“Your father?”
“Yes, ma’am. Judd Knight. My father.”
“One moment please.”
I was on hold for several minutes, but I didn’t care.
“Hello, Miss Knight. This is Kitty, Mr. Knight’s assistant. Is there something I can help you with, dear?”
“You sure can, Kitty. Get my fucking father on the phone.”
The woman cleared her throat. “One moment. I’ll see if he’s available.”
I sat on the steps of the front porch and lifted my face to the sun, remembering days when my mother and I would do the same thing.
“Mila.”
“Judd.”
“Not funny.”
“Did you expect me to call you Dad?”
“Where are you, Mila?”
“I’m at my house. The one that becomes mine when I’m thirty.”
“You found out about that. I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“That’s what I’m calling about. In part, anyway. I need money.”
“I see.”
“As I’m sure you know, I paid off Granddaddy’s bills, and Sybil’s too. You know, my sister, Sybil.”
“That’s enough, Mila.”
I laughed. “Oh, I’m just getting started. Want to know how to get me to stop? Twenty-five thousand dollars should do it.”
“Is that all?”
“I’m not greedy, Judd. I just need enough to get back on my feet. The same day I got a call saying my sister was dead, I lost my job. And, as it turns out, the apartment building I live in happens to be owned by the man who tried to rape me when I was seventeen years old. You remember, right? Marshall Livingston? Yeah, I live in a building he owns. Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Is there a reason you think I would give you twenty-five grand? After all, I did give you a house.”
“I’m sure you had an ulterior motive for that particular gift, like maybe keeping it out of my mother’s hands. As far as why you’d give me the money I’m asking for, I have billions of reasons. Billions and billions of them.”
He chuckled at my accusation about the house, but his tone changed with my threat. “Come to the office and we’ll talk.”
“I don’t think so, Daddy. Remember what happened the last time I was there? You can wire the money. I’ll expect it tomorrow.”
I ended the call, stood, and went inside. That hadn’t been as hard as I thought it would be.
The next call I made was to the electric company, who, after keeping me on hold for almost fifteen minutes, told me that according to their records, the power was on at the house.
I walked over and flipped a switch. “Nope,” I told the woman.
“Have you tried the circuit breaker?”