A Life Less Ordinary (16 page)

“You
know,” she said numbly, “I didn’t actually believe you’d find anything.  At
least not
that
.  I mean, how...cliché...”  To her horror, she suddenly
began to cry, great, wracking sobs, interrupted only by gasping breaths.  Max
carelessly dropped the envelope on the desk, and pulled her out of her chair
and into his arms.  She buried her face in his shoulder, and felt something
inside her break as she cried. 

The
sobs finally slowed, then stopped.  For a few moments, she allowed herself to
lean into Max’s shoulder and let him comfort her.  Then with a determined
sniff, she pulled away. 

“Thank
you,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes as she turned and pulled some tissue
from the box she always kept on her desk.  She turned her back, blowing her
nose and wiping the last of the tears from her eyes.  Max watched silently, his
face creased with worry as she turned back towards him with one last swipe with
the tissue.

She
nodded at the envelope sitting on her desk. 

“Is
the usual evidence in there?”

“Yeah.”

Daisy
nodded, her gaze distant as she stared at the envelope.

“Okay. 
Okay.  Okay.”  She gave herself a shake and added, “Thanks, Max.”

She
jumped as the phone rang.  She took a deep breath and answered, “Springfield
Investigations, Daisy speaking...Speaking.”  She listened intently, paling even
further as she did so.  She reached out and clutched Max’s sleeve.  Finally,
she said, “Thank you; I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

She
hung up the phone and turned to Max.

“There
was an accident during Jakob’s phys ed class today.  He’s been taken to the
hospital; they think he broke his leg.”

“I’ll
drive,” Max said.

~~~~~

Hub
walked into his darkened house and hung up his coat and keys without turning on
any lights.  He wandered into the living room and stopped short when he saw
Daisy sitting in the dark.

“What
the -”

“I
called your office this afternoon,” Daisy said, her voice eerily quiet in the
dimness.  “Late this afternoon.  Jakob was injured during phys ed; broke his
leg.”

“My
God -” Hub began and took a step towards her.

“He’s
okay.  He’s in the hospital right now, and I sent Janika over to Rebecca’s to
spend the night with Tris.”

“
Was that wise?  Her
brother just broke his leg!  I would think she’d want to be with her mother!”

“
You weren’t here.  In
fact, you also weren’t at work.  You’d left around one-thirty.  No one knew
where you were, and you weren’t answering your cell phone.”

“
I was at a meeting,”
Hub snapped.

Daisy
gave a watery chuckle.  “Really?  Is that what the kids are calling it these
days?”

She
turned on the lamp beside her chair.  Hub blinked in the sudden flood of light,
then blinked again as Daisy pushed an envelope across the coffee table and
nodded at it.

“I
think you can guess what’s in there,” she said.

Hub
stared at the envelope, then his shoulders slumped.  He slowly, almost
painfully sat on the edge of the couch.  He leaned forward, his elbows resting
on his knees, his hands loosely clasped together.

He
nodded.  “Yes.  I know what’s in there.”

Daisy
swallowed hard, her throat clicking.

“I
think it’s time for this farce of a marriage to be over.  A neglectful husband
and father I could...tolerate.  A cheating one?  Never.”

“Daisy...it
just -”

“If
you tell me it just ‘happened’, I swear to God, I will punch your lights out!” 
Daisy snarled, suddenly enraged.  “Stubbing your toe ‘just happens’.  Breaking
your leg ‘just happens’!  That -” she stabbed a finger towards the damning
envelope, “
that
takes planning and a conscious decision!”

She
jerked to her feet.  “Whenever you can find a place, you can go.”

Hub
stared up at her.  “What about the kids?”

Daisy
snorted.  “Maybe they’ll see you more often when you only have visitation
rights.”

“Daisy
-”

“I’ve
set up the guest room.  I’ll tell the kids tomorrow.  Somehow, I don’t think
they’ll be surprised.”

She
gestured carelessly at the envelope.

“You
can keep those,” she sniffed, “I have the originals.”

* * * * *

“I’m
so, so sorry, Daisy,” Manny said, appalled.

“You
want to know the sad part?  I’m not even surprised.  I think I suspected for a
long time – otherwise I wouldn’t have asked Max to follow him in the first
place.”

“Do
you want me to come home?  Just say the word, and I’ll be there.”

“I
know.  But while I could use you here – no.  No.  There’s really nothing for
you to do, except listen to me bitch, and you can do that from anywhere. 
Besides – and this is going to sound awful, but...I’m almost...relieved.”

“
Well, as Mom used to
say:  you can’t solve a problem -”

“
You can’t define,”
Daisy finished with her.

They
laughed.

Daisy
sighed sadly.  “I could use her and Dad right now.”

“Yeah. 
Daisy, really, I can come home.”

“No,
I’m okay – and if I’m not -”

“
Then
I’ll come home.”

~~~~~

Zeke
sat in his motel room and stared off into space.

He
thought about the things TJ and Manny had said to him.  He thought about the
people he’d left behind long before, most without a single backwards glance.

He
thought about Dixie.

And
for the first time, he allowed himself to wonder if he’d be on this trip if
he’d just tried to call her.  Tried to explain.  Tried to make things right
again.

He
bit his lip before he took out his phone and dialed Dixie’s number.  He felt a
cold sweat break out on his skin as he listened to the ringing of the phone on
the other end of the line.

“Why
are you calling?”

Zeke
jerked, taken aback.  “Well, hello to you, too, Dixie.”

