Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (57 page)

“
Of course, Sissy and
Noelle are all over the baby thing,” Sandy said. “I’ve had to argue
with them to get her back. Rachel will not die from the lack of
love. Oh Nash and Teddy too. They pretend not to care but when she
laughs or smiles at them? You’d think they’d seen a super model.
Rachel is a love. And Aden… You were right. I like being married
and he’s a really great man, father. He’s good to me.”

“
My brood is doing well,”
Sandy said. “Of course, Mom called. Yeah! That Mom. Can you believe
it? She told Sissy how
sorry
she was. They’ve talked every night this week.
Sissy is thrilled. She’s talking about us all moving ‘back home.’
Charlie is angry and pretends to be uninterested. We’re going to
Tucson tonight. I
know
! Sissy only gets to miss one ballet class this summer. She
wants to see Mom. And I… I guess I want Mom to be better
too.”

She turned his head to the other side and
began working with her comb and scissors.

“
Valerie got some deal at
one of those fancy resorts in Tucson,” Sandy said. “They’re paying
for everything. Food too, which is good because now that Teddy and
Nash are working, they eat as much as Charlie. All Val has to do is
show up and waddle around a little bit. She’s supposed to get her
photo taken in the pool. That’s easy because the kids say they’re
going to be in the pool all day. Valerie loves those kids. It’s a
little weird because she’s a movie star and stuff but I guess
Noelle and Nash pretty much grew up at the Castle.”

Sandy paused to think for a moment.

“
I guess the thing I’m
most worried about it Sissy,” Sandy said. “She’s been doing really
well. Her weight is stable. She’s even gained a little muscle mass.
If you ever decide to get up from this nap, you’ll notice how
beautiful she’s become. Really stunning. She even had a period. I’m
not supposed to tell anyone but I know that you know what a big
deal that is. And…”

Sandy brushed through his hair with her
comb.

“
Charlie’s sober,” Sandy
said. “It’s been three months. He’s really proud of
himself.”

Grabbing her portable electric razor, Sandy
climbed into the bed and propped Seth up to work on the back of his
head.

“
And he can read,” Sandy
said. “He’ll have to show you. You were totally right. Anjelika was
the ticket. You should see them together. She gets him laughing.
She even talked him into cutting that mess of his hair. He also
gaining weight, mostly muscle. He looks so much like Dad, it makes
me smile. The doctors think he’ll be healthy enough to take the Hep
C treatment this summer. We’ll see.”

She clipped the back of his hair and used
the razor to clean up his neck.

“
This is a lot easier than
when you were shot,” Sandy said. “You remember how I had to avoid
opening your wound? What a nightmare! Yeah, I guess you probably
don’t remember.”

Stretching out her arm, she set the razor
down and grabbed her handheld vacuum. She made quick work of the
hair fragments.

“
All clean back here,”
Sandy said.

She scooted out of the bed. Opening the
towel warmer, she laid the towels on Seth’s face and neck. Seth
made a sound somewhere between a groan and an ‘aw.’ She leaned down
to see if he was awake. Nope. Just the sound he always made when
the towels go on. She warmed her cup under the bathroom hot water
and added the shaving cream. She was silent for a few minutes
stirring the warm shaving cream with her brush.

She pulled off the towels and stroked the
shaving cream on. She had to lift the plastic of the cannula to get
his cheeks.

“
I have to tell you, Ava
did really well,” Sandy said. “I saw an article in the New York
Times about the crack team in Denver. The CDC
and
the Geneva team have given her
full credit for saving you and the other men’s lives. Of course, I
think Alex made
that
happen but either way, Ava’s a star. Of course, she’s been
here with you so I don’t think she even knows.”

Sandy picked up her straight razor and
dragged it across the leather to hone the edge.

“
Did you know Schmidty has
a thing for Lizzie?” Sandy asked. “Well, I didn’t.”

Sandy began stroking his face with the
razor.

