Fairplay, Denver Cereal Volume 6 (28 page)

“
What was that?” Charlie
asked.

“
I wanted to see if she
was okay,” Sissy said.

“
Why’d you give her
money?” Charlie asked. “She’s just going to use it for
drugs.”

“
Because I know what it’s
like to love someone and have them on the streets,” Sissy stood
right in front of Charlie’s face. “I know what it’s like to cry
every night because you don’t know if you’ll see your brother
again. I asked. She has a big brother and a little sister. I know
that right this moment, they’re praying she’s all right; hoping
they might see her one more time; begging God that she’ll live
through the terrifying night; but they know in their heart that
some day the police will show up to tell them their sister’s
dead.”

She turned to go to the car but Charlie
grabbed her. He turned her around and held her close.

“
I’m sorry,” Charlie
said.

Sissy began to cry. He put his hand on her
head to hold her closer.

“
Isn’t that Tink?” Sandy
asked. “Nash, go get her.”

Incredulous, Nash looked at Sandy.

“
We can at least give her
a meal and a shower,” Sandy said. “Go.”

Nash ran to the girl.

“
What’s going on?” Sandy
asked Charlie and Sissy.

“
I was apologizing to
Sissy,” Charlie said. “I haven’t been the best brother.”

Sandy hugged him.

“
What’s going on?” Aden
asked.

“
Remember I told you about
Tink? Charlie’s friend?” Sandy asked. “She’s right
there.”

Raising an eyebrow, Aden looked at Charlie.
Charlie gave a slight shrug. His eyes went to Nash standing with
Tink and trying to convince the girl to come with him. His eyes
took in Sissy’s tear stained face. Teddy and Noelle joined them on
the sidewalk. Without saying a word, Aden’s razor beam eyes bore a
hole into Charlie. Aden nodded toward Tink. Charlie left to go talk
to her.

“
She’s high,” Aden
said.

“
She is,” Sandy
said.

“
We can’t take her in,”
Aden said.

“
I know,” Sandy
said.

“
But we can help,” Sissy
said as tears fell from her eyes. “Please. Charlie’s only alive
because
strangers
helped him.
Please
.”

Aden held out his arms to Sissy and she
hugged him.

“
We’ll do what we can,”
Aden said.

Sissy began to sob. The simple idea that
Aden and Sandy would help Sissy with her greatest pain was almost
more than she could comprehend. The more Aden held her, the more
she cried. Sandy put her hand on Sissy’s back in support.

“
Dad!” Nash yelled. “Help!
Dad!”

Aden’s head jerked over. Tink was having a
seizure.

“
Sissy,” Aden nudged her
back.

He pointed toward Tink and they ran to her
side. He kneeled down next to the young girl. The seizure stopped
and Aden put his hand to the girl’s throat.

“
She doesn’t have pulse,”
Aden said. “Charlie, CPR. Do it now! Nash, give her breath. Teddy,
you count. Sandy?”

Aden turned to look for her. She was already
on her phone.

“
Good,” Aden said.
“Noelle, give me your sweater. Sissy, hold her legs.”

Within minutes, the paramedics arrived and
Tink was whisked off to Denver Health. The family stood on the
sidewalk where she had been. Stunned, they walked to the car and
got in.

“
Can we go to church to
pray for Tink?” Sissy asked when she got in.

“
I’m not baptized,” Noelle
said.

“
No one cares,” Teddy
said.

“
Let’s go,” Aden
said.

