CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
(part six)

Friday afternoon – 12:58 P.M.
Denver, CO

“I didn’t believe you,” Heather said.

“PB&J chicken,” Blane said. “Isn’t it amazing?”

They were eating on a card table in the living room. The kitchen was in the throes of the remodel. Blane had set up a little kitchen in the living room to tide them over. He’d been so ill that Heather had mostly microwaved their frozen dinners. This was the first time he’d felt well enough to cook.

“God, I could eat the whole chicken. And I’m still full from yesterday.”

“The baby’s growing a lot,” Blane said.

“And I’m a pig!” Heather laughed. “This has been the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had. Spent the morning with Mom, then the afternoon at the Castle. Mom likes you.”

“Yes. And I’m glad we don’t see her much.”

“Me too,” Heather said. “She’s so angry. You know?”

Blane smiled at Heather.

“What did you find out?” He asked.

“About Enrique?”

Blane gave her a curt nod.

“He’s really cute,” Heather said. “I talked to a friend of Tanesha’s that works with him. She said he’s kind of a workaholic web guy. Programs for one of the big web companies. He’s got a reputation for being very intense but a nice guy.”

Blane nodded at the information he already knew.

“Dating? Married?” Blane asked.

“Not that anyone knows,” Heather said. “He plays things very close to his chest. My friend said she thinks he just works. He has a fixer upper house somewhere on the hill. I guess he talks about the house. A lot. Says he spends his weekends trying to find the exact matching brick to his house, stuff like that. Intense. Perfectionistic. Was he like that when you knew him?”

“Yeah,” Blane said. “It’s intimidating at first, but you always know where you stand.”

Heather’s eyes searched Blane’s face. She squeezed his hand.

“You don’t have to ever see him again.”

“Why do I want to so badly?” Blane asked.

“Glutton for punishment,” Heather said. “What did you find out?”

“Let’s see…. Tres is the youngest child. Never married. Last girlfriend was at his old job. He moved jobs to keep the relationship but it didn’t last. He owns a condo out on Stapleton, runs… a lot, like marathons and stuff. Has a dog. Climbs, backpacks, fishes.”

“He’s going to have to be really special to make up for everything,” Heather shrugged.

“He thinks he is,” Blane laughed.

“Every man thinks he is special,” Heather said. “Even our baby.”

“Our baby is special,” Blane said.

Heather laughed.

“His name is Antonio Gutierrez Sierra, III. He’s named after his father’s brother. Gay brother, by the way. Everyone but his father agrees that the uncle is gay,” Blane said. “He goes by Tres because he can’t stand being called Tony. He seems like a decent guy, very steady, good with numbers. He’s helped Jake sort out a lot of financial stuff. I don’t know, Heather, maybe we were too hasty.”

“By deciding they were freeway gardens?”

Blane nodded.

“I’ve thought the same thing,” she said. “I’m not really in the position to date right now. And you still have at least three more months of the riboviron.”

“Let’s wait until the baby’s born,” Blane said.

“Until the baby’s born,” Heather nodded. “Did you make the chocolate cake?”

“Of course.”

“For me?”

“Of course.”

“You’re too good for Enrique.”

“You’re too good for Tres.”

“That’s right. Let’s keep telling ourselves that.”

“Maybe it will work.”

Denver Cereal continues on Monday….