Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4

by Claudia Hall Christian

  And ran right into a popular girl from school. The girl sneered at Noelle.

  “I wondered who hogged up the dressing rooms,” the girl said.

  The girl started making snorting noises. Noelle scowled and put the hangers on the take back rack. On her way out to the main area, she passed another popular girl. ‘Look it’s the piggy,’ the girl said and joined her friend in snorting. Another blonde head looked up and began snorting. The sounds chased Noelle to the clothing rack where she picked up a smaller size for Sissy and a bigger size for Valerie. Clutching the clothes to her, she ran into the dressing room. She put Valerie’s over the door and went into Sissy’s room.

  “Here,” Noelle said.

  She was turning to leave when Sissy touched her arm.

  “What happened?” Sissy asked.

  “You wouldn’t understand,” Noelle said.

  “Try me,” Sissy said.

  “You girls doing all right?” The stylist came into the room. “Here are a few more things to try. I think you’ll like them.”

  The woman smiled at Sissy and Noelle then left to help Valerie.

  “What happened?” Sissy whispered.

  “There are these girls at school who hate me,” Noelle said. “I try to be friendly but they hate me.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not cute or blonde or perfect or…”

  Sissy hugged Noelle to her. Pressed against Sissy’s shoulder, Noelle kept talking.

  “Stop!” Sissy said. “You have to stop or you’ll end up like me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Look at me!” Sissy said. “I’m a skeleton who hates herself. Everyone’s too nice to say anything and I don’t think I really noticed it until we started shopping. You look great. Really fit. I look… like a Halloween decoration. They told me in treatment but…”

  Sissy shook her head.

  “I hate myself,” Noelle said.

  “What did they do?” Sissy asked.

  “They made snorts like a pig,” Noelle said. “They said we were hogging the changing rooms.”

  “Short? Blonde? Rich?”

  Noelle nodded.

  “Let’s sic Valerie on them,” Sissy said.

  Wearing just her bra and underwear, she went out to Valerie’s dressing room. Noelle watched Sissy’s protruding hip and back bones move as she walked.

  “Val? We have a problem,” Sissy said.

  Valerie opened the door to her dressing room. Noelle couldn’t tell what Sissy said but Valerie’s face pinched in anger. She came over to Noelle.

  “Are you all right?” Valerie asked.

  Noelle shrugged.

  “I’m going to take care of this,” Valerie hugged Noelle. “You know, they used to make fun of me too.”

  “They did?” Noelle’s mouth fell open with shock.

  “I wasn’t any good at school social crap. I had to work. I had Mike. I played sports and… I wasn’t popular, blonde or rich,” Valerie said. “I’m not now.”

  “But you’re a beautiful movie star,” Sissy said.

  “I’ve been successful because I look like me,” Valerie said. “No one in the world looks like me. No one looks like Noelle or you Sissy. That’s our beauty.”

  “The weirdest thing just happened.” The stylist came up. “I went out there and a bunch of little girls were snorting like pigs. When they saw me they stopped but…”

  “They thought you were me,” Noelle collapsed into herself. “I’m the pig.”

  “No you’re not!” Sissy punched Noelle’s shoulder.

  “Are the pigs’ mothers here?” the stylist asked.

  Noelle nodded.

  “And they let their daughters behave like that?” the stylist asked.

  “They were mean to Sandy at the luncheon too,” Noelle said.

  “Then we have to do something big,” Valerie said. “Noelle, do you still have your video camera with you?”

  Noelle nodded.

  “I’ll get a film editor I know to cut it into a show stopper of a video,” Valerie said. “He likes these little projects.”

  “A video?” Noelle’s eyebrows pinched together.

  “These little piggies went to market or something like that,” Valerie laughed. “I can post it on my Facebook page so that lots of people will see it.”

  “Let’s do it!” Sissy said.

  “I’ll take it,” the stylist said. Noelle gave her the Flip camera. “Go on Noelle. Make us proud.”

  Valerie gave Noelle more clothing to take out. When she left the dressing room, the blonde girls began snorting. When she returned to the dressing room door, they were standing in a line snorting at Noelle. Noelle had to push past them to get in the dressing room. The women in the dressing room cheered Noelle’s safe return. While Noelle watched, Valerie uploaded the video via her Blackberry. She sent the video and an email to her friend.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Valerie said.

  Valerie and Sissy collected their purchases. Of course the girls would never dare snort at Noelle while Valerie was there. Valerie paid the bill. Gossiping about mutual Hollywood friends, Valerie and the stylist left the shop. Sissy and Noelle followed close behind. It wasn’t until they were on the sidewalk that Noelle let out a breath.

  “Come on!” Sissy said to Noelle. “Your turn!”

  Noelle had only ever had Nash and her Dad. And now she had both a mother and an older sister and a baby sister and a movie star auntish person. Smiling, Noelle followed them into the next shop.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Saturday evening — 7:30 P.M

  Aden had helped Sandy get back into her hospital bed after her last Kangaroo session. She needed to have her vitals checked and get her medication. Aden had left to check on the kids and get her some ice cream. The nurse had just left when her door opened.

  “Hi,” Blane said. He set a courier bag on the chair next to the bed.

  “Blane?” Sandy asked. “What…?”

  “Heather said they haven’t been able to get at your infection,” Blane said. “I thought I’d stop by and see you if some acupuncture could help you.”

  “Acupuncture?” Her eyebrows pinched together with concern.

  Blane smiled at her skepticism.

  “I don’t want you to go to any trouble,” Sandy said. “Plus, you’re sick. You need your skills for Mack and Heather and yourself.”

  “I’m happy to help,” Blane said.

  “I’ll be okay,” Sandy said.

  “Well, since I came all these three long blocks,” Blane winked at Sandy. “Why don’t you let me try?”

  Sandy raised a disbelieving eyebrow but nodded. He gave her a beautiful smile as a reward. He picked up her right wrist to begin taking her pulses.

  “You know, Alex Hargreaves had sepsis from a knife cut a few years ago.” He let go of her right hand and went around the bed. “She tried everything. You know what finally worked?”

  He picked up her left wrist. Seeing his concentration, she didn’t answer. When he set her arm down, she said:

  “Some super secret Army thing?” Sandy asked.

  “Yes, she turned into the Incredible Hulk. She has to live with the green skin but it did kick the infection,” Blane laughed. “Show me your tongue.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him.

  “They’ve called Dr. Tomogura,” Blane said.

  “I don’t have any idea,” Sandy said.

  “The nurse told me. He’s the best infection doc in the country,” Blane said. “I’ve worked with him before. He was Alex’s doc. He was with me through every step of Alex’s treatment. Ancient Chinese Treatment saved Miss Alex’s life or at least her arm. The other option was to amputation. That didn’t go over very well with the super secret Army people.”

  Sandy smiled at his attempt to cheer her up.

  “I’m just really sick. I don’t think I’ve ever been this sick.” Sandy tightened her lips together as if she’d admitted an awful truth.


  “You’re very weak,” he said. “Mostly, you need peace and rest. I’ll drop by a CD with some music that will help. Even if you’re asleep, the music will help peace enter your body.”

  “No peace in my body?” Sandy asked.

  “You’ve had an awful year,” Blane said.

  He waved off her immediate protest and sat down on the bed.

  “Almost everyone you love has been in the Emergency Room this year. Aden’s been in jail and had the shit kicked out of him there. Your brother and sister are messed up,” Blane said. “And I know that crap with you bio father was awful.”

  “Is awful,” Sandy said. “The nurses all know who and what I am.”

  Blane put his warm hand over hers.

  “I’m going to put some needles in,” Blane said. “Okay?”

  “If you think it will help,” Sandy’s skeptical voice made him smile.

  He opened his courier bag and took out a sheath of steel acupuncture needles.

  “Here, you can help me,” he said. “Just open the end of these. Like this.”

  He opened the end of the sealed package of disposable acupuncture needles. Sandy tried one and he nodded. While Sandy’s attention turned to opening the packages, he began inserting the needles.

  “You and I have a lot in common,” Blane said.

  “How so?” Sandy asked.

  “We have similar histories,” Blane said. “We’ve been publicly humiliated. We live off the kindness of relative strangers and not real family. A lot of people depend on us to hold their kite strings. And right now, we both need other people to help us get better.”

  He took the packages from her and gave her another set.

  “That’s a lot of needles,” she said.

  “Yep,” Blane said. “It’s horrible for me to think that someone will give up their liver to help me.”

  “But you have to do it!” Sandy said. “You have a child and..”

  “So do you,” he said. “Jill says you won’t accept her help.”

  He picked up her right wrist to take her pulse.

  “You’re fighting this treatment,” he said.

  “Jill doesn’t need to be worrying about me,” Sandy said.

  “She has a gift,” Blane said. “Why not let her help you?”

  Sandy crossed her arms. He smiled and continued putting in needles. When he finished, he took the chair Aden had been sitting in.

  “We wait for about twenty minutes now,” Blane said. “How do you feel?”

  “Tired,” Sandy said.

  “I bet,” he said. “This should help you sleep. You didn’t answer my question.”

  “I did so,” Sandy said. “You asked how I felt, and I told you.”

  “The other question,” he said. “Why won’t you let Jill or me help you?”

  “I don’t know,” Sandy said. “It always feels like people are so stretched and I’m just stealing from them.”

  “Huh,” Blane said. “Very altruistic. I thought it was because you weren’t sure what you’d owe someone if they helped you. I had a foster father who used to say, ‘Every thing has to be paid for.’ It totally sucked when the bill was due.”

  Sandy reached out to hold his hand. He smiled at her. Their eyes held in understanding.

  “You know Jill better than any person on the planet. What could Jill possibly want as payment?”

  Sandy shook her head. She opened her mouth to defend her position. Seeing the understanding on his face, she closed her mouth.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Blane said. “I’ll help you receive help and get well, if you help me receive help and get a new liver.”

  “Deal.”

  “Please don’t tell Heather,” Blane said. “She’s everything to me and she…”

  “It’s our secret deal,” Sandy said.

  “Secret deal,” Blane said.

  Sandy held her hand out. They solemnly shook hands. Blane stood to take out the acupuncture needles. She was asleep when he finished. He touched her shoulder in good-bye and she opened her eyes.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “I’ll hold you to your promise.”

  “I’ll remember.”

  He opened his mouth to say something else but she was out. He met Aden down the hall. The men talked for a moment and Aden returned to Sandy’s room. Seeing she was asleep, he ate her ice cream and settled in on the cot.

  One day down. Rachel was one day older and stronger. And Sandy was stronger. Closing his eyes, Aden was simply grateful for the one day he’d had.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and TWENTY-THREE

  One, two, three…

  Saturday morning — 5:15 A.M.

  Nausea woke Sandy from her drug induced sleep. She had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting. Dragging her IV behind her, she tried to make it to her bathroom but her surgical wound stopped her in her tracks. Like one, two, three, she felt the searing pain in her belly, crumpled to the ground and began throwing up.

  She heard Aden call the nurse and felt his strong arms on her shoulders. He helped her to the bathroom where her stomach continued to purge. The nurse came in then ran out. Sandy had just stopped throwing up when diarrhea assaulted. Aden tried to help hold her on the toilet. The nurse came running in with clean towels.

  “What’s going on?” Aden asked the nurse.

  “Her system has woken up.” the nurse said. “This is a very good sign.”

  Overcome by the voiding of her intestines, Sandy could barely keep from vomiting. They heard running footsteps. Blane appeared at the doorway.

  “Quickly now,” the nurse said to Aden. He helped her pull back Sandy’s hospital gown.

  Blane began inserting needles.

  “We’ll have to catch her when…” the nurse said to Aden.

  Sandy passed out. As if all the drama of the last moments had never occurred, Sandy fell forward unconscious.

  “Can you get her cleaned up?” Blane asked the nurse.

  “Leave the needles in?” she asked.

  “For now. I’ll be back in time to take them out,” Blane said. Turning to Aden, he said, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

  “But…” Aden said.

  Aden watched another nurse come to help clean up. A housekeeper arrived with a mop. Blane guided, pushed, and nudged Aden out of the room

  “You can shower at our house and be back by the time she’s settled,” Blane said.

  “How did you get here so fast?” Aden asked.

  “I was downstairs visiting Rachel,” Blane said.

  “You were what?” Aden asked. “Why is everyone acting like this is normal?”

  “It’s part of the treatment I gave her,” Blane said. “I jolted her system. Her digestive system and liver haven’t been functioning since her appendix burst.”

  “That’s why she hasn’t gotten well,” Aden said.

  “One of the reasons,” Blane said. “Before I left last night, I told the nurse to expect this. Dr. Tomogura called in this morning to see if Sandy had purged yet. Once her system purges itself, he’ll start with a round of aggressive antibiotics to see if we can get the infection.”

  “If not?”

  “We keep using the acupuncture to strengthen her system,” Blane said. “If the antibiotics don’t get it, we’ll start on herbal treatments.”

  “Who is this Tomogura?” Aden asked.

  Out of the hospital, they turned right and continued toward Blane’s house.

  “He’s the best infection doc in the country,” Blane said.

  “Why haven’t I met him?” Aden asked.

  “He’s in Iraq,” Blane said. “He’s a military doc.”

  “How?”

  “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” Blane laughed.

  They crossed Eighteenth and continued on Franklin. Aden stopped in his tracks.

  “Wait,” Aden said. “If Sandy’s incapacitated, I need to Kangaroo Rachel.”

  “You can’t do it cove
red in vomit and shit,” Blane said. “Plus, Jill’s there.”

  “You came over with Jill?” Aden asked. Not understanding, he shook his head.

  “Jill woke me this morning,” Blane said. “We came to the hospital together. Jill and I are on the visiting list for Rachel. We were with Rachel when the nurse called. Jill will do the touch session this morning.”

  “Oh,” Aden said. “How…?”

  “It’s not what you know but who you know,” Blane gave Aden a big smile. “According to our psychic friends, today will be a turning point for the health of your family.”

  “That would be really good,” Aden muttered. “They don’t mean a turn for the worse, do they?”

  “They don’t.”

  They walked up to Blane and Heather’s home. Blane opened the door. They went through the front toward the kitchen. He kissed Heather’s cheek and took Mack from her.

  “Oh great,” Blane said. “The muffins are done.”

  “I just took them out,” Heather said.

  “We thought you’d like something warm to eat before heading back.”

  “You’re amazing,” Aden smiled at Blane.

  “I know,” Blane laughed.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Sunday morning — 9:53 A.M.

  Seth came into the room and moved to sit near the back. The Chief of Police waved him toward the front. The room was filled with officers and detectives from every department. The Colorado Bureau of Investigations forensic team took up most of the back of the room. Their Agent-in-Charge raised a hand in hello to Seth. He waved him to the front of the room. The coroner came in after Seth and sat down next to him at the table in front. The forensics technician set a latte in front of Seth and winked. Flushing a little, he smiled.

  “Friend?” the coroner asked.

  “Something like that,” he said.

  “I wish I had friends like that,” the coroner said.

  Seth held the cup to her and the coroner laughed.