Nash laughed.
~~~~~~~~
Wednesday night — 11:50 P.M.
“I should go,” Mike said. “I want to go.”
With her legs wrapped around his hips, he carried Valerie into the kitchen. To help build muscle, she had to drink protein shakes every four hours, including one at midnight. For the last month, he’d carried her down to the kitchen. Sometimes, they were dressed like tonight – he in his boxer briefs and she in a tank top and tiny lace panties. Frequently, they were naked. They never saw anyone on their midnight protein feeding.
“You’ll be so bored,” Valerie said. “Fourteen days in the Czech republic? With me working sixteen hour days?”
“So? I can draw or paint. Plus who’s going to make your protein shakes?”
Mike set her on the counter then began getting out the ingredients for her protein drink.
“What about your showing? Your first ever art show? Here at the Denver Art Museum?”
“They’ll have all the pieces by the end of the year. I can just show up for the event,” Mike said. “That’s what the movie stars do.”
Valerie laughed.
“Why should I miss you every moment of every day for almost a month?” He dumped measured scoops of chocolate protein powder into the shaker then poured ice water over it. He was dropping in ice cubes when she said,
“Shhh!”
“No, Val,” Mike said. “I’m serious. I don’t…”
She put her hand over his mouth.
“Do you hear that? Sounds like someone’s calling for help.”
Behind her hand, Mike shook his head. His eyes puzzled. Then he nodded. Valerie jumped down from the cabinet. Creeping into the Castle living area, she tilted her head to the side to listen. She walked toward the side door then shook her head. Mike pointed toward the hallway where Sam and Honey’s rooms were located. Valerie crept to the door then ran to Honey’s door.
“It’s locked!”
Mike kicked the door open.
“Honey?” Valerie called.
“Honey?” Mike’s face concentrated on hearing the sound. Pushing past Valerie, he walked into Honey’s living room. Valerie peeked into her bedroom.
“She’s in the bathroom!” Valerie said.
Honey lay in a heap on the bathroom floor. She looked like she’d fallen off the toilet. There was blood underneath her. Valerie touched Honey’s shoulder and she moaned.
“I’m losing my baby,” Honey mumbled.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
And it keeps on coming
Thursday morning — 7:30 A.M.
MJ ran through the hospital at full speed. When Jake called their office last night, the entire team began the journey back to Denver. He was lucky to have an LC that put family before anything else. He was lucky to even be able to come home. If he was still a Special Forces medic, he wouldn’t be home for months, even years.
Still, he cursed himself for not being at home when Honey needed him. He’d talked to her last night. Honey was ‘fine,’ ‘don’t worry,’ but the sorrow in her voice ripped a hole through the center of him. They kept her overnight to make sure she was all right. She’d have the D&C when he got there. If he ever got there.
He picked up the pace. Taking one false step, the shoe on his prosthesis slid on the polished floors. He was falling when his teammate, Troy Olivas, grabbed the back of his shirt. MJ jerked to a halt. Troy set him on his feet again.
“Let’s walk. We’ll get there faster,” Troy said.
Troy patted MJ’s shoulder and pointed to the elevators. Dazed, MJ nodded. He followed Troy onto the elevator.
“What floor?” Troy asked.
“Jake said she’s on the tenth floor. Private room,” MJ said. “I… Yeah, thanks.”
“No problem,” Troy said. The elevator doors slid open. “Come on.”
Troy pushed MJ out of the elevator. The nurse on duty pointed them toward Honey’s room. Troy held the door open for MJ.
MJ nodded to Honey’s mother, Tiffanie, who was sitting next to Honey’s bed.
“She’s asleep,” Tiffanie said.
Without hesitation, MJ dropped into the bed with Honey. Honey stirred, sighed and nestled against him. Like two hearts merging, MJ and Honey seemed to combine into one unit.
“Coffee?” Troy asked Tiffanie.
“Sure,” Tiffanie said.
