Silt, Denver Cereal Volume 8 (25 page)

Delphie’s eyes went vague for a moment.

“
In fact, many of them do
know something’s wrong,” Delphie said. “By asking them, you’ll give
their worry form.”

“
That doesn’t sound good,”
Sam said.

“
Think of it this way,”
Delphie said. “Your site managers can leave at any time and get
jobs anywhere in the country at the same or equal pay,
right?”

Sam nodded.

“
Most of your employees
aren’t in that same position,” Delphie said. “For many of them,
their job feeds their families. Their kids go to the Marlowe
school. They need and value Lipson medical insurance. Their Lipson
stock is the first big financial investment they’ve ever made. If
the company folds, they’re the ones who have the most at
stake.”

Cleo jumped down from the warm window sill
onto Sam’s lap. She rubbed her head against his chest.

“
You have to ask them,”
Delphie said.

“
How?” Sam’s big
carpenter’s hand rubbed Cleo’s black and white head.

“
Start with the site
managers who support you like Bambi or Jerry or those kids talking
Rodney’s place,” Delphie said.

“
Jerry walked out of the
meeting last night,” Sam said. “Said he was going to kill someone
if he didn’t.”

“
He’s a good person to ask
then,” Delphie said. “Get the site managers to survey their crews.
Tell Jake and Aden to talk to the other site managers. They have
more pull with the younger employees.”

“
If they won’t do it?” Sam
asked.

“
Get rid of them,” Delphie
said. “Let them go somewhere where bosses are king and employees
don’t matter. There are lots of places like that.”

Sam nodded.

“
I bet Honey would help
you,” Delphie said.

“
She’s on maternity
leave,” Sam said. “I couldn’t . . .”

“
She would tell you how
the people who work for you need their jobs,” Delphie said. “Plus,
she’s going stir crazy.”

“
She is?”

“
She’d be happier working
a few hours a day.” Delphie nodded. “Between Rosa and me, we can
watch Maggie.”

Sam nodded. Delphie got up to make more tea.
They drank their tea in quiet company.

“
Well, I need to go read
Celia the funnies,” Sam said.

“
She’d very much like
that,” Delphie said.

Delphie got up to show him out. He kissed
her and whispered, “Thanks,” in her ear before leaving. She
smiled.

“
Well Miss Cleo, what’s
next?” Delphie asked.

Cleo meowed and sauntered into the bedroom.
She heard the cat jump onto the bed.

“
Good idea,” Delphie
said.

She went back to bed.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon—2:19 p.m.

“
She’s not coming.” Ivy
slunk away from the front windows of Heather and Blane’s
home.

“
She’s just late,” Heather
said. “She’ll be here.”

“
She called when she got
stuck in traffic,” Delphie said. “She called when she got
lost.”

“
If you want to be
somewhere, you just get there,” Ivy said. “You’re not late
or . . .”

There was a knock on the door. Ivy’s eyes
went big. She ran to Delphie and Delphie hugged her.

“
I’ll get the door,”
Valerie said. “Put her off her game.”

Heather nodded. Valerie opened the door to a
medium sized thirty-year old woman. She had reddish hair, a
pleasant face, and a tight military body. She was wearing an Air
Force dress uniform. Seeing Valerie, she gaped.

“
Hello?” Valerie smiled
her brightest and most intimidating smile.

“
Val! Um, Ms. Lipson, um,”
Ivy’s aunt said. Her mouth moved up and down like a fish out of
water.

Delphie edged Valerie out of the way.

“
You!” Ivy’s aunt scowled.
“I know you. You’re that psychic lady. And you’re Valerie Lipson
and . . .

Ivy opened the door wider. Heather stood
right behind the girl with her hands on her shoulders.

“
I’m Ivy,” she said. “I
mean Anna-Marie. But everyone calls me Ivy.”

“
I’m Second Lieutenant
Grace McDonald,” Ivy’s aunt said. “Most people call me
Gracie.”

