“What does the trust thing mean?” Jill asked.
“The diamonds aren’t allowed to leave the Marlowe family,” Mike read. “Jillian Roper can sell the diamonds within the Marlowe family or bequeath them to a Marlowe. However, the diamonds will remain within the Marlowe family.”
Jill looked at Sam.
“Val wants to buy some,” Sam said. “That’s why she’s so excited. She’s waited nine years to get them.”
“Oh,” Jill said. “Why would I sell them? Val can have what she wants.”
“Nope,” Valerie said. “Doesn’t work like that. Mike?”
“There’s a handwritten note here, Jill. It says, ‘Welcome to the family.’”
“Celia worried that you would feel intimidated by all this money. She wanted to give you a chance to be on a little more even footing.”
“Of course, it never occurred to Mom that you and Trevor would be married for so long. She believed you and Jacob would marry and live happily ever after. She wanted to ease the way there,” Valerie said. “Don’t worry, Jill. I’m not jealous.”
When Valerie’s face lit up, Jill saw Celia’s daughter. Pure and simple, Valerie was the kind, generous, open-hearted daughter of Celia Marlowe. Jill was so struck by seeing her dead friend in another person that she failed to notice what Valerie was doing until Sandy gasped.
“Pretty, huh? Mike and I set them up for you. We thought we’d give them to you Monday but . . . Jill?”
Mike caught Jill before she hit the ground in a dead faint. He cradled her head.
“What happened?” Valerie asked.
“She faints when she hasn’t eaten,” Sandy said. She kneeled down to hold Jill’s hand. “Did you see her eat yesterday?”
“She said she was sick to her stomach,” Sam said. “She just drank coffee.”
“I didn’t see her eat today,” Sandy said. “She said she ate with Jacob, but we’d have to ask him how much she actually ate.”
“Does she have an eating disorder?” Valerie asked.
“Yeah, it’s called poverty,” Sandy said. “If she can’t pay, she won’t eat. We tried to bribe her into eating Friday morning, but outside of a few bites, she wouldn’t eat. She’s been like that since we were kids.”
“Blane said she wasn’t eating because she couldn’t pay,” Sam said. “I just couldn’t believe it. I’d buy her anything. I don’t care.”
“She cares,” Sandy said. “I doubt she’s eaten much this week. She just had enough money for Katy to eat. She traded for the paint. She painted as a way to pay for her rent this week.”
“Oh God,” Valerie said.
Mike stood up with Jill in his arms.
“I’ll deal with this,” he said. He moved out of the basement leaving a guilt-stricken group. Standing at the bottom of the basement stairs, he turned. “There isn’t anything you can do. My parents were very strict about this kind of thing — no charity. Val, can you lock up?”
Mike carried Jill up the stairs as Noelle Norsen, followed by her brother Nash, came down the stairs.
“SANDY! Daddy, Mr. Lipson’s down here with Sandy! Hi, Sandy! I didn’t know you would be here!”
“Hi, honey,” Sandy said. “What’s going on?”
Aden jogged down the stairs.
“Blane can’t make it,” Aden said. “He’s having a bad day. He asked if I would go in his place. Delphie’s with Katy but she said she would watch the kids. I . . .”
Aden saw Sandy for the first time. His face flushed with emotion.
“Hi, Sandy.”
Valerie giggled at his reaction. She put her arm over Sandy’s shoulder.
“Wanna go to Trevor’s wedding?” Valerie asked Sandy.
“I don’t have anything to wear,” Sandy said. She looked from Valerie’s delighted face to Aden’s blushing face. “Plus, he didn’t . . .”
“I’d love it if you would come with me. We’re filling in for Jacob,” Aden said. “We’re just there to pay the bill and support Sam. We won’t stay for the reception. Just the wedding.”
“Oh, I . . .”
“Val can get you dressed,” Sam said. “Can’t you?”
“Of course,” Valerie said. “How much time do we have?”
“Twenty minutes at the outside,” Sam said. “Aden’s tux is here.”
Valerie grabbed Sandy’s wrist and dragged her through the basement.
