“We need to start taking care of some of the things around here,” Jill said. “Like the dogs, the house cleaning, the cooking, the shopping, and eventually the gardens. Did Mike turn the beds yesterday?”
“He’s doing it now. He’s worried about me and Delphie… He’s nervous about tonight’s art opening,” Valerie wiped her eyes. “We need to find someone to take care of the bees.”
“Is Nash still taking martial arts?” Honey asked Sandy.
“I was just thinking I could ask Colin about the bees,” Sandy said. “Good idea Honey.”
“What should we do about dinner? Do we still want to eat together?”
“I really like it,” Honey said. She blushed at her own exuberance. Valerie squeezed Honey’s hand. “It’s the best part of my day, especially since I’ve been doing this trial or when MJ’s gone.”
“I like it too,” Jill said. “Sandy?”
“Absolutely,” Sandy said. “It’s nice not to have dinner to worry about. Honestly, I don’t know if I can afford groceries for us. We still don’t have Aden’s money and probably won’t.”
“I can cover it,” Jill and Valerie said at the same time. They smiled at each other.
“We’ll get it covered,” Valerie said. “You need groceries for…”
“Breakfast, lunch, baking and dinners for nights Nash has soccer or Noelle has art class,” Sandy said. “With the kids, it’s probably a thousand, fifteen hundred a month, maybe more. These kids aren’t used to American cheese and hot dogs.”
“Ok, so someone needs to do the household shopping or organize a list if we want it delivered,” Valerie said.
“I don’t think the delivered stuff is as good,” Honey said.
“It’s expensive and you don’t get to pick your own vegetables,” Jill said.
“I’ll shop,” Honey said. “I think it would be fun.”
The women gawked at her. Sandy shifted uncomfortably.
“What?” Honey asked.
“Can you shop?” Valerie asked.
“Of course I can shop!” Honey said. “At least I think I can. Just because I’m in this wheelchair and have limited use of my hands doesn’t mean I can’t do it.”
“How about this?” Sandy asked. “Honey organizes the shopping and Jill or I will go with her to help.”
“I can go,” Valerie said.
“You and a billion photographers,” Jill said.
“I can still go,” Valerie said. “The photographers can’t go in the store.”
“Ok, one of us will go with Honey to help,” Sandy said. “Does that work?”
“I wonder if we could get Blane to cook dinner for us,” Valerie said. “He’s an amazing chef.”
Jill and Sandy gave Valerie a puzzled look.
“He went to Chef’s school. He used to be a Sous Chef at the Capital. He’s really amazing. Have you had his chocolate cake?”
“To. Die. For.” Jill said. Sandy nodded.
“He’d probably do it,” Valerie said. “But with Mack and everything, it’s kind of a lot to ask.”
“I can cook,” Jill said.
The women looked at her with doubt.
“Really,” Jill said. “I used to cook all our meals when I was a kid. That was my household job. I’m not a Chef but I can cook. Between school and working for Jake, I have time to do it.”
“I’ll make bread and pastries,” Sandy said. “That would be fun for me.”
“I’ll work out a menu for the week,” Honey said. “I’ll coordinate everyone’s contributions into a schedule and do the shopping.”
“Wow, that’s a lot Honey. Are you sure?” Valerie asked.
“I want to do it,” Honey said. “MJ and I… We really like living here. It’s the least I can do.”
“What will I do?” Valerie asked.
“You’re going back to Prague, right?” Jill asked.
“Next Sunday. But I’ll be home in four weeks. Then I’m here until we have the baby.” Valerie’s face clouded again. “If we have the baby.”
Jill hugged Valerie. Sighing, Valerie pushed her sadness away.
“When I get back, I can help run the household. If Delphie’s not better, we’ll need to plant the gardens, mow the lawn, take care of the maintenance, and…”
“Delphie does a lot for us,” Sandy said.
The women nodded.
“We need to do this for her,” Jill said.
