The Denver Cereal (16 page)

“
Meds every four hours,”
the doctor said.

“
Yes,” Jill said.
“I . . . Thanks.”

“
She’s a great little
girl,” the doctor said. “We’re going to miss having her around.
Were you able to schedule the follow ups?”

“
I . . . I
have the list of people. I’ll call when Katy’s settled.”

“
Perfect,” the doctor
said. “Bye Katy.”

Katy lifted her head from
Jill’s shoulder and waved to the doctor. They walked out of the
hospital toward Mike’s Bronco.

“
Mommy?”

“
Yes, Katy-baby,” Jill
said.

“
I think I’m sick,” Katy
said.

“
I know, Katy-baby,” Jill
said. “We’ll get you home and you’ll feel better.”

“
Oh . . .
home . . . how nice,” Katy murmured.

Katy was sound asleep when
Jill settled her into her car seat. Katy slept through the drive to
the apartment, the trip upstairs and her return to her own bed.
Jill left her door open so she could hear Katy if she needed
anything.

“
I’ll leave the car,” Mike
said. “That way if you need to go to the doctor or get something,
you can just get it.”

“
Are you sure?” Jill
asked. “I don’t want to take your wheels.”

“
I’m sure,” Mike said.
“Trevor took your car?”

Jill nodded.

“
You can keep this one,”
Mike said. “If I need it, I’ll come get it. The Castle’s only a
couple blocks from here. You’re all right here?”

Jill nodded.

“
Val and I want to have
the family over for dinner tonight . . . you know,
to talk about being married and all. Do you think that will be too
much?”

“
No, I think it will be
nice to get together around something happy. Is Meg planning a pot
luck?”

“
Of course.”

“
Great, I’ll bring some
pot.”

Mike laughed at their
usual joke.

“
Love you, Jilly.” Mike
hugged his sister.

“
Love you,
Mikey.”

Jill walked Mike to the
door. Leaning against the door, she almost collapsed to the floor
in sheer relief. She and her baby girl were finally safe and sound
at home.

~~~~~~~~

Valerie and Jacob stood at
the elevator outside the attorney’s office. Exhausted from the
emotional meeting, they leaned against each other in silent
support. Expecting Max, they turned to look when the office door
opened.

“
May I speak to you for a
moment?” Trevor asked. “No, just Jacob.”

Valerie watched Jacob walk
to the door of the attorney’s office. She couldn’t see Trevor’s
face to read his lips or hear what he said, but when Jacob stumbled
back from Trevor, she caught Trevor’s eyes. Pure evil shone clear
and cold in that man’s eyes. Trevor nodded in satisfaction. Jacob
shook his head as if he didn’t understand what Trevor said. Trevor
put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder.

“
Jacob Marlowe, the
elevator is here,” Valerie bellowed in her bossy older sister
voice.

Jacob jerked at the sound.
When he turned, she saw that he was blanched white.

“
Get. Your. Ass. On. This.
Elevator. NOW,” Valerie said.

Jacob walked toward her as
if in a trance. Trevor looked like the cat who ate the
canary.

“
NOW,” Valerie
commanded.

Jacob jerked out of his
trance and trotted to the elevator. When the doors closed, he all
but collapsed to the floor. Valerie bent to him.

“
What is it?”

“
He
said . . . he could smell Jill on
me . . . But I showered, Val. How? He
said . . . He’s going to tell Jill I set this whole
thing up so I could fuck her . . .
I . . . I orchestrated
everything . . . even Scooter . . .
and the pregnancy . . . and the tattoo removal
and . . . Val, even Scooter.
And . . . and . . . she’ll believe
him because . . . they’re soul
mates . . . I . . . Jill loves
him . . .I . . .”

Valerie’s lip curled. Half
carrying, half dragging her little brother to the car, she stuck
him in the passenger’s seat. She wrenched the keys from his hand
and started the Jeep. Jacob mumbled something. The tips of his
fingers came together then opened over and over again. Valerie
leaned her head to his mouth.

“
She’s all I ever wanted
and, poof, she’s gone. She’s all I ever wanted and, poof, she’s
gone. She’s all I ever wanted and, poof, she’s gone.”

“
STOP IT!” Valerie
commanded.

Jacob jerked
present.

“
I’m here now. No one is
going to shit on my little brother and get away with it. We will
go, right now, and talk to Jill.”

Jacob moved his head up
and down as if he understood but he was too horrified to understand
what she was saying. Valerie drove the Jeep through the parking
garage. Stopped at the sidewalk, she saw what she expected —
paparazzi. Max had told them the stepsister had called
Star
magazine to calm
Trevor’s restraining order rage.

“
There she is! Val! Over
here! Val!”

The photographers jogged
toward the Jeep. Valerie smiled her movie star smile and waved as
she drove off. Turning left on Colfax Avenue, Valerie
laughed.

“
Guess that’s the end of
the stepsister’s trust! Break the confidentiality agreement? Lose
the trust! I KNEW it!”

Valerie expected Jacob to
laugh with her, but he was off in his own world. Continuing up
Colfax Avenue past the Colorado State Capitol building, she shook
her head.

Ain’t love
grand?

One step back
 
.
 
.
 
.

Jill was sitting on her
balcony when she saw Jacob and Valerie park in front of her
building. At the sight of the Jeep, her heart started a little
happy dance. Stopping by the mirror, she brushed her hair and put
on some lip gloss. She paced back and forth with nervous excitement
until there was a knock at the door.

Opening the door, she saw
Valerie and Jacob bickering back and forth.

“
Hi!” Jill
said.

When Jacob turned he
looked lost and sad. He opened his mouth, then closed it. She
hugged him and brushed her lips with his but he was completely
unresponsive. He mumbled something.

“
What?” Jill
asked.

“
I’m sorry. I’m so
sorry.”

“
What’s going on?” Jill
asked. She shook her head at him, then remembered Valerie. “Please
come in.”

“
Wow, this is really
nice,” Valerie said. She stepped into the apartment and looked
around. The furnishings were inexpensive but well cared for. The
walls of the apartment were painted in bright colors. And the
tattered ancient carpet was covered with bright throw rugs. “Did
you do all of this?”

Jill blushed and shifted a
piece of hair behind her ear.

“
I like to make things
homey,” Jill said. “Can I get you some coffee? Water?”

Valerie grabbed Jacob’s
arm and pulled him into the apartment.

“
Water would be great,”
Valerie said.

Jacob opened his mouth
again and shook his head. Leaving Jacob near the door, Valerie
followed Jill into the efficient galley kitchen. Jill opened an
ancient refrigerator and pulled out a Brita water filter. She put a
few ice cubes in three glasses and poured the water.

“
What’s wrong with him?”
Jill whispered.

“
He’s had a terrible
run-in with your ex,” Valerie said.

“
Trevor?” Jill made a dark
face. “What happened?”

“
I was hoping he would
tell you but he’s too freaked out.”

“
Does this happen?” Jill
asked.

“
Sometimes. He needs to go
fix something. In fact,” Valerie went out into the other room,
“Jake, go fix something. Here’s the key to the Jeep. Come back here
in two hours. Shower first.”

Jacob looked at his sister
and nodded. He looked at Jill and almost burst into
tears.

“
See you in a couple
hours,” Jill said. She smiled and waved.

Jacob nodded and walked
out of the apartment.

“
Where is he going?” Jill
asked.

“
To one of his projects.
He’ll break down a wall or fix a floor or hammer on something for a
while. You’ll see. He’ll be back to himself.”

“
But Lipson Construction
does underground utility and roads.”

Valerie laughed. “You
really don’t know anything, do you?”

“
We haven’t had a lot of
time to get to know each other.”

“
Is there a place we can
talk?”

“
Sure,” Jill
said.

Valerie followed Jill out
onto the small balcony with blooming flower boxes and even a tomato
plant. Due to near-constant paparazzi attention, Valerie hadn’t sat
on a balcony in years. She delighted at the shady, outdoor
spot.

“
What do you want to know
first?” Valerie asked.

