Manitou Springs

by Claudia Hall Christian

  “This is Frangelico,” Wanda pointed to a brownish-colored terrier mix that was standing next to her.

  “He’s very cute,” Sissy said.

  The camera moved back to Anjelika.

  “If you would like to talk to your friends, I can always . . .,” Anjelika said.

  “I apologize, Mrs. Anjelika,” Sissy said. “We may proceed.”

  “We will start with the basics so that I can see how you are doing,” Anjelika said.

  Sissy pulled off her big top. While her breasts were larger than they had been, she’d dropped any weight she’d gained.

  “You look very beautiful, dear,” Anjelika said.

  “Thanks,” Sissy said with a smile. In imitation of Anjelika again, she added, “Compliments will not get you awards.”

  “They will not,” Anjelika said. “Now, your positions, please.”

  Sissy began and easily moved through the positions.

  “Can you run through the Arabesques?” Anjelika asked.

  Sissy did as she was asked.

  “I see what you mean,” Anjelika said. “It’s good, easy, but different from what it was.”

  “What can we do?” Sissy asked.

  “I’m not sure, but, between us, we’ll figure it out,” Anjelika said with a nod. “Let’s continue through the basics. Now, remember, we don’t wish to injure you further.”

  “Any pain or pulling, and I’ll stop,” Sissy said. “I promise.”

  “Good,” Anjelika said. “Body Facings.”

  Sissy ran through the nine positions facing forward.

  “Piqué,” Anjelika said.

  Sissy beautifully did an inside turn, stepped on point and finished behind the knee.

  “Piqué soutenu,” Anjelika said.

  Sissy stepped en pointe and turned in soussus.

  “See what I mean?” Charlie said in a low tone.

  Sissy looked up to see Anjelika nodding.

  “What was that?” Sissy asked.

  “It’s hard to explain,” Anjelika said. “Except to say that you move a little differently than you did before. That’s to be expected, really.”

  “Worse?” Sissy asked.

  “Actually . . .” Anjelika glanced at Charlie before nodding. “I agree with Charlie. You are moving differently, but . . . somehow it’s better.”

  “Better?” Sissy asked.

  Charlie’s face came into view.

  “I’m sure Ivan will have a lot to say when he sees this, but honestly, you look better . . .” Charlie said.

  “More fluid, more mature, less like a child,” Anjelika said.

  “A child?” Sissy said.

  “You’ve always been very talented,” Anjelika said. “But you’ve had the kind of loose-jointedness of a child. You still have it in your legs and knees. We will need to make you match.”

  “Do we want it to match?” Sissy asked in a panicked voice. “Should I be looser all over? I’m just sixteen!”

  “No,” Anjelika said. “The looseness in your joints can make you prone to injuries. Remember all of the work we did? That was to help stabilize your loose joints.”

  Sissy gave her a worried look.

  “It’s very likely from all of the work you’ve been doing,” Anjelika said. “Are you working out in the gym?”

  “Twice a day,” Sissy said. “Stretching workouts with Melinda first thing in the morning. Then weights at gym, school, back to gym for cardio. Ivan goes to the Isba. I’m supposed to be resting, but I’ve been coming here.”

  “How is your pain level?” Anjelika asked.

  “Sometimes good, sometimes not,” Sissy said. “There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason. Mostly, if I sleep after working out, even for just twenty minutes, I’m a lot better.”

  “It is good to hear that you are doing well,” Anjelika said. “Have you tried our exercises?”

  “Yes,” Sissy said. “Charlie was helping me with them when he was here.”

  “Let’s go through them now,” Anjelika said. “One, two, three . . .”

  Sissy began to dance the drills she and Anjelika had worked on in Denver. The air in her ears — Sissy felt the rush of sheer joy that she always felt when she was dancing.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday night — 5:35 p.m. MDT

  Denver, Colorado

  “What do you mean you have to cancel our flower order?” Jill’s voice reflected her panic.

  She was standing over a pot of boiling macaroni in the main Castle kitchen. Katy, Maggie, Ivy, Rachel, and Jackie got to pick their dinners for a week because they’d been so good when Jacob was sick. Tonight, Jackie had picked macaroni and cheese.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Lipson,” the florist said. “We were asked at the last minute to do a large wedding for . . .” He said the name of a very wealthy family in Denver. “At this late date, our supplier is out of flowers. We’ve checked around, and there simply are no other flowers in Denver that day. We need to use the flowers ordered for their order!”

  “But we were there first!” Jill said.

  “Yes, that’s true,” the florist said. “But we can make three times the money on the other order.”

  “We have a contract!” Jill said. “You’re penalizing us for ordering in advance.”

  “This is with the . . . !” the florist said the rich people’s name again. “Certainly, you can’t expect us to turn down such a high-profit order from . . .”

  “The spoiled-rich do-nothing children of some rich guy,” Jill edited his words in her mind.

  “ . . .for your measly little order!” the florist finished.

  “It might be measly to you, but it’s important to us!” Jill said. “What can I do to change your mind?”

  “Nothing,” the florist said.

  “Nothing?”

  “Nope,” the florist said. “I wanted to give you plenty of notice so you don’t sue.”

  “How is this plenty of notice?” Jill asked. “The wedding is in five days!”

  The florist hung up on her. Jill looked at her cell phone. She wanted to throw the phone, but they couldn’t afford to replace it. She set the phone down on the counter and tried to think of what they were going to do.

  Nothing came to mind. Her phone rang.

  “Jill?” Jill’s sister, Candy, asked.

  “Don’t tell me you can’t make the cake,” Jill said. “I can’t handle it.”

  “Can’t make the cake?” Candy asked. “What are you talking about?”

  “Why did you call?” Jill asked.

  “I was thinking of substituting the chocolate kids’ cake with cupcakes,” Candy said. “I witnessed a, uh, we’ll call it a disagreement, between Paddie and Katy over some chocolate. I thought cupcakes might be wiser than a single cake.”

  “Good thinking,” Jill said.

  “And don’t worry, Jill,” Candy said. “I’ve already made the cakes. They’re frozen and just need frosting. I’ll make the cupcakes tonight. Everything will be ready for Friday’s rehearsal dinner and Sunday.”

  “Thanks, Candy,” Jill said.

  “Why did you think I’d cancel?” Candy asked.

  “The florist dumped us for . . .” Jill said the name of the rich jerks.

  “Oh, Jill,” Candy said. “I’m sorry.”

  “He said he has to use our flowers because there aren’t any other flowers in Denver for that day,” Jill said.

  The sisters were silently thinking on the phone.

  “Isn’t O’Malley coming in from New York City?” Candy asked.

  “Yeah, why?” Jill asked.

  “Nothing,” Candy said. “I’ll take care of it. Can you fax me your original order?”

  “But . . .” Jill started.

  “No ‘buts,’” Candy said. “I’ve got this covered, Jilly.”

  “Really?” Jill asked.

  “What are sisters for?” Candy asked. “I’d better go. Bye.”

  Jill clicked off the call and looked at her phone a
gain. She’d never felt such a rush of tortured rage followed by desperate relief. But then again, she’d never put together a big wedding. Sighing to herself, she got back to making her culinary delicacy.

  Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-eight

  An Accord

  Wednesday morning — 10:24 a.m.

  “Goddess?” Abi asked when she opened her apartment door.

  Heather gave her a sour look.

  “Eve?” Heather asked.

  The two women stared at each other for a moment before Abi nodded.

  “You’re right,” Abi said, with a sigh. “It’s lovely to see you, Heather. Won’t you come in?”

  “Why, thank you, Abi!” Heather said. “I come bearing gifts.”

  Heather held up a plate of lemon-blueberry muffins. She was carrying Wyn in a sling.

  “Blane?” Abi asked.

  Nodding, Heather gave Abi the plate. Abi set the plate on the kitchen counter. She gestured to the bar seat next to the kitchen bar. Heather sat down. Abi went to turn on the electric kettle for tea.

  “I brought some honey,” Heather said.

  “From Olympia?” Abi asked, her voice lifting with delight.

  Heather set a small glass container onto the counter.

  “Don’t tell Delphie,” Heather said. “I love her honey and her bees. It’s just that . . .”

  “Olympian honey is a true gift,” Abi said. “Where did you get it?”

  “Aristaeus,” Heather said.

  “Really?” Abi said.

  “His dad, Apollo, is still trying to make up to me for what my dad made him do,” Heather said with a shrug. “It’s kind of dumb, especially since Eros and Psyche have finally worked out some of their crap. But Apollo insists that Aristaeus shares what he has with me.”

  “I thought you and Aristaeus were close,” Abi said.

  “We had some fun an age ago,” Heather said. “Aristaeus lives a pretty rustic life. Now that I live here, it’s hard to deal with even the way he smells. Plus, he’s married again. They have a bunch of children. He is very generous with his honey and cheese.”

  “You have Olympian cheese?” Abi asked.

  Heather laughed and shook her head. Abi smiled.

  “How do you know all of this Olympia crap?” Heather asked.

  “Gilfand,” Abi said.

  “He does have a seat on the court,” Heather said.

  “He loves gossip,” Abi said.

  The electric kettle clicked off, and Abi got up to make their tea. Her baby made a noise, and Heather got up to comfort her. She left Wyn with Abi’s baby and came back to the counter.

  “I figured they should get to know each other,” Heather said.

  Abi looked over and nodded.

  “I’ve heard talk that your Wyn will take Eros’s place,” Abi said.

  “Certainly the half-breed girl can’t do it,” Heather said with a sniff.

  “Isn’t that the truth!” Abi said, as she brought the cups to the counter. “I think you’re doing a great job.”

  Heather shrugged.

  “I really only want to be a great mother,” Heather said. “The rest of this stuff is kind of . . . archaic, I guess.”

  Abi nodded. They added honey to their tea. Abi brought soft butter, and they doctored their muffins. For a few minutes, it was silent.

  “You know that you’re in danger here,” Heather said after a drink of her tea.

  Abi nodded.

  “Too bad you don’t know anyone who can help you,” Heather said.

  Abi gave Heather a long look. She finished her tea before she looked like she was going to say anything. Heather gave her a little smile, and Abi laughed.

  “You really are a child of this century,” Abi said.

  “I like it here,” Heather said. “It’s really Tink and Blane who work on me to give up my archaic ways.”

  Abi nodded.

  “I’m wondering . . . uh . . .” Abi said. “I’m not sure how to proceed.”

  “You could ask for my help,” Heather said.

  “Help?”

  “It seems like there’s a lack of love between you and the queen,” Heather said. “It smells bad. I thought I might take a look, but I don’t want to do anything against your wishes.”

  “You would look into the situation between me and Queen Fand?” Abi asked. “Truly?”

  Heather nodded. Abi squinted.

  “Why?” Abi asked.

  “I would do it because you asked me,” Heather said. “But since you didn’t . . .”

  “I could use your particular kind of help,” Abi said. “I just didn’t know that I could even ask.”

  “You can always ask, Abi,” Heather said. “I’m happy to help. Plus, in this circumstance, I need your help.”

  “What help could I possibly be to you?” Abi asked.

  Heather laughed.

  “What is funny?” Abi asked.

  “You are the mother of us all,” Heather said. “The oldest living being on this planet. You are deeply powerful and incredibly wise. And you wonder what help you could be?”

  Abi waved away Heather’s words.

  “Your situation with Fand has gotten to you,” Heather said.

  Abi’s eyes welled with tears, and she nodded.

  “Why don’t I tell you what’s going on, and you can see if you can help?” Heather asked.

  Wiping her eyes, Abi nodded.

  “My Blane ran into an Earth anomaly,” Heather said. “It seems to be on his life path. I wondered if you could take a look and help him with resolving this particular issue.”

