Silt, Denver Cereal Volume 8 (43 page)

It was pretty hard to fall asleep when she
was all tingly from being kissed by Frankie. She was just about to
say she couldn’t sleep, when she dozed off.

~~~~~~~~

Monday night—10:23 p.m.

“
Hi,” Jill said in a low
tone.

Jacob was sitting on the couch with his back
to her. Hearing her voice, he turned to look at her. She came
around the couch and sat on his lap. She tugged on his tie and
kissed his bruised mouth. He grimaced as he kissed her.

“
Whatcha doing out here in
the dark?” Jill asked.

“
Thinking,” Jacob said.
“I’m dead tired and feel like I’ve been hit by a bus, but my mind
is . . . crazy.”

Jill smiled.

“
Can I bring you some
dinner?” Jill asked.

He shook his head.

“
Bath?” she
asked.

“
Only if you can join me,
and I don’t think you can,” he said.

“
Probably not a good
idea,” Jill said. “I’m starting to dilate
and . . .”

He smiled.

“
You knew that.” She
smiled.

He nodded.

“
Why don’t you stay right
here on my lap?” he asked. “Do you mind?”

“
Not at all,” Jill
said.

“
Today, before everything
happened, you know, I . . . I just wanted to run
away . . . to you,” Jacob said. “I wanted to just
look at you. And . . . that’s all I
wanted.”

Jill smiled.

“
I
feel . . . guilty for wanting to leave Noelle, for
not thinking of Katy, for . . .”

Jill put her fingers over his mouth.

“
You’re taking something
very sweet and making it bad,” Jill said. “Did you think that maybe
you thought of me to gain strength to do something really
hard?”

Jacob gave a sad shake of his head.

“
Plus, you didn’t leave
Noelle,” Jill said. “You’ve never left Katy.”

Jacob gave a sad nod.

“
What happened tonight?”
Jill asked.

“
Oh, tonight.” Jacob
pulled on the knot of his tie and pulled the tie off. “Tonight was
good. Bambi had to fire a guy who was whining, but after that
everyone worked. Most of our people are very reasonable, smart.
They knew what was going on, but the curmudgeons shout so loud,
they couldn’t get a word in edgewise. They just focused on their
jobs and hoped it would work out.”

“
So you’re leaving the
site?” Jill asked.

“
I’m going downtown in the
morning to talk to the state inspector’s office.” Jacob
nodded.

“
That’s really great
news,” Jill said.

“
Everyone worked hard,”
Jacob said. “You should have seen them. When tempers flared,
someone made a joke or they talked it through. We were able to get
there, together. I was . . . blown away. Dad came
late after checking on Noelle and Wanda. He . . .
was really proud. That’s what he said.”

“
Nice.” Jill
smiled.

Jacob nodded.

“
So what leaves you out
here and not in bed?” Jill asked.

“
Just a feeling.” Jacob
touched her face. “I’ve given up so much, one tiny bit at a time,
and . . . I . . .”

He leaned forward and kissed her.

“
We have to be careful not
to let the cynics and scowlers take everything precious to us—hope,
love, joy, faith, grace—one sarcastic comment at a time,” Jill
said.

“
Yes,” he said. “That’s
what’s happened to me—one tiny word at a time, I’ve lost hope and
faith and joy . . . It’s like fluid depression with
no beginning or end. And . . . Scowlers?”

“
You know what I mean.”
Jill shrugged.

“
Well, this deal should be
done before we have the boys,” Jacob said. “I can leave Lipson in
good conscience.”

“
You’re going to take time
off work?” Jill grinned.

“
I know, it’s unlikely,”
Jacob said.

“
Probably,” Jill said.
“We’ll have fun anyway.”

Jacob tugged her a tiny bit closer.

“
Are you okay?” Jill
whispered.

“
I am,” Jacob said. “I
just had to say ‘enough’ and stand up for hope and faith and joy
and love and grace and . . . life.”

“
And the fluid
depression?” Jill asked.

“
I’m okay,” Jacob kissed
her. “I have such a wonderful life. I need to say ‘enough’ more
often so I can enjoy my life more.”