“We can do this,” Honey said. “I’ll get everything organized. Maybe I’ll ask Blane if he could cook Sunday dinner.”
“That’s a great idea,” Sandy said. “We can have everyone here for Sunday dinner. I’d like that.”
The women nodded in agreement to Sandy.
“We can do this,” Jill repeated.
“I wish we didn’t have to,” Honey said.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday afternoon — 2:45 P.M.
“You know you’re alive,” Celia chided Delphie.
“I know nothing of the kind,” Delphie replied.
They were sitting outside on a small patio. Delphie had begged for some time to herself. Sam had helped her to the patio and left her to herself. She’d spent most of her meditation arguing quietly with Celia.
“Can you feel pain? Sadness? Rage?” Celia asked.
“Yes,” Delphie said.
“Then you’re alive,” Celia said. “Why would you want to be dead?”
“I’m dead like you,” Delphie said.
“Then why can Sam see you?” Celia asked. “Talk to you? Hold your hand?”
“What are you? The alive or dead police?”
“I’m your best friend,” Celia said. “I want you to live every moment of this life to its fullest. It’s a miracle that you’re still alive.”
“No, I’m not.”
“It’s unlike you to be so stubborn. What’s going on with you?”
Delphie looked at the apparition of her best friend, her beloved Celia. She had no logical response to Celia’s sincere and loving question. Delphie’s mind drifted to the crushing moment when she felt completely alone. Lying on the Castle living room floor, Delphie knew she would be alone for an eternity. Losing everyone was the most horrible thing that had ever happened to her. Delphie shook the loss from her head.
“Why is it better to be dead?” Celia asked.
Like a tiny spark, her mind replied: ‘I can’t lose them again.’ The spark was gone before Delphie was even aware it.
“It’s not better. It just is,” Delphie said.
Celia laughed.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday evening — 5:15 P.M.
“But why can’t I take out Melinda?” Nash whined. “Dad would let me date.”
Nash had returned from snowboarding angry and ready for a fight. He’d been needling Sandy for weeks about dating. Tonight he would not let up. Noelle had tried to intervene but finally gave up and went to her room.
“Your father is not here,” Sandy said. “Get dressed. We’re leaving in a few minutes.”
“You think of me as a child!” Nash shifted into a full blown rant. “You want me to be a little itty baby. I’m not a baby. I have a job! I want to have a girlfriend! How hard is that?”
“Nash,” Sandy touched the boy’s shoulder. He shrugged her off. “Why are you so angry tonight?”
“Why do you care? You just want me to do what I’m told and shut up. Well, I’M NOT GOING TO SHUT UP.”
With all her might, Sandy wished Delphie was here. Delphie always knew how to handle Nash when he was angry.
“Good to know,” Sandy said.
“I HATE you” Nash gestured at her with his cast. “And I HATE this!”
He stomped down the hall to his room. The apartment vibrated when he slammed his door. Sandy plopped down on the couch. She heard Noelle try to talk to Nash. He screamed at her. Dressed in her best dress, Noelle came out to sit on the couch next to Sandy. The little girl and the woman sat on the couch staring at nothing for few moment
s. Sandy sighed.
“I better go talk to him,” Sandy said.
Sandy went down the hall and to Nash’s bedroom. Opening the door, she found him lying face down on the bed. She sat next to him on the bed and softly stroked his back.
“Nash,” Sandy said. “Dating is a big deal. If you want to take Melinda, or any girl out, you have to have the skills to do it well. Otherwise, it’ll just be hard and awkward.”
“Why do you think I don’t have the skills?”
“I don’t know if you do or don’t,” Sandy said. “We need to figure out what you need to learn. When you’re ready, you can ask Melinda out. You didn’t give me a chance to say that before you got so upset.”
“She probably hates a loser like me anyway,” Nash said.
“She’s going to Mike’s art opening tonight,” Sandy said. “You could see if she hates you there.”
Nash didn’t move or say anything.
