Today, we begin with the celebration of Charles Dickens birthday! I know that most of you think, “Charles Dickens?” *yaaawwwwnnn*

But he is my hero. I admire the way he managed to keep writing all of his life. He was able to support his family with his writing – and change the world at the same time. Life wasn’t ever easy for Mr. Dickens. His work is deeper, richer for his suffering. (I’m sure that’s cold comfort to him at the time.)

Trust me, Charles Dickens changed the world. His themes of poverty and crime, class conflict, and interpersonal relationships echo issues and struggles of today. There are few authors who have had the same impact.

Please join me in a rowdy – “Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens and Thank you!”

…And back to our round up…

In Denver Cereal, it’s time to have a baby. This is Valerie and Mike’s baby so of course there’s some twist and trick. Valerie loses her mind and pretends she’s not in labor. As per usual, she’s secretly driving everyone crazy. Jill and Heather find someone to help her deliver the baby. And, with any luck, a baby is born at home in the cool new space Celia (the ghost) led Valerie to.

In case you missed the announcement, Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5, is on sale today and tomorrow at our store. Black Forest is the volume that covers most of the Saint Jude murder mystery. It’s shockingly scary, deliciously intense, with a dash of the bizarre thrown in. If you haven’t read that story line, it’s very fun.

The Queen of Cool is getting very exciting! Lo sneaks out of the Lake Worth house to wish Don a Happy Birthday only to be caught by none other than Will Wallace, Amanda’s ex and fake Texas Ranger with an agenda of his own. She manages to get away unnoticed only to take a wild ride through the dark to… where? (As a hint, we’re thinking of having a ghost hunt there when I return to Fort Worth in April!) When Lo figures out where she is, she knows where the VX is. Meeting with everyone at the Fort Worth Refuge, they make a plan to check everything out that night.

While all this drama is going on, more drama is going on inside the She is Dallas servers. Arg. No one has any real idea what’s going so wonky. In order to ensure readers have a chance to read every day, we’ve set up a duplicate feed at: http://sheisdallas.thequeenofcool.com We apologize for any and all inconvenience. The best way to ensure you get a chance to read is by subscribing by email. We control this feed and can shift it to any new location should She is Dallas go down (again). Plus, you’ll get the story delivered to you in the comfort of your inbox and skip all the insanity going on inside some random web server.

Enjoy and Happy Birthday to Charles Dickens!

Previous Chapters
Recap of what’s happened so far and character summary
Looking for the beginning? Chapter One

Chapter 191

He could still hear her talking. It was as if her voice was coming through the walls. He pressed his head against the nursery wall. Her voice was on the other side. His heart pounding in his throat, he hammered the wall with his fists.

“Val!”

He heard her laugh. His eyes scanned the room until they fell on the closet door. He put his head against he door.

Her voice was coming from inside. She laughed again.

Mike opened the door and turned on the light.

Nothing. No Val.

He had painted this closet just last week. He knew every nook and cranny. He patted the walls and listened. He could still hear her talking to someone.

At the very back of the closet, he saw a small trap door. He had tried to open the door when he was painting but it had been nailed shut. He dropped to his knees. The nails were gone. He pulled on the door and the hinges creaked as it opened.

He crawled through the trap door to find five wooden stairs and an open area. It had the look of an elegant medical office of some kind. Valerie laughed.

“Val?”

“Mike! Come on up.”

He ran up the stairs to find Valerie covered in dust talking to the air.

“Mom wanted me to see this space,” Valerie said. “Isn’t it gorgeous? She thinks we could move up here or whatever. And look!”

Valerie pointed to a bookshelf.

“The books about the house! Jake’s been looking for these forever.” Valerie smiled as if she’d done something big. “Mom says you’re freaked out. Are you freaked out?”

“Honey, we’re having a baby tonight,” Mike said.

“I know!” Valerie said. “Right here.”

“What?” Mike asked.

“Mom says we won’t get out of the Castle and it’s better to have the baby here,” Valerie said. “Isn’t it neat?”

“What about ‘I want all the meds’ and ‘I like hospitals’?” Mike asked.

“That was before Mom came,” Valerie smiled. “Go get Delphie. She’ll explain everything.”

Mike gawked at her.

“Go on,” Valerie said. “I have a few hours so I thought I’d start making a clean space.”

“Val I really think,” Mike said.

“Mike do as I ask,” Valerie said. “Please.”

“Do not do that to me,” Mike said. “You promised.”

“Ok, sorry,” Valerie smiled.

Mike stalked down the stairs toward the trap door

“Oh, can you bring me some cleaning supplies? And the vacuum?” Valerie asked. “Oh and call the doctor. Mom thinks Delphie and Tanesha will be fine but it’s always good to have one around.”

“Why are we doing this?” Mike asked.

“Because they’re going to experiment on Jackie,” Valerie said. “Our baby.”

“And Blane?”

“It’s already worked out,” Valerie said. “Blane will get a catheter into his hepatic artery. I don’t know what that is, but that’s what will happen. He can get the cord blood here. His doctor is just realizing they want to experiment on our baby. He’s going to suggest it to Blane and Heather in the next hour and do the surgery tomorrow morning.”

“You’re sure?”

“Jill will have the twins here too,” Valerie said. “Mom says it was an expensive doctor’s office once. There were stairs out the back. Other babies have been born here. We’ll be fine. Just go get Delphie. She’ll tell you everything. Oh, and get Jake. He needs to build the stairs.”

He was almost in the closet when she yelled, “Bring the popcorn!”

Shaking his head, he went to find Delphie and Sam.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday morning — 5:25 A.M.

Jeraine woke with a start.

Tanesha wasn’t there. His heart squeezed with panic. She was gone and he was alone. A sharp pain shot through his head. He rotated to sitting and grabbed his head. How was he going to survive this day?

Hearing a noise, he hopped out of bed. He thought, ‘Maybe she’s in the kitchen.’ He ran out of the bedroom to look for her and saw the kids sprawled on the living room carpet. Relief washed through him.

Tanesha was with her girls last night. They were getting the space ready for Valerie to have her baby. The entire endeavor didn’t make sense to him but that hadn’t stopped him from playing a wild game of Cowboys and Indians with Charlie, Teddy, Sissy, and Nash last night. Aden had arrived midgame and took up the Cowboy call. Noelle documented the action with her sketch pad. He hadn’t had as much fun since… We’ll he wasn’t sure when.

He went into the kitchen to start coffee. Aden met him there.

“You’re sure you’re all right with the kids here?”Aden whispered.

“Sure,” Jeraine said.

“Sandy will be here to do school drop off,” Aden said. “The girlfriends are going to breakfast.”

“How…?” Jeraine asked.

“She called,” Aden said. “She said you need to check your phone. She said to remind you that your phone is in your nightstand drawer.”

“Oh great. Thanks.” Jeraine went into the bedroom to get his phone. He listened to Tanesha laugh at him for losing his phone again. Hearing the coffee maker beep, he went back into the kitchen.

“Don’t worry about breakfast for these guys,” Aden said. “Charlie makes it.”

“He does?”

“It’s one of his chores,” Aden said. “He’s good at it. Do you forget where you put down your phone?”

“Yeah,” Jeraine said. “I never carried one of these things until Tanesha came back.”

“You didn’t have a cell phone?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t have a cell phone. I had two – one for personal and one for business,” Jeraine said. “I said I didn’t carry one. I had people who had the honor of carrying my cell phones.”

Aden smirked.

“I know, it’s pretty ridiculous,” Jeraine said.

“Can I use your shower?” Aden asked. “I’ll wake up Charlie and he can use the one in my room.”

“Sure,” Jeraine said.

Aden went to wake Charlie and Jeraine got dressed. He was pulling on his pants when his phone rang. Thinking it was Tanesha, he answered on speaker phone.

“Hey,” Jeraine said. “I’m just getting dressed.”

“Mr. Wilson?” a man’s voice came over the speaker. “I’m looking for Jeraine Wilson.”

“Oh sorry,” Jeraine picked up the phone. He fumbled with the speaker and held it to his ear. “I thought you were my wife.”

“Not today,” the man laughed.

“How can I help you?” Jeraine asked.

“Mr. Wilson, this is Doctor Vilner,” the man said. “We met a few days ago?”

“Yes sir,” Jeraine said.

“I apologize for calling so early,” Dr. Vilner said. “I know your father and he’s usually up this early. Did I interrupt something?”

“No sir,” Jeraine said.

“We received the results of your brain scans,” the doctor said.

“All of them?” Jeraine asked.

“Yes, that’s why it took so long,” the doctor said. “I had to wait for the reports on the functional scans.”

“And?”

“I’m sorry to tell you but we’ve found areas of significant injury in your brain,” the doctor said. “I thought you’d want to know as soon as possible.”

Stunned, Jeraine sat down hard on the bed. Tanesha had only agreed to do the interview if he agreed to take all these tests. He did it to humor her. It never occurred to him that something was actually wrong.

“What does that mean?” Jeraine asked.

“I’d like you to come in and we can discuss your options,” the doctor said. “Right now, you need to know that you have an injury, mostly likely due to your drug use. It affects the way you process information and make decisions. This type of brain injury is not uncommon and also not a death sentence. Really, you’re lucky to find this out now when we can do something about it.”

“What do I need to do?”

“There are different treatment options to help regain brain function,” the doctor said. “With clean nutrition, exercise, treatment, and no drugs, a healthy young man such as yourself can recover from this type of damage in a year or maybe two. As long as you don’t take drugs, sleep, get good exercise, good nutrition, oh and keep your stress level low, you’ll be fine.”

“I’m supposed to start medical school next week,” Jeraine said.

“I’m sorry. You won’t be able to attend,” the doctor said. “You’ll have to ask if they can extend your admission. There’s no way your brain can handle the stress of school.”

“What do you mean?” Jeraine asked. “I’m smart enough.”

“Have you recently experienced panic while your brain locks up or repeats one thought over and over again?”

“Sure,” Since it had just happened, he felt like the doctor was watching him. He looked around. “My head hurts.”

“That’s what I mean. Your brain can’t handle school right now,” the doctor said. “Maybe in a year or so, but not right now. Call my office today and we’ll get you set up with treatment.”

“Thank you sir,” Jeraine said.

The doctor hung up the phone. Dazed, Jeraine set the phone on the bed. His entire plan revolved around going to medical school. He and Tanesha would be doctors together. Overcome by hopelessness, Jeraine stared off into space.

“What’s wrong?” Aden said as he came out of the bathroom. “Jeraine?”

With a towel wrapped around his middle, Aden touched Jeraine’s shoulder. Jeraine looked up at him.

“What’s happened?” Aden asked.

“The drugs… they messed up my brain,” Jeraine said. “I can’t go to school and Miss T, she…”

Jeraine shook his head.

“Tanesha what?”

