Walking to the next light exhibit, Blane’s hand in hers, Heather realized something she would never, ever forget.
Enrique and Blane belonged together.
The thought made her smile.
~~~~~~~~
Friday night— 8:00 P.M.
The Castle
“That’s how I met my Dad. My step-dad,” Sandy said. “He was assigned to work with Vice. They set up an appointment with me. My Dad came in and…”
Sandy fell silent. Her grief over losing her Dad and how he’d saved her made it unbearable to continue.
“He paid for Sandy for a whole day,” Jill said. “He took Sandy to the Zoo, the Museum of Nature and Science and stuff like that. He bought her clothes. That’s how he met Sandy’s Mom. He and Sandy’s Mom met and never were apart until he died.”
“Your Dad knew about all of this and did nothing?” Aden’s tone echoed his grief and helplessness.
“He arrested my father on some charge,” Sandy said. “Taxes, I think. He was arrested the very next day. My father’s been in jail all this time. He did every single year of his time, then all of his parole. He finished up last year sometime. According to Seth, he started this Internet business the day he was done with all of that.”
“Sandy’s Dad took care of everything,” Jill said. “He made it so Sandy never ever had to see her father again. He even…”
Jill’s voice trailed off. Sandy and Jill shared a long look. Gritting her teeth for strength, Sandy continued.
“I was pregnant. My father’s child,” Sandy said. “Even being such a Catholic, my Dad took me to get the… procedure. I…”
Sandy’s resolve broke. Her face crumbled with sorrow and rage. Her tears fell. Unable to stop himself, Aden dropped to his knees in front of her. He held her to him while she cried. He looked up when Jill touched his shoulder. Jill nodded her head toward her office and left them.
~~~~~~~~
Friday night— 8:00 P.M.
Denver Zoo
“I’d absolutely love to go for fried food,” Tres said. “But then, it’s my habit to never say ‘no’ to pregnant women.”
“Been around many?” Tanesha asked.
“I have ten siblings and ten half-siblings,” Tres said.
“Someone is always pregnant in our family,” Enrique laughed. “Including our mother.”
“Or step-mothers. We have three,” Tres laughed. “Fried food it is!”
Blane laughed.
“And pie?” Tanesha asked.
“Where can we go?” Blane asked. “What do you think, Jake?”
“Pie is always good,” Jacob said. “Marie Calendar’s is closed. What about Village Inn?”
“Oooh pancakes!” Megan said. “My boys would love staying up late for pancakes. What about Katy and Paddie? It’s getting late for them.”
“I wanna go!” Paddie said.
“Me too! I’ll stay awake,” Katy said.
“Me too!” Paddie agreed.
“Then pie it is!” Jacob said.
When Heather laughed, Tres was sure he’d never heard a more beautiful sound. He was about to touch her when Blane took her hand and they set off toward their car with Tanesha.
“Close your mouth,” Enrique whispered in Spanish. “You’re drooling.”
“Just looking forward to pie,” Tres replied in Spanish.
“Yes, I can see what you’re looking forward to,” Enrique laughed.
Tres laughed. His eyes lingered over the back of Heather. They walked to Enrique’s car in silence.
“Glad we did this?” Tres said.
“Very. You?”
Unable to find enough right words, Tres nodded. Enrique laughed.
~~~~~~~~
Friday night — 9:10 P.M.
The Castle
“You still want to marry me? Even knowing all of this?”
Aden nodded. He was kneeling in front of her.
“But… why?”
“Because I love you, Sandy. What happened to you is awful, horrible, and what’s happening to you now is even worse. It’s an insult on top of such a deep injury. But that doesn’t change how I feel. I’ve loved you a long time. I want to love you all of my life.”
Sandy’s round beautiful eyes searched his face. There was only sincerity and love on Aden’s face.
“There are lots of videos of me. Lots and lots and lots of video with me doing… things,” Sandy said. “That boy probably has one.”
“What your father did is your father’s responsibility, not yours. You were a child. Are you in videos now?”
