his wardrobe of jeans, khakis, and T-shirts.
“That’s certainly true,” I said.
“Anyway, I was lucky. My parents were fine with it. They just told me to keep my hands off the help.”
Farzad snorted into his coffee cup.
“So Alicia was getting a lot of parts,” I said.
“For a while,” Felix said. He then told me what I already knew about the downturn in her fortunes.
“That must have been difficult, coinciding as it did with your success.”
He shook his head. “It was awful. I mean, not that Alicia was necessarily jealous. She was glad for me.”
“She certainly liked having someone to borrow money from,” Farzad interjected.
“Farzad! You know full well how much I owe Alicia,” Felix said, raising his voice.
The younger man shrugged and made a zipping motion across his lips.
I paused for a minute, and then said, “Alicia borrowed money from you?”
Felix glared at his boyfriend. “Not exactly. I mean, I never expected her to pay me back.”
“And you gave her a place to live?”
He nodded. “She worked for that, though. She was our personal assistant.” He shot a warning glance at his boyfriend, and I wondered exactly what he was worried the indiscreet young man would tell me.
“What did she do for you?”
“She took care of the house while we were gone, for one. And she did errands and things.”
“What kind of errands?”
“You know. Picking up the dry cleaning. Doing the grocery shopping. Making dinner reservations, booking travel. That kind of stuff.”
I nodded, imagining what it would feel like to be one’s younger brother’s maid and errand girl. I don’t think I could have tolerated it for a minute, and I felt terribly sorry for Alicia. While my career might not be going anywhere fast, it certainly wasn’t sinking into the kind of oblivion that had forced her into this awkward and surely unpleasant situation with her brother.
“What was Alicia planning on doing once you moved to Palm Springs? Was she going to come with you?”
Felix shook his head. “No. She couldn’t have. Not if she wanted to keep auditioning and appearing with her comedy troupe. She’d have found some other work, I guess.”
“Was she upset at the prospect of your move?”
“She wasn’t thrilled. I mean, it meant a lot of changes for her. But Alicia was a flexible person. She would have been fine.” He heaved a huge sigh. “I don’t know what’s going to come of all that now.”
“All what?” I asked.
“Palm Springs. The move. Everything.”
“Don’t be silly, darling,” Farzad said. “There’s even less of a reason to stay here, now.”
Felix rubbed his eyes with his hand. “I can’t bear the idea of selling this house, of leaving, with everything so unresolved. I don’t know. I just don’t know.” His voice trailed off.
I felt my tenuous grasp on my dream house slipping away.
We sat in silence for a few moments, and then I changed the subject. I asked for the names of some of Alicia’s friends, and after a short pause Felix came up with one.
“Moira Sarsfield. She’s known Alicia for ages. They kind of rose and fell together, if you know what I mean.”
“Do you have her number?”
He shook his head. “No, but she works at Franklin’s, the restaurant in that Best Western, the one right before you get on the 101 in Hollywood. You can probably find her there.”
Before I left, I gave Felix and Farzad a printout that Al’s wife Jeanelle had made for us of our fee schedule and expense reimbursement policy. My embarrassment at taking the job solely to get my paws on that house kept me from asking for a retainer, and I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping that Al wouldn’t kill me when he found out.
Farzad saw me to the door.
“You have a beautiful home,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s right; you were looking at it with a real estate agent. So, had you planned to make an offer? Before all this, of course.”
I gazed at him for a moment, and
“That’s certainly true,” I said.
“Anyway, I was lucky. My parents were fine with it. They just told me to keep my hands off the help.”
Farzad snorted into his coffee cup.
“So Alicia was getting a lot of parts,” I said.
“For a while,” Felix said. He then told me what I already knew about the downturn in her fortunes.
“That must have been difficult, coinciding as it did with your success.”
He shook his head. “It was awful. I mean, not that Alicia was necessarily jealous. She was glad for me.”
“She certainly liked having someone to borrow money from,” Farzad interjected.
“Farzad! You know full well how much I owe Alicia,” Felix said, raising his voice.
The younger man shrugged and made a zipping motion across his lips.
I paused for a minute, and then said, “Alicia borrowed money from you?”
Felix glared at his boyfriend. “Not exactly. I mean, I never expected her to pay me back.”
“And you gave her a place to live?”
He nodded. “She worked for that, though. She was our personal assistant.” He shot a warning glance at his boyfriend, and I wondered exactly what he was worried the indiscreet young man would tell me.
“What did she do for you?”
“She took care of the house while we were gone, for one. And she did errands and things.”
“What kind of errands?”
“You know. Picking up the dry cleaning. Doing the grocery shopping. Making dinner reservations, booking travel. That kind of stuff.”
I nodded, imagining what it would feel like to be one’s younger brother’s maid and errand girl. I don’t think I could have tolerated it for a minute, and I felt terribly sorry for Alicia. While my career might not be going anywhere fast, it certainly wasn’t sinking into the kind of oblivion that had forced her into this awkward and surely unpleasant situation with her brother.
“What was Alicia planning on doing once you moved to Palm Springs? Was she going to come with you?”
Felix shook his head. “No. She couldn’t have. Not if she wanted to keep auditioning and appearing with her comedy troupe. She’d have found some other work, I guess.”
“Was she upset at the prospect of your move?”
“She wasn’t thrilled. I mean, it meant a lot of changes for her. But Alicia was a flexible person. She would have been fine.” He heaved a huge sigh. “I don’t know what’s going to come of all that now.”
“All what?” I asked.
“Palm Springs. The move. Everything.”
“Don’t be silly, darling,” Farzad said. “There’s even less of a reason to stay here, now.”
Felix rubbed his eyes with his hand. “I can’t bear the idea of selling this house, of leaving, with everything so unresolved. I don’t know. I just don’t know.” His voice trailed off.
I felt my tenuous grasp on my dream house slipping away.
We sat in silence for a few moments, and then I changed the subject. I asked for the names of some of Alicia’s friends, and after a short pause Felix came up with one.
“Moira Sarsfield. She’s known Alicia for ages. They kind of rose and fell together, if you know what I mean.”
“Do you have her number?”
He shook his head. “No, but she works at Franklin’s, the restaurant in that Best Western, the one right before you get on the 101 in Hollywood. You can probably find her there.”
Before I left, I gave Felix and Farzad a printout that Al’s wife Jeanelle had made for us of our fee schedule and expense reimbursement policy. My embarrassment at taking the job solely to get my paws on that house kept me from asking for a retainer, and I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping that Al wouldn’t kill me when he found out.
Farzad saw me to the door.
“You have a beautiful home,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s right; you were looking at it with a real estate agent. So, had you planned to make an offer? Before all this, of course.”
I gazed at him for a moment, and
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