“You say the nicest things,” Valerie said.
She looked up to kiss his lips.
“What if we decide to adopt?” Valerie asked.
“Whatever,” Mike said. “I like kids. You like kids. If we adopted, they’d still be your babies.”
“Our babies,” Valerie said.
“Our babies,” Mike said.
“Did you really storm out?” she asked. “You look pretty pissed in the photo.”
“I was painting! The vultures came out of nowhere,” he said. “They kept trying to get a photo of what I was painting. I had to pack up and leave. Yes, I was pissed. I stormed out.”
“What were you painting?”
Shaking his head, Mike didn’t respond.
“What?” Valerie asked.
“It’s a present,” Mike said.
“For who?”
“My girlfriend,” he said.
“You have a girlfriend? Why don’t the tabloids know about her??”
Refusing to answer, Mike fell silent. Valerie laughed. She shook his knees. He kissed the back of her head. She sighed.
“I love you,” he said.
“And?”
“That’s all,” he said.
“That’s enough.”
~~~~~~~~
ADDICTION IMPAIRS RELATIONSHIPS – Denver Magazine
Wednesday night — 9:40 P.M.
“I may kill Nash,” Sandy said.
She set a bowl of soup down at his place and returned to cutting a fresh loaf of bread. Aden bought in a pitcher of water.
“They’ve been a handful this week,” Aden said.
“They want to see you,” Sandy said.
“I saw them today,” Aden said. “I picked them up from school.”
“They talk non-stop about you,” Sandy said.
“That’s funny,” Aden said. “When I see them, they talk non-stop about you.”
“I wonder what they’re up to,” Sandy said.
He sat down at the little table in her apartment. She sat down across from him.
“Oh wow, this is good,” he said. “I didn’t realize I was so hungry.”
“You’re teeth are bad,” she said.
He nodded and took another spoonful.
“Does the heat hurt?”
“It’s better than cold,” he said. “I’ve always wanted nice teeth. In the end, I’ll have really nice teeth.”
“Speaking of teeth,” Sandy said. “We need to get Nash in to see about braces.”
Aden nodded. He fell silent eating his soup. When he finished his bowl, she stood to refill it. He mashed the soft warm bread into pieces he could chew.
“I need to ask you something,” he said. “I mean, it’s hard for me to ask you for something else. You’re taking care of my kids. You’ve fed me every night, taken me to the dentist and picked me up.”
“It is your car,” she said.
“Well, you’ve just been great. But I need something… else.”
“What?”
“For us to work…”
She scowled.
“I really want us to work. I think we can work,” Aden said. “I love you and you love me. We can do this.”
Crossing her arms, she shook her head. He took a breath for courage.
“I need you to go to an Alanon meeting,” he said.
“You have an addiction. You have a problem, not me.”
“Because I’m an addict, people who care about me can become codependent. I want to have a healthy relationship with you. I want us to work. I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” he said. “And that means you’ll have to go.”
Sandy shook her head. She sat down across from him.
“Will you think about it?” Aden asked.
“My Mom used to go,” Sandy said. “She said it was a stupid waste of time. Everyone sits around complaining about how their lives suck. No one does anything. They just complain.”
“Your Mom’s not the most positive person in the world,” he said.
They fell silent while he ate the rest of his soup. She held her hand out to get him some more but he shook his head.
“You’ll think about it?” he asked.
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “No promises, but I’ll think about it.”
“For me?”
“For the baby.”
“And for me?”
“Sure,” Sandy sighed. “God, you are Nash’s father.”
He laughed.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and TWO
Found
Thursday morning — 10:15 A.M.
Aden pulled up to the Midtown office building. Parking his car in the lot, he jogged across the parking lot to the entrance. He skid to a stop in front of the listing of doctors. Trying to calm his pounding heart, Aden stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. The elevator filled with other people and Aden pressed to the back. He had to bite his tongue to keep from screaming when someone held the elevator for one more person. Finally at the top floor, he followed three or four women out of the elevator. He held the door for them and then followed them into the doctor’s suite.
Aden was standing in a sea of women. They instinctively shifted away from him and he made a beeline for the desk.
“I understand that my fiancé is having trouble with our baby,” Aden said to the nurse.
The room full of women fell silent. All eyes were on Aden at the desk.
“Who’s your fiancé?” the nurse raised an eyebrow at the suspicious man.
“Sandy…”
“Sandy? Trouble?” the nurse said. “The only trouble she’s having is trying to figure out if she’s having a boy or a girl. Her kids are all up in it. They fight about it every time they’re here. Weren’t you supposed to bring her kids?”
Confused, Aden shook his head at the woman.
“Sandy’s in trouble,” Aden repeated.
“Not that I know of,” the nurse said. “Come on, I’ll take you back and you can see for yourself.”
The waiting room filled with chatter the moment he stepped behind the desk. Glancing back at the sound, Aden followed the nurse through a maze of rooms. The nurse tapped on the door before opening it. She held the door for Aden.
