Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (19 page)

“
It's been my favorite
since...” Delphie started.

Ava was sound asleep. Delphie pulled a
stuffed armchair by the bed and settled in to meditate. Seth
arrived a few hours before dawn. Delphie hugged him and left to
find Sam.

Seth removed his suit, showered, and lay
down next to Amelie. She made a noise, rolled on her side to nestle
on his shoulder, but didn't wake up. He reached up to shut off the
side lamp. He kissed the top of her head.

“
I love you Amelie,” he
whispered and fell sound asleep.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday morning — 7:20 A.M.

Katy grabbed her shoes and climbed onto her
bed. She slipped on her black Mary Janes and waited for her Mommy
to come in to buckle them. She liked a little time to watch her
shiny Mary Janes and her stripy purple tights when she swung her
feet against the yellow bed spread.

“
You think I don’t see you
there,” Katy said to the female ghost who came into her room. “But
I do.”

She continued swinging her feet against the
bed.

“
My Daddy says I don’t
have to talk to any ghost. Not one,” Katy said. “If you don’t leave
me alone, my Daddy will send you away. He doesn’t like
ghosts.”

Katy nodded.

“
I don’t care if you’re
here for some reason,” Katy continued to ignore the
ghost.

“
Who are you talking to?”
Noelle asked as she came into the room.

“
Some ghost,” Katy
said.

“
Oh,” Noelle climbed onto
Katy’s bed. “How is it to have school without Paddie?”

“
All right,” Katy let out
a big sigh. “Nobody likes me very much.”

Noelle nodded. Katy giggled.

“
This is Noelle,” Katy
said. “Not Nuala! Silly ghost.”

Noelle looked around the room to see whom
Katy was talking to.

“
Katy!” Jill called from
the loft. “Are you still getting ready? We don’t want to be late
for school.”

“
Yes, Mommy,” Katy yelled.
She turned to look at the ghost again and said, “Noelle’s Mommy is
my Auntie Sandy. You are very silly.”

Katy turned to Noelle and smiled.

“
Noelle is very pretty,”
Katy said. “Are you happy now that those mean girls are
gone?”

“
Me?” Noelle
asked.

“
I’m ignoring the ghost,”
Katy whispered. She swung her feet with extra flair to accentuate
her point.

“
Nobody likes me either,”
Noelle said. “Daddy says it’s because he’s the boss at work. That’s
probably true for you too.”

“
At least we have real
friends,” Katy said. “Paddie and…”

“
Teddy,” Noelle
brightened.

“
And you!” Katy
said.

“
And you!” Noelle
repeated.

“
Charlie and Sissy are my
brother and sister now,” Noelle said

“
Stop that!” Katy
yelled.

“
I feel funny,” Noelle
said.

“
That’s because the ghost
is touching you,” Katy said. “She keeps crying and saying, ‘my
baby’ and calling you Nuala.”

“
Nuala is my real mom’s
name,” Noelle said. “You remember. She broke my
cheekbone.”

Katy’s full attention jerked to Noelle.
Katy’s dark eyes scanned Noelle’s face.

“
What?” Noelle
whispered.

“
This ghost says she’s
your grandmother,” Katy whispered. She pointed to the
ghost.

Shocked and a little scared, the two girls
turned to look in the direction Katy pointed.

“
MOMMY!” Katy
yelled.

Jill ran into the room.

“
What?” Jill
asked.

“
This ghost keeps touching
Noelle,” Katy said.

In one quick motion, Jill buckled Katy’s
shoes, picked her up and held her hand out for Noelle.

“
You will leave these
children alone.” Jill stood as tall as she knew how. “They are
children and don’t need to be involved with you or your problems.
We are leaving now. I expect you to leave us alone.”

Carrying Katy and holding onto Noelle, Jill
stormed out of the loft. They ran into Delphie in the kitchen.

“
She just wants to see her
granddaughter,” Delphie said. “She didn’t know about Nash or
Noelle. Can you give her a moment?”

