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.

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.

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

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and EIGHTY-SEVEN

Sunday early-morning — 2:42 A.M. MDT

While the kids were getting ready for bed, Sandy settled in to breastfeed Rachel on the couch of their apartment.Sandy looked up when Sissy started one of Jeraine’s songs. Noelle joined in. In a few minutes, they were laughing, singing, and dancing.

“You are getting ready for bed, aren’t you?”Aden said from his position in the doorway of the living room.

“Of course,” Sissy’s voice was high and excited.

“They’re just excited,”Sandysaid. “It was a fun night.”

He smiled at her. She winked at him. When Rachel made a sound, Sandy focused her attention on her baby.

“Can we come out?” Charlie asked. “You know, just for a minute… to talk?”

Aden glanced at Sandy and she shrugged in response.

“Sure,”Aden said.

“Yes!” Nash said. Nash and Teddy’s hands slapped in a high five.

“She’s breastfeeding,”Aden said.

The boys turned a little green.

“You’re such babies,” Sissy pushed past them in the hall. Noelle giggled. The girls sat on the couch next to Sandy.

“It’s not like you haven’t seen it before,” Charlie pushed the boys down the hall.

Aden set a soft fleece blanket over Sandy and Rachel. Nash sat on the ground with his back against the couch next to Sandy. Teddy sat on the floor next to Noelle’s feet. Noelle reached her hand out and he took it.

“Should we tell Rachel about our fun night?” Sandy asked.

“She didn’t get to go!” Noelle said.

“What was the most fun?” Sandy asked.

“Dancing,” Sissy said. “Definitely dancing.”

“You were really great,” Charlie said.

“Did you see all the boys?” Teddy asked.

“What boys?” Sissy asked. “Were boys making fun of me?”

“More like drooling,” Charlie said.

“In a good way, Sis,” Sandy said. “I have no doubt you were great.”

“She was beautiful,” Aden said.

“Oh? You think so?” Sissy smiled. “Thanks.”

“I thought you were amazing,” Noelle said. “We had so much fun. We got to sing and dance and…”

She smiled at Teddy and he beamed back at her.

“It was nice that Addy could come, Charlie,” Sandy said. “You haven’t seen much of her lately.”

“Her dad hates me,” Charlie said. “He wants you guys to go to dinner at their house to ‘discuss this relationship.’”

“Oh? When?” Aden asked.

“Tomorrow night,” Charlie said.

“You mean tonight,” Aden said. “Sunday night.”

“Tonight? Really?” Sandy asked.

“Sorry. I forgot,” Charlie said. “I said it was okay so she could come tonight. I checked the family schedule. You don’t have anything on it.”

“I was hoping to spend the night at home,” Sandy said. “I haven’t been home all week.”

“Sorry,” Charlie said. “He’s kind of a dick.”

“I got that,” Aden said.

Sandy looked up at him.

“I walked Addy to his car with Charlie,” Aden said. “I wanted to introduce myself. He wasn’t very cheery.”

“It was two in the morning,” Sandy said. “That’s pretty late for a kid to be out.”

“Sorry,” Charlie looked crushed. “You don’t have to go, but I can’t see her again until you talk to her parents.”

Aden looked at Sandy.

“It’s just a couple hours,” she smiled.

“Why don’t we take today off?” Aden asked. “We can sleep in and hang out all day.”

“School starts on Monday,” Sandy said.

“And Teddy goes home today,” Noelle said.

Sandy reached over to squeeze Teddy’s shoulder. He looked up at her.

“Dad’s coming about two with my sister and brother,” Teddy said. “I was hoping we could show them the gardens and bees and stuff. They were really excited. Dad says even Bestat, you know his girlfriend, wants to come to meet everyone.”

“Then it’s settled,” Aden said. “See, that’s easy. We’ll ask Zack and Bestat if they would like to hang out with you guys at dinner and we’ll go to dinner with Addy’s family. What time, Charlie?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Charlie said.

Squealing a laugh, Noelle threw a pillow at him. Rachel gave a little gurgle in response to her sister’s laugh.Adenpicked up Rachel to burp her.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Sandy ran a hand through Nash’s hair. “How was your night?”

Nash looked up at Sandy and then looked away.

“That bad?” Sandy asked.

“That good,” Charlie said.

“Melinda was there,” Sissy said. “They were holding hands. I saw them kiss.”

“I saw them kiss,” Noelle giggled. “More than once!”

“You don’t have to tell us,” Sandy said.

“But Rachel wants all the details!” Noelle giggled.

“Rules of dating – a gentleman never gossips about his date,” Nash said.

The kids fell over each other with laughter.

“Date?” Aden asked. “How did you manage a date tonight?”

Nash looked at him and smiled. Aden shook his head at Nash. He gave Rachel back to Sandy and sat on the arm of the couch.

“So you had fun?” Sandy asked.

Nash nodded.

“I’m glad,” Sandy said. “I wonder when we’ll be invited to Melinda’s parents’ house for dinner.”

“Oh yeah,” Nash said. “I forgot, that’s today for lunch. You don’t mind do you?”

“Really?”Sandyasked.

“No,” Nash laughed.

The kids laughed.Sandyruffled his hair.

“Do you think Miss Tanesha and Jeraine are going to… make it?” Noelle asked.

“No idea,” Sandy said. “They’ve already been down a long road.”

“I hope they do,” Sissy said.

“Me too,” Noelle said. “She really loves him.”

“He’s a tool,” Charlie said. “Worse than me. Why would you want that for Tanesha?”

“I don’t know,” Noelle said. “They’re meant to be together.”

“We’ll see,” Sandy said. “It’s time for bed guys. I know we had a fun night, but we all need to rest.”

“Come on,” Aden said.

He herded the kids toward their bedrooms. Sandy stayed on the couch with Rachel for few more minutes before getting up to say good-night. She went from room to room until she ended in her own. She settled Rachel in her bassinette and then slipped in bed beside Aden.

“Tired?” he asked.

“Not really. What did you have in mind?”

He rolled over to show her what he’d been thinking of all evening.

~~~~~~~~

Sunday early-morning — 2:42 A.M. MDT

“What did you think of Nelson?” Heather asked Blane when he pulled the car into their garage.

“Nelson?” Blane smiled at Heather. Getting out of the car, he went around to get Mack from his car seat. They walked in through their backyard to the house.

“So…?” Heather asked.

“Did you set me up with Nelson?” Blane asked.

“Maybe,” Heather smiled. “What did you think?”

“He’s nice, smart,” Blane said. “We realized that we’d met before. I guess he knew me when I was with Enrique.”

Heather took Mack from him and they went up the stairs toward their bedroom. He used the bathroom while she got Mack settled in his crib. She went into the bathroom and got ready for bed. When she came out, he was sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Why are you setting me up with men?” Blane asked.

“I want you to be happy,” Heather said.

“I’m very happy. You know that. Happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life,” Blane said. “Is there something else…? I mean, do you want to change… us?”

“No,” Heather shook her head.

“Then what’s going on?”

Heather’s eyebrows pinched together. Her face was a mask of sorrow.

“What’s going on, Heather?”

“I know you had a horrible time with Enrique.” Heather’s words spilled out. “I want you to have a better experience, be in love and… I can’t stand the thought of you dying and not every having a chance to be really in love.”

Blane’s eyebrows shot straight up. His eyes traced her face.

“I can’t stand the thought of you dying and having everything life has to offer,” Heather said. “Are you mad? Please don’t be mad.”

Blane jumped to his feet to hug her.

“I can’t think of a more loving thing,” Blane said.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” Heather whispered.

“Shhh,” he said. “I’m still here. We can still fight.”

“I won’t ever give up. Ever. Not until the last moment. Ever.”

“I won’t ever give up. You and Mack… you’ve made my life worth fighting for.”

“Delphie told me Val would have her baby next week,” Heather leaned back to look at him. “Wednesday.”

“I’ll fight to the end.”

“Me too.” She tucked her head into his chest. “Me too.”

~~~~~~~~

Sunday early-morning — 4:37 A.M. MDT

Tanesha rolled over to look at Jeraine.

“Whatcha thinkin’?” He asked.

“I’m wondering why you didn’t divorce me,” Tanesha said.

“I think the better question is why you didn’t divorce me,” Jeraine smiled and got out of bed. He went to the window and opened the curtains. “It’ll be light soon. I thought we could watch the sunrise then get some sleep.”

“Sounds good,” Tanesha said. “I’d like some…”

“Tea,” he said. “You know, I tried that tea of yours. It’s good. Mind if I make us both some?”

“Sounds nice,” she smiled at him.

She slipped out of bed when he left the room. Hearing him bang around in the kitchen, she went to the closet. In the bottom of one of her drawers, she pulled out seven gossip magazines. She folded them to the page she wanted him to see and laid them out in chronological order with the oldest one on the left and the latest one on the right. She stepped back to look at them. Shaking her head at herself, she went in to use the bathroom.

“What’s this?” Jeraine asked when she came out of the bathroom. He set a tray with a pot of tea, some of Delphie’s honey, and a couple cups on his bedside table. “When did you start saving gossip magazines?”

“This is a small selection of the women people thought you were going to marry,” Tanesha walked passed him to pour herself some tea.

Jeraine picked up the one on the left.

“Insiders say new comer Jeraine and his lady are planning an April wedding,” he read out loud. “What happened to this one? It looks… torn and wet.”

“Tried to flush it down the toilet,” Tanesha said.

“Of course you did.” He gave her a big smile and set the magazine down. “Lies. They only print lies.”

“Look at the date,” Tanesha said. “Look at the ring on her finger. If you missed it, there’s a bigger picture of the ring near the bottom of the page.”

Jeraine became very still. His eyes blinked at Tanesha as if he was trying to work out what she’d said.

“You’re upset,” he said.

“I need to know,” Tanesha said.

He nodded. He picked up a pair of boxer briefs from the pile of clothing on the floor and put them on. He pulled on a clean T-shirt and picked up the first magazine.

“Let’s see…” Jeraine said. “God, I don’t even remember her name.”

“You look happy,” Tanesha said.

He shook his head at her and looked at the photo again. Tanesha pointed to the date. His face went ashen. He swallowed hard.

“Our year anniversary,” Tanesha said. “You were leaving your fancy house in the early morning with some girl you’d spent the night with. The magazine said you gave her that ring. Did you?”

“I don’t remember,” he said. “Probably.”

“Why didn’t you just divorce me?” Tanesha asked.

“Why didn’t you divorce me?” he asked.

“Because you begged me to marry you,” Tanesha said. “You tricked me into doing it at Jill and Trevor’s wedding. You wanted to be married so bad; you could damn sure pay for a divorce.”

Jeraine nodded at her logic.

“And these?” he asked.

“All women you were supposed to marry,” Tanesha said. “Minus some. I didn’t keep track for a long time after the first one. I wasn’t… well.”

“When you were at Howard?”

“This,” Tanesha snatched the magazine from him. “This right here? This picture is the reason I graduated early and went to college right away. My girls didn’t think I was going to survive. They shipped me out  of Denver where everyone knew about you and me to some place where I could start over fresh. It was good for me to be away from here and you.”

“But I saw you when you were at Howard,” Jeraine said. “You came to see me sing.”

“You only thought you did,” Tanesha smiled. “I never went to a concert, answered a phone call, a letter, or… There was a girl who looked sort of like me. She took the tickets and went. She thought it was funny. No, Jeraine, I was free of you the entire time I was there. This girl, your perfect fiancé and her perfect diamond scratched out of this earth by some African child slave gave me the key.”

Tanesha dropped the magazine on the table.

“This is hard.” His voice was low and sad.

“I went to your rehab – twice – and listened to every single one of your exploits and transgressions,” Tanesha said. “You can at least answer a fucking question.”

“Why didn’t I divorce you?” Jeraine asked. “That’s the question?”

