The Denver Cereal (36 page)

“
HOW DARE YOU!”

“
Sandy, wait.
Sandy.”

Naked, Aden scrambled
toward her. When he was close enough, she battered him with her
fists. Her face contracted in pain. Her hair fell wild on her
shoulders. Her entire body was red with fury.

One at a time, Aden caught
her fists. She jerked her hands away. But he held them
firm.

“
I’m sorry I frightened
you.”

Sandy jerked her hands
away from him. Aden held them firm. Seeing that it was fruitless,
she bit her lip and glowered at him.

“
I’ll let go of your hands
if you stop hitting,” Aden said. “Can you stop hitting?”

She looked away from him.
Without warning, Sandy fell to her knees. Her mind and body were
overwhelmed with agony. She moved so fast that she pulled Aden down
on top of her. Aden wrapped himself around her crumpled form. He
rocked her back and forth while she cried.

“
Please go,” Sandy
whispered between sobs.

“
No,” Aden said. “I won’t
leave you like this. I won’t do it.”

“
Please.”

“
No. Don’t ask
again.”

She dared to look into his
face. In the torrent of tears, her makeup had smeared down her
cheeks. The pain in her eyes was almost unbearable to
Aden.

“
Why did you say that?
About me?”

“
I’ve loved you for a long
time, Sandy. It’s why I didn’t ask you out sooner. I felt too
strongly about you.”

“
How can you
say
that? You don’t know
me at all and . . .”

“
Shh . . .”
He wrapped her in his arms until her tears slowed. “Let’s just get
through this. What would help?”

“
Baking,” they said
together.

“
Why don’t you make some
cookies?” Aden kissed her cheeks.

Sandy nodded.

“
I need to clean up,” she
said. “What about your kids?”

“
They love Delphie and the
Castle. We’ve stayed in one of the apartments before. I’m sure we
can stay there again.” Aden scratched his head. “I canceled their
camp for next week because I thought they’d be with Nuala. We’d
probably end up staying at the Castle anyway so I can work and take
care of them.”

Sandy nodded.

“
I’ll call while you clean
up.”

He helped her to her feet
and walked with her to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and
helped her step in. Under the warm water, Sandy cried her heart
out.

~~~~~~~~

After stuffing Jill full
of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage, Mike took her to an ATM. He
gave her three hundred dollars from his account and another three
hundred dollars from Valerie’s account. He would have taken the
maximum from their joint account as well, but Jill was freaked out
about six hundred dollars. They yelled back and forth at each other
with all the heat and intensity of close siblings.

Finally, Jill said very
simply, “Thank you. I really need this money.”

And Mike
laughed.

Mike knew Jill was excited
to see Jacob again, so he let her out at his artist’s studio. He
was parking the car at the workshop when he received a call from
Jacob.

Without giving it another
thought, Mike drove to Denver Health. Wearing a sling and a neck
brace, Jacob waited for him just inside the doors. Mike ran to the
passenger door to help Jacob into the Bronco.

“
Pissed off?” Mike
asked.

“
Very,” Jacob said. “Sorry
to bug you for a ride.”

“
Not a problem,” Mike
said. “Everyone thought you were waking up at four.”

“
What am I supposed to do?
Wait around until I evolve?” Jacob bristled at his interaction with
the Nasty Nurse. “And who the fuck is everyone?”

They drove in silence down
Speer Boulevard to Fourteenth Street. They stopped at the traffic
light at Logan.

“
Guess that’s Jill’s soul
mate,” Jacob said. He pointed down Logan to the bride and groom
coming out of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Colfax.
“God, Jill must be devastated.”

“
She didn’t say anything.”
Mike shrugged.

“
What’s she going to say?”
Jacob hit the dashboard and groaned. “Fuck.”

“
Careful, lover boy,” Mike
said. “You don’t want to go back to the hospital.”

“
Where are you going?”
Jacob asked when Mike drove past Race Street.

“
Workshop? The Mayor
hasn’t figured a way to get rid of the paparazzi,” Mike
said.

Jacob frowned at Mike. He
had no idea what Mike was talking about but was too angry to find
out. Mike pulled into the workshop. He helped Jacob out of the
Bronco.

“
Did you get your
prescriptions?”

“
Ah
fuck
!” Jacob exclaimed. “I have to
get those filled.”

“
I can get them if
you . . .”

“
I haven’t used my drug
insurance. I have to go. Fuck!”

“
Come on. You probably
need condoms anyway.”

“
What?”

Mike laughed.

~~~~~~~~

Ever since Jacob said he
would be Katy’s daddy, Katy had insisted on taking her nap in his
big armchair. For the last few days, Jill had dragged the armchair
near the door of the bathroom. Katy slept like a stone in Jacob’s
chair while Jill took a bath in his huge bathtub.

Jill was excited to see
Jacob today.

She washed her hair and
then let it air dry while she soaked in the tub. Even though she
knew Jacob probably was too sick for real intimacy, she carefully
shaved her legs. She tried to relax but her heart raced with the
idea of Jacob coming home.