“I know this has been really hard on you,” Sandy said. “It’s hard for all of us. But it only works if we’re a team. When you’re upset, we’re upset. Do you really hate this?”
Sandy leaned forward when she heard a ‘No.’
“We’re all heartbroken about Delphie,” Sandy said.
Nash’s back began to heave.
“She’s coming home tomorrow.”
Nash rolled over. He threw himself into Sandy’s arms. Sandy held the crying boy.
“I should have done something,” Nash said. “I didn’t do anything for Dad and I didn’t do anything for you and I didn’t do anything for Delphie and…”
“You did something for all of us,” Sandy said.
“No I didn’t,” Nash said. “I let you get hurt and…”
“You loved us,” Sandy said. “That’s all that matters to me, your Dad, and Delphie.”
“It’s not enough,” Nash said. “Dad’s in a coma and Delphie’s in the hospital and…”
Hearing a noise, Sandy turned to see Noelle standing in the doorway. Crying, Noelle ran to the bed to join their hug. She held the weeping children.
No amount of cookies or brownies would fix this situation. Sandy was at a loss for what to do to make things better. She just hung on for dear life. After a few minutes, she sighed.
“We need to get ready to go,” she said. “This is a big day for our friend Mike. He’s asked us to be there with him. He’s pretty nervous. I think we would be crummy friends if we let our own problems keep us from being there for him.”
Nash and Noelle nodded.
“Sometimes, we have to just put away what we feel so that we can be there for someone else,” Sandy said.
“Is that what you do with us?” Nash asked.
“Sometimes,” Sandy said. “Sometimes I feel sorry for myself and eat Girl Scout cookies.”
“What kind of Girl Scout cookies?” Nash asked.
“Any,” Sandy smiled. She stroked his hair then hugged him. “Are we all right?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“Are we all right?” Sandy hugged Noelle.
“Of course,” Noelle said. “Nash, you have to get dressed. Fancy dress.”
“I do?” Nash returned to whining.
“Dating skill #1,” Sandy said. “You have to be able to dress up even when you don’t feel like it. And fast. You have five minutes.”
Nash hopped off the bed and began rifling through his closet. Chuckling to herself, Sandy led Noelle from his bedroom. Five minutes on the mark, Nash arrived from his bedroom in dress pants, a nice shirt and a jacket. Sandy helped him with his tie.
They jogged down the stairs and out to the driveway where they joined Jill, Jacob, Katy, Honey, and MJ in the back of a limousine.
“Everything all right?” MJ asked Nash. “You seemed a little upset.”
“I need to learn dating skills,” Nash said.
“Don’t we all,” Jacob said.
At that moment, the driver took off from the Castle. They were off to Mike’s big event.
CHAPTER NINETY-TWO
Mike’s show
Sunday evening — 6:15 P.M.
Denver Art Museum
“When we get home, will you talk to me about what happened between you and Johansen?” Jill whispered into Jacob’s ear. “And how you are about it? And everything?”
They were standing in the middle of the nearly empty art gallery. Most of their close friends and family were looking at one or the other of Mike’s gorgeous paintings. No one had seen his entire collection. When Katy ran off to play with Noelle, Jill took Jacob’s hand and led him to the middle of the room. He held her in his arms.
“I don’t have anything to say,” he whispered in her ear.
“You’ve been avoiding the subject since it happened.”
“I’ve been a little busy with Lipson and trying to keep the Castle from falling down,” he whispered.
She let the conversation lag on his lie. She kissed his neck.
“Please let this drop.” Jacob stepped back to look in her eyes. “I can’t talk about it. I just can’t. Not now. Please.”
She kissed his lips.
“I love you,” he said. “I keep hoping my buddy Mike will paint you naked. Then I remember that my buddy Mike is your big brother. Kinda spoils the whole thing.”
Jill laughed. For a moment, they fell into their usual ease and levity. Jill’s eyebrows pinched together.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Just in your man cave?”
