“Have a seat,” he pulled out a chair.
“What fool thing are you up to now?” she asked.
“Why do you stay here then give me shit?” Jeraine asked.
“I don’t know why I stay here,” Tanesha said. “Would you like me to leave?”
“No,” Jeraine said. “No, I want you here. I bought this place for us.”
“For us?”
“Look,” Jeraine said. “The title is in your name.”
He pointed to his laptop screen. An electronic copy of a document came up.
“Looks like a tax dodge,” Tanesha said.
“Even when I try, you give me shit,” Jeraine said.
“Give you shit?” Tanesha asked. “I didn’t ask for this penthouse. In fact, I didn’t ask for anything from you. I know you want me to thank you, and maybe I will, but Jer, what are you doing? You’ve been up for hours.”
“I was making the list of my promises to God,” Jeraine said.
“The ones you made in prison?”
Jeraine nodded. Tanesha didn’t say anything.
“Don’t you have something snappy to say?” he asked.
“You’re actually talking about something,” Tanesha smiled. “You’re not just talking about your money, your women, your properties. Hell, you’re not even talking about your penis.”
“Unusual, I know,” Jeraine laughed.
Tanesha smiled.
“You have a beautiful smile,” Jeraine said.
“Hmm,” Tanesha said. “Promises to God?”
“Here they are,” Jeraine pushed the laptop over to her. “Mostly I’m going to give everything away. I want to have a relationship with my kids. I’m going to be a doctor and work in a clinic with real folks like my Dad. But…”
“But?”
“Wait, you know I have kids?” Jeraine asked.
“It’s on your Wikipedia page,” Tanesha said. “I can read.”
“Oh. Right.” Jeraine gave her a bright smile.
“What?”
“You looked me up on Wikipedia?”
Tanesha laughed. He smiled.
“Now what were you going to say?” Tanesha said. “It had the feel of something real, sincere.”
“Yeah, that’s unusual too,” Jeraine said.
“Lay it on me,” Tanesha said.
“I can’t do it by myself,” Jeraine said. “I want to be a man and all, but I can’t do it by myself. Will you help me?”
“Sure,” Tanesha said. “But you’ll have to deal with my opinion. You’ll have to listen to me. I’m not going to sit by like some stupid woman nodding at her brilliant husband.”
“Fair enough,” Jeraine said. “What do you think so far?”
“I don’t think you should give it all away,” Tanesha said.
“Why?”
“Because I want to have a free clinic to help poor folks,” Tanesha said. “I’m going to be an OB/GYN. We could create a great clinic with all this money. If you and your friends had a yearly concert? Then sell the recordings? We could really help people right where they need it. You could even be a pediatrician.”
“I was thinking of being an OB too,” Jeraine raised and lowered his eyebrows suggestively. “I have plenty of hands on experience.”
“Now you’re being gross,” Tanesha said. “What kind of doctor do you want to be?”
“I hadn’t thought on it,” Jeraine said. “But I like kids. We could ask my Dad. I bet he could do general service until he retires.”
“He told me he wants to work another fifteen or twenty years,” Tanesha said. “We could really do something good with all of this money.”
“I like that,” Jeraine smiled at her.
“I’m glad you like it,” Tanesha said. “But Jer…”
She put her hand over his.
“We have to put the money in a trust or something,” Tanesha said. “Otherwise…”
He read the concern in her eyes.
“I don’t need that, Tanesha,” Jeraine said. “I am really and truly done with that life.”
“I know you say that now,” Tanesha said. “But what about a year from now when you’re back recording and…”
“Seth has all his money,” Jeraine said. “He’s been sober for a long time.”
Tanesha smiled.
“What?”
“Sandy controls all of Seth’s money,” Tanesha said. “He gets a monthly stipend and his police salary. He has to account for every penny he spends. If he wants to spend big money, she has to sign off on it. It’s part of his sobriety plan.”
“Oh, well, okay. I’ll do what Seth does,” Jeraine said. “I’ll make some calls on Monday. Anything else?”
