Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4 (42 page)

“
She did,” Aden said. “I’m
so sorry. I… Did they really say you were a prostitute?”

“
I was a prostitute,” Sandy
said. “The Denver Post broke that news. 9News had a field day with
it for weeks.”

His silence relayed his overwhelming guilt.
Finally, he spoke.

“
Sandy, I…”

“
It’s okay,” Sandy said.
“Noelle had a fabulous time. To me, that’s all that
matters.”

“
You’re amazing,” Aden
said. “I owe you one.”

“
Just one?”

Aden laughed.

“
Flowers? Candy? Or
Diamonds?” Aden asked.

“
How about dinner – just
you and me – at our house after we put the kids to bed,” Sandy
said.

“
You’re on,” Aden said.
“I’ll make Chinese Food.”

“
My favorite,” Sandy said.
“Pete’s or Dragon Café.”

“
My culinary skills are
vast,” Aden laughed.

“
Remember we are meeting
Social Services at five tonight,” Sandy said.

“
I’ll be there,” Aden said.
“Love you.”

“
Yeah, me too,” Sandy
said.

Setting down the phone, Sandy drove to her
shop. Pete met her at the door with a pint of her favorite ice
cream to check to see if she was ‘really and truly okay.’ They
laughed and ate the ice cream together. A few minutes later, the
bell rang. A client was waiting and it was time to work.
Straightening her maternity top, she smiled at herself in the
mirror. She was definitely okay.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday afternoon —3:02 P.M.

“
MITZI!” Charlie
yelled.

He jumped out of the back of the SUV and ran
toward the tall, rail thin girl walking along the sidewalk.
Defensive, she flipped around.

“
Don’t call me that…
CHARLIE!” Sissy said.

Charlie picked his sister up off the
sidewalk in a hug. She was crying so hard he didn’t dare let her
go. He held her tight.

“
Charlie, I thought you
were dead,” she said. “I thought you were dead. I… Oh
Charlie.”

In a typical sister reversal, she shrugged
him off her.

“
Where have you been!?!”
Sissy punched him in the chest. “I’ve been crazy with
worry!”

In a classic brother move, he gave her a
sheepish look and shrugged. Shaking her head, she continued
walking. Charlie fell in beside her. She stopped walking when
Charlie began to cough from the excitement.

“
You need a doctor!” Sissy
said.

“
I… have… one,” Charlie
said between coughing. “I got beat up… was in the hospital… for a…
week… have pneumonia… Hepatitis…”

With Sissy banging on his back, Charlie
coughed until he stopped. She held out her water bottle for
him.

“
I came to get you.”
Charlie took a long drink from Sissy’s water bottle.

“
I can’t go anywhere,
Charlie,” Sissy said. “I have to go home. Mom will kill me if I’m
not there when she gets home.”

“
She doesn’t get home until
five twenty three,” Charlie said. “We’re going for burgers and I
wanted you to meet everyone.”

“
You and your friends?”
Sissy put her painfully thin arms on her thin hips. “Burgers and
fries? You mean you want me to buy you and your friend’s
lunch.”

“
Me and our family,”
Charlie said. “I’ve been staying with Sandy and her
husband.”

“
Sandy!” Sissy’s face
brightened. For a moment, a beautiful young girl shone through her
almost skeletal features. She repeated, “Sandy!”

“
Come on,” Charlie pointed
toward the SUV. “We can get burgers and fries and get you back
before Mom comes home. Or at least that’s what Teddy’s Dad
said.”

Sissy pulled a fist full of bills from her
pocket.

“
I’ve been saving all my
food money for you,” Sissy held the money out to
Charlie.

“
It’s all paid for,”
Charlie pushed her hand back to her. “You don’t have to save for me
anymore. I’m going to take care of you for a while.”

With her hand still extended, Sissy shook
her head at him.

“
How?” she
whispered.

“
We’re going to live with
Sandy,” Charlie said. “I have it all arranged with her husband,
Aden. You’ll like him and the kids. Come on. Everyone is waiting
for us.”

