Harvey shook his head and refused to say anything.
She sighed. “Okay. Okay. Where are you staying?”
Zeke told her.
“How about I meet you in the lobby at six?”
“Okay,” Zeke agreed. “See you then.”
Manny disconnected the call and shook her head.
Are you going to forgive him, even if he doesn’t apologize? Harvey asked with interest as they continued on their way.
What do you think? Manny sighed.
Harvey was ominously silent and she glanced at him to find him frowning darkly at nothing, his dark brown eyes thoughtful.
What? she demanded.
...you’re really going to miss him when he’s really gone.
...I know.
~~~~~
Manny and Zeke rode the elevator in silence. They stared straight ahead and said nothing until the door to Zeke’s hotel room closed behind them.
“Do you want a drink?” Zeke asked, hazel eyes intent on her face.
“Not right now.”
She shook her head as she wandered restlessly around the small room.
“Why did you follow me?” she blurted, not looking at him.
“Because...I was worried about you on your own. Because I didn’t want you to think I just used you. Because...”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. She raised an eyebrow in question as he scowled at her, his brows lowered.
“Because I didn’t want it to end like that,” he muttered.
“But not to apologize,” she said drily.
His lips twitched into a smile. “Not to apologize,” he acknowledged. “Look. I’m not a nice guy – you know that.”
“You’re an arrogant guy – and pretty clueless. But overall, you’d been...”
“Nice? Really?”
“Polite, anyway.” Manny shrugged at Zeke’s skeptical expression. “Most of the time. After the first couple of weeks you actually looked out for me. Sorta. Okay, you weren’t such a jerk all the time.”
“Look,” he said again, crossing his arms, “I’m not always a nice guy. My blog is meant to provoke, to cause debate – to draw traffic and readers to the site, and yet never go too far and alienate that audience. One of the ways I do that is to write truth. I may be opinionated, cynical and sarcastic – but I share the truth as I see it – and I don’t – I won’t – apologize for that.
“I wrote – I write – about you and your...your mid-life crisis as honestly as I can, while retaining all those elements my readers love – or hate. My readers also want me to write about my feelings, what I’ve been learning, what’s changed for me. They want an emotional connection to my blog, and by extension, to me.
“Think of me as a...a tabloid reporter. I’m pretty sure the people who write articles about a celebrity don’t ask permission first, or apologize afterwards.”
“Unless it’s libel.”
“Unless it’s libel,” he agreed solemnly.
“I’m not a celebrity, Zeke.”
“You actually kinda are.”
She frowned.
“It’s gone viral,” he said.
Her frown deepened. “What does that mean, exactly?”
“It means my blogs about you are pretty much everywhere, and are being shared and discussed all over the Internet.”
Manny laughed. “I get that! How many hits?”
“We’ve levelled off at about 250,000 a day.”
She stared. “Holy shit,” she breathed.
Zeke shrugged sheepishly.
“And they all think I’m prudish and repressed and – and – and why are you laughing?”
“Because the majority of commenters are firmly on your side. A couple have made some rather nasty threats against me, and a few have even offered you marriage.”
“What?” Manny said. She plopped down on one of the beds and gaped at him. “Marriage?”
“Well, I’m not sure how serious they are,” Zeke acknowledged as he tentatively sat beside her, “but some of them have included links to their pictures.”
“Really?” Manny asked, intrigued in spite of herself. “What do they look like?”
“I’m too scared to find out.”
Manny dissolved into helpless giggles. She clapped both hands over her mouth as she slowly flopped back on the bed.
Zeke grinned, laughing too, and laid back on the bed beside her.
She finally stopped and wiped her eyes. She sighed heavily.
“Those blogs...really hurt, Zeke.”
“I’m truly sorry about that,” Zeke said softly. “I didn’t know you -”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
“I’m not trying to make it okay, Manny. You can’t un-ring a bell; all you can do is...”
“Yeah, where’s that metaphor going, Mr. Writer Man?”
He turned his head and gave her an exasperated glare. “All you can do is live with the memory of the sound. Mr. Writer Man?”
She shrugged and turned her eyes back towards the ceiling.
“Well, you’re not a multimedia developer, are you?”
“Actually, I am. The writing is something I do on the side.”
“Really?” she asked skeptically.
He glanced at her. “Really. Manny, everything I told you about myself was true. All of it. The only thing I didn’t tell you was the fact I was writing about our trip. Everything else - everything - was – and is – true.”
Manny looked solemnly at him.
“It’s a little tough to trust you right now,” she said.
“I know.” He turned his attention back to the ceiling.
The ensuing silence was sad, but surprisingly companionable.
“Do you want me to leave?” Zeke finally asked softly.
“It’s your room,” Manny replied.
He snorted. “You know what I mean.”
“I do.” She blinked up at the ceiling.
Zeke waited.
“I don’t know,” she finally said.
“Okay.”
“That’s it?”
“I’m not sure what else to say. I never meant to hurt you. And I’m sorry you found out the way you did. I wanted to tell you myself. Tell you differently.”
