Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4

by Claudia Hall Christian

“Right,” Mike said. “I should have realized it would be a cluster fuck. I did see Wes on the television while I was waiting. That guy is a real tool. What did you see in him?”

  “He wasn’t you?”

  “Ah,” Mike laughed. “I was waiting at the desk so long that they’re going to serve us dinner on the porch. It’s not sushi though. Do you mind?”

  “What are we having?”

  “Burgers,” Mike said.

  “I was just craving a burger,” Valerie said.

  “I know,” Mike said.

  “Mind reading?” Valerie asked.

  “Listening to you talk to yourself in the bathroom,” he said. Mimicking her voice, he said, “Now Valerie, you cannot have a burger or you’ll never fit those pants.”

  “Well I won’t!” she laughed.

  “You’re pregnant, Val,” Mike said. “At some point, you’re going to look pregnant.”

  “Hmm,” Valerie said. Trying to avoid talking about her expanding size, she said, “What did you get?”

  “Burgers,” Mike said. “Fries, beer for me.”

  “You got burgers from the hotel safe?” Valerie asked.

  “Oh, I got the check from the Denver Art Museum,” Mike said. “Wanna see all the zeros?”

  Valerie nodded. Mike pulled the check out of his back pocket. They ogled at the amount.

  “They took twenty percent,” Mike said. “I thought that was worth it.”

  “Totally worth it,” Valerie said. “What are we going to do with it?”

  “Well…” Mike looked away from her and shoved the check back into his pocket.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Since we don’t really need the money,” he said. “I mean, you’re making great money, and we live in the Castle, and with the sale of Lipson Construction, and the increase in rehab business work and…”

  “We have plenty of money,” Valerie stepped back from him. “What’s going on Mike?”

  “I was thinking of giving the check to Otis, my grandfather,” Mike said.

  “Why?” Valerie asked.

  “My step-dad took all that money from him,” Mike said. “Even though this is only a fraction of what he stole, I thought maybe if he had some of it, he wouldn’t be so mad at Mom.”

  “He doesn’t seem mad at Anjelika,” Valerie said.

  “Mom says that the money is a big issue in their relationship,” Mike said. “It’s not like he blames her. He’s still trying to make up the loss to his partners.”

  “His mafia partners.”

  “I guess it’s dumb,” Mike said. “I want Mama to feel free, happy. That’s all. I know she feels bad.”

  “You’re a very sweet man,” Valerie said.

  “Otis is coming to Denver to see us before the baby is born,” Mike said. “I thought we could give it to him then.”

  “Sure,” Valerie said.

  “Sure?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  “You think it’s dumb,” Mike said.

  “I think you’re a very sweet man. If you want to give this money or all of our money to your grandfather, I don’t really care.”

  “What do you care about?” Mike asked.

  “Food,” Valerie and Mike said together. They laughed.

  “When did you say dinner was coming?” she asked.

  As if to answer her call, there was a knock at the door. Room service had set up dinner on their private patio. Surrounded by blooming flowers, their conversation about money disappeared in a pregnant woman’s delight for a well-cooked burger and the pleasure of each other’s company.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday evening — 8:35 P.M. MDT

  “If I do this, I’ll need your help,” Jacob said.

  “Clearing ghosts?” Delphie laughed. “You do not. Celia was always better at it than I ever was. You need to practice.”

  Jacob poured another glass of wine. Holding up the bottle to Delphie, she nodded. He poured a glass for her. They were sitting at the kitchen table talking about the proposal to rehabilitate haunted houses.

  “Practice?” Jacob asked. “What’s that?”

  “You’re lazy with your psychic skills,” Delphie repeated what she’d said a thousand times. “When was the last time you meditated?”

  “Today,” Jacob said. “With my daughter.”

  “I think that’s called ‘taking a nap,’” Delphie said.

  Jacob laughed.

  “Ok,” Delphie said. “I’ll teach you what to do. We can practice clearing a few houses and see how we do, how you like it.”

  “That’s the point,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll like it.”

  “I don’t think you’ll like it,” she said. “In fact, I think you’ll hate it.”