“
She scared Katy and
Noelle,” Jill said. “I will not tolerate that. Whatever else they
might be, these girls are small children!”

“
She’s very sorry,”
Delphie said. “They’ve been looking for their daughter since they
were killed.”

“
They?” Jill
sniffed.

“
She and her husband,
Mark,” Delphie said. “They’re the lovers. You know, from under the
chapel?”

“
And Nuala?” Jill
asked.

“
Their daughter,” Delphie
said. “I guess that’s why Saint Jude never found her. She’s been in
jail a good portion of her life.”

“
What about me?” Noelle
whispered. “Will he find me and Nash? Kill me and Nash?”

“
I’ll kill him first,”
Sandy said. Returning from kangarooing Rachel at the hospital, she
walked into the kitchen from the living area.

The women and children turned to look at
Sandy.

“
No one’s going to hurt
you or Nash,” Jill said. “No one.”

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday morning — 10:45 A.M.

Seth woke up slowly. In his mind, he
reviewed every detail from last night. This pre-waking review was
part of his sobriety. He went over the previous night until he got
to the morning. Realizing Ava should be in bed, he reached an arm
out for her.

The bed was empty. His heart seized with
anxiety.

“
Ava?” Seth
called.

He heard movement. Rolling to the side
table, he slipped his handgun from its holster. He ratcheted a
round into the chamber and crept from bed. Standing against the
half open door, he heard someone moving in the suite.

“
Ava? Are you
here?”

He closed his eyes for a brief second to
implore God that she wasn’t already dead. He pushed open the
door.

“
Ava?”

With his weapon out, he stepped into the
hallway. The other bedroom and the bathroom were to his right. The
bathroom fan buzzed like the propeller to a B-52 bomber. The open
area of the suite stood in front of him. All three doors were half
open. The door to the hallway was to his left.

He pushed open the door to the second
bedroom. Empty. He closed the door.

“
Ava?”

He stepped to the bathroom. With his back at
the door, he pressed the bathroom door open. He flipped open the
shower curtain. Empty. He shut off the fan and closed the door. He
listened for movement. Hearing a rustling sound in the main suite
area, he slid along the wall. He rotated into the doorway of the
open living area.

And saw Ava.

Naked, she stood in front of the three full
length mirrors next to the windows. Oblivious to him, she rotated
back and forth to look at herself. The brilliant diamond necklace
reflected sunlight around the room. When she rotated toward him, he
saw her iPod earbuds in her ears and tears streaming down her face.
He lowered his weapon and walked toward her.

“
You brought your gun to a
shoot out?” Yelling over her music, Ava tried to make a
joke.

Seth pointed to her ears. She looked
surprised then pulled her earbuds out.

“
I was afraid for you,” he
said.

She held him close. He kissed her wet
cheek.

“
I’m trying to decide
where to get a tattoo,” Ava said.

He gave her a soft smile.

“
I don’t ever want to
forget Beth,” Ava said.

“
You won’t ever forget
Beth,” Seth said. “That’s impossible.”

She tucked her head into his shoulder. She
kissed his shoulder and his chest. He stepped back to look into her
face.

“
Please make love to me,”
Ava said. “I feel numb and so alone. Please…”

“
I did promise you animal
sex,” he said.

She smiled. He took her hand and led her
back to their bedroom. Setting his weapon on the side table, he
took her iPod from her and laid her back. Very slowly, very gently,
he made love to her and she cried. She wept when they joined. She
screamed and hit against him when they moved toward climax. She
called out for him when she slipped into ecstasy. He kissed her
face until she caught her breath.

“
Again,” she
whispered.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-FOUR

Sick

Tuesday mid-day — 12:35 P.M.

“
Hey,” Aden came into the
apartment. “What are you doing home? Aren’t you supposed to be at
work?”

Sitting on the couch, Charlie looked up from
the book he was reading.

