Silt, Denver Cereal Volume 8

by Claudia Hall Christian

  “People have asked me—‘Why are you doing it, Jake?’ We’re doing this so you can succeed. We’re doing this so the company my parents sacrificed so much for doesn’t fail. In fact, the only people we’re sticking it to ourselves!”

  Jacob felt a wave of anger and his heart raced. He put his hand on his chest against the angina he still felt when he was very angry.

  “Today, I received the current evaluation of Lipson Construction.” Jacob nodded to Tres and he put the chart on the overhead. “I want you to see that the value of Lipson has risen significantly. We do not intend to change your share price. You, and your hard work, make this company successful. You made the value rise. You deserve to purchase the company at the original offer price.”

  “We are aware that a number of you are unhappy with your situation,” Jacob said. “We’ve heard that more than a few of you feel cheated. In response to your feedback, my father and I have decided to launch a buy-back. This is your opportunity to sell back your ownership shares for what they are currently worth. Selling your shares will not affect your employment, but, you will not be able to repurchase your shares at the original price. If you choose to repurchase shares, and we choose to offer them to you, you will pay the current market price.”

  Jacob looked at the men and women in the room.

  “Now is your chance,” Jacob said. “We’ll give you the rest of the hour to have lunch and arrange to sell back your shares. Tonight at six, the Lipson Construction owners will meet back here to make some important decisions. For the next hour, you have the option to rid yourself of what many of you now think is a scam, and to make a profit. If you still own Lipson Construction stock at six this evening, and decide you no longer wish to own it, the only way to unload your stock will be to end your employment with the company. The terms are non-negotiable. Thank you.”

  With that, he left the room. He walked to the parking lot and got into the passenger seat of Jill’s SUV.

  “How did it go?” Jill asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jacob said.

  “Okay,” Jill said. “Lunch?”

  “Lunch with my girl sounds fabulous,” Jacob said. “I need to be back around two to take Charlie to basketball.”

  “We have plenty of time.” Jill smiled.

  “Smile like that and I’ll want to go home.”

  Jill laughed and drove out of the parking lot.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday afternoon—2:05 p.m.

  “I like this area of the park,” Noelle pointed to a quiet grove of the trees. “No one ever comes over here anymore. I mean, the running path is over there and the fields, but no one can see you here.”

  “Is that safe?” Bestat Beher, Teddy’s stepmother, asked. She pulled her Mercedes sedan next to the running path. She was a stunning woman with almond-shaped, rust-colored eyes, long, jet-black hair, and golden skin.

  “I don’t know why not,” Noelle gave her a bright smile. “I mean, if there’s trouble, there are people around, you know. Plus, I thought it would be good to have some privacy.”

  Bestat looked at the girl for a moment before asking, “Why?”

  “I saw you.” Noelle gave Bestat such an innocent smile that the woman scowled.

  “When?”

  “When we were in Brighton and everything was turning for the worse,” Noelle said. “You fought the demon.”

  “And you know this?” Bestat asked. “How?”

  “I see things how they actually are,” Noelle said. “Like your baby. She’s like you even though she has Mr. Zack’s eyes.”

  Bestat sat very still.

  “No one will ever believe me,” Noelle said. “You can stand there and I’ll still be able to paint you as you are.”

  “Have you always had this . . . capacity?” Bestat asked.

  “Dad thinks Nuala, the lady who had me, took drugs when I was inside her,” Noelle said. “Well, we know she did because I was high when I came out, but . . . maybe she was like this too. Maybe she just didn’t understand it. Anyway, I’ve always been like this. Mike, my teacher, he says I have ‘the sight,’ whatever that means.”

  “Do you see anyone else?” Bestat asked.

  “I know that Mrs. Alex is a fairy; I can see her wings. Her husband has a blue fairy that follows him around,” Noelle said. “I don’t think he trusts his fairy very much; I don’t trust her either.”

  “Fairies always have their own agenda,” Bestat said.