“She…” Jeraine shook his head. “That’s it.”

“What’s it?” Aden asked.

“That’s it. My one chance is over,” Jeraine said. “We were going to go to school together. We were going to… and now? I can’t go and…”

“You need to speak with Tanesha,” Aden said.

“She’s with her girls,” Jeraine said. “She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Listen to me,” Aden said. “I’ve been where you are. I know you want to use.”

Jeraine nodded.

“How many days since you were high?”

Jeraine held up three fingers.

“You’re in a vulnerable spot,” Aden said. “Your body aches to be high. Now you’ve got a reason to do it.”

“Not like you needed one,” Charlie said from the doorway. “My Shi-dai is right. You need to talk to Tanesha.”

Jeraine looked from the boy to the man and shook his head.

“It’s over,” Jeraine said.

“If that’s what you want,” Aden said. Turning to Charlie, he asked, “Did you shower?”

“Nah, I just got up,” Charlie said.

“Go,” Aden said. “We’ll need you to stay with everyone until Jeraine gets back.”

“I’m not going to interrupt Tanesha’s girl time,” Jeraine said. “I’m just not going to do it.”

“Then you don’t really want to be married,” Aden said. “I need to get dressed.”

“He’s right,” Charlie said to Jeraine. “Can’t shit an addict like him. He’s heard everything.”

“This way,” Aden pushed Charlie from the doorway. “You can shower in the guest bedroom. We’ll leave this addict to either get ready and face his life or keep his excuses and his addiction.”

Jeraine scowled after him and went back to staring straight ahead. He felt a growing sense of overwhelm and futility. His eyes welled with tears.

“They’re right, you know,” Noelle walked across the room and sat with him on the bed. She took his hand in hers and held it. He turned to look at the girl. “If you want your life to be different, you have to do different things. I think it’s harder for us artists. We’re used to creating, making something. We don’t really understand that we make our life too. It’s easier for Daddy or Charlie because they use logic – I do this, I get this. But creative people, we don’t think like that.”

Taken back by the girl’s wisdom, he couldn’t think of anything to say.

“So how do you do something new and scary?” Noelle shrugged. “I’ll tell you what I do. I think of it like a picture. Where would I start? What color would I use? Like being a girlfriend. I don’t know how to do that, so I think – what color would I use? I like pink but Teddy, he likes brown and tan.”

“Burnt orange.” The words surprised him. He hadn’t meant to speak.

“That’s exactly right,” Noelle said. “I like flowers and butterflies and fairies. Teddy like cars and martial arts and…”

“Dragons,” Jeraine smiled at the child.

“So what are you going to make today?” Noelle asked. “Drugs and girls or your real life? How would you write this song? How would you sing it?”

“Hey! Are you macking on my girl?” Teddy asked from the doorway.

“No man, I wouldn’t do that,” Jeraine said. “I’m married.”

“Hasn’t stopped you before,” Teddy sniffed.

“It’s okay,” Noelle stood up. “He knows what to do now.”

“Then he should go do it,” Teddy nodded his sincerity. Jeraine smiled.

“I fell for Miss T when I was your age,” Jeraine said.

“Good reminder,” Teddy said. “I’m not going to fuck up like you did.”

“I bet you won’t,” Jeraine said. “I bet you won’t.”

“Are you ready to go, Jeraine?” Aden asked. “Noelle what are you doing?”

“Going to shower Daddy,” Noelle hugged her father. “Good morning.”

“Teddy?” Aden asked.

“I’m making sure this dick doesn’t take Noelle…” Teddy started.

“Enough,” Aden said. “Go kick Charlie out of the shower.”

Teddy glared at Jeraine and left for the other guest bedroom.

“If you want to come with me, you have to come now,” Aden said. “I need to get to work.”

Jeraine stood from the bed.

“You’ll need a shirt,” Aden said. “It’s cool out.”

“Oh,” Jeraine looked down. “I was sitting on the bed with your daughter and no shirt and you didn’t beat the crap out of me? My jeans aren’t even buttoned.”

“Looks like Teddy had that covered,” Aden smiled. “I know my daughter. She might get behind or come in late but she does everything from a very pure place.”

Jeraine pulled on a long sleeved T-shirt.

“Pants?” Aden pointed to his jeans.

Jeraine buttoned his pants and followed Aden out of the penthouse. They took the elevator to the basement where they went to Aden’s SAAB. They were driving down Seventeenth Avenue when Jeraine looked at Aden.

“You really think Tanesha wants to know this stuff?” Jeraine asked. “She doesn’t want me to deal with it on my own.”

“I think she’s your wife,” Aden said. “That’s more than not screwing other women. It’s sharing your life. I haven’t been married long, and I’m no expert. I can just tell you there’s nothing like sharing my worries with Sandy. She has a way of making everything seem all right.”

Jeraine turned away.

“Better than telling your addiction,” Aden said. “My addiction only has one response.”

“Feed me,” Jeraine said.

“Exactly,” Aden pulled up in the alley behind the Castle.

“Where’s the papz?” Jeraine asked.

“Public thoroughfare,” Aden said. “There’s a video camera on the pole to make sure they don’t come back here.”

Jeraine looked up at the Denver Police video camera on the light pole behind the Castle.

“You can see Jake there?” Aden pointed to the back of the Castle.

Jacob was standing on a thin decking attached to the second floor of the house. There was a gorgeous unfinished spiral wooden stairwell up to the decking. Jacob was drinking a cup of coffee and looking at the project.

“The girlfriends are just inside,” Aden said. “He’ll let you in. You know the code?”

Jeraine nodded and moved to get out of the car.

“Good luck,” Aden said.

“Noelle, she’s…?” Jeraine started.

“No one knows,” Aden said. “At least I don’t. She seems to be hooked into a greater knowledge of the world. Did she help?”

Jeraine nodded.

“That will make her happy,” Aden said.

Jeraine got out of the car. Standing in the alley, he wavered. He could easily slip away. Tanesha would never know he was here. He looked down the alley where Aden had gone.

“Jer?” Tanesha opened the gate. She was out of breath as if she’d been running. She was wearing her pajamas and her hair was still wrapped in the straws that she slept in. “Jake said…”

She hugged him close.

“Did you come to tell me something?” Tanesha asked.

Jeraine nodded.

“Were you going to use instead?” Tanesha asked.

Jeraine nodded. Tanesha hugged him tight. When she pulled back, he saw tears in her eyes.

“Thanks for coming,” she smiled. “Come on. Sandy made some muffins.”

She took his hand and led him from the asphalt alley into the plush, blooming garden. The lush, green garden infused him with a sense of joy.

And he knew. This was one of those crystalline moments he’d never forget. Just one thing leading to the next leading to the next and on the other side was the life he wanted. He stopped walking near the vegetable gardens, pulled her to him, and kissed her hard.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I missed you last night,” she said.

“Really?” he stroked her face.

“Really,” Tanesha said. “Jake said sometimes you have to invite a person over the threshold of their new life. Are you in your new life?”

“Yeah, I am,” he smiled. “How’s Val?”

“It’s going to be hours,” Tanesha said.

“We’ll have time to talk?”

“Lots of time.”

Tanesha took his hand and they went inside.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday morning — 8:25 A.M.

“Any word?” Sandy asked.

She gave Heather a cup of vending machine coffee. Heather looked up and shook her head. Sandy sat down next to her in the surgery waiting room at Saint Joseph’s hospital.

“We spend a lot of time here,” Heather said.

“I was just thinking that,” Sandy smiled. “Maybe this is the start of something new. Val and Jill are going to have the babies at home. Blane will get well and…”

Sandy looked up to see Enrique, Blane’s ex-boyfriend, walk into the waiting room. He gave Heather a look of disgust and sat down with his back to her.

“What’s his problem?’ Sandy whispered.

“He’s been like that all morning,” Heather said. “He and that guy from Blane’s doctor’s office.”

“Rubén?” Sandy asked.

“Mmm,” Heather said. “I hear them whispering about me.”

Sandy hugged Heather.

“Is it taking long?” Sandy asked.

“He said it would be a long time in set up,” Heather shook her head. “They have to x-ray him while they do the surgery. I guess it takes a while to get everything going. They’ll be done soon.”

“Hi,” Ava came into the waiting room.

Heather and Sandy looked up at her.

“Seth told me you’d be here,” Ava said. “We…”

She pointed to her colleague, Nelson. He smiled at Heather.

“We wanted to see if there was anything we could do. We’re off today,” Ava sat down next to Heather. She leaned over. “I thought maybe you’d need someone to translate the doctor-speak. Plus…”

She tugged Nelson to sit down next to her.

“We brought pastries,” Ava nodded to Nelson.

“I heard they were going to be here,” Nelson said in a low voice. “Have they been dicks?”

Heather nodded.

“Sorry, we hoped we’d get here before the real dickery happened,” Ava said in a low voice.

“Why are they here?” Sandy whispered.

“Enrique thinks Blane is going to ask for him when he wakes up,” Nelson rolled his eyes. “He told everyone he’s going to put an end to Blane’s farce of a marriage today.”

“Rubén has a crush on Blane,” Ava said. “He thinks this will be his chance.”

“How do you know all of this?” Sandy whispered.

“My roommate,” Nelson said. “He’s one of Enrique’s current… friends. He gets home from the bars when I get home from work. He said it was all the talk last night.”

The women turned to give Enrique and Rubén the stink eye and ate their pastries.

“Mrs. Lipson?” A nurse came out of the back.

“I think you’re looking for us,” Enrique said. Enrique and Rubén stood up.

“I don’t know who you are,” the nurse said. “Mr. Lipson asked me to get his wife.”

“Ma’am,” Heather said.

“There you are,” the nurse walked around Enrique to Heather. “The procedure went really well. The doctor said he’s healthy which made it easy.”

“It seemed like it took a long time,” Heather said.

“We waited until he was out of the worst of the anesthesia to get you,” the nurse said. “The doctor likes to do that so you don’t see him drooling. He’s in recovery but you can go home after that.”

Heather glanced at Sandy. Sandy nudged her forward. Heather followed the nurse to see her husband.