“You wrote the blogs, knowing they’d hurt me.”
“I -” he paused, scowling.
“If you say it was your job...”
“Well, it’s why I was being paid to travel with you. But – yeah. I could have done things differently once I realized – once – well. I could have done things differently.”
Manny gave him a slight smile. “Is that an apology?”
Zeke’s scowl deepened.
Manny laughed as she sat up and patted him on the knee. “All right, don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” she soothed.
He stared. “Did you just patronize me?”
“Yep.”
“That’s supposed to be my attitude,” he pouted.
Manny shrugged. Zeke sat up and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands loosely clasped in front of him.
“What now?” he asked.
“Now I could use a drink,” she said firmly and stood. “Take me to the bar downstairs and ply me with alcohol and maybe I’ll decide to let you stay.”
“Are you saying I need to seduce you?” he teased, his voice low and husky, one eyebrow raised in question.
“God forbid,” she said drily.
“Hey!”
“Stop pouting and let’s go. I need a drink.”
Zeke scowled as he stood, then laughed as he followed her from the room.
* * * * *
Day 131
“So...all is forgiven?” Daisy asked.
“Well. There’s a truce. We’re going to Disneyworld once he gets moved into this motel.” Manny paused. “You sound tired,” she said, concerned.
“I’m...I feel beat down, you know? There’s not a whole lot the banks or the cops c
an do – and Max hasn’t found any trace of the bitch. Yet. In the meantime, I’m not sure how I’m going to pay my credit card bills, and Hub’s suggesting he move back in.”
“Say what now?”
“He wants to reconcile.”
“Because his mistress stole all your money? What the hell?”
“He said he wanted to suggest it before – when he brought the papers over for me to review. Then you called, and I went to Florida, and then all hell broke loose when I got back and he didn’t know how to broach the subject. But – yeah. He wants to get back together.”
“What do you want, Daisy?” Manny asked.
Daisy was silent for so long Manny checked to make sure the call hadn’t been dropped.
“I...don’t know,” Daisy said softly.
“Well...I’ll support you, no matter what you decide. You know that,” Manny said. “Do you want me to come home?”
Daisy laughed. “No! My life isn’t hanging in the balance.”
“How much do you need for your credit card bills this month?”
“Manny...”
“Daisy,” Manny said warningly. “I have the money to help you. Keep track and consider it a loan. I’ll help you – Rebecca will, too – until you figure out what you need to do to get your head above water. In fact, I can pay them all off for you, and then you can pay me monthly payments you can afford. How much do you owe?”
“I...I don’t really want to say...”
“Daisy! Come on. If I can help you -”
“Almost a hundred thousand dollars.”
“Holy shit!”
“I know.”
“From your gambling?” Manny asked, her voice squeaking.
“Yeah. Mostly. But it never really mattered before when I was with Hub because we shared the house expenses, and the savings I accumulated over the years were there for me to dip into when I needed to make up any shortfall. Those savings are pretty much gone now that Hub’s moved out and I’ve had lawyer fees to pay. Anyway, I’d planned to pay all the cards off and cancel all but one after the divorce was settled and I got my share of the money. Now...”
“Wow. Okay. Wow. Look. I’ll transfer whatever you need into your account; you pay off the cards and make payments to me.”
“Manny – I can’t do that! When you get back, you’ll need enough to live until you get a job.”
“What – you wouldn’t give me a room in your house? You wouldn’t feed me if I was starving?”
Daisy sputtered a laugh. “Fair point.”
“Besides, between my pension payout and what I got for the house, I’ll be okay – you know that. I can sleep on your couch, or Rebecca’s, until I find a job, so I don’t need to worry about buying a house right away. And you’ll pay me something every month – it’ll be fine.”
Daisy sniffed. “You’re a good sister, Manny,” she said, her voice watery.
“It’s what sisters are for, isn’t it? To watch out for each other?”
“Yeah. Yeah. And you have the floor in the living room whenever you want it.”
“Wait – not the couch?”
“That thing’s expensive! I don’t want your dirty feet on there!”
“Hey!”
“Anytime.”
* * * * *
Day 132
Rebecca breathed in the aromatic steam rising from her teacup. She closed her eyes and sipped, then looked at Daisy and smiled ruefully.
“You look like shit,” she said fondly.
Daisy sputtered on her own sip of tea. “Thanks,” she said drily, “so do you.”
Rebecca gave her a half-smile and a shrug.
It was true. Daisy looked worn, her skin sallow, dark circles beneath her blue eyes. Rebecca knew she herself was almost a mirror image, her own eyes bright with fatigue, her skin pale, her face drawn.
Daisy sighed, put her cup down and leaned back.
“I don’t get it,” she groaned, rubbing her eyes. “I barely lost any sleep at all when I found out about Hub’s affair. I ended the marriage and slept like a baby. This? Who knew money meant so much to me?”
“Not to you,” Rebecca absently corrected, “to your kids’ future.”
Daisy considered the point. “Maybe you’re right.” She stared hard at Rebecca. “What’s your excuse? Are you that scared of possibly taking full responsibility for Tris?”