  “But not Mrs. Alex,” Noelle said.

  “No, Mrs. Alex is very special,” Bestat said. “What about Teddy or my Zackary?”

  Bestat’s voice seemed to purr when she said her lover’s name.

  “Your Zack is a dragon rider. But my Teddy?” Noelle mimicked Bestat’s words and Bestat smiled. “He has a kind of glow about him. Mike says it’s his shining armor, but I don’t know.”

  Bestat nodded.

  “Sandy?”

  “Sandy?” Noelle nodded. “That’s easy. She has the warm glow of an earth mother or something. Just watch when everyone’s around her. They kind of melt. Tanesha’s wonder woman. Everybody can see her cape. Heather is a connector, like a bridge or a highway. And Jill is the happy elf meddling in everyone’s life.”

  “I think you’re right,” Bestat said.

  “Will you still model for me?” Noelle asked. “No one will ever, ever, ever believe it’s you. They will just think it’s me being my silly self.”

  “Delphie and Jacob will know,” Bestat said.

  “Yeah, but they know everything anyway,” Noelle said.

  “How about this?” Bestat asked. “You will do one of me here. I will commission Michael to do another of my family. At that time, you will agree to paint me as a woman.”

  “I’ll do it,” Noelle said. “I’m just learning though. I’m not like Mike or anything. I’m just a kid.”

  Bestat put her hand on Noelle’s leg.

  “We all start somewhere,” Bestat said.

  “You can just be invisible,” Noelle said. “So no one will see you in the park. But I’ll still see you, right? You can do that, right?”

  Bestat gave her a slight nod.

  “Will you have another baby?” Noelle asked.

  Bestat gave her a sly look and Noelle giggled.

  “Can I ask you something?” Noelle turned to look at her directly.

  Bestat nodded.

  “Do you see the future?” Noelle asked.

  “I see the river of life,” Bestat said. “Why?”

  “Will Teddy and I . . .?” Noelle’s forehead wrinkled and she looked like a very little girl.

  “You don’t need me to answer that question,” Bestat said. “He is your knight.”

  Noelle beamed.

  “Shall we?” Bestat asked.

  Noelle got out of the passenger seat. Looking out across the grove of trees, she saw one of Charlie’s basketball teammates. She sneered. The boy didn’t appear to see her, so she went to the trunk of the car.

  “What is it?” Bestat asked and opened the trunk.

  “One of those boys who’ve been hurting girls,” Noelle said.

  Bestat cast her eyes in the boy’s direction.

  “Let’s not let him spoil our fun,” Bestat said.

  Noelle beamed. She grabbed her portable easel and paint supplies.

  “Over here!” Noelle yelled. She ran into the grove of trees.

  Bestat’s eyes followed the boy until he was gone. She made a mental note and followed Noelle into the grove.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday afternoon—2:25 p.m.

  “We know what we wants to do.” The leader stood in the middle of the circle. “We jus’ can’t today.”

  Their leader had a joint hanging out of his mouth. His eyes were glassy and his pupils large. He paced back and forth in the middle of the circle of boys in the East High School parking lot.

  “Why?” the boy Noelle had seen asked.

  “‘Cuz On-Line’s sister ain’
t here,” Sergeant Aziz’s brother said. “She left before lunch.”

  “I thought you liked that girl,” the boy Noelle had seen said to the captain of the basketball team.

  “Dis is more important,” the captain of the basketball team said. “Somebody’s been talking to the po-lice. Dat somebody’s sister is gonna pay.”

  “So we agree,” the boy in the middle of the circle said. “We get this tomorrow?”

  “He has another sister,” said the boy Noelle had seen. “She’s just over there.”

  He pointed to the park.

  “Who she with?” the boy in the center of the circle asked.

  “I didn’t see nobody,” the boy Noelle had seen said. “I went back to check. She set out her art crap and started painting. No one was with her. She’s in that hidden place in those trees over there.”

  The boy Noelle had seen realized everyone was looking at him. He stood a little taller.

