“You have custody?” Aden had never met another father who had sole custody of his kids. He watched Zack’s face.
“Yep. Finally,” Zack said. “She’s in rehab but they say she’s ‘too fragile’ to take care of the kids. Whatever. I wish she’d said something five years ago when I begged her, and anyone who would listen, for custody. Your ex is in prison?”
“She broke Noelle’s cheekbone and they still haven’t denied her most recent custody request.”
“I know that song and dance. Children need their mothers! Not these mothers,” Zack said. “Anyway, Teddy doesn’t want to go anywhere without Nash. Can Nash go to Catholic school?”
“We’re not Catholic,” Aden said. “I mean, my family was Catholic… mostly for the free food. I haven’t been to church in… twenty years at least. The kids weren’t baptized or confirmed.”
“You’re dating a good Catholic girl,” Zack said. “You better brush up.”
“Sandy? She’s never said anything,” Aden said.
“Have kids yet?” Zack laughed.
“One on the way,” Aden said.
“You’d better brush up,” Zack said. “Listen, I’ll follow you. We’ll sort out what to do with the boys over pie and coffee. Village Inn?”
“Sure,” Aden said.
Aden was near his car when Zack said:
“Hey, that was a great thing you did yesterday. I know you have a lot of shit to deal with because of it but every man in the world was cheering you on. You’re a hero to all us helpless fucks who wish we could really protect our kids from monsters.”
Aden nodded. Stepping into the driver’s seat of a Lipson Construction truck, he watched Zack walk to a black SUV. Zack tapped on the passenger door and the door opened. Nash’s bodybuilder guardian had been waiting in the car for Zack.
Aden smiled. In middle of all this trouble, he’d made a friend today. Somehow, making a new friend made everything seem a little more worth it.
~~~~~~~~
Friday afternoon – 3:30 P.M.
Jill reached over to hold Honey’s hand. The lawyers had just presented the twelve jurors and three alternates to the judge. If the judge agreed, they would start the trial on Monday.
Seeming almost to enjoy the sound of their own voices, the lawyers talked endlessly. Jill wished she had Samantha Hargreaves with her to explain what was going on. Smiling, the assistant DA, Ann Campbell, looked over to Jill and Honey. The assistant DA nodded. The judge accepted the jury.
The trial was in motion!
The judge began giving instructions to the jury. They wouldn’t be sequestered. They shouldn’t talk about the trial and so on and so forth. He acted like a protective Canada Goose over his juror goslings. Their victim’s advocate’s voice lifted with excitement as she told Jill and Honey how lucky they were that the jurors were so easily selected.
MJ shifted his body away from the trial.
That’s what Jill noticed first. She looked at MJ’s stern face. Following his eyes, she looked toward the courtroom.
Honey’s sister glared at them. The hatred and evil in her eyes sent shivers down Jill’s spine. She wanted to run out of the room when her sight was blocked by a man’s blue jeans.
Jacob. He kneeled down in front of her.
“You don’t need to look into the darkness,” he whispered.
When he held her to him, Jill closed her eyes to avoid the step-whore’s cursed gaze.
“Let’s get out of here,” MJ said. He touched Honey’s back. “Just close your eyes.”
Shaken, Honey nodded to MJ. One of MJ’s teammates ran to get the car. They surrounded Honey’s wheelchair to effectively block her from her sister’s sight and moved out of the courtroom together. They were all the way to the car before Honey said:
“Oh my God, she hates me.”
“She hates herself,” Jacob said. “You just remind her of her own self-loathing.”
Honey and Jill nodded at what seemed like wisdom. Jill couldn’t shake the feeling that this was going to be a long, painful trial. And in the end, the step-whore would be certain she and Honey had ‘done’ this to her. The woman would despise them for the rest of her life.
Jill nodded to herself. That step-whore needed to be locked up for life.
~~~~~~~~
Friday evening – 5:27 P.M.
