A Life Less Ordinary (18 page)

I
think he enjoyed it in spite of himself,
Harvey said.

Yeah,
I saw him laughing at
Bringing Up Baby
.  Of course, who could resist
Cary Grant as an absent-minded professor being slowly driven insane by
Katharine Hepburn?  I mean,
really
.

She
turned her head to grin at Harvey, who was beside her on the bed still dressed
in a tuxedo with a top hat balanced on his perfectly flat stomach.

He
sadly shook his head and asked,
Am I going to be stuck in this thing for the
rest of your life?

Manny
laughed. 
It’s only been four days!  Maybe you’d prefer this instead?

Harvey
was now wearing white pants with the cuffs rolled up.  His chest and feet were
bare, and Manny could almost smell the salt air and feel the sunset on her
skin.

Harvey
raised one eyebrow and said,
Have you been watching those Old Spice
commercials again?

You’d
prefer the pirate outfits?

At
least then it’s implied I’ve done more than just walk along a beach!

While
looking very handsome.

Like
that helps.

Wow. 
Picky yet.  You can be replaced you know.

Oh? 
With Zeke maybe?

What? 
No!  No, no, no.

Why
not?  He’s real and you’re in close proximity every day.  Who knows what might
happen if you’re willing to take a chance?

I
know exactly what will happen.  I’ll get all twitter-pated -

Twitter-pated
?  What – are you
twelve?

I’ll
get all twitter-pated,
Manny repeated, deliberately ignoring Harvey’s
interruption,
he’ll remain oblivious until I make a pass at him –
probably while I’m drunk – he’ll be horrified and run screaming for the hills. 
Been there – done that -

That
was a long time ago.

Read
the book – saw the movie -

Manny
-

Bought
the t-shirt.  Thank you -
no
.  Never fucking again.

So
– what?  You’re just going to ‘make do’ with me?  I’m not real!

I
know!  Which makes you perfect in every way!  You know that!  It’s why you
exist, after all...I mean, to a certain definition of ‘exist’.

That’s...

Pathetic. 
I know.  But it’s safe.

And
almost unbearably lonely.

Manny’s
eyes suddenly filled with tears and she blinked rapidly until both the tears
and Harvey were gone.

Manny
yawned as the elevator dinged and she sleepily shuffled out into the lobby. 
She was meeting Zeke for breakfast, but the reason why she’d agreed to meet at
such an ungodly hour had completely slipped her mind at the moment.

Of
course, the fact that you were up ‘til two a.m. playing the slot machines has
nothing to do with it.  Or the drinks,
Harvey pointed out.

Manny
shot Harvey a withering glare but refrained from comment.

She
glanced around the lobby and saw Zeke standing at the front desk, talking with
great interest and charm to the blonde woman who had checked them in the
previous afternoon.  The woman was definitely intrigued as she smiled up at
him.  Manny had to admit Zeke seemed even more rakishly handsome this morning
than usual, with his five o’clock shadow and dishevelled dark hair standing up
in spikes.  His black jeans made his long legs look even longer and his black
button-down shirt accentuated his broad shoulders and lean frame.

Oh,
oh.  This looks like San Francisco all over again.

I
think you’re right...well, he’s a good-looking guy, and this
is
Vegas.

Gotta
admit, he doesn’t seem to discriminate.  Blondes, brunettes – redheads, if you
count Rebecca.

He
likes women.  So sue him.

...my,
you
are
cranky today...

Manny
shook Harvey out of her head as she walked up to Zeke and the blonde woman with
a tired smile.

Zeke
gave her a slightly guilty look as he introduced her to Alicia, and Manny
watched him from the corner of her eye, amused at his lingering look back as
they left the attractive young woman and headed towards the breakfast buffet.

Zeke
shot her thoughtfully considering glances as they moved through the line
waiting to get into the restaurant, but they spoke little until they were
inside, had filled up their plates and were sitting at the table.

Manny
closed her eyes and hummed with pleasure as she sipped her coffee.  She was
beginning to wake up but she still regretted her two a.m. bedtime.  She opened
her eyes and blinked at Zeke’s steady albeit slightly pleading gaze he had
focused on her.

She
cradled her coffee cup in both hands and raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Would
you mind if -” Zeke began.

“Go,”
she interrupted with a half-smile.  “Have fun.  Play safe.”

He
smirked slightly.  “Always.”

“Good
to hear,” Manny said absently, yawning into her hand.  She took a bite of her
scrambled eggs and considered him thoughtfully.

“So,
does this mean you’re over Dixie, then?” she asked slowly.

“Pffft,”
Zeke shrugged, his eyes sliding away from hers.  “What’s to get over, really?”

“Ummmm
– the fact that she threw you out?  And you’ve never spoken to her about it? 
You said you cared about her.”

“
I did,” Zeke agreed,
his eyes focused on the food on his plate.

“
But you’re ready to move
on?  After what?  A month?  Maybe two?  Don’t you want to give your broken
heart more time to heal?”

Zeke
glanced at her, a half-bitter smile on his face.  “What broken heart?  And you
didn’t seem worried about this in San Francisco.”

“I
didn’t know you as well then,” Manny replied mildly.  “Plus I didn’t know what
had happened with Dixie.”  She shrugged and picked up her coffee cup once
more.  “Anyway, I was just checking,” she assured him. 

Zeke
considered her thoughtfully, his head cocked to one side. 