The Denver Cereal will continue next week

~~~~~~~~

Denver Cereal is a serial fiction set in Denver, Colorado.
You can get your daily dose of Denver Cereal at DenverCereal.com
Chapters are posted on Saturdays on this blog.
Download your free electronic copy of The Denver Cereal, the beginning.
Signed copies of the books are only available at Cook Street Store.
You can also find The Denver Cereal, Celia’s Puppies , Cascade, Cimarron, and Black Forest at Amazon or your local bookseller.
Looking for electronic books? Go to the Cook Street Store or Smashwords.

Claudia Hall Christian is a novelist.

Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5, is finally correct. We had some trouble with the cover but as of today, the cover is correct!  (Thank you Brion Sausser for fixing my error!) It will be up at Amazon within the next 48 hours and in our store this week.  I’m delighted to release it into the wild!

This book covers most of the Saint Jude murder mystery. As such, it’s more intense, spine tingling and a little horrifying. It’s truly very very fun.

It ends at Chapter 155. I realize we’re still about a year behind, but bear with us. Right now, we’re waiting on the Silent Partner to pick a title then we’ll let Brion do his thing. We’re hoping to release another Denver Cereal this summer and fall.

In the meantime, enjoy Black Forest. It’s a one of a kind story fed by your encouragement and imagination!

Thanks for reading!

Previous Chapters
Recap of what’s happened so far and character summary
Looking for the beginning? Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY 

Tuesday mid-day — 12:15 P.M.

Brighton, Colorado

Standing on the small hill in Brighton, Delphie looked up at the warm late August sky. From where she stood, she could see out over the home construction site to  Mountains on the horizon. She was standing on the site where Saint Jude had killed his first victim after hanging her in the horrible barn. Soon it would be a gorgeous gem of a park.

“Excuse me,” A small but beautiful woman touched Delphie’s arm. Her face held the washed out look of extreme grief. She spoke in her native language. “I’m sorry. Were you meditating?”

Delphie smiled at Ava’s best friend’s mother.

“You must speak English,” Beth’s father said in the same language.

“It’s all right,” Delphie smiled. “My mother spoke Slavic when I was a child. Was that Croatian? It’s similar.”

“Yes,” the man said. “You may speak English. She understands much but refuses to speak.”

“I was taking in the day,” Delphie said in English. “Oh look, it’s Amelie.”

Delphie waved to Amelie and Dale getting out of a car near by. They jogged up the slope toward the group of people gathering on the small hill.

“What happened to the…?” The woman gestured toward the fenced off dirt area.

“Jacob took the terrible pole barn down by hand,” Delphie said. “Have you met Jacob?”

“Yes,” Beth’s father said. “He has been very kind. Everyone…”

He gestured to the people gathering around them. The families of Saint Jude’s victims were joining Delphie today to celebrate the lives of their loved ones and the end of Saint Jude.

“But these people?” Beth’s mother gestured to the men and woman standing near where the pole barn had been. Ava hugged Beth’s father and then her mother. Her mother hugged Dale and her father shook his hand.

“They’re from the Museum of Nature and Science,” Delphie said.

“They’re scientists,” Ava said. “They’re going to dig up the barn to see if they can determine what happened here. Seth said they may be here for more than ten years working on everything that’s here.”

“Like they have done in Bosnia,” Beth’s father said. “Find the crimes. Find the criminals. That is very good.”

“Won’t they find the…” Beth’s mother looked at her husband.

“Zmaj,” Beth’s father visibly shook.

“No, he and his mate are gone,” Delphie smiled. “The women and children in my family destroyed them with their light.”

“And her babies,” Ava said.

Beth’s mother began to weep. Dale hugged her.

“He is our son now,” Beth’s father said. “We are glad to have him. Please forgive us. We miss our Beth so very much.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Delphie said. “I wanted everyone to get together here to see that they don’t suffer alone.”

“That Saint Jude was an evil man,” Beth’s father said.

“Without Beth, we never would have caught him,” Ava said.

“Yes,” Beth’s father said. He took a breath at his pain and then changed the topic. “We were told this is going to be a park?”

“Did you see the design?” Delphie took them to a 3-D model of the future park. “One of Jill’s teachers at the Art Institute came up with the design. The construction company is going to create it.”

“How did you get them to…?” Dale asked.

“After he got out of the hospital, he just wanted to do it,” Delphie shrugged.

“Delphie told him about a big blockage,” Ava whispered and gestured to her heart. Her eye’s spoke to the size of the block. “Widow maker.”

“He’s very generous,” Delphie said with a twinkle in her eye.

They laughed.

“What’s going to happen to the house?” Dale asked. “It’s really lovely. Huge.”

“I don’t remember,” Delphie said. “I mean, there’s a sold sign and I think someone told me, but I was making sure the park happened and…”

“She ignored me,” Sam up his arm over Delphie’s shoulder. “Sam Lipson.”

Beth’s parents shook his hand and introduced themselves.

“The house will be moved. I remember that,” Delphie smiled at Sam. “And the land will be the first part of the park. The City is deciding whether to build a rec center on part of it. But Sam bought all that land and this land so it would be a really nice park.”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Sam said. “She made this happen. Did she tell you about the people who lived in the mansion?”

Beth’s father shook his head.

“Why don’t you show them?” Sam said. “I’ll call the kids and see where they are.”

Delphie nodded and led Beth’s parents to the row of old graves.

“The original owners of the house died in the flu epidemic of 1918,” Delphie said. “One child got sick and by morning almost everyone was dead. It was a terrible tragedy. They were buried and forgotten here. I found them when we were here and Sam promised me he would take care of them. He bought those lovely grave markers and Jake set up the metal fence. The heirs even came up with a photo.”

Delphie took them to a plaque with the family’s photo on it and an explanation of their graves.

“So many children,” Beth’s mother put her hand on her heart. “Poor babies.”

“I was glad they weren’t moved,” Delphie said. “It was quite a fight, but in the end it all worked out. There will be baseball fields over there. A big playground for kids where the driveway is now. Soccer fields over in the corner. Even a couple of ponds for fish and birds. And the City is going to maintain the park.”

“Delphie is being modest,” Ava said. “Seth said she convinced the City to allow these people to rest in peace. She even went to the bank on her own and set up a fund to help maintain the park.”

“We will donate,” Beth’s father said. “Of course.”

Delphie smiled. Beth’s mother touched her arm.

“The statue?” Beth’s mother said in Croatian. “Amelie tells me my Beth’s name will be on a statue?”

“My friend Mike created the image,” Delphie said. “We took it to a sculptor who was able to translate it into… well, I’ll show you the pictures.”

Delphie took a photo album out of the pocket of her floral skirt. The original oil painting showed a running boy engrossed in catching a yellow butterfly just out of his grasp. His hands were above his head and his arms covered most of his face. His mouth was set in a wide grin.

“You can almost hear him giggle,” Ava pointed to his mouth. “Fabulous.”

“And the sculptor created these study models,”

Delphie showed a series of pictures of small wax statues of the child carved out of wax.

“The second one is the best,” Beth’s father said.

“I’m glad you said that,” Delphie said. “That’s the one we picked. The victims names will be carved around the stand. The final bronze statue will be installed behind where the back of the house is now. It will sit on the edge of the smaller pond. It should be truly lovely. We’ll have you back when it’s done.”

“So expensive,” Beth’s mother said.

“We had an anonymous donor pay for the statue,” Delphie smiled.

Ava mouthed “Seth” to Beth’s mother. Looking relieved, Beth’s mother nodded. Looking up, Delphie noticed that the area was filling with the families of the victims. The City of Brighton was having its own ceremony later on today.  But right now, they had gathered to celebrate the end of Saint Jude’s rampage against homeless children and the lives of his victims.

There was a noise near the mansion. Delphie looked down to see gravel fly as Jill’s SUV pulled into the driveway. Jeraine’s Cadillac Escalade followed Jill’s with Heather’s Subaru not far behind. The women and children laughing as they piled out of the cars. Jacob pulled up in a Lipson Construction SUV with Aden, Blane, Tres, Honey, and Tanesha’s father Rodney. Mike and Valerie, carrying Mr. Bilfry, got out of the back of Jeraine’s car.

Her family was here!

“Would you excuse me?” Delphie asked.

“Please,” Beth’s mother said. “My Beth… Amelie tells me you…”

“Beth is at peace,” Delphie said. “Such a beautiful, good soul, she’s at peace. You can rest assured that she is celebrated for all she was and she will be there when you are done here.”

Beth’s mother gave Delphie a watery smile and her husband led her toward where the other victim’s families were waiting. Delphie turned just in time to pick up Katy as she ran to her. Katy gave Delphie a Shasta Daisy and kissed her cheek.

“Sorry we’re late,”Sandysaid. “We were waiting for Sissy and…”

“Just got behind,” Jacob hugged Delphie. He offered to take Katy but Delphie shook her head.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Delphie said.

“Are you ready?” Sam asked.

Delphie nodded. Sam nodded to the Mayor’s aid. Delphie and Katy went up to the front where the victims’ families waited. When Delphie nodded, they let loose one hundred biodegradable white balloons in commemoration of the Saint Jude’s victims. The Mayor of Brighton led everyone in a moment of silence as the balloons floated into the sky.

Delphie watched them fly. Saint Jude was gone. The evil presence that had been here for time unknown was gone.

And somehow, she was still standing under the blue Colorado sky. She caught Sam’s eye and he smiled.

“Ms. Delphinium?” the Mayor looked at her.

“Let the celebration begin!” Delphie said.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday afternoon — 3:15 P.M.

“I still think we need ice cream,” Jeraine said.

“Then get some.” Tanesha raised her eyebrows in a challenge. She pushed the full cart one step forward in the long grocery line. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

Swallowing hard, Jeraine nodded. He kissed her cheek and went down the freezer aisle. They had offered to watch the kids when Valerie went into labor. Because the Castle was surrounded by paparazzi, they figured it was better to move the kids to their Penthouse. Heather was bringing Mack over tonight and Sandy’s kids were sleeping over. Jill would drop off Katy on her way to the hospital. That way, all of the adults were free to help out in whatever way they could. Sandy and Aden would play tag team babysitters with Tanesha and Jeraine.

Tanesha was excited to be able to help out and Jeraine seemed thrilled to be included. The only problem was that they had absolutely no food in the house. They stopped off at Safeway on their way back from Brighton. They had arrived at the same time as a couple of buses of elderly people from the nearby assisted living facilities. The checkout lines were now long and filled with curmudgeons. There was a long line of people to her left and her right.

Taking a step forward, Tanesha was close enough to the magazine rack to see the gossip magazine. Looking to see if Valerie was on any of the covers, her eyes flicked from one magazine to the next until she saw a picture of herself. She blinked. Why would there be a picture of her on those magazines? Her eyes flicked back to the magazine. She was standing on the sidewalk outside the penthouse wearing her running gear. Jeraine was stepping toward her. She remembered that day. It was… Sunday after their interview. In red block print over their heads, it said: “Miss T gives Mr. It a last chance” in smaller print it said: “Can this cheater change?” Tanesha scowled. She walked to the magazine rack and turned over the magazine.

“They’re right you know,” the elderly woman standing in line in front of her said. “That man will break your heart.”

“And what’s that to you?” Tanesha shook her head and went back to her basket.

“I’m just saying,” the woman in front of her continued. “He’s bad news. Now I know you don’t have a Mama and maybe you don’t know better…”

“Delores is right, Miss T,” the woman standing in line behind her said. “Once a cheater always a cheater. As far as you know, he off screwing some young thing right now.”

“In the grocery store?” Tanesha asked. “What? And using the bananas as a sex toy?”

“You don’t have to be foul, young lady.” An elderly man a few people behind in the line said. “You should listen to these ladies. Not all men are good. And you done found yourself a bad seed.”

“You mean to tell me that Dr. Bumpy’s boy is bad?” the woman behind him asked. “You better watch your mouth Malcolm or I’ll tell Nurse Dionne what you said about her son.”

“Well I think you’re a damned fool for taking him back,” a younger woman from the line to the right said. “I would’ve divorced him and taken everything I could get my hands on. Who’s crying now?”

“Mmmm-hmmm,” a knowing agreement came from the elderly woman standing around her.

“She’s right,” the woman in front of her said. “And you deserve every penny for your years of heartbreak.”

“And then some,” the woman behind her touched her shoulder. “It’s only a matter of time before that man breaks your heart again.”

“You know, they’re right,” a grey-haired woman from the line next to hers spoke up.

“So remind me…” Tanesha said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “How is my life any of your business? I don’t remember even a one of you stepping forward when Jer was in trouble in high school. Boys will be boys; that’s what everyone said. So you can shut your traps now.”

“I’m just saying…” the woman in front of her gave her a sour look and turned around.

“There he is,” a woman from a silent line of grocery shoppers two people over said. “Look at the grin on his face.”

“Mmm-hmm, I told you so,” the woman in line behind her said. “Screwing some young thing, right here.”

The shoppers heads nodded like bobble-head dolls. Tanesha groaned. Jeraine took in her face and the awkward silence. He set three containers of ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup in the cart.

“What’s going on?” he leaned in to say in her ear.

“The good folks of this Safeway would like to know if you were screwing some sweet young thing,” Tanesha said.

“When?”

“Just now,” she said.

“In the ice cream aisle?” Jeraine looked from face to face. No one would meet his eye. “Just now?”

He laughed and they stepped closer to the check out. A few minutes passed.

“Well?” the elderly man in her line asked. “Were you, son?”

“Hello Mr. Stone,” Jeraine said. “I didn’t see you there. How are you?”

“He’s fine,” the woman behind him said. “Answer the question.”

The people around them stared at Jeraine. Tanesha gave them each an evil look.

“What’s the question?” Jeraine asked.

“Were you screwing some young thing just now?” the young woman from the line next to them sneered.

“No,” Jeraine said. “I was getting ice cream.”

“Uh huh,” the woman in front of them looked him up and down before turning around in a huff.

“Why were you grinning?” Tanesha asked.

“Because I don’t know anything. I had to ask Mrs. Jennings…” He pointed to the ancient woman three lines over. She waved. “She helped me pick out something for the kids and showed me where to get chocolate syrup and whipped cream. I haven’t been in a grocery store since I was a kid.  Miss T’s teased me about just that the whole time we’ve been here. She thinks it’s funny.”

“Satisfied?” Tanesha glared at the people around them.

“I’m not,” a woman from the line to her left spoke up for the first time. “I used to babysit Miss T for Yvonne and Rodney. Tanesha, you probably don’t remember me but I’m Tawnie Johnson.”

“Vaguely,” Tanesha nodded.

“And she’s right,” Mrs. Johnson said. “I didn’t help when Miss T needed it, and I knew she needed it, so I have no right to say anything. But…”

“That’s not going to stop you,” Tanesha said.

“No it is not,” Mrs. Johnson said. “I want to know if you’re going to cheat and break her heart again.”

Jeraine looked at the old woman. He took in Tanesha’s sour look and the staring people around him. Putting his hands on his hips, he looked down at the floor. Tanesha slipped her hand onto his elbow.

“We knew this would happen,” Tanesha said in a low voice.

He looked at her then back around at the other people.

“The truth…” he started.

“Yeah, that would be nice for a change,” the woman in front of them said.

“I don’t know if I’ll cheat again and break Miss T’s heart,” Jeraine said. “I’m an addict. I have a problem. I can tell you that today, I woke up and wanted only to stand next to this woman, right here, for as long as I could. So I got up, went for a run, and, except for my excursion to the ice cream aisle, spent the entire day at her side. Now, I can tell you that for the last few months, I have wanted this very thing and only this very thing. But I can’t tell you about tomorrow.”

“Are you going to therapy, son?” an elderly woman from two lines over yelled.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jeraine said. “I have a personal therapist who I see at least once a week. Miss T and I go to therapy as well so we can work on things.”

“We’re on a break because we’re doing so well,” Tanesha said.

“But we can always go back,” Jeraine said.

“And why should we believe you?” The woman in front of them stepped forward  to set her groceries on the black conveyer belt.

“You can believe what you’d like,” Jeraine said. “But that’s my truth today.”

“Cheaters never change,” a voice yelled from somewhere in the back. The heads around them began their bobble-head impersonations.

“I can’t speak for cheaters,” Jeraine said. “I can only speak for myself and this moment. I’ve been a cheater and I’ve changed. Look at my life. A year ago, my father wasn’t speaking to me, my wife didn’t realize we were still married, my mother… I…”

Tanesha squeezed his arm to steady him. He smiled at her.

“Today, Miss T and I are back together and building a life together. I’m spending time with my parents. La Tonya had lunch with me yesterday. And I like it this way. I’m not saying I’m fixed; but I’m saying I want to change and so I am changing.”

“I believe in you, son,” Mr. Stone said. The woman behind him groaned.

“I believe in him too,” Tanesha smiled at Jeraine and he blushed.

She pointed the woman in front of her to the grocery clerk ready to check her groceries. The rush of putting their groceries on the belt and getting ready to pay took their attention. Jeraine was standing in front of the grocery clerk while Tanesha bagged their groceries in reusable bags. The clerk was passing Jeraine their receipt when she smiled.

“I saw your interview,” the clerk said. “I just wanted to say…”

Tanesha held her breath.

“Good luck,” the clerk nodded. “It takes a lot of courage to change your life. I’ve got ten years sober. My husband stayed with me. Talk about stubborn. It was hard, but we fought it together and…  it was worth it.”

“Thanks,” Jeraine said.

“I think you’ll be fine,” the clerk said.

“Me too,” Jeraine smiled, picked up the last bag of groceries, and followed Tanesha out of the store. They pushed the cart to his Expedition, loaded the groceries, and got in before he asked, “Anything you need to say?”

“When are you getting rid of this pimp mobile?” Tanesha asked.

“I meant about…”

“You made your money off those very people,” Tanesha said. “They feel like they know you through your music. After that interview, they feel like they have a stake in our lives. We’re going to have to either avoid contact with them all together or get used to it.Denver is a small town with a lot of mouthy nosey people. If we want to live here, we’re going to deal with that.”

“And you? Are you all right dealing with it?”

“I’ve been dealing with those nosey so and so’s all my life,” Tanesha said. “My Daddy was in prison for murdering some white girl. My Momma is a hooker. My Gran, well…. Let’s just say that I don’t care what anyone says.”

“Except Jill, Sandy, and Heather,” Jeraine said.

“My Gran, Dad, and maybe even you,” she smiled. “Sometimes.”

He smiled and started the car.

“What?”

“I’m just happy to be here with you,” he said.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday evening — 7:25 P.M.

Mike was in their small kitchen making popcorn when he heard Valerie say something. Knowing they were alone, he assumed she was on the phone. Her contractions were coming strong and fast. Bumpy had already stopped by to check on her. Valerie would do most of her labor at home and zip to the hospital to have the baby. They’d even worked out a way for her to get up the coal tunnel if she couldn’t walk. Delphie and Sam were downstairs waiting for his signal. She’d wanted to hang out on the couch and watch a movie.

He finished putting the last drops of butter on the popcorn and went out into their living area. Valerie wasn’t there.

“Val?”

Nothing. He could still hear her talking. He checked the bathroom, their bedroom, and the nursery he and Jill had decorated. Nothing.

He could still hear her talking.

“Val? I don’t know where you are,” Mike set the bowl of popcorn down on the changing table to listen.

He could still hear her talking. It was as if her voice was coming through the walls. He pressed his head against the nursery wall. Her voice was on the other side of this wall. His heart pounding in his throat, he hammered the wall with his fists.

“Val!”

The Denver Cereal will continue next week