Ivy’s aunt stood very still. Her eyes
scanned Ivy’s face. She glanced at Delphie.

“
You were right,” she
said.

“
I was?” Delphie
asked.

“
You told me that my
brother wouldn’t come home; that his child would suffer unspeakable
horrors until she made her way home; and that I would make it back
to love her all of my life,” Ivy’s aunt said. “I know we’re just
meeting, Ivy, but I feel like I’ve known you all my
life.”

Ivy glanced up at Heather and she squeezed
Ivy’s shoulders.

“
When Grannie was alive,
we would read your letters together.” Ivy nodded. “You were Gran’s
favorite child.”

“
She was so angry with me
for going into the military,” Ivy’s aunt said. “I never
heard . . . not one word . . . and
then . . . I thought you were in foster care
and . . .”

Ivy’s aunt looked from Delphie to Valerie
and then to Heather.

“
Would you like to come
in?” Heather asked.

Gracie took off her hat and stepped into
Heather’s house. She looked at Valerie again.

“
How did you get Valerie
Lipson here to introduce you?” Gracie smiled at Ivy.

Unsure of whether to hug her aunt or not,
Ivy moved closer to Heather.

“
My good friend Delphie is
Ivy’s aunt,” Valerie said. “We think.”

“
You are?” Gracie
asked.

“
It’s definitely
possible,” Delphie said. “People say we look alike.”

“
I can see it,” Gracie
said. “Did you know when I saw you?”

“
Unless I saw you in the
last couple of days, no, I didn’t know,” Delphie said.

“
We think Mom was
Delphie’s little sister,” Ivy said.

Gracie gave Delphie a long look before she
nodded.

“
I have this feeling that
everything is going to work out really, really well.” Gracie
smiled.

“
Me too,” Delphie
said.

“
Aunt power!” Gracie
raised her fist and the women laughed.

“
My husband made a
buttermilk chocolate cake for us,” Heather said. “And Val brought
some of her awesome coffeecake. We have coffee. Would you like to
come in?”

Heather made a vague wave toward the back of
the house. They walked toward the den. Jackie, Mack, and Maggie
were sleeping in cribs along the wall of the living room.

“
Oh look at the babies!”
Gracie said. She glanced at Heather, “Are they all
yours?”

“
No, just the one,”
Heather smiled and gestured to Mack. “I’m prolific but not that
much.”

“
I didn’t know if you were
fostering or . . .” Gracie blushed.

“
I’m babysitting Maggie.”
Ivy stood a little taller at the mention of her
responsibility.

“
That’s very nice of you,”
Gracie said.

“
And this is Jackie.”
Valerie went to where Jackie was sleeping.

“
I guess I read that you
had a baby,” Gracie said. “You and Sergeant Roper,
right?”

“
Mike,” Valerie
said.

“
The painter,” Gracie
blushed. “I hate to say it but I think I’ve read everything there
is to read about you.”

“
I wonder why?” Valerie
asked.

“
Nice girl makes good,”
Gracie said. “Meeting you . . . It’s like it’s meant
to be.”

“
It’s nice to meet you
too.” Valerie smiled. “We’ve really enjoyed the chance to get to
know Ivy a little bit. I’m glad you’ll be in the
family.”

Grace smiled.

“
Did you say that your
husband baked a cake?” Gracie asked.

“
He was a chef,” Heather
said. “It’s kind of a long story.”

“
I’m on emergency family
leave, so I have time.” Gracie nodded.

They moved into the house to talk.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon—3:49 p.m.

Heather pulled her Subaru into the dog park
near the school. While they lived close enough to walk, Heather
preferred to pick up Tink from school. Heather had this vague
feeling that all this stuff with Charlie was going to pour over
onto Tink. She wanted to make sure she would be there to help.
She’d left everyone at her house to pick up Tink.