“I’m not living here,” Tanesha said. “You want to buy me a place, let’s look together for a small, easy to clean house, preferably by my Gran so I can keep an eye on her.”
“Okay,” Jeraine said. “Anything else?”
“You’re going to have to talk to a lawyer about your kids,” Tanesha said.
“I’ll call on Monday,” Jeraine said. “Anything else?”
“Sell all the houses,” Tanesha said. “Set aside money for school and living expenses. And if you give all the money away, what are you going to do about child support?”
Jeraine smiled at her.
“What?” Tanesha asked.
“I love you,” Jeraine said.
“What?”
“That’s all,” Jeraine said. “I’ve been sitting here for hours trying to figure this out. You take one look and know exactly the right thing to do. I love you. I need you in my life. Will you help me?”
Tanesha nodded. He smiled.
“I’m going to have to talk to Sandy about it though,” Tanesha said. “She set up Seth’s stuff. She’ll know how to do it. Seth uses a guy called Schmidty as his agent. I think Schmidty helped too.”
“I know Schmidty,” Jeraine said. “Senior or Junior?”
“Junior,” Tanesha said. “He’s dating Seth’s daughter.”
“Huh,” Jeraine said.
“Huh?”
“Who knew Seth had a daughter?”
Tanesha laughed.
“I’d like to see them, your friends,” Jeraine said. “Except for Jill, it’s been a while and…”
“And?”
“I love you,” Jeraine smiled at her.
Shaking her head at him, Tanesha laughed.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday morning—6:41 A.M. MDT
“MOMMY!” Katy screamed.
Jill catapulted out of bed and ran across the bedroom. Before she was awake, she had a sobbing Katy in her arms. She held Katy’s warm body against her. The more she rocked Katy, the more the little girl wept. Jacob came into the doorway.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Jill said. “She’s burning up. Maybe she’s sick.”
“Not sick. Not sick. Not sick. Not sick. Not sick. Not sick. Not sick.” Katy chanted and cried.
Jill held her.
“Are you hurting?” Jacob asked.
Jacob kneeled down to them. He put his hand on her back to see if he could feel what was going on. Katy shook her head and he was showered with tears and sweat.
“Let’s get her in the bath,” Jill said. “I think she’s having a growing spurt. It hurts like hell.”
Jacob plucked the weeping Katy from Jill’s arms and they rushed into their bathroom. While Jacob held Katy, Jill filled the tub with lukewarm water and added Katy’s favorite bubblegum bubble bath. Jill took off Katy’s damp nightgown and panties and plopped her in tub. Katy shivered for a moment before sliding down in the water. Jill undressed and got in the tub with her daughter. Using Jill’s expanding belly as a pillow, Katy lay against her.
“What is it?” Jacob asked when Katy was calmer.
“’member when I was barfy?” Katy said without moving.
“I do,” Jill said.
“I do,” Jacob said.
“M
ommy and me had cuddle time before she went to school,” Katy said. “She cuddled me and Paddie for a long time because we were barfy. We weren’t barfy after that.”
Jacob looked at Jill. They had agreed that Katy would get over her own illnesses. He raised an eyebrow at Jill. She scrunched her face to acknowledge that she helped her daughter’s healing along. Shaking his head, he looked away. When he looked back, he was smiling. Jill shrugged to say she was sorry. He nodded.
“Why are you telling us about being barfy?” Jill asked.
“Because that’s what those men want!” Katy screamed and became hysterical. Jill rocked her daughter until her tears subsided.
“What do the men want?” Jacob asked.
“They want my cuddle,” Katy said. “Mommy gives me cuddle every morning. And I was barfy and I had some cuddle and I took that test and now those men want Mommy’s cuddle!”
“What men?” Jill asked.
“Katy, honey, we can’t help if we don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jacob said.
“The men we saw yesterday,” Katy made a frustrated gesture and the bubbles went flying around the bathroom. “I fell asleep! And… They want to hack up Mommy.”
“Honey…” Jill started. Jacob raised a hand and Jill stopped talking.
