A Life Less Ordinary

by Bernadine, Victoria

  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.

  Sometimes change happens without our consent or even our knowledge.

  Daisy checked on each of her sleeping children in turn, and smiled at the sight of their tousled heads on their pillows. They each looked much younger than seventeen and fifteen. She quietly shut the door on Janika’s room, and walked out to the living room. With a significant look at Hub, she grabbed her purse and left the house.

  She strolled from her car to the casino, and smiled when she saw her favourite slot game was free. She sat down, fed a twenty into the machine and ordered a drink from the waitress. She sighed, leaned back and began to play.

  Sometimes it happens because of past mistakes.

  Zeke glanced at the small framed picture beside the computer. It showed him with a huge grin on his face, his arms around a smiling Dixie. TJ had taken it just a few months ago, when they’d been here for a barbecue. He turned the picture face down and returned his focus to the computer screen.

  Sometimes it’s completely out of our control.

  Leah shifted and made herself more comfortable snuggled up with TJ in their king-sized bed. He absently stroked her arm as he stared sightlessly at the ceiling. She opened her mouth, hesitated, then resolutely closed her eyes.

  And sometimes it’s a conscious decision, to throw away everything known and safe and secure, and face the new day knowing only one thing: today will be different from yesterday.

  Manny stood in her empty, freshly painted living room and turned in a slow circle as she admired their hard work. She made a conscious effort to breathe calmly before, with a final deep breath, she turned off the lights and left the room.

  Episode 2

  Day 1

  Manny finished pinning her mousy hair into her habitual bun and scowled at her shapeless sweats and t-shirt. She wasn’t a clotheshorse by any stretch of the imagination, but she had to admit she couldn’t wait to start replenishing her wardrobe. For now, all she could do was shake her head. She grabbed her duffel bag and backpack and headed to the living room. She’d just placed her bag on the living room floor when the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it!” Daisy called and hurried to the door.

  Manny’s stomach curled with nerves as she finished stuffing her laptop into her backpack then glanced at Daisy and Zeke as they walked into the room.

  “Ready?” Zeke asked, rubbing his hands together. He looked attractively scruffy with his tousled black hair and five o’clock shadow and for a split second Manny wondered if Rebecca was right, and she’d lost her mind.

  Chickening out?

  She glanced at Harvey then met Zeke’s eyes. She frowned slightly at his half-amused, half-expectant expression. She suddenly realized he was convinced she was about to tell him she’d decided to stay.

  ...never.

  Good girl.

  She put her hands on her hips and glanced around. “I think I’ve covered everything. Daisy, you have enough money to pay the bills until Rebecca sells the house...” She glanced back at Zeke and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.”

  Zeke smiled and nodded back. “So where are we going first?”

  Manny reached into her backpack and pulled out a small zip-lock bag filled with folded slips of paper.

  “You can have the honour of deciding,” she said as she opened the bag and held it out to him.

  Zeke stared, eyebrows raised. “What the hell is this?”

  “Our itinerary. Well, mine anyway. If there are any places you’d like to see we can just add them in.” She shook the baggie invitingly. “Pick one.”

  Zeke stared at her in stunned disbelief. “Are you nuts?” he exclaimed. “We could be criss-crossing the continent a hundred times!”

  Manny nodded with a bright smile. “Exactly. Pick one.”

  Zeke looked at Daisy who only shrugged helplessly.

  “Don’t look at me,” she said. “I don’t know where the hell this idea came from.”

  Zeke shook his head, but his lips quirked into a reluctant smile. He reached into the baggie and pulled out one of the pieces of paper. He unfolded it and said, “‘San Francisco/San Jose – we have to see the Winchester House.’”

  “Oh, awesome!” Daisy said. “I wish I could go with you to that one!”

  “Too bad you can’t get away,” Manny said wistfully.

  “Yeah, well, Hub would throw a fit,” she said drily. “He had a fit when I told him I was coming over this morning to see you on your way.”