  “Why?”

  “You really like the present,” Delphie said. “You’re not even a big fan of reminiscing about old times or talking about traumatic memories. Ghosts are all about who they were, what they did, and what happened to them. It’s part of why they’re stuck here. They’re stuck in their own memories and past.”

  “Hey speaking of what happened to them,” Jacob said. “Didn’t you and Mom clear a few ghosts out of here?”

  “Four or five,” Delphie said. “After you opened the second floor, I did a few more.”

  “Did you clear the ghosts of the people buried under the chapel?” Jacob asked.

  Delphie’s eyebrows shot up with surprise. She nodded to Jacob.

  “I bet you’re right,” she said. “I never thought of it. Your Mom did most of the work. She had a real knack for it. She felt like she was helping souls.”

  “She kept a journal?” Jacob asked.

  “She did,” Delphie smiled. “Jake. I wonder where those are.”

  “All of her journals are in a chest in the basement storage,” Jacob said. “Want to go look?”

  Delphie nodded. With Jacob leading the way, they went to find Celia’s ghost journal.

  ~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 9:35 P.M.

  “Hey,” Dr. John Drayson gave Sandy’s shoulder a little shake.

  “Sorry, I must have dropped off,” Sandy said.

  “You’re here by yourself?” he asked.

  “Jill had to go home. She has to work at Pete’s tomorrow night and…” Sandy said. “I made her go home. Anjelika will be back with Jill’s car. Seth walked them out. They’ll be back.”

  Dr. Drayson nodded.

  “How’s Charlie?” Sandy asked.

  “He’s stable,” Dr. Drayson said. “For now. He has a long way to go but he’s young and strong. The drugs are out of his system and his body is rallying.”

  Sandy nodded.

  “He’s awake,” Dr. Drayson said. “He’s asking for you. Would you…?”

  Sandy stood.

  “I’ll take you back. You’ll only have a few minutes. But I thought you’d want them.”

  “Of course,” Sandy said.

  Sandy followed Dr. Drayson to Denver Health’s Intensive Care Unit. Walking back, she remembered taking a similar walk to see Aden when he was in a similar condition. In that moment, she wondered why she spent so much time at the ICU. Was it God’s curse on her? Was it the men in her life?

  Like a voice screaming inside her head, she heard, ‘It’s the drugs.’ In her heart, mind, body and soul, she knew drugs were at the root of Charlie and Aden’s trouble. Aden had gotten clean. Aden had created a full life filled with opportunity and love.

  Would Charlie?

  Unwilling to answer the question, Sandy swore she would take her Alanon meetings more seriously. She reminded herself that she could only work on herself.

  But she wanted Charlie to live! She wanted Charlie to be clean! She wanted Charlie to grow up! She stopped walking to catch her breath.

  “Are you all right?” Dr. Drayson asked.

  “Just a little emotional,” Sandy smiled to reassure him.

  “Addiction is heartbreaking.” His kind cobalt blue eyes seemed to kn
ow her pain.

  She nodded. They continued walking through the ICU. Dr. Drayson pointed to a bed near the front of the hospital. In the dim light, her mind played a trick on her. She saw her little brother as he’d been when he was three or four. He used to have terrible nightmares. He’d cry out in his sleep and she’d go in to comfort him.

  Sandy blinked and Charlie’s broken body appeared. He had tubes and drains coming from every direction. Like Aden had, this tall, strong boy looked small and broken. Dr. Drayson nodded toward a blue plastic chair and Sandy sat down. He smiled at Sandy and stepped away.

  Sandy picked up Charlie’s hand. He opened his eyes to look at her. She smiled at him.

  “Mom?” Charlie asked.

  “Jill called her,” Sandy said. “I’m sure she’ll be here in the morning.”

  Charlie chuckled at her lie. His chuckle became a deep chest rattling cough. A nurse arrived. She injected something into Charlie’s IV and waved Sandy onto the bed.

  “Feel really sick,” Charlie said.

  “You’re pretty sick,” Sandy said. “The doctor told me you were strong and young. Are you strong, Charlie?”