“Twenty minutes,” Valerie yelled back to the men. “And I get Delphie.”
“Wait for me.” Noelle ran after them.
Sam looked up to the ceiling when Delphie and Katy cheered overhead.
“Time to get dressed,” Sam said. “I wondered why your tux was in my closet. Delphie had it cleaned.”
“Of course,” Aden said. “You want to come with us, Nash?”
“Sure,” Nash said.
“Maybe you could help me find my cufflinks.”
~~~~~~~~
“Hi,” Mike said to Jill.
He had carried her to Jacob’s apartment and laid her on the bed. Jill sat up with a gasp.
“Drink this,” Mike said. He held a glass of chocolate milk out to her. “Do it.”
Jill took a sip and set it down.
“Drink it.”
Jill sighed and drank the milk.
“I can’t help it. I feel awful. I don’t have a job! I don’t have a way to take care of my child! And all this bullshit. I’m going to be some spokesmodel and marry some rich guy I don’t even know. The guy I almost got killed because I’m too incompetent to even keep a job. And diamonds? I mean, come on . . .”
Mike hugged her to him.
“I’m sorry,” Mike said. “I’ve been so caught up in Val being home I never thought to ask if you had money.”
“I’m not your responsibility,” Jill said.
“You’re my sister, Jill. Yes, you’re my responsibility. So is Katy, but I can’t imagine you’ve let her suffer at all.”
Jill shook her head.
“Sandy said you painted as a way to pay for your rent. Is that true?”
“I’m no freeloader. It’s nice that they let me and Katy stay here, but . . .”
“How did you pay for it?” Mike asked.
“I know the guys at Belcaro Paints. They give me seconds and returns.”
“And you give them?”
“I work as a color consultant,” Jill said. “It’s easy, and . . .”
“Jill! That’s what? Your third job?” Mike was so exasperated he could barely speak.
“Fourth. But . . .”
“When did you eat last?”
“At Pete’s on Wednesday. I always eat at Pete’s when I work. It’s one of the reasons I work there. But Pete won’t let me work, so . . . What am I going to do, Mike?”
“You’re going to let me give you money,” he said. “I make really good money, Jill. When your feet are healed, and you take in all that’s happened, you’ll decide what you want to do.”
“I will pay you every penny back,” Jill said.
“You will not. I won’t let you.”
“But . . .”
“Dad was wrong, Jill. About so many things. Just plain wrong. He never would have let me marry Val. Never. Not because she wasn’t good for me or didn’t love me or even because she isn’t Catholic. He wouldn’t let me marry Val because he was afraid. He didn’t want us to have friends or make connections here. He was afraid they would get . . .”
“Discovered,” Jill said.
“You remember what happened?”
“I’ve always remembered what happened. But whenever I talked about what happened, I was told that I was wrong.”
Mike hugged Jill again.
“Do you want . . .”
“I don’t want to talk about that now,” Jill said.
“When you’re ready, I know someone who has all the answers about our parents.”
“Okay,” Jill said. “I can’t deal with it today. Is that all
right?”
“Of course. What’s going to make this better, Jill?” Mike asked. “If I had known how hard it was to be with Trevor, I would have helped you. I . . .”
“I know,” Jill said. “I couldn’t let you help. I mean, I begged Megan to let us get married. One week into it, I wanted to come home. I screwed up. Then, it was one tiny step at a time into a complete nightmare. I . . .”
“And now?”
“I don’t know.” Jill sighed.
Mike nodded.
“What would you eat?”
“You know, I’d love to go to Pete’s. I really miss it,” Jill said.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“Do you mind . . .”
“I know how hard it is to believe, but normal people don’t care about paying for a meal or helping out. They want to do it.”
“Are you saying you’re normal?”
Mike laughed.
~~~~~~~~
Sandy wasn’t sure what to make of Aden. Ever since she flew down the stairs from Val’s apartment, he had this weird smile on his face. He was so awkward and odd that she was sure she’d offended him. He just held her hand like a prom date.
But she didn’t dare ask him in front of Sam.
