The Denver Cereal (2 page)

Jill would be the last one
to show.

With a nod of his head,
Mike started the limo. They turned down Thirteenth Avenue to make
their way through the slow Friday afternoon traffic. Never one for
conversation, Mike was relieved when Jill turned on the radio. They
drove in silence to the Seawell Ballroom, Denver’s grand ballroom,
the place where her soul mate was announcing his step up in
life.

When Mike turned onto
Speer Boulevard, Jill closed her eyes to review. Her best friend,
Sandy, had squeezed her in between paying clients. Talking non-stop
about “that prick Trevor,” Sandy had colored, curled, and primped
Jill’s hair until it fell in beautiful, honey-blonde
waves.

She had spent an hour at
the MAC counter at Cherry Creek Mall, where Heather worked. Heather
tried this mascara and that shadow. Careful not to mess up her
hair, Jill washed her face at least three times before Heather was
satisfied with her makeup. As Jill was leaving the shop, Heather
pressed a bottle with the last drops of her favorite French perfume
into Jill’s hand.

“
Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
Don’t cry,” Heather said. “You’ll ruin your make-up.”

Jill had borrowed the vest
and tie from Jack, her next-door neighbor. The vest was part of
Jack’s uniform as a valet at the Brown Palace. She touched the vest
remembering her promise to Jack that she would not get it
stained.

Tanesha had arrived at the
apartment just before Megan. She assured Jill that the Italian bra
and matching panties she’d bought for her had been on sale. When
Jill went to put them on, she saw the tags. A hundred dollars! A
piece! On sale!

Knowing she had been
caught, Tanesha shrugged. “Once in your life, you deserve something
beautiful. Especially today.”

Megan had come in when
they were hugging, and it was back to the business of getting
dressed. Her stockings were sheer, black, and beautiful. Jill was
certain she had never worn such beautiful undergarments.

I wonder what Trev’s
gonna . . .

She bit her lip to keep
from finishing the thought. She wasn’t out of the habit of thinking
of Trevor as her love, her life. Maybe tonight would do the
trick.

Jill jerked back to the
present when Mike touched her leg.

“
You better get in the
back, sis,” Mike said. He pulled the limo to the curb at Colfax
Boulevard.

Jill went to the back of
the limo, where she found a single long-stemmed, white rose with a
red ribbon around it. She caught her brother’s eye in the rear-view
mirror.

“
I thought you could
strangle him with the ribbon.”

“
Thanks,
Mikey.”

At least people loved her.
All of her low-life friends — that’s what Trevor called them now —
had pulled this off. They waited the tables at the event, tended
bar, played in the band, provided security and helped her get
ready. They all wanted to show Trevor that he may be moving to an
ivory tower, but it’s friends that make a life.

“
Ready?” Mike said. He
extended a hand to help her out of the back of the limo. Their
brother Steve met them at the curb.

Nodding, Jill kissed his
cheek.

“
Love you, sis,” Mike
said. “I’ll be here ’til it’s over.”

“
Oh, Mikey, what about
work?”

“
The boss said you can
have the limo and me all night. He thinks Trevor is a world-class
jerk.”

“
Don’t kiss him again,”
their brother Steve said, taking her arm. “Remember, high-class
women don’t fraternize with the help.”

Jill took Steve’s arm.
“Please thank Leslie for taking care of Katy tonight.”

“
We love her,” Steve said.
“It’s easy. Now go in there and make us proud.”

Clutching her long-stemmed
rose, Jill took the escalator up toward the ballroom. Her heart
pounded in her chest and her pulse thumped in her ears. If she
hadn’t been riding an escalator, she would have certainly run back
to the limo. She shifted her feet back and forth on the
step.

“
I can do this,” she
reminded herself when she reached the top.

Letting out a breath, Jill
waited for security to notice her.

At the Seawell Ballroom

Letting out a breath, Jill
waited for security to notice her. When the man turned, she smiled.
It was her brother Steve’s best friend, David.

“
God damn, you look good,”
David said. “You should see the prunes inside.”

She smiled and turned to
look at the crowded room. She had never been in a room where she
knew no one. As she watched, her sister’s best friend floated by
with a tray of hors d’oeuvres. Well, almost no one.

“
Go find Candy,” David
said. “She’s waiting for you behind the main bar.”

Crossing the room, Jill
felt every eyeball evaluate her. Out of the corner of her eye, she
saw men stare while women shifted away. She chuckled to herself
over the men’s lust-filled looks. A hand brushed her arm as another
friend walked by with a tray of hors d’oeuvres.

Catching a glimpse of
Candy, Jill stepped up to the bar. With the bar pressed against her
ribs, she recited her purpose in her head:

“
Show him what he’s
missing; just show him what he’s missing. That’s all — just show
him what he’s missing.”

Jill was seconds into her
mantra trance when she felt the warmth of a man standing next to
her. His eyes were focused on her face.

“
Hi,” he said.

Jill looked over at him,
then back to the bar. She had practiced this for weeks.
Sophisticated women are unfriendly. Don’t smile. Don’t be nice.
Don’t be your effervescent self.

“
I thought I knew everyone
on the guest list,” he said. “But I do not remember an invitation
to the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my entire
life.”

Jill couldn’t help
herself. She started laughing.

Wrinkling her nose, she
asked, “Is that a pick-up line?”

“
Pretty pathetic, eh? I’m
Jacob,” he said.

“
Jill.” She held her hand
out and he shook it.

“
Jill as in ‘baby mommy’
Jill?” Jacob asked.

“
I’m not sure what you’re
asking,” Jill said.

“
My sister is marrying
this guy, Trevor? He has a baby with a woman named Jill. Some
one-night-stand thing. He says she’s a total
bitch . . .”

