A Life Less Ordinary (30 page)

“Sounds
good,” TJ said cheerfully.

Zeke’s
frown was even more thoughtful as he disconnected the call.

~~~~~

Leah
walked into the house and tossed her keys on the table beside the door.  She
wandered into the living room.

“Hey,”
she greeted TJ, who was sitting on the couch working on his laptop.

“Hey,”
TJ gave her a fleeting smile before he refocused his attention on the computer.

She
dropped a kiss on the top of his head, then flung herself on the couch beside
him.  She idly watched the screen as TJ typed rapidly.

“Zeke
call you today?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

She
waited, but when TJ didn’t offer anything more, she said, “You need to tell
him.”

“After
the surgery,” TJ said firmly.  “There’s no point having him come back any
sooner.  Dr. Valesquez said it might be benign, so until we know for sure -”

“You’ve
been using that excuse ever since we first found out there may be a problem,”
Leah said sharply.  “What are you worried about?”

TJ
sighed, set his laptop on the coffee table and turned to Leah.  He looked
steadily at her.

“I’m
worried about making it real,” he said softly.  “Saying it’s cancer before we
know for sure just feels like...we’re giving up before we’ve even begun.”

Leah
threw her arms around him and hugged tightly.

“My
surgery is scheduled eleven days from now,” TJ whispered into her neck.  “We’ll
have the results of the biopsy within two days after that.  Then we’ll tell
Zeke everything.  Even if the news is bad.  Okay?”

Leah
sighed.  “He’ll be pissed when he finds out we kept this from him.”

“He’ll
get over it.”

“He’ll
make us pay,” Leah warned.

TJ
chuckled slightly.  “I’d be disappointed if he didn’t.”

“I’ll
remind you of that when you’re complaining to me,” Leah said drily.

“I’d
be disappointed if you didn’t,” TJ grinned and kissed her soundly.

* * * * *

Manny
stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body then another
around her hair.  She opened the door and padded towards the small table where
the coffee pot was located.  She caught a glimpse of herself in the hotel
room’s full-length mirror and grimaced at the sight.

You
should stop doing that.

Doing
what?

Hating
what you look like.

Just
in a mirror.  I swear I’m prettier and skinnier than that!

Manny.

Harvey.

Harvey
sighed. 
It’s one of those kind of days, is it?

I
need coffee, okay?  Let me at least have coffee in my hands before we start
arguing.  I mean, before I start arguing with myself.

Harvey
shook his head, his arms crossed as he stood between the beds, tapping his bare
foot.

Manny
took a sip of the coffee and sighed gratefully.  She turned and looked at him.

Okay. 
What’s going on?

All
I wanted to say was if you don’t like how you look, there are things you can
change.  We are in Los Angeles.

I
am
not
getting plastic surgery!

Harvey
laughed. 
I was thinking more about a makeover.  Nothing so drastic as
plastic surgery.

A
makeover?

You
have heard of those things, right?  You know, change your haircut, put on some
makeup, buy some different clothes -

I
know what they are!  I just hadn’t thought about doing it before.

Manny
slowly sipped her coffee, deep in thought.  Her phone buzzed with Zeke’s
ringtone and she started.

“Hello,”
she answered cheerfully.

“Hey. 
What do you have planned for the day?”

“Nothing
so far.  Why?”

“I’ve
got some work to do; an old client needs some development work done ASAP.  I
should be finished today, but it may take most of tomorrow, too.”

“
Okay.  I think I’m
going to just wander around then.  See what I can find.”

“
Oh, God. 
Please
don’t bring back half the city as your new friends!”

“
I was only planning on
bringing back – at most – a quarter of it,” Manny replied primly, then laughed
at Zeke’s dramatic groan.

She
padded back into the bathroom, towel-dried her hair and began to comb out the
tangles.  She realized she was avoiding her reflection and forced herself to
look in the mirror as she dealt with her hair.  She paused in her task and
frowned thoughtfully, slowly cocking her head to one side.

It’d
be fun,
Harvey urged.

Yeah. 
Yeah, I think it would.

~~~~~

Manny
chatted rather nervously with the pretty young woman, Olive, who was cutting
her hair.  She forced herself to sit still, but she could feel herself
vibrating like a taut wire.  Her back was to the mirror and she hadn’t seen the
results yet, although she had seen the long ponytail which had been Olive’s
first cut.  Manny had promised to leave everything up to Olive, but as the
minutes ticked by and the scissors kept snipping, she was getting more and more
nervous.

“Relax,”
Olive said, “you’re going to look great!”

Manny
gave her an uncertain smile.

“You
know,” Olive said, “if you want...my boyfriend’s a photographer.  I could give
him a call, see if he could do some glamor pics for you.”

Manny’s
eyes widened.

“Glamor
pics?”

“Yeah. 
Full makeup and outfits and everything.  He does head shots for aspiring
actors, so he knows how to make people look really good.”

Manny
hummed as she considered it.  “Where’s he located?”

“Just
down the block.  And he’s pretty reasonable when it comes to the price.”

Manny
grinned.  “You know, it does sound like fun, actually.  Assuming I like what
you’ve done to me.”

Olive
grinned back.  “Trust me – you’ll love it!  I’ll call once we’re done here.  I
know he didn’t have any appointments when he left this morning, but you never
know what the day might bring.”

“Especially
with his girlfriend sending him work.”

Olive
shrugged sheepishly.  “I don’t send everybody.”

