A Life Less Ordinary (6 page)

Manny
determinedly shook her head.  “I’m not thinking that far ahead.”

“See? 
This is what I’m talking about!  That’s not like you!  You’ve got things
planned years in advance!  Sometimes to the very hour!”

“That’s
because nothing – and I mean nothing – ever changes for me!  That’s the point! 
That’s why I need to do this!  I’m almost positive I didn’t used to be like
this.  I don’t remember worrying or planning years in advance when I was in my
early twenties.  I used to...I don’t know...just
live
.”

Rebecca
painted in silence for a moment then slowly said, “You were still reeling from
the deaths of your parents.  You and Daisy both.  I think your early twenties
were – well, you’d had it proven to you when you were seventeen that there’s no
such thing as a guaranteed future.  You both lived life in the moment for a
while there.”

Manny
bit her lip.  “It was...hard,” she acknowledged softly.  “For all of us,” she
added, glancing at Rebecca.

“It’s
still hard,” Rebecca sighed, “and it’s been almost thirty years.”

They
worked in somber silence for a few minutes, then Manny shook off her melancholy
mood.

“Regardless
of the reasons why I was different in my early twenties, I don’t want to be
this...
this
...person anymore.  I want to know who I could be – or who I
want to be – or...”

“Or?”

“Or
who I
am
.  I’ve been my job for so long, I can’t remember who I am
without it.”  She stared at Rebecca, stricken.  “I don’t want to die as this
person.”

Rebecca
put down her roller, walked to Manny and pulled her into a tight, comforting
hug.  “I’d prefer it if you’d say you want to
live
as a different
person,” she said gently.

Manny
gave a choked laugh and nodded.

Rebecca
stood back, her hands on Manny’s shoulders.  She searched Manny’s eyes then
nodded briskly.  “Okay.  I won’t argue or try to talk you out of this. 
Just...be careful, okay?  And if you run into trouble, you call, okay?  I’ll be
there.”

“I
know,” Manny nodded.  “And I’ll be careful.”

They
went back to painting and worked in silence for several minutes then Rebecca
asked, “So, when’s this guy getting here?”

Manny
glanced at her watch.  “In about fifteen minutes or so – if he’s on time.”  She
glanced slyly at Rebecca.  “Don’t worry – you’ll like him.”

“Oh?”

Manny
nodded.  “Tall, dark and handsome – just the way you like ‘em.”

Rebecca
laughed.  “Well, in that case I’d better not tell Jackson about him.”

Manny
laughed as well.  “I’m not sure he’s in Jackson’s league – but he’s pretty darn
close.”

“Now
I’m intrigued...and possibly a little jealous.”

Manny
grimaced.  “Don’t be – Zeke likes younger women.”

“Him
and every other straight man on the planet.”

Zeke
was exactly on time.  Manny led him in to the living room and was rewarded and
amused by Rebecca’s reaction to him and his reaction to her.  She struggled not
to laugh out loud at the appreciative gleam in his eyes and charming smile that
curved his mouth.  He might like younger women, Manny thought as she watched
them greet each other, but he also appreciated beauty when he saw it.  In an
odd way, it was a mark in his favour.

The
doorbell rang again, and Zeke looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“That’ll
be Daisy,” she said and hurried to answer the door.

While Rebecca’s reaction to Zeke amused her, Daisy’s reaction sent
her off into a fit of giggles she couldn’t seem to stop.  Daisy’s wide-eyed,
mesmerized stare and breathless “hel-
lo
” made Manny laugh even harder. 
Zeke was somewhat nonplussed by her amusement, while Daisy just gave her a
disgusted look.  However, Manny’s laughter seemed to snap Daisy out of her
dazed fascination, and she became once again a mature woman instead of a
teenager.

“Okay,
okay,” she sighed as Manny got herself under control.  She turned to Zeke. 
“Thanks for sending me all the information I asked for, Zeke.”  She waved the
envelope she carried in her hand at Manny and Rebecca.