  “Me?” Abi asked.

  “You know more about this planet than any being,” Heather said.

  “What did he find?” Abi asked.

  “Something called ‘The Fires of Hell,’” Heather said.

  “There is no such thing on this planet,” Abi said.

  “That’s what I said,” Heather said. “He still found it. Delphie and Sam, too. In fact, Delphie had such an experience with it that she was lost for a moment.”

  “The Oracle was lost to this ‘Fires of Hell’?” Abi asked, her voice lifting with concern. “Is she all right?”

  “He was able to get her out of there,” Heather said. “Will you go with Blane to take a look?”

  Abi fell silent. She glanced at Heather for a moment.

  “You have to say the words,” Heather said.

  “I will go with your Blane,” Abi said. She swallowed hard and then said the words that were hard for her, “Only if you will help me with my situation with Fand.”

  “Done,” Heather said.

  “Done,” Abi said.

  They fell silent, drinking their tea and eating their muffins. After a moment, Abi looked at Heather.

  “Certainly such an accord deserves to be celebrated with the cheese in your pocket?” Abi asked.

  Laughing, Heather took a block of Aristaeus’s cheese from her pocket.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Wednesday morning — 11:24 a.m.

  “So what do you think?” Honey asked the inspectors standing in front of her.

  Towering over her wheelchair, the men looked at each other. Not one to be intimidated, Honey gave them hard looks. The older man nodded.

  “Tell us again what you’re doing here,” the older man said.

  “The idea is that people could live independently, in their own apartments,” Jacob introjected.

  Jacob stepped in front of Honey, forcing the men to back up.

  “Who would live here?” the younger man asked. “Old people? Sick people? So, basically, assisted living?”

  “We already have a waiting list of young men and women, mostly Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan,” Jacob said. He shifted to the side so that the men had to turn away from Honey. “Tell you the truth, we could fill three of these buildings tomorrow.”

  “So it’s a hospital,” the older man said.

  “Most people in wheelchairs need a lot of assista
nce in the morning,” Honey said. “The cost of this care is so prohibitive that young, vibrant, often educated people are forced onto disability just to cover it. As you may know, they cannot work on disability. We’ll be able to provide morning care at a fraction of the cost because the nursing staff will be here and not have to come to them. We can give the care they need to get going in the morning and allow them to return to the workforce.”

  “Because the nursing staff will be right here, we’ll keep their medical files,” Jacob said.

  “It’s not uncommon for wheelchair-bound people to have medical issues,” Honey said. “When wheelchair bound people call for help, emergency services doesn’t have any idea what the specific medical issue might be. It happens that wheelchair bound people get paramedics who’ve never dealt with specific issue of being wheelchair bound. Every year, disabled people die due to their caregivers’ lack of knowledge about their specific medical history. We’ll have that information and be able to facilitate better overall care. With that, we reduce reliance on emergency services.”

  “We can help to make sure they have their medications on time,” Jacob said.

  “We’re right on bus lines,” Honey said. “We’ll also have a concierge to connect them with either a shuttle or one of the services. This allows young people to get out, get to work . . .”

  “Is there work for . . . people like you?” the younger man asked.

  “Of course,” Honey said. She had to swallow her pride to add, “Computers give us easy access to working in almost every industry. Wheelchair-bound people are in every profession, across the board.”

  “We expect that a lot of people will work at home,” Jacob said. “Internet access will be included in their rent.”

  Jacob and Honey stopped talking. They watched the inspectors try to work it through.

  “But . . .” the younger man started.

  “What is the confusion here?” Jacob asked. “We’ve answered all of your questions. Shown you around the building. You agree that the building complies with the strictest hospital standards. You both agree that it matches code. What is the holdup?”

  The inspectors looked at each other again. This time, the younger man started speaking.

  “The problem is that we don’t have a specific code structure for you,” the younger man said. “I can easily clear you through as an assisted-living facility, but that would mean . . .”