Tucked into the blue dress, she was cinched, bolstered, pressed, and made up to where she looked like . . . a movie star. She was even wearing a pair of Valerie’s Christian Louboutin black pumps. Her toes stretched into the toilet paper Valerie had stuffed into the toes. As long as she didn’t have to pee or sneeze, she was in good shape.
Yep, Sandy was prettified.
And Aden was weird.
They dropped Sam in front of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Colfax. The limo driver turned onto Logan Street before Sandy said something.
“You are acting very strange,” Sandy said.
Aden pressed the back of her hand to his pants.
“Oh,” Sandy said.
“I’m a little uncomfortable,” Aden replied. “No blood flow to the brain.”
The limo driver pulled over on Logan Street to let them out.
“I’m not wearing underwear.” The driver opened the door for her and she scooted out of the limo. Under her breath, she said, “Can’t have panty lines.”
“Now, that’s just unfair,” Aden said.
Sandy giggled. Aden followed her out of the limo. Kissing her on the sidewalk, his hands moved to check the underwear promise. She grabbed his hands.
“You’re very beautiful.”
She smiled. Hearing the music for the wedding, they hurried down the sidewalk and up the stairs into the Cathedral where Trevor’s wedding was about to start.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
There is something you could do
Sam sighed.
Like the kind, stupid step-father he had become, Sam waited outside the bridal chamber. His eyes drifted over the pews filled with the society people Tiffanie had befriended with his money. He wasn’t even Catholic. Out of nowhere, a single thought echoed in his head:
“I’ll never see any of these pretentious, stupid people ever again.”
Sam beamed. He nodded to Aden and Sandy as they came through the door. They sat in the back pew of the church.
The music started and the wedding party began down the aisle. Trevor waited at the end of the aisle for his bride.
Sam steeled himself for the walk down the aisle.
The door opened a crack. Tiffanie was pushed out of the bridal chamber by small hands with acrylic French tips.
“Sam,” Tiffanie said.
“Do. It. Now.” His stepdaughter whispered through the crack in the door.
“Sam, I . . .”
“She doesn’t want to be married to you anymore.” The step-whore pushed her mother out of the doorway. Dressed in her wedding finery, her made-up face twisted with hate and anger. “You stupid fuck. You look ridiculous in that tuxedo. Give. Him. The. Papers. Mother. DO. IT. NOW.”
“Tiffanie, you don’t have to do this,” Sam said.
He felt more than saw Aden get up from the pew.
“Yes, she does,” the step-whore said. Whipping around, her train flipped into the aisle and the step-whore stood at the end of the aisle.
The wedding crowd stood for the bride.
“I was going to have you walk me down the aisle. But I didn’t want an incompetent fool like you to soil my day. This is the start of my new life.”
Her hand pushed at Sam’s chest.
“I don’t want you to be any part of my life. We don’t want anything to do with you.”
Watching this drama unfold, the crowd began to whisper to each other.
“MOTHER!”
Tiffanie’s face held a gentle smile for Sam. She gave him a stack of papers. He opened the divorce papers and shook his head.
“Now get out of this church!” the step-whore said. “TREVOR!”
“Tiffanie . . .”
“It’s okay, Sam,” Tiffanie said. “Tell Jacob not to worry about the bill.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
Tiffanie kissed his cheek.
“Sweet Sam,” Tiffanie said. “I’ve never been able to say no to her. Her father, either. It’s for the best.”
Trevor and his best man reached for Sam’s arms to throw him out of the church. But Aden blocked their way. Trevor moved to hit Aden. Aden shifted. In one easy movement, Aden threw Trevor over his hip. Trevor landed with a thump on the ground. The best man took one look at Aden and stepped back.
“Trevor!” the step-whore screamed. “Oh my God! Mother! Look what you’ve done!”
“Come on, Big Sam,” Aden said. “We have other things to do today.”
The step-whore flew at Sam. Her fists battered his chest. Her acrylic nails reached for Sam’s eyes.
“May I?” Sandy asked.
Aden shrugged.
Sandy grabbed the step-whore by her shoulders and threw her off Sam. Leaving Trevor and his bride on the floor of the church vestibule, Sam, Aden, and Sandy jogged down the Cathedral steps.