“He’s
definitely who he says he is.  Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Powell, freelance multimedia
developer. Born in New Zealand, and been in this country for the last fourteen
years.  No criminal record, no bad debts, no court orders or restraining orders
against him in either country.  He also has a healthy bank account and an
excellent professional reputation.”

“Good
lord – are you a cop?” Zeke asked incredulously.

“I
work for a very good private investigator, actually.”  She turned to Manny. 
“As far as Max can tell, he’s as safe as anybody else.”

“
Well, that’s a bit
lukewarm, don’t you think?” Zeke protested.

The
women ignored him.

“Great!”
Manny said.  “Thanks, Daisy.  Tell Max I owe him one.”

“He’s
already eager to collect,” Daisy replied drily.  “He mentioned something about
a roast duck dinner when you get back.”

“He’s
got it,” Manny said.  She turned to Zeke who still looked slightly insulted. 
“Okay, here’s the deal.  I’m leaving a week from today.  I bought a small
travel van – bed, stove, a mini-fridge, and a little bit of storage.”

Zeke
looked alarmed and opened his mouth, but she forestalled him.

“Don’t
worry – your virtue is safe with me.  We’ll be staying in hotels and motels
most of the time.  The van is just in case we get stranded or if the passenger
wants to have a nap, or we don’t want to stop to eat – or we need a little
space away from each other.”

“Just
one question,” Zeke said.  He gestured at Rebecca and Daisy.  “Why aren’t the
two of you going instead?”

“I
can’t be away for six months,” Rebecca replied, “that’s an eternity in the real
estate business.  Besides, my daughter’s going through a divorce right now and
I need to be here for her and my granddaughter.”

“And
my husband and kids might have something to say about it if I were to leave for
six months,” Daisy said drily.

“
Ah.  Okay.  Then a week
it is.”

Manny
nodded, satisfied.

Daisy
stepped up close to Zeke, getting into his personal space.  Her face was set,
blue eyes steely. 

“Just
for the record, Zeke – Max and I didn’t find anything on you, but I’m telling
you something right now:  this is my baby sister you’re traipsing off with. 
Anything happens to her that she doesn’t want or like – and I’ll hunt you down
like the dog you are.  Got it?”

Zeke stared at her for a moment, then, “
Traipsing
?”

Daisy
took a step back but didn’t break eye contact.  “Just remember that.”

He
nodded quickly, his eyes wide.

Manny
cleared her throat uncomfortably.  “Well,” she said, her voice a bit higher
than usual, “now that that’s settled – let’s get back to work.”

“Work?”
Zeke asked incredulously.

“You
don’t have to, of course, but we,” Manny indicated Rebecca and Daisy, “have a
house to paint.”

Zeke
hesitated, then shrugged and smiled.  “Why not?  I have nothing better to do
today.” 

He
took off his jacket and ignored Rebecca and Daisy’s appreciative sighs,
although he shared a surprisingly comfortable and amused glance with Manny
before getting a pan and a roller.

I’ll
bet he’d look almost as good as me if he took his shirt off,
Harvey murmured.