“Thank
you,” he said quietly, “but I can take care of myself.  Alicia’s beautiful and
she’s definitely interested in getting to know me a little better.  You said we
weren’t joined at the hip -”

Manny
shook her head, waving away his words.  “Go,” she said again. “Have a good
time.  I have your cell number if I need to get in touch.”  She raised an
eyebrow.  “I assume I’ll see you sometime before we’re supposed to leave next
week?” she asked sardonically.

“Maybe,”
Zeke teased, then smiled.  It wasn’t the deliberately charming smile he’d
focused on Alicia but one that actually seemed genuine and surprisingly sweet. 

“
You’re a very
understanding soul, Auntie Em,” Zeke said, his hazel eyes soft.

“Yeah,
that’s me,” she sighed, and took another bite of her eggs.

Wonder
what he’d do if you threw a temper tantrum?

Run
away.

...would
that be a bad thing?

Hey,
he’s been really good so far.  Really, I can count on one hand the number of
days he’s left me on my own.  I can’t really be pissed because he wants to spend
time with a beautiful woman.  After all, I understand sex is something you can
do to pass the time.

Yes. 
You should try it sometime.

Well,
I
am
in Vegas.  Who knows what might happen.

* * * * *

Zeke
wandered through the casino and tried to ignore his slight feeling of guilt. 
He kept an eye out for Manny but he knew that after four, almost five, full
days, she could be anywhere in Vegas.

He
ruefully shook his head.

While
Manny loved to sightsee – as he’d first learned to his dismay and sometime amusement
as they meandered their way out of Alberta – she wasn’t exactly the most social
person he’d ever met.  It took her time to warm up to people, and even at the
film festival, she only spoke to those people he spoke to, or who spoke to her
first.  He could just imagine how she’d spent the last four or five days -
probably wandering diffidently along the Strip, avoiding eye contact, and not
speaking a word. 

He
sternly squashed the feelings of guilt, telling himself he hadn’t intended to
leave her on her own.  But when things had spectacularly crashed and burned
with Alicia that first night, he’d wanted a day or two to lick his wounds in
private.  Who knew she even had a boyfriend, let alone one quite that big and
quite that good with a right hook?  He rubbed his jaw and winced at the
remembered pain.

Then
Leah had called with an urgent need for a half-dozen articles for her site
after one of her other regular writers had taken another job and left her high
and dry.  She’d sounded stressed, as had TJ when Zeke spoke to him the next
day, but they both assured him they were simply worried about getting ready to
start on the potentially long and complicated path towards having a baby.

He
paused at a bank of slot machines and frowned.  He’d never find Manny just by
wandering around.  She hadn’t answered her cell phone when he called, and he
couldn’t remember her room number.  He sighed.  He’d just have to go to the
front desk and leave a message for her. 

His
steps slowed when he saw Alicia was working, but then he mentally shrugged and
walked up to the desk.

Alicia
flushed when she saw him.

He
greeted her with a rueful smile.

“Listen,
Zeke,” Alicia said hurriedly, “I really am sorry.  I didn’t even know Abe was
in town – I swear!”

Zeke
waved away her apology.  “Nothing got broken,” he replied, “and you can barely
see the bruises anymore.  No real harm done.”

Alicia
smiled gratefully at him.  “Thanks, Zeke.”

She
leaned closer.

“Listen,
Abe really is out of town tonight, so if you wanted to get together – just for
a drink,” she hastened to assure him.  “I think I probably owe you a beer at
the very least.”

Zeke
chuckled.  “I’ll have to let you know.  I haven’t seen Manny – you know, the
woman I’m travelling with – for the last few days, and I want to check in with
her before I start making any other plans.”

Alicia
shrugged.  “Let me know, okay?  And I think I just saw your Manny heading
towards the casino.”  She nodded her head towards Zeke’s right, which was the
opposite wing of the casino than the one he’d just explored.

He
thanked her and strode in the direction she’d indicated, his long legs making
short work of the distance to the casino floor.  He walked down the main path,
looking down each bank of slot machines without success.  He was about to give
up when he heard his name being called. 

He
turned and smiled as Manny walked up to him.  Her mousy
not-quite-blonde-not-quite-brown hair was, as always, tightly bound in its
habitual bun, but he saw her face was again slightly sunburned, her nose rosy. 
She was wearing blue jeans and a grey tank top that hugged her figure.  For the
first time Zeke noticed Manny carried her weight in her breasts and hips, and
even though she was a bit overweight, her waist appeared quite tiny, especially
in that tank top.  He frowned slightly, not sure he liked just how much her
current outfit revealed of her figure while she was wandering around Vegas on
her own.  She was, after all, his Auntie Em.

On
the other hand, he was surprised at just how happy and, yes, relieved he was to
see her.  He must have been feeling guiltier than he thought about leaving her
to fend for herself.  To be honest, he’d barely thought of her at all during
the last five days, first because he’d been in pain from Abe’s punch, then
hungover from all the whiskey he’d drunk that night after Abe had taken Alicia
home, and then he’d been too busy working to worry too much about how Manny was
spending her time, or what she was wearing while she wandered the Strip.

He
greeted her now, though, with real pleasure, then asked, “So, what have you
been doing the last few days?”

Manny
gave him a distracted smile as she glanced around the casino, and said, “You
first.”

Zeke
considered telling her the truth for all of half a second, then decided to keep
the illusion of his last week going for a while longer.  Besides, he couldn’t
really explain about Leah without skirting dangerously close to inadvertently
leading her to his blog that was focused on her and this trip.