  “I’m not strong, Sandy,” Charlie gave her a soft smile. “I want to die.”

  “I know,” Sandy said. “I hope you don’t.”

  “Why?” Charlie asked. “I’m a total fuck up. Everything I’ve ever done is fucked up. At least if I die, I’ll be with Dad.”

  Sandy wiped a tear from his face.

  “I’d miss you,” Sandy said.

  “You haven’t seen me in months,” Charlie said.

  “I’d still miss you,” she said. “Sissy would miss you.”

  Charlie opened and closed his eyes at her.

  “You can name your baby Charlie,” he said. “And the baby will have a fresh start.”

  “You can have a fresh start, Charlie,” Sandy said. “You can completely reinvent yourself. People do it all the time.”

  “Who? Who do you know that fucked up as bad as me and did all right later?”

  “Me,” Sandy said. “And I was fucked up worse than you.”

  Charlie looked at her for a moment. His eyebrows twitched as he tried to work out her words. Then, a dawning realization worked across his face. He nodded.

  “If I can do it, you can do it,” Sandy said. “Will you try?”

  “I’ll try, Sandy,” he said. “I don’t want to die.”

  “Now?”

  “Did I want to die before?” he asked. “I go back and forth. Try me in another minute. I’ll want to die again.”

  Sandy smiled.

  “Do you think Daddy loved me?” Charlie asked.

  “I do,” Sandy said. Hearing a noise, she looked up to see Seth. “Do you think Dad loved Charlie, Seth?”

  “Your father adored you, Charlie,” Seth said. “The day you were born was literally the best day of your father’s life. He fought cancer for years just to spend the time with you.”

  “I miss him,” Charlie said.

  “I do too,” Sandy said.

  “Me too,” Seth said. “But we have to soldier on together. That’s what your Dad would have wanted. For us to be together.”

  Charlie nodded slightly.

  “Listen Charlie,” Seth said. “I was thinking. When you get out of here, why don’t you come and live with me? I have enough room. I was thinking your sister could move in too.”

  “What about Mom?” Charlie asked.

  “Maybe we’ll get her some help,” Seth said. “We’ve all been grieving your father too long. It’s time to live with his memory instead of hiding from his ghost. What do you say, Charlie? Would you like that?”

  Charlie nodded. Sandy looked up to see a doctor and nurse standing next to Seth.

  “Time for sleep, baby Charlie,” Sandy said.

  “Will you sing for me?” Charlie asked.

  Sandy began singing ‘Hush little baby’ like she did when he was a baby. Charlie smiled. The doctor injected medication into Charlie’s IV. Charlie sighed. With a slight smile on his face, he went to sleep. Sandy leaned down to kiss his cheek.

  “Love you, Charlie,” Sandy said.

  Seth helped Sandy off the bed. They hugged and began to walk back to the waiting room. Once there, they settled in for what was surely going to be a long night.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 10:05 P.M. MDT

  “Found it!” Jacob said.

  Covered in dust and cobwebs, he and Delphie had spent the last hour and a half going through the storage area looking for Celia’s ghost journal. He gave Delphie the journal.

  “That’s it, isn’t it?” he asked.

  “This is it, but…” Delphie said.

  “But what?”

  “The pages are torn out.” Holding the book up, Delphie touched the ragged edges of the torn pages. “The ones about the ghosts in the Castle.”

  “What?” Jacob asked.

  “What exactly,” Delphie said.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and TEN

  Brave

  One week later

  Monday mid-day — 11:30 A.M.

  “You know who I am,” Nash said.

  He sat down next to Charlie’s bed at Denver Health.

  “You’ve got to be the gym guy’s son,” Charlie said. “You look just like him.”

  “The gym guy?”

  Nash wrinkled his face. He’d spent the entire bike ride to Denver Health pumping himself up for this conversation. He wasn’t going to take any crap from this Charlie guy. Teddy stood near the door to back him up.

  “I don’t know his name,” Charlie shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think Sandy ever told me his name.”

  “Aden Norsen,” Nash said. “I’m Nash.”

  Nash held out his hand and Charlie shook it.