“Why do the men want to hack up Mommy?” Jacob asked.
“I told you!”
“I’m sorry sweetie,” Jacob said. “I missed it. What did you tell me?”
“Mommy gave me cuddles,” Katy said.
“Right,” Jacob said.
“And I took the test,” Katy said.
“Okay,” Jill said.
“And the men want my cuddles,” Katy said.
Jacob and Jill looked at her for a minute.
“The cuddles I got from Mommy.”
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and SEVENTY-THREE
Past
Sunday morning—6:41 A.M. MDT
“Who’s that?” Sissy asked.
Standing on the sidewalk of Pete’s Kitchen, Charlie flipped around to look at her. Behind his back, a young woman slunk away.
“What did she give you?” Sissy asked.
“What’s it to you?” Charlie sneered at her and tried to press by. Nash stood in front of him.
“Knock it off,” Nash said. “She asked you a simple question, brother.”
Charlie scowled at Nash and tried to get around him. The boys stood face to face. Even though Nash was younger, smaller, and slighter, Charlie couldn’t get by.
“Can’t you just leave me alone? For once?” Charlie’s exasperated voice rose.
“No,” Sissy said. “You’re our brother. We care if you’re using.”
“Empty your pockets,” Nash said.
“What?” Charlie asked. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’m the person who’s going to turn around and tell Dad that I saw you using.” Nash flicked his head toward the restaurant where Aden was paying the bill. With Rachel in a sling on her shoulder, Sandy stood next to Noelle and Teddy. She looked up to smile at Charlie. “You know what’s going to happen if Aden thinks you’re using? Run that tape.”
Charlie rolled his eyes at Nash’s use of AA language, but his mind ran the tape. Aden would grab him by the scruff of his neck. They’d spend the morning at Denver Health. Even if he was clean, he’d have to go back to rehab. They’d have the ‘you can’t stay with us anymore’ talk. Sandy would cry her eyes out and… Charlie closed his eyes and emptied his pockets into Nash’s hands.
“She gave you a piece of paper?” Sissy asked.
“She gave me her phone number. Her parents kicked her out,” Charlie said. “She’s been on the streets a week. She got beat up last night. And yeah, she’s high. You would be too if you’d had to...”
Sissy ran to catch up with the girl. While Charlie and Nash stared, Sissy hugged the girl then gave her all the money she had in her wallet. The two girls talked for a minute before Sissy ran back.
“What was that?” Charlie asked.
“I wanted to see if she was okay,” Sissy said.
“Why’d you give her money?” Charlie asked. “She’s just going to use it for drugs.”
“Because I know what it’s like to love someone and have them on the streets,” Sissy stood right in front of Charlie’s face. “I know what it’s like to cry every night because you don’t know if you’ll see your brother again. I asked. She has a big brother and a little sister. I know that right this moment, they’re praying she’s all right; hoping they might see her one more time; begging God that she’ll live through the terrifying night; but they know in their heart that some day the police will show up to tell them their sister’s dead.”
She turned to go to the car but Charlie grabbed her. He turned her around and held her close.
“I’m sorry,” Charlie said.
Sissy began to cry. He put his hand on her head to hold her closer.
“Isn’t that Tink?” Sandy asked. “Nash, go get her.”
Incredulous, Nash looked at Sandy.
“We can at least give her a meal and a shower,” Sandy said. “Go.”
Nash ran to the girl.
“What’s going on?” Sandy asked Charlie and Sissy.
“I was apologizing to Sissy,” Charlie said. “I haven’t been the best brother.”
Sandy hugged him.
“What’s going on?” Aden asked.
“Remember I told you about Tink? Charlie’s friend?” Sandy asked. “She’s right there.”
Raising an eyebrow, Aden looked at Charlie. Charlie gave a slight shrug. His eyes went to Nash standing with Tink and trying to convince the girl to come with him. His eyes took in Sissy’s tear stained face. Teddy and Noelle joined them on the sidewalk. Without saying a word, Aden’s razor beam eyes bore a hole into Charlie. Aden nodded toward Tink. Charlie left to go talk to her.
