The Denver Cereal (10 page)

“
I’ll tell you if even
half of what they say about her is true, she’s a real bitch,” Candy
said. “I mean, I don’t get it. Mike’s great looking, a wonderful
person, an amazing artist, but he doesn’t want to be set up, won’t
go out with girls — or boys, for that matter. He’s obsessed with
this . . . prima donna actress.”

Megan closed her eyes.
Turning around, she looked from Candy to Jill. It was time they
knew the truth.

“
Meg, what’s wrong?” Jill
asked.

“
Mike’s married to Valerie
Lipson.”

The past, present, and future

“
But Valerie Lipson is
Jacob’s sister,” Jill said. “How . . .?”

“
Val and Jake aren’t
Catholic. Remember that huge fight Dad and Mike had? That was over
Valerie,” Megan said. “Dad forbade Mike to go out with Val because
she wasn’t Catholic. Mike disappeared for a week. Mom was
hysterical. She made Dad go after Mike.”

Candy and Jill
nodded.

“
They met while skiing
when Mike was fourteen or something,” Steve said. “Remember how
much Mike used to ski in the winter? And camp in the
summer?”

“
Every moment he wasn’t
working or in school,” Candy said.

“
That was so he could be
with Val. They dated from the time they met. Mom and Dad didn’t
know,” Steve said. “When they got married, Mike figured we would be
against it because Dad was against it. So he didn’t tell
us.”

“
We only found out
when . . .” Megan’s face flushed red and her eyes
filled with tears.

“
When what?” Candy said.
“We aren’t children anymore, Meg.
You
don’t have to protect us
.”

“
Mike died. Or, they
thought he was dead.”

“
WHAT?” Candy and Jill
said in unison.

“
I . . . I
really shouldn’t tell you this,” Megan said.

“
Yes, you should,” Steve
said. “If you don’t, I will. It’s time to stop the secrets,
Meg.”

“
Around the time Jake’s
mom died . . ..” Megan began her story.

~~~~~~~~

“
I wonder if you might
help me,” Valerie said.

When the Frontier Airlines
clerk moved from the ticket counter to the boarding pass counter,
Valerie stood in her line. She signed autographs and talked to fans
in order to keep the
US
magazine reporter at bay.

“
Absolutely. What can I
do?” the woman said.

“
There’s a reporter
from
US
magazine
and . . .”

“
Oh, don’t worry, hon. I
took care of him. He wanted to sit next to you, but I put him in
the back of the plane. I radioed the gals on the plane. They will
let you off and then hold him for a while. You should be able to
make a quick getaway.”

Val’s face registered real
relief. “Thanks.”

“
Your father’s a great
man. I’m happy to do what I can.” She passed Valerie her boarding
pass back over the counter. “Just watch me. I’ll let you know when
it’s safe to board.”

Valerie blushed and
nodded. “Thanks.”

Continuing to buffer
herself from the reporter, Valerie signed autographs and chatted
with fans. She watched the line of passengers board the plane.
Confident he had corralled Valerie on the flight, the reporter
boarded the plane. When the agent nodded, Valerie made her excuses
and moved down the ramp to the plane. The flight attendants settled
Valerie in the front seat with a glass of champagne.

She slipped in her iPod
earbuds and returned to her memories of the best time of her life.
As always, those memories of love and laughter collided with the
reality of that awful spring.

Valerie and Mike were
naked, wrapped around each other, when the dreadful news came. Mike
was going back to the Middle East and her mother wouldn’t live to
see Easter. Jake begged her to come home, but she wasn’t going to
give up her last month with Mike.

She wasn’t sure how it
happened. She was on the pill, after all. She only knew when. She
was pregnant when he left.

Unbidden, Valerie’s mind
ticked through the markers of that horrible spring:

February 27:

Valerie was pregnant and
Mike left for the Middle East.

February and
March:

They talked every night.
He sent her crazy pictures. In response, she sent him pictures of
herself naked. She didn’t tell him about the baby. Her mother had a
bunch of miscarriages. Valerie wanted to make sure she was really,
really pregnant. She was going to tell him April 15 as a tax
joke.

April 5:

Mike went on a week-long
mission. No problem, he’d call when he was done. She was brave for
him in their last phone call but cried herself to sleep that
night.

April 15, 8
a.m.:

Opened the door to two
somber army men. Mike’s team was ambushed. Mike was presumed
dead.

April 15, 8:25
a.m.:

Sedated by the
doctor.

April 15, 7
p.m.:

Awakened by
telephone:

“
Mike?”

“
No. It’s Jake. Come now,
Mom’s dying.”

April 16, 1
a.m.:

Walked in on father
sobbing at mother’s bedside.

“
I can’t do it,” he
sobbed.

“
You have to,” Mom said.
“Do what we planned. Take care of your new family. Jake and Valerie
need you . . . more now because I won’t be
here.”

“
You’re my whole life,”
her father said.

“
Then do it for me. Stick
with our plan.”

“
Ah, Celia. I can’t live
without you.”

April 16, 7
a.m.:

Celia Marlowe Lipson drew
her last breath with her children and best friend by her
side.

April 20, 8
a.m.:

Valerie and Jake reviewed
their mother’s memorial plans with the mortician. Shaking the
mortician’s hand good-bye, she felt a burning, a ripping, thousands
of times worse than a cramp. Jake took her to the hospital. Her
last connection to Mike was dead.

April 24, 8
a.m.:

More than ten thousand
people celebrate the life of Celia Marlowe Lipson.

April 28:

Paperwork waited in
Monterey. Mike was officially dead.

April 29:

Valerie moved the band
from her wedding set to her right hand, where it remained today.
Hoping the Pacific would cleanse her misfortune, she threw the
diamond solitaire into the ocean.

April 30:

Jake helped Valerie pack
the Monterey house.

May 5:

Valerie settled into her
new Hollywood Hills home, called her agent, and got an
audition.

“
Ms. Lipson.” The flight
attendant touched Val’s arm. She gave Valerie a Kleenex to wipe her
dripping eyes. “We’re taxiing right now. I thought you might want
to get your possessions together so you can make a quick exit. Do
you need a ride home?”

“
I arranged for a car,”
Valerie said.

“
I called ahead. There are
a lot of photographers waiting for you. We’re going to sneak you
out the back. What company is meeting you?”

“
Prestige,” Valerie
said.

“
I’ll call them. They can
send a second car,” the flight attendant said.

“
Michael Roper usually
drives me. Would you mind asking for him?”

“
Sure,” the flight
attendant said.

“
Thanks,” Valerie
said.

