Early on, I thought perhaps PK & Audrey had something going on the side. It's certainly not unheard of.
After reading and re-reading what he has shared, I detected no warmth in his various descriptions of their relationship. In fact, I get the impression that their friendship was somewhat one-sided. That is, Audrey liked & trusted him enough to invite him into her home (
link ) and even give him the code to her garage (
link). I would not say however that his feelings were reciprocal. He characterizes her as "
talking too much" (
link ) and being demanding (
link ). By PK's own words, she was a "
high maintenance" friend. Otherwise put. She saw him as a friend. He saw her as a chore.
Moreover, if he is to be believed, it almost sounds as if she took him for granted (
i.e., make this spaghetti sauce, with this exact ingredients, bake this cake, etc). Though, her way of showing appreciation may have been letting him into her home, giving him the code to her garage, talking his ear off, etcetera. Yet, those seemed to be primarily done in the context of what he could do for her... help her clean out her house (
link ), being able to access tools if she was away (
link ), be a sounding board...
Now, add to this mix that PK and Audrey's relationship began when he was young, just starting out. Still prolly a tad unsure of himself. Easy to order around... easy to be told what to do... These sort of relationship dynamics simply do not change. Regardless of how old, successful, etc, that PK got Audrey would continue to view him as "
her young man" (
link )... a kid who didn't know much. Someone who still needed her mentoring... her tutelage... Yet, 5 years had passed, he had grown, he was married and beginning a family, he was enrolled in the Masters program, and at the beginning of a promising career that commands respect within the field of engineering. And he likely got that respect. That is, from everyone other than Audrey who instructed him to have his wife bake her a cake for Christmas.
So, no. I no longer think he and Audrey had any sort of "
thing" going. In fact, I discarded that view some time ago. Yet I was still puzzled about their relationship. The above is my shot at trying to unpuzzle it. Feel free to take what you want, read between the lines, and heave the rest.