The Denver Cereal

by Claudia Hall Christian

  “What are you doing?” Mike grabbed box after box of cereal.

  “I’m cleaning the junk out of this kitchen. You must be Mike.”

  Mike set the cereal on the table to grab more boxes from the trashcan.

  “STOP.” Mike yelled.

  The woman looked up at him with a bright smile.

  “Like your cereal, do you? Well, it’s not very good for you.”

  The woman grabbed a box of cereal that Mike was holding. They tugged the box back and forth between them.

  “Who are you?” Mike asked.

  “Oh, I’m Valerie Waters,” she said. “Val calls me ‘Waters.’ I’m her trainer.”

  “And you know who I am?” Mike asked.

  “You’re Lipson’s husband,” Waters said.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I figured it out. I mean, come on. Lipson comes home from her ‘Colorado retreats’ all dreamy and happy. No amount of yoga does what a good man can do for your stress levels. Plus, she told me about you a long time ago.”

  “What’s all this ‘Who is Valerie’s husband?’ crap, then?” Mike asked.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t know there was any,” Waters said. She moved toward the stack of cereal boxes on the table, but Mike blocked her way. She put her hands on her hips and said, “This is not even food. Why are you protecting it?”

  “Jacob eats cereal. He likes it. I like it too. We eat it together,” Mike said.

  “Oh. I’m so sorry. I’ve never met Jake, but I know what a great guy he is.” The little woman stood on her toes to give Mike a quick hug. “Should I put it back?”

  “We don’t eat too much. We eat other healthy stuff too. We just like cereal.”

  “Does Lipson eat it?” Waters said.

  “I don’t,” Valerie said. “I eat only wholesome food prescribed by my awesome trainer. Hi!”

  The women hugged.

  “Mike, you know Valerie Waters. She’s the one who is responsible for . . .”

  Valerie turned around and pointed to her high, firm rear end. Mike raised his eyebrows in appreciation. Valerie Waters laughed.

  “Waters is here to help me get ready for Friday,” Valerie said.

  “You’re thin,” Waters said. “We have work to do.”

  “Wait. If everyone knows about me,” Mike said. He looked at Valerie and she smiled. “Why is Wes so upset?”

  “UGH! Wesford. He’s totally another story,” Waters said. “He’s always known that Lipson was married.”

  “I told you that,” Valerie said.

  “Then why . . .”

  “Drama. Hollywood. I don’t know,” Waters said. “I like him, Lipson. I like him a lot.”

  “Oh, good. I’m planning on keeping him,” Valerie said.

  “Now, where’s the gym?” Waters asked.

  “Basement,” Mike and Valerie said in unison.

  “Bye-bye, hot husband,” Waters waved her hand. “We have work to do.”

  “Bye,” Mike said to the women’s backs as they retreated to the basement. “I have an appointment . . .”

  Knowing they didn’t hear him, he shrugged, picked up a set of keys, and left for the garage.

  ~~~~~~~~

  “Oh,” Jill said. She was sitting in the passenger seat of Big Sam’s work truck.

  “Oh?” Sam asked.

  “Well, I just realized why people say Jacob is gay.”

  “Because of Blane.”

  “They look a lot alike. Is Blane your son?”

  “No,” Sam said. “We think he’s either my brother’s son or my dad’s son. My brother died of AIDS in the late 1980s. Even as an old guy, my father was fairly promiscuous. He died right after my brother. Blane was dropped at a hospital when he was about three months old. They never found his parents, so he spent most of his life in foster care.”

  “Did you do DNA?”

  “Yes,” Sam said. “Celia insisted on it when she found him. She wanted him to know that we were his family.”

  “He’s younger than Jacob,” Jill said.

  “By a few years,” Sam said.

  “Why does he look so old?” Jill asked.

  “He has AIDS,” Sam said.

  “Oh, that’s why . . .”

  “Exactly.”

  ~~~~~~~~

  “What do you mean, I have to undress?” Mike asked.

  “How can I wax you with your clothing on?” Jessie Dillard asked. A small woman with long, golden hair and a bright smile, she said, “Alex? Are you staying here?”

  “Yeah, I’ll stay,” Alex Hargreaves said. “I’ve seen him buck naked before.”

