Celia's Puppies (30 page)

He stroked her face. She nodded to her tea,
then looked up into his eyes.

“
I want to sell this house
and be done with it,” she said.

“
I thought
we...”

“
I can live anywhere I
want now,” she said. “If I want to come back to LA, to the soap,
I’ll rent.”

“
Or WE’LL buy another
home.”

She smiled.

“
Love you,
Mike.”

“
When does the movie
start?” he asked.

“
Next January,” she said.
“Why?”

“
Hockey season,” they said
together.

She laughed.

Chapter Forty-Five
A solution or three

Friday evening

“
Jill lived in this
building for a long time,” Jacob said. He entered the building
followed by Honey, in her lightweight wheelchair, and MJ. “Her
apartment is on the second floor. There are a couple of empty
apartments together on the third floor. We can combine them into a
suite.”

Jacob pointed in the direction of the
elevator. They made their way down the hall.

“
Why did Jill live here?”
Honey asked.

“
It’s very affordable,”
Jacob said. “She and Trevor lived here for six years I
think.”

“
Oh, I forgot,” Honey
said. “Seeing you and Jill together? It’s like you’ve always been
together.”

MJ pressed the elevator call button and the
ancient doors opened.

“
I think everyone would
rather forget Trevor,” Jacob said. He punched the button for the
third floor.

“
I would,” MJ
said.

“
I heard you were
buddies,” Jacob said.

The elevator lurched a couple times before
it crept upward.

“
He thought we were,” MJ
said.

Honey looked up at MJ. She reached for his
hand. Taking hold her hand, MJ smiled.

“
Thailand?” Jacob
asked.

“
I was in Special Forces
training that entire year. And the one before that,” MJ said. “I
don’t remember but my LC checked. Leave Special Forces training for
vacation? You’re out. I graduated. That, I remember.”

“
MJ was more friends with
Jill and Tanesha because they ran track,” Honey said. “MJ was a
jock. I never met Trevor until my sister brought him to meet
Mom.”

After jerking, the elevator came to a
complete stop. The doors slid open.

“
The elevator’s not too
great,” Jacob said. “I’ve looked at replacing it but I’d have to
evacuate the building. Asbestos. The residents say it’s okay, so I
keep it running. I’ll probably do something about it in the next
year or so. I didn’t think I’d keep this building
but...”

“
Why do you own it, Jake?”
Honey asked.

“
That’s a very long
story,” he said. “The benefit to this building is that it’s
accessible right away. You can get in the front door, there’s an
elevator and the doors are wide enough for your wheelchair. We
gutted these apartments last month, so they are ready to be
converted to wheelchair accessible.”

He opened the door to one of the apartments.
Honey rolled in first followed by MJ. Jacob closed the door.

“
Jake, please don’t take
this the wrong way,” Honey said. “But this place is a shit
hole.”

Jacob laughed.

“
I’m serious. We lived in
better places when I was a kid,” Honey said.

“
It’s pretty bad,” Jacob
said. “I’ve made improvements, but people who live here don’t like
a lot of change.”

“
A wrecking ball would do
it,” MJ said.

“
That’s what Jill says,”
Jacob said. “People need safe places to live.”

“
Nice places. Clean
places,” Honey said. “Why did you gut this apartment?”

“
I’m hoping to eventually
redo all of the apartments,” Jacob said. “When they become
available, I gut them. If I need one, I put in new material. The
building is awful, but you’d be surprised what a little work can
do. There aren’t rats or roaches any more. I was able to get all
the appliances to work.”

He shrugged.

“
Would you like to at
least see it?” he asked.

“
Sure,” MJ said. “It’s
nice of you to take the time to show us around. We don’t want to
seem ungrateful, Jake.”

“
It’s a shit hole. Now,”
Jacob said. “But we can make the apartments what we want.
Eventually, the building will convert.”

Jacob escorted them through what once was a
two bedroom apartment.

“
There’s a vacant one next
door. If you need more space, we can combine them,” Jacob
said.

“
You said there was
another option,” MJ said. “I’d worry about Honey being here by
herself. Even with a nurse’s help, she’ll be alone here a lot of
the time.”

“
Until I find work,” Honey
said.

“
Until she finds work,” MJ
said.

“
I wanted to show you this
first. I know how independent Honey has always been. This apartment
would offer real independence. You could come and go as you please.
Once you’re ready for a van, you can park in the lot.”

“
Jake, I know you’re
trying to be positive and helpful,” Honey said. “But... I don’t
think I can live here. Just the smell...”

“
Ok, moving on,” Jacob
said.

They retreated to the elevator.

“
I make good money, Jake,”
MJ said.

“
MJ helps support his
brother and sister too,” Honey said.

“
But I make enough for us
to live on,” MJ said.

“
Plus, I’ll find a job,”
Honey said.

Jacob smiled at Honey’s insistence on
working.

“
We’ve looked at a couple
of other apartment buildings that might work,” MJ said.
“So don’t worry if we can’t make this work.”

“
I’m glad you looked.”
Jacob nodded. “Let’s take a look at the other place before you
decide. The other place isn’t wheelchair accessible right
now.”

“
Where is it?” Honey
asked.

“
The Castle,” Jacob said.
“Would you be okay going back...”

“
The Castle is gorgeous,”
Honey said. “I mean, it’s your family home. You wouldn’t
want...”

“
You are family, Honey,”
Jacob said. “You guys wanna get a bite to eat before we look at the
Castle? I was thinking...”

“
Cereal?” Honey
asked.

“
If you insist,” Jacob
said. “The Shoppe?”

The elevator slammed to the bottom, jerked
up, bounced, and the doors creaked opened. They returned to MJ’s
SUV. MJ lifted Honey from her chair and gently placed her in the
passenger seat. Jacob folded the wheel chair and stuck it next to
him.