  “My Mom and Dad were talking about you coming to live with us,” Nash said. “Sandy… I mean Mom really wants you to live with us. Dad will do anything for Mom, so…”

  “I don’t know anything about it, bro,” Charlie said. “I’m supposed to get out of here today or tomorrow. Seth said I could live with him but Sandy wants me to go to rehab. That’s what I know.”

  Nash opened his mouth to say something.

  “Wow, you look like the pilot,” Charlie said to Teddy. “Who are you?”

  “Ted Jakkman,” Teddy said.

  “Yea, Jakkman,” Charlie said. “Sergeant Jakkman. I bet he’s your Dad.”

  “My Dad’s a Captain,” Teddy said. “He’s the best pilot in the US Air Force.”

  “You must be very proud,” Charlie said with dripping sarcasm.

  Defensive, Teddy moved forward to hit Charlie. Nash held him back. The boys shared a long look. Teddy went back to the door and Nash sat down again.

  “Listen,” Nash held up his hand. “We know you can be a dick. We didn’t come all this way so you could impress us with your vast skills at being an asshole. So knock it off. This is about your future. And our future.”

  Charlie looked over at Nash to assess him.

  “You’re still pretty sick,” Nash said. “When you get out of here, you’re going to need a lot of help.”

  “Sandy wants me to go to rehab,” Charlie repeated.

  “What do you want?” Nash said.

  “To get laid. Don’t you?” Charlie asked. “I bet you’re still a virgin.”

  “I’m not the big loser sitting in a hospital bed with nowhere to live,” Nash said.

  “Point taken,” Charlie said. “How did Sandy get to be your Mom?”

  “I want her to be my Mom,” Nash said. “And I bet you do too. That’s why we’re here.”

  “You have a proposal,” Charlie said. “Lay it out there, bro.”

  “Fine,” Nash said. “If you come to live with us, you’ll promise to never bring drugs around me or my sister. If you do, you will deal with me. You will not bring your scumbag friends around me or my sister, but particularly not my sister. If you come to live with us, you have
to act like family. Not selfish stupid family. Real family.”

  “What’s wrong with your sister?” Charlie asked. “Is she a retard or something?”

  “Noelle is beautiful,” Teddy said. “You watch what you say about her.”

  “I see someone is smitten,” Charlie said.

  “Knock it off. You’re being an asshole just to be an asshole. If you don’t care about yourself at all, then go fuck off,” Nash said. “But if you want to live with us, then you have to listen.”

  Charlie looked at Nash and then at Teddy. He was silent for a moment then nodded.

  “Go ahead,” he said.

  ‘My sister and me, we take care of each other,” Nash said. “We don’t use drugs, no alcohol, and we don’t hang around scumbags. If you come to live with us, then you have to act like us. You have to go to school, stop taking drugs, and get your shit together.”

  “You think I’m a total loser,” Charlie said.

  “I think you’re an addict… and a dumbass,” Nash said. “Teddy and me, we could have made the same choices you’ve made. We have bullshit families. Parents who suck. But we didn’t give up everything to hang out with losers and scumbags.”

  “Hey man, I’m addicted…”

  “Oh bullshit,” Nash said. “No one made you take drugs. You chose to do them. You didn’t have to. You’ve been clean before. Sandy said you’ve been to rehab already. You decided to go back to drugs.”

  “You don’t know how hard it is,” Charlie said.

  “You wanna bet,” Nash said. “Teddy, me, Noelle, we’re very sensitive to drugs and alcohol. We could be addicts like that.” Nash snapped his fingers.

  “But we’re not,” Nash said. “You made shitty choices, bro. If you want to live with us, you’re going to have to man up to your choices and get your shit together. You’re not bringing me or my sister down.”

  “What about that guy?” Charlie pointed at Teddy. “Can I bring him down?”

  “Fine, be an asshole,” Nash said. “Loser. You’ll be dead soon enough.”

  Nash got up and walked toward the door.

  “Would I have to go to school?” Charlie asked. “I’m not good at school.”

  Nash turned around to look at Charlie.

  “What’s wrong with school?” Nash asked.