Tanesha nodded. He walked to the window to look out on the park.

“Were you going to marry any of these girls?” Tanesha asked.

He turned around to look at her. After a moment, he went to the table and looked at the magazines. He picked up the fourth magazine in and gave it to her. Tanesha looked down at the photo.

“That’s a nice slave diamond,” she said. “Pricey.”

“From the looks of it, I should have bought in bulk,” he said.

Tanesha looked at her own bare hand and at him.

“Yeah, like I’m going to buy a diamond some child slave scratched from the earth for you.” He turned away from her. “I’d never hear the end of it. You’re not that easy. You want something more than diamonds. God damn it, I wish I could just buy you some rock and…”

“So why didn’t you divorce me to marry…?” Tanesha looked at the magazine. “Do you remember this one’s name?”

“Annette,” Jeraine said.

“And how is sweet Annette?” Tanesha asked.

“How the hell would I know?” His voice cracked with frustration. He blew out a breath to stay calm. “Sorry. You deserve me to calmly and honestly answer your questions to the best of my ability. I promised I would do that when you said you’d give me one last chance.”

“So I’m the island of last resort? The one too dumb to dump you?”

“You’re the love of my life,” Jeraine said.

She gave him a skeptical look. She opened her mouth to ask the question again.

“Why didn’t I divorce you?” Jeraine asked. “I tried. I was going to have a fresh start with Annette. We were in the middle of making plans for a big wedding when my lawyer reminded me that I was married. Not like I forgot. I just… didn’t want… I don’t know. It’s like two worlds – my life with you and that other life. When I was in one, I had to forget this one.”

She nodded.

“You’ve been there?” Jeraine asked.

She nodded.

“Of course,” he said. “I never could figure out why you didn’t just get rid of me.”

“We’re not talking about me,” Tanesha said. “We’re talking about why you didn’t divorce me when you were going to marry the lovely Annette.”

He nodded.

“So why didn’t you?”

“I…”

“The more you hesitate, the more you need to tell the story,” Tanesha repeated what she’d heard his therapist tell him. “Did you talk about this in treatment?”

He shook his head.

“So why…?”

“Give me a second,” he said. “Can you just give me…”

“Sure.”

He poured himself a cup of tea and held the pot out to her. She let him fill her cup. Setting the tea pot down, he turned to look at her.

“I came to Denver with the papers,” he said. “All you had to do was sign them. All I had to do was file them. I went to your Gran’s and she said you were running a summer camp at City Park. I thought I’d come over, get you to sign them, and be back on a plane to New York. One, two, three.”

He shook his head.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“I remember you coming to summer camp,” Tanesha said. “I don’t remember any papers.”

“I drove City Park and parked in the lot,” he said. “I walked around for a while before I found you. You had twenty little kids hanging on you. God, you were so beautiful. You were hot, sweaty, and your hair was all huge natural afro wild but God… just gorgeous. I watched for about a half hour, maybe more. I don’t think I’d been in one place for more than five minutes at a time for… years… probably. When you finally got the kids to play a game, I came up and…”

“I remember that!” Tanesha shook her head. “But you didn’t say anything about a divorce.”

“I forgot all about it. I laid my eyes on you and just forgot it,” he said. “We talked. You agreed to meet me for dinner after work. I went back to my rental car and drove off. I was almost downtown when I saw the papers.”

“And?”

“I started crying my eyes out,” he said. “I had no one… no one to call. My Dad was so mad at me. LaTonya wasn’t speaking to me. I called my mom. She came and… she sat with me while I cried. I don’t think she knew what was going on. She just knew I was upset.”

“Why were you so upset?”

“Because my life was jacked up,” Jeraine said. “Everything I ever wanted was playing with some kids in the park for minimum wage. I was there to get rid of you so I could… what? Live happily ever after? I felt so real, so right just standing there under the evergreen tree watching you with the kids. Then I go back to the car and… I… Anyway, you know what happened next.”

“What happened?” Tanesha shook her head.

“You already know! Mom got me to the Hyatt downtown. She thought I was going to kill myself. I might have but… She called you and you came and…,” he said. “You spent the next week with me. We didn’t leave the room for three days. ‘Til you had to work again.”

Tanesha nodded.

“When you went to work, I called Annette,” Jeraine said. “You know, I don’t think she gave a rat’s ass. She loved being in the spotlight, the paparazzi, the money, the food, the clothing, and every other thing; not me.”

“Oh shit,” Tanesha said. “Annette’s one of your…”

“Baby mamas,” Jeraine said. “Right. She told me she was pregnant on the phone. ‘Fuck you Jer. Now I don’t have to marry you. You’re going to pay, and pay well, for at least the next eighteen years.’”

“She looks really different now,” Tanesha peered at the photo. “Her nose and lips…”

Tanesha held her face still and folded over her ample bottom lip. He smiled.

“She’s had some work,” he said. “You should see her… assets.”

He held his hands a foot off his chest.

“You’re a pig,” Tanesha said.

“I am a pig,” he said.

“I met her when you were in rehab the first time. I didn’t recognize her as… this woman,” Tanesha peered at the photo again. “She’s… special.”

“She’s…” He shook his head.

“You were going to divorce me to marry her? Really?”

“I wanted to divorce me and have that other… life, be that other person.”

“Hmmm,” Tanesha’s eyes told him how crazy she thought he was. “And now?”

“I don’t know if I can do this, live this life… with you,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m not going to fall under the spell again, get all addicted again, but…”

He looked at her. Their eyes held in silent communication.

“Right now, this moment, I only want to be right here with you. Is that enough?”

She nodded.

“What do you want to do with these?” he pointed to the magazines. “You want a big diamond ring? Seven? Maybe a child slave to go with it?”

She picked up the magazines, tossed them in the trash, and went into the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Getting ready for Mass,” she said.

“I thought we were going to watch the sunrise,” he said.

“I feel like going to Mass,” she said. “There’s one or two things I feel pretty grateful for. You?”

Without saying another word, he moved past her and into the shower.

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, and Cimarron 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-SIX

Saturday night — 9:35 P.M. MDT 

Tanesha stood just inside the entryway of The Church nightclub. Her ticket and VIP pass had given her entry to the club but not directions to where she was supposed to meet Jeraine or her girls. Her eyes scanned the crowded dance floor and the bars. She didn’t see her girls or Jeraine anywhere. She was turning to leave when she noticed a tall, muscular dark-skinned man walking toward her. Dressed as a bouncer, she recognized him as a Denver Police Officer and a friend of Seth’s.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” the man’s gruff tone made her look more closely at him. “Your party is in the VIP lounge. But…”

He leaned in close to her.

“You sure you want to see that?”

Tanesha smiled. He wasn’t angry. He was worried.

“I’ve seen him worse,” Tanesha said. “This is a show.”

“You’re braver than me,” he said.

He held out his arm and she put her hand on his forearm. He led her through the dancing crowd on the first floor and up the stairs to the second floor. From the second floor, she could feel the entire building vibrate with the beat of Jeraine’s dance music. He led her through the second floor to a secluded section. She smiled when she noticed Blane behind the bar. He nodded his head to the left and her eyes wandered in that direction.

Sitting with Heather on his lap, Jeraine had one hand down Sandy’s top while Ava clung onto him from the left. His head lolled in Ava’s direction and his eyes were half closed. Even though she knew it was for show, Tanesha’s heart skipped a beat. She lost her footing in the stilettos  she’d borrowed from Valerie. Her police escort kept her from falling.

“Say the word and I’ll get you out of here,” he said in her ear. “Your papa gave my gangster of a baby brother his first real job. Got through to him and got him off the streets. He hasn’t been high or in prison for two years. Two years. No way, I’m going to let you down.”

Nodding, Tanesha smiled. When she looked back, she saw Jeraine’s eyes scanning the crowd. Still hooded, his eyes moved in practiced motions. He was used to the noise, lights, and fuss of this kind of crowd. She continued toward him. Catching her movement, he looked in her direction and smiled. It was just a flash of a smile, something automatic, but Tanesha knew in that moment that he saw her. She smiled.

“You can leave me here,” Tanesha pointed to a free table. “My friend Tres will be here in a moment.”

“I’m not supposed to leave you alone,” the police officer said.

“I’ll stay with her,” Aden said. “She can join us.”

Aden pointed to a table just behind Jeraine and his posse. Jacob and Tres sat waiting for her.

“That okay with you?” the police officer asked.

“Yes sir.” Tanesha kissed the police officer’s cheek. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“You need anything, you come find me,” he said. “I can’t take you home. My wife wouldn’t like that much. But I won’t let you down.”

The man gave her a slight nod and disappeared into the crowd. Feeling someone watching her, she looked over to see Jeraine’s eyes. He gave her a quick smile before returning to his charade. Tanesha followed Aden to the table and settled in.

“Do you think he’ll ever remove his hand from Sandy’s breast?”Aden said in her ear.

“Probably not,” Tanesha said. “Would you?”