He burst out laughing. He pulled her to him to hide from people’s looks.
“I need time to… sort out my own mess. You know how I love to sort out messes,” he whispered in her ear. “It just takes a while. Delphie has helped me, but I’m on my own now. I…”
He shook his head.
“I’m here. Maybe I can help,” she said.
“I’d rather just love you. If that’s okay,” he said. “I’ll get through this.”
Unsure of what to say to her complicated husband, she held him close.
“Wanna try the bathroom for a quickie?”
Jill laughed.
“Mike and Val are moving,” he said. “Must be time to start.”
“Jacob…” Jill’s serious voice brought his full attention to her. “You will tell me… when you can?”
“I will. Don’t worry. When I have something to say, you’ll hear all of it. You’ll hear so much you’ll be sick of hearing me talk. Then you’ll say.” He shifted his voice to imitate her voice. “…shut up, Jake. You go on and on and on.”
She smiled and kissed his lips.
“I love you,” he whispered. “What do you think it would take to get Mike to paint you naked?”
“A sudden frost in hell?” Jill whispered.
Laughing at the idea, Jacob took her hand and they joined their families.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday evening — 6:25 P.M.
“Are you ready?” Valerie asked.
Mike nodded but the panic in his eyes tore at her. She straightened the collar of his new Frederec Martins tuxedo.
“You look great,” she said. “Frederec did an amazing job.”
“You look beautiful.” He touched the flowing silk of her Martins gown. “Wow.”
She hugged him.
“All you have to do is walk around,” Valerie said. “That’s it. Let your amazing paintings speak for themselves. They have a lot to say. You don’t have to say a thing.”
“Except when people talk to me.”
“You like people,” Valerie said. “Everyone loves you. If you get stuck Jake or I or any of us will rescue you. All of your friends and our family are already in the gallery. Jill brought Katy. She’s always a good distraction.”
“I wish Delphie was here,” Mike said. “This is really her show. She and Jake made me start painting and… I miss her. I thought she’d be here.”
“Me too.”
Valerie kissed his lips and wiped the
lipstick from them. He held her to him.
“When we get home…” he started.
“Yes,” she said.
He took the hand she held out to him. Together they walked to the front of the museum. Through the glass doors, they saw a line that wrapped around the building and the block. Mike nodded to the security guard.
The doors opened.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday evening — 7:15 P.M.
“Glad we came?” Blane asked.
He looked across the room. There were so many people that they hadn’t found their friends.
”You were right. I’m glad to be here for Mike,” Heather said. “Plus, it’s fun to get dressed up.”
Looking down into the sling, she saw that Mack was awake. She smiled at her son. Blane put his arm around her to look at the baby.
“Hey buddy, did you wake up?” Blane said. “With making dinner, I didn’t get his run in.”
Mack yawned.
“He’s all right,” Heather said. “Sleepy. We’ll be all right.”
“Blane?”
Blane and Heather looked up to see a tall brown-haired man with blue eyes coming toward them. Blane blushed. The handsome man held his arms out and Blane hugged him.
“This is my wife, Heather,” Blane said. “Heather, this is Michael Moore.”
“Oh, hi!” Heather blushed. She shook Michael Moore’s extended hand. “You’re Mike’s makeup artist.”
“Among other things,” Michael said. “I heard you had a baby, Blane. May I?”
Heather tipped the sling so that Michael could say hello to Mack.
“Oh my God, he’s adorable,” Michael said. “This is Mack?”
Cooing, Mack grabbed Michael’s finger.
“Wow,” Michael said. “How old is he?”
“Eighteen days,” Blane said.
“So tiny. Congratulations,” Michael said. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to be the Heather that does Valerie’s makeup.”
“I’ve done Valerie’s make up. I did it tonight,” Heather blushed again. “I’m not a pro or anything. Valerie just lets me do it because one of my best friends is married to her brother. I don’t really…”
Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4 Page 3