Nodding, Sandy smiled at him and they drove
down Colfax to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate
Conception.

~~~~~~~~

Sunday morning—9:41 A.M. MDT

Tanesha stopped to talk to Sandy and Rachel
on her way out of the Cathedral after mass. Sandy had called
Tanesha, Heather, and Jill. They met at the eight-thirty mass to
pray for the girl Tink.

Jeraine had insisted on coming along. She
looked over the pews to smile at him. He was surrounded by young
people wanting to talk to him. Feeling her eyes, he looked up and
winked at her. She smiled at him.

“
You wouldn’t happen to be
Tanesha, would you?”

Tanesha and Sandy looked up to see a
handsome, well dressed young man standing near them. Sandy turned
to look at Tanesha.

“
If you had a second, I’d
love to chat with you?” The man smiled a white toothy
smile.

“
Sure,” Tanesha
said.

Shrugging to Sandy, Tanesha followed the man
outside. They went down the steps to the sidewalk. Tanesha looked
up to see Sandy, Jill and Heather watching her.

“
Sorry, I just have a
second,” Tanesha said. “What can I help you with?”

“
You can leave Jeraine
alone,” the man leaned close to her. “I know you
think
you’re in love,
but that man is incapable of giving you what you want. The sooner
you see that, the sooner he can get on with his life.”

“
What’s it to you?”
Tanesha asked. “You come here to my place of worship and tell me
what’s going to happen in my life? No. I don’t think
so.”

“
Jeraine’s life and career
are my business,” As if he was trying to intimidate her, the man
leaned over her. “You are not going to get in the way.”

“
Get in the way of what?”
Tanesha crossed her arms and looked him up and down.
“
Your
love?
Because I can tell you, the man is famous, but he is not
gay.”

“
I’m his agent,” the man
said. “I created every aspect of his life and career. Everything
was set up for him. All he had to do was finish his time and his
career would pop.”

“
His time?”

“
For that girl,” the man
said.

“
The girl who killed
herself?” Tanesha asked. “You’re talking crazy. Why would Jer go to
prison because some girl killed herself? How could that make his
life and career pop? Unless you mean like popcorn?”

Hearing Tanesha’s raised voice, Sandy, Jill
and Heather made their way to her side. The man looked away from
her.

“
You set him up,”
Tanesha’s voice shook with rage. “That’s what you’re telling
me.”

“
All he had to do was do
his time,” the man said. “But no. Little Miss Intrusive gets in the
way and now it’s: ‘He loves Tanesha. He’s going to quit his career
for Tanesha. He’s going to become a doctor like Tanesha.’ You must
feel pretty special, Tanesha.”

Tanesha scowled at the man.

“
You know how many women
that man has had? Prettier women. Bustier women. Thinner women.
Thousands,” the man said. “You nothing but a skinny, nappy haired,
hood rat from a cow town.”

Furious, Tanesha looked down Colfax
Boulevard. Thinking he was gaining some ground, the man pressed
forward.

“
You think you’re going to
get your man? You think he’s going to start school in a few weeks?
You think he’s going to settle down to a normal happy life?” The
man’s finger poked her chest. “You’re nothing but a jump-off.
You’ll never going to be a Queenbee. That man is all the Queenbee
he can stand. He needs the spotlight. He needs the adoration of
fans like you need water. One woman will never satisfy him. If he
starts school, which I doubt, he’s going to lay with every woman on
campus before the month is out. And then he’ll move on to greener
pastures.”

“
Why do you care who he
sleeps with?” Heather asked. Tanesha raised her eyebrows.
“Something you want to share about your feelings for Jeraine. We
don’t judge gay people.”

“
Go away, little woman,”
the man said. “We’re talking business here.”

“
Just a second,” Tanesha
said to Heather. Their eyes locked for a moment. Seeing Tanesha’s
rage, Heather gave her a slight ‘go ahead’ nod. Heather turned away
from Tanesha.

“
Jeraine is a star. He’s
headed toward his destiny,” the man said. “He belongs in the
spotlight. Your chances of understanding a man like Jeraine are as
likely as a crack whore getting into heaven.”