Aden laughed.

~~~~~~~~

Saturday night — 10:12 P.M. MDT

Heather stood up off Jeraine’s lap.

“Ok, here we go,” Blane said. “You ready?”

Nelson nodded. Heather said a few words to Jeraine and pointed toward the bathroom. Jeraine said something sexy and she shook her head. He laughed. Sandy got up and Ava followed them. They made a thigh bearing, tight skirted, stiletto walk to the bathroom. Jeraine turned around to talk to his former manager and the other men at the table. They said something about the women and Jeraine gave them a sly smile.

Blane glanced at Tanesha. She looked like she was going to be sick. Aden got up from the table to meet the women at the bathroom. Jacob nodded at Blane. Tres leaned over to say something to Tanesha. She nodded.

Jeraine stretched. His former agent said something and Jeraine looked annoyed. He sneered at the man. The agent nodded to the larger man at the table. He got up and walked to the bar.

“I need another round,” the man said to Blane.

“Yes sir,” Blane said.

“Hey, can you add a couple Red Bulls?” he said. “They’re for Jeraine.”

Blane moved to pour the Red Bull into glasses.

“Nah,” the man said. “He only drinks out of cans. Thinks they’re safer.”

The man sniffed his disapproval. Blane pointed to Nelson and the man went over to order the Red Bull. Nelson bent down and took out two Red Bull cans from the marked section of the refrigerator. He opened the cans and set them on the counter. The man gave Nelson an assessing look then reached in his pocket and took out four glass ampoules filled with a light gold liquid. He broke off the top of two at a time and carefully poured them into the Red Bull.

“What you looking at?” the man sneered at Nelson.

Nelson shook his head.

“Here,” the man gave Nelson the broken glass ampoules. “Put dat in yo garbage and go about yo business. This ain’t got nothin’ to do wit’ you, gay boy.”

Nodding, Nelson took the broken glass from the man and made a show of putting it in his trash.

“Here’s the rest of your order,” Blane held up a tray of drinks.

Nelson slipped the ampoules into an evidence bag tucked next to his trash bin. The man set the Red Bull cans down on the tray.

“It’s on the house,” the man said.

“Of course, sir,” Blane gave him his most effeminate smiled.

Shaking his head, the man gave him a look of disgust, picked up the tray, and walked back to the table. He was half way to the table when Blane began to laugh.

“How can you laugh?” Nelson asked under his breath.

“I don’t need to take on his hate,” Blane said. “Look at the man? He’s intentionally giving someone illegal drugs without their knowledge and he thinks I’m disgusting?”

Blane laughed. Nelson shook his head at Blane. His phone vibrated.

“They got that on video,” Nelson said.

“Good,” Blane said.

Blane and Nelson watched the man return to the table. He passed out the drinks to the posse and the former agent, and then gave Jeraine a Red Bull can. As if to make sure he drank it, the man stood over Jeraine. He made a joke as if the man was going to sit on his lap but he didn’t back away. Jeraine looked at Blane and put the Red Bull to his lips. For some reason, everyone at the table looked away at the same moment and Jeraine set the Red Bull can down next to his left ankle.

Blane chuckled.

“What was that?” Nelson asked.

“My cousin Jake has a way of… catching people’s attention,” Blane said.

Dressed as a cocktail waitress, Fran from Ava’s lab swooped by the table to pick up empty glasses. Jeraine set the Red Bull can on her tray. She chatted with the men for a moment before checking on another table. Jeraine picked up the other Red Bull can.

Heather waved from over by the bathroom. Jeraine gestured toward the women, got up, and walked away from the table.

As he passed the bar, the Denver Police swooped in. After all the fuss and worry of the last few hours, the arrests were over very quickly.  Heather went to Blane and they hugged. Aden lifted Sandy from the ground in a hug and kiss. And Seth led Ava away from the mess.

After depositing the Red Bull can with Nelson, Jeraine ran across the VIP lounge to Tanesha. He held his hands out to her and pulled her from his chair. After a brief hug, Bumpy whistled and waved for Jeraine to come up. They began a slow journey through the watching crowd toward the stage. They ran into Jeraine’s handcuffed former agent on the way.

“How could you do this to me?” the former agent said to Jeraine. “I gave you everything!”

“I didn’t do nothing,” Jeraine said. “I was too drugged to plan something like this.”

“I did it to you,” Tanesha’s finger poked his chest. “You fucked with the wrong girl. You better think again before you come after me and the ones I love again.”

“Jeraine! She’s…”

“I told you over and over again, you don’t fuck with Miss T,” Jeraine said.

“Misty?” the former agent shook his head. “There is no Misty!”

“I’m Miss T,” Tanesha said.

Jeraine put his arm around her and led her away. They continued toward the stage. Once there, Bumpy leaned down to them.

“You need to say something,” Bumpy said. “These people paid a lot of money to be here. They’re pretty freaked out.”

Jeraine kissed Tanesha’s cheek and hopped up to the stage. Seth said something in his ear. He gave Seth a ‘really’ look. Seth nodded.

“Ok folks,” Jeraine said. “We have a few issues that needed to be resolved. The Denver Police are going to take some folks out of here. Let’s give them some room. In the meantime, my friend Seth here, my father Bumpy Wilson and their band are going to entertain you. But not for too long.”

“I just learned that the Denver Police are allowing us to put up a big screen on the outside so the folks in line can watch. The sound is going to be broadcast on the radio so everyone can listen. These guys are going to play while it’s getting set it up. If you have family or friends, especially the younger folks who can’t get in to the clubs, tell them to come on down. When this fuss is cleared up, we’re going to play until close. And trust me, with these guys around? You never know who’s going to show up to play with us.”

The crowd cheered.

“I, 2, 3, 4…” Seth said and the band began to play.

Jeraine jumped down from the stage to stand by Tanesha.

“You wanna call your little friend Sissy and Noelle?” he asked.

“I’ll call Jill,” Tanesha nodded. “They’re waiting for me to call.”

“How…?”

“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Tanesha said.

“Let’s get something to eat before this starts,” he said. “I’m starving.”

“With the girls?” Tanesha pointed to where Heather, Blane, Sandy and Aden waited for her.

“Sure,” Jeraine smiled.

“You’re buying?” Tanesha asked.

“I’m buying,” Jeraine said.

Smiling, Tanesha followed him out of the club.

~~~~~~~~

Saturday night — 11:12 P.M. MDT

“So why didn’t you let go of Sandy’s breast?” Aden asked.

They were standing at the entrance of Dazzle restaurant waiting for the women. They’d just eaten and Jeraine had to get back to the club. Jeraine smiled at Aden.

“That is a nice breast,” Jeraine needled Aden.

Aden shifted uncomfortably. He glanced at Blane. Shaking his head, Blane shrugged.

“It was leaking,” Sandy punched Jeraine in the chest and he stepped back from Aden. “It started leaking in the car. He was covering for the moisture.”

“Leaking?” Aden raised his eyebrows at Jeraine.

“Never touched or played foul with Miss T’s girls,” Jeraine said. “Never will. Even I’m not that stupid.”

Aden smiled.

“You?” Jeraine asked.

“Not a chance,” Aden said.

The men laughed.

“What are they laughing at?” Tanesha asked Sandy.

“You don’t want to know,” Sandy said.

Tanesha and Heather walked passed the men. Sandy joined her friends.

“Jill’s waiting for us outside,” Sandy said.

Without looking at the men, the women walked out of the restaurant.

“See what I mean,” Jeraine said. “They’ve been like that since they were ten.”

Blane and Aden’s heads turned to look at Jeraine. He shook his head.

“Never harm nor foul the girlfriends,” Jeraine said. “That rule has kept me alive all these years.”

“Wise man,“Aden laughed and patted Jeraine’s back

Laughing, the men followed the women out of the restaurant.

~~~~~~~~

Sunday early-morning — 1:42 A.M. MDT 

The concert was incredible. Every Denver band showed up to play. Many of Seth’s friends from the Denver Symphony arrived. The music was loud, boisterous, and playful. Jeraine acted as master MC while Seth took over as conductor. The musicians and singers were having such a great time playing together that the crowd couldn’t help but enjoy themselves. The clubs owner Regis Christou told anyone who would listen that this was the best night he’d had as a club owner.

Tanesha spent her time with her girls. They laughed, danced with each other, and occasionally with their men. When Charlie, Nash, Teddie, Noelle, and Sissy arrived with Valerie, the small pack of ignored men went to hang outside to give the women time together. It had been a long time, a three weddings, a few surgeries, and two children ago since the women had been out. They were enjoying this chance to be together.

But the night was winding down. They’d already called last call. Unfulfilled from the night of music, the crowd inside and outside of the club chanted “Promises, promises, promises.” They wanted Jeraine to sing the song he’d written for Tanesha. As if he hadn’t planned it all a long, he acquiesced to the demanding crowd. They gave a rousing cheer.

Jeraine jumped down, found Tanesha, and herded her up to the stage. Just before she took the stage, Jill pressed something into Tanesha’s hand. She held up a  white T-shirt that said, “I am Miss T” in red on the front with a picture of Tanesha on the back. Her girls put on shirts that said, “I’m with Miss T” with the same picture on the back.

“Put it on,” Jeraine said.

Tanesha pulled the shirt over her head.

“As you know, there is no Misty,” Jeraine said. “At least not one I’ve met.”

The crowd fell silent.

“I want to introduce you to Miss T,” Jeraine said. “Tanesha.”

The crowd roared to life. Tanesha thought she was going to die of embarrassment on the spot. Her eyes cast around for something solid and found her father standing next to the stage with Sam Lipson. He nodded to her. Empowered by his presence, she raised her hand in a wave and the crowd cheered.

“You’re going to hear that I wrote this song for a movie,” Jeraine said. “Which I did. You’re going to hear that the song was stolen from my email account, which it was. But don’t ever doubt who was on my mind when I wrote this song.”

Jeraine pointed to Seth and the sad violin began the soulful prelude. By the time Jeraine sang the first line of the song, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Everyone knew what it was like to not to be the person they wanted to be. Everyone knew what it was like to hurt someone they loved. Men pulled their women close. Women clung to each other. As if they were at a soul revival, people’s sorrow and regret welled up to filled the club.  Looking out over the crowd from her perch on the stage, Tanesha was awed by the power of Jeraine’s music. She was so overcome that she could only stare.

When the violin played its last sorrowful note, Jeraine fell to his knees in front of her. Tanesha shook her head at him.

“Get up,” she said.

“Marry me,” he said.

“You know I can’t do that,” Tanesha said.

“Awwww,” went through the crowd.

He grinned. Jumping to his feet, he hugged her.

“Folks, Miss T is right,” Jeraine said. “She can’t marry me.”

“Tell them why,” Tanesha said.

“She already did when we were kids,” Jeraine said.

The crowd erupted in cheers and Jeraine hugged her.

“Stay clean one year,” Tanesha said in his ear. “And I’ll marry you again.”

“Folks, Miss T just told me that in one year’s time she and I are going to do it again,” Jeraine said. “You hold onto your ticket stubs. We’ll have the reception right here in one year’s time. You’re invited.”

The crowd cheered.

“Good night!”

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 185

Saturday night — 8:45 P.M. MDT

“What do you mean you gave Schmidty permission to sell my song to the movie studio?” Jeraine asked.

Tanesha didn’t like his tone and gave him a sour look. She got up from the dining table of the Penthouse suite at the Burnsley Hotel where they were eating pizza with his parents. Sandy met her at the door to the kitchen and they laughed their way in to the kitchen. Heather looked up from the sofa and went into the kitchen to join them.

“Why are they laughing?” Jeraine asked.

“Because you are a fool,” Bumpy said. “I love you son, but…”

Bumpy shook his head.

“What did I do?” Jeraine asked. “I d’nt do nothing.”

“The problem isn’t what you did.” Ava leaned over to pick up a slice of pizza. “The problem is what you don’t understand.”

“What don’t I understand?” Jeraine asked.

“Your song was leaked to the radio station,” Ava said. “Which renewed your contract with your record company and your agent. Right?”

“Right,” Jeraine said.

“What happens if the song belongs to the movie company?” Ava asked.

Jeraine gave Ava a blank look.

“Tanesha?” Jeraine called. She stuck her head out of the kitchen. “What is this police woman saying?”

Tanesha nodded toward Bumpy.

“I see what you mean,” Bumpy said. “But that’s not brain damage. That’s general moronity. Most people grow out of it when they’re twelve or thirteen.”

Everyone laughed.

“This is getting unfunny,” Jeraine said.

“The song was a present to me, right?” Tanesha asked.

Jeraine nodded.

“I gave your present to me to Schmidty,” Tanesha said.

“You see how popular it is,” Jeraine said. “We could have had a number one…”

“Let me finish. In return for the song, I bought your freedom. To me, that’s worth more than anything in the world.”

Jeraine’s face flushed, his eyes welled with tears, and he hopped to his feet. He wrapped himself around her.

“He does get there,” Dionne smiled at them.

As if to accentuate the moment, Jeraine’s cell phone rang.

“Ok, it’s them again,” Ava gave the phone to Jeraine. “Heather? Sandy? Everyone knows what we’re doing?”

The women nodded. Keeping an arm around Tanesha, Jeraine took the phone from Ava.

“Yeah?” he said into the phone. He nuzzled Tanesha’s neck and made a point of loudly kissing her.

“Jer?” his former agent said. “That you?”

“Mmm,” Jeraine said into Tanesha’s neck.

Heather giggled.

“Kinda busy,” Jeraine said.

“We’ve been worried about you,” his former agent said. “You disappeared at dinner.”

He tickled Sandy and she laughed.

“I found something else to do,” Jeraine said. “You guys are interesting but a little honey is a lot more…”

“Jer…” Ava said.

“How many women do you have there?” his former agent asked.

“He wants to know how many women are here,” Jeraine imitated his former agent’s voice perfectly. The women laughed. Tanesha hung up the phone.

They stared at the phone until it rang again.

“What?” Jeraine’s voice was slurred but angry.

“Where are you?” his former agent asked.

“I don’ know,” Jeraine put the phone against his chest. “Where are we?”

On cue, Heather and Sandy laughed.

“My house,” Ava said.

Jeraine smirked at her and put the phone to his ear.

“Capital Hill someplace,” Jeraine said.

“We’ll come get you,” his former agent said.

“Nah,” Jeraine said. “Dis party’s almost over. The Church’s just a couple blocks from here.”

Jeraine hung up the phone and turned it off.

“What’s next?” he asked.

“Bumpy goes,” Ava said. “Seth’s at the club setting up.”

Bumpy got up from the table, kissed Dionne, and left the suite.

“Now, we wait just long enough to make them nervous,” Ava said.