Manny
laughed.  “Give him a call.  I’ve never had a professional picture of me – just
me, I mean.”

“Super! 
Now, are you ready to see the new you?”

Manny
gulped, then took a deep breath and nodded.

Olive
spun her chair with a flourish and Manny stared at the woman in the mirror.

Her
long hair was gone, replaced by a tousled cap that framed her face, gently
curled around her jawline and left her neck bare.

Manny
tentatively touched the ends of her hair.  She gave her head an experimental
shake, feeling oddly light without the long-familiar weight of her hair.  She
blinked as she realized her hair colour, while still
not-quite-blonde-not-quite-brown looked...almost...pretty.

Too
bad she still had the same plain face, the same thirty extra pounds – and she
still felt the same.  Dull, old and plodding, and no amount of gambling,
drinking, dancing – or superficial makeovers – was going to change
that
.

She
glanced at Harvey, to find him giving her a sarcastically sympathetic look as
he mimed played a violin.

Get
away from me.

Just
-
enjoy
yourself!  Don’t you ever get tired of keeping yourself down?

She
deliberately turned and smiled at Olive.

“It’s
lovely.  What’s next?”

“Let
me call my boyfriend.”

~~~~~

Manny
walked into the hotel restaurant and rather nervously looked around.  She saw
Zeke sitting at a table engrossed in the menu.  She thanked the hostess, took a
deep breath, and briskly walked towards him.

Manny
was somewhat gratified by his double-take and the way his eyes widened when he
caught sight of her.  She was slightly taken aback when his eyes narrowed, his
brows lowered and he began to scowl. 

When
she got to the table she ignored the scowl and said, “So?  What do you think?”

She
turned her head from side to side, showing off the new haircut from several
angles.

“What
did you do?” Zeke demanded incredulously.

“Well,
if you don’t know what a haircut looks like...” Manny said drily as she slid
into the chair opposite him.

He
stared unblinkingly at her.  “Why would you cut your hair?” he asked.

“It
was time for a change,” she said, picking up the menu and frowning as she read
it.

“But
– but -”

Manny
glanced at Zeke and raised an eyebrow in challenge.  “But – what?”

“Why
are you trying to – to turn back the clock?”

“I’m
not trying to turn back the clock,” Manny protested mildly.

“Look
at you!” he said, gesturing vaguely at her.  “You’ve cut your hair!”

“I
think we’ve already established that,” Manny drawled.

Zeke
was shaking his head, wide-eyed.  “It’s not...not
you
!” he blurted.

Manny
laughed then.  “Sure it is.  I’ve had it this short before – I liked it then, I
like it now.  I was tempted to colour it, too, but Olive – the girl who cut my
hair – convinced me it looked good like this.” 

“Well,
I’m not sure I like it!” Zeke huffed, leaning back in his chair and crossing
his arms.

Manny
froze then very precisely laid down the menu and leaned over the table, glaring
at him through narrowed eyes. 

“You
don’t
have
to like it, Zeke,” she hissed quietly, trying to keep her
voice down in the crowded restaurant, “I didn’t do this for you!  And it’s just
a damn haircut!  What are you so angry about?”

Now
it was Zeke’s turn to lean over the table, his own eyes hard and coldly angry. 
“You won’t stay where I put you,” he growled.

Manny
frowned.  “I don’t even know what that means,” she snapped.

“I
mean
, you keep
changing -
”

“That’s
the whole point!”

Zeke
plowed on like she hadn’t said a word, “- doing things I never expected you to
do or even think of doing!  From the Misfit Toys to raucous card games to
wiggling your ass like – like -”

“Like
what, Zeke?” Manny asked, her voice dangerously quiet when Zeke stammered to a
stop.

Zeke
shook his head and waved it away.  “Never mind,” he said.  “The point is,
you’re supposed to be demure, retiring, repre-e-e- – buttoned-up –
buttoned-down...
Auntie Em
!  Not -” he gestured angrily, encompassing
everything from her haircut to her shoes, “
this
!”

“Supposed
to be? 
Supposed
to be?  As far as I know, I have no obligation to fit
any of your pre-conceived and petrified notions of who and what I should be! 
And you have no right to expect me to!”

“Um...are
you ready to order?”

Their
heads snapped towards the waitress who was standing rather timidly beside their
table.

“You
know what,” Manny said, abruptly rising to her feet, “I’m not hungry anymore. 
I think I’m just going to go back to my room.  See if I can get my appetite
back.”

Zeke
made no effort to stop her from leaving.

~~~~~

“...I
guess I won’t tell him about the pictures then,” Manny sighed, laying back on
the bed and scowling at the ceiling.

On
the other end of the phone, Daisy paused before she tentatively asked,
“Pictures?  What pictures?

“Well,
Olive’s boyfriend is a photographer – you know, head shots for aspiring
actors?  Well, I got some glam shots and some...you know...sexy lingerie
pictures done.”

Daisy
paused before she slowly said, “You posed for...sexy lingerie pictures? 
Really?
” 
Her voice squeaked on the last word.

“Really. 
I’m going to get the prints tomorrow.”

“I
am blown away.  Manny.  I don’t even...”

Manny
sighed.  “Don’t you start!”

“I
think that’s
awesome
!  That’s something I’ve always wanted to do and
I’ve never had the guts!”

“Hey,
if you like them, would you like to come down?  Rebecca, too, if she can get
away.  You guys are only four hours away by plane; we could get more pictures
done together.”