Jill got off his lap.

“
Come to bed.” She held
her hand out to him.

He looked at her hand for a moment before
taking it. They walked to the bedroom. She helped him undress and
get into bed. She had just slipped in beside him when she realized
he was already sound asleep. She kissed his cheek and lay back. She
stared at the ceiling for a moment before whispering, “Thanks” to
whatever had helped Jacob shake off the funk he’d been in. As if
she’d heard a reply, she nodded and fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday early morning—12:23 a.m.

“
Charlie!” Aden came into
the living room. “What are you doing up?”

“
I . . .”
Charlie started.

Aden took in the boy’s red swollen eyes. His
handsome face was blotchy with emotion. Aden sat down next to him
on the couch.

“
I . . .
all of this . . . and . . .” Charlie
tried to express himself.

Aden tugged on his shoulder and Charlie fell
over into his lap. The boy began to weep. When Charlie stopped
weeping, the boy stared straight ahead.

“
What is it?” Aden
asked.

“
It’s all my fault,”
Charlie whispered. “They attacked Noelle because she was
my
sister.”

“
None of this is your
fault,” Aden said.

“
But
Noelle . . .” Tears ran down Charlie’s face. “Jake
and, God, poor Wanda.”

“
Only the boys who decided
to beat up your sister and her friend are at fault,” Aden said.
“Not you.”

“
Why does it feel like
it’s my fault?” Charlie asked.

“
Because if it’s your
fault, you can control it,” Aden said. “Make it stop.”

“
They told me at the
police station that only I could make it stop,” Charlie
said.

“
Art and Colin didn’t say
that,” Aden said. “Did they?”

Charlie shook his head.

“
Why do you think that
is?” Aden asked.

“
They’re our friends.”
Charlie shrugged.

“
I think they didn’t say
that because they are honest men,” Aden said. “They told me that
you were very brave and that without you, none of this would have
happened.”

“
That’s what I mean!”
Charlie said. “None of this would have happened!”

“
None of the arrests would
have happened,” Aden said. “These boys would have kept getting high
and hurting girls. You made that stop. That’s a pretty big deal.
They even caught the leader. He’s wanted in other states for doing
the same thing.”

Charlie didn’t know how to respond, so he
didn’t.

“
That’s the truth,” Aden
said. “You can believe you screwed up, or that you set things
right. It’s up to you.”

“
What do you think?”
Charlie asked. “Sandy? Noelle?”

His voice caught with Noelle’s name.

“
We think you’re pretty
wonderful,” Aden said. “Noelle told Sandy that she didn’t realize
how brave you were until she saw how scary those guys
were.”

“
Sounds like Noelle,”
Charlie said. “Do you think this is over?”

“
God, I hope so,” Aden
said. They sat in silence for a while before Aden repeated, “God, I
hope so.”

“
Me too,” Charlie
said.

Glossary of Characters

Aaron Alvin:
Father of Ava; also called “The
spider.”

Aden Norsen:

CEO at Lipson construction; single father of
Nash and Noelle; husband of Sandy.

Alexandra Hargreaves:

Identical twin to Max Hargreaves; ‘The Fey;’
the leader of the Fey Team; wife of Dr. John Drayson; sister to
Colin and Samantha Hargreaves.

Anjelika:

Megan, Mike, Steve, Candy and Jill’s mother;
grandmother to Katy; wife of Perses.

Andrea Menendez or Andy Mendy:

Mother of Sandy; Seth’s love & lover
from the time he was 14 until he lost her when he was 30.

Arthur “Raz” Rasmussen:

Member of the Fey team; boyfriend of
Samantha Hargreaves.

Ava – Amelie Vivian Alvin:

Denver Police Crime Lab Technician; fiancé
of Seth O’Malley; daughter of Aaron Alvin.

Ben Red Bear, Detective:

Denver Police Detective in charge of
investigation of rapes; possibly involved in the distribution
chain.

Bestat Behur:

Partner to Zack Jakkman; step-mother to
Teddy; dragon.