~~~~~~~~

Saturday night — 8:45 P.M. MDT 

Sissy got up from the couch in Jill and Jacob’s attic loft. She looked at the boys playing video games. Setting her book down, she walked over to where Valerie and Noelle were painting their fingernails at the kitchen bar. Trying to be nonchalant, she picked up one color and another until she found a sheer pink. She’d never colored her fingernails and felt a little intimidated by the movie star and Noelle’s weekly ritual of fingernails and gossip.

“In your face,” Nash yelled at the video game

Charlie and Teddy cheered.

“If you find a color, I’ll help,” Valerie looked up at Sissy. Sissy blushed.

“She’s never painted her nails,” Noelle said.

“I wondered,” Valerie said. “Would you like to?”

“Seems kinda pricey,” Sissy repeated what her mother had drilled into her.

“Lucky for you, it’s all paid for,” Valerie said.

“Plus, I have a bunch of colors,” Noelle said. “You can use my colors and they won’t cost anything.”

Sissy looked at Noelle and Valerie.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Valerie nodded toward a chair next to her. “I’ll show you how.”

Sissy sat down and Valerie pulled out a stool next to her. There was a sound in the nursery; they looked up to see Jill coming out. Jill went to Katy’s room, listened at the door, then came over.

“How are the kids?” Valerie asked.

“Asleep,” Jill said. “Mack kept climbing out of his crib. Crazy kid. Blane usually takes him for a run to put him to sleep but he didn’t have time tonight.”

“But he’s asleep now?” Sissy made a movement as if she was going to check on him.

“He’s asleep,” Jill said. “Rachel too. After all their running around today, Katy and Paddie are out.”

Jill picked up a nail polish color and sat down next to Noelle. Sissy sat back down in her chair. Valerie took her hands and looked at them.

“You have nice hands, Sissy,” Valerie said. “Long fingers.”

“The nails never grow,” Sissy said.

“This will help,” Valerie said.

Valerie began filing Sissy’s nails with an emery board. Sissy waited until enough time passed so her next question seemed casual.

“Did you see Sandy when she left?” Sissy asked.

“I thought she was beautiful,” Noelle said.

“Aden looked like he was going to eat her whole,” Charlie walked over to the plate of chocolate chip cookies. He took a bite, and still chewing he said, “She was super hot.”

“Super duper hot,” Noelle nodded.

“Sandy’s always been the sexy one of us,” Jill said. “I thought she looked gorgeous tonight. What did you think, Sissy?”

“I probably won’t look like that,” Sissy said.

“I don’t,” Valerie said. “I’m not curvy at all.”

“I don’t think I’ll be curvy,” Noelle said. “Nuala isn’t. Is your Mom?”

“Kind of,” Sissy said.

Valerie set down the emery board to look at Sissy.

“Why are you asking about Sandy?” Valerie asked.

“Oh…” Sissy looked at the movie star. Blushing, she was going to make a joke but she felt oddly compelled to answer Valerie’s question. “If I keep going like this, I might get curvy too.”

Valerie squeezed Sissy’s hands.

“I think you’ll be very beautiful,” Jill said. “I knew your Mom when she’d just met your Dad. She was lovely. I think living without your Dad really changed her.”

“Hmm,” Sissy said.

“What are you worried about?” Valerie asked.

“I won’t be a ballerina because I’m too… big,” Sissy’s voice dropped. Her face became a mask of shame and sadness. “You know, up here.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Valerie said. “I was really scared that I wouldn’t ever be an actress because I wasn’t very big up here. Everyone I knew had plastic surgery. You can ask Mike. Every single person we knew was sliced and diced into a different body.”

“But you didn’t do it?” Sissy’s voice was filled with wonder.

“Nope,” Valerie said. “I wanted to. Bad. But when I was a kid, my Mom wouldn’t let me. She told me that looking like me would always be my best asset. She was right.”

“I don’t want to look like me,” Sissy said.

“Me too,” Noelle said.

Valerie glanced at Noelle then looked at Jill. The women’s eyes held in silent confirmation. Valerie gave Jill a little nod and she nodded in agreement.

“I think every woman feels some of that, Sis,” Jill said. “We’re sold this image of what a woman looks like but we come in all of these different sizes.”

“And go through all of these phases,” Valerie said. “I know you read the article in that magazine about how ‘fat’ I’ve become. Fat? Seriously? I’m pregnant. The doctor still thinks I’m too thin.”

Valerie shook her head.

“I worried that Jacob wouldn’t like my body because I had Katy and I have some loose skin,” Jill said. “He didn’t even notice.”

“Oh,” Sissy said.

“We should talk to Sandy about it. She’s felt a lot of pressure ever since she was little about her looks,” Jill said. “I mean, even Katy feels it and she’s four. This kind of pressure is a kind of slavery where we shackle ourselves.”

“With the help of the media,” Valerie said. “And, to be honest, people like me. I look amazing in the new film but that’s because I was thirty pounds underweight, wore these push up bras, make up, wigs, special clothing, perfect lighting and a billion takes.  I mean, it took almost two hours to just get dressed! If there was a hair out of place, four people ran to fix it.”

“That’s not real life,” Jill said.

“And who would do all of that every day?” Valerie shook her head. “I wouldn’t.”

“You don’t,” Noelle said.

“No I don’t,” Valerie said. “I hope to God I have better things to do with my time than worry about my hair!”

Valerie gave a little chuckle.

“Of course, I don’t worry about my hair because…”

“You have Sandy!” Noelle laughed.

“Right,” Valerie said. “Does this help at all?”

“I don’t want to be a slave,” Sissy nodded. “I want to be a prima ballerina. But that does mean I have to look a certain way.”

“But you, Sissy, you have to look a certain way,” Valerie’s hand cupped Sissy’s chin and gave it a little shake. “Not robo-Sissy.”

Noelle squealed with laughter at ‘robo-Sissy.’ The boys looked up from their game to see what was going on.

“Sissy wants to be a robot!” Noelle laughed.

“I want to be a ballerina!” Sissy said.

“Ballerina-robot!” Noelle laughed.

The girls collapsed into giggles. Shaking their heads, Valerie and Jill shared a look and laughed.

~~~~~~~~

Saturday night — 8:45 P.M. MDT

“Hey, I’m Blane Lipson.” He nodded to the young man behind the bar at the Church nightclub. “I think I’m supposed to join you?”

“Nelson,” Ava’s bodybuilding colleague held out his hand for Blane to shake. He lifted the bar pass-through. “Come on back. Have you tended bar before?”

“Sure,” Blane said. “You?”

“Never.” Nelson smiled at Blane.

“I guess that’s why I’m here,” Blane chuckled. “Why don’t you take the taps and bottles and I’ll take the mixed drinks.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Nelson said. “We need to create a chain of evidence. Seth wanted us to handle this so it didn’t get too big, but…”

“How did you get through college?” Blane looked around the small bar for supplies. “I thought everyone tended bar.”

“My parents,” Nelson said. “You?”

“Fresh out of parents.” Blane took a knife and started to make quick work of the limes. He made quick work of the limes. “I tended bar and cooked.”

“You have amazing knife skills,” Nelson said.

“Chef,” Blane said.

“I thought you were some construction guy,” Nelson said. “That’s what Ava said.”

“I was a Chef,” Blane said. “Won a couple awards. Now I work at Lipson Construction with Sam and Jake.”

“Why did you stop?” Nelson stood near Blane watching him set up the bar. “Cooking, I mean.”

Blane squinted at Nelson.

“Sorry, I’m nosey,” Nelson said.

“Why don’t you get the glasses down?” Blane said. “Can you pour beer?”

“Um…” Nelson said.

“Here,” Blane set the knife and fruit on the cutting board. He took down a glass and showed Nelson how to pour beer. “Now try a few.”

“But that’s wasting it,” Nelson said.

“I think they’d rather you waste it than give yourself away,” Blane said.

“Good point.”

Happy that he had something to do, Nelson practiced his pouring technique while Blane set up the bar. When he looked up, Blane had the bar ready to go.

“How did you get roped into this?” Nelson asked.

“My wife, Heather, is with Jeraine tonight,” Blane said. “One of her friends is with our baby, so I thought it might be fun.”

“Your wife?” Nelson asked. “But you’re…”

“You know, this conversation never ends very well,” Blane said. “Here are the facts, nosey man, I’m married to a woman and we have a child. I’m also gay. She’s straight. She knows I’m gay. I don’t date. She doesn’t date. Not because we can’t, but because we’re both looking for the right thing. As you can imagine, that’s hard to find. In the meantime, we’re very happy.”

Nelson nodded. Blane pointed to a man standing at the counter. Nelson poured him a beer and took his money. He walked Blane through the register. He gave the man the beer and even received a tip. Nelson smiled.

“I can do this,” Nelson said.

“Yes, you can,” Blane said. “Good job.”

Blane made a few drinks and Nelson continued to pour beer. They had worked steadily for a half hour when Nelson’s cell phone vibrated.

“Ok, his people are here,” Nelson said. “Do you see them?”

“Got it.”

Blane filled a large order for Jeraine’s former agent. Nodding, he stepped back when the agent left the bar and bumped into Nelson.

“For what it’s worth, I think what you have is kind of neat. I mean, it’s not normal, but it suits you,” Nelson said. “When you were talking I remembered that we’ve met before. Ava and I, our team, we were tested to see if we could help you out with a liver.”

“Thanks,” Blane said.

“Do you still need one?” Nelson asked.

Blane nodded.

“Sucks,” Nelson said.

“Just life,” Blane said.

“HIV too?”

Blane nodded.

“Me too,” Nelson said.

For the first time, Blane actually looked at Nelson. He was about Blane’s age, muscular, with an air of being nerdy smart. He looked familiar but something was missing.

“Glasses?”

“Lasik,” Nelson smiled.

“You’re a friend of Enrique’s.”

“Enrique doesn’t have friends,” Nelson said. “You know that better than anyone.”

Blane nodded.

“I always liked you,” Nelson said. “What he did was horrible. I didn’t know what to do and…”

“It’s over and for the best,” Blane said. “I’ve never been happier than I am right now.”

Nelson nodded. A woman came to the small bar and asked for a beer. Nelson went to help her. He could feel Blane watching him. Suddenly, the bar was crowed with people calling drinks. When Blane stepped forward to help the customers, the tension between them eased. When Nelson looked up, Blane smiled at him. They heard a cheer in the club at the same time Nelson’s phone vibrated.

“They’re here,” Nelson said.

~~~~~~~~

Saturday night — 9:25 P.M. MDT

“I don’t know, Rodney,” Tanesha said. “I think you should take me home.”

Nodding, Rodney Smith watched the entrance of the Church. Tanesha knew him well enough to know that he was slow to respond. She waited. He sighed.

“I think you have to take a chance,” Rodney said. “You’re not fragile or weak. You’re the strongest and smartest person I’ve ever met.”

“Besides you?” Tanesha smiled.

“You’re tougher than me,” Rodney said.

They watched the people go in and out of the night club in silence.

“You should take me home,” Tanesha said.

“I will,” Rodney said. “If you answer me one question.”

“What?”

“Are you going to be a slave to the past? Or take a chance today?”

Tanesha watched all of the people milling around the night club. There were black people and white people, fat people and skinny, young people and old people. Certainly, the line around the block wasn’t any shorter. Tanesha looked down at her hands. Minutes passed into a half hour of silence. Tanesha sighed. Leaning over, she kissed Rodney’s cheek.

“Thanks Dad,” Tanesha said and stepped out of the car.

The Denver Cereal will continue next week…

~~~~~~~~CIMARRON, Denver Cereal Volume 4  will by here by January, 2012! ~~~~~~~~

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

Note: Sorry for the late post. I’m not sure how this got missed this week. I apologize and humbly thank you for reading – Claudia

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY-FOUR

Wednesday morning — 6:10 A.M.

Ava woke with a start. Confused, she rubbed her eyes. She was sitting in an arm chair in her office. Alex and Max were gone. She glanced at her watch then turned and stared at the clock on the wall

“Oh crap, I’m late,” she mumbled.

Semi-awake, she hopped to her feet.

“Slowly,” a man’s voice said. “Give yourself a second to wake up. I have coffee.”

Ava turned to see Alex’s problem solver, Captain Troy Olivas standing in the doorway.

“Are you guarding me?” Ava tried to say. She was so groggy she wasn’t sure what came out. He smiled at her.

“I have two cups,” he said. “One with lemon, warm water, and some of Alex’s honey and one with coffee and a little whole milk.”

Ava held her hand out for the lemon water. He came into the room to give it to her. She took a sip, then another. He sat down on the couch.

“Alex’s honey?” Ava asked.

“Alex and Max keep bees at the house,” Troy said. “They have a beekeeping club and keep bees with Delphie. You’ll have to come over for a harvest. It’s almost a pagan ritual.”

“Why are you here, Captain Olivas?” Ava asked.

“Orders,” Troy gave Ava a big toothy smile. She blushed at how handsome he was. “Actually, Alex seems to think I can help. There’s a bunch of us here. Margaret’s here to help with the Geneva contingency. Colin’s here to help sort out the medical piece with your lab tech Leslie. Raz is working with your computer guy… uh…”

“Nelson,” Ava said. “And Fran?”

“Vince is to work with her,” Troy said. “He doesn’t look like much, but he can build anything anywhere. He’ll help Fran figure out how everything worked. Our orders are to help but not interfere.”

“Were you ordered to wake me?” Ava asked.

“I was ordered not to wake you,” Troy said. “But the CDC is downstairs and the Geneva and Israeli teams are on their way from the airport. We’re concerned there will be a turf war. And…”

“And?” Ava asked.

“Your fiancé is an old friend of Alex’s father,” Troy said.

“Oh?”

“They served in Vietnam together,” Troy said. “We don’t have time for turf wars.”

“Why are you here?” Ava asked.

“I’m an ‘out of the box’ thinker,” Troy said. “I have a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics. I’m assigned to assist you.”

“Who’s working with Bob?” Ava asked.

“Max,” Troy said.

“Is my team…?”

“They’re due here at six-thirty,” Troy said. “We’re having a big meeting at eight. That gives everyone time to get their ducks in a row. Are you hungry?”

Ava nodded.

“Why don’t we get out of here?” Troy asked. “You can brief me over breakfast. I’m sure you’ll want to shower and change your clothes. Or at least I do when I work all night.”

“Shouldn’t I stay here? Assert my authority?”

“Nah,” Troy said. “Alex is here. Turf wars are one of her specialties. No one’s going to try anything while she’s around. There’s not a big dog in the world that won’t roll over at her feet.”

Ava stood up and went to her desk for her purse.

“You don’t mind if the rest of your team meets us, do you?” Troy asked.

“I’d really like that,” Ava said. “I touched base with them before they left last night, but it would be good to get a thorough update on their progress.”

“Good,” Troy said. “They’re on their way to Dozens.”

“Sounds like you’ve been busy,” Ava said.

“Not me,” Troy said. “Alex and Max. But we’ll need to have something soon.”

“Soon?”

“The patients didn’t fair very well overnight,” Troy said.

“Seth?” Ava’s voice came out in a panicked breath.

“He’s alive,” Troy said. “That’s all I know.”

“I should stay,” Ava said.

“You need to come with me,” Troy said.

“Orders?”

“Something like that,” he said. “We’ll be back in time to get this done.”

Ava smiled at him. He escorted her through the lab. When the elevator opened, she saw the team from the CDC waiting there. She swallowed hard. She was about to say something when Alex welcomed them to the lab. She and Troy got on the elevator and went up to the first floor. She was out of the building before she took her first full breath.

“That was close,” Troy laughed.

Ava smiled and followed him down the street to the restaurant. Inside, she saw her team and the soldiers assigned to each of them. They were laughing about something and Ava smiled. When Bob waved to them, she felt a rush of hope.

“I can do this,” she muttered.

“We’re waiting for you to,” Troy laughed.

She smiled at him and went to meet her team.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday morning — 6:10 A.M.

“Jill!” Valerie whispered and tapped on the door.

She’d crept up to Jill and Jacob’s apartment. As if she’d been waiting for her, Jill opened the door. Jill smiled at Valerie and gestured her into the kitchen. Jill nodded to a bar stool and Valerie took a seat at the counter.

“Isn’t Katy up?” Valerie asked.

“She and Jake are sleeping in,” Jill said. “We were up late. Doesn’t matter when Katy falls asleep. She’ll sleep exactly eight hours and wake up. She won’t be up for a few hours yet.”

“I had the weirdest dream,” Valerie said.

Jill set a cup of tea in front of Valerie and poured one for herself.

“I dreamed that we killed the monster in Brighton,” Valerie said. “You, me, the kids, Honey, like we did last night. I woke up with this feeling that we had to do it. Today.”

Jill smiled and stirred her tea.

“You don’t have to be so quiet,” Valerie said. “I know about the twins.”

Jill’s head jerked up with surprise.

“You do?” Jill asked. “Jacob doesn’t even… How…?”

“Mom told me,” Valerie said. Jill raised her eyebrows and Valerie laughed. “When we were kids. Not now.”

Jill smiled.

“She told me that only Jake could have boys,” Valerie said. “I always knew it but I was still so devastated at losing Jack.”

“I know,” Jill reached out to cover Valerie’s hand with her own. “I haven’t known how to tell you. I’m so sorry about Jack.”

“Me too,” Valerie said.

Jill gave Valerie’s hand a squeeze.

“So you’re not upset?”

“About the twins?” Valerie said. “No. Not at all. I’m excited to be an aunt. I’ve been buying baby stuff for the boys. I hope you don’t mind.”

Jill smiled. The women fell silent for a moment while they drank their tea. Valerie looked up and smiled at Jill.

“Mom told Jake too. He would have a girl, a set of twin boys and maybe more later. She couldn’t tell after the twins,” Valerie said. “He would roll his eyes and head out to screw some other chick. It was pretty funny looking back on it.”

“Screw some chick? When?” Jacob tried for indignant but couldn’t keep from laughing. Wearing his pajamas, he kissed Jill good morning. “Thanks for ruining my big moment.”

“Which big moment was that?” Valerie laughed.

“My moment of surprise and love – Twins? Us? Really?” Jacob leaned over to whisper in Jill’s ear. “We’ll talk later?”

Jill nodded.

“Are you here about the monster in Brighton?” Jacob asked.

Valerie nodded.

“I’m not going to let you go by yourself,” Jacob said. “I doubt Aden will let the kids and Sandy go by themselves. Mike’s going to insist on coming. And there’s no way MJ’s leaving Honey’s side.”

“We’d probably have to kill Delphie to keep her from being involved,” Jill said.

“But we need to go, right?” Valerie asked.

“Today,” Jacob said. “I’m a little surprised…”

“Jill?” Delphie stuck her head in the doorway. The dogs, Sarah and Scooter, came running in. “I’m glad you’re awake.”

Scooter made a beeline for Katy’s room.

“I can stay here with Katy,” Jill said. “We don’t have the mitochondrial DNA.”

“You need to go,” Valerie said.

“But…” Jill said.

“We need you there,” Delphie said.

“Katy won’t be awake for another hour or so.”

“Maria is here,” Delphie said. “She wanted to talk to you about what you wanted your nursery to look like anyway.”

“So everyone knows?” Jill asked.

Delphie gave Jill one of her flower child smiles. Jill shook her head and Delphie hugged her.

“We leave in a half hour?” Valerie got up from her stool. “I’ll talk to Honey.”

“The police are coming at eight,” Jacob said. “They want to talk to everyone. That’s going to take all morning.”

“Sissy can’t miss dance,” Jill said. “But I can stay here with her. She and Charlie don’t have the DNA either.”

“No, I think everyone has to be there,” Delphie said. “You, Katy, Sissy, Charlie, Teddy… Yes, we need you to kill this thing.”

“Construction has started on the fields around the barn,” Jacob said. “We can’t run the risk of involving their crew.”

“We go tonight,” Valerie said.

“After dinner,” Jacob said.

“It’s a plan,” Delphie said.

Valerie gave a pert wave and left the loft.

“I’m thinking of staying here,” Jill said.

Concerned, Jacob reviewed her face.

“What is it?” Jacob asked.

“It’s just been a lot,” Jill said. “For me. For Katy. Serial killers. Monsters. Crazy people. It’s just a lot. I don’t know… I guess I’m tired.”

“Is it the babies?” Jacob asked.

Jill shook her head.

“I need to shower,” Jill said.

She smiled at him and Delphie and then left for their bedroom. Worried, Jacob eyes followed her to the door. He was trying to figure out if he should follow when Delphie cleared her throat.

“Did you notice it’s summer?”

His mind still distracted by his worry for Jill, Jacob gave Delphie a curt nod.

“Do you remember what happened last summer?” Delphie asked.

Puzzled, Jacob tried to figure out what Delphie was saying. Delphie twirled back and forth making her skirt puff out.

“I met Jill at the engagement party?”

Smiling, Delphie twirled and her skirt puffed out.

“Katy got stung by a bee?” Jacob asked. “Honey was almost killed?”

Delphie twirled back and forth.

“You’re not going to tell me,” Jacob said.

“I’m not,” Delphie said. “You can ask her, but it’s probably better if you figure it out yourself.”

With that, Delphie turned in place and left the loft. Sarah, his yellow Labrador, looked up at him. Confused, he rubbed Sarah’s ears. His mind ran through the important days of last summer. He took Jill on her first date to the zoo. Katy was stung by a bee. They made love the first time. He was injured. Jill and Katy moved in. They moved into this loft. He shook his head with confusion. Hearing Jill start a shower, he turned to look toward their room.

Thinking he should ask her, he went into their bathroom. He passed the claw foot tub and the toilet. With the mirrors and sinks on his right, he went around the corner to the shower. Passing the French doors to the small balcony, he wondered why they never sat out there. It was a gorgeous day. Maybe when Jill was done showering, she would join him for a cup of coffee. Standing at the French doors, he looked out into the backyard.

Delphie and the kids had already planted most of the garden. The trees were starting to make fruit. Even the bees were beginning to wake to the gorgeous day and… It hit him.

They don’t sit on this balcony because it overlooks where Trevor was shot. Trevor, Jill’s ex-husband, was shot through the forehead last summer. He closed his eyes to count the days.

The anniversary was a week from Saturday.

He glanced at Jill’s naked body through the Plexiglas shower doors. Was Jill mourning Trevor? Did she miss Trevor, her battering, cheating ex-husband? His mind reviewed the crazy last year. It had been wild. And certainly this never ending crap with his ex-secretary didn’t help. And now with twin boys Jill would need all her resources to help them survive. He wouldn’t blame her for wanting a quieter life.

But Trevor? She missed Trevor?

Jill said she was happy. Jill said she had the life she always wanted, always dreamed of. Jill said she loved him. She’d even said they belonged together.

Why was she upset about Trevor?

Unsure of himself, he yelled: “I’m going for a run.”

“Have fun,” Jill yelled back. “We’ll have breakfast when you get back.”

He changed into his running gear. Jill was just getting out of the shower when he whistled for Sarah and took the long stairwell to the side door. He glanced up to see Jill waving at him in the front windows, then took off toward City Park.

He knew he was trying to out run his fear that he had lost Jill. He knew he should talk to her, ask her, and listen. But right now, all he could do was put one foot in front of the other and pray she loved him.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday morning — 10:40 A.M.

“Charlie! Charlie!” Sissy shook Charlie awake.

“What?” Charlie sneered at Sissy. “I’m sleeping.”

“It’s MOM!” Sissy spun on toe in place with delight. “On the phone. She wants to see us! She says she misses us! and… Here!”

Sissy pushed the phone at Charlie. He looked at the phone and curled his lip.

“She says she’s really sorry,” Sissy whispered. “She says she’s been sick and…”

Sissy’s eyes begged Charlie to talk to their mother. Charlie closed his eyes and rolled away from her happy face.

“What’s going on?” Sandy asked. “I thought you were napping before ballet?”

“I was,” Sissy said. “But the phone rang and I hoped it might be Ward because he said he would call and… It’s MOM!”

Sandy grabbed the phone from Sissy.

“Mom?” Sandy walked toward the living room with Sissy and Charlie following close behind.

“Yes, Sandra, it’s me,” her mother said.

“What’s going on?” Sandy asked.

“I’d like to see you and the children,” her mother said.

“Which children?” Sandy asked.

“Mitzi and Charles,” her mother said. “My children.”

“When?” Sandy asked.

“Really Sandy, do we have to be like this?” her mother asked. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I admit that. Do you have to be so cruel?”

“Cruel? Me?” Sandy asked. “I thought I was dead to you.”

“I see your feelings were hurt too,” her mother said. “We both have said a lot of things we didn’t mean.”

Furious, Sandy looked across the room. She saw Sissy’s pleading eyes and Charlie’s feigned indifference.

“Please!” Sissy begged.

“What are you proposing?” Sandy asked.

“I have some time off treatment this weekend,” her mother said. “I’d like to see you, Mitzi and Charles. I thought we could meet with my therapists and try to figure out how to go from here.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Sandy said.

“In order for me to leave treatment, I need to prepare to live my life,” her mother said. “I need… We need to figure out what makes the most sense for me and all of us really.”

“Sissy has ballet from noon to six on Saturdays,” Sandy said. “I don’t think we can make it.”

“I’m trying to be a mother here,” her mother said. “I know it comes easily to you, but I’ve had to learn how to… “

Not wanting to give her selfish mother an inch, Sandy didn’t fill in the blanks.

“If you can’t stand me, you can always send Mitzi and Charles,” her mother said. “I know it won’t be a financial burden for you with all that money from your father.”

“I’ll speak with Aden,” Sandy said. “We’ll see what we think is best for Sissy and Charlie.”

“They are my children. Isn’t that for me to decide?”

“You gave up that right when you gave up custody,” Sandy said. “We need to go. Sissy needs to rest.”

“She’ll be fine,” her mother said. “She’s young and…”

“Good-bye Mother,” Sandy said. “We’ll call you this evening.”

Sandy hung up the phone.

“Why were you so mean?” Sissy asked at the same time Charlie said, “Same old selfish bullshit.”

“I understand how you feel, Sissy. I want Mom to be better too. But we have to make sure she’s really better – for you both. I won’t stand for you and Charlie to be hurt by her again,” Sandy said.

“But…” Sissy said.

“Go rest,” Sandy said. “I’m taking you to dance then going to sit with Seth. If you don’t rest, you could get injured.”

“But…” Sissy said.

“I’ll talk to Aden about Mom. He wants to go somewhere this weekend. Maybe Tuscon is it.”

Sissy scowled at Sandy and Charlie collapsed into himself.

“Back to bed,” Sandy said. “Both of you.”

Sissy and Charlie turned to walk down the hall.

“Wait,” Sandy said.

They stopped walking and turned to her.

“I love you both so much,” Sandy said. “That’s all that’s going on here. I don’t want to see you hurt again.”

Sandy held out her arms and Sissy hugged her. Sandy grabbed Charlie’s shirt and pulled him into their hug. Letting go, she looked at both of their weary faces.

“You have to trust me,” Sandy said.

Sissy nodded to Sandy and followed Charlie down the hall. Sandy gave one last worried glance down the hallway then went back to her bedroom.

“What was that?” Aden asked.

“My mother,” Sandy said. “She wants to see ‘Mitzi’ and ‘Charles’ in Tuscon this weekend.”

“For a command performance?” Aden asked. “Fat chance.”

“The problem is she asked Sissy first,” Sandy said. “Sissy’s begging to go. Sissy wants Mom to be her Mom so badly… I…”

“I remember that feeling,” Aden said.

“Me too,” Sandy said. “I’ll tell you Aden, this is not going to end well. I just know it.”

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday evening — 3:40 P.M.

“Are you sure?” Max asked as he entered Ava’s office.

“No,” Ava said and sat down in her desk chair. “You?”

“No,” he said. “Bob?”

“No,” Bob said.

Ava looked up to see Leslie in the doorway. Ava waved her inside. Leslie waddled her pregnant girth to the couch. Nelson and Fran followed her over to the couch. Max closed Ava’s office door then took an arm chair. For a moment, no one said any thing. Then they all spoke at once and laughed.

Picking up a pad of paper and a pen, Ava got up from her desk. She took an arm chair and Bob turned around a straight back chair to join the circle.

“I feel like we’re at Alanon,” Fran said. “Hi my name is Fran and I’m a Codependent.”

“Hi Fran,” the rest of the team said and laughed.

For a moment, everything seemed normal. There was a knock on the door and reality set in. In a few minutes, they would have to make decide what to do. Through the glass wall, Ava saw the lead researcher from the USDA. She shook her head and he waved. She knew he’d come to tell her that everyone was waiting for their decision, her decision.

“Lay out the facts for me one more time,” Bob said.

“We don’t have time to make an effective anti-toxin,” Ava said. She looked up to see if everyone agreed.

“Well, that and we can’t reverse two hundred million years of evolution,” Max said. “Human being evolved after wasps and their venom. Any antitoxin would have to account for millennia of evolution, not to mention human experience. I mean, how many times has Seth been stung by a wasp? I bet a lot. The antitoxin would have to take into account his body’s immune memory for the venom.”

“There may never be an effective anti-toxin for the First Responders Toxin.” Ava wrote her statements on her pad of paper.

“Ever,” Nelson said.

“That’s more like it,” Fran said.

“Facts,” Bob said. “Let’s stick with facts.”

“The wood shards were soaked in toxin,” Fran said. “And they had fatty pockets of toxin stuck to the shards. When the wood spikes were pulled out, these packets of toxin were left behind.”

“That’s got to be why the men keep spiking fevers,” Bob said.

“I’m sure you’re right,” Leslie said. “The men’s immune systems would attack the outside fatty shell of these packets. When the shell dissolves, more toxin is released.”

“The men received doses of the toxin from the wood spike. They continue to receive toxin through these…” Ava said. “We’re calling them packets?”

“You could call them franicles,” Nelson said.

“Packet it is,” Ava wrote down Fran’s discovery.

“The thing I’m stuck on is that we’re fighting the natural human response to this venom,” Bob said. “If we introduce another agent, even an effective antitoxin, the men’s immune systems are so fired up, they will attack it.”

“That’s a good point,” Ava said. “The men are all in a high allergic state. The ER docs said their allergic response is so activated they’re starting to have autoimmune reactions similar to lupus.”

“Allergy medications are starting to fail,” Leslie said. “Their blood pressure keeps dropping. They’re already using dopamine to stabilize their pressure but…”

They fell silent for a moment digesting Leslie’s news.

“We can’t give up,” Bob said. “The men’s lives depend on what we decide.”

“And what did we decide?” Ava asked.

“Surgery,” Max said. “The men need surgery to clean out the wounds. The rest of the toxin must be removed. That’s got to be first.”

“Dialysis with the Immunoglobulin filters,” Leslie said. “The ER docs are already talking about it. If they use the right filter, they can reduce the immune response.”

“And?” Ava looked up from her writing.

“We have to think treatment protocol,” Bob said. “Not anti-toxin.”

“And our treatment protocol is surgery, then dialysis,” Ava said.

“Meds for pain, steroids to reduce allergic response, and blood pressure stabilizing,” Bob said. “Flush their systems with saline IVs and more dialysis if necessary.”

Her team nodded.

“And if we kill them?” Ava asked.

“They are dying anyway,” Leslie said. Nothing the heartbreak on Ava’s face, she added, “I’m sorry Ava, but it’s true. The docs say they won’t make another the night.”

“Have the families been notified?” Bob asked.

“They have,” Nelson said. “But everyone expects that we’ll pull off some miracle. We are their last chance.”

Ava nodded to Nelson. She reread her notes then nodded to her team.

“Anything else?” Ava asked.

“We’re praying for him, honey,” Fran said.

Ava looked up to see the kind eyes of her lab techs and Max Hargreaves. She gave them a smile to keep from crying in exhaustion and despair.

“I’ll go tell them,” Ava said. “If we get agreement, I’ll need your help relaying it to the docs at Denver Health.”

“I don’t work for the UN or the Israelis or Homeland Security or the USDA,” Nelson said. “I work for you.”

“Nelson’s right,” Leslie said. “We should relay the information to Denver Health while you and Max talk to the research teams.”

Ava looked at Leslie and Nelson.

“He’s right you know,” Fran added.

“I agree,” Bob said. “I’d be happy to make the call.”

“Let’s go ahead,” Ava said. “Let me know if the docs have anything else to add.”

“Will do,” Leslie said.

“You guys can go home when you’re done,” Ava said. “It’s been a long day and we were here late last night.”

“We’re not leaving you,” Fran said.

“Plus, Franny and I have babysitters,” Leslie said. “I want to get another meal…”

“In an adult restaurant,”  Fran said.

“Without kids!” Leslie added.

“We’re trying to say we’ll wait for you,” Nelson said. “And we want to go out again.”

Ava smiled at them. Bob got up and crossed the room to use Ava’s phone. Ava stood and Max followed her. They were almost to the door when they heard Bob request the ER doctors who had been tracking Seth and the other police officers. Ava and Max shared a look and went to tell the international team their findings.

Denver Cereal continues 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

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The wheels of Alex�s mind clicked through the information from the Weasel. Feeling a hand on her arm, she looked up to see Joseph. He held a pad of paper and yellow pencil which she took. Wandering in front of the stunned men, she found a table and began to write. She looked up when Sergeant Flagg touched her.

�Lieutenant Colonel?� Sergeant Flagg asked.

�Leave her,� Joseph said.

�But I�m an intelligence officer. She needs my help.�

�She doesn�t need anyone�s help. Why don�t you make a fresh pot of coffee? She�ll be done in a minute,� Joseph said. Turning to Matthew, he said, �This is what I told you about. And it is your job, Mac Clenaghan, to make sure she gets it.�

�What?� Matthew said.

�A pad of paper, a pencil and about fifteen minutes of silence.�

Matthew nodded his head.

Alex had no idea what happened. It was like walls of a maze lined up in her mind. Working with her pencil and paper, she tracked the flow until she reached the conclusion. It was something she had always been able to do. Sure, her father had trained her how to track her mind, what questions to ask and what to follow. She was also Ben�s daughter.

But when things began to click together, the world faded. She had been told she hummed and tapped her pencil against the pad. She only remembered the maze of facts. Max had the same capability but he didn�t like the way it felt. He preferred a more logical approach over her �woo woo� methods.

Nodding her head, Alex looked up to the men. Sergeant Flagg put a mug of coffee within reach. She looked at the coffee and realized it was black. She was about to get up when Troy set a carton of milk next to the mug. He shrugged a shoulder to her thanks. Taking a drink of her coffee, she was ready to start.

�I thought we could talk about Joiner,� Joseph said.

He motioned for Matthew and Raz to take the ancient brown leather couch. Troy reversed a metal folding chair and sat down. Vince slid into a leather arm chair. Trece and White Boy stood at attention toward the edges of the meeting. Larry looked confused then stood between them.

�You�re going to leave them there?� Alex asked Joseph.

Joseph glanced at Trece, White Boy and Larry.

�They have not made their peace with their superior officer. Until they do, they will remain at the fringes of this group.�

�He hasn�t either.�

Alex pointed to Troy. Troy threw himself from the couch until he lay face down at Alex�s feet. Alex kneeled down. He looked up at her.

�I�m a fucking asshole� for so many things,� he whispered to her. �I try. I really try to not be like him. But there I go again. Trample all over the people who care about me for no reason at all. Oh God Alex, I am my father.�

�At least you know you�re doing it,� she said.

�Only when it�s too late.�

�I can�t imagine not being your friend.� He sniffed at forming tears. �I�m sorry I made that happen. Can you forgive me?�

Alex nodded. Troy popped to a crouch to hug her. He helped Alex to her feet.

�What did he do?� Troy pointed to Vince.

�I mow the grass at the Fey Special Forces Team memorial,� Vince said. �Another guy does the edging.�

�I do the edging,� Matthew said.

�It�s the least I can do. Those men saved my life. �

�Exactly,� Matthew said.

�Anyway, I went there after getting reassigned. I would need to find someone else to care for the grass. Alex and I talked when she got there. She and some of the wives clean the stones. Anyway, I remain ashamed of my behavior.�

Alex gave Vince a weak smile.

�Permission to speak, sir,� Trece said.

�You don�t have anything to say,� Alex said.

The change in her was immediate. She whipped around to face Trece. Her voice wasn�t loud but the rage and injury laced words made every man in the room cringe.

�We were never friends. Even though I thought our relationship was personal, and treated you as a friend, a member of my family, I was stupidly deceived. I was only your package, your object to guard. There�s no apology necessary. Right? After all, you secured your package, so you went about your business.�

�Isn�t that correct, Captain Ramirez?� Alex said.

Alex shook with rage and indignation. Trece�s eyes blinked but never wavered from staring straight ahead.

�I was never your FRIEND. I was never important enough to be an ACQUAINTANCE! I was only your JOB, your PACKAGE.�

Out of breath from yelling, her voice dropped to an eerie low, �Tell me that�s not correct.�

�Let me tell you! You�re not very good at it. Because this package,� Alex punched her chest, �barely survived machine gun assault, torture, three days in a sensory dep chamber, and yesterday�s trampling from a psychopath. I don�t think I need a BODY GUARD. You can crawl back into whatever hole you came from.�

Turning to see the slack jawed, stunned men, she grabbed her pad of paper and pencil.

�I just remembered. I�m a civilian,� she said. Stalking out of the room of shocked men, she turned at the edge of the room to say, �Good luck finding Cee Cee Joiner. I hope he dies an awful death like the one he planned for me.�

She threw the pad of paper at Joseph and went into her room. Slamming then locking the door, she moved through the room to the bathroom. She turned on the bathroom exhaust fan and the shower. Fully clothed, she climbed into the back of the shower. She slid down the wall until she sat with her knees against her chest.

Under the cold rain of water, she cried her heart out.

FFFFFF

Forty minutes later
Thursday morning
March 27 � 8:20 A.M. MDT
Denver, CO

�Move,� Max said.

White Boy shook his head.

�Don�t you think it�s a little late to be loyal?� Max asked.

Even though he had been in a meeting since six in the morning, Max knew exactly what had gone on here. He felt Alex�s indignation and rage as if it was his own.

�She doesn�t want to see anyone,� White Boy said. �I�ve never seen her so upset.�

Max raised his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to say something then shut it.

�What?� White Boy asked.

�The difference between you and me is this: Alex is my life. She is every breath, every thought, every moment of every single day. To you, she is a job. Now get out of my way or I will make you move.�

�I love Alex,� White Boy said. �So does Trece. I mean, we screwed up. We totally screwed up. But what you said� what she said� It�s not true. It�s just not true.�

�Fine,� Max said. �Do I need to make you move?�

�No sir,� White Boy said. �But the door is locked.�

�I have the key,� Max said.

�Oh.�

White Boy stepped aside and Max opened the door. Walking through the bedroom, he found Alex in the shower. She was shivering, blanche white, and bleeding. Turning off the ice cold water, he reached for her. Alex crawled forward to his arms. The twins held each other.

�Oh my God.� Raz threw Max towels from the rack. �I�m sorry. I saw the door was open and I wanted to get my laptop. Max, she needs to get to emergency.�

Unwilling to let go of her, Max looked up at him. Raz pulled the blankets from the bed and wrapped them around Alex. Max carried her to the door. Trece grabbed Alex from Max and ran up the basement stairs to his Black Expedition. Max, Raz and White Boy ran after Trece. White Boy opened the doors and Trece set Alex in the back. The men scooted into the car.

Alerted by Max�s call, the Emergency Room nurses waited for them in the Emergency driveway at St. Joseph�s hospital. Trece laid Alex onto the gurney. White Boy and Max followed the gurney into the hospital.

�I need to make some calls,� Raz said to Trece. �Can you move the car?�

Trece nodded.

�Is she dying? She was dying behind the door and I was sitting with my thumb up my ass. Again,� Trece said. �Oh God…�

His guilt, remorse and pain caught up with him and the giant Trece broke down. Raz caught him before he fell to the ground weeping. Raz helped him to the passenger seat of the car. While Trece cried, Raz drove around the corner to the parking lot. Raz sat with Trece until he was able to gain some control over his emotions.

�Our intel said the Boy Scout was going to kill the team,� Trece said. �We were with him when the� when she��

Trece slammed his fist into the dashboard causing the entire vehicle to rock back and forth.

�No one had good intel, Trece,� Raz said. �We heard the whisper of the possibility. But we�d heard the same whisper for years and years. We didn�t take it seriously. It was after we received the phone call, after it was done, we knew we screwed up. Then we couldn�t find them. Did you know where the locker was?�

Trece shook his head.

�But she�s right. If I was any good at my job, I would have been with her.�

Raz gave Trece his handkerchief. Trece wiped his face and nose then gripped the white cotton tight in his fist. The white square all but disappeared in his big hand.

�The Boy Scout was supposed to get Alex after she was subdued by the machine gun,� Raz said. �She was his prize. His booty, if you will. If you and White Boy hadn�t disabled him with alcohol, she wouldn�t have been in the vault doorway for me to find.�

Trece looked at Raz.

�That�s nice of you to say,� Trece said.

�And true, Trece,� Raz said. �If Alex is right, and she always is, Joiner set this whole thing up. He got the Boy Scout out of Afghanistan.�

�We have work to do,� Trece said.

�Oh yes, we have work to do,� Raz said. �But first, you should know��

Trece looked over at Raz.

�Alex lost her baby yesterday. It was her one shot at having a baby and he wasn�t a very good shot. Deformed. Chromosome damage. She should have miscarried a month ago. But he was the only chance she had at having her own child.�

�Oh God. Poor Alex.� Trece sniffed and wiped his eyes again. �She used to talk about having at least five kids. Jesse would tell her she should have nine kids so they could play baseball against his kids. Now Jesse�s gone and Alex…�

While the men sat thinking, white fluffy snow began to drop onto the windshield of the car. Raz turned the car on to keep them warm.

�I can see why she�s so bitter,� Trece said. �She lost the last thing she always wanted.�

�Maybe,� Raz said. �No one knows what this darkness is about. No one. Not Patrick, Ben, John or me. I don�t think she knows.�

�What about Max?� Trece asked.

�Max doesn�t really count. Does he? Even if he knows, he�ll lie if we ask him.�

As the snow fell, the men processed the information in the warm comfort of the car.

�Should we go in?�

Raz nodded.

�I need to call her family, her fathers and mother. I�m sure John�s already on his way.�

�Max texted him in the car,� Trece said. �Let�s find out what�s going on. She�s probably just down a pint or two of blood.�

�I hope so,� Raz said.

F

Learning to Stand is the second novel in the Alex the Fey thriller series
written by Claudia Hall Christian.

The novel is available in paperback at Amazon, our store, your local library and bookstore.
Entire chapters are be published at On-a-limb.com,
StoriesbyClaudia.com and AlextheFey.com.

Join the Alex the Fey Facebook Group

Previous Chapters

CHAPTER TWELVE

An hour later
Wednesday evening
March 26 � 6:20 P.M. MDT
Lobby of Denver Health, Denver, CO

Against doctors� orders, and any kind of reason, Alex agreed to walk the two hundred yards between the ICU and the exit. Of course she was laying down when she made that agreement. Raz rolled her out in a wheelchair to the edge of the hospital atrium. They argued back and forth about her walking until, frustrated, she stood up ready to walk.

And passed out from the pain.

When she woke up, Max was there. He had dressed her in her digital fatigues. With Max�s help, she was able to stand, get ready and walk a little bit. Only her twin knew that, for Alex, the pain of letting anyone down was much worse than any amount of physical pain.

Everyone expected her to be fine. She would be fine.

Coming in, Troy popped her beret on her head and they were off across the atrium. Dressed in identical digital fatigues and a beret, Max led the way, Raz walked behind her and White Boy held the rear position. They walked casually, trying to look like a group of soldiers leaving a shift.

They were near the front of the hospital when they were joined by the Jakker and four US Air Force soldiers. Without saying a word, the soldiers joined the group. Zack came to walk beside Alex.

Across the atrium, Alex saw the backs of the Fort Carson battalion and a sea of photographers and videographers. Her stomach gripped with anxiety. She stumbled then stopped walking.

Glancing to the side, she saw Vince Hutchins with five fellow Navy SEALs waiting for them. She smiled at Vince and he winked at her. The SEALs mixed in with the Air Force and Army soldiers.

�Ready?� Max asked.

He turned to look at the group behind him.

�I�ll go first. If anyone notices my face, they will follow me to Noodles and Company on Sixth Avenue. Colin�s waiting for me there. You�ll move to the Expeditions. Check your drivers. They should be someone we know. If not, do not get in the vehicle.�

Max looked through the group to his twin. Even after all these years, she was still the mirror opposite to him. Even more so now that Troy shaved her head in a military buzz cut. Her Green Beret hid the remaining blonde. She gave Max a weak smile.

�You have to fight it,� Max said at the same moment Raz said, �She�s going down.�

Reaching to lift her into his arms, Raz�s back cramped. They fell to the ground together. Raz scooped her onto his lap while the men moved to block her view from the press.

Alex stirred.

�Shh�� Raz said. �You�ve lost a lot of blood. You�re still bleeding.�

�I need to� get out of� here. Not� safe.� Alex moved to get up. With legs too unstable to stand, she nestled back into Raz�s lap. �Are you ass-isting me?�

�I�m ass-isting you,� Raz said. �Gentlemen, this is not going to work. No matter what she says, the Fey is too ill to walk out of here.�

Alex leaned into Raz and his strong hands stroked her back. In the warmth and safety of Raz�s arms, her eyes sagged.

She could be sick.

She could be small.

She drifted off. She opened her eyes when he shifted.

�Trece�s going to help you into a wheelchair. The Marines arrived with the Denver Police. They�ve closed down two blocks around the hospital. The press is gone. We�re getting you and Matthew out of here right now.�

Alex mouth moved to the word, �Marines?�

�Maybe your bad Marine luck is changing,� Raz said. �Careful Trece, her IVs are tucked into her waistband.�

Alex felt herself float through the air to rest in Trece�s arms. She heard Larry help Raz to his feet.

�I thought I�d carry you. You know the whitey survives on the shoulders of the Hispanic worker. Now that the press is gone, the statement is less powerful,� Trece said.

�You�re a regular C�sar Ch�vez,� Alex mumbled.

�Hey! Don�t be mocking C�sar,� Trece said. �He was a heroic figure of the twentieth century. Any person would be proud to know about someone like that, let alone��

Troy put his hand on Trece�s arm.

�She passed out again. Probably lulled to sleep at the sound of your voice,� Troy said. He kneeled down to fold out the feet stops on the wheelchair.