“
I have something to say,”
Tanesha said.

“
There’s nothing you can
say or do that’s going to change the reality of your situation,”
the man said. “You’re pathetic.”

“
Jeraine is a free man,”
Tanesha said. “He can choose to do and be whatever he wants to do
and be. If he wants to lay every girl at med school, that will be
his choice. If he decides to come home to me, that’s his
choice.”

“
He’s not like you,” the
man said. “He thinks only about his needs. And there’s no way
you’re ever going to fulfill those needs.”

“
Have you said your
peace?” Tanesha asked.

The man nodded.

“
Then get the hell out of
here,” Tanesha said.

“
I’m waiting for my man,
Jeraine,” the man said.

“
There you go with the gay
stuff again,” Tanesha said.

“
You watch what you’re
saying little girl,” the man said. “You don’t know who you’re
talking to.”

“
No,” Tanesha said. “You
don’t know who you’re talking to. I’m not your slave and you’re not
my overseer. You have no right to whip me with your
words.”

Clearly offended, the man sneered at
Tanesha.

“
And Jeraine?” Tanesha
pushed the man away from her. “He’s a free man. He can make his
life however and wherever he wants to. He doesn’t belong to you. He
doesn’t belong to anyone.”

“
You just don’t get it,”
the man started.

“
Hey man!” Jeraine came up
behind her. “Nice to see you!”

The manager’s demeanor changed. Still
furious, Tanesha had to look away while Jeraine and the man went
through a dance of handshakes and back pats.

“
Did you meet Tanesha?”
Jeraine asked. He looked at Tanesha’s angry face. “What’s going
on?”

“
Nothing,” Tanesha said.
“Listen Jer, I’m going to head to the Castle with Jill and Sandy.
Do you want to meet us there later?”

“
I’ll be there,” Jeraine
took her hands and kissed them. She smiled and he
nodded.

“
My car is around back,”
the manager nodded toward the parking lot. Jeraine’s eyes quizzed
Tanesha but she smiled.

“
See you later,” Tanesha
said.

Jeraine nodded and went with his manager. He
was a half block away when he turned back to look at her. She
smiled again, but he knew something was up.

“
We’ll talk later?” he
mouthed to her.

She nodded. They were just about to turn the
corner to the parking lot when Jeraine’s manager tripped and
fell.

“
Oops,” Jill
said.

They struggled to keep straight faces until
Jeraine and the manager turned the corner. The women broke into
laughter.

“
What was that about?”
Heather asked.

“
That’s his manager,”
Tanesha said. “He wanted to scare me away so he could have his
property back. You would not believe even half of it.”

“
What happened?” Sandy
asked.

“
That devil said Jeraine
was in prison to boost his career,” Tanesha said. “His manager set
him up.”

“
Does Jeraine know?”
Heather shook her head at the idea.

“
Let’s ask Seth,” Sandy
said. “He’ll know.”

“
You know what I think?”
Tanesha’s eyes went to the place the man fell. “I think Jeraine
trusts the wrong people. That’s what I think.”

“
You don’t think he’s an
asshole?” Jill asked.

“
Oh no,” Tanesha gave a
rueful chuckle. “He’s a fool. That’s for sure. I’m just
wondering…”

Jill, Sandy and Heather turned to look at
her.

“
I’m wondering if all
these things I’ve been mad at him about,” Tanesha said. “Maybe
they’re not his fault. I keep asking ‘Why are you like
this?’”

A deep blue BMW drove by. Jeraine waved to
her. They waved back.

“
What if the reason he’s
like that is because of that devil?” Tanesha asked.

“
That’s not any better,”
Jill said.

“
No,” Tanesha shook her
head. “It’s not.”

~~~~~~~~

Sunday afternoon —1:41 P.M. MDT

When Sandy got up to check on the kids, Jill
nodded to Tanesha. She got up to check her email on Jill’s office
computer.

“
Did get them to leave
with your…?” Heather pointed to her temple then around the
room.

“
No,” Jill smiled. “We
talked about it before you got to church.”

“
Why?”

“
I wanted to talk to you
alone,” Jill said. “They wanted to know what happened. This was our
compromise. Our friends are nosey.”

Heather smiled.

“
It’s nice to see you
smile,” Jill said.

“
I know what you’re going
to say,” Heather said. “But we’ve already decided what we want to
do.”