Charlie started walking toward the car.

“
Everyone?” Sissy’s hands
went to her face in horror. She began to shake.

“
Come on, Sissy,” Charlie
said. “They are really nice. They want to meet you.
Plus…”

Shaking her head back and forth, Sissy’s
eyes spoke her horror.

“
God Sis, I hate this,”
Charlie said.

Charlie’s impatience with his sister was
palpable. He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her along. She was
too scared to move. Hearing footsteps, he turned to see Noelle
running out of the SUV. Noelle threw her arms around Sissy.

“
I’m so excited to meet
you,” Noelle said. “We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting. We
bugged Charlie but he couldn’t get here. And then Teddy’s Dad has
us this afternoon because Daddy and Mom… Sandy, she’s my Mom now…
They are meeting with Social Services to finalize having you come
live with us. And we’re staying with Teddy. And Charlie asked if
you could come. To lunch. And Teddy’s Dad said he’d like to meet
you. And Nash is really excited too. See, he’s waiting by the car.
That’s my brother. Teddy’s inside. He’s Nash’s best friend. He’s my
boyfriend or sort of my boyfriend.”

“
They haven’t been on a
date yet,” Charlie said. “Dating rules.”

Sissy started crying again.

“
Please come with us,”
Noelle said. “I prayed and wished and hoped for a sister and here
you are! You’re perfect and we want you to be our sister. Look,
there’s Nash.”

Nash ran over to them. Not sure of how he
could help, his hands moved like helicopters over the hugging
girls. Charlie put his arms around Noelle and Sissy. Nash hugged
the girls from the other side. They heard the doors of the SUV
close. Teddy and his Dad came over to the children.

“
We’d love it if you came
to lunch with us,” Teddy’s Dad, Zack Jakkman, said.

“
How will I pay for it?”
Sissy said.

“
It’s taken care of,”
Teddy’s Dad said.

The children shifted back so Sissy could
speak to Teddy’s Dad. Sissy eyes took in the handsome man. Blue
eyes. Dark hair. Nice smile. Fit, healthy, with an air of ‘can do.’
She blushed and pulled on her dress.

“
You’re Sandy’s pilot,”
Sissy said.

“
I am,” Teddy’s Dad smiled.
“It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“
What about Mom?” Sissy
asked. “If I live with Charlie, what will Mom do?”

Teddy stepped toward the girl.

“
My mom’s a mess. Nash’s
too,” Teddy said. “Dad just tells me to love her. That’s my job.
And that’s what I do.”

“
I do that too,” Nash said.
“Even if my mom can’t love me, I can love her.”

“
I love you, Sissy,” Noelle
hugged her again. “You can share my room.”

“
Let the adults work out
what happens with your mother,” Teddy’s Dad said. “We adults are
slow at getting it done but we eventually get there. My
understanding is that Social Services was already planning to place
you in foster care. Staying with Sandy and Aden is a much better
option.”

Trying to understand, Sissy held the man’s
eyes. The man smiled.

“
I’m pretty new to Denver,”
Teddy’s Dad said. “Nash read a review of Encore Restaurant. I guess
they have the best burgers in town. The kids wanted to try
it.”

“
It’s across the street
from East High School,” Charlie said.

“
And lots of cute girls,”
Nash said.

Sissy nodded and Noelle let go.

“
The boys always want to be
around cute girls,” Noelle said.

“
I know I do,” Teddy said.
Noelle smiled at him and he blushed. “Well, just one.”

“
Please come to lunch,”
Teddy’s Dad said.

Sissy nodded again. With a little more
encouragement from Noelle, Sissy walked to the SUV. Nash and
Charlie sat in the back so that Sissy could sit with Noelle and
Teddy.

“
Off we go,” Teddy’s Dad
said. “Anyone have a problem if I listen to country
music?”

The kids groaned.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday afternoon —4:02 P.M.

“
There’s no mistake?” MJ
asked the doctor.

They were standing next to the nurses’
station.