~~~~~~~~

Jacob pulled up to a
hundred and fifty-year-old, boarded-up house. The Denver Square was
a two-story, red-brick box with a wide, open porch. The most
prominent feature on the house was a couple of bright yellow
“CONDEMNED” posters tacked to the front boards. He parked the Jeep
in the shade of a hundred-foot maple.

Jacob went to the back of
the Jeep, where he kept a pair of work jeans and a T-shirt. He laid
his suit jacket and tie inside the Jeep. In quick, practiced
motions, Jacob changed from his suit to his work clothing. He left
the suit in a tidy, wrinkle-free pile. Running a construction
company and working construction on the side, Jacob sometimes
changed on the street a couple times a day.

He walked up the wide
flagstone sidewalk, past the barren front yard and dry-rotted porch
to unlock the front door. For all of the house’s exterior woe, the
interior was spotless. Gleaming hardwood shone from every surface.
The ceiling of the entry depicted cherubs reaching down from
heaven. Jacob wandered on a paper path through the living room,
past a stone fireplace to the open kitchen.

He wanted to make sure the
kitchen was installed over the weekend. Everything was in except
for the countertop. He read the note saying that the granite
shipment was delayed and would be installed on Wednesday. He
stuffed the note in his pocket as a reminder to call the installers
when he got back to the car. The thought of the car brought back
him back to Jill.

“
Ah, crap.”

Jacob’s voice echoed
through the empty house. He let out his first real breath since
Trevor said he could smell Jill on Jacob.

“
What does that mean,
anyway?” Jacob asked the empty house.

Valerie was right. He
needed to focus on what he was good at — restoring neglected
beauties.

“
Like you,” Jacob said to
the house.

The new owners were doing
a walk-through in a week. They hoped to move in by the end of the
month so they would be settled by the time their twins arrived.
Jacob smiled. Yes, restoring old houses was something he did very
well.

Noting the delicate trail
of gold inlay on the stair railing, he walked up to the second
floor. He hated to do it, but the owners wanted to replace the
cut-glass windows on the second floor. They compromised when Jacob
told them he could replace the glass but keep the original window
frames and sills. He had planned to take the windows out on Sunday.
But yesterday he had a non-date with Jill.

Jill.

Jacob felt his entire body
constrict. He couldn’t think about her yet.

After popping out a
south-facing windowpane, he went to the three double-hung windows
at the front of the house. The window’s wood trim and sill had been
stripped, varnished, and wrapped in paper so he could remove the
windows. Popping off the inch-wide molding that held the window in
place, he heard a noise behind him.

“
I’m surprised you’re
here,” Mike said.

“
The gold inlay looks
amazing. Did you finish the entry?”

Mike nodded.

“
It’s gorgeous. I bet
their twins will look just like the cherubs.”

Mike shrugged. “Want some
help?”

“
Yeah.”

~~~~~~~~

“
So that’s what he means
when he says ‘my father’s company.’” Jill nodded. “I thought he was
just . . . faking or something.”

“
No, Jake loves to restore
old things. Fix messes, that’s what Mom used to say. Give him a
mess to fix and he’s happy.”

“
No wonder he’s interested
in me,” Jill said.

Valerie
laughed.

“
What happened with
Trevor?” Jill asked.

“
Your ex is going to tell
you Jake put him up to the whole thing so Jake
could . . . um . . . sleep with
you.”