Waking from her nap, Sandy rolled over to pet Cleo. In her half-awake state, Sandy was grateful for Cleo’s reassuring presence. Cleo and Sandy had been through a lot together. They would get through this as well. She was about to fall back asleep when she heard a soft noise.
Like a weight, the knowledge of everything that had happened fell on her. Her mind flashed through a slide show of images: Aden punching her father in the face; her father shooting her in the back; waking up in the hospital; her mother’s awful words; and hundred dollar bills flying in the air. Her mind came to rest on Seth’s face. He was talking about her ‘family of choice.’
Then she heard the sound again. Someone was crying. Not loud, not wailing, but someone near her was crying.
Moving as fast as her back brace and pain would allow, Sandy got out of bed. Cleo looked up at her and meowed. Sandy picked up her black and white cat, the first member of her family of choice, to carry her out of the room. Standing just outside the door, Sandy was a little disoriented. The bedroom had looked so much like her bedroom, Sandy thought she was at home. Where was she?
Not at home, that’s for sure.
She had stepped into a hallway with gorgeous wide oak floors. There were three doors to her right and one door to her left. Light shone from under a door across the hall. She nudged the door open then blinked at the light.
Aden and Nash were sitting on the couch playing Grand Theft Auto on an X-box 360 on a flat screen television. Disabled by his broken arm, Nash was only ahead by a hundred points. She stood behind the couch watching for a few moments before they noticed her.
“Hey Sandy,” Nash said. He paused the game. “Dad’s taking advantage of my injury.”
“How are you feeling?” Aden got up from the couch to hug her.
“Disoriented. I don’t remember getting here,” Sandy said.
“You were in a lot of pain at your father’s house. Delphie came to get you in a cab,” Aden said. “You were pretty out of it when you got here.”
“Dad carried you into the bedroom,” Nash said. “Noelle and I tried to keep him from dropping you.”
“Or tripping,” Aden laughed.
“Where’s Val?” Sandy asked.
“She left for Prague about an hour after you left your father’s house,” Aden said.
“Did an armored car really take the money?” Sandy asked. “Or did I dream the money thing?”
“Val told Delphie that there were millions in the house. The money is being counted at the bank right now,” Aden said. “It was a lot.”
“You’re rich, Sandy!” Nash said. “Will you buy me an iPhone?”
“You don’t need an iPhone,” Aden repeated what he’d said over and over again.
Nash wrinkled his lips in disgust to his father. Turning away, he smiled brightly at Sandy.
“What do you think, Sandy? I bet you think I need an iPhone? I bet you want to call me and know where I am and keep track of stuff and…”
Sandy laughed.
“Where’s Noelle?” Sandy asked.
Aden and Nash shared a look.
“What’s wrong?” Sandy asked.
“Noelle’s a little upset,” Aden said.
“Yeah, Dad told us about the baby and she freaked out,” Nash said. “She’s been crying for hours.”
“Why?” Sandy asked.
“She’s just like that,” Nash said. “I mean, I’m not thrilled at being replaced by a new kid but it’s not like I can do anything about it.”
“Replaced?” Aden and Sandy said in unison.
“You know, everyone loves the new kid,” Nash said. “Noelle and I are the old kids. We’re
not cute or fun or precious or anything. Mostly we’re the pain-in-the-ass-hope-you-leave-the-house-soon kids.”
“What?” Sandy said at the same time as Aden said, “Now Nash you know that’s not true.”
“I mean, face it,” Nash said. “Dad has a new life and we’re not going to be a part of it.”
“Nash, I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” Aden said. “You and your sister have always been the single most important thing in my life..”
“Yeah, until the new baby comes,” Nash said. “It happens all the time. We’re the ugly stepchildren.”
“Nash!” Aden started.
“Aden.” Sandy touched his arm.
Aden turned to look at her. He nodded at her smile. Sandy came around to kneel right in front of Nash. Nash stared past her to play the video game.