“
They sent me home,”
Charlie said. “Is it okay that I…?”

“
Of course. This is your
home,” Aden said. “Why did they send you home?”

“
Sick,” Charlie said. “I
didn’t notice but they said I was sick.”

Aden moved across the room to Charlie. He
put his hand on Charlie’s forehead.

“
You’re burning up,” Aden
said. “Why didn’t you call?”

Charlie looked up at him and shrugged.

“
Why didn’t they call me?”
Aden asked. “They’re supposed to call when a child goes
home.”

“
I told them not to,”
Charlie said. “I know you and Sandy are busy with
Rachel.”

Aden wasn’t sure if Charlie was playing a
game or using the time to get high or legitimately sick. Noticing
Aden’s doubt, Charlie bristled.

“
I’m not high,” Charlie
said. “I went to my meeting and Pete brought me back here. I’m just
sick.”

Aden went into his bathroom for the digital
thermometer. He held it out to Charlie.

“
What’s that?” Charlie
asked.

“
It’s a thermometer,” Aden
said. “You press this button and put it under your
tongue.”

He held it out and Charlie put it in his
mouth.

“
You haven’t seen one of
these?” Aden asked.

Charlie shook his head.

“
How…?” Aden started.
Charlie pointed to the thermometer. Aden waited until the
thermometer beeped.

“
Mom told us we were old
enough to take care of ourselves,” Charlie shrugged. “So we
did.”

“
100 degrees,” Aden said.
“It’s probably strep. The kids get it every year in the spring.
Come on, let’s get you to Urgent Care.”

“
Strep?” Charlie
blushed.

“
You know someone who has
strep?” Aden asked.

Charlie nodded. Not sure if he should ask,
Aden let the silence lag. Charlie didn’t say anything.

“
Don’t you have something
better to do?” Charlie asked.

“
No,” Aden said. “There’s
nothing more important to me than your health, Charlie.”

Charlie stood from the couch and followed
Aden out of the apartment. They went down the stairwell and out to
Aden’s SAAB. Charlie shivered.

“
Where’s your jacket?”
Aden asked.

“
Jacket?” Charlie
asked.

“
Ah, crap,” Aden said. “We
never got more clothes for you. God Charlie, I’m so
sorry.”

Charlie shrugged.

“
When we finish here, I’ll
take you to get some clothes,” Aden said.

“
What were you going to
do?” Charlie asked.

“
I need to get another
car,” Aden said. “Sandy needs her own wheels. She doesn’t want one,
says they’re a waste of resources so she refuses to participate.
But we have so many kids now that we need something.”

“
I’d rather go car
shopping,” Charlie said.

“
All right,” Aden said.
“But I’ll tell Sandy we need to do some clothes shopping. She’s
really good at that kind of thing.”

Charlie nodded. Aden started the car and
pulled out of the Castle driveway. He turned left on Colfax and
made his way to York Street. They were passing the Denver Botanic
Gardens when Charlie made a sound.

“
What is it?” Aden
asked.

“
Nothing,” Charlie
said.

Charlie’s face was bright red and his eyes
were cloudy. Unwilling to let it go, Aden turned right on east
Ninth and drove into Cheesman Park. Charlie had been through so
much, and Aden still didn’t know him very well, he hoped this would
be a chance to talk.

“
What are you doing?”
Charlie asked.

“
I thought we could talk,”
Aden said.

“
I thought we had to go to
the doctor,” Charlie said. “Strep or something?”

“
This is a little detour,”
Aden said. “What’s going on, Charlie?”

Charlie shook his head at Aden.

“
Why don’t we walk?” Aden
asked.

He grabbed his jacket and a pullover hooded
sweatshirt from the back seat. Giving his jacket to Charlie, he got
out of the car and pulled on the sweatshirt. Charlie followed him.
They began walking on the new concrete path around the park.

“
Who do you know that has
strep?” Aden asked.

“
A girl I know,” Charlie
said.