The Denver Cereal (6 page)

“
RYAN!” Megan yelled from
the front seat. “In the first place, that is not a very nice thing
to say. You wouldn’t like it if someone said you were gross. And in
the second place, we do not have prejudice in this family. Gay
people love each other like I love Daddy and Daddy loves
me.”

“
Yes, Mom,” Ryan said. He
widened his eyes at Katy and mouthed “gross.”

“
Mommy, what’s gross?”
Katy asked.

Jill looked at Katy. She
couldn’t help but laugh at her sincere question. Tim and Megan
joined Jill’s laughter as did Megan’s three kids. The van started
to move and within minutes they arrived at Jill’s
apartment.

Hopping from the back of
the van, Jill rushed to the front of her building.

No Jacob. Her stomach
dropped.

Behind her, Jacob stepped
from the driver’s seat of his SUV. When she turned, she bumped
right into him.

“
Sorry I’m late,” they
said in unison.

Jacob smiled.

“
Shall we?”

The non-date

“
I haven’t been here in a
long time,” Jacob said.

He turned right from
Twenty-Third Avenue into the Denver Zoo and then took an immediate
right into a parking lot.

“
You can’t park here,”
Jill said. “This parking is only
for . . .”

Jacob waved a white
security card in front of a post and the gate rose.

“
Oh,” Jill
said.

Jill wasn’t sure what to
say. Only really rich patrons were able to park in this lot. She
and Katy usually parked at least a mile away. But that was on Free
Admission Day, when all of Denver came to the zoo. She’d never paid
to get into the zoo. Of course, she’d never dated anyone who had a
job.

Dated.

Is that what she was
doing? She shook her head slightly. No, this was not a date.
Friends? She barely knew Jacob. No, they weren’t
friends.

What was she
doing?

He pulled into a spot that
was stenciled in block letters: ‘MARLOWE.’ Trying for cool, she
said, “Why are you parking here?”

“
It has my name on it,”
Jacob said.

“
But your last name is
Lipson,” Jill said.

“
Actually, my name is
Jacob Marlowe,” Jacob laughed. Holding his hand out for her to
shake, he added. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. McGuinsey.”

“
We’re Ropers now.” Jill
sighed. Squaring her shoulders, she imitated his tone. “Jillian
Roper and my daughter, Katherine Roper.”

They shook hands. Jacob
winked at Jill and she laughed. He moved to get out of the
SUV.

“
But your dad’s
name . . .”

“
Is Lipson.” Jacob settled
back into the driver’s seat. Turning to look at Jill, he said, “My
mother was the last of the Colorado Marlowes. My parents gave me
her surname. You know, I’m carrying on the family name and stuff
like that.”

Jill nodded.

“
Ready?” Jacob
asked.

Jill nodded. Stepping out
of the SUV, she opened the back door for Katy. At the apartment,
Katy took one look at Jacob and clammed up. She didn’t squirm when
Jill changed her clothing. Katy even waited patiently while Jill
slipped into her jeans. In fact, Katy hadn’t said a word in a Katy
ice age — fifteen minutes. Katy’s silence added to Jill’s general
unease.

By the time Jill opened
her door, Katy was out of her car seat. Katy held her arms out to
Jill. Lifting her daughter into her arms, Jill felt a little less
strange. For a moment, Katy and Jill hugged each other in silent
bliss.

Jill jerked out of her
reverie. Jacob’s waiting! Trevor always wanted to “get going.”
“Hurry up, Jill. Why does it take you so long?” he’d always
say.

When she rushed around the
SUV, Jacob had unpacked Katy’s stroller and was holding Jill’s
purse. He was already wearing her backpack. Jill flushed with
gratitude.

Embarrassed at her
response, she bent to put Katy into the stroller. Certain Jacob had
moved off, she stood up quickly. She found him holding the handles
to steady the cheap stroller. She smiled and took her purse from
him.

“
I should probably push,”
Jill said. “She gets very shy . . .”