Candy flew across the back
of the bar to Jill. “Sir, can I get you something to
drink?”

“
I’ll have whatever she’s
drinking,” Jacob said, pointing to Jill.

“
She’s not drinking. Bitch
whores tend not to drink at social functions.” Candy’s voice was
saccharin-sweet but the temperature dropped with her icy smile and
cold eyes.

“
I didn’t say that,” Jacob
said.

“
I heard what you
said . . .”

“
Candy!” Jill said through
her teeth. “I’m sorry. I’m the baby of the family and my sister is
very protective of me.”

“
What are you drinking?”
Candy asked.

“
Uh, whiskey, neat.
Whatever you have,” Jacob said.

Jill turned away from
Jacob and stared at the back of the bar. She felt her face flush
with heat. Trevor, who had her to have a baby, now told people Katy
was a one night stand. An accident.

And she was the
bitch?
Oh I just don’t
belong
.

“
Listen.” Jacob touched
her arm. “I meant what I said.”

“
About me being a total
bitch? Or the one night stand thing?”

Jill imitated Candy’s
sweet tone. She hadn't thought Trevor could hurt her more. Between
the stiletto heels and the sick feeling in her stomach, Jill had to
clutch the bar to remain standing.

“
That you are absolutely
the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my entire life,” Jacob
said.

Jill’s head jerked to look
at him. “What?”

“
Here’s your drink. Now
buzz off.” Candy slapped the whiskey down in front of
Jacob.

“
Listen . . .” Jacob started, but Candy raised
her hand in the air. Within moments, a friend wedged herself
between Jill and Jacob. Candy put her hand on Jill’s arm to lead
her toward the end of the bar. Jill glanced back to see Jacob stuck
in place between a tray of hors d’oeuvres and a hostile
server.

“
You look great,” Candy
whispered. “The boots are genius.”

“
Meg’s idea.” Jill passed
the rose to Candy. “I don’t belong here, sis. I should go home. Did
you hear what he said about Katy?”

“
Jill, that man begged you
for a child. You guys argued about it for years. He’s
just . . .” Candy said. She squinted her brown eyes
then released them wide. “I knew the moment you
entered.”

“
How?”

“
Every male eye turned to
watch you walk across the room,” Candy said. “This outfit is sheer
brilliance.”

“
The invitation said,
‘black tie.’” Jill beamed at her sister.

“
Watch out, here comes the
bride.” Candy raised her arm again.

“
I’m sorry,” the tiny,
blonde rich girl said. Her straight gleaming white teeth matched
her perfectly sculpted nose and eyebrows. Her blue
eyes
,
enhanced
with blue contacts, shot daggers of hate. “This is a private
party.”

“
I . . . I
was invited,” Jill said. “I . . .”

“
I don’t remember you on
the guest list. And I should know. This is MY engagement
party.”

Just then a server bumped
into the bride-to-be, spilling a full tray of red wine down the
rich girl’s ivory silk dress.

“
I’m so sorry,” Megan’s
husband, Tim, said. “I didn’t see you there. Oh my
God . . .”

Jill watched Tim scamper
to get a towel. To keep from laughing, Jill coughed into her hand.
The rich girl screamed at Tim, then at Candy. When her father came
over, she screamed at him, only to collapse sobbing into her
mother’s arms. Her mother led the tiny woman away to
change.

“
This is the most fun I’ve
had at a family gathering in at least a decade,” Jacob
said.

“
I assume he was a friend
of yours.”

“
Brother-in-law,” Jill
said.

“
She had it coming,” Jacob
said. “She knows exactly who you are.”

Jill shrugged. When she
turned to look at the party, she saw a variety of male eyes looking
in her direction.

“
Would you like to dance?”
Jacob asked. He nodded toward the dance floor, where couples danced
a perfect waltz.

“
I don’t know how,” she
replied.

“
Just follow me,” Jacob
said. He set his glass down on the bar. “I’m this close to you. I’m
not going to let you go.”

He put his hand on her arm
and was confronted with another server holding a tray of
drinks.

“
It’s all right, Christy,”
Jill said. “He just wants to dance.”

Christy scowled at Jacob
and then looked him up and down. “Be nice.”

“
Yes, ma’am,” Jacob
laughed.

Holding Jill’s hand, he
led her to the dance floor. He situated her hands then whispered
instructions into her ear. After a few missteps, she fell into the
simple rhythm of the dance and the closeness of this man. For the
first time in a long time, she felt — well, not exactly happy, but
a tiny bit of delight.

“
You are a wonderful
dancer,” Jacob said.

“
Not really,” Jill
replied. “I just know how to follow what you’re doing.”

Jacob laughed. “That’s
most of the work.”

“
It’s not hard to follow,”
Jill said.

“
Do you dance?” Jacob
asked.

“
I like to
dance . . . Oh, you mean for a living? You think I’m
a stripper?!”

Jacob laughed.

“
Why is that funny?” Jill
asked. Dropping her arms, she stopped moving. “I’d like to sit down
now.”

“
Please don’t. I laughed
because I suck at this small talk crap, particularly with a
beautiful woman. I rehearse what I’m going to say, you know, in my
head? But it sounds awful when it comes out.”

“
Oh. I do that sometimes
if I’m nervous. Are you nervous?”

“
Yes, I’m
nervous.”

“
Why?”

“
Well, if I blow this,
someone might kill me,” Jacob laughed.

They danced in silence for
a while. Listening to the music, Jill enjoyed the liquid pleasure
of movement in the arms of this man. She’d only ever been this
close to Trevor. She sighed a little as her body warmed in response
to him.
God, he even smells
good.

“
Is your wife here?” Jill
asked.

“
I don’t have a wife,”
Jacob said.