Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (28 page)

Walking in toe shoes, she stepped across the
floor. She was about to start when she heard a cheer.

“
GO SISSY!” Noelle
yelled.

She heard Charlie’s distinctive whistle and
Nash’s cheer. Peering beyond the lights, she saw Teddy and his
father jogging down the steps to sit with Aden and the rest of her
new family.

“
If the audience will
settle down, we can begin,” the head judge said. “Do we have
music?”

Sissy looked over to see her Dad’s
best-friend, and Sandy’s Godfather, Seth sitting down at the piano.
The other girls had danced to a tape but Seth had wanted to play.
He nodded to Sissy and put his hands on the keys.

“
Mr. O’Malley? You’re
comfortable with this music?” the head judge sniffed at
Seth.

“
I’ve been playing this
piece since… well, you weren’t alive then,” Seth said. “Will that
do?”

“
We’ll see,” the head
judge said.

“
Come on, Sissy,” Seth
said. “Let’s knock ‘em dead.”

Sissy struck her best pose and Seth began to
play.

Sissy waited just a moment, letting the
music swell, then took off. She twilled, bent in a deep grand-plié
and leapt into the air. She scissored her legs back and forth in a
sissonne. Mid-way through Ivan joined her on stage. They partnered
each other’s movements. He lifted, twirled her, and retreated back
stage. As the music began to slow, Sissy moved into her last pose.
With one last pirouette, she ended in an arabesque on pointe with
the other leg pointed at the ceiling.

The audience erupted with cheers.
Embarrassed but wanting to impress the judges, Sissy did her best
curtsy. Charlie ran up the stage steps with a bouquet of a dozen
roses. He picked her up in a hug and twirled her around. Sandy was
right there with Sissy’s warm robe. Sandy hugged her tight. Ivan
ran out to give her a hug.

“
You nailed it,” Ivan
whispered in her ear.

“
We can see who the
audience favors,” the head judge said.

The judge looked at the man to her side. He
nodded at her and pointed to his sheet.

“
I’m wondering,” the woman
to the head judges left said. “Would Mr. O’Malley mind playing for
me when I audition next?”

Everyone laughed.

“
Would be my pleasure,”
Seth said.

“
I have one question,” the
male judge said. “You haven’t practiced in how long?”

“
A year and a half,” Sissy
said.

“
That explains the rust,”
the male judge said.

“
Rust is easily eliminated
with practice,” Ivan said. “Her family has arranged for me to work
privately with Sissy.”

“
That may be necessary,”
the male judge said. “Thank you.”

“
We will notify the
entrants by the end of the week,” the head judge repeated what
she’d said to every dancer. “The troupe begins Saturday morning and
will continue all summer. You have a copy of the schedule. Clear
your schedules now so you can participate if selected. Thank
you.”

Charlie put his arm around Sissy and they
walked off the stage. Noelle waited for Sissy at the bottom of the
stairs. Noelle’s shining face said everything Sissy wanted to know.
Sissy hugged Noelle tight.

“
I think we should
celebrate,” Aden said. “What would you like, Sissy?”

“
Can we go to Little
India’s?” Sissy asked.

Nash groaned.

“
You haven’t even been
there,” Noelle said.

“
I don’t like Indian
food,” Nash said.

“
You’ve never tried it,”
Noelle insisted.

“
Let’s go to Little
India’s. It’s good stuff,” Sandy ruffled Nash’s hair. Leaning in,
she whispered, “They have hamburgers if you really can’t stand it.
Are you guys coming?”

“
Wouldn’t miss it,”
Teddy’s Dad, Zack Jakkman said. “Great job Sissy.”

“
Thank you, sir,” Sissy
blushed at the handsome pilot’s attention.

“
Sissy needs to change her
clothes,” Sandy said. “Why don’t you guys go ahead? We’ll catch a
ride with Seth.”

Sandy nodded her head to Seth. Seth was
talking to the woman judge while she flirted with him. They watched
the woman press her phone number into his hand. He gave her a nod
and walked down the stage steps.

“
What?” Seth
asked.

