Read Online Fairplay, Denver Cereal Volume 6 by Claudia Hall Christian - Free Book Online Page B

asked.
    “ Two weeks,” Seth said.
“See, I have to get this done before I go work on a
movie!”
    “ You have two weeks to get
well and you’re spending your energies on nonsense!”
    Seth gave an irritated sigh.
    “ Don’t sigh at me like
that,” Maresol said.
    “ You know she’s right,”
Bumpy said. “Be a man. Admit you’re wrong.”
    “ I’m wrong,” Seth said. “I
know I’m wrong. I know it but I can’t seem to help
myself!
    “ I feel awful about this
crap. I knew that woman was toxic and I let Mitch marry her. I knew
he was furious with her a few days before he died and I let those
kids live there. I saw Sissy wither away and Charlie become a
hoodlum and I did nothing!
    ” Mitch was my best friend,
the best person I’d ever known in my entire life. He saved my ass
over and over again and when he and my own
daughter needed me most, I had my head up
my ass! I let them suffer!
    “ And you want to start
over? So I can fuck it all up again? Get Ava and any children we
have killed by some psychopath? Or worse, treated like a blow up
doll so other disgusting creeps can watch it over and over
again?”
    If anyone had asked Seth, he wouldn’t have
admitted to being angry with himself. But at this moment, in the
company of his two oldest friends, he vomited his rage and self
loathing.
    From behind Maresol, the tiny brown Clara
came running into the room. She gave Maresol and Bumpy a bark and
took a flying leap onto Seth’s bed. She dropped on her belly and
pushed her nose into Seth’s shoulder.
    “ I see you made your
standard agreement with Clara?” Maresol asked.
    Caught in the wave of his own intense
emotion, Seth could only close his eyes and pet the puppy.
    “ I know you feel awful,”
Bumpy said. “I know you have a lot of pain and certainly I
understand your rage. I’ve been there. You’ve seen me there! I know
the ins and outs of the crimes we hold against ourselves. But you
never let me linger in that court and we won’t let you linger
either.”
    “ Plus, Ava warmed you to
expect this,” Maresol said.
    “ Your body is rejecting
the toxin,” Bumpy said. “Your mind tries to make sense of the toxin
by rejecting everything toxic in your life. Sissy and Charlie’s
horrible mother, Saint Jude, what happened to Sandy, it’s all
horrible and toxic to your system.”
    “ You’re making it worse,”
Maresol said.
    “ By working,” Bumpy
said.
    “ Fine, I won’t work,” Seth
said. “What am I supposed to do? Wallow in my own filth and rage?
That sounds smart.”
    “ No,” Bumpy said. “You
need to detox.”
    “ We’ve been over this!”
Seth said. “Blane is in Arizona.”
    “ Turns out, Ma Bell got to
Arizona,” Bumpy said.
    “ You called him?” Seth
asked.
    “ I pushed dem little
numbers on dat tiny devil object and heared voices! Dat’s
right, voices came over dat black demon device,” Bumpy gave Seth a dark
look.
    “ I hate your stupid, black
man act,” Seth said.
    “ Then don’t treat me like
I’m an imbecile,” Bumpy said. “Blane is coming over when they get
back. In the meantime, he gave me simple instructions that even my
feeble, un-Godlike mind can understand.”
    Seth scowled.
    “ You have to get the toxin
out,” Maresol said.
    “ Ava and Dean spent the
entire morning setting up an infrared sauna next to the hot tub,”
Bumpy said. “I want you to spend the afternoon either in the sauna
or in that hot tub. Thirty minutes in one, thirty minutes in the
other.”
    “ You’ll sweat it out,”
Maresol said.
    “ On my way over, I picked
up everything on Blane’s list of foods and things to drink,” Bumpy
said. “You drink and eat everything we give you. Use the toilet and
sweat.”
    “ But we can’t do that with
you on that phone,” Maresol said.
    “ Fine,” Seth began dialing
his phone.
    “ Have you not heard a word
we said??” Maresol looked like she was either going to kill him or
start crying again. He held up a finger.
    “ Tony?”