~~~~~~~~

Denver Cereal is a serial fiction set in Denver, Colorado.
You can get your daily dose of Denver Cereal at DenverCereal.com
Chapters are posted on Saturdays on this blog.
Download your free electronic copy of The Denver Cereal, the beginning.
Signed copies of the books are only available at Cook Street Store.
You can also find The Denver Cereal, Celia’s Puppies and Cascade at Amazon or your local bookseller.
Looking for electronic books? Go to the Cook Street Store or Smashwords.

Claudia Hall Christian is a novelist.

Previous Chapters
Recap of what’s happened so far and character summary
Looking for the beginning? Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and EIGHTY NINE

Monday evening — 6:57 P.M. MDT

Ava came out of her and Seth’s bedroom to find Dale laying drop cloths on the wood stairwell. Need to get to work, Ava scooted down the stairs to the first floor.

“Thanks,” Dale said and began laying out a drop cloth.

Seeing he needed help, she trotted up the steps to help him lay out the fabric on the wood stairwell.

“If you get paint on my stairs, I will be very upset,” Maresol called up the stairwell.

“Yes ma’am,” Dale said. “I will do my best.”

“You do that,” Maresol smiled. “I’m very excited to give this place some color.”

Dale smiled at her. Ava helped him place the last drop cloth.

“See you tomorrow,” Maresol said and moved out the door.

“Are you sure you can do this?” Ava asked. “It seems pretty slick with the cloths.”

“I’ll be careful,” Dale said. “I’m hoping to get most of the hallway done while you’re at work this week.”

“Seth’s going to be home again this weekend,” Ava said. “I hope he likes the colors we picked.”

“Maresol picked the colors,” Dale said.

“Hey! I’m the lady of the house,” Ava smiled. “I approved them.”

Dale laughed.

“I just have time for dinner then I’m off to work,” Ava said.

“Don’t let me stop you,” Dale said.

Ava jogged into the kitchen where Maresol has set out her dinner. She was just sitting down at the kitchen bar when the doorbell rang.

“Can you get that?” Dale yelled.

“Got it,” Ava said.

She ran to the front door and peeked through the peep hole. She shook her head at what she saw and looked again.

“Who is it?” Dale asked. Seeing the look on her face, he walked toward the door.

“My Dad,” Ava whispered.

Dale’s face soured.

“You don’t have to answer it,” Dale’s words were punctuated by another ring of the bell.

“Let’s do it together,” Ava said.

She whipped open the antique wooden door and pressed open the glass security storm door.

“What can I do for you?” Ava asked.

“Amelie?” her father, Colorado State Attorney Aaron Alvin, stepped back from the door. “What are you doing here?”