Glossary of Characters

Beth Baker:

Ava’s best friend; Child Psychologist;
murdered by Saint Jude.

Blane Lipson:

Jacob’s ‘cousin;’ raised in foster care;
assistant to Jacob Marlowe at Lipson Construction; Chinese Medicine
doctor; husband of Heather; father of Mack.

Bob aka ‘Blood spatter
Bob’:
Former expert forensics instructor
with the FBI; currently a laboratory technician in Ava’s Denver
Police Department lab.

Bree or Briana
Lipson:
Step-child of Sam
Lipson.

Becky Lipson:
Step-child of Sam Lipson.

Bumpy Wilson:

Good friend of Seth’s; medical doctor;
father of Jeraine Wilson, husband of Dionne, born Leroy Wilson.

Candace or Candy
Roper:
Daughter of Anjelika; sister to
Jill.

Charlie Delgado:

Step-brother of Sandy; street kid; drug
addict; has been out of school for a long time; comes to live with
Sandy in Cimarron.

Celia Marlowe:

Wife of Sam Lipson; mother to Valerie Lipson
and Jacob Marlowe; Delphie’s best friend; died of cancer nine years
before Denver Cereal begins.

Cleo:
Black and white cat belonging to Sandy.

Glossary of Characters

Colin Hargreaves:

Brother of Alex, Max and Samantha
Hargreaves; Homeland Security Agent; Fey Team member; father of
Paddie Hargreaves.

Dale:

Boyfriend of Beth Baker, Amelie’s best
friend; housemate of Amelie; Handyman who lives with Seth
O’Malley.

Delphinium or Delphie:

Psychic; beekeeper; master gardener; best
friend of Celia Marlowe; girlfriend to Sam Lipson.

Dionne Wilson:

Wife of Bumpy Wilson; mother of Jeraine and
LaTonya; medical nurse.

Erik Le
Monde:
Wanda’s father; plumber;
works for Lipson Construction.

Edith
Stiefel:
Mother of Wanda. Ex-wife of
Erik Le Monde.

Evette:

Secretary of Jacob’s for one week; claims
romantic relationship between them.

Fran:
A laboratory tech in Ava’s Denver Police Department
lab.

Frankie Aziz:

Boyfriend of Wanda Le Monde; videographer of
group of rapists; brother of DPD Sergeant Aziz.

Glossary of Characters

Heather Lipson:

Jill’s childhood friend; one of Jillian
Roper’s group of best friends; mother to Mack; wife to Blane
Lipson.

Honey Lipson:

Paralyzed; step-daughter of Sam Lipson; wife
of Sergeant MJ Scully; Lives at the Castle and works at Lipson
Construction.

Jacob Marlowe:

Son of Sam Lipson and Celia Marlowe; husband
of Jillian Roper; brother of Valerie Lipson; president of Lipson
Construction; owns his own rehabilitation business; carpenter;
hockey player.

Jeraine Wilson:

R&B sensation; husband of Tanesha Smith;
son of Bumpy; drug and sex addict.

Jillian or Jill Roper:

Daughter of Anjelika and Perses; mother of
Katy Roper; wife of Jacob Marlowe; ex-wife of Trevor Mc Guinsey;
pregnant with twin boys.

John Drayson, MD:

Vascular surgeons; husband of Alex
Hargreaves.

Julie Hargreaves:

Mother of Paddie Hargreaves; wife of Colin
Hargreaves.

Katy or Katherine Anjelika Roper:

Daughter of Jillian Roper and Jacob
Marlowe.

Leslie:
A laboratory tech in Ava’s Denver Police
Department lab.

Glossary of Characters

Leslie Roper:

Wife of Steve Roper; mother of infant Elisa
Roper.

Levi Johansen:

Won Delphie in a card game when she was 5-6;
held her as a slave/The Oracle Tabor; gets out of prison and wants
Delphie dead; evil.

Mack Lipson:
Infant son of Heather and Blane
Lipson.

Margaret Peaches or Sergeant Margaret
Peaches: