Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (29 page)

Seth sighed.

“
Let’s get you back in
bed,” Seth said. “You have enough sadness without dealing with this
crap.”

“
No,” Ava shook him off
her. “I want to hear it
now
.”

“
Lizzie’s named after my
mother who was named Lizzie. Her mother was also named Lizzie as
was her mother. The name goes back to old Ireland,” Seth shrugged.
“It’s not very sophisticated but it’s on her birth certificate.
“

As if he was avoiding the topic, Ava raised
an eyebrow at him.

“
She graduated from
college and moved home last year,” Seth said. “For reasons I don’t
understand, reasons she won’t explain to me, her father, she and
her step-father had a sexual relationship behind her mother’s back.
When she got pregnant, she told her mother. Her mother flew into a
rage. She disowned Lizzie and threw all of her things onto the
front lawn, even her baby pictures.”

“
Your ex-wife is crazy,”
Ava said.

“
Tell me something I don’t
know,” Seth said. “Anyway, Lizzie talked Sandy into living at her
condo so she had a place to stay. Sandy didn’t know she was
pregnant. Lizzie has no money, no friends, and a baby on the
way.”

“
That’s horrible,” Ava
said. “Did he molest her as a child?”

“
She says no,” Seth said.
“But you know how a man can groom a young girl. Julie Ann is a
lesbian. That’s why she was disowned, according to Lizzie. She was
of no use to him. The whole mess makes
me
crazy.”

“
The whole thing is
gross,” Ava said.

“
Lizzie stayed here while
I was gone so Maresol could pamper her. She hadn’t been to a
doctor, didn’t have any clothing or… anything, really. Maresol’s
been mothering her.”

“
She’s good at that,” Ava
said.

“
Maresol’s the best,” Seth
said. “Now back in bed. You should be in a hospital.”

“
Did you hear what
happened?” Ava asked.

“
Not really,” Seth
straightened the down comforter and fluffed her pillow.

“
I like your pillow,” Ava
said. “So no wife?”

He leaned over the bed to grab his
pillow.

“
Not since
Bonita.”

After fluffing his pillow, he helped her
into bed.

“
Seth?”

“
Yes, Ava,” Seth
said.

“
You smell like cows,” she
said.

“
That’s because I’ve spent
the last two days with cattle,” Seth said.

“
Why?” Ava
asked.

“
My family homesteaded
outside of Granby,” Seth said. “The acreage is summer pasture for a
couple of high country grass fed cattle ranches. Since I was off
for a few days, and I couldn’t visit you in the hospital, the
ranchers agreed to move the cattle yesterday and this
morning.”

“
Do you have a cabin
there?” Ava asked.

“
A house,” Seth said.
“With a caretaker, his wife and a bunch of kids. I stay in the work
house. There’s a piano there. I haven’t showered in a couple of
days.”

“
You need to shower,” Ava
said.

“
Yes. I do,” Seth said.
“You were telling me about the hospital.”

“
So… you’re a cop, a
composer and a cowboy?”

“
And crazy,” Seth smiled.
“How’s that for irony?”

She smiled.

“
Can I have a drink of
water?” Ava asked.

Seth nodded and retrieved a glass of water
from the bathroom. He gave her the water and she drank it dry. He
refilled it.

“
Sorry, my throat hurts,”
Ava said. “I feel like I’m always thirsty.”

“
Why aren’t you in the
hospital?”

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & FORTY

Boob

“
I woke up this morning
with these marks on my chest,” Ava pulled up her T-shirt to show
faint black sharpie lines drawn on her chest. “My mother planned
breast augmentation surgery! Today! For ME!”

“
I guess Maresol told me
that,” Seth said. “I don’t really get it, Ava. How could she do
that?”

“
She has a medical power
of attorney,” Ava said. “See my face?”

Seth nodded.