“This is my home,” Ava said. “What can I do for you?”

Her father spied Dale and his face expressed the disdain he felt for her best friend Beth’s boyfriend.

“You live here with that free loader?” her father asked.

Ava closed the security storm door. She was closing the inner door when he spoke up.

“Wait,” her father said. “Just wait. I need to speak with O’Malley.”

“He’s not here,” Ava said. “He’s in LA.”

Her father opened the outer door.

“Why are you here?” her father asked.

“I live here,” Ava said. “Why are you here?”

“I need to speak with O’Malley,” her father repeated.

“Now that we’ve established why we are both here, I’m going back to my dinner,” Ava moved to close the door. Her father’s hand held the door open.

“Amelie really,” her father said. “Does it have to be like this?”

“There’s too much that’s happened,” Ava said. “You’ve done too many… awful things. Too much. And since you’re convinced that you’re right and won’t listen to reason, yes, it has to be like this. Now, O’Malley is not here. May I close the front door?”

He lifted his hand.

“Thank you,” Ava said.

She had almost closed the door when he said: “Your mother misses you.”

Ava rolled her eyes and scrunched up her face behind the door.

“You need to get on with your life,” he said.

Ava whipped open the door.

“I just created the first successful protocol for  the First Responder’s Toxin. Something no one, including the UN, the CDC, or even the Israelis were able to do,” Ava said. “I’m moving into a new lab in the new DPD building. My life and my career are moving at rapid pace. Is yours?”

“What are you talking about?” her father scowled. “You’re little police career is over now that O’Malley quit.”

“Come on,” Dale shifted Ava away from the door. “Thank you for coming by, Mr. Alvin. Seth is in Los Angeles. Do you need his number?”

“Get out of the way,” Ava’s father said. “I was speaking with my daughter.”

“I’ll take that as a no,” Dale said and shut the door.

“That man…” Ava was so angry she was shaking. “That man…”

Ava went from clenched fist furious to sobbing on Dale’s chest in an instant.

“B-B-B-Beth…” Ava said.

“I know,” Dale said. “Beth would say that he was doing his best. He doesn’t know any better and stuff like that. I miss her today too.”

The doorbell rang.

“Come on,” Dale said. “Let’s eat and get you leave out the back for work.”

“What about painting?” Ava worked to control the tears that dropped from her eyes.

“It will all get done,” Dale said. “That’s what O’Malley says. One way or another, everything eventually gets done.”

“We’re lucky our friends are so wise,” Ava said.

“Makes it harder when they’re gone.”

Ava nodded.

“Beth would say that we shouldn’t give too much time to this…”

“Crap,” Ava nodded.

“Let’s eat.”

Ava followed him into the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~

Monday evening  — 8:57 P.M. MDT 

“There you are,” Tanesha said as she entered the den of the Penthouse. Jeraine was sitting on the couch watching a final version of their interview. “What are you doing?”

“We have last right of refusal on this interview,” Jeraine said. “It’s something the Schmidtys are known for putting in their contracts.”

“Contract?”

“Jammy had contracts prepared when Primetime said they wanted to catch us on Sunday,” Jeraine said.

“But my publicist is Jen,” Tanesha said. “She’s the one who called us after church.”

“Jammy worked with Jen,” Jeraine said. “Now we have to look at this to make sure it’s right.”

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” Tanesha sat on the couch next to him.

“Ok,” he said. “But let’s finish this then talk.”

Tanesha nodded.

“Jammy tagged a few places he wanted us to check,” Jeraine said. “I’ve been through it a couple times. The only place I’m stuck is here. Can you take a look?”

“Ok,” Tanesha said.

He clicked the remote control and the video began to run. She and Jeraine were sitting on the patio with City Park and the Denver skyline in the background.

“You know there are women who say they were… with Jeraine last night,” the host said. “Two women. They’ve posted some photos on Facebook. Have you seen them?”

Tanesha shook her head.

“How do you feel about that?”

“Feel?” Tanesha asked. “Confused.”

“Confused?”

“I’m never sure why a woman would brag about something like that,” Tanesha shrugged. “I mean, this man has a problem. Two years ago, he told the world he had a serious sex addiction. And still girls brag about screwing him. I mean, what would the world say to a crack dealer who sold drugs to Robert Downey, Jr.? Broke his sobriety? Would he or she be on the cover of magazines? The topic of programs?

“We minimize sex addiction,” the host said.

“We’re all ‘oooh it’s sex’ like we’re in Junior High,” Tanesha said. “Have some self respect. I mean seriously. If these girls were with Jer last night, they broke almost six months of sobriety. Plus, he left here saying he didn’t want to be with other women. When we found him, he said he hadn’t been with other women. So, these ladies got together with a guy who was too high to know what he was doing. Nice. I bet your Momma’s proud now.”

“So you don’t think he just told you one thing and did something else?”

“I look at people’s intentions,” Tanesha said. “I don’t believe that he intended to get high. I don’t believe that he intended to be with those… women, if he even was. In the last year, he’s worked hard to change his life. That means more to me than some grainy cell phone picture from the inside of a limo.”

Jeraine clicked the remote control to stop the video.

“What’s wrong with that?” Tanesha asked.

“A lot of people will say you’re a fool,” Jeraine said. “That I’m a dog who won’t change his ways.”

“You are a dog,” Tanesha smiled. “But I like dog training. Hey, I wanted to talk to you…”

“So you’re all right with this?”

“I don’t care,” Tanesha said. “Do you?”

“Not really,” Jeraine said.

“So why don’t we give Schmidty last right of refusal? He can take out what he wants to take out and we can live our life. I think that’s what you pay him for.”

Nodding, Jeraine picked up his cell phone and texted Schmidty. He turned to face Tanesha.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Jeraine asked.

“First, I wanted to thank you again for picking me up at school,” Tanesha said. “I was surprised when I saw my Dad’s truck and thrilled when you got out of the driver’s seat. Thanks.”

“Your Dad let us borrow the truck all week,” he said.

“For the tear out,” Tanesha said.

“Right,” he said.

“I also wanted to thank you for having everyone over tonight,” Tanesha said. “You had dinner ready when we got home and then wham, everyone was here. Jill and Katy, Jacob, Sandy and her tribe, Heather and Mack with Blane, Honey, MJ, Valerie, Mike, and Sam, your parents, and even my Dad and Gran and Delphie. I had a great time.”

“I wanted to celebrate your big day. Turned out, everyone had a big day,” Jeraine smiled. “Nice people. Well, except for Scully.”

“I saw you laughing with MJ,” Tanesha said.

“He’s still a wild man. Did you know he was in Special Forces and now he’s a Marine?” Jeraine shook his head. “And I can’t for the life of me believe he married his ‘sweet little Honeybee.’ He said, ‘You know Honey’ and gestured to her. My jaw dropped.”

“Jill was… uh… tentative about them living in the Castle,” Tanesha said. “I guess they were pretty volatile.”

Jeraine gave a vehement nod and Tanesha laughed.

“They’re crazy about each other now,” Tanesha said. “Baby on the way and everything.”

“It was great to see him,” Jeraine said. “We’re going for a run tomorrow morning. I feel like… I’m finally home. You know some nice people.”

“I know,” Tanesha said. “Pretty lucky, eh?”

Jeraine nodded.

“The barbecue was fabulous,” Tanesha said. “Did you make the marinade and sauce?”

“I did,” he said. “Aden mastered the grill though.”

“You were nice to let him do it,” Tanesha said. “He’s more comfortable when he has a way to participate.”

“Hey us guys have to stick together,” Jeraine smiled. “Jake and I are close to having our own secret handshake.”

Tanesha laughed.

“Hey, I saw you talking to Delphie.” When he didn’t respond, Tanesha let her statement linger.

Jeraine was silent.

“And?”

“That woman,” Jeraine shook his head.

“She’s a trip,” Tanesha said. “Anything you’d like to share?”

Jeraine took a deep breath, looked at Tanesha, and let out his breath. He shook his head.

“Well, I wanted to see…” Tanesha’s eyes scanned his face. “I wondered what you’d think if we stopped talking about the past.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that talking about the past just brings all of that garbage into today,” Tanesha said. “I get hurt all over again. I’m tired of being hurt by things that are over and done with.

“I mean, I had this amazing day. Our house remodel started. I walked out of eight hours of med school orientation that I’ve dreamed of all of my life to find you waiting for me. We came home and all of my friends and family were here. I ate great food, laughed, and hung out with my friends and their families, our family. And now I end the day sitting on the couch with you. I don’t think it gets better.”

Tanesha beamed and then shook her head.

“I don’t want to talk about the past,” she said. “Because today is pretty great.”

“What if something comes up?” he asked.

“If it’s relevant in the present, then I want to talk about it,” Tanesha said.

“Ok, I have something,” he said.

“Go ahead,” Tanesha said.

“You say that I tricked you into getting married,” Jeraine said. “And, I told you I needed to change my name…”

“To Jermaine…”

“I was going to meet you at Jill and scumbag Trevor’s wedding. Right?”

“You met me at Jill’s wedding,” she said. “And you had the license and asked the Judge to marry us when they were done. They were all excited about being married and stuff I felt manipulated into doing it too.”

He nodded.

“So?”

“Did you want to be married?” he asked.

“Oh Jer,” Tanesha sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I…”

“Sorry, I need to know,” he said.

She gave him a long look. Seeing that he needed an answer, she nodded.

“I wanted to be married to you,” Tanesha turned away from him and stared at the wall. “But I didn’t know that just eight hours before you’d screwed five girls and five more the day before and whatever other nonsense. I didn’t know you would do that whole ‘let’s enjoy the cheerleaders’ event on the football bus and then leave… and then leave… forever… a week later. I…”

She clenched her jaw to hold in her heart wrenching pain.

“I wanted a wedding dress and… nice shoes… and an engagement ring I could show off for a while,” Tanesha said. “I wanted my Gran to be there. Your parents… They’re like parents to me. I wanted flowers… and… a gospel choir singing Amazing Grace and… Well, mostly I wanted you – day in, day out, coming home, waking up to. I wanted you. You were my life, my soul, my every waking thought, my… everything.”

When she looked at him, he was crying.

“So did I want to marry you? Yes.”

He put his arms around her to touch the top of his head to her shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“I know,” she tipped his head up so he was looking at her. “I want to be right here, right now. You?”

He nodded.

“Then let’s just be here,” she said.

“What about all of that? How…” He shook his head as if to say even the words were more than he could make up for.

“Maybe the past doesn’t need to be made up for,” Tanesha said. “Maybe it just is – not good or bad or whatever. It’s all just stuff that happened.”

“But how…?”

“Let it go, Jer,” Tanesha said. “It’s over and done with. There’s nothing we can do to fix it except live right now.”

“Will you wear your ring?” He held up his left hand to show that he was wearing the gold band she’d bought him when she was sixteen years old.