Laughing at Seth, their jovial, excited mood
continued the rest of the evening.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday night — 10:47 P.M.

“
What are you doing up so
late?” Captain Andrew “Trece” Ramirez asked Teddy.

Teddy was sitting on the basement couch
staring at the wall. He looked up at his legal guardian when he
spoke.

“
Don’t you have work
tomorrow?” Andy asked.

Teddy nodded.

“
Are you sick?” Andy
asked. “Should I get your Dad?”

Teddy shook his head. Puzzled by Teddy’s
behavior, Andy scowled.

“
You know my kids?” Andy
asked. “I can’t get them to shut up. You? I don’t have any idea how
to get you to talk.”

“
Sorry,” Teddy said. “I
don’t talk when I’m confused.”

“
About what?” Andy asked.
He sat down in an armchair next to the couch. “Tell Uncle Andy.
You’ll feel better.”

“
I don’t think you’ll
understand.”

“
I might,” Andy said. “Try
me.”

“
I like a girl. I mean I
really like her, maybe love her,” Teddy said. “Everybody talks
about having sex and stuff, but I...”

Teddy shrugged.

“
You’re kind of young for
sex,” Andy said.

“
Charlie had sex by the
time he was my age. Dad had lots of sex by the time he was my age,”
Teddy said. “You should see Seth? You know the police detective?
He’s an old guy and the women kind of throw themselves at him. I
know he’s rich and stuff but he has a cute girlfriend.”

Teddy stopped talking. He went back to
staring at the wall.

“
And?” Andy
asked.

“
I should want to have sex
with Noelle, but I don’t,” Teddy said. “What’s wrong with
me?”

“
Why don’t you want to
have sex with Noelle?” Andy asked.

“
I don’t know,” Teddy
said. “It doesn’t seem right. She’s so sweet. I think of my mom and
little sister and…”

“
Have you kissed her?”
Andy asked.

“
Twice,” Teddy
said.

“
Tongue?”

Blushing bright red, Teddy shook his
head.

“
How were the kisses?”
Andy asked.

“
Really nice,” Teddy
said.

“
Have you touched her
breasts or…?” Andy asked.

“
No!” Teddy said. “I
really like her. I feel great when she’s around. I like to hug her
or sit close and the kissing was nice but anything more and
I…”

Teddy stopped talking again.

“
I guess I’m not much of a
man,” Teddy said.

Andy laughed.

“
Why is that funny?” Teddy
asked.

“
Because you’re twelve!”
Andy said. “You’re still a child. You’ve got your entire life to be
a man. What’s the rush?”

“
I might lose Noelle to
some sexy guy,” Teddy said.

“
Unlikely,” Andy smiled.
“I’ve met Noelle. She’s very pretty. She looks very grown up but
she isn’t. She’s just a little kid.”

Teddy nodded.

“
You know what I think?”
Andy asked.

“
That I’m a total
loser?”

“
Well, that’s true,” Andy
said.

“
You think I’m a total
loser!?!”

“
Anyone who jacks a DOD
satellite is a total loser,” Andy said. “Period.”

“
Oh,” Teddy said. He
returned to staring at the wall. After a few minutes, he turned to
Andy. “What about this other stuff?”

“
I don’t think you’re a
loser because you haven’t jumped Noelle,” Andy said. “I think
you’re not ready.”

“
What’s that mean?” Teddy
asked.

“
It means that you’ve met
a great girl who you care about,” Andy said. “You want to be
careful and do it right. When you’re ready, you’ll know it. Noelle
will know it. But for now, you’re just kids. Why not just enjoy
that?”

“
And that’s okay?” Teddy
asked.

“
Of course,” Andy said.
“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“
I’m the oldest son of
Zack the Stallion,” Teddy said.

“
I think we should ask
Mrs. Alex or Mr. Max about Zack the Stallion,” Andy said. “They
paint a fairly different picture of your father growing up.
According to them, young Zack was pretty unsexy. I doubt he was
much different than you.”

“
Really?” Teddy
asked.

“
Let’s ask,” Andy said.
“Now, off to bed with you. It’s been a full couple of days and you
need to rest.”