“
He can push,” Katy
said.

“
You don’t have
to . . .”

“
I’d love to,” Jacob
said.

Jacob and Katy set off
across the parking lot, leaving a stunned Jill behind. Certain they
would leave her behind, she hurried to catch up with them. But
Jacob stopped walking. He turned, smiled at her, and reached for
her hand.

“
Do you mind?” he asked.
“I don’t want to lose you.”

Smiling, she took his
hand.

“
So Katy, what do you like
at the zoo?” Jacob asked.

To Jill’s amazement, Katy
actually answered. Katy was the quiet, obedient child around
Trevor. Of course, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“
Everything,” Katy said.
“I like animals. The zoo has special animals you don’t find on the
farm.”

“
The farm?” Jacob
asked.

Jill cringed when Katy
began singing “Old MacDonald.” Trevor hated the sound of Katy’s
singing. She was about to hush Katy when Jacob joined in the song.
Jill was so surprised, she stopped walking. Feeling the tug of
Jacob’s hand, Jill took a few quick steps to catch up.

Trying to gain some sense
of normal, Jill said, “We have to go here for a ticket.”

“
I have a pass,” Jacob
said.

“
Oh,” Jill
said.

Her cheeks went bright
red. Overwhelmed with the “I don’t belong” feeling, she let go of
his hand. She was out of place. She glanced back at the car. Why
had she come?

Noticing Jill’s distress,
Jacob stopped walking. He touched her arm and Jill looked up at
him.

“
My mother loved the zoo.
She came here every day the last year of her life,” Jacob said.
“She left a donation when she died. That’s why I have the parking
spot and the pass. You know, last Colorado Marlowe and all. This is
my first time using it, so I don’t really know what I’m
doing.”

Jill nodded.

“
Would you mind if we
agree to something?” Jacob asked. “Can you just ask me about things
rather than deciding there’s something wrong with you? This is all
very new to me. Talking and being clear is the only way I know to
make it better . . . more
comfortable . . . easier.”

His empathy brought tears
to Jill’s eyes. Blinking back her emotion, she nodded.

“
I’ll try,” Jill
said.

“
Great! I’ll try to do the
same,” Jacob said. He stopped walking. “Where am I
going?”

“
This way!” Katy said at
the same time Jill said, “Through the gate.”

Jacob gave the volunteer
his pass. The elderly woman searched Jacob’s face and said, “I knew
your mother. They don’t make them any better than Celia
Marlowe.”

Reading the woman’s name
tag, Jacob said, “Thank you, Shirley. We all miss her.”

Shirley looked up to see
Jill for the first time.

“
You must be Jill,”
Shirley said. “It’s nice to finally meet you.

Flabbergasted, Jill gawked
at the woman. Shirley bent down to give Katy a zoo
sticker.

“
And who are
you?”

“
I’m Katy,” the little
girl said. “Who are you?”

“
I’m Shirley.” The
volunteer smiled. Standing up, she said, “Is this little one
yours?”

“
Yes,” Jacob
said.

“
Celia’s
grandbaby . . . She looks just like her.” Noticing
the forming lines, Shirley said, “I better get busy. It’s nice to
see you, Jake. Enjoy your visit.”

Jacob, Katy, and Jill
moved into the zoo.

“
What was
that?”

“
My mother was loved by a
lot of people.” Jacob shrugged. “Don’t take it too
seriously.”

“
She knew my name! Why did
you say . . .?”

“
What was I going to say?”
Jacob asked. “No, Shirley. I’m on a non-date with my step-horror’s
fiancé’s ex-wife.”

Jill’s head jerked up to
catch his eyes. Jacob laughed.

“
Your step-horror? Mike
called her your . . .”

“
I was trying for polite,”
Jacob said. “Ladies present and all.”

Looking at Jill, he could
not contain his joy at being with her. He beamed. She smiled in
return.

“
Where to
first?”