“I have been this whole time,” Tanesha pointed to the gold band on her right hand. “I put it on this hand and never took it off.”

“May I?” he asked.

She nodded. He tugged the ring off her right hand and slipped it on her left ring finger. She smiled.

“It looks good there,” she said. “Like it belongs.”

He smiled. For a moment, they held each other.

“I love you,” he said in a low tone. “More than you’d ever know.”

She kissed him and they hugged again. Knowing she had to do something to get them back on track, she took a breath and moved back.

“Well, I do know what I want right now,” she said. He looked up at her. “More of that cake. Did you see Sandy and Blane commenting on how good it was? And they’re our pros! Did you really make it yourself?”

She got up and walked out of the room.

“You know what would be really good? Some tea,” Tanesha said. “You coming?”

Smiling, he followed her into the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~

Monday night  — 9:57 P.M. MDT 

“How are you feeling?” Mike asked Valerie when she got into bed.

“Uncomfortable,” Valerie said. She lay down on her back with her belly. He put a hand on her protruding belly. “But I had a nice time tonight. What a great distraction to go over to Jeraine and Tanesha’s house.”

“I’m glad you said that because I wasn’t sure if you had a good time.”

“I thought it was fun,” Valerie said. “The penthouse was really nice. I haven’t been to the Pinnacle before. It was kind of like ‘imagine your life.’”

“Would you want to live there?”

“No,” Valerie said. “But it’s fun to look.”

“Delphie is sure you’ll have the baby this week,” Mike said. “Everyone’s geared up. Do you think it will happen?”

“I hope so,” Valerie said. “I’ve had a lot of contractions and…”

“And?”

“I keep thinking I see Mom,” Valerie said. “That’s what I was doing.”

“I thought you were cleaning the kitchen floor again,” Mike smiled.

“No, but that’s a good idea,” Valerie said.

He chuckled.

“What were you doing?” Mike asked.

“I was coming up from the kitchen and I thought I saw Mom,” Valerie said. “I went to where I saw her and… nothing. So I started up the stairs again and I swear she was at the top of the landing.”

“That’s weird,” Mike said.

“I went to ask Delphie,” Valerie said.

“And?”

“She just smiled and put her hand on the baby,” Valerie said. “It’s weird.”

“Sounds weird,” Mike said.

“I want Mom to be here so bad,” Valerie said. “I want her to be with me when I have the baby, to be a grandmother, and everything. I miss her so much right now. I wish she’d lived long enough to be here for this. She’d have wanted to be here.”

“I’m sure she wishes she was here now,” Mike said.

Valerie made some nondescript sound and pretended to go to sleep. Mike rolled over onto his side. He watched her face for a moment then fell sound asleep. Valerie opened her eyes when she knew he was asleep. She stared at the ceiling for a while.

“Is that really you, Mom?” Valerie whispered. “Or is it some kind of hormonal insanity? If it’s really you, can you give me some kind of a sign? Something only I would know?”

She waited for a moment and then looked around room. She hoped beyond hope that something would happened. But the nothing moved in the dim, quiet room. Turning over, she told herself she was imagining things and tried to get some sleep. A few hours later, a strong contraction woke her and Valerie opened her eyes. She was laying on her side facing away from Mike.

She was about to roll onto her back when she noticed a tattered stuffed white bunny with one missing button eye. Mr. Bilfry. She’d slept with the bunny every day of her life until she left for college. And even then, she slept with Mr. Bilfry every night she was home from school. She stroked the super soft pink inside of the bunny’s ear.

She’d left Mr. Bilfry at home when she’d gone to college. College wasn’t a safe place for such a precious and vital creature. But sadly, Mr. Bilfry disappeared when her mother and Delphie had moved to the Castle. Secretly, Valerie had searched through boxes to see if she could find him. She never had. Until now.

Mr. Bilfry had appeared right exactly when she needed him the most.

“Thanks Mom,” Valerie whispered and fell sound asleep.

The Denver Cereal will continue next week

~~~~~~~~

Denver Cereal is a serial fiction set in Denver, Colorado.
You can get your daily dose of Denver Cereal at DenverCereal.com
Chapters are posted on Saturdays on this blog.
Download your free electronic copy of The Denver Cereal, the beginning.
Signed copies of the books are only available at Cook Street Store.
You can also find The Denver Cereal, Celia’s Puppies and Cascade at Amazon or your local bookseller.
Looking for electronic books? Go to the Cook Street Store or Smashwords.

Claudia Hall Christian is a novelist.

Previous Chapters
Recap of what’s happened so far and character summary
Looking for the beginning? Chapter One

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty Eight – interview

One day later

Monday morning  — 7:37 A.M. MDT

“We are not having this conversation,” Sandy slammed the back door of their SUV.

“But…” Noelle scooted in from the other side to sit next to Rachel’s car seat.

“We want to know,” Sissy moved to sit next to Charlie in the far back. “Why won’t you talk about dinner?”

“Because she’s pissed off,” Nash slammed the door and sat next to Noelle.

“Don’t say that word, Nash,” Sandy said.

“Which one?” Nash asked. “Because?”

Sandy gave him a dark look in the rearview mirror.

“Two dollars in the jar,” Noelle whispered.

“Seat belts?” Sandy turned around to check.

The kids held up their seat belts to show they were fastened. Nash took the money out of his pocket and tossed it toward the front seat. Shaking her head at him, Sandy started the SUV and pulled out of the Castle driveway.

“I hate this car,” Sandy said under her breath.

“Is that why you’re mad?” Nash asked.

“I’m mad because…” Sandy turned right on Seventeenth Avenue. Nash had the earliest and was their first drop off at the Park Hill School. “… oh never mind.”

“She’s mad because Addy’s dad is an asshole,” Charlie gave Nash two dollar bills and Nash threw them in the front seat. “He brought up stuff.”

“Stuff?” Noelle turned around to look at him.

“He interrogated me about my past,” Sandy said. “He said Charlie couldn’t see Addy unless I answered a few of his questions. He only asked so he could get his… rocks off.”

Stopped at the light at Josephine, Sandy dug in her purse and added a dollar to growing pile of money.

“What did Daddy do?” Noelle asked.

“Your Dad…” Sandy continued through the light. “Sissy, you sure you don’t want me to drop you here at East?”

“No, I want to go with everyone to drop off,” Sissy said. “I’ve never done it before and…”

“Just wanted to check.” Sandy drove past EastHigh School.

“Aden completely lost it,” Charlie said.

“Really?” Noelle’s eyes were big. “I’ve only seen him do that at Nuala.”

“That asshole started…”

“Mom!” Noelle said.

“You keep track, honey,” Sandy said.

“Okay,” Noelle said.

“Your Dad was mad and stopped him from asking questions about me. You know how he can be. He just said, ‘That’s enough.’ Then the asshole started ripping into his own daughter calling her a whore and a slut,” Sandy said. “Your Dad lost it. It wasn’t just me.”

“Seven dollars,” Noelle said.

“Whore and slut too,” Sissy said.

“Nine dollars,” Noelle said.

“Officially, I was quoting but let’s make it an even ten,” Sandy pulled up to the light at Colorado Boulevard and put ten dollar bill on the pile.

“What did you do, Charlie?” Sissy asked.

“I would have been p… really mad,” Nash said.

“What could I do? I met Addy on the streets a bunch of years ago. Her dad had kicked her out. He’s the reason she’s…” Charlie glanced from Noelle to Sissy. “…advanced for her age. He thinks it’s my fault. But Sandy’s right. Shi-dai lost his shit after he started saying stuff about Addy.”

“What did he do?” Noelle asked. “You said the s-word too.”

“We’re almost there, Charlie,” Sandy said. “Talk fast.”

“Shi-dai told him that his family wouldn’t be bullied,” Charlie passed two dollars forward. “Me too. As family.”

“Duh.” Nash shook his head at Charlie.

“Nash!” Sandy said.

He passed forward another dollar bill.

“Aden’s going to call our social worker today to see if there’s anything we can do for Addy.”

“Ok, Nash, there’s Teddy,” Sandy said. “Good luck today. Call me if you need anything. Love you!’

Teddy was standing near the front of the school waiting for Nash. Nash got out and Noelle followed him.

“Sissy can you get her back in the car?” Sandy asked.

“Noelle!” Sissy yelled.

“There goes my ear drum,” Sandy said.

Noelle got back in the car and they continued on to the Marlowe school.

“What happens now?” Noelle asked.

“I can’t go out with her anymore,” Charlie said.

“You’re not going to sneak around?” Sissy asked. “That’s what you guys used to do.”

“I don’t think I can get away with it,” Charlie said. “I don’t drive and they live in Westminster and…”

He shrugged.

“You promised you wouldn’t sneak around,” Sandy said.

“See, I promised I wouldn’t sneak around. That’s what I meant to say,” Charlie nodded to Sissy. “When do I get my driver’s permit?”

Noelle squealed and laughed. They pulled into a spot in the Marlowe School parking lot. Sandy was about to get out when Anjelika opened the back door.

“Good morning,” Jill’s mother said. “I can take beautiful Rachel. I know you’re in a hurry.”

“I hate to…” Sandy started.

Rachel cooed ‘hello’ to Anjelika.

“She’ll be fine,” Anjelika said. “Wish Tanesha good luck. I’m very excited for her.”

“Bye Mom,” Noelle leaned over to kiss Sandy and was out of the car. Sandy waited until they were across the lot before heading out onto Eighteenth Avenue back toward the Castle.

“What’s going on with Tanesha?” Charlie asked.

“The girls and I are taking her to her medical school orientation,”Sandy said. “That’s why I’m driving this boat. It fits her bicycle.”

“Fun,” Sissy clapped.

“She’s pretty excited and pretty scared,” Sandy said. “But mostly we want to hear how her interview went yesterday.”

“Diane Sawyer,” Charlie said.

“How did it go?” Sissy asked.

“That’s what I’m going to find out,” Sandy said. “Okay, Sis. You have your meds for the nurse? Your notes? You know where you’re supposed to go?”

“I’m all set,” Sissy said. “Jake took me through the school again last night so I’d know where my classes are and stuff. Lucky he has those keys.”

“Yes, keys,” Sandy said. “You’ll remember not to tell anyone about his… keys, right?”

“I won’t tell,” Sissy said. “And I won’t be lost. Love you.”

Sissy leaned over the seat to hug Sandy. She hugged Charlie.

“Good luck!” Sandy said.

“I have my phone,” Sissy said. “I’ll call if anything happens and I’ll see Charlie at four o’clock for basketball tryouts.”

Sandy and Charlie waved as Sissy walked into the entrance of East High.

“Are you ready for your first day?” Sandy asked.

“I’m all set,” Charlie said. “I have my own office room Aden and Jake set up for me on the first floor at the Castle. My computer and my books are there waiting for me. Delphie’s going to check in on me. Don’t worry Sandy. I can do this.”

Sandy stopped the big SUV in front of the Castle to drop him off.

“Anjelika will be here after work to check my stuff and sign me up for basketball,” Charlie said. “Love you.”

Charlie closed the door and waved through the window. Sandy smiled at him. She waited only a moment before Jill pulled up with Tanesha and Heather. Tanesha stuck her bicycle in the back of the SUV as the women got in.

“How was drop off?” Jill asked.

“Crazy,” Sandy said.

“What’s this stack of money?” Tanesha picked up the dollar bills from the passenger seat.

“Swear jar,” Sandy said.

“From one conversation?” Tanesha asked.

“At this rate, we can buy ski passes.”

“At this rate, you’ll have enough money to fly to the Alps,” Tanesha laughed.

Laughing, Sandy started the journey toward Tanesha’s new life.