  “But . . . you see . . . I . . .” Mike sputtered.

  “I’ll let you two work this out,” Jessie said. Standing with the door half open, she said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Alex and Mike watched her pull the door closed.

  “I don’t know about this,” Mike said. His eyes flicked toward the door.

  “You want to fit into Val’s Hollywood world, don’t you?” Alex asked. “How many men said you should get waxed?”

  “Everyone I asked.”

  “Did they say it would kill you?”

  “No,” Mike said. “But it might.”

  Alex plopped down in the armchair in the corner.

  “Strip.”

  She pulled out the handgun she always wore at her sacrum and pointed it at him.

  “Strip.”

  “You won’t shoot me.”

  “Wanna bet?” Alex asked.

  Mike sneered at her and took off his clothing. Alex pointed to the sheeted table and he lay down. She threw a towel at him to cover his genitals. There was a tap at the door.

  “Shooting people?” Jessie asked.

  “Oh, sorry,” Alex holstered her handgun.

  ”What are we doing?” Jessie asked. She looked over Mike’s body. “Can you sit up?”

  Mike sat up.

  “What do you think?” Alex asked.

  “The unibrow has to go. You’re seeing Michael Moore?”

  “Next week.”

  “I’ll clean up the eyebrows but leave something for Mr. Moore to do. We should take off all the hair from his shoulders, back and butt,” Jessie said. She lifted the towel. “I think we can leave his chest hair. Arm hair, too. There’s not too much of it. It’s just long. You’ll trim it?”

  “Sure,” Alex said.

  “Why do I have to do this?” Mike asked.

  “You don’t,” Jessie said. “You’ll look better on television and in photos. The hair presses your clothing off your skin.”

  “Oh,” Mike said. He lay back on the table.

  “We’ll get rid of this hair too.” Jessie touched his pubic hair.

  “What?” Mike sat up again. “Why?”

  “You’ll see,” Alex said. “Go ahead, Jessie. Do what you think is best.”

  Mike sat up and rotated his legs to the edge of the table.

  “You know Val has never complained. It’s not like we’ve EVER had any . . .”

  Alex pointed her gun at Mike again. He dropped back to the table.

  “I’m just saying,” Mike added in his defense.

  Jessie laughed.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Jill pulled the Lexus SUV up to Megan’s house. Before she could fully stop the car, Katy flew out of the front door. She hopped up and down until Jill got out of the SUV.

  “MOMMY!!”