~~~~~~~~

“
You have about an hour
before visiting hours are over. They woke up Katy so you could
spend some time with her. They’ll put her to sleep again before you
go,” Dr. Drayson said. “I’d encourage you to enjoy your time with
her and then go home and get some rest. Katy will need you to be
one hundred percent tomorrow.”

Jill nodded. She had
already called in sick to work tomorrow. She knew Katy would need
her. She dreaded having to desert her at the hospital. Following
Dr. Drayson back through the ICU, she worked to keep the horror
from her face. Her baby was swollen, her skin was bright red, and
she was hooked to a bunch of machines. When Katy opened her eyes,
she was Jill’s girl.

“
Mommy,” Katy
said.

Jill’s eyes filled at the
sound of her daughter’s croaking voice. Katy hadn’t been able to
speak the last time she was awake.

“
Katy-baby.” Jill bent to
kiss her daughter.

The nurse lowered the
guardrail so Jill could sit on Katy’s bed.

“
Mommy, I’m sorry. I made
you cry.” Katy’s red swollen finger caught a tear from Jill’s eye.
“I didn’t mean to get sick.”

“
Oh baby,” Jill said. “I’m
just happy to see you.”

“
Are you going to ask
Jacob to be my daddy?”

Jill burst out a laugh at
her daughter’s question.

“
I think he would be a
good daddy,” Katy said.

“
We’ll see, Katy-baby.
We’ll see.”

~~~~~~~~

“
Ma’am,” the driver
said.

He held open the door to
the small limousine and Valerie stepped into the back. The flight
attendant had escorted Valerie to an employee’s garage, where the
limousine was waiting.

“
Michael usually drives
me,” Valerie said.

“
I apologize, ma’am. Mr.
Roper was previously engaged. We attempted to shift his assignment
but his client specifically requested him six months
ago.”

Valerie watched the man
come around the limousine and then step into the driver’s
seat.

“
Wedding?” Valerie
asked.

“
Bachelor party.” The
driver started the car. “Better him than me. Where am I taking
you?”

“
Race and Colfax,” Valerie
said.

“
So, Val. Are you going to
marry Wes?” The driver looked at Valerie through the rear view
mirror.

Valerie smiled her movie
star smile.

“
What’s this about a
husband?” the driver asked as the window to the passenger
compartment closed. Valerie clicked off the microphone.

Slipping on her
sunglasses, she tried to figure out how to see Mike and not seem
desperate.

Desperate.

For two years, four
months, and fifteen days she had been desperate. Desperately
lonely. Desperately sad. Desperate to move on. Desperately
lost.

Then Michael Roper
returned to her life. She was leaving the Ivy in West Hollywood on
the arm of a handsome, and secretly gay, actor when she saw Mike.
Fifty pounds lighter and broken, Mike Roper stood on the sidewalk
waiting for her. If the actor hadn’t been holding her up, she would
have collapsed to the pavement. Somehow, they managed to miss the
watchful eye of the ever-present paparazzi. They escaped to her
home in the Hollywood Hills.

They didn’t leave the
house for a month. They argued until they made love. They made love
until they were exhausted. They ate whatever could be delivered,
bathed together and barely dressed. The incredible draw toward each
other remained impossibly strong.

But the obstacles were
much greater.

Losing Mike, her baby, and
her mother in the course of two weeks had been too much for
Valerie. She had become bitter and pessimistic. She would never
trust him, or anyone, again. While her words lashed at him, her
hardened heart froze him out.

Mike’s unspoken experience
had left him shattered. Moment to moment, his moods were
unpredictable. One moment, he would sob. The next moment, he was
punching walls and screaming at the top of his lungs. Then, worst
of all, her best friend and lover would appear from inside the
wreckage of this man. Valerie ached for her Mike.

A month after Michael
Roper returned to her life, he disappeared again. He left a note
saying he had to “get right” before he could be with her. By the
time he reappeared, she was a star on one of the most popular soaps
and engaged to the gay actor.

As the limousine pulled up
in front of the Castle, Valerie wondered what to do about
Mike.

~~~~~~~~

“
Where to?” Jacob
asked.

They were sitting in his
Lexus SUV outside the hospital. With her sisters’ help, Jacob and
Steve were able to get Jill into the car. Jill didn’t want to
“abandon” Katy at the hospital. Sitting in the passenger seat, Jill
looked longingly at the hospital.

“
I should stay here,” Jill
said. “Katy needs me here.”

“
I will bring you back
before Katy is even awake to need you,” Jacob said. “I
promise.”

“
I don’t want to go home,”
Jill said. “I can’t . . . I can’t look at her
things.”