~~~~~~~~

Monday morning  — 10:37 A.M. EDT
New York City

“Which clip do you want to use?” the editor for Primetime turned to look at their host.

“Let’s watch them both,” she said.

“This was my favorite,” the editor said. “I like how she’s not intimidated by you and how she ends it with talking about relating.”

He leaned over, pressed a button, and Tanesha’s image came on the screen.

“Um, what was the question?” Tanesha looked up from her tea cup and into the camera.

“You’re a smart, independent, attractive woman,” the host said. “Why would you stay in this abusive relationship?”

“In the first place,” Tanesha set her tea cup down. The camera closed in until it framed her face. “Jeraine isn’t abusive. At least not to me. I think if you talked to all of his women, you’d find he’s funny, smart, and great to be around. We have great conversations and laugh a lot.”

“Don’t you think…”

“But I agree with you that this addiction is abusive to both of us,” Tanesha said. “And for his part in it? The drinking and drugging to bring out his addiction? I have been injured by his choices. There were a few times in my life when I thought I’d never be able to take another breath because of something he did or didn’t do. He has hurt me. His addiction has hurt me even worse.”

“So why…?”

“I’m getting there,” Tanesha smiled. “Just like he did, I’ve made my choices along the way. Sometimes, I’ve waited for him. Sometimes, we’ve spent weeks together in absolute bliss. And there’ve been years I haven’t heard or thought of him at all.”

“You haven’t waited around for him.”

“I have,” Tanesha said. “But not always. I made choices for my life as it made sense to me at that place and time.”

“I guess the money…”

“I don’t have access to his money,” Tanesha said. “I didn’t even know we were still married until he was in rehab last time. I mean, he says I have access to his money but… That’s what I mean by choice. I chose to live free of his money. And it’s not like I’ve been knitting my chastity belt while he’s out hot dogging it. I’ve lived every day. I’ve loved, gone to college, had relationships, worked jobs, dated, and… Today, my choice is to see where this goes.”

“She gave me one last chance,” Jeraine’s voice came from the side. The camera zoomed out to show him standing by her chair. “At rehab this last time. I asked and she said she would try it one more time. But we both know this is our last round.”

“I guess the biggest thing for me,” Tanesha glanced at him and then back at the camera. “I didn’t sign on for a pleasure cruise or something out a teen romance novel. I signed up for a relationship – the good, the bad, the highs, the lows, the hard times and the joyful times. We relate. That’s what’s interesting to me.

“I mean people throw away relationships now because of stupid stuff like his Mom wasn’t nice to me or he doesn’t work as much as I do or I make more money or whatever. Toss him away. That kind of throw away relationship keeps people from the actual juice of love – the relating.”

Tanesha looked up. The camera angle caught her eyes in such a way that they looked almost amber. She smiled.

“He has problems,” Tanesha said. “I have problems. He’s not perfect, but I’m not either. That’s where the relating comes in. I get to really know him. He gets to really know me. That’s pretty great. So being in this relationship is my choice. Today.”

The camera faded out and the screen showed the tag line for the interview: “Miss T speaks to Diane Sawyer.”

“I see what you mean,” the host said.

~~~~~~~~

Monday mid-day  — 11:37 A.M. MDT
Denver, CO

“Okay Sissy, step on the scale for me, please,” the school nurse said.

“Do I have to?” Sissy’s voice went up with panic. “I didn’t realize I would be weighed in and I’m not ready and…”

The nurse touched Sissy’s arm.

“You wouldn’t happen to be Sandy Delgado’s sister, would you?” the nurse asked.

“Sandy?” Sissy beamed. “She’s like my mom and my sister all rolled up in one.”

“I went to school with her,” the nurse said. “She was a couple grades behind me at Machebeuf. I see her every once in a while when I want my hair to be really fancy.”

Sissy smiled.

“Does she still hang out with…”

“The girlfriends?” Without thinking, Sissy stepped on the scale. “Sure, they took Tanesha to her med school orientation day today. Did you know them too?”

“Heather and I went to the same church growing up,” the nurse moved the weights over on the scale.

“Tanesha’s dating that hunky Jeraine,” Sissy said. “We went to see him on Saturday.”

“Jeraine? He went here, to East.”

“So did Jake,” Sissy said. “We live with him. Jake Lipson.”

“He and Jeraine are like royalty here,” the nurse said. “You can get off.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Sissy asked.

“It makes you kind of a celebrity by association,” the nurse said.

“Oh, well, we live with Valerie Lipson too,” Sissy said. “She did my fingernails. Aren’t they pretty?”

“Very pretty,” the nurse said. “That’s some house you live in.”

“It’s huge,” Sissy said. “We can go a lot of days and not see anyone or see them all the time. It’s fun. I live in an apartment with Sandy and her husband Aden and their baby Rachel and my new sister Noelle and my new brother Nash and my old brother Charlie. It’s great.”

Smiling, the nurse held out a pill and a Dixiecup of water for Sissy. She took her pill.

“I’ll need to weigh you at least once a week. Can you do that?” the nurse asked.

“I can try,” Sissy said. “If I get too focused on my weight, I get sick again.”

“Let’s not focus on it that then,” the nurse said. “Let’s spend our time talking about your life at school. Deal?”

Sissy nodded

“I need to check your bandages.”

Sissy pulled up her top for the nurse to see. She touched each of them to check to see if they needed to be changed.

“It looks like you’re healing well,” the nurse said. “When does ballet practice start again?”

“As soon as I’m better,” Sissy said. “Today, we’re just doing leg exercises. Ivan, my teacher, wants me to learn how to run. I’m going out with Jake this evening so he can help me and Noelle. But I bet everyone will come. That’s usually what happens. Everyone decides to come. It’s more fun that way. We’re going to go slow so the boys will probably complain.”

“I’ll see you every day for your pill. Can I help in any other way?”

“I don’t think so,” Sissy said.

The nurse took Sissy’s hands.

“It seems like you have a really great life with lots of people who love you,” the nurse said. “Do you know that?”

“Sure,” Sissy nodded. “I still get crazy sometimes.”

“I think we’ll be good friends,” the nurse smiled.

“Okay,” Sissy said. “Bye.”

Sissy went out the door and onto her next class. When she left, the nurse picked up the phone.

“Sandy?” the nurse asked.

“How did it go, Ginny?” Sandy asked.

“You were right about weigh-ins,” Ginny the nurse said. “She doesn’t want to do it. But we got past it. I think she’s going to be fine.”

“Thanks Ginny,” Sandy said.  “I really appreciate you helping Sissy like this.”

“Don’t worry,” Ginny said. “She’s a bright girl with a lot of energy. I’m happy to help. See you tomorrow?”

“You bet,” Sandy clicked off her phone. One at a time, her family was transitioning into their next phase. She smiled and went back to her accounting.

~~~~~~~~

Monday afternoon  — 2:37 P.M. EDT
New York City

“So that’s two votes for the clip I like,” the editor said. “Two for yours.”

“Show them again so we can decide,” the host said. “It’s getting late and we need to make a decision.

“Ok, here’s your favorite clip.”

The screen shifted to an image of Jeraine and Tanesha sitting on the couch.

“And is it different? Do you still obsess on sex and women?”

“No, it’s different,” he said. “Calmer, warmer, and there’s Tanesha.”

“How is that different?”

“How is sex with Tanesha different from the press of sex with all those other women?” Jeraine asked.

“Oh no. Uh huh,” Tanesha said. “You are not talking about our sex life on national television.”

“But…” Jeraine gestured to the host as if she was forcing him to answer the question.

“You know what will happen,” Tanesha said. “Your Grannie Louise will call my Gran and have the talk. ‘Now I know you did your best with that girl,’ Grannie Louise with say. ‘But that girl leads my sweet grandson away from righteousness. Did you see how she made him talk about physical intimacy on television?‘ And it always ends with ‘There’s only so much you can do with a hellion like that.’ And they’ll cluck and crow and then I’ll have to hear about it.”

Jeraine smiled as if she was daring him. She scowled at him. He looked back at the camera.

“Let’s say that there’s a playground,” Jeraine said. “You might have been to the same playground with lots of people – some you like a lot, some you don’t know well. You might swing high or play on the jungle gym until after dark or do something scary with these other people. But you only ever remember those amazing days at the playground with your best friend. It’s the same playground, same sand, same swings, but everything is better when you and your best friend are there together. That’s what I would say.”

“That’s very sweet,” the host said.

“And, you’re right Grannie Louise, Tanesha is a hellion. She gets me into all kinds of trouble.”

The clip faded into the show’s lead in.

“Why is that your favorite?” the producer asked the host.

“It shows how much they love each other,” the host said. “How deeply they know and understand each other. Their lives are intertwined.”

“Let’s go with that one,” the producer said. “Can we send Grannie Louise some flowers or something?”

“You fell for them too?” the host asked.

The producer nodded.