“She’s high,” Aden said.
“She is,” Sandy said.
“We can’t take her in,” Aden said.
“I know,” Sandy said.
“But we can help,” Sissy said as tears fell from her eyes. “Please. Charlie’s only alive because strangers helped him. Please.”
Aden held out his arms to Sissy and she hugged him.
“We’ll do what we can,” Aden said.
Sissy began to sob. The simple idea that Aden and Sandy would help Sissy with her greatest pain was almost more than she could comprehend. The more Aden held her, the more she cried. Sandy put her hand on Sissy’s back in support.
“Dad!” Nash yelled. “Help! Dad!”
Aden’s head jerked over. Tink was having a seizure.
“Sissy,” Aden nudged her back.
He pointed toward Tink and they ran to her side. He kneeled down next to the young girl. The seizure stopped and Aden put his hand to the girl’s throat.
“She doesn’t have pulse,” Aden said. “Charlie, CPR. Do it now! Nash, give her breath. Teddy, you count. Sandy?”
Aden turned to look for her. She was already on her phone.
“Good,” Aden said. “Noelle, give me your sweater. Sissy, hold her legs.”
Within minutes, the paramedics arrived and Tink was whisked off to Denver Health. The family stood on the sidewalk where she had been. Stunned, they walked to the car and got in.
“Can we go to church to pray for Tink?” Sissy asked when she got in.
“I’m not baptized,” Noelle said.
“No one cares,” Teddy said.
“Let’s go,” Aden said.
Nodding, Sandy smiled at him and they drove down Colfax to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday morning—9:41 A.M. MDT
Tanesha stopped to talk to Sandy and Rachel on her way out of the Cathedral after mass. Sandy had called Tanesha, Heather, and Jill. They met at the eight-thirty mass to pray for the girl Tink.
Jeraine had insisted on coming along. She looked over the pews to smile at him
. He was surrounded by young people wanting to talk to him. Feeling her eyes, he looked up and winked at her. She smiled at him.
“You wouldn’t happen to be Tanesha, would you?”
Tanesha and Sandy looked up to see a handsome, well dressed young man standing near them. Sandy turned to look at Tanesha.
“If you had a second, I’d love to chat with you?” The man smiled a white toothy smile.
“Sure,” Tanesha said.
Shrugging to Sandy, Tanesha followed the man outside. They went down the steps to the sidewalk. Tanesha looked up to see Sandy, Jill and Heather watching her.
“Sorry, I just have a second,” Tanesha said. “What can I help you with?”
“You can leave Jeraine alone,” the man leaned close to her. “I know you think you’re in love, but that man is incapable of giving you what you want. The sooner you see that, the sooner he can get on with his life.”
“What’s it to you?” Tanesha asked. “You come here to my place of worship and tell me what’s going to happen in my life? No. I don’t think so.”
“Jeraine’s life and career are my business,” As if he was trying to intimidate her, the man leaned over her. “You are not going to get in the way.”
“Get in the way of what?” Tanesha crossed her arms and looked him up and down. “Your love? Because I can tell you, the man is famous, but he is not gay.”
“I’m his agent,” the man said. “I created every aspect of his life and career. Everything was set up for him. All he had to do was finish his time and his career would pop.”
“His time?”
“For that girl,” the man said.
“The girl who killed herself?” Tanesha asked. “You’re talking crazy. Why would Jer go to prison because some girl killed herself? How could that make his life and career pop? Unless you mean like popcorn?”
Hearing Tanesha’s raised voice, Sandy, Jill and Heather made their way to her side. The man looked away from her.
“You set him up,” Tanesha’s voice shook with rage. “That’s what you’re telling me.”
“All he had to do was do his time,” the man said. “But no. Little Miss Intrusive gets in the way and now it’s: ‘He loves Tanesha. He’s going to quit his career for Tanesha. He’s going to become a doctor like Tanesha.’ You must feel pretty special, Tanesha.”
Fairplay, Denver Cereal Volume 6 Page 19