“
He’s positively smitten,”
Sandy said. “Lizzie had no idea until Julie Ann told her. Lizzie is
totally your daughter. When Julie Ann said something, Lizzie’s
first response was ‘Why?’ She enumerated all the reasons he was
richer, handsomer, and better educated than she was. We laughed.
Anyway, Lizzie and I have been to the adoption agency and finalized
the papers. She thinks she’s picked out a couple but she wants me
and Aden to meet them. She’s due soon, sooner than I thought. I bet
we’ll have a baby here in a couple of weeks. You’ll have to wake up
Rip Van Winkle. You haven’t missed a birth yet. You’ll have to be
there.”

Finished shaving, she used one of the warm
moist towels to wipe off the remaining shaving cream.

“
No one knows what woke
Rip Van Winkle, Seth,” Sandy said. “He just woke up. I really hope
you wake up soon. I miss you. And I could really use your help this
weekend with Mom. I don’t think it’s going to go well. Mom might
have changed but not that much. She’s using Sissy and Charlie to
some end. I just can’t figure out what.”

Sandy laid another round of warm towels on
Seth’s face. She fell quiet while she cleaned up the haircut and
shaving mess. She began taking her equipment into the officer’s
room next door. She stopped for a moment to chat with his wife and
returned to Seth’s room. She checked around but had everything in
the next room. She removed the towels and tucked them into the
laundry bag the nurse had given her. Leaning over the bed, she
kissed his smooth cheek.

“
I’d really like it if you
came back to me, Seth,” Sandy said. “I miss you. Rachel misses you.
And we have to find my mother. Not that one. The one who gave birth
to me. I think she’s still alive. Don’t you?”

She peered at him. Still nothing.

“
You tell Saul and Silas
that I need you here. They can deal with me.”

Seth made a sound. She leaned forward to see
if he was awake. He wasn’t.

“
Oh I know all about Saul
and Silas. You told me about them when you were shot,” Sandy looked
up at the ceiling. “Uncle Saul? Uncle Silas? Thank you for taking
care of Seth but you can send him home now.”

She kissed Seth’s cheek again for good
measure and left the room.

~~~~~~~~

The rain let up and the men got out from
under the big tree. They were walking the cement path around Ferril
Lake.

“
Uncle Saul? Uncle Silas?
Thank you for taking care of Seth but you can send him home
now.”

Sandy’s voice made Seth smile. In this
blissful place with such wonderful company, he’d forgotten all
about Sandy.

“
She’s a great girl,” Saul
said.

“
I wish I had been able to
protect her against…” Seth started.

“
You can’t know what you
don’t know,” Silas said. “And even you don’t know
everything.”

“
Is her birth mother
alive?” Seth asked Saul.

“
Sort of,” Saul said.
“Wanna go back?”

“
Is that how it works? I
want to go back and I do?” Seth asked.

“
You don’t remember last
time?” Saul asked. “You might be a babe magnet but you’re a total
dingbat.”

The brothers laughed at Seth. They continued
walking around the lake.

~~~~~~~~~

Friday night — 6:20 P.M

.

“
Thanks Julie,” Jill
hugged Paddie Hargreaves’ mother. “You’re a God send.”

“
You’ve taken care of
Paddie through thick and thin,” Julie said. “One weekend is pretty
easy. Plus your sister Megan is coming to get Katy tomorrow
evening. Have a great time in Tucson.”

Katy threw herself at Jill. Jill hugged her
close until Katy squirmed. Katy hugged Jacob and ran to where
Paddie was waiting for her. Paddie squealed when he saw Katy.

“
Paddie’s thrilled,” Julie
said. “We’ll have fun and we’ll keep an eye out for anything
suspicious. No one’s very worried here. Too many soldiers
around.”

“
Thanks,” Jacob said. He
put his arm around Jill and guided her to the car. They had driven
down the block before he spoke. “You okay?”

“
Worried,” Jill
said.

“
About?”

“
Katy,” Jill said. “This
is a fun surprise. Thanks for setting it up.”

