Kyra Davis - Lust, Loathing And A Little Lip Gloss

It definitely wasn’t my father. Scott was standing next to a guy with an army-camouflage T-shirt and brownish-red hair cut close to his scalp. He was wearing rubber-soled sneakers, which explained why I had only heard the one set of footsteps.

“Sophie, this is Kane,” Scott said, patting the man on the back.

I smiled and shook his hand. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“And I didn’t know you were going to be here,” he said. “Seems fate wanted us to meet. More proof that this is all meant to be, don’t you think?”

“Sure.” I struggled to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I was one of those people who firmly believed in coincidences.

I started to pull my hand away, but Kane held on to it firmly. His expression had become serious and I found myself unable to break eye contact. “Do you feel anything?”

“Umm…the palm of your hand?” I said, unsure if he was playing some kind of game with me.

Something crossed Kane’s face. I couldn’t read the emotion, but I had a feeling it wasn’t a good one. But before I had a chance to come up with a better answer he released me and eased his mouth into a lazy grin. “Guess my parents aren’t around right now. But they’ll make an appearance soon. I’m sure of it.”

“Right, well, if I see them I’ll be sure to let you know,” I assured him.

“So there you have it,” Scott said with what seemed to be forced enthusiasm. “Sophie’s the person you should sell to. Not only is she a believer, but she’s willing to notify you if she makes contact.”

What the hell was he talking about? But one look from Scott told me that if I wanted the house I’d be wise to play along—at least for a while. I swallowed and stepped around them into the formal dining room. “This really is a great property.” I flicked on the light switch and watched the chandelier illuminate.

“You still want it?” Scott asked hopefully.

“I’m going to do a walk-through,” I said absently as I furnished the room in my mind. “But yeah, I want it. I’ll have a contractor out here in the next few days.”

Kane walked over to one of the windows and peered out into the street. “You should move in soon, before escrow closes.”

I did a quick double take. “Um, wouldn’t that sort of complicate things?”

“I have a sense about you, Sophie,” Kane said. “I do think you’ll treat this house with the care it deserves. I just have to be sure of that.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Yeah,” Scott said, suddenly uncertain, “What are you suggesting, Kane?”

“Just one more stipulation written into the escrow agreement. Nothing major, but I think it would be a good idea if you stayed here during that month that we wait for escrow to close. If you don’t treat the house with respect I’d like to have the option to back out of the arrangement.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it before slamming the back of my hand against Scott’s arm. “You knew about this, didn’t you! You just brought me here to fuck with me!”

I whirled around and started for the door. Scott reached out and held me back and I made a halfhearted attempt to pull away, but I was afraid that if I put too much effort into fighting him I wouldn’t have enough strength left to hold back the tears. So I just stood there, stoically facing the door.

“Sophie,” Scott said urgently, “no one is fucking with you…not that I wouldn’t like—”

“Don’t even start!” I snapped.

“Right, what I meant was that everyone here is serious about the sale, right, Kane?” he said, pronouncing his question like a warning. “You don’t expect Sophie to agree to move in here and go through all the trouble and stress of escrow knowing that you could call the whole thing off and throw her out at any moment for something as ambiguous as her not respecting the place. That would be crazy and we all know you’re not crazy. You’re a businessman. A reasonable businessman.”

I heard the house exhale in a roar as hot air rushed through the vents. Central heating. Was there anything that this place didn’t have? I imagined myself standing up against those vents on the coldest of days, letting the air press against my feet and ankles until they prickled from the heat. Somehow I had to make this work.

“I’m sorry you think I’m being unreasonable,” Kane said, seemingly nonplussed. “I certainly don’t want you to think I’m not earnest in my intent to sell to you. How about this, we’ll let an attorney find a word that’s more to your liking than respecting. I’ll pay for all the utilities during that month…in fact, why don’t we cut escrow in half and make it two weeks. And we’ll put in a clause stating that if I do put an end to our deal before escrow closes I’ll have to pay you…how about twenty grand? That should cover the rent for your apartment for almost a year, right?”

Now I did turn around, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember how to speak.

Scott had no such problem. “Yeah,” he said, his voice an octave higher than normal, “that’ll work.”

Kane beamed. “Great! Then get the contractor out here so you can start moving in.”

“I feel there has to be a catch,” I choked out.

Kane laughed. It was the least contagious laugh in the world. “Sophie,” he said, “I may be a bit different, but I’m not so peculiar that I relish the idea of giving huge amounts of money away at the drop of a hat. If I thought there was a good chance that I would need to pay you the $20,000 I wouldn’t be making the offer. But this was once my mother’s house. It was her dream home. I just need to be assured that whoever ends up here will love it the way she did and not just flip it the moment the market improves. Can you understand that?”

No. I didn’t understand anything about Kane. But how could I say no to this? “When’s the first Specter Society meeting?” I asked.

Kane’s grin widened. “In three weeks,” Kane said. “Why don’t we have it here? It could be your first social gathering in your new home.” Kane ran his hands along the wall with the gentleness that one usually reserves for a lover. “It would be a great way for you to introduce yourself to all the members…and to anything else that might make an appearance.”

Anything else. I understood his meaning, but it didn’t bother me. It was, after all, the most conventional thing he had said in the five minutes I had known him. “I’m going to want my own lawyer to go through this escrow agreement with a fine-toothed comb,” I said.

“Of course, Sophie,” Kane said. “Whatever it takes to get you to trust me.”

I tried not to smile. I’d sooner trust my ex-husband. But if a lawyer gave me a thumbs-up it really was a spectacular deal. If I could get a contractor and a lawyer to work with me right away, I might be able to start the escrow process in about two weeks, which meant that in four weeks I would either get a fantastic house well below market or I would get $20,000.

What did I have to lose?

Dinner parties would be so much more fun if you were allowed to actually throw your dinner at the guests!

—The Lighter Side of Death

I DIDN’T WASTE A MOMENT. I HAD A CONTRACTOR COME OUT TO THE HOUSE and a lawyer storm Scott’s office. And as soon as I was told that both the house and the escrow agreement were in good condition I signed on the dotted line. I had moved over the furniture from my apartment, and although many of the pieces didn’t really suit the new space at least they were mine. In a fit of optimism, I had put the bulk of my belongings in boxes and brought them over, as well.

During the first week of escrow Kane had come over for a visit, and while he seemed slightly disappointed that I hadn’t heard any thumps in the night, he did praise the passion I had for the house. I was just one week away from officially owning my own home, and now I was preparing to pay for it. Not with money, but with a combination of time and lies; time that I would spend at my first Specter Society meeting and lies that I would tell to convince my guests and fellow members that I desired their company. Scott had explained to me that if I wanted escrow to go through I had to pretend to believe in ghosts and the mystical power of the séances that supposedly called them to this world. It was a stupid but acceptable compromise of my integrity.