  Daisy and Manny exchanged a silent look that spoke volumes. Zeke raised an intrigued eyebrow but said nothing.

  “But you’ll join us sometimes?” Manny asked a little wistfully.

  Daisy nodded. “Whenever I can. Wherever I can. And if you need me – I’ll be there.”

  Manny’s eyes filled with tears. “I know,” she said, and hugged her tightly. “I’ll keep in touch,” she promised.

  “You damn well better, if you know what’s good for you,” Daisy choked out. “Don’t make me have Max track you down! You wouldn’t like it if Max has to hunt you down.”

  Manny laughed a watery laugh as they parted. “I’m sure I wouldn’t.”

  She was still wiping tears away as she waved good-bye while they pulled out of the driveway. She stared resolutely out the passenger window and sat in silence while Zeke drove them out of town.

  ~~~~~

  “Hey, Stacey,” Daisy said to the woman who answered the phone, “I’m looking for Hub. Is he around?”

  “Sorry, Daisy,” Stacey replied in her bright, cheerful voice, “he’s out of the office for the afternoon.”

  Daisy frowned slightly. “Oh? I could have sworn he said he was going to be in the office all day.”

  “The meeting must have slipped his mind,” Stacey said breezily. “Is there a message? Do you need him to call you right away?”

  “No. No, I’ll talk to him when he gets home.”

  Daisy thoughtfully hung up the phone and stared off into space with a frown.

  She glanced towards the door as it opened and Max walked in. He was tall, still trim even in his fifties, craggy-featured and soft-spoken. He always looked like he’d slept in his clothes while at the same time he was intimidating with his shaved head, aquiline nose and bright, shrewdly intelligent green eyes. Daisy had been terrified of him when she’d first started working for him immediately after Janika had started kindergarten. Ten years on, any fear had long ago subsided and now he was just as much friend as he was boss.

  “Manny get off all right?” he asked, his sharply observant eyes taking in her expression.

  “Hmmm? Oh. Yes. Right on time, in fact.”

  Max gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry too much. This Powell guy checked out.”

  “Or he just hasn’t been caught yet,” Daisy replied drily. She shook off her mood and smiled at him. “New case?”

  Max nodded and slumped into a chair beside her desk.

  “Jaime’s hired me to find her father,” he said bluntly.

  Daisy blinked at him in silence.

  “Rebecca’s Jaime?”

  Max nodded.

  “Oh.”

  “You knew him, didn’t you?” Max asked.

  Daisy shrugged. “Everyone knew him. Small town, you know. He’s probably not going to be hard to find – the last I heard, his family’s still living there. I’m sure they’ll know where he is. It’ll probably only take one phone call.”

  She cocked her head and considered him thoughtfully.

  “Why did Jaime really hire you?”

  Max sighed. “To check on her mother’s version of events.”

  “You’re kidding,” she said flatly.

  Max
shook his head. “Oh, finding her dad is part of it, but for some reason she thinks Rebecca’s lying about what happened thirty years ago. She thinks Rebecca has deliberately kept her away from her father all these years.”

  “It’s only taken her thirty years to come up with this theory?” Daisy snorted inelegantly. “That’s her father’s side coming out. He never was the brightest bulb in the light socket.”

  Max frowned. “So why did Rebecca -?”

  “Because he was freakin’ gorgeous.”

  Max huffed and rolled his eyes. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. He was the best-looking boy in town, Max! Every girl in high school had a huge crush on him, even those who already had boyfriends. Well, except those who had crushes on each other.” She stared off into space, her expression softening with the memories. “Devon was tall, black hair, dark brown eyes, great cheekbones and a sexy smile, even at eighteen. Plus he was in his last year of high school – an ‘older’ man.” She chuckled ruefully.

  Max raised an amused eyebrow and shook his head in mock disapproval.

  “Athletic?” he asked.

  “Oh, yeah. Track and field, football, baseball, hockey; you name it, he was good at it. His parents put him on pretty much every team they could find. Drove him everywhere so he could participate. I heard he even got a partial scholarship. Considering our backwater school, that was pretty impressive.”

  “So, how did he hook up with Rebecca?”

  Daisy sighed and leaned back, tapping a pen on the arm of her chair.