  And Jill knew she was right where she belonged.

  ~~~~~~~~

  “Hi,” Valerie said. She ruffled Mike’s hair. “I wondered what happened to you.”

  After Jessie, Mike received his first professional haircut from George at Luxe Salon. George clipped, trimmed, and shaved until Mike’s hair hung in curls just below his chin. Alex then took him back to her house, where he stood on the deck and had his remaining body hair trimmed. Alex dropped him at the workshop to shower.

  “No, I mean it,” Valerie threaded
her hands around his neck. Her finger slipped under his shirt. She sighed into him. “What happened to you?”

  “I asked some friends for help,” Mike said.

  Valerie pulled off his shirt. Her fingers played with his trimmed chest hair. He had to grab her hands to stop her from taking his pants off in the middle of the main Castle kitchen.

  “We’re supposed to meet with some designer.”

  “Ramon already picked out three dresses for me. I don’t need another dress.”

  “It’s for me,” Mike said. Breaking off from a kiss, he said, “Mostly. They want . . .”

  Valerie kissed him. He stepped back.

  “Oh,” Valerie said. “Ramon already picked out something for you too. Who’s the designer?”

  “Um . . . Sorry, Alex told me, but I forgot. She wants to ask you if you’d like to be a spokesmodel for some clothing thing they have coming out. She hoped to talk to you while they were in town. They live in Paris.”

  Valerie shrugged and then kissed Mike.

  “You’ll talk to her,” Mike said.

  “I like meeting new people,” Valerie said. “When are we meeting them?”

  “Tomorrow morning, early.”

  Valerie dropped his pants.

  “Oh Mike . . .”

  She dragged him into the sitting room.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Saturday night — 9 p.m.

  Sandy leaned her head against the rolled towel Aden slipped behind her head. In the warm safety of the hot tub, he rubbed her feet one at a time. If she weren’t so full, she would be completely limp.

  Over the course of the day, her resistance to dating Aden had waned. Of course, a dozen white roses waiting on her doorstep, a large bouquet of spring flowers waiting for her at her station, AND her favorite lunch delivered from Pasquini’s — Caesar salad with chicken and no dressing — helped. He picked her up from work in a Saab sedan, which led to the “Is this your car?” conversation that made him laugh. And after all of that, he made her favorite dinner — cheeseburgers with homemade French fries.

  Turns out, Aden had paid attention all those years at the gym.

  But for Sandy, the flowers and food wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t been so attentive. He listened to her stories about clients and laughed at her jokes. He charmed her by talking about his worries about taking over Lipson Construction.

  And he’d wanted to go out with her almost as long as she had wanted to go out with him. All those years that she thought he wasn’t interested, he was just going to school and raising his kids. In fact, he thought she wasn’t interested.

  Just the thought made her smile.

  Outside of a little kissing, he hadn’t mauled her or expected some payback for his attention. At least he didn’t act like he wanted payback. He had been a complete gentleman. He even insisted they wear T-shirts and shorts in the hot tub.

  When he brought up birth control, they had the most mature conversation Sandy had ever had about birth control. Condoms? He had “no problem” wearing them. Even after he learned she was on the Depo shot! It was up to her.

  Only Jill would be crazy enough to think about love. Love was something that happened to people whose hearts weren’t permanently broken. Love didn’t happen to people like Sandy.

  Still.

  Watching the summer stars, Sandy felt a definite . . . like for Aden. She nodded at the stars. She definitely liked Aden. When he sat next to her, she rested her head on his shoulder.

  “I spend every Saturday night right here,” he said. “The kids go to a sports camp on Saturdays so they’re in bed early. I sit right here. Just me and the stars.”

  “What a great way to end the day,” Sandy said.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he said.

  “Me too,” Sandy said. “Do you know the names of the stars?”

  “Names? Yes, Sandy, we’re on first name basis. See that star?”

  He pointed to the star right above his head.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “That’s Frank. He thinks you’re the most beautiful creature he’s ever laid eyes on.”

  “Frank’s a little forward.”

  “He’s trying to get in your pants,” Aden said.

  Sandy giggled.

  “You can never trust a star. Take Fred here.”

  “Which one’s Fred?” Sandy asked.

  “Right over there. He’s a shy guy. Much more discreet than Frank. Still, his girl . . .”

  “Francine?”

  “How did you know?!” Aden said. “Francine says Fred’s a bit of a swinger. Likes the boys and the girls. Lots of boys and lots of girls. Even Frank says . . .”

  “Excuse me.”

  Two Denver Police officers came in the gate to Aden’s backyard. Aden popped to his feet.

  “Are you Aden Norsen?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The familiar dance

  “Yes.”

  “Would you mind stepping out of the hot tub, sir?”

  Sandy stood when Aden hopped out of the hot tub. She watched the police say something to Aden. His mouth dropped open and his face blanched white. He shook his head back and forth.