  “I say we hit that,” the boy said. “She’s younger and fresher.”

  “Good thinking,” the leader in the center of the circle said. “You know how much I love how the virgins scream.”

  “We gonna kill this bitch,” another boy said. “Teach On-Line a lesson.”

  “We mess her up, have our fun, then kill her,” the boy in the center of the circle said. “On-Line won’t fuck with us anymore.”

  “Where she at?” one of the boys asked.

  The boy Noelle had seen pointed toward the park. The boy in the middle of the circle gave him a nod of appreciation, lit his joint, and then headed into the park. The boys followed in his drifting smoke. A couple boys passed around joints laced with meth like they always did before these events. The boys were hopping with excitement. Sergeant Aziz’s brother didn’t follow them. He stood staring at his car.

  “You better get your ass over here,” the leader said.

  “Yo Momma’s next,” the boy next to him pushed Sergeant Aziz’s brother.

  The boy nodded and made a move to follow. In his pocket, he texted his brother one word:

  “Help!”

  Hitting send, he said a silent prayer that this would be over today.

  The boys started across Seventeenth Avenue and Sergeant Aziz’s brother ran to catch up.

  Chapter Two Hundred and Forty-Six

  In the park

  Monday afternoon—2:45 p.m.

  Wanda was on her own because Tink was still suspended from school and Sissy was pursuing her dream. She’d crossed the street to the Tattered Cover at lunch so she wouldn’t have to eat alone. While she missed her friends, she’d spent most of her life in the silence of her secret. She was used to being alone. She finished her last class and followed the line of kids out the front door of the school. Standing on the top step, she looked for her mom’s car. As usual, Mom was late.

  Looking out, she noticed a group of boys moving from the parking lot to the park. Just then, a senior boy walked into her. They jostled and his papers went everywhere. She helped him pick them up while they laughed. The boy patted her shoulder and went to the bike racks. When she looked for her mom again, she realized that the pack of boys were the same ones who’d hurt Tink and threatened Sissy.

  A flush of rage shot through Wanda. She took off running toward the boys.

  When Wanda was Wade, she’d competed in boy’s track in elementary school and junior high. Wanda was really fast. She just missed catching the boys at the light on Seventeenth Avenue. With her eyes on the boys, she waited until all the cars had passed and raced across the street.

  Closing the distance, she saw her best friend from elementary school running up ahead. Of course, he was too cool to be her friend now. Even though he didn’t acknowledge her presence most days, she still thought of him as her friend. The last time he’d even looked at her was when she’d given him cream for the burn on his neck left by the belt. He didn’t have to tell her he’d tried to hang himself; she just knew. She’d just set the cream on his desk and gone back to her desk in the front of the class. The next day, his neck looked a lot better.

  Was he one of the boys who’d hurt Tink? Unsure of what to do, she slowed.

  “Whatchu doing, freak?” A boy jumped out from behind some bushes.

  “What are you doing?” Wanda’s voice was indignant.

  The boy circled her like a dog stalking prey.

  “I have to go,” Wanda said.

  “You ain’t going nowhere,” the boy said.

  Before she could move, the boy hit her in the face.

  Wanda screamed and fell to all fours. In her mind, she went through everything Mr. Colin had told her. She was going to fight these jerks. She was strong.

  Mr. Colin hadn’t told her it would hurt so much or that she would be so scared.

  When she looked up, she saw that a circle of boys had closed around her. Before she knew it, they were kicking her. She covered her head.

  “Frankie!” she screamed.

  Up ahead, Sergeant Aziz’s brother skidded to a stop.

  “Frankie!”

  No one called him that anymore. Most people called him by his middle name, Brutus, or Brut for short.

  “Help me!” Wanda screamed.

  Only one person called him Frankie.

  Unable to stop himself, Frankie spun in place and ran back to where five boys were beating up Wanda. His rage and shame flushed through him. He threw himself at the group. He yanked one boy away from Wanda while kicking another in the rear. He was so angry that he didn’t feel it when they hit him back. He punched a boy in the face and kicked another boy hard in the nuts. He vented his rage with each point of contact.