Tiffanie stood at the door and waved good-bye.
The music started inside the church as they walked up Colfax to the parking lot. Sam opened the limo door for Sandy. Aden scooted in behind her. Sam bent to speak to them.
“I’m going to walk a little bit,” Sam said.
“Are you all right?” Aden asked. He moved to get out of the limousine. “We can walk with you.”
“I feel . . .” Sam’s eyes welled with tears. “My Celia is right here with me. I have my wife . . . my life . . . back . . . I can’t explain it. I . . . I’d like to walk with Celia for a while. Don’t worry. I’m fine. Jacob wakes up at four o’clock?”
“Four o’clock. Right.”
“I’ll be there,” Sam said. He laughed. “There is something you could do for me.”
“Anything,” Aden said.
Sam gave Aden the divorce papers and yanked an ornate wedding ring off his left hand. He smiled and handed the ring to Aden. He took off his bow tie and unbuttoned his shirt. Pulling out a long gold chain, he jerked a worn silver band from the chain. He gave Aden the broken chain and slipped the ring on his left ring finger. Sam’s face broke into a huge smile. He walked off toward Sixteenth Street. Sam waved to them as they drove by.
“Wow,” Sandy said. “What are you going to do with that?”
Aden rolled down the window and threw the ornate wedding band out the window. Sandy watched it bounce along the payment until it dropped through a sewer drain.
“Where to?” the limo driver asked.
“My house?” Sandy asked.
“Oh, yes.”
~~~~~~~~
“We need to make sure we’re there when Jacob wakes up,” Delphie said to Valerie.
“What’s the big deal?” Valerie asked. “He’s been in and out of medication for the last week.”
“Medication blocks a psychic’s ability. I know it sounds we
ird, but for a true psychic, your ability to intuit is like a third leg. When your intuition is clogged, you don’t remember the most basic things. It’s like being brain damaged.”
“Like when you had your hysterectomy?” Valerie asked. “I’d better call the hospital immediately.”
Valerie dialed Denver Health on her cell phone. She waited on hold for Jacob’s nurse.
“My hysterectomy? That was not good,” Delphie said.
“You couldn’t remember your name,” Valerie said. “You kept asking me how I grew up so fast. You thought I was twelve. It was hilarious.”
“Yes, it was,” Delphie said. “All of that medication is going to catch up to Jacob. You know how intense your brother can be.”
Valerie held up a finger. Talking back and forth, she thanked the nurse and hung up the phone.
“He’s awake and with the doctor now. The nurse said he will be released at four o’clock. Something about medication half-life . . . something.”
“We’d better be there.”
Valerie nodded.
~~~~~~~~
“Oh my God,” Aden said.
He fell onto the bed. Sandy laughed and rolled onto her side. He caressed her naked shoulder.
“Sorry about the dress,” he said.
“The zipper was stuck when I tried it on. It’s just restuck.”
“Re-stuck? That sounds very fun.”
He helped her out of the rest of the dress and slipped on top of her. She lifted her head to kiss his lips. His eyes gently moved across her face.
“I love you, Sandy.”
Sandy’s entire body reacted in horror. She pushed him off her. Her body vibrated with emotion but she was too upset to speak.
“What?”
She threw his shoe at him, then another.
“LIAR!”
“What happened?”
“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”
Aden ducked to avoid a half-full champagne glass that flew across the room at him. Sandy balled up his tuxedo and undergarments. Stomping to the door, she threw his clothing outside her apartment door.
“HOW DARE YOU!”
“Sandy, wait. Sandy.”
Naked, Aden scrambled toward her. When he was close enough, she battered him with her fists. Her face contracted in pain. Her hair fell wild on her shoulders. Her entire body was red with fury.
One at a time, Aden caught her fists. She jerked her hands away. But he held them firm.
“I’m sorry I frightened you.”
Sandy jerked her hands away from him. Aden held them firm. Seeing that it was fruitless, she bit her lip and glowered at him.
“I’ll let go of your hands if you stop hitting,” Aden said. “Can you stop hitting?”