Sandy shook her head with vehemence.
“That’s all that matters to me,” Aden said. “Do you care if I’m an alcoholic? Drug addict? Is it a big deal that I have a criminal record?”
“Of course not,” Sandy said. “You left all that behind. You’ve made good choices since then.”
“That’s how I feel about you,” Aden said. “We’ll get through this together. We’ll overcome this together.”
Sandy clasped him to her. He shifted her back.
“Shall I?” Aden asked.
Taking Sandy’s nod as a yes, he slipped the gorgeous ring on her finger. She held the ring up to look at it on her hand.
“It’s old and new,” Aden said. “We are old friends, and new lovers. We have old pasts and new futures.”
“It’s perfect,” Sandy said.
“Come on,” Aden said. “Let’s get out of here. The kids are staying with Jake and Jill tonight. We have a kid-free night to ourselves.”
Wiping her face, Sandy nodded.
“And I have plans,” Aden said. “Trust me?”
Sandy nodded.
“Good.”
“Can I show Jill?” Sandy asked.
“Of course,” Aden said.
Sandy knocked on Jill’s office door. Jill opened the door to hug Sandy. The women whispered back and forth before ‘ooohing’ over the ring. After one last hug, Jill nudged Sandy toward Aden. Sandy nodded to Jill.
When she turned to him, she was his beautiful Sandy again. The terrible weight of her horrible story seemed to dissipate. Aden took her hand. They were in his car before she asked:
“Where are we going?”
“If I only get the rare date with you, my love, it’s going to be magical,” he said.
She laughed.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
Make it go away
Saturday morning — 7 A.M.
A few days before Christmas
Driving Aden’s SAAB sedan, Sandy breezed down I-70 and moved into the right lane to get on Sixth Avenue. Last night, Aden had whisked her up to Sam’s mountain cabin near Deckers. They had the most romantic night of Sandy’s entire life. He’d brought champagne for her, strawberries, and a picnic dinner of cold chicken, salad and pie.
They never got around to eating. Sandy wasn’t sure what she liked more – the hours of lovemaking or the feeling of being loved despite everything he knew about her.
Somewhere around three in the morning, Aden had dragged her out under the stars. It was cold, really cold. Aden wrapped them in flannel sheets and down blankets then lit a bright fire in the fire pit. They lay watching the bright winter sky. Thinking back, it seemed like they were quiet for at least an hour. It was like sitting in the very back row of an infinite church dome. Neither of them wanted to break the humbling power of the universe with words.
Sandy sighed. Of course, she had to work today. She was on countdown mode. She had to work today, tomorrow, the next three days. Of course, she was taking Christmas off then working every day until New Year’s Eve. How many days was that? Slowing at the light on Sixth Avenue and Kalamath, she counted with her fingers. Eleven long days then she was done with the holiday grind.
At least today would be fun. Once every five weeks, she cut the hair, beards, and brows of MJ’s military team. Alex Hargreaves and her twin, Max, had the last appointment. When they were done, they usually took Sandy out and am
used her over dinner. It was one of her favorite work days. At least twelve men and sometimes their wives. Her day ended with the twins. That was a very good day.
Pulling into the parking lot, Sandy saw Seth O’Malley standing near the front of her shop. She waved at him. He scowled at her while she parked. Sandy was too happy to wonder what would make Seth scowl.
“Hey!” Sandy hugged her Godfather. “Here for a trim?”
“No, Sandy,” Seth said. “Let’s go inside.”
Sandy used her key to open the salon. She flipped the ‘open’ sign over, turned on the coffee pot then set her stuff at her station. Seth followed her past five other stations to her workspace.
“Where’s Norsen?”
“He stayed in Deckers. Today’s the solstice. Jacob and Jill went to drum in the sun at Red Rocks. Jacob’s Dad, Delphie… well a bunch of them plus Aden’s kids, Katy, and Paddie Hargreaves. The Lipson’s have an all day board meeting. Jill’s taking the kids to Decker’s and Aden’s taking her car to the meeting. Everyone’s going up there tonight. Why?”