“Well go on,” the nurse said.
The nurse gave him a little push into the room and closed the door. Sandy was lying on a table while a woman spread gel on her belly. They were engrossed in a conversation about the baby. Aden blinked.
“You’re getting an ultrasound,” Aden said.
His voice caused the technician and Sandy to look at him. The medical technician touched Sandy then left the room.
“Where are the kids?” Sandy asked. She gave him a confused smile. “Nash said you were picking him and Noelle up.”
“Nash called and said you and the baby were in trouble,” Aden said. “He made it sound like…”
Aden collapsed into a plastic chair next to the door. Sandy got up to go over to him.
“Are you all right?” Sandy asked.
“I thought…” He looked up at her concerned face. “He made it sound like you were losing the baby, like you were dying. I… I’m going to kill him.”
Sandy smiled and moved back to the table.
“Did you buy him an iPhone?” Aden asked.
“It was our agreement. He got an iPhone if he got caught up in school,” Sandy said. “He and Teddy did a good job.”
“Are you seeing Teddy’s father?” Aden asked.
“Zack?” Sandy asked. “No. We’re old friends. We get together once a week or so when he’s in town. I’m supposed to have lunch with him tomorrow. Why?”
“Noelle said he’s been sleeping over with you,” Aden said.
“I haven’t noticed another man in my bed. I think I would. It’s a fairly small bed,” Sandy laughed. “Where would he sleep? On top of you? You’ve been there every night this week.”
Aden smiled. Sandy got back up on the table.<
br />
“Nash told me you were bringing him and Noelle. I’m a little surprised they aren’t here,” Sandy said. “They’re making a huge sacrifice to give up their ultrasound appointment. They’ve come to every one. The nurses love them.”
“They want us here together,” Aden said.
“They usually come with me,” Sandy said. “We get lunch and sometimes ice cream. Who will I have lunch with now?”
“I’d be delighted to take you to lunch,” Aden said.
“What about your teeth?”
“I’ll manage,” Aden said.
“Have you done this before?”
Aden shook his head. The technician came back into the room. She went around the end of the table.
“Where are we now?” Sandy asked.
“Most of the money is on a boy,” she said. “Hi. We haven’t met. You look just like Nash.”
“I’m Aden.”
The technician began to move the wand over Sandy’s belly.
“What’s the bet?” Aden asked.
“We’ve had the hardest time finding out if Sandy’s having a girl or a boy,” the woman said. “It’s usually not a big deal, but Nash and Noelle have been so cute. We made a little pool that I would find out today. People are betting on boy or girl. We really like it when the kids come with Sandy. They brighten up our day.”
The technician continued to move the wand.
“Let’s see… here’s the head,” the technician said. “The baby is getting big Sandy. For such a tiny person, this is going to be a big baby. Here’s a hand. Everything looks good.”
The technician pressed on Sandy’s belly.
“Come on baby, let us take a look,” the technician said. The baby shifted away from the wand. “Aden, why don’t you put your hand here? Nestle the head and maybe…”
Aden put his hand on Sandy’s belly. He tried to imagine he was holding his baby’s head. Sandy put her hand over his and he interlaced their fingers.
“The baby is looking up at you, Aden,” the technician said. “Keep moving… Keep moving…
Sandy looked up at Aden. Feeling her gaze, he looked into her eyes.
“There we go,” the technician said. “Whatever you’re doing keep doing it.”
Sandy smiled at him.
“Well, hello!” the technician said.
~~~~~~~~
Thursday morning — 11:35 A.M.
“Que? De donde?” Jacob said.
He was standing in near the edge of what had been the Castle chapel. The explosion had ripped through the flooring exposing the chapel’s foundation, or really lack of foundation. He’d spent the last week trying to stabilize the area. Every time he thought it was secure, something else collapsed.
Running out of options, he’d decided to create a foundation down here. They had built a wooden support structure for the entire second floor. He’d been working on a form for a stabilizing retaining wall and deep pillars when one of his men came over. The man gestured wildly. In his panic, he was speaking in rapid Spanish.
“Mas despacio,” he asked the man to speak more slowly. “What happened?”
The man shook his head and pointed to where he and a few men had been digging a trench for the new foundation. The other men looked equally panicked. Jacob walked over to the area where the altar once stood.
“Que pasa?” he asked.
The men shook their head and looked away. The first man pointed to something in the dirt. A human skull stuck out from the red clay. Jacob dropped to a crouch. Pulling off his glove, he reached out to touch the skull. His hand hovered over it for a moment.
“It’s real,” one of the men said. “I touched it.”
Jacob nodded. He sighed with relief. One touch would have shown him the last moments of that person’s life. He didn’t want to do that in front of these men.
“What do we do?” another man said.
“We call the police,” Jacob said.
“No more work today?”
“We won’t work here for a while.” Jacob shook his head.
~~~~~~~~
Thursday afternoon — 3:15 P.M.
“JILL!”