Of course, Tink didn’t love the fact that
Heather picked her up. As a compromise, they’d agreed to meet at
the dog park a block away. Seeing Mike and the menagerie of Castle
dogs, Heather got out of the car. She watched Charlie saunter
toward the school. Tim Logan, the boy she’d met last night, skid
his bike to a stop and started walking with Charlie.

Mike stopped with the dogs to chat with
Heather. She was on her way to him when she noticed Charlie and Tim
go into the school. A few seconds later, Tink came out. Tink was by
herself because Sissy was at an all-day ballet training with some
Russian somebody or another and Wanda was home sick. Tink jogged
down the few steps. She had just made it past the red “E” when five
boys surrounded her.

Heather couldn’t tell what was happening but
Tink was upset. She tried to get out from the middle of them, but a
boy grabbed her arm. The boy put his face right near Tink’s and
Tink closed her eyes. Even from a distance, Heather could see the
boy making kissing lips to Tink. The boys around them were
whistling and jeering at her.

Tink was crying.

Heather ran toward the entrance to the
school. Mike and the dogs ran passed her. An SUV blocked their view
and movement as it went past on the Esplanade. Heather had just
caught up to Mike when they heard Tink yell, “Let go of me.”

The boy screamed and then screamed
again.

The SUV moved out of the way. Tink was
standing in the middle of the boys with a small personal Taser. Her
face was red with rage and wet with tears. The boys scooted back
with their hands up.

“
Get away from me!” Tink
yelled.

The school security officer grabbed Tink’s
arm and she Tasered him. Heather had almost reached her when the
second security guard tackled Tink and took her down to the
ground.

The boy lay screaming just inches away.

“
Knock it off,” Mike said
to the boy. “You’re fine.”

Heather tapped the security guard with her
foot.

“
Get off my daughter,”
Heather said. He looked up at her. “Now or I’m pressing
charges.”

“
I saw the whole thing,”
said a young mother nearby. “You’re arresting the wrong person.
That boy was sexually assaulting that young girl. He was groping
her privates with his nasty hand
and . . .”

Police cruisers squealed to a stop in front
of the school. The boys were screaming that they had been
victimized by Tink. Other kids and parents voiced their opinions on
what happened. When the boy who’d been Tasered began to howl again,
Scooter and Buster growled at him.

But all Heather cared about was Tink.

She kneeled down and rolled her over. Tink
looked at Heather.

“
I . . .”
Tink started. Her eyebrows furrowed. She tried again.
“I . . .”

Tink had a full blown seizure.

Chapter Two Hundred and
Thirty-Seven
No Drama

Wednesday evening—5:19 p.m.

“
Here’s what’s going to
happen,” Aden said.

He was standing in the living room of their
apartment. The kids, scowling and surly, were begrudgingly standing
with him.

“
There will be no drama
from you,” Aden said.

“
But
Dad
!” Noelle whined at the same
moment Sissy said, “She’s my
best
friend
!”

“
No drama,” Aden
said.

“
Yeah, whatever,” Charlie
said. “You just want to get laid.”

“
I’ve said this before,
but you’re not listening,” Aden said. “Sandy is exhausted. She was
up all night with each of you, all week! Today, she’s been running
to work to help Heather help
you,
Sissy, with your big ballet day. She was up all
night with Rachel.”

“
Sandy’s fine.” Nash
grumped from the couch.

“
How would you know,
Nash?” Aden asked. “You haven’t pulled your head out of that stupid
computer in months.”

Nash looked up at him.

“
It’s not like you’re any
better,” Charlie said.

“
Yeah!” Nash said. “You’re
always whining about your company and stuff.”

“
Fair enough.” Aden
pointed his finger at himself. “No drama tonight. See, that was
easy.”

Sissy grinned at him, but the boys sneered.
Noelle looked heartbroken.

“
Do you remember what
happened the last time Sandy was this tired?” Aden asked. The kids
all looked at the ground. “Anyone?”

The children were painfully silent.

“
Do we want that to happen
again?” Aden asked.

“
No
but . . .” Noelle started. “This is really
big
!”