Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4 Read Online Free PDF Page A

next to him on the bed and softly stroked his
back.
    “ Nash,” Sandy said. “Dating
is a big deal. If you want to take Melinda, or any girl out, you
have to have the skills to do it well. Otherwise, it’ll just be
hard and awkward.”
    “ Why do you think I don’t
have the skills?”
    “ I don’t know if you do or
don’t,” Sandy said. “We need to figure out what you need to learn.
When you’re ready, you can ask Melinda out. You didn’t give me a
chance to say that before you got so upset.”
    “ She probably hates a loser
like me anyway,” Nash said.
    “ She’s going to Mike’s art
opening tonight,” Sandy said. “You could see if she hates you
there.”
    Nash didn’t move or say anything.
    “ I know this has been
really hard on you,” Sandy said. “It’s hard for all of us. But it
only works if we’re a team. When you’re upset, we’re upset. Do you
really hate this?”
    Sandy leaned forward when she heard a
‘No.’
    “ We’re all heartbroken
about Delphie,” Sandy said.
    Nash’s back began to heave.
    “ She’s coming home
tomorrow.”
    Nash rolled over. He threw himself into
Sandy’s arms. Sandy held the crying boy.
    “ I should have done
something,” Nash said. “I didn’t do anything for Dad and I didn’t
do anything for you and I didn’t do anything for Delphie
and…”
    “ You did something for all
of us,” Sandy said.
    “ No I didn’t,” Nash said.
“I let you get hurt and…”
    “ You loved us,” Sandy said.
“That’s all that matters to me, your Dad, and Delphie.”
    “ It’s not enough,” Nash
said. “Dad’s in a coma and Delphie’s in the hospital
and…”
    Hearing a noise, Sandy turned to see Noelle
standing in the doorway. Crying, Noelle ran to the bed to join
their hug. She held the weeping children.
    No amount of cookies or brownies would fix
this situation. Sandy was at a loss for what to do to make things
better. She just hung on for dear life. After a few minutes, she
sighed.
    “ We need to get ready to
go,” she said. “This is a big day for our friend Mike. He’s asked
us to be there with him. He’s pretty nervous. I think we would be
crummy friends if we let our own problems keep us from being there
for him.”
    Nash and Noelle nodded.
    “ Sometimes, we have to just
put away what we feel so that we can be there for someone else,”
Sandy said.
    “ Is that what you do with
us?” Nash asked.
    “ Sometimes,” Sandy said.
“Sometimes I feel sorry for myself and eat Girl Scout
cookies.”
    “ What kind of Girl Scout
cookies?” Nash asked.
    “ Any,” Sandy smiled. She
stroked his hair then hugged him. “Are we all right?”
    “ Yeah,” he said.
    “ Are we all right?” Sandy
hugged Noelle.
    “ Of course,” Noelle said.
“Nash, you have to get dressed. Fancy dress.”
    “ I do?” Nash returned to
whining.
    “ Dating skill #1,” Sandy
said. “You have to be able to dress up even when you don’t feel
like it. And fast. You have five minutes.”
    Nash hopped off the bed and began rifling
through his closet. Chuckling to herself, Sandy led Noelle from his
bedroom. Five minutes on the mark, Nash arrived from his bedroom in
dress pants, a nice shirt and a jacket. Sandy helped him with his
tie.
    They jogged down the stairs and out to the
driveway where they joined Jill, Jacob, Katy, Honey, and MJ in the
back of a limousine.
    “ Everything all right?” MJ
asked Nash. “You seemed a little upset.”
    “ I need to learn dating
skills,” Nash said.
    “ Don’t we all,” Jacob
said.
    At that moment, the driver took off from the
Castle. They were off to Mike’s big event.

CHAPTER
NINETY-TWO Mike’s show
     
    Sunday evening — 6:15 P.M.
    Denver Art Museum
     
    “ When we get home, will you
talk to me about what happened between you and Johansen?” Jill
whispered into Jacob’s ear. “And how you are about it? And
everything?”
    They were standing in the middle of the
nearly empty art gallery. Most of their close friends