~~~~~~~~
Thursday afternoon — 1:20 P.M.
When Jill started working Pete’s night shifts again, she and Jacob fell into an easy rhythm. Except for hockey nights, Jacob took care of Katy. Leaving Katy’s baby monitor with Delphie, he’d pick Jill up from work and they would walk home. They’d share a laugh, dance, make love or hang out. He went to work around 4:30 A.M. Jill took care of Katy in the morning then slept until around one.
In the weeks and months of Jill’s work schedule, Jacob developed the habit of coming home mid-day for lunch. With Katy at school, he had Jill’s undivided attention. At lunch, they could talk. They took baths together, went for walks, read poetry to each other, lounged by the fire, baked bread, made snowmen in the backyard and made love. He’d return to work a couple of hours later refreshed for another long stint at work.
These precious hours together were the best part of his day.
Entering the loft, he smiled. He could smell the ‘fancy’ bubble bath he bought her. Jill was in the bath. He stripped off his clothing on his way through their bedroom.
“Hi honey, I’m home,” he said at the bathroom door.
Only Jill eye’s peaked over the bubbles. Her eyes flicked towards him and she emerged from the water. Her face lit up.
“I hoped you’d be home soon,” Jill said.
“May I join you?”
“Of course.” She sat up so he could step in.
“How’s Honey?”
“She and MJ got home about an hour ago,” Jill said. “They’re both very sad. Poor Honey. She’s lost so much this year. I was hoping a baby would… I don’t know… make up for it, I guess.”
Jacob smiled at Jill’s sweet thought. He stepped into the tub across from her. She shifted so his knees could go outside hers. She held his feet with her hands.
“Her Lipson team has been here off and on,” Jill said. “She’s well loved.”
“Honey?” Jacob leaned forward to kiss her. “She’s a major cog in her team’s wheel. Everyone loves her.”
“They’ve postponed the trial until after the first of the year,” Jill said.
“Thank God.”
“Hey! You were going to tell me why you don’t want to be a psychic,” Jill said. “I remembered that just before you came home.”
Jacob began caressing her legs with a bath sponge.
“I won’t forget,” Jill said. “You promised you’d tell me. A wedding day promise, even.”
“Notice anything?” Jacob said.
“No. Why?”
“Look down.”
Jill gasped. The bathtub was three feet below her. The bathtub shaped warm water, bubbles and their naked bodies floated in the air.
“How…?”
“I can move objects,” Jacob said. “I can do a bunch of things – know the long term future, stuff like that - but moving objects is… special.”
Jill nodded. When she looked down again, they were in the bathtub. She wrapped her hands around the edge of the porcelain claw foot tub for reassurance.
“Marlowe men have the capacity to move objects. Telekinesis is what it’s called.”
“Can you move anything?” Jill asked.
“Yep.”
Jill’s hair brush floated across the room to her. She caught it in the air.
“How long have you been…?” She set the brush down on the floor and returned to clutching the tub.
“Since before I was born. Remember how Dad said Mom almost didn’t survive having me?” Jacob said. “Babies want out of the womb. Marlowe male babies can get out, but usually kill their mothers. At leas
t the last hundred years or so. Delphie was able to connect with me. She was able to get me to stop trying to get out.”
“Why don’t you want this?”
“I want to be normal. Like my father,” Jacob said. “If people know I can do this, then they’ll think I cheat at sports or life or… I want a normal life. Big Sam played football, basketball, ran track and…”
“Do you cheat at sports?”
“Never,” Jacob said. “I mean, I did once when I was a kid. I didn’t even know I was doing it. Dad was there. He knew I cheated. I felt awful… like a complete freak.”
“If Katy had been a boy?”
“You might have had trouble,” Jacob said. “Not every Marlowe male has this…”
“Gift?”
“I was going to say curse.” Jacob grimaced. “If we have a boy, this will always be a risk. Valerie’s baby was a boy. That’s probably why she miscarried.”