Go
away.

~~~~~

Later
that night, Daisy sat at a slot machine in her local casino, playing without
paying too much attention to what she was doing.  She was thinking of Manny’s
road trip and trying to keep calm about it.  Zeke seemed like a nice guy
although...
unhappy
.  She’d asked Manny about it while they were making
coffee in the kitchen, and Manny told her Zeke had recently had some issues
with his girlfriend.  Daisy wondered if that meant Zeke would cut his trip
short – or back out entirely – if things changed with his girlfriend.  She
didn’t know which would be worse:  Manny leaving for six months with a
stranger, or Manny leaving for six months alone.

Both
options made her shiver with apprehension.  Daisy had her family, her husband
and kids, and, of course, Rebecca, but Manny – Manny was her
sister
, a
different kind of bond than any of the others, and her only true link to the
parents they’d lost so long ago.  They had history that even Rebecca didn’t
share.

“Why
the hell am I not surprised?”

Daisy
started with a little screech, and stared, wide-eyed at her husband.

“Jesus,
Hub – you scared me!”

“Yeah,
because you can’t see anything but that damn machine!  As usual!”

Daisy
gave an exasperated sigh.  “Don’t start.  Have you tracked me down just to give
me hell, or do you need me for something?  For a change,” she added sarcastically.

“Don’t
you
start.  Did you forget?  Jakob played soccer tonight and Janika had
a volleyball game.”

Daisy
sighed tiredly.  “No, I didn’t forget.”

“Then
– look at me!” Hub hissed furiously.  She turned a bland face towards him but
kept playing her machine.  “Then why are you sitting here, instead of going to
their games?”

Daisy
stopped playing and turned to face him fully. 

“Because
they’re your children, too,” she snarled, “and you haven’t been to a single
game for either of them this year!”

“You
could have just asked instead of – of – of taking a runner to the fucking
casino!  Again!”

“I
have
asked you!  I’ve also told you and begged you and even tried
forcing you!  Shockingly, you’re always busy!”

She
smacked the cash out button with more force than necessary and walked rapidly
to the ticket-cashing machine, Hub hard on her heels.

“So
you come here – abandon your children -”

“Oh
my God – I’ve been gone for two hours!  You’ve been emotionally gone for the
last five years!”

Hub
growled, “I don’t appreciate being pulled away from work -”

“Yeah? 
Well, I don’t appreciate being a single parent while I’m still married!  It’s
time you picked your head up from your work and started paying attention to
your children!  And while you’re at it, you’d better start paying attention to
me, too!  Before it’s too late.”

* * * * *

TJ
and Leah anxiously waited for the doctor to arrive.  TJ glanced at Leah as he took
her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“No
matter what he tells us, we’ll find a way to have a baby,” he told her softly.

She
smiled although she remained tense and alert.

“I
know we will,” she said and squeezed back.

TJ
shifted his chair closer to hers and kept a firm, warm grip on her hand, their
fingers laced together, as the door opened and the doctor walked in carrying a
file.

He
greeted them with a gentle smile as he sat at his desk.  He opened the file,
then met their anxious stares. 

“As
you know, the test results have come back.”  His gaze shifted to TJ.  “I’m
sorry.  Your sperm count is very low.  Which means Leah’s chances of getting naturally
pregnant by you aren’t good.”

TJ
and Leah’s faces fell, devastation in their eyes.  The doctor gave them a
reassuring smile.

“There
are, of course, many other options you can explore.  A donor, perhaps IVF,
fertility treatments, adoption.  There’s no need to decide immediately, of
course.  I’ll pull together some information on the options for you to review,
if you’d like.  Please.  Take your time, think things over.  There’s still a
very slim possibility you could conceive naturally, but – I’m sorry - the odds
are extremely low.”

TJ
glanced at Leah.  She looked as sick as he felt.  He gave her a twisted smile.

“I...I
guess you can’t call me Stud anymore,” he joked weakly.

Leah
stared blankly at him before she half-chuckled then burst into tears.  TJ
pulled her to him and held her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

~~~~~

Zeke
sat in the spare room at TJ and Leah’s house, his laptop open in front of him. 
He stared at the blank screen, the blinking cursor, for a few moments and
thought about everything that had happened in the last two weeks leading up to
tomorrow’s departure.  He thought about Manny, Daisy and Rebecca; about TJ and
Leah’s disappointment; about Dixie’s decision.  He took a sip of his beer, drew
in a deep breath, and began to type.

Is
it ever too late to change?  To make an effort to grasp life in both hands and
wring every ounce you can out of it?

Rebecca
put the finishing touches on her outfit just as the doorbell rang.  She greeted
Jackson with a smile and a kiss, then led him by the hand into the living room
where she fixed him his favourite drink.