“Just making conversation,” Seth said. “Working on my compassionate side.”
Sandy laughed.
“Nice ring,” Seth said.
“Can you believe it? He still wants to marry me – even after I told him everything.” Sandy beamed at Seth. “That’s why you’re here, right? To find out if I told him?”
She patted the chair. Seth sat down. Working with practiced ease, she flipped a plastic sheet over him and began trimming his hair. Seth fell silent while her scissors did their quick work. She had just turned on her electric razor when he said:
“I have some bad news.”
“Yeah?”
“That group? The one that’s looking into your… I mean the prick?”
“Yeah?” Sandy said. “Lean your head forward so I can get the back.”
Seth tipped his head forward. Sandy heard him say something but couldn’t make it out over the noise of the razor.
“What?”
“Something happened in China. I don’t know what,” Seth said. “They want you to come in today to work with them. Today.”
“That’s interesting,” Sandy laughed. “I have a whole day scheduled. They can’t tell me I need to cancel people. Not this close to Christmas!”
Seth grabbed Sandy’s hand.
“I’m here to take you in,” Seth said. “I was told to arrest you if I had to.”
“Tell them you didn’t see me,” Sandy said. “Would you like a shave? You’re pretty rough this morning.”
“Sure,” Seth said. “You want a black and white to come up to the door and drag you out of here? This is an international investigation. Everyone and their fucking brother is involved – FBI, DHS, CIA, Military, even the U-fucking-N. Denver PD is just doing what we can to keep in the game.”
Sandy grimaced at herself in the mirror. Humming a toneless tune, she lathered Seth and gave him an old school shave – straight razor and all. Her Dad had used a straight razor and taught her how when she started cutting hair. She shaved him every day the last year of his life.
The straight razor was her most popular service for men. Men also had to stop talking until she was done. She took her time with Seth while she gathered her thoughts. She gave him a warm moist towel when she was done.
“I’d make it go away if I could. I tried,” Seth said. “I can’t.”
“So it’s fuck you to my customers? I…” Sandy shook her head. “I’m not going to do that.”
“You have to,” Seth said.
“Jill and Aden can’t help me today! I’d have to go by myself! I can’t do that!”
Sandy shook her head. She used her hair dryer to blow the hair off Seth’s clothing.
“I’m here,” Seth said. “I’ll help.”
“I know, Seth. I know,” she said. “You’re all set.”
“I’ll cuff you if I have to, Sandy,” Seth said.
“Some help,” Sandy nodded.
“I’ll help you do what’s hard, not ignore what you have to do. I wouldn’t be your friend, your Godfather, if I let you blow this off.”
“I need to wait for the receptionist to come in at nine,” Sandy said. “She can cancel my day. In fact, I’m surprised my first client isn’t here. Wait here. I’ll get ready to go.”
Sandy went to the restroom near the back of the salon. When she opened the restroom door, her mind filled with a weird white noise. She wasn’t angry or sad. She felt like she was in a bubble. She made a note to ask Jill if this is what Jill felt like when she blanked out. Sandy checked her make up, drank a glass of water, and stalled for time.
While the white noise roared in Sandy’s brain, Sandy watched: the receptionist chat with Seth; the receptionist giggled that Sandy’s stomach flu must mean she was pregnant; the salon’s music came on mid-song as a stylist walked in the back; customers walked into the waiting area; Sandy followed Seth out of the salon.
The first sound she understood was Seth saying:
“Let’s take Norsen’s fancy car.”
Then, like a tidal wave, Sandy’s grief and anger hit her. Seth grabbed her when she bent over in pain. He took the keys from her hand and negotiated her into the car. With her knees pressed against her eyes, Sandy wept.
Unsure of what to do, Seth drove to LaMar’s donuts. Leaving Sandy, he bought them coffee and half a dozen donuts.