On her way home, Jill stepped into Pete’s Kitchen. She wasn’t really sure why she was here. She hadn’t been in since she stopped working at Pete’s. After four days of hostility and ridicule at school, she had wandered through her day. Somehow, her wanderings led her to Pete’s.
The entire staff came up front to say hello. Jill found herself hugging one person after another. Everyone seemed so happy to see her. Overwhelmed, Jill began to tear up.
“Give her some room,” the manager said. “Are you done with your semester? Like to pick up a shift?”
Jill nodded.
“Great! You’re always welcome here,” the manager said.
“We heard about what that tramp is saying,” a waitress said.
“Everyone is saying the most awful thing,” Jill said.
“They don’t know you,” a waitress said as she passed by with a hamburger and a Mexican special. “They don’t know Jacob.”
“Not like us,” the manager said.
“We were here when you and Jacob got together,” another waitress said. “We saw the whole thing.”
“And we went to the wedding,” Risto the cook said. “We don’t believe a word that hooker says. We know her kind.”
“When can you start?” the manager said.
“I can pick up a shift now. Jacob’s not working at Lipson so our schedules have changed.”
“Great,” the manager said. “I’ll check the schedule and call you.”
“How about a cinnamon roll for Katy?” A waitress took Jill’s arm and walked her back to the bar. “We take care of our own, Jill. You know that. No matter where you go or what you do, you’ll always be one of us.”
“Why?” Jill asked.
“Because you’re real,” The waitress laughed. “Nice people stick together.”
For the first time in almost a week, Jill felt her feet under her. She nodded. She would always be one of these hard working people. She was a nice person. She belonged around nice people.
Jill smiled. She was home.
~~~~~~~~
Thursday afternoon — 4:11 P.M.
Delphie came up behind Jacob and put her hand on his back. They watched six uniformed police officers with shovels carefully poke around in the dirt where the chapel had stood. The coroner and her assistant were working in the site where they found the skeleton. Jacob looked over at her.
“There’s nothing you could have done,” Delphie said.
“Did you know they were there?” he asked.
“They?”
“A man and a woman or I should say a boy and a girl. They were about eighteen. The coroner thinks they died somewhere else and were buried here. They’re lying in each other’s arms.”
“Romantic,” Delphie said. “I knew there were unhappy souls down in those tunnels but I always thought they had more to do with the moving of bodies from Cheesman. Did you know they were here?”
“No,” Jacob said. “I have this feeling like if I wanted to know, I would have known.”
“I feel the same thing,” Delphie said. “Did they find the rest?”
“The rest?” Jacob said. “What rest?”
“I don’t know,” Delphie said. “I just said that. I don’t know why.”
They watched a police officer yell. Another police officer came over to the first.
“We have another one,” the second police officer indicated to the coroner. “It’s a child.”
“It’s a nightmare,” Jacob said.
“We have to find out what happened to these people,” Delphie said.
Jacob turned to look into her face.
“We have no choice,” Delphie said.
“We always have a choice,” Jacob said.
“Not this time,” Delphie said.
Delphie nodded and Jacob shrugged.
“I
’ll do it myself then,” Delphie said.
“Do what?” Seth O’Malley said. He held his hand out and Jacob shook it. “Nice to see you folks again.”
“Sandy’s at her studio,” Delphie said to Sandy’s godfather. “Did she tell you they found out the baby’s gender?”
“She called me after Aden dropped her off,” Seth said. “I’m thrilled.”
Delphie nodded.
“I need to know what you know about this mess,” Seth said.
“Nothing,” Jacob said. “We just found them.”
“Them,” Seth said. “Yes. Well, I’ve been assigned to this case. My partner and I are going to be around a lot until we get this worked out.”
Delphie and Jacob nodded.
“You going to help me?” Seth asked. He leaned in so only they could hear, “I know all about the psychic thing. I could really use your help. The coroner is saying the kids have been here since the 1970s…”
“Found another one,” a kneeling police officer said. “This one has flesh.”
“That’s four,” Seth said. “Any thoughts?”
“Nothing good,” Jacob said.
“Thank you, Mr. Understatement,” Seth said. “This is not good.”
Delphie nodded her agreement.
~~~~~~~~
Thursday evening — 7:30 P.M.
“Today may not be the best day,” Honey said.
“But… Well, I’m in town and Honey’s not working, so…” MJ said.
MJ and Honey were sitting on the couch in Jill and Jacob’s loft living area. Jill set down a bottle of Merlot and four glasses. After dinner, MJ and Honey has asked them if they could talk tonight. Jill had no idea what they wanted but they were so sincere, she was willing to change her evening routine to give them time. Katy was already bathed and was singing along to an ancient Jungle Book videocassette in Jill’s office. Jill sat down in a leather arm chair next to Jacob.
“It’s nice to spend some time with you guys,” Jill said. “We live in the same house but we don’t see you that much.”
“It’s hard for Honey to get up here,” MJ said.
“Get anywhere,” Honey said. “I miss my cool apartment.”
Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4 Page 15