  “Rebecca was always beautiful, but in those days she was...shy. Too scared to speak before being spoken to. But she was – and is – smart. I mean, scary smart. She skipped a grade and would have graduated with Devon if...

  “Well. Anyway. Long story short, schoolwork was a breeze for her; Devon wasn’t the brightest and he – basically -” She hesitated, frowning. “Looking back, it’s just so obvious, but then again, she was only sixteen and no other boy had ever paid that level of attention to her. Anyway, she did his homework for him. Helped him cheat on his exams. How the hell he thought he’d survive university...”

  She shook her head.

  “I can see now that Devon was very deliberate in his approach and he’d chosen carefully. Rebecca was...vulnerable, easily convinced he was madly in love with her when in reality, he was using her in order to finish high school with the least amount of effort. I think the sex, for him, was just a bonus...and probably just another strategy he used to bind Rebecca more closely to him. She was completely in love with him, and Manny and I knew pretty much everything about their relationship. But Devon kept Rebecca a deep, dark secret – how he managed that was a miracle all by itself when you live in a town as small as ours!”

  Daisy sighed heavily. “Anyway. The end result was that when Rebecca got pregnant and named him as the father – nobody believed her. Especially not her parents, who disowned her and haven’t spoken to her since. His parents laughed her out of their house.”

  She frowned at Max. “Which part of Rebecca’s story does Jaime doubt?”

  Max shifted uncomfortably. “She doesn’t think her father ever knew Rebecca was pregnant. She thinks he never would have abandoned his child.”

  Daisy blinked at him in silence. Then, “Wow. Delusional at thirty. Wow.”

  Max shrugged. “That’s not for me to judge. She doesn’t seem dangerous, so I’ll find him for her.” He smirked at her. “Even if all it takes is a phone call.”

  Daisy chuckled slightly, then frowned thoughtfully.

  Max cocked his head as he watched her. “You look like you have something on your mind.”

  Her frown deepened. “I’m not sure – it’s more like a faint...discomfort.”

  “About?”

  She silently stared off into space.

  “Daisy?” he prompted when it appeared she had no intention of breaking her silence.

  She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. She seemed to make a decision when she met his eyes. Her lips tightened, her eyes hardened, and she gave a brisk nod.

  “I want to hire you.”

  Max’s smirk widened. “You can’t hire me, Daisy; you get my services for free. What’s going on? Do you want me to dig deeper on that Powell guy?”

  She shook her head. “I want you to follow Hub.”

  Max’s jaw dropped. “Hub?”

  Daisy nodded and leaned forward, resting her tightly clasped hands on the desk. “He’s always been a workaholic, but something’s been different lately. Small things – his secretary tells me he’s one place; he tells me another. He’s been particularly moody lately, getting angry at almost everything I do. He’s never been super involved with the kids, but now he only remembers them when I ask – or force – him to do something with them. Which means the kids barely see him and...and I’m not sure how that’s affecting them. I just – I just need to know if there’s something going on I need to know about. That’s all. And then I can deal with whatever the problem is – if there is one that’s...well, outside of our relationship.”

  “You don’t think you should just sit Hub down and ask him what’s going on? Maybe he’s having trouble at work.”

  Daisy shook her head. “We haven’t been talking much lately, and when we do, it just turns into an argument.”

  Max thoughtfully considered her then said, “I just don’t want you to blame me if I find something you don’t like.”

  Daisy raised an eyebrow. “Why would I blame you? Are you sleeping with him?”

  Max laughed. “If I were, I’d make sure he wasn’t being followed. In fact, I’d be able to catch me in the act...” He frowned, replaying what he’d just said. “Okay, that sounded way better in my head.”

  Daisy laughed. “I’m sure it even made sense.”

  Max airily waved away her comment. “Yeah, it did.”

  He sobered and sighed, looking at her with sympathy.

  “I’m sorry, Daisy. I’m sorry you feel you need me to do this.”

  Daisy smiled sweetly at him. “Me, too. But it’s better than doing nothing. And if he won’t tell me what’s bothering him, well, then I guess I just need to find out what’s going on in another way.”

  Max nodded and stood. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

  “That’s all I ask.”