“
Elephants! Elephants!”
Katy bounced in the stroller.

“
She likes to see the
elephants first,” Jill said. “But we can go wherever you want
to.”

“
Elephants it is,” Jacob
said. “Where’s that?”

“
This way! This way!” Katy
said.

Jill laughed. Impulsively,
she put her arm through his elbow. He smiled. They began their
journey into the zoo.

They went about a hundred
feet before Katy wanted to get out of the stroller. While Jacob
looked away, Jill kneeled down to explain to Katy that she couldn’t
walk. Katy loved to run really fast and then walk slowly. It was
too hard for adults to keep up with her. And they didn’t want to
irritate their new friend Jacob.

Jacob’s head jerked to
Jill when she said his name. He made a puzzled face. When Jill
looked up, he said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“
Sure. Katy, stay
here.”

“
Yes, Mommy.”

Jill’s stomach dropped.
Even though she and Katy had been on their best behavior, Jacob was
mad. Stepping away from the stroller, she racked her brain. What
had she done?

“
I wanted to say that I
don’t mind keeping up with Katy. You don’t have to keep her in the
stroller for me.”

“
But she’ll get tired, and
then we’ll have to carry her.”

“
Of course. That’s what
kids do. Do you mind keeping up with Katy?”

Jill looked up at Jacob
and gulped. She wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She bit her lip
and shook her head.

“
Do you mind carrying
Katy? Because I don’t mind carrying her.”

Jill shook her head.
“You’re not mad?”

“
Absolutely not. What
would I be mad about?” Jacob shook his head slightly. “I have the
special delight of going to the zoo with a kid. I’d be pretty
stupid to be mad at a kid for being . . . a
kid.”

Still biting her lip, Jill
shrugged. Jacob smiled.

“
Let’s free the hostage,”
he said.

Jill unhooked Katy from
the stroller.

“
Why don’t you go to the
elephants while I take this back to the car?”

“
Are you sure?”

“
Yeah, I can be there and
back in a few minutes,” Jacob said. “I’ll meet you
there.”

Before Jill could respond,
Jacob took the stroller and jogged through the zoo. The further
away Jacob ran, the better Jill felt. Taking Katy’s hand, they
skipped to the elephants. Katy’s delighted chatter at the elephant
mommy and the elephant baby filled the air and Jill’s heart. Katy’s
wonder helped Jill feel more grounded.

When Jacob returned,
carrying a green balloon for Katy, Jill was happy to see him. They
bonked heads trying to tie the balloon on Katy’s wrist. Jill
laughed and he blushed. Before they could say, “I’m sorry,” Katy
was off to see another animal.

After a quick stop at
Monkey Island, Katy pointed her finger and ran to watch the
penguins eat lunch. Katy’s mind, and conversation, bounced from
topic to topic. She was fascinated with Bear Mountain, but the apes
scared her a little bit. She stood against the Plexiglas barrier
while an ape stood to watch her. Backing away from the Plexiglas
and the ape, Katy cried for the ape behind the glass. While Jill
comforted her soft hearted daughter, Jacob bought tickets for the
train. The laughing ride on the train cured all ape-related
problems.

Stepping off the train,
Katy said, “I have to go potty, Mommy.”

And Jill froze.

Katy took forever in the
bathroom. She did everything BUT go potty. Every public restroom
trip was at least a fifteen-minute procedure. When Jill and Katy
were alone, Jill marveled at the songs, conversation and general
observations Katy made in the restroom.

But when Trevor was with
them?

He was furious. “Why
doesn’t she just go?” or “What kind of a mother are you to let her
take so long?” She tried to explain that there were always other
mothers camped out waiting for their three- or four-year-olds. But
Trevor insisted Katy was manipulating Jill to purposely disrupt his
life.

More than once, he left
them. Jill and Katy had to take the bus home from the zoo or the
Rockies game. When they got home, Jill would lock Katy in her room
so Katy wouldn’t have to witness Trevor scream at Jill.