“But I’m not a psychic,” Jill said. “Mike’s not a psychic.”
“No one really knows how it works,” Jacob said. “My grandfather only had girls, so they thought this curse was over. Then I came along. After Valerie’s baby, we figure all male Marlowes might have this problem. Historically, there are male Marlowes who don’t have this curse. Recently, it’s been me and my Grandfather.”
“What’s so great about being normal?”
Jacob startled then laughed.
“What?”
“Oh, Mom said to me recently,” Jacob said. “I don’t know what’s great about being normal. Normal feels safer, easier, and definitely less work. If people know I can do this, they expect things from me that… I’d rather be simple Jacob. You know how my Grandfather Delbert died?”
Jill shook her head.
“He was killed by Levi Johansen,” Jacob said.
“How awful!” Jill exclaimed.
“My grandfather was protecting Delphie,” Jacob said. “Using telekinesis, Levi squeezed Delbert’s heart until it exploded. Dad and Mom were there. Delbert and Levi had been fighting. My grandfather took a lot of abuse before Levi was able to weaken his defenses enough to do this thing. Levi was found guilty of manslaughter and a few other things. It wasn’t his first offense. He was sentenced to life.”
“He’s out now,” Jill said.
“Unfortunately,” Jacob said. “The good news is they gave him a med in prison that blocked his psychic ability. He’s a little rusty.”
“I hate him,” Jill shook her head.
Jacob smiled.
“What?”
“One thing I haven’t tried?” Jacob asked.
“Yes?”
“Sex,” he said.
“I remember trying sex with you once or twice.”
“You know, without touching,” he said. “Interested?”
“I’m interested in anything that involves you.”
Jacob beamed.
“What?” She asked.
“I don’t think I can do it,” he said. “I want to be involved.”
Jill stepped out of the tub. Grabbing a fluffy bathrobe, she turned to wink at him and went into their bedroom. Laughing, he rose from the tub to join her.
~~~~~~~~
Thursday afternoon — 3: 30 P.M.
“Val, honey, it’s Jen.”
“Hey Jen.”
Entering the Castle, Val pulled off her stocking cap. Sarah bound into the kitchen in front of Valerie. She and the yellow Labrador had been out for a run that snowy afternoon when her publicist called. Not wanting to stop, Val asked her publicist to call her in twenty minutes.
“Have you seen the media?”
“What media?” Walking through the main living area, Valerie continued stripping off her outdoor clothing. “I was running. Did someone take a photo of me running?”
“No, it’s from last night,” Jen said. “Photos from last night.”
“Last night? What do you mean last night?”
“There’s a photo of you with blood on your hands and a smear on your face. You’re standing next to the ambulance. They’re saying your sister attempted suicide and you tried to stop her.”
“What?” Valerie’s enraged voice brought Mike to her.
“Did you think about wearing clothing?” Jen continued. “You’re basically naked. Tiny panties, no bra, UGG boots. That’s big news.”
“My sister had a miscarriage last night,” Valerie said. “Was I supposed to say to her, ‘Gee, Honey, let me get dressed before I help you off the floor?’ You remember she’s paralyzed?”
“Your producer called,” Jen said. “He wants to know if you’re serious about the movie.”
Valerie didn’t respond. Seeing her distress, Mike wrapped her in his arms. Valerie pressed her forehead against his shoulder.
“You still there?” Jen asked.
“I’m here.”
“I told him you were serious about the movie. That you’ve been working out and training in martial arts from some Army guy,” Jen said. “He said he’d seen you on road working machinery and now this. He thinks you don’t fit the bill for their movie.”
“And what bill would that be?”
“You know…”
“Vapid orphan actress?” Valerie asked. “Because the issue here is that I’m stalked by the paparazzi while my family has problems.”
“Val, listen…”
“I’m listening.”
“He called your agent. Your agent told him the same thing,” Jen said. “But the producer wants a meeting. He’s willing to fly out to Colorado to meet with you.”
“When will he be here?”
“He’s flying into Aspen,” Jen said. “Can you get up there tonight? He wants to talk to you tonight. He’s thinking you’ll ski tomorrow so he can see how fit you are.”
“I’ll talk to Mike,” Valerie said.
“Oh, I don’t think he wants your husband there,” Jen said. “Val, you know his reputation. This is a …”
“Booty call,” Valerie said. “I’ve never done that.”
“This is a major motion picture, the big time,” Jen said.
“Would you do something for me, Jen?”
“Anything,” Jen said.
“Can you call him and tell him to fuck off?” Valerie said. “I’ve worked too hard and for too long to be treated like some skanky whore.”
“What’s going on?” Mike asked.
Mike shifted her off his shoulder so he could look at her face. Shaking her head, she pulled him back. She pressed her forehead into his shoulder again.
“Are you sure?” Jen said. “You’re giving up your first chance at a big budget movie.”
“You know, Jen, I never used to look at myself in the mirror,” Valerie said. “I didn’t like what I saw. In the last six months, I’ve been able to look myself in the mirror. And I like what I see.”
“What is it?” Delphie came in from the kitchen.
Mike shrugged to Delphie.
“Will you call your agent or do you want me to?”
“I’ll call. Thanks for the heads up, Jen.”
“How’s Honey doing?” Jen asked.
“She’s asleep. MJ’s with her. They had the D & C today. They are both crushed. We’re having a family dinner tonight.”
“Would you like me to clarify with TMZ?” Jen asked. “They’ve called a couple of times.”
“Sure, if you want. Can you think of some way to say it?”
“That’s what you pay me for,” Jen said.
“I’m going to go now. After months of starving for this movie, there’s some ice cream and brownies in my immediate future.”
“I’ll let you know what happens,” Jen said.
“Thanks.”
Valerie closed her phone. She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to breathe. In Mike’s tight embrace, she felt the walls of her dreams crumble around them. Feeling a hand on her back, she looked into Delphie’s kind eyes.
“You did the right thing,” Delphie said.
> “Why does it feel so wrong?” Valerie said.
“Because you’re standing up for yourself, your authentic life and your dreams,” Delphie said. “Shall I make you some of your own brownies? Or would you like a cheesecake to celebrate?”
“Can I have both?”
“I’ll get started.” Delphie kissed her cheek.
Valerie returned her forehead to Mike’s shoulder.
“What happened?”
“I lost the movie role,” Valerie said. “There’s a picture of me in the driveway last night. They’re saying Honey tried to kill herself.”
Mike kissed the top of her head and held her closer. Valerie felt tears come then fade. In the cocoon of Mike’s arms, making movies didn’t matter very much. She sighed.
“What can I do?” Mike asked.
“Remind me why I need to move from this spot.”
“You don’t,” he said.
“What about hockey? At some point, you’re going to want to play hockey.”
Mike laughed.
~~~~~~~~
One day later
Friday afternoon — 1: 30 P.M.
“¿Qué haces esta noche?” Tres asked.
“Nada.” Enrique responded. “Por que?”
Stretching the cord on his office phone, Tres closed his office door.
“Jake and Blane were talking about going to the Zoolights tonight,” Tres continued in Spanish. “Heather and Blane are bringing Aden’s kids. Jake’s going with Katy and her friend, Paddie. Jill’s sister’s bringing her kids.”
“That’s a lot of children,” Enrique responded in Spanish.
“You like children.”
“I do.” Enrique responded.
The brothers were silent.
“It’s just…” Enrique said at the same time Tres said, “What’s the…”
They laughed.
“You first,” Tres said.
“I’ve been going to the clinic to quit smoking. I see him every week. He’s very professional, but nothing else. I don’t think he’d want to see me.”
“Did you quit smoking?” Tres asked.
“I haven’t smoked in a week,” Enrique said.
“Wow,” Tres said. “Why not celebrate with some Zoolights?”
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