�You better watch it, Olivas,� Trece growled.

Troy startled at Trece�s voice. Looking up at his face, he saw Trece�s bright smile.

�Gotcha,� Trece said.

Troy laughed. Trece gently set Alex in the wheelchair. He pushed the chair through the Fort Carson Army battalion holding the hospital. Marines, in full dress uniform, lined either side of the door creating a tunnel to an armored Expedition. As she passed, they saluted the Fey. When they reached the Expedition, Trece and White Boy lifted her into the SUV. Raz stepped into the other side of the SUV and they took off. They were followed by an ambulance carrying Erin and Matthew.

John met them at the basement entrance to the house. As promised, the basement was warm and accommodating. Once Alex and Matthew were settled into their rooms, the men returned to base.

After all, the President was looking for his friend.

FFFFF

Four hours later
Wednesday night
March 26 � 10:40 P.M. MDT
Denver, CO

Puzzled, Alex opened and closed her eyes.

Where was she? The bed was soft, the lights dim, and it was quiet. Definitely not the hospital.

She sniffed. A smile grew across her lips. John is here. Shifting a little to see if she could see him, she grunted with pain.

�You�ve had major surgery, love,� John whispered.

He stood from the arm chair he was sitting in. Moving across the bed to her, he lay on his stomach propping his head on his forearms. She moaned at the bed�s motion.

�I�m swelling from the fight,� Alex said. �Fuck, I�m sore.�

�You have a lovely bruise on your face � two really. I was going to post a photo to your MySpace page then I realized you don�t have a profile.�

Alex laughed and attempted to move on her side. She felt the pull of IVs. Looking up she saw a saline and blood IV.

�More blood?�

�You�re so tough. You survived hemorrhaging and major surgery. You�re bleeding, on IVs, and you just amble through the hospital. You never fool Raz though.�

�Did I hurt his back?�

�He says he�ll live, but he canceled on his date. I checked on him, gave him some ice and an injection of Toradol. He�s sleeping. He needs surgery.�

�He�s not getting surgery.�

�Would you like something for your pain?� John asked.

�A romp in the sack with my husband,� Alex said.

�Four weeks,� John said.

�How are we going to do that?� Alex asked.

�I was thinking about doing a four week training in Antarctica. I hear they need some Vascular Surgeons there.�

For the last thirteen years, they made love, at least once, every time they shared a bed. Since Alex had been home, they fell into a pattern of a fast morning romp only to return at night for a lingering sensual ride. The magnetic draw to each other overcame any obstacle, exhaustion, anger or even Alex�s crazy work schedule. Social people, their daily sexual connection was a private intimacy which kept them deeply connected to each other.

�Why were you sitting in the armchair?�

�What?� John�s eyes went wide in mock insult. He gestured to the empty shelf. �You don�t think I�m fascinated with the television? You know March Madness is on.�

�Manchester United playing in March Madness?�

�No, love, I told you this. The season�s over for my United.�

�Then no, I do not believe you�re fascinated with the television. Plus there�s no TV in here.�

�There isn�t?� John looked around the room as if someone stole the television without him knowing it.

She smiled her crooked smile. She hadn�t intended to, the smile just happened. She was happy to see him.

�Do not do that,� John scolded. �You know the crooked smile ignites me.�

�Sorry.� She said looking away.

Feeling movement near her, her eyes shifted in his direction. He moved to kiss her. His lips grazed her mouth. He pulled back for a moment as if he was trying to decide what to do next.

�We can do this,� she said. �Remember how much fun we had when we were able to after I was wounded.�

His face flushed. He had pulled her into the bathroom of her hospital room. They were so fast and hard he had to change her bandages. Sighing at the memory, John raised an eyebrow.

�Do you want to talk about…?� He started.

The shadow of sadness fell across her face. She turned her head away from him.

�Hey� hey��

Lying on his back, he pulled her onto his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder. His hand moved across her hair and shoulders.

�How�s Mattie?� Alex asked.

�Asleep. Erin said he woke up once in the hospital. He�s fairly doped up, and doesn�t fight the medications like some people.�

�He hasn�t had 1.2 billion surgeries,� Alex grumbled.

John laughed. �He�s going to be fine.�

�Do you have my diamond?� Alex asked.

�Raz has it. They took the diamond out of your belly button when you reached the hospital. They gave it to Raz. Don�t worry, Alex. You�ll get your bling back.�

�Do you have my wedding ring?� Alex asked.

�I do.�

�How come you aren�t wearing it like you usually do?�

Alex touched his right pinky where he wore her ring when she wasn�t wearing it. John�s silence dragged.

�What happened?�

�They cut the ring from your finger. Your hand had swollen completely black and blue from fighting and the break near your wrist. You would have lost your finger if they…�

And the storm came.

Alex clutched at him, and began to sob. John made soothing noises and stroked her hair and back as her sadness and loss came forward. She wept against him. When the storm passed, and she was breathing deeply, he raised his head to see if she wanted to talk.

She had cried herself to sleep.

FFFFFF

Eight hours later
Thursday morning
March 27 � 7:00 A.M. MDT
Denver, CO

Alex woke when John got up. He stayed with her until the final moment then raced to his class. She fell asleep wondering what she was going to do with herself. She woke when she heard Troy laughing somewhere in the basement. She grunted with pain as she rolled onto her back.

�I bet that hurts,� Raz said. �Do you want any of these pain pills?�

�No thanks. Can you help me up?�

Raz sat on her side of the bed. She reached out her hands. He took her hands and pulled her to sitting. She hugged him. He kissed her cheek then stood from the bed. She moved into the adjacent bathroom.

�Joseph gave me this and told me to make certain you drank it,� Raz said. �He says you have an eating disorder.�

�Oh?� Alex took the Ensure from him. �And you believed him.�

�Alex, you have an anxiety induced eating disorder. You should have seen us. Little light bulbs lit up over our heads when Joseph told us.�

Alex curled her lip and took a swig of the Ensure. She was about to set it down when she caught Raz�s face. With a nod, she drank the rest.

�You used to have those all the time when you were with the team,� Raz said.

�Jax found them.� Alex sighed. �This vanilla one is the only thing I can keep down when I�m anxious. We could go weeks or months in intense, dangerous, anxiety provoking situations. I would go a long time without eating. He didn�t want me to get sick. I�d drink them to make him happy� And get him off my back.�

Alex fell silent. She looked at the Ensure then set it down.

�Jax was� really special.�

�He was,� he said.

He gave her antibiotics, which she took before getting back into bed.

�How�s your back?� Alex asked.

�Bad thanks.�

�Raz��

She stopped talking when he held his hand up. They had gone around and around about this surgery. He wouldn�t budge about this surgery. Period.

�You, me and Matthew are on the injured list.�

�How come you�re not in bed then?� Alex asked.

�I didn�t want to disturb you. Joseph gave us this heating pad,� Raz held up a heating pad. �I asked Troy to get you one of these.�

He held up a red hot water bottle. Alex furrowed her eyebrows.

�Momma used one of these when her periods became bad. Of course, we didn�t know about the cancer.� He shrugged. �I used to fill it for her.�

Alex beamed at Raz�s thoughtfulness. Embarrassed, he left for the bathroom to fill up the hot water bottle. She held up the covers for him and he slipped under. Reaching over, he plugged in the heating pad then placed it on his sore back.

�What do I do with this?� Alex asked.

�Lie on your side and press it against your abdomen,� Raz said. �I�ll get you more hot water when it cools.�

Alex fumbled with the water bottle.

�You�ve never had a period,� Raz said.

�I had a few when I lived at home with Max,� she said. �But I was on birth control as soon as Mom thought I was messing around with Zack. Then I�ve been on the depo shots since I went into the military.�

Raz sat up against the back board. Readjusting the heating pad, he opened his arms to her and she rested her head on his lap.

�Tuck your legs up,� Raz said.

He moved the hot water bottle between her legs and her abdomen.

�Oh� That�s perfect,� Alex said.

Raz smiled. �Max is working. He said he would be back this afternoon.�

�Ok,� Alex said. �He�s got the next gimp shift.�

Raz looked down at her cropped hair.

�He�ll have to fight me for it,� he said. Looking around the room, he added, �No TV?�

�Be glad we have heat,� she said.

�There�s one in my room. Should I get it?�

�You sure it works? You don�t usually watch TV when you�re in your room.�

Raz fell silent. His hand stroked her fuzzy head. He laughed.

�You�re right,� he said. �I�ve never tried the television.�

�It doesn�t work. We need cable down here and� I don�t know� something about something else,� she said.

�Something about something else?� he asked

�I can�t keep track of everything on the �To Be Fixed� list.�

�The list is long,� he said. He settled in against the bed�s headboard. �It�s a hundred-year-old boarding house that was all but given to us. How many square feet?�

�About three thousand a floor, two thousand at the top,� she said.

�Well, it�s to be expected. Buy a bargain, pay the price.�

�Hmmm,� Alex said. �How long do we have before we start working?�

�How did you know?� Raz asked.

�Know the problem. Know this President,� Alex said. �So how long?�

�We�re supposed to meet with them in fifteen minutes on the outside. Matthew is awake. He�s eaten and is walking some. He and Joseph have been meeting for the last hour.�

�Here? We�re meeting in this room?� She looked up into his face. His eyes flicked to her face. �That�s a lot of men in my boudoir. My reputation will be ruined.�

Almost on cue, his laugh brought a knock to the door. Alex rolled onto her back.

�Sir.�

Sergeant Larry Flagg stood in the door with his hand at a salute. Alex tried to remember if Larry had ever saluted her. He stood in the doorway like a toy soldier.

�Sir,� Larry said again.

�What?� Alex asked.

�Permission to enter the room,� he said.

�Permission granted,� she said.

�Sir, we would like to hold a meeting regarding our current assignment,� Larry said. �We are wondering if the Lieutenant Colonel can join us in the main room.�

�The main room?�

�Out here,� Larry said.

�They�ve moved desks into the den area by the laundry,� Raz said.

�Great,� Alex said.

Standing at the end of the bed, Larry stood at attention.

�Go away now,� Alex said.

Larry turned in place and marched out of the room. The door blew closed behind him.

�What was that?� Alex asked.

�He, Trece and White Boy are getting a little mandatory training,� Raz said. �Trece�s superior officer enrolled them. They work with us during the day and get this other training at night.�

�No sleep?�

�Couple hours a night. Trece says he�s grateful for it because he feels horrible about what happened.�

�He should,� she said.

He touched her back when she moved to get out of bed. She turned to look at him.

�This darkness…� His eyebrows pinched together in a question.

Scooting to the edge of the bed, Alex grunted as she stood.

�Hip�s bad too?�

�John�s giving me injections again.� Walking toward the door, she turned back to him. �Ready?�

�About this darkness…�

�I�d tell you if I could,� Alex said.

�Why can�t you?�

�Because I don�t know,� Alex said. �I don�t know. I don�t know. God damn it.�

Bowing her head, she pressed her fingers into her nose to keep from crying. She wanted to scream at him. But it wasn�t his fault. It wasn�t anyone�s fault.

He wrapped her in his arms. They stood together until there was another knock at the door. She stepped back. Giving him a slight smile, she went out to meet with the men.

After all, Cee Cee Joiner was more important than the loss of her child. After all Cee Cee Joiner was…

She stopped walking.

F

Learning to Stand is the second novel in the Alex the Fey thriller series
written by Claudia Hall Christian.

The novel is available in paperback at Amazon, our store, your local library and bookstore.
Entire chapters are be published at On-a-limb.com,
StoriesbyClaudia.com and AlextheFey.com.

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