“
If it’s all right with
you, Jake, I’d like to see what’s available at the Castle,” MJ
said. “I don’t want to get in the way of your cereal consumption.
Is the cereal ban still in effect?”

“
What cereal ban?” Jacob’s
smirk indicated his lack of compliance with the ‘No-Captain-Crunch’
health program.

Honey laughed.

“
What’s available at the
Castle, Jake?” MJ asked.

MJ turned left at Colfax Boulevard then took
an immediate right onto Race Street.

“
We’ve finished a couple
apartments. There are a couple others that rotate uses. Aden and
his kids like one. Blane stays in the studio when he’s sick. Jill
and I moved into part of the attic so where I lived is
vacant.”

“
How big is the Castle?”
MJ asked.

“
You can just go up to the
gate.” Jake pointed to the metal gate. “How big is the Castle?
Honestly? I don’t know. The building was originally about eight
thousand square feet but there’ve been additions. Last year, we
found a bunch of underground rooms. We found the ball room about
six months ago.”

“
Why are things
hidden?”

MJ turned left into the Castle driveway.
Jumping out, Jacob punched in the code for the gate.

“
Lots of reasons,” Jacob
said. “One area was converted to a speakeasy and shut off from the
rest of the house. Also, in the bust years in Denver, people would
break into these old mansions and steal stained glass, doors …
anything they could sell. We found the original owner’s diary. He
mentions sealing off rooms to protect original details of the house
but there are few specifics and no plans that show all the
additions and changes. We found crazy stuff, like a room filled
with the original doors. I keep hoping I’ll find the original
chandelier.”

MJ parked the SUV on the wide concrete in
front of the garage. They looked out onto the vegetable gardens and
fruit trees. The Indian summer had extended the growing season at
the Castle. Fruit hung on the trees. Tall corn lifted toward the
sky. Burdened tomato plants gave a back drop to blooming rose
bushes, purple cornflowers, and bright yellow yarrow. Brilliant
colored asters and mums lined the driveway.

“
The gardens are
beautiful,” Honey said. “I don’t think I’ve seen them
before.”

“
Delphie designed and
maintains the gardens. We help, but only on her
instruction.”

MJ moved to get Honey’s wheelchair.

“
I am sorry but right now
it’s probably easier if you’re carried,” Jacob said. “We can easily
fix the access but today may be tricky.”

MJ lifted Honey from the passenger seat of
his SUV.

“
I don’t mind having a man
servant,” Honey said.

MJ flushed. He opened his mouth then shut
it. Jacob grinned when they kissed.

“
I hope you don’t mind,”
Jacob said. He nodded toward Delphie, Jill and Katy. Sarah and
Scooter bound toward them with a happy, body-wagging greeting.
“They wanted to see what we were thinking of doing with your
space.”

“
Where’s Dad?” Honey
asked.

“
He’s opening the rooms,”
Jacob said.

While Jill kissed Jacob, Delphie said her
hellos. Jacob picked up Katy.

“
Rooms?” MJ
asked.

“
We have three garden
level rooms. They’re next to Dad’s area. They’ve been used for
storage. The original plans show they were interconnected by doors.
We’ve cleared out one of the rooms and made some progress on the
second.

“
There’s Dad.” Jacob
pointed to his father. Sam was standing near an outside door to the
area they hoped would work for MJ and Honey. The group continued to
move toward the Castle. “If you decide to move in, we have a number
of options for the outside space. We can create a small private
patio for you, pour a sidewalk to connect you to the driveway, or
whatever you think makes sense.”

“
When is the wedding?”
Delphie said.

Honey blushed. MJ kissed her nose.

“
We’re not sure,” MJ said.
“We’d like to get married before Honey’s surgery, but it doesn’t
seem quite possible.”

“
Why not?” Jill
asked.

“
You know,” Honey
said.

“
The Catholic thing,” MJ
and Honey said together.

Jill nodded.

“
What does that mean?”
Jacob asked.

“
Catholics have to take
classes before they get married,” Jill said. “Didn’t help me much,
but... I wonder if we could find someone who would perform the
ceremony anyway.”

“
I can marry people,”
Delphie said. “I could marry you now and you could get remarried in
the church.”

“
See, I knew we’d find a
solution,” MJ said. “Whoa...”

They were standing in front of an open door.
Even with battered wood floors and dusty plaster walls, the room
was beautiful. A tile fireplace stood on one side of the room while
built-in book shelves lined the other.

“
Pretty, isn’t it?”
Delphie put her hand on MJ’s arm. “Maple floors, shelves and
moldings in this room. Sam’s rooms are all birch. The room next
door is... I don’t remember. What is it, Jake?”

“
Oak,” Jacob said. “The
diary says this level was designed to celebrate the American
forest. I would guess the last room is pine or cherry. I thought
there was another room on this level, on the other side of Dad’s
room, but we haven’t found a way in yet.”

MJ and Honey wandered around the room. Jacob
opened a door leading to the adjoining room. Even partially full of
boxes, the room’s inherent beauty was apparent. A fireplace made of
similar tile stood on the opposite side of the wall. Jacob opened
the next door and they could see stacks of boxes, doors, and other
household items.

“
Dad and I worked on plans
to combine these rooms into a living area, a couple bedrooms, a
small office and a nice sized bathroom. We can also add a small
kitchen if you’d like one.”

“
In total, it’s a little
more than a thousand square feet.” Sam opened the exterior door of
the second room. There were a number of overgrown trees just
outside the door. “With a little outside space, there’s room to
live here.”

“
It’s gorgeous,” MJ said.
“What do you think?”

“
Wow,” Honey said. “Can
you really convert it? I mean, you don’t mind me living
here?”