“We all did,” she said.

~~~~~~~~

Monday afternoon  — 4:57 P.M. MDT

East High Gym

“Just one last question,” the East High basketball coach asked. “Why here? You could easily play at any school in DPS.”

“My sister’s going to East,” Charlie nodded to Sissy sitting in the stands.

“That’s your sister?” the captain of the Varsity team said.

“Sissy,” Charlie looked at the older boy. “Why?”

“Oh nothing,” the boy said.

“We live just a few blocks from here,” Charlie said. “It’s easy.”

“We haven’t had great luck with online students,” the basketball coach said. “Especially ones with drug problems.”

“Hey, I get there’s a risk. But I’ve been clean three months. I live close. And…” Charlie nodded to Jacob when he came in the gym with Nash, Noelle, and Teddy. “I’m a pretty good player.”

“You know Jake Lipson?” the basketball coach asked.

“We live with him,” Charlie said. “My sister and I live with our older sister, her husband and his kids. We all live at the Castle. I worked for Jake this summer at the construction company.”

“Good guy,” the basketball coach said. “Why are they here?”

“My sister, Sissy, is a ballerina,” Charlie said. “Her coach wants her to learn to run. Jake thought he could get the key to the field so we could practice. They’re waiting for me.”

The basketball coach looked at Charlie. Terrified he might not get on the team, Charlie gave the coach his most confident smile. The coach nodded to him and pointed to the varsity captain.

“So you have a practice schedule?” the varsity captain asked.

Charlie nodded.

“We have to check with the office or whatever to see if you can play varsity,” the varsity captain said. “You’re old enough, but since you’re just a freshman in school… It’s complicated but we’ll work it out.”

“Why did you ask about Sissy?” Charlie asked.

“My girl and her friends went to see Mr. It, you know Jeraine, on Saturday,” he said. “A few of the guys went to, you know…”

“Get with the girls,” Charlie said. “I was there.”

“I saw your sister dancing.” The boy straightened up until he was a couple inches taller than Charlie. “You got a problem with that?”

Charlie shook his head.

“You think she’s prejudice?” the boy asked.

“She likes Jeraine,” Charlie said. “I think he’s a jerk, but Sissy likes him.”

“He’s famous, rich.”

“He’s our friend Tanesha’s boyfriend,” Charlie said. “Don’t you have a girl?”

The basketball captain shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t fuck around with my sister,” Charlie said.

“Yeah, whatever,” the varsity captain said. “See you at practice.”

Charlie watched the boy walk off. He nodded to Sissy and left the gym.

“How did it go?” Sissy ran down the steps to him.

“I’m in,” Charlie beamed.

“Yea!” the kids cheered.

“Let’s celebrate with a run,” Jake said.

They followed him out of the gym.

The Denver Cereal will continue next week

~~~~~~~~

Denver Cereal is a serial fiction set in Denver, Colorado.
You can get your daily dose of Denver Cereal at DenverCereal.com
Chapters are posted on Saturdays on this blog.
Download your free electronic copy of The Denver Cereal, the beginning.
Signed copies of the books are only available at Cook Street Store.
You can also find The Denver Cereal, Celia’s Puppies and Cascade at Amazon or your local bookseller.
Looking for electronic books? Go to the Cook Street Store or Smashwords.

Claudia Hall Christian is a novelist.

Readers have asked, wondered, emailed, chatted, tweeted questions for Alex. For the next couple months, Alexandra Hargreaves will guest post on this blog to answer your questions. If you have a question you’d like Alex to answer, feel free to email her at: AlexandraHargreaves at gmail dot com.

LZ from Oregon wrote: “Why do you live with your family? It seems a little old fashioned and great at the same time.”

Hi LZ, thanks for the question.

I didn’t start out wanting to live with my family. In the beginning, Max and John were in college. John had no money at all and Mom cut Max off because we broke our ‘individuation’ agreement (read: her individuation agreement). I had been in the US Army for a few years. Since I couldn’t go home, either to my parents house or to see Max (individuation agreement in action), I didn’t really spend any money. I couldn’t spend any money while I was in SF training for a year and a half. When John and I got married I had enough money for a down payment. With a GI mortgage, we were able to buy our little two bedroom apartment in Santa Monica. I didn’t make huge money, but I made enough to feed us and to pay the mortgage. Max and John had jobs to help out and worked full time in the summers. Plus, John is really good with money. I don’t know how he made it all happen, but he did.

I  think it’s pretty common for twins to live together or very near each other. So living with Max is a no brainer. Since Max and John are such good friends, it was easy for us to live together in the apartment. It was hard time because we were pretty broke, very young, and we were striving to better ourselves. We were in college –  they went to UCLA and I went to AMU. Plus I was working with the Fey Special Forces Team. But I think we all have really fond memories of living together in the apartment.

I was stationed at Fort Carson so John and Max applied to graduate programs in and around Denver.  John got into the University of Colorado Medical School and Max went to Denver University Law. For most of that time, we lived together in a Denver Square in South City Park. When I was injured, the house next door, which was a little bigger, was for sale. Max and John bought the house and remodeled it. The idea was that Max would live with John and I while we remodeled our old house. We had agreed that we would decide what to do with the houses after the remodeling was done.

Of course, the houses were blown up by Eleazar before we made our decision.

When I was in the hospital after being in the room, Max and John bought the rooming house from the bank. With the money we had from the insurance company, we were able to rehabilitate the rooming house. We’d planned to live there alone like we had before. We created basement rooms so that team members and guests could live down there. The rest of the house was to be ours. But Cian and Eoin showed up while we were still remodeling. Erin needed a place to stay. Troy needed a place to rehab his leg, and his life, a few months after Erin moved back into her LoDo condo.  Colin arrived on New Year’s.

What were we going to do? They needed a place to live. We had the space.

I think if we had thought it through, we would have done something else. In the day to day living of life, it just happened one family member at a time.

One thing I should say is that Max and I grew up in a  military family. While we didn’t have to do the bi-annual post hop, like most families, but most of the families around us did. We didn’t have long term friends until we moved to Denver. Once in Denver, Max and Colin and I had a hard time making friends. We spent almost all of our time together. Sometimes other people, like Zack, would tag along, but overall, we stayed to ourselves. Sami and Erin were better adjusted than we were. At the same time, when push comes to shove, we Hargreaves siblings rely on each other.

I hope that answered your question.  If anyone has other questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments or email me at AlexandraHargreaves@gmail.com

>>>>>Alexandra Hargreaves is a fictional character created by Claudia Hall Christian for the Alex the Fey thriller series. Opinions expressed are that of Alexandra Hargreaves and may not reflect the opinions of the author or Cook Street Publishing.  Lean on Me, the fourth Alex The Fey thriller, will be available February 29, 2012.

Ok, it seems like some kind of wicked cold plague has invaded my household. Of course, I’m not sick. I’m. NOT. Sick. or so I keep telling myself. At least I ‘m not as sick as everyone else.

And it seems like everyone on the planet is ill. Steve, my incredible tech guy, was wicked ill last week. Dan, the business manager coachish guy, was wicked sick. The husband… wait… maybe there’s a pattern there. All the men are sick. Hmmm… y linked trait?? Maybe so…

Hopefully the sick hasn’t invaded your home as it has mine.

While everyone is recovering, here’s your serial round up to keep you entertained.

Chapter Twenty brings the Queen of Cool, now playing at She is Dallas, forward a few weeks. Lo is tucked away somewhere safe while she heals from her head bashing. We catch up with her just as she settles down to really figure out what the heck is going on. Manny shows up a few days later and, via Skype, she tries to tell her family what happened… but… I mean come on! That would be waaaay too easy. (If you want to get started with the story, the first couple chapters are up at the Queen of Cool. Here’s the start at She is Dallas. It’s very fun and fast, so give it a try!)

In Denver Cereal, Tanesha and Jeraine are interviewed by Priceline but we only get to see the pieces they’re using for advertisement. And it’s juicy! Sandy moves her tribe through their transitions as Sissy starts at East High School and Charlie tries out for the basketball team. Of course, we get the sense that everything might not be as easy as it seems. But at least the kids have started school. Who knows what will happen next?

Because Steve was sick last week, we’ve continued the discounts for Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4, and included the eBooks.  You can get a signed copy of Cimarron for $10 + shipping or a copy of the eBooks for $3.50. The sale will continue until January 13th.

Enjoy!

Readers have asked, wondered, emailed, chatted, tweeted questions for Alex. For the next couple months, Alexandra Hargreaves will guest post on this blog to answer your questions. If you have a question you’d like Alex to answer, feel free to email her at: AlexandraHargreaves at gmail dot com.

Lieutenant Colonel Hargreaves asked me to transcribe this when I got in this morning:

I’ve been in meetings since Tuesday over the ’new’ vision for the US Military.  Of course, it’s more like the not so new vision for the US Military. People have been working on a reconfiguration of the military for a long time. Thousands of people have slaved over these changes with the hopes that we can maintain national security and our objectives while shifting from a World War II machine to a modern and more flexible military. We also have to cut 500 billion dollars out of the budget.

Why did I have to go to all those meetings??  Anyone? Yeah, I don’t know either. I think my brain dripped out of my ear sometime mid-day Wednesday.

At least ‘we’ had a chance to get our ducks in a row before Congress comes back in session (and drives us all completely nuts).

But you know? Sometimes I wonder if I’m just a duck too. Of course, my team and I slaved away on the new plan. After everything that happened… Oh right, Mattie just reminded me that you don’t know about all of that yet. Well, suffice it to say, they wanted us to check over the Intelligence plan.

Joseph and Mattie came to Washington with me. Joseph took copious notes and Mattie argued with brass about personnel. Raz was with us too. We went out for some nice dinners. We stayed at the Lamberton Sheridan Circle Mansion, so you know we slept well, ate well, and were catered to in every way. Max met us in New York last night and we saw the Book of Mormon. Maybe you have to grow up in the west, but I almost died laughing.

The best thing about the trip?  We’ll be home by 2000 MT and John doesn’t have call tonight or this weekend. We are going to have a fun weekend.

Anyway, I was supposed to talk this week about ‘why our families have had martial arts training and self defense training.’

Frankly, I think they should teach self defense and MMA in the high schools. Everyone should know how to defend themselves from an attacker. All of the Hargreaves kids have taken at least some martial arts. Paddie started when he was about two years old. He and his little friend Katy are real pros now.

I guess the question was why.

I have a dangerous job. Just like everyone in the world, my work, i.e., my dangerous job, spills out over onto the people I love. When people get angry with me or about something I’ve done, they are naturally going to look for my weakest link.

And my weakest link is my family.

Rather than leave them like sitting ducks, (there go the ducks again) everyone on our team has taught their children and partners how to defend themselves. Some of the Fey wives have become really proficient. Quanshay, Royce’s wife, is working toward a black belt in Thai boxing and a few others are pursuing other arts. Colin teaches the kids three times a week when we’re in town.

I think it’s important to be prepared. If we’re lucky, no one will ever come after our families. Since our families have already been targets, I know I’m not that lucky.

I get so irked when action heroes in movies ‘need motivation’ so the writer kills off a family member. For example the movie Salt. Listen Salt, if you didn’t teach your foxy husband how to defend himself? If there isn’t a weapon in the house for him to use? You may as well have killed him yourself. And furthermore, why aren’t you going after bad guys because it’s your job! Why did you need your husband’s death to motivate you? If you had gone after all those sleeper cells and whatever because it was your job, your husband would still be alive. Makes me crazy.

Trust me. My family isn’t going down without a fight.

So that’s why.

>>>>>Alexandra Hargreaves is a fictional character created by Claudia Hall Christian for the Alex the Fey thriller series. Opinions expressed are that of Alexandra Hargreaves and may not reflect the opinions of the author or Cook Street Publishing.  Lean on Me, the fourth Alex The Fey thriller, will be available February 29, 2012.