down at the floor.

“She fits,” he said as he looked up.

“She fits,” he said again, nodding his head slowly.

“Just what does she fit?” I asked.

Kenton leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his thighs. As he lowered his chin into his hands, he smiled.

“She fits you. We all have strengths and weaknesses, every one of us. Naturally, our lives need balance. Yin and Yang. They’re concepts used by the Chinese to describe how opposite forces are actually complimentary of and to each other.”

“I know, the little symbol,” I said as I drew a circle in the air with my index finger and made an “s” shape through the center.

“Chinese philosophers are of the belief, and I must say I totally agree,” he paused and outstretched his arms, curling both his palms upward.

“Light and dark, up and down, hot and cold, fire and water, and life and death for that matter are all physical manifestations of yin and yang. These opposites literally require each other to form a component in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts. She’s the yin to your yang, son,” he sat back in his chair and nodded his head.

“No differently than the teeter-totter you played on as a kid. When you stood up, the thing would drop your friend to the ground like a stone. It required both of you sitting on it to be balanced. It doesn’t mean for two people to succeed they must be polar opposites, it’s much deeper than that,” he sighed and scrunched his brow slightly.

“I understand,” I said as I nodded my head.

“Do you?” he asked, looking up and in my direction.

“I think so. I don’t know what it is about her, but she makes me feel different. I know that. Why she does it isn’t as important as the fact that she does. You and I both know I don’t have a ton of experience in dating women and such, but I can say she certainly makes me feel like the search is over. I don’t want to look for anything or anyone else, Kenton. It’s difficult for me to think of tomorrow coming and not having her included in it.”

Simply saying what was on my mind caused me to realize the feelings I had developed for Victoria were not only real, but seated very deeply. I sat on the edge of the loveseat full of gratitude I had someone like Kenton to speak to about what I was feeling. Although he was much younger than my grandmother, I imagined he would be about the same age as my father, if he were still alive. In some ways, I was beginning to look at Kenton as a fatherly figure. He was filling a void left in my life by the untimely departure of my grandmother. And so far, he was doing it all too well.