“
No, Sergeant,” the doctor
said.

“
But last time…” MJ
started.

“
This isn’t last time,” the
doctor said. “You must think positive thoughts. Your thoughts make
the biggest difference.”

“
You’re sure,” MJ said
again.

“
There’s no mistake,
Sergeant.” The doctor looked up as Honey wheeled out toward them.
“We’ll see you in a month?”

“
Yes, sir,” MJ
said.

Taking the handles, MJ wheeled Honey to the
front desk where they made their next appointment. He helped her
into the passenger seat of his SUV and went around the back to get
in.

“
I told you so,” Honey
said. “We’re going to have a baby.”

“
We’re going to have a
baby,” MJ said. “You’re sure you want to have a baby with me? I
travel a lot and…”

“
It’s a little too late for
that,” Honey smiled. “Everything is set up. We can do
this.”

Laughing, MJ started the car.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday afternoon —9:30 P.M. PDT

Hollywood, CA

“
And that’s a wrap!” the
Director said. “A round of applause for the best cast and crew any
Director could hope for.”

While champagne bottled burst open, the cast
and crew applauded each other’s work. For a moment, Valerie was in
a crush of hugs and pats on the back. Mike’s height and bulk moved
easily through the sea of people who wanted to touch Valerie. He
stood near her while she finished talking to the other actors and
crew. When the crowd thinned, he took her arm and helped her toward
the door. They were stopped near the door by the Producer. The
Director and Assistant Director came over to talk to them.

“
We’ll see you very soon!”
the Director said.

Valerie waved and Mike made it to the door.
He helped her into the SUV where she collapsed into the seat. She
was asleep when he got into the driver’s seat. He drove through the
Hollywood traffic to the Chateau Marmot. Still asleep, she opened
her eyes when he carried her into their little cottage. He stripped
off her clothes and settled her into bed. After using the bathroom,
he got in bed beside her.

“
I didn’t shower,” Valerie
mumbled.

“
You’re just
fine.”

“
I smell,” she
mumbled.

“
You’re
perfect.”

With a smile on her face, she fell asleep.
Mike turned on his side to watch her sleep.

She’d worked her butt off on this movie. The
cast and crew loved her. The Director already hired her to do the
voice in an animated feature when she was pregnant. The producer
cast her in another movie for next year. According to her agent,
she was the hottest property in Hollywood.

Mike felt like he was in the eye of the
hurricane.

Hottest property or no, for the next few
months, he wouldn’t have to share her with the world. She would put
the same work ethic into making their daughter the best she could
be. They would live and love at the Castle.

He felt a little sad that the ‘becoming a
star’ phase of their life was over. His mind reviewed the years of
work and the disaster that had been their relationship. He
sighed.

“
What is it?” she
asked.

“
Life is changing,” he
whispered.

“
Not us?” she asked. Her
large hazel eyes opened and closed. Puzzling, she opened her eyes
again to see him.

“
No, not us,” he whispered.
“Just life.”

“
Oh good,” she said. “The
way you sighed, I thought something was wrong.”

Mike smiled at a typical Val sentiment. As
long as her relationships were good, Valerie could take on
anything. He opened his mouth to say something but she was asleep
again.

Smiling, he joined her.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and
SIXTEEN

Fat/non-fat

Four days later

Tuesday — 11:20 A.M.

“
Where am I?” Sissy asked
as she sat up in her hospital bed.

“
Children’s Hospital,”
Sandy said.

Sandy sat down on her little sister’s
bed.

“
How did I get here?” Sissy
asked.

“
You don’t remember?” Sandy
asked.

“
I remember seeing Charlie.
I remember meeting Noelle and Nash and Teddy and his Dad. He’s your
pilot. Right?”

“
He is.”

“
I remember thinking I was
going to see you!” Sissy said. “We went to some place…”

She shook her head.

“
Everyone ordered burgers
and fries,” Sandy said. “You ate most of yours then collapsed. You
had a seizure at the restaurant and then again in the
ambulance.”