“
I hope it’s the start to
a return to normalcy,” Jacob said. “Blane is feeling better,
stronger. He’s supposed to be back at work on Monday. Aden too. It
feels like it’s been forever since we had the full team. Maybe this
weekend, we can decide what might work better than me working all
the time.”

Jill nodded. He turned onto Colorado
Boulevard.

“
We have a lot to talk
about,” Jacob said.

“
We do,” Jill said. “How
are we getting there?”

“
Corporate jet,” Jacob
said. “It’s cheaper than seats for everyone. Plus, Dad and Delphie
decided to come.”

“
Wow, it’s everyone,” Jill
said.

“
Is that bad?” Jacob
asked.

“
Makes a weird date
night,” Jill said. “Are Blane and Heather coming?”

“
Of course,” Jacob said.
“You know your Mom’s coming, right?”

“
She said she was,” Jill
fell quiet and watched the road. He turned onto the
freeway.

“
I thought this is what
you’d want,” Jacob said. “You usually like everyone
around.”

“
I miss you, that’s all,”
Jill said. “I haven’t seen you practically since we got pregnant. I
was kind of hoping for some alone time.”

Jacob’s heart sunk with the feeling that he
screwed up again. They drove the rest of the way to DIA in silence.
He pulled into a parking spot.

“
You’re quiet,” Jill
said.

“
I was hoping you’d be
happy,” Jacob said. “But I screwed up again.”

“
You did?” Jill
asked.

“
Didn’t I?”

“
I don’t know how,” Jill
smiled at his worried face. “I love having everyone around. You’re
right. I also love you. It’s weird. I spent so much time with
Trevor and I never wanted to see him. I long for you and you’re
gone.”

He nodded.

“
Look at how weird you
are,” Jill said. “This insecurity is because we don’t see each
other.”

Jacob let out an explosive sigh.

“
We don’t see each other.
We don’t see each other,” he said. “We’re seeing each other. Right
now!”

Jill tried to keep from chuckling. She’d
been so terrified of what he would be like when he was angry with
her. But here he was – pissed off and still Jacob. This wasn’t the
first time he’d been angry with her. It just made her chuckle at
herself every time.

“
What?” he
snarled.

“
You’re very
sexy.”

With a small smirk, she got out of the car.
He shook his head at her and got out. Grumbling to himself, he
grabbed their bags from the back. She hugged Heather when she got
out of her vehicle. They took the elevators and made it to the
corporate jet terminal. Once everyone arrived, they settled down in
the jet. Aden had set up an on board date night. Every girl and
woman received a long stemmed red rose. There was champagne for the
non-pregnant adults and sparkling water for everyone else. The
pilot lifted the plane off the runway with ease. Before they
realized it, they were on their way to a luxury spa in Tucson,
Arizona.

“
Would you come with me?”
Jill asked after they took off.

Still irritated, Jacob took her hand and she
led him back to the conference room near the back of the jet.

“
What?”

“
What would you think
about joining the mile high club?”

Stunned by the proposal, he gawked at
her.

“
I thought you were mad,”
he said.

“
Mad? Me?” Jill said. “Not
at all. Frisky.”

“
What about all the people
and…” he started.

She shook her head at him.

“
What?” he
asked.

“
You can’t read my mind,”
she said.

He shook his head.

“
Or intuit what I’m
feeling,” she said.

He shook his head.

“
Is it just me?” Jill
asked.

He nodded. To keep from laughing, she beamed
at him.

“
What? You’ve had that
stupid smirk on your face since you got into the car.”

“
Now you know what it’s
like to be me,” Jill said. “Or Val or Mike or all of the rest of us
regular people. We’re all just bumbling along.”

Shocked, his mouth dropped open. She began
to laugh. Unwilling to let go of his anger, he scowled and looked
away from her which made her laugh harder.

“
You are going to have to
use your words, Mr. Marlowe,” Jill said. Repeating what he’d often
said to her, she said, “Ask me anything. I’ll tell you. But you
have to trust the answer. Because I’ll never lie to
you.”

“
Did I screw this up too?”
Jacob asked.