“It’s
been over a month and no word from you until now,” she snapped.  “What do you
want?”

Zeke
hesitated for a long, silent moment, wondering what the hell he was going to
say.

“Zeke?”

He
started, and refocused on the conversation.  “I – I don’t want anything.  I
just called to say...I’m sorry.  And to tell you – I wasn’t cheating.  I was
doing an interview.  If you’d read my blog, you’d know it was strictly
business.”

Now
it was Dixie’s turn to be silent.  Zeke sat quietly and waited for her to
speak.

Finally
she said, “Well.  I guess...thank you for the apology.  And, I guess...I
appreciate the attempt at a cover story.”

Zeke
said softly, sincerely, “It’s the truth.”

“
Maybe.  But I don’t
dare take the chance and believe you.”

Zeke
closed his eyes and wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose.  “I didn’t expect
you to do anything.  I just wanted you to know.  I thought you deserved to
know.  And maybe, if I had talked to you then, instead of...well...maybe things
would be different right now.”

Dixie
hesitated then said, “I guess we’ll never know.”

Zeke
slumped down in his chair.  “I guess not,” he said quietly.  “Good-bye, Dixie.”

“Good-bye,
Zeke.”

He
continued to hold the phone to his ear long after she ended the call.

~~~~~

Manny
lay on her back and stared at the ceiling.  Harvey was beside her, his hands
resting on his flat stomach.

So,
Daisy and Hub have split.

Yes.

And
Jackson told Rebecca he wants more from her.

He
has.

Zeke’s
looking for some way to mend his broken heart, even if he won’t admit it.

That’s
true.

And
I’m here.  With you.  Like always.

Yes.

I’m
the one who wanted change...this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.

Zeke
stared at Manny in consternation.  She’d bounced into his room with a broad
grin, a glossy brochure clutched in her hands, and excitedly announced her
plans for the next week.

“You
want to go
where
?” he asked, hoping his ears had deceived him.

“To
the Classic Movies Film Festival, being held in this town in Arizona.  Oh, God
– it’s going to be awesome!  Four full days – five venues – and every year they
showcase a different actor or actress.  Last year it was John Wayne.  This year
– this year it’s
Cary Grant
!”

Zeke’s
lips twitched at the way she almost squealed the name.

“Girly
kinda fella?” he asked drily, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh,
ha ha!”  Manny rolled her eyes then turned her attention back to the brochure
she held in her hand, her face lit up with enthusiasm.

“They’re
showing the only three Cary Grant movies I’ve never seen!  Oh, my God – Cary
Grant!  On the big screen!”

Zeke
couldn’t help himself.  He burst out laughing at her awed and excited
demeanour.  He plucked the brochure out of her hand, ignoring her startled and
indignant yelp.

“Is
there anything else playing or is it All-Cary-Grant-All-the-Time?”

“There’s
lots playing – I’m going to have a tough time deciding which movies to see and
which ones I’ll have to miss.”

Zeke’s
eyebrows rose as he read the brochure.  He hated to admit it, but he was
actually impressed.  With five venues playing movies simultaneously, there was
literally something for everyone.

“When
does this thing start?” he asked, turning the brochure over.

“Friday,”
Manny said, then quickly lunged and snatched back the brochure.  He gave her an
exasperated glare that turned into a grin as she turned her back, engrossed in
reading the lineup.

“Oooh,”
she crooned, “All my favourites!  Humphrey Bogart!  Clark Gable!  Oh my God –
William Powell and Myrna Loy! Oh, hell,” she moaned as she turned towards him
again, “I think I’ve died and gone to movie heaven!”

Zeke
shook his head as he doubled over with laughter even as he resigned himself to
suffering through four days of endless romantic comedies.

If
nothing else, he thought ruefully, he should end up with lots of material for
his blog.

~~~~~

Manny
had a fairly accurate suspicion about Zeke’s feelings, but she was too excited
to care.

Cary
Grant, she thought giddily,
twelve feet high
.

She
almost wished she could swoon.  Or squeal like a little girl.

Oh,
God,
Harvey groaned.

What?

I
see lots of tuxedos in my future.

Manny
glanced up and blinked at him.  He was, as predicted, in an impeccably tailored
tuxedo complete with bow tie, his crisp white shirt in sharp contrast to his
salt-and-pepper hair, golden skin and deep brown eyes.

You
look so good in them, though.

True. 
But I’m no Cary Grant.

Who
is?  Even Cary Grant wished he were Cary Grant.

Are
we going to have romantic candlelit dinners now?

Maybe. 
But that’s better than the pirates, right?

Harvey
smiled at her. 
Sometimes the pirates can be fun, too.

Glad
to hear it – there are some Errol Flynn movies, too.

Harvey
groaned, and Manny laughed.

She
refocused on Zeke.

“You
don’t have to see the movies with me,” she told him.  “You can do whatever you
like.”

“It’s
no fun watching movies by yourself,” he shrugged.  “Besides,” he plucked the
brochure out of her hands once more, “I’ll bet there’s nothing else to do in
this town.”

“You’ll
never know until we get there,” she tutted.

Zeke
heaved an exaggerated, long-suffering sigh as he threw himself down in his
chair in front of his desk.  He glanced at his laptop sitting on the desk and
his eyes widened as he realized he’d left the blog he was writing up on the
screen.  He quickly glanced at Manny and was relieved to see she was still
focused on the brochure in her hands, her excited smile firmly in place.

“And
to think, we still have almost five months to go...” he teased as he reached
over and quietly closed the computer.