Cascade (21 page)

“
He was injured in the middle of
committing an unspeakable act of cruelty.”

“
That doesn’t really answer the
question,” Mike said. “What…?”

“
I shot him,” Jill
said.

CHAPTER
SIXTY-EIGHT

Buster

Jill collapsed into herself as Candy, Megan,
Steve and Mike began talking all at once. Candy jumped from her
seat to hug Jill.

“
We don’t have to talk about
this,” Megan said. “Ever. It’s over. He’s dead. That is
it.”

“
I want to know!” Steve demanded.
In a softer voice, he said, “I have to know.”

“
Well Jill can’t tell you,” Candy
said to Steve. “Grow up.”

“
Children,” Anjelika
said.

Steve started yelling at Candy. Candy yelled
back at Steve. Megan and Mike tried to yell over Steve and
Candy.

“
CHILDREN!”

Stunned, they stopped arguing. They looked at
their mother.

“
SIT DOWN!”

Without hesitation, they returned to their
seats.

“
If you must know, you must hear
the entire thing,” Anjelika said. “It is neither a pretty story nor
a short one. And our dinner is getting cold. Your partners are
waiting for you. Megan, why do you want Jillian to be
silent?”

“
I don’t want her to get in
trouble or go to jail or…” Megan shook her head. “Jill would only
hurt someone as a very last option. She must have had to shoot
him.”

“
Always the little mother,”
Anjelika said.

“
The only mother for the last
fifteen years,” Megan said.

“
Yes, you are correct,” Anjelika
said. “I must apologize. We’ve been insensitive to your experience
and struggle. You are each…”

Anjelika looked from face to face of her adult
children.

“
You are each such wonderful human
beings. We overlook how hard the last years have been.”

“
We’ve been a little in awe of
each of you. That may be why our interactions have been brittle,”
Perses said. “You are amazing people.”

“
We must decide. Shall we finish
our dinner or finish our story?” Anjelika asked. “You are adults.
We must decide together.”

“
I want to hear the whole story,”
Mike said. “The whole thing.”

“
I do, too,” Megan said. “I feel
like I deserve that.”

Candy and Steve nodded.

“
Tonight?” Perses said.

“
No, I’d rather do it later when
we have time,” Mike said. “Can you hold out Steve?”

Steve nodded.

“
Then tomorrow? Meg and I are done
with school at three o’clock. We can meet here?” Jill
asked.

“
Tomorrow at three will work for
me,” Steve said. “Candy?”

“
I’m done at the bakery by two,”
Candy said.

“
What about the children?”
Anjelika asked.

“
They can stay at the Marlowe
school until six,” Jill said.

“
Then it’s settled,” Perses
said.

“
Good,” Anjelika said. ”Shall we
get your partners?”

“
I’ll get them,” Jill
said.

Jill went into the kitchen to find Valerie
sitting on the kitchen counter entertaining everyone with stories
about movie stars. The laughing group followed Jill back into the
dining room.

She wasn’t sure what she expected to find. She
was relieved to find everyone laughing at Perses’s story of being
chased by a lion in South Africa. Even Steve was laughing at his
description of climbing to the slimmest branches to get
away.

Mike stood to hold the chair for Valerie then
sat down. When there was a break in the conversation, he
said:

“
We have news,” Mike said. “Val’s
pregnant.”

Everyone cheered. Anjelika got up to kiss
Valerie’s cheek. She hugged Mike.

“
We’re having twins,” Valerie
said. “One girl, one boy.”

Perses made a toast to Leslie and Valerie’s
babies. The group laughed their way through dinner and dessert. It
wasn’t until the family left that Jacob asked:

“
What are you going to
do?”

“
We don’t know,” Valerie said. “I
was going to talk to Delphie but they left before we had a chance.
Tell me Jake, what do you see for me? Am I going to
die?”

“
Some day,” Jacob
laughed.

Valerie punched his shoulder.