  Frankie didn’t fight fair. He didn’t even try to protect himself.

  He just wanted to save Wanda.

  He fought with all his might. And then, something weird happened.

  “It’s okay, son, I got this,” a man’s voice said.

  He looked up and saw Wanda’s father. The boys who’d attacked Wanda were running in all directions.

  “It’s okay, Frankie.” Wanda’s dad held out his arms and hugged Frankie tight. Frankie felt like crying his eyes out, but the man let go.

  A boy crept toward Wanda

  “Get the fuck away from my daughter,” Wanda’s dad bent down and picked up a clod of dirt. He threw it at the boy. The boy ran away. “Good to see you, son.”

  “We have to go,” Wanda said.

  Wanda’s dad helped her up. Her dress was torn and her face was bruised. She was holding her ribs like they hurt. Her left leg beginning to swell. Frankie took off his hoodie and gave it to her. She put it on over her ripped dress.

  “You okay?” Wanda’s dad asked.

  “We have to help!” Wanda wiped the tears and blood from her face with the back of her hand.

  “They goin’ to get some girl.” Frankie gestured in the direction of where the pack of boys had gone. “On-Line’s sister.”

  “I need to get Wanda to the hospital,” her dad said.

  “No, Dad,” Wanda said. “Listen to me. We have to help!”

  Her dad looked at her. His eyebrows scrunched together like he was thinking about something.

  “You’re mom’s going to kill me,” he said. “This is just provisional and . . .”

  “Dad!” Wanda said. “Some other girl is getting beaten up and raped and whatever else.”

  “They was goin’ to kill the girl,” Frankie said.

  “What happened to your vocabulary, Frankie?” Wanda’s dad asked. “You’re a smart kid. Why are you talking like a thug?”

  “Dad!” Wanda said. “Focus. We have to save the girl. They will kill her. They almost killed Tink.”

  “Your little friend?” Wanda’s dad asked. “The one I met last weekend?”

  Wanda and Frank nodded.

  “What are you doing hanging out with people like that?” Wanda’s dad asked.

  Frankie took off in the direction of the other boys. In order to make his point, Wanda’s dad followed
him.

  “You used to be on the honor roll with Wade!” Wanda’s dad said.

  “Wanda!” Wanda limped along at his side.

  They ran until they reached a quiet grove of trees.

  “Holy crap,” Wanda’s dad said. He gave Wanda his phone. “You call the police.”

  “I’m not going to sit this out,” Wanda said.

  “Girls leave the fighting to the men and boys,” Wanda’s dad said.

  “Not this girl,” Wanda said.

  Frankie smirked and they entered the grove.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday afternoon—2:45 p.m.

  Jacob let the dogs play at the dog park for a while after Charlie had sauntered off to basketball. He liked to see his puppy Sarah play with Buster, the ugly dog. Buster treated Sarah like his personal princess. They romped and played all over the fenced area while Scooter stayed close to Jacob’s side. Jacob leaned down to rub Scooter’s ears. The old guy was slower now, but still liked to be with the other dogs.

  Jacob whistled for Sarah. She ran straight to him and Buster followed. He clipped the leashes onto their collars and checked that Scooter was attached. He started a slow jog down Josephine Street past the East High parking lot and into the outer edge of the park. His plan was to jog along York Street and turn up Twenty-Third Avenue by the zoo. If Scooter seemed too worn out, they would walk the rest of the way.

  Buster pulled toward the east side of the park.

  “Nah, we’re going this way.” Jacob assumed he wanted to follow their usual morning route.

  Buster pulled again to the east, but Jacob kept him on track. He glanced down at Scooter. The old boy trotted at his side with a big smile on his face.

  Jacob smelled it first.

  Rage.

  He stopped short. Buster jerked his leash and took off into a grove of trees.