“
She had the plastic
surgeon
fix
the
bump in my nose,” Ava said. “You know. The bump in my nose that I
got when Beth and I both broke our noses playing volleyball in high
school? Mom hated that bump. She was always on me about the stupid
bump. Well, while I was unconscious, she had the doctor who was
fixing my cheek recreate my nose. She gave him a picture. This is
the nose I had when I was twelve!”

“
But your
breasts…?”

“
She and my sisters have
fake boobs,” Ava said. “She says I look like a boy. With her power
of attorney, she was going to boost me to a D! Today!”

“
Why is today
significant?” Seth asked.

“
Because tomorrow is
Beth’s funeral. If I had the surgery, I wouldn’t be able to go,”
Ava hiccupped a sob. “They sold my car! They sold the condo!
I…”

A few renegade tears rolled down Ava’s cheek
before her anger pushed them away.

“
The nurse, you know the
one who was Sandy’s nurse?” Ava said. “She woke me up this morning
because she didn’t like what was going on. I’ve been unconscious
since I got there. She helped get me released. She had to give me
clothes. ‘Do you have a place to go?’ she asked. ‘I’ll just go
home,’ I said. We made sure I had the keys and all my
prescriptions. She got me a cab and I went home. And…”

“
It had been sold,” Seth
said.

“
I have no home! The locks
were changed! The condo is empty. I looked in the window and there
was nothing there,” Ava said. “My car? Sold. That stupid power of
attorney wiped Beth right out of my life. Mom’s said it over and
over again: ‘Ever since you met that girl, you’ve been off track.
She’s a bad influence on you.’

“
So I called her.” Ava
paused to catch her breath.

“
Beth?” Seth raised his
eyebrows. His eyes worked to assess her mental state.

“
Mom!” Ava flicked her
hands at him in frustration. “My
mother
told me I was being
ridiculous. I should get back to the hospital and have the surgery.
It was time for me to stop fooling around and get on with my life.
What man would marry a girl like me? Did you know they sent my
resignation to the captain? Tuesday morning. I was in surgery to
repair my carotid arteries. And they sent a letter of resignation
in for me. Power of attorney and all.”

“
I heard that,” Seth said.
“Did you hear what the lead forensics officer said?”

Ava shook her head.

“
When Amelie wants to
quit, she can do it to my face. The Coroner threatened to take the
entire mess to the Denver Post. Your parents backed down,” he said.
“You know, if you resigned you wouldn’t have medical insurance,
sick leave, or vacation. That’s an expensive hospital bill not to
mention the Medivac bill. How many surgeries did you
have?”

“
Four,” Ava’s face
reflected her rage. “Three for my neck and throat and one with the
plastic surgeon. The doc who released me said I’ll need a couple
more surgeries depending on how my throat heals.”

“
Without medical
insurance, that’s a lot,” Seth said. “Your union rep has been
working with the hospital and the insurance company so you’re
covered. But if you quit? You’d be screwed.”

“
My
parents
want me to do what they
say,” Ava crossed her arms over her chest. “But I didn’t face down
the Devil to be dependent on anyone.”

“
That’s my girl,” Seth
said.

“
Even you,” Ava
said.

“
All right then,” Seth
said. “Listen, Sandy’s coming over at two. Rachel came home this
morning. She’s bringing the baby over for my Rachel time. I haven’t
seen her in a couple of days. The older kids only work half days on
Friday and they want to play in the pool. Sissy should hear if she
made the summer troupe this afternoon. Why don’t you join us? It
would be good for you to have something else to think
about.”

“
Around the kids?” Ava
gasped. “They’d laugh at me! Have you seen what I look like? My
face is one big purple bruise and I’m bald!”

“
You’re beautiful,” Seth
said. “Plus, these are really sweet kids. They know what it’s like
to go through hell. You probably don’t remember but they were there
at the barn. They’ve asked about you. I know they’d love to see
you.”

“
I don’t have anything to
wear,” Ava said.

“
We bought all of your
things from the guy who purchased your condo,” Seth
said.

“
You did?”