“I know how you feel,” Sandy said. “I felt the exact same way when my mother remarried. I was the ugly stepchild, the mistake, the throw away.”
Nash’s head jerked up to look at Sandy.
“I don’t feel that way about you,” Sandy said.
“You will.”
“I won’t,” Sandy said. “I can’t help how I feel. Step or otherwise, I love you. I don’t know anything about being a mother but I bet we’ll learn together.”
Nash’s eyes welled with tears. He sniffed then returned to stare at the video game. Sandy hugged him. Nash grabbed her so tightly that Sandy grunted with pain.
“Me too!?” Noelle asked from the doorway. “You’ll be my Mom too – even with a new perfect baby?”
Sandy held her arm out for Noelle. The girl ran forward to join Sandy and Nash’s hug.
“You guys will have to be patient with me because I have a lot to learn,” Sandy pulled back to say. “Since you’ve never had a Mom, I guess we’ll have to figure it out together.”
“I’ll help!” Noelle said. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her cheek was swollen and purple with bruise but her smile was bright. “First, you should teach me how to do make-up so I can cover this bruise.”
“Noelle!” Aden said. “Sandy is hurt. She…”
“Heather’s coming over tonight to teach us how to cover the bruise,” Sandy said. Turning to Nash, she said, “What’s your first?”
“An iPhone?” Nash’s face pleaded with Sandy.
Sandy laughed at him.
“I’m serious.” Nash worked to keep from laughing.
“How about some cookies instead?” Sandy asked.
“Sandy, you really don’t have to,” Aden said. “You need to rest.”
“I’m all right. Maybe Noelle could help me.”
“I’ll help!” Noelle said. “Can we have chocolate chip?”
“Peanut butter,” Nash said.
“Peanut butter chocolate chip?” Sandy looked at Noelle. She nodded. “We’ll leave some plain for Nash.”
Noelle and Nash cheered. When Aden stood to hug her, Sandy felt a growing sense that she was exactly where she belonged. She had chosen a family.
And they chose her back.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
For all intents…
Two days later
Sunday night — 11:20 P.M.
Jill woke up in an empty bed. Grabbing her warm bathrobe, she wandered through the loft looking for Jacob. Not finding him, she was about to head down to the Castle when she saw light coming from under the door to Jacob’s old apartment. She went through his old bathroom until she stood in the doorway of his apartment. Her eyes searched the dark room until she found him. Jacob was sitting in his sagging old leather chairs by the window. Not wanting to disturb him, she hesitated to move forward. She was about to go back to bed when she heard him say, almost as an exhale:
“Jill.”
Smiling, she moved forward to him. She took the hand he lifted to her. So unlike Jacob, he continued to stare out into the night. She was about to ask what was wrong, when he shifted to pull her onto his lap.
She yelped with surprise and laughed. He buried his face in her neck.
“What’s going on?” Jill whispered.
He pulled back to look into her face. Giving her a soft smile, he kissed her slowly first, then with deep and rising pressure. She responded to his passion. Out of breath, she pulled away to look at him. He shrugged at the question in her eyes and returned to looking out the window. Not wanting to push it, she rested her head against his shoulder. They watched the night sky. After a while, Jacob sighed.
“I used to sit here, like this, hoping, wishing, longing. Right here. In this chair. A lot.”
He fell silent. Jill kissed his cheek. Trusting him to tell her when he was ready, she rested in the warmth and comfort of his lap. He sighed again.
“I ached for you, for a chance at a life with you. I longed for family, children, joy. I wished for Val to come home and want to be my sister again. I hoped my father would survive the loss of my mother. I begged a thousand times to be relieved of the burden of the Lipson albatross.”
He sighed and became quiet again.
“You have almost everything you wished for.”
“The moment you entered my life, I got everything I’d ever wished, hoped or longed for,” he said. “And Katy? I never thought I could love a single being so much, laugh so hard and get so angry – at the same time.”