“
But you don’t think I’m a
loser for not wanting to have sex with Noelle?” Teddy
asked.

“
I think all hackers are
losers,” Andy thumped Teddy on the head. “Are you a
hacker?”

“
No, sir,” Teddy said.
“Not anymore.”

“
Good. As for the rest of
this, I don’t believe you don’t want to have sex with Noelle,” Andy
said. “I think you want to, you just know it’s not right, for her
and for you. She means something to you, so you don’t want to screw
it up. I bet if you asked Charlie, he had sex with someone he
didn’t care about. That’s pretty different.”

Teddy threw himself into the bodybuilder’s
arms. Andy kissed the top of his head and herded him into his
basement room. Feeling better, Teddy crawled into bed. Like he did
when he lived with Sandy and Aden, he thought about the story Sandy
was reading them and said good night to Nash, Charlie, Sissy and
his Noelle. Just the thought of Noelle put a smile on his face. He
fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~

Two days later

Friday afternoon — 1:10 P.M

“
It’s about time!” Maresol
said to Seth as he ran down the front walk.

“
It’s a long drive in the
pickup and the traffic was stiff,” Seth said. “How is
she?”

“
She’d be better if she
hadn’t run into Lizzie,” Maresol said. “She thought Lizzie was your
wife. She would be gone if she hadn’t collapsed on the
walk.”

Seth followed Maresol into the house.

“
I paid the cab out of the
household funds,” Maresol said. “So don’t complain if we come short
this month.”

Surprised, Seth stopped walking and stared
at her.

“
When do I complain?” Seth
asked.

“
You might start,” Maresol
pointed her index finger at Seth. “Don’t start.”

“
Yes, ma’am,” Seth said.
“Where’s Ava?”

“
She’s in your bedroom,”
Maresol said. “I gave her a bath. She’s asleep. My guess is that
she’s starving. I have some broth and noodles ready for her. If she
can keep that down, I’ll make sopapillas.”

“
Yum!” Seth
said.

“
For Ava, not for you. To
strengthen her soul,” Maresol pushed him toward the stairwell. “Go
on. Sandy and the kids are going to be here at two.”

He was halfway up the stairwell when Maresol
said, “Seth?” Seth leaned over the stairwell to see her.

“
She saw my Bonita,”
Maresol said in Spanish. Her eyes filled with tears. “Bonita and
the boys. When she was at that horrible barn… She said they are
safe and at peace. She said they are here. Every day. My Bonita, my
baby boys, are here.”

Maresol wiped her face, spun in place and
moved out of sight. He was at the top of the stairs when she
yelled, “I’m not crying,” in Spanish. He chuckled at his tough as
nails, soft hearted mother-in-law. He leaned into the door to his
bedroom. He heard movement on the other side of the door. Not sure
what to expect, he opened the door a crack. After a second, he
stepped in. Dressed only in one of his T-shirts and panties, Ava
was rifling through his closet.

“
Hi,” Seth
said.

“
Where is her stuff?” Ava
asked. Her voice had the deep rasp usually associated with whiskey
and cigarettes. Her bald head showed peach fuzz growth.

“
Who’s stuff?”

“
Your wife’s stuff,” Ava’s
angry face turned to look at him. She had two black eyes, deep
purple bruising on her cheeks and a series of stitches on her right
cheek. “She must be pissed that I was in your bed every night the
last month. Where was she then, huh? I don’t remember seeing her
and I don’t do threesomes.”

Ava flipped around to face him. He stepped
up to her and held her tight. He kissed her neck.

“
I’m not married,” Seth
whispered in her ear. “You met my daughter, Lizzie. Lizzie
O’Malley?”

Ava pushed him away from her.

“
You told me your
daughters
don’t have
your name. Either you lied about them taking your name or you’re
lying about having a wife,” Ava said. “Plus she said her name was
Elizabethe or something like that.”

“
Lizzie and Julie Ann took
back my name. I didn’t know until the Coroner’s meeting about
Bonita and the boys,” Seth said. “It’s a long story. Julie Ann
joined the Marines and her step-father threw her out. Lizzie…
she…”