Aces and Knaves

with me and I was sure it was unlisted. Most of the single women in LA had unlisted numbers.
    I turned onto her street. In a few minutes I arrived at her complex. I hesitated before walking into the complex, trying to remember which unit she lived in. I thought it was the third one in. If not, it was the next one after that.
    This wasn't an excuse not to see her. I found what I thought was Arrow's unit and rang the bell. I stood in front of the peephole in the door so she would be able to see me.
    "Who is it?"
    Arrow's voice came from a distance and sounded harried.
    "Karl."
    "Just a minute."
    I had come at a bad time. Maybe I should leave. No, I couldn't do that. Arrow knew I was here.
    The seconds ticked by. Was she hiding her boyfriend in the closet? Getting dressed? I heard several clicks and the door opened. Arrow stood there, tying a dark blue bathrobe, much shorter than Jacie's.
    She smiled but it looked forced. "You're just in time for breakfast. And to find out what a perfect homemaker I am."
    I still felt as if I was intruding, but Arrow held the door open so I said hello and walked in. She closed it behind me and before I could say any more she said, "Follow me."
    She led me barefoot through a small living room, containing a couch and not much more, into a room that must serve as a combination family room and dining room, with a table at the far end. Adjacent to this was the kitchen.
    She stopped at the entrance to the kitchen, held out her hand, palm up, and said, ironically, "Here's breakfast."
    Breakfast was all over the kitchen floor and the cupboards under the microwave. I had never seen such a mess. The door to the microwave stood open and the dish that had originally contained breakfast was upside down on the floor.
    I must be the cause of this. "Did I scare you?" I asked.
    Arrow laughed. "No, I did this just before you rang. I had dinner at my parents' house last night and my mom gave me some leftover stew. I thought it would be good for breakfast so I heated it up. When I started to take it out of the microwave my grip on the dish slipped. I was afraid it would spill and scald me so I stepped back. This caused it to tip even more. Meanwhile, I lost my balance. I managed to direct most of the contents away from me before I sat down, but I still got stew all over me, which is why I couldn't answer the door right away."
    "Did you get burned?"
    "Fortunately, no. The bulk of the hot sauce went on the floor."
    "I'm sorry. I'll help you clean up," I said, awkwardly.
    Arrow laughed again, with a trace of bitterness. "Believe it or not, I was pretty self-sufficient before you came along. I didn't get drunk and I didn't make messes all over my kitchen. I'll tell you what. I'll do the actual cleaning if you will feed me wet towels."
    She got down on her hands and knees and started wiping up the conglomeration of beef cubes, carrots, onion and meat sauce. The aroma that reached my nostrils suggested that it would have been delicious. I rinsed the towels she dirtied, under the tap, and handed them back them to her.
    The only problem with this arrangement was that her bathrobe didn't completely cover her bare butt, but she was so engrossed in the cleanup that she didn't notice. I tried not to look. A young, heterosexual male shouldn't be put through trials like this.
    Arrow eventually cleaned everything up to her satisfaction. She stood up and said, "Now I'll make you a real breakfast. It's the least I can do after all the crap I've put you through. But first I need a shower. Would you like to come upstairs and talk to me while I shower?"
    "No!" I said, too quickly and too loudly. It sounded so incongruous that I laughed along with Arrow. "I'll...wait here."
    "Of course I meant through the bathroom door, but suit yourself. While you're waiting you can drink some orange juice. You put me on to drinking orange juice, you know." She got a pitcher out of the refrigerator and poured me a large glass. Then she disappeared in the direction of the stairs.
    ***
    While Arrow was taking her shower I remembered why I was there. I found a pencil and paper, sat at her table and made notes. By the time she returned, wearing white shorts and a blue T-shirt, but still barefoot, I had created a to-do list for myself.
    "I haven't told you why I came," I said, gingerly. I don't like to deliver bad news.
    "You came to help me clean up my mess," Arrow said, gaily, bustling around in the kitchen.
    "No. It's about my father—Richard.