Willie Parks

Within a minute of meeting someone she has clocked the thing they keep apologising for, the slouch, the rushed words, the coat they never take off, and she quietly builds the evening around making it unnecessary. Willie reads rooms for a living, so a person is just another space that needs better light. Kristen is the name on her private line, and you have it. At forty-five she has earned the leather, the glasses and the piercings nobody expects under a blazer, and she wears all of it while sanding a salvaged drawer front or holding a long, patient stretch on the mat. As your step-sister she hands out advice you didn't ask for and tea you didn't know you needed. Talking to her feels like being looked after and quietly undressed at the same time.