  ~~~~~

  “Are you always this talkative?”

  Manny glanced over at Zeke. It was the first thing he’d said in the last hour. Not that she’d been exactly chatting up a storm as she drove. She raised an eyebrow.

  “Are you?” she asked.

  Zeke sighed, shook his head and looked out the window. “This is gonna be a long six months...” he muttered.

  Manny winced. “I’m sorry. It’s just...it’s been a very long time since I’ve tried to create a purely social relationship. And just as long since I’ve had anything even remotely interesting to talk about. Honestly? I just have nothing to say right now.”

  Zeke eyed her thoughtfully. “Okay. How about we play a game then?”

  Manny shrugged. “Okay.”

  What the hell, she thought. It had to be better than driving in this strained silence for the next six months.

  “Okay,” Zeke said, shifting so he faced her more fully. “This game is called ‘Ask Me Anything’. We take turns asking each other questions. The first one who refuses to answer buys the next tank of gas.”

  This could be either dangerous or extremely entertaining, Harvey said, one eyebrow raised.

  Possibly both.

  Manny hesitated for a moment, then gave a determined nod.

  “Okay,” she agreed. “You start.”

  * * * * *

  Day 2

  “Who the hell would have figured she’d answer every question!”

  Zeke paced rapidly around the gas station parking lot, his free hand waved in the air to emphasize his point even though his listeners couldn’t see him. Leah and TJ shared amused glances as they leane
d closer to the speakerphone and laughed as he continued.

  “This is the third damn tank of gas I’ve paid for – and this crappy van drinks it like it’s running on beer!”

  “If that van runs on beer, you’re driving a fortune!” TJ quipped.

  “Oh, ha – ha. See how much you laugh when you get the bill, funny man!”

  “It’ll be worth it if your readership keeps up,” Leah said. “They’re going nuts on last night’s blog.”

  “I did reach new heights of cruelty,” Zeke acknowledged smugly.

  “Or do you mean new lows?” TJ asked.

  “Whatever,” Zeke shrugged, “so long as people are reading.”

  “Keep it up,” Leah said. “Well, not necessarily the nastiness – but people want to know about everything.”

  “Especially about vans that run on beer!” TJ added, and Leah rolled her eyes and lightly smacked him on the shoulder.

  Leah said, “When you have a chance to check the comments, you’ll see that people are hoping for funny stories, not just cruelty.”

  “I’ll do that,” Zeke promised, “and I’ll make sure I’m not always so nasty. I need to keep the readers on their toes, and besides, she’s so...she’s like...she’s just like a maiden aunt. I mean, you can’t be too nasty to her or she’ll – I don’t know – make you write ‘I will respect my elders’ a thousand times. But if you’re good, she might give you cookies and milk.”

  “Oh, man,” TJ groaned, “I feel for you, I really do.”

  “Hey, I still don’t think she’s gonna last more than a week, and she may definitely bore me to death long before then. Not a word – not one word, I tell you – for over an hour! Who knew a woman could go that long without talking?”

  “Watch it, bud,” Leah warned. “Anyway, just do your best to tolerate her – and do your best to make sure you have material for your blog!”

  “Will do.”

  ~~~~~

  Who do you think he’s talking to? Harvey asked curiously.

  None of my business.

  Well, look at him. He’s pretty animated.