“
Of course,” Seth said. “I
found her boyfriend, you know, Dale? He was standing outside your
condo. He had nowhere to go. He’s just destroyed. Hadn’t slept
since he found her. God knows, I’ve been there, so I invited him to
live here.”

“
My car?” Ava
asked.

Seth shook his head.

“
I’m sorry,” Seth said.
“Your parents sold your Golf for two thousand dollars. I was able
to buy your personal belongings from the guy who bought it but not
the car. He got a great deal. And honestly, he needs the car. He
has a baby and a job in Littleton. Are you
disappointed?”

“
Oh no, Seth. No. Thank
you for all you’ve done,” Ava held out her arms and they hugged.
After a moment, she pushed him back, “Shower?”

“
Yes ma’am,” Seth said.
“I’ll be right out. Think about joining the kids. Sandy will
probably make something yummy. Maresol warmed some soup for
you.”

Seth took a fast shower. Drying off, he came
out to find Ava was crying. He held out his arms and she cried on
his shoulder.

“
I have no one,” Ava said.
“Nothing and nowhere to go.”

“
You have me,” Seth said.
“And my odd family. For as long as you want or need to, you have a
home here. There’s plenty of space. You can have your own room or a
dozen rooms in the house. Dale’s moved into the apartment over the
carriage house. There’s an extra room there if you prefer
that.”

“
Will you go with me
tomorrow?” Ava asked.

“
To the funeral?” Seth
asked. “If you’d like me to go, I’m happy to go. I thought you
didn’t want your parents to know about us.”

“
I don’t,” Ava said. “At
this rate, they’ll probably sue you for… whatever they can think
of.”

“
Stealing their daughter
from right under the plastic surgeon’s knife,” Seth
smiled.

“
Do you think I need
them?” Ava asked.

“
Who?”

“
Big boobs,” Ava
said.

“
I don’t,” Seth
said.

“
You’re sure?”

“
Big boobs only attract
other ignorant and foolish people…”

“
Boobs?”

“
Yes, big boobs attract
other boobs. It’s a ‘like attracts like’ thing.”

Shaking her head at Seth, she had to
smile.

“
You need some boobs in
your life?” Seth asked.

“
Only you,” Ava
said.

“
Then I don’t think you
need them,” Seth said. “How about if we try to enjoy the afternoon
and let all these tomorrows work themselves out?”

Ava nodded.

“
Would you like to join us
on the patio?” Seth asked. “We’re having burgers and hot dogs. Aden
bought a gas grill as a thank you to me for something, I’m not sure
what. You can rest in a lounger. I got your big bug glasses from
your car. They’ll hide some of the bruises.”

Ava nodded.

“
Good,” Seth
said.

Seth pulled on a T-shirt and some shorts.
Taking her hand, he helped her to the room where Maresol had put
her clothing. They found a one piece bathing suit that covered the
remaining sharpie marks. She took a big T-shirt as a cover up.
Leering to cheer her up, he helped her change.

They went downstairs together where Maresol
insisted she eat two bowls of soup. Maresol was in the middle of
making sopapillas when Sandy, Aden and the kids arrived. Noelle ran
through the house to hug Ava. Seeing Ava’s bruises, Noelle charmed
Ava completely with the story of her broken cheekbone. While
feigning indifference, Charlie and Nash wanted to make sure she was
all right. Sissy swore she was going to shave her head. Then, like
a thunder storm, the children blew out into the backyard patio and
the pool. Maresol gave Aden the key to the gate so that he could
wheel in the new gas grill.

Seth took Rachel from Sandy. He was about to
take her to his music room when he heard, “Rachel looks so much
like Seth.” He turned to see Sandy smile. With a nod to Sandy, he
retreated with his granddaughter to his piano room.

“
Seth’s Rachel’s
grandfather,” Sandy said. “He wanted me to know.”

“
So he told me to tell
Sandy,” Maresol laughed. “You may have noticed he doesn’t talk
about the past.”

“
Why is that?” Ava
asked.