Frustrated at her own
impatience, she remembered that Jacob had told her that she could
use his iPod. Maybe some music would help her settle down. Jill
wandered around the apartment until she found the tiny music
player.

Flopping naked onto the
bed, she tried to figure out how the player worked. Pressing play
all, she stuck the earbuds in her ears.

Jacob liked the same music
she liked!

Maybe it wasn’t so crazy
to be engaged to a guy she didn’t know.

She smiled.

~~~~~~~~

“
I think Katy’s napping,”
Mike said.

They worked their way
through the tunnels.

“
Okay.”

Mike opened the door to
the kitchen.

“
You’re really acting
strange,” Mike said.

“
Sorry, man, I just need
to be home. Catch you later?” Jacob asked.

“
Sure.”

Jacob made his way up the
back stairwell to his apartment. He noticed the warm pumpkin color
on the walls. He’d always dreamed that Jill would decorate his
living space the way she had fixed up that hole she lived in.
Looking at the walls, he sighed.

Like he ever had a chance
with Jill. Mike must have had some time on his hands.

Fuck. Why can a cretin
like Trevor get, and keep, a girl as amazing as Jill?

At least he was finally
home. Shaking his head at his own temper, he flipped open his
apartment door. Another night wondering what the fuck was wrong
with him.

He noticed the soft yellow
walls first. Then the little girl curled up in his favorite
armchair. He blinked.

That’s Katy.

Taking a step into the
room, he saw her.

Jill.

Her feet swung back and
forth. Her round behind rose off the bed like a brilliant half
moon. He heard his blood pump in his ears. He wasn’t sure why she
hadn’t noticed him.

And he didn’t care why she
was there.

In two swift steps, he
moved across the floor. He had to touch her. He had to make sure
she was real and not just some dumb fantasy.

Standing just behind her
feet, he watched her behind rise and lower with her swinging feet.
He stretched his right hand and stroked the side of her
foot.

Jill rolled over with his
touch. She pulled the iPod earbuds from her ears. With the smile on
her face, his memory returned. She jumped up from the bed to hold
him.

“
I thought you were a
dream,” he said.

She tilted her head and
smiled at him. “Let me get dressed.”

“
Please don’t.”

“
You need to lie down,”
she said.

“
Would you mind helping
me?”

Jill helped him out of his
clothing. He refused a T-shirt or underwear. She helped him into
bed and slipped in next to him. Lying on her side, her hand stroked
his chest.

“
Seems like you have
something on your mind,” she said.

“
Since the moment I saw
your beautiful behind on my bed,” he said. “I just don’t think I
can . . .”

“
I asked the doctor. He
said it wouldn’t hurt you.”

Her hand stroked his
thighs.

“
This has to be a
dream.”

Reaching, she grabbed a
condom from the bedside table drawer. She slipped on top of
him.

“
Where did those come
from?” he asked.

“
I was
hoping . . .” She slipped the condom on
him.

“
Now I know this is a
dream.”

“
What would convince you?”
she asked.

She wrapped herself around
him. Very gently, very slowly, they built in intensity. Their lips
were locked when Jill began to release against him. Unable to
resist her pull, he followed in a solid burst. Jill rolled to the
bed.

“
Convinced?”

“
I’ve died and gone to
heaven.”

~~~~~~~~

“
Aden,” Sandy said.
“Before we go . . .”

Standing in the entryway
of her apartment, Aden turned to look at her. She held up a plate
of warm chocolate chip cookies.

“
Do you think these
cookies are enough?” Sandy asked.

“
Val said they ordered
dinner. It’s just a little family dinner to welcome Jacob home. Did
you pack some overnight things?”

Sandy nodded. Aden took
the cookies from her so she could put on her jacket and get her
purse. She took the plate of cookies back from him. He unlocked the
door and started to open it.

“
Aden?”

“
Yes, honey.”

“
Thank you for staying
with me. I . . . I’m sorry . . . for
everything.”

Aden took the cookies from
her and set them on the entry table. He slipped his arms around
her. His eyes scanned her face.

“
I won’t say it again
until you’re ready to hear it. But you need to know that what I
said was true for me.”

“
But . . .”
Sandy started.

“
And, I am sorry I
frightened you.”

Sandy nodded. She kissed
his lips and hugged him. He moved back to the door.

“
Aden?”

He turned to look at
her.

“
I love you
too.”

He beamed at
her.

“
Don’t say anything,
okay?” Sandy moved passed him. His hand stroked her behind as she
passed. She turned to look at him. “Please?”

He nodded and followed her
down the stairs to the waiting taxi.

~~~~~~~~

Monday morning, 3
a.m.

“
Jill,” Jacob
whispered.

“
Yes Jacob.”

Jill rolled onto her side.
She kissed his face.

“
Where’s Katy?”

“
She’s asleep in her crib,
remember? Mike brought it from the apartment,” Jill said.
“Why?”

“
I think I need some
convincing.”

Jill giggled.

Denver Cereal continues at
DenverCereal.comand StoriesbyClaudia.com