“That’s a good description of Katy.” She kissed him under his chin.
“Tomorrow, the first round of Lipson Construction shares will be sold to the employees,” Jacob said. “It’s all happening.”
She nestled into his lap.
“Is it everything you’d hoped for?”
“Oh.” Jacob shifted to look into her face. “It’s more than I hoped for, more than I could ever dream of. I’d never expected to be so happy and feel so complete… whole.”
“I’m glad.”
He pressed her head back to his shoulder then kissed the top of it.
“Why are you here in the middle of the night?” she asked.
“I’m not sure… Marking the moment, I guess,” he said. “After so much longing for such a long time, I’m not very sure what will happen next.”
“But you’re…”
“A psychic, I know.” Jacob kissed her forehead. “It’s hard to explain. I wanted all of this to happen but I wasn’t sure it would.”
“Can’t know your own future?” she asked.
“Exactly,” he said. “I can stretch out to see what’s next but it’s out of context. I don’t really get what it means. For some reason, there’s a gaping hole in the middle of it – like I’m not allowed to see a part of it.”
“Sounds like Delphie’s issue a month ago,” Jill said.
“Good point,” Jacob said.
“What about babies? A few months ago, you were excited to have more babies but lately, you’ve been reluctant lately.”
“Seems like Katy keeps our hands pretty full,” he said. “I’m glad she’s feeling better.”
“Me too. It’s like a switch — one moment she’s was sick, the next she’s all better,” Jill said.
“She’s very strong, like her Mommy.”
“Like her Daddy.” Jill touched his face. “But Katy is not the reason you don’t want to get pregnant. I know it’s not it. You see something.”
“I see something,” he said.
“What?”
“I wish I knew.”
~~~~~~~
Monday morning — 8:16 A.M.
Anschutz Hospital
“So that’s it?” Blane asked. He looked over at Heather’s smiling face. “We’re done?”
“That’s it,” his doctor said. “We haven’t found Hep C virus in your system since the end of last year. We’ll check again in a month, two months, and then six months.
“But he can stop taking the Ribavirin now?” Heather asked.
“Stop taking the Ribavirin and Interferon. For all intents and purposes, Blane is cured.”
“Of course, we’re d
elighted,” Heather said. “It’s just that he’s been so sick this month.”
“It’s going to take your body a while to adjust but I bet in a week or so you’ll feel better,” the doctor said. “Looks like it’s just in time. When’s the baby due?”
“Next week,” Blane said.
“There’s no treatment like this for HIV?” Heather asked.
“The Interferon helped reduce his overall viral count,” the doctor said. “So far, there’s no cure for HIV. There isn’t even a lot of money going into that kind of research. A lot of people think it’s impossible.”
Heather shifted her body in such a way as almost to protect Blane from the information.
“We won’t give up hope,” Heather said.
“No, we’d be foolish to give up hope,” the doctor smiled at her protective stance. “I’ve seen too much to believe it’s impossible. There are a couple of interesting trials here at the University. Would you like me to look into it?”
“I have a lot to live for,” Blane said. “I want do everything I can to make that happen.”
“Big changes in your life,” the doctor smiled.
Blane nodded.
“First, you must recover from the Ribavirin,” the doctor said. “You need to get strong and healthy again. That has to happen now. Use your acupuncture. Get back to exercising. Stay on your clean eating diet. No alcohol. No drugs. No junk food. These things make the biggest difference. When you’re strong again, we’ll look at our treatment options.”
“We’ll do it,” Heather said.
Blane stood to shake the doctor’s hand.
“When are you finished with your program?” the doctor asked.
“Six weeks,” Blane said. “As soon as I feel better, I’m planning on seeing more private patients.”
“Do you have an office?”
“We have one in the house,” Heather said. “Why do you ask?”
“I have a lot of patients who could benefit from acupuncture with someone who can understand what it’s like to live with chronic illness,” the doctor said.
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