By the time he returned, she’d unwound the tight knot of her body. Her tears had slowed. Sandy smiled when he gave her a cup of coffee, prepared how she liked it, and her cinnamon cake donuts.
“Why is it that when everything is perfect, this crap comes back?” Sandy asked.
“I don’t know, Sandy. Maybe because we never made it go away,” Seth said. “Let’s do that now.”
“Okay.”
~~~~~~~~
Saturday morning — 8:30 A.M.
Jacob sat down at the head of the table. Aden sat at his right and Sam sat at his left. Valerie took the chair next to Sam and Blane took the chair next to Aden. Tres sat next to Blane. There were four laptops set up, one for each venture capitalist. The venture capitalists called Lipson construction and were available via their webcams.
“I bring this meeting to order,” Jacob said. “Please say your names.”
Even though this was a moment Jacob had seen in a premonition, his heart raced with anxiety. Today, they would finalize the plans for the sale of Lipson Construction to its employees. Or not. The last barrier, the injunction set in place by the lawsuit brought by the last board members, was lifted yesterday at four o’clock.
“We have one agenda item,” Jacob said.
“Why do you look so dour?” His mother’s venture capitalist friend asked from Hawaii. “You got the injunction lifted, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Jacob said.
“What’s the problem, Jake?” The woman from New York City asked.
“Good question,” Jacob said. “Any problems or issues we need to talk about?”
“I have one,” Valerie said. “I don’t think our employees are ready to become owners. I mean, I can barely keep up in these meetings – financial this, contract that, this other thing, SOP, whatever.”
“I’m glad you brought that up, Val,” the venture capitalist from Wisconsin who had a crush on Val said. “Oh, you don’t mind if I call you Val, do you? I can call you Valerie or Miss Lipson or Mrs. Roper or…”
“Val’s fine.” Valerie smiled to calm the man. “Why is it good that I brought up…?”
“Oh right,” he said. “We agree with you, Val. We think you need to train the employees to be owners. Anything else is suicide.”
“How are we going to do that?” Sam asked. “And when?”
“Saturdays through the month of January and into February if you need to,” Celia’s friend said. “Tres can run a class on spreadsheets. Jake can run a class on company management. Sam can run one on company culture and employee practices. Val should do customer
service.”
“It’s a good idea,” Sam said. “A really good idea. We don’t work on Saturdays in the winter.”
“We can’t afford to pay them to not work,” Tres said. “Four days and more than four thousand employees? No way we can do that.”
“I don’t think you’ll need to pay them,” the last venture capitalist piped up from New Orleans. “In some ways, it’s a test. Who do you want to own the company? Really motivated people. What’s a day to them? They’re not working anyway.”
“I am uncomfortable asking people…” Jacob started.
“You’re giving people a chance of a lifetime,” the woman from New York said. “When will these people ever get a chance to profit from their labor like this? It’s all right to ask for something in return.”
“I put it to a vote,” Tres said. “I move we set up a training schedule for Lipson employees. They must take the classes prior to being able to purchase stake in Lipson construction.”
“What if we give them shares in the company as payment for the classes?” Jacob asked.
Valerie, Sam, Blane and Tres groaned.
“We are not giving away this company,” his mother’s friend said. “Steady as she goes, Jacob. We’re on course. Let’s stay the course.”
“I second Tres’s motion,” Valerie said. “I think we should set up a training schedule. Really, how many companies have tried to sell to employees then fallen on their faces? We want the company to be successful, really successful.”
“Strong leadership,” the man who had a crush on Valerie said. “You have strong leadership. We need strong share holders.”
“Aden?” Jacob asked.
“Honestly? It sounds like a great idea to me,” Aden said. “I learned a lot by going to school. And the MBA? It’s helped me make decisions in every area of my life. Cost Risk analysis kind of thing. What’s your hold up?”
“I don’t want to take advantage of people,” Jacob said.
Everyone laughed.
“Why is that funny?” Jacob asked.
“You’re giving the employees a chance to own their company while you hold all the risk,” Tres said. “That’s a generous gift.”
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