  Before they could tell her not to, Sandy got out of the hot tub to call Jill. Jill’s cell phone rang once . . . and ADEN WAS IN HANDCUFFS!!

  Rang twice . . . and Jill pushed opened the glass sliding door from the house. In two steps, Jill encircled her best friend in a hug.

  “You can hang up,” Jill said.

  Terrified and humiliated, Sandy clung to Jill.

  “I don’t know what happened. He was just telling me funny stories . . . How did you get here so fast?”

  “I live with a psychic who has Aden’s house key,” Jill said. “Let’s go inside.”

  Dripping wet, Sandy shivered. Jill led her to the nearest bathroom. Jill wrapped her in a warm towel.

  “Stay here,” Jill said. She took another towel and left.

  Sandy stood in the bathroom shivering from the shock. Just like every other experience in Sandy’s life, her moment of blissful happiness was shattered by something awful.

  She wanted to cry.

  She wanted to scream.

  Instead, she felt the familiar sinking numbness. The image of Aden in handcuffs bounced around her brain. Once again, life confirmed that she did not deserve to be happy.

  “They want to search the house,” Jill said. “Did you guys drink tonight?”

  “No, he can’t drink. He’s an alcoholic.”

  “Great,” Jill said. “Why don’t we make some hot chocolate? Aden’s in the backyard. I gave him a towel but I bet he’s cold.”

  “He’s not arrested?”

  “Not yet,” Jill said. “They’re checking the house for drugs.”

  “Drugs?”

  “They want us to stay in one area of the house. I told them we’d be in the kitchen.”

  Jill helped Sandy dress. Taking Sandy’s arm, she led her into the kitchen.

  “Now what do I do?” Jill asked.

  Sandy shook her head at Jill, and Jill stepped aside.

  The kitchen was a place of comfort for Sandy. Ever since they were kids, Sandy had made hot chocolate for Jill when they were upset. While the police worked their way through the house with dogs, Sandy’s mind turned to the step-by-step process of cooking. Her anxiety unwound and her confidence returned in the normalcy of making hot chocolate for Jill. She even whipped up a pan of brownies. The police were still working when Jill and Sandy went to the backyard with mugs of hot chocolate and a plate of fresh brownies.

  Jill opened the sliding door to the back yard for Sandy to go through. Aden’s back was to the door while he talked to Sam. Feeling their movement, Aden turned. He was so delighted to see Sandy that he rushed to her. Sandy blushed at his unrestrained delight. Jill took the brownies from Sandy. Aden lifted her off the ground in a hug.

  “Hi, I’m Sam Lipson,” Sam said to Sandy after Aden released her. �
�I love brownies. Do you mind? Delphie made some today. They disappeared with Katy before I could have even one.”

  Sandy nodded her head. Sam took a brownie off the plate.

  “What happened?” Sandy asked.

  “They raided Nuala’s house,” Aden said. “I guess there was some drug something . . . making drugs . . . something . . . I don’t know. They found Noelle and Nash locked in a closet. Nuala said I was her drug supplier. Well, they ran my record and . . . I’m so sorry this happened to you. I . . . I’m sorry.”

  “They were just going to arrest you?”

  “That’s what happens,” Aden said. “I have a record of drug dealing and violent behavior. They restrain first, ask questions later. Luckily, Big Sam came by.”

  “Aden left his phone at a site. I picked it up on my way to the rehearsal dinner,” Sam Lipson said. “I thought I would drop it by on my way home.”

  Sandy would have believed Mr. Lipson’s story if Jill hadn’t laughed when he said it.

  “Is that what you told them?” Jill asked.

  “Uh-huh, you were supposed to meet me here,” Sam said.

  Jill shook her head at him and he smiled.

  “You wanted a full update from the rehearsal dinner.”

  “Trevor’s rehearsal dinner?”

  “You were at the engagement party.” Sam nodded and Jill laughed.

  “How did Mr. Lipson help?” Sandy asked Aden.

  “Please call me Sam.”

  “They do drug testing at Lipson,” Aden said. “My last arrest was twelve years ago . . . the year I started working at Lipson. When Jake took over, he insisted on hair-follicle-testing every employee. We have a zero-drug-tolerance policy. Everyone knows that about Lipson. Big Sam offered to provide all those records.”

  “We’ll probably have to, but . . .” Sam’s voice trailed off when a policewoman came through the sliding glass door.

  A little boy pressed passed the policewoman followed by a little girl. They threw themselves at Aden. Aden held them both in a tight embrace.

  Watching Aden with his kids, Sandy felt a strange pang in her heart. The children were crying and talking at the same time. These people, the two children and their father, seemed like three pieces of one whole. They just fit together.

  The police stopped to speak to Aden and Big Sam before leaving. They didn’t find drugs. Yes, Aden would be available for questioning. No, he wasn’t going anywhere. His children hung on him the entire time. When the police cleared out, Aden took Noelle and Nash to their rooms.

  Jill and Sandy set to work. The Park Hill bungalow had been turned upside down by the Denver Police. Together, the women righted the furniture, straightened what was amiss, and swept up what was broken. By the time Sam came for Jill, the house was in order.