“
No, I don’t see you dying,” Jacob
said. “Congratulations.”

~~~~~~~~

The next day
Tuesday morning – 11:15 A.M.

“
Thanks for bringing the kids,”
Teri, the special advocate said to Aden. “I know it’s hard to have
them miss school. This was the only time Nuala was
available.”

“
Yes, I’m sure she has a full
schedule.” Aden couldn’t keep the bitter sarcasm from his voice.
“Incarceration is time consuming.”

“
I understand how you feel,” Teri
said. “Actually, she’s being moved to Canon City this afternoon. We
wanted to catch her before you had to pay for her and her guards to
travel from there. We could also have waited and done this there,
but I thought this would be less challenging on the
kids.”

Aden nodded.

“
You can leave the kids. We’ll
probably be a couple of hours,” the special advocate said. “We want
to see them interact. I’ll call you when we’re done.”

Aden nodded. Going out into the waiting room,
he held Nash and Noelle to him.

“
I can’t stay here,” Aden said.
“Not while you’re with your Mom.”

“
Nuala is not our Mom,” Nash
said.

“
You know that, and I know that,
but we have to let the courts figure that out,” Aden said. “I won’t
be far away. You know how to get a hold of me if you need me. So
does Teri.”

“
It’s okay, Dad,” Noelle said.
“The sooner we get this over with, the sooner Sandy can be our
Mom.”

Aden smiled.

“
Ice cream when we’re done?” Nash
asked.

“
You bet,” Aden said. “I realized
we’re close to the Dumb Friend’s League here. I was thinking we
might get a dog.”

“
Yea!!” Noelle said.

“
I’ll look while you have your
appointment. We can go together when we’re done.”

Aden kissed both of their foreheads then
ushered them into the room. Nash and Noelle would spend the next
few hours interacting with their biological mother. If Teri thought
they got along, Nuala would retain some custody. If they appeared
to have no relationship with their mother, her parental rights
would be permanently terminated.

Pulling the office door closed, Aden said a
silent prayer that this would finally be over. He didn’t look up
when Nuala passed with her prison guards. Instead, he kept his mind
and heart focused on his future life.

A new dog would fit right in!

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday morning – 11:40
P.M.

“
Sandy! It’s great to see you!”
Sandy’s gynecologist said as she entered the room. “How did
Christmas go for you this year?”

“
A little crazier than usual.”
Sandy stood to hug her doctor. “Since doing Valerie Lipson’s hair,
everyone wanted her ‘look’. I was swamped. How was your
party?”

“
Thanks to you, I looked
marvelous! My hair was perfect and you were right about the Claire
Martins dress. It fit perfectly. No one had the same dress and
everyone asked where I got it. Even Annabel Bowlen. That’s exactly
what a girl needs!”

Sandy laughed.

“
Your file says you missed your
last depo shot,” the doctor said.

“
I don’t think so.” Sandy searched
her memory for when she had been in last. “I always make my
appointments.”

“
Yeah, it’s very unlike you,” the
doctor said. Laughing, she said, “It’s probably an
error.”

“
I haven’t gotten my period,”
Sandy said.

“
I’m sure it’s just an error.
We’re always on the girls to keep up with the files, but it gets
out of control here sometimes,” the doctor said. “Looks like things
are going well with Aden.”

The doctor took Sandy’s left hand to admire
her engagement ring.

“
Isn’t it gorgeous?” Sandy
asked.

“
Gorgeous. So is he! You’re quite
a pair.”

“
I hope we can be happy like you
guys are,” Sandy said.

“
Yeah, we’re pretty lucky,” her
doctor said. “Ok, let’s get this done. I have to catch a baby in
about ten minutes. I’ll do your Pap. Then we’ll have to do a
pregnancy test. You know, to be sure. The nurses will give you the
Depo. Does that work?”

“
Sure,” Sandy said. “But I’m not
pregnant.”

“
Ok,” the doctor said. “Either
way, I’m here for you. We’ll take it one step at a
time.”

Lying back on the paper covered table, Sandy
let the doctor do her work. Her mind was drifting when the doctor
said,

“
Okay, we’re all done. I’m off to
catch a baby,” she said. Taking off her gloves, she said, “I’m
invited to the wedding, right?”

“
Of course,” Sandy
said.

“
See you in a bit,” the doctor
said as she left the room.

Sandy was almost dressed before she realized
what the doctor had said. Puzzled, she went out to talk to the
nurse. The smiling nurse took her to get the test and took a vial
of blood then led her back to the exam room. Grateful she wasn’t
pressed for time, Sandy picked up a People magazine to read the
latest about Valerie Lipson.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday mid-day – 12:10
P.M.

Aden walked past row after row of dogs and
cats. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of pets up for adoptions, he
blew out a breath.

“
Overwhelming, isn’t it?” the Dumb
Friend’s League attendant asked.

“
Very,” Aden said. “I don’t know
how to choose.”

“
Well, the best place to start is
with the pets that have been here the longest,” the attendant said.
“That’s over here.”

“
I want a dog that’s good with
kids and other dogs and can join our family and…”

“
There’s a few of those over
here,” the attendant said.

They were walking down a hallway with animals
in spacious pens. The dogs pressed their noses against the cage to
see what was going on.

“
Why haven’t these dogs been
adopted then?” Aden asked.

“
They’re either too excitable or,
in one case, too ugly,” the attendant laughed. “Great dogs though.
A couple have been fostered and we know they’re great with kids.
How old are your kids?”

“
Ten and twelve,” Aden
said.

He looked at five dogs in the corner pen and
knew immediately which dog was too ugly. There was a mottled brown
dog whose proportions were all wrong. Medium sized, he had short
stubby legs and a brown sausage body. His face was textured brown,
black, white and who knows what. He had one blue eye and one dark
eye.

“
I see what you mean,” Aden
said.

“
Yeah, Buster’s not attractive,”
the attendant said. “He’s about a year old. His owner had to give
him up because his girlfriend wouldn’t be seen with him. He was
fostered at a house with four dogs and four kids.”

Dismissing the ugly dog out of hand, Aden
evaluated the other dogs. There was a black muttish looking dog, a
small hyperactive dog that reminded him of Noelle, a yellow
midsized lab-mix and another bigger black dog. Glancing over the
dogs, his eyes locked with the ugly dog.

The dog gave a sharp bark.

And Aden knew he was in the wrong
place.

“
I’m sorry,” he said to the
attendant. “I have to go.”

Turning on his heel, he raced through the Dumb
Friend’s League trailing the attendant.

“
But… sir! Sir!”

Turning at the door, Aden said, “I’d like
Buster, the ugly dog. Can you reserve him for me? I’ll be
back.”

Aden ran to his car. He wasn’t sure why he
left the kids with Nuala. He only knew it was a mistake. He drove
like a mad man to Teri’s office. Jumping out of the car, he took
the stairs two at a time. He ran through the office to the
observation chamber. Breathing hard, he saw the kids through the
one-way glass.

Nuala was asking Noelle to stop talking.
Anxious, Noelle’s voice raised and her words came out
faster.

In a flash, everything went wrong.

Nuala slapped Noelle hard across the face.
Noelle fell back from the blow.

And Aden was in motion.

As he ran into the room, Noelle began to
scream. Teri moved to help Noelle but Noelle scooted away from her.
Nash got in front of Noelle to protect her. Nuala screamed for Nash
to move away.