Rebecca snorted. “Surprisingly enough – no. Once I made that decision, I knew it was the right one, and I haven’t felt a moment of doubt since. Although Jaime hasn’t picked up my calls or returned any of my messages or texts or e-mails. The letter I couriered there a couple of days ago was returned unopened. If she hadn’t actually called Tris yesterday, I would have called the cops to report her as missing. But even that’s not it.”
Daisy frowned. “Then is it your split with Jackson that’s keeping you up at night?”
Rebecca shook her head, but her gaze dropped to the cup she still cradled in her hands. She smiled a brittle smile. “You know me, Daisy. I’ve loved ’em and left ’em before and never thought twice about it.”
“Hmm,” Daisy replied, her eyes shrewd, “and Jackson’s just another one in a long line of discarded lovers, huh?”
Rebecca shrugged, but her eyes narrowed and her mouth tightened. “Of course,” she said lightly. “What else could he be?”
Daisy let it go. “Then what’s keeping you up at night? Anger at Jaime?”
“I’m beyond angry at Jaime. She can turn her back on me all she wants – I’m used to my family doing that, after all – but to turn her back on her child?” Rebecca pressed her lips tightly together. “Maybe it’s genetic,” she muttered bitterly, “this ability to turn your back on your children without a second glance.”
Daisy stared sadly at her, knowing Rebecca was remembering the night her parents threw out of the house with nothing but the clothes on her back and the baby in her belly. Now that baby had also rejected her, along with her granddaughter.
“Rebecca,” Daisy said softly. Sadly.
Rebecca waved away her sympathy and the dark memories of the past without quite looking at her.
“I could forgive Jaime for leaving me,” Rebecca said slowly, “but not for leaving Tris.”
“So what are you going to do? She’s not taking your calls or your letters...maybe when your lawyer starts to send her letters...?” Daisy trailed off.
“My lawyer’s ready to start the formal proceedings, but I’ve asked her to hold off until I get back.”
“Back?”
Rebecca smiled a tight, bitter smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It’s time Jaime and I faced each other, don’t you think?”
Daisy’s breath caught, her eyes widening as she searched Rebecca’s expression.
Rebecca nodded. “For the first time in twenty-eight years, I’m going home.”
Episode 12
Day 133
“I. Hurt. All. Over,” Manny groaned at the hotel room ceiling.
“Me, too,” Zeke agreed.
She turned her head and stared at him where he was sprawled face down, half-on, half-off the other bed.
“I think we’ve officially seen every. Inch. Of Disneyworld,” he added, turning to look at her.
“I think you’re right,” she agreed, “but I’m a little surprised you’re so worn out.”
“So are you!”
“I’m old – you’re still a puppy. What’s your excuse?”
“Keeping up with the old broad has taken it out of me.”
“Glad to hear I can still teach the puppies a thing or two.”
“Well, only in terms of stamina,” Zeke said, then grimaced as he realized what he’d said.
Manny started to laugh and Zeke joined in.
“Ow, ow, ow – that hurts,” Manny groaned.
Zeke grinned at her, then said, “You know – I don’t think – no, I know – I’ve never been just friends with a woman before.”
Manny half-smiled a
nd raised an eyebrow. “What about Leah?”
“She’s my boss and my best friend’s wife, and I like her. But I guess I feel like TJ’s my friend. I mean – I can’t imagine talking to her the way I talk to you.”
“Oh,” Manny said softly.
After a moment Zeke said, “That’s it?”
“Well, I’m...honoured. But if you say I ‘complete you’, I will hurt you so bad.”
“Well, if you say I had you at hello, I’ll have to return the favour.”
They laughed and winced.
“How are you gonna write about this in your blog?” Manny asked.
“Honestly. My readers wanted to me learn something – and I think I have.” He paused, then said softly, sincerely, “Thank you.”
Manny chuckled slightly. “I didn’t do anything...but you’re welcome anyway.”
* * * * *
Day 136
Rebecca slowly drove the streets of her old home town and marvelled at how much had changed. She marvelled even more at how much had stayed the same. The town layout, of course, although some of the familiar landmarks were gone, with nothing to mark their places except empty lots and, in a few rare cases, new buildings. Downtown was deserted compared to the old days, and only one of the three hotels that had once stood in the heart of the town was still there. The bar where Mr. Mankowski used to hold court almost any day of the week was long gone from the looks of it. Just like him, Rebecca thought and her heart clenched from a stab of grief.
Twenty-eight years, she thought, pulling into a parking spot in front of a small cafe and grabbing her purse as she left the car. Twenty-eight years, and there was still such a void left in her heart by the Mankowskis’ absence.
She pushed away her thoughts as she pushed her way into the cafe. She took off her sunglasses and glanced around. The place was half-full, with a couple of tables of families, but most of the clientele were retired men and women sitting at several tables pushed together.
“Seat yourself, hon – I’ll be there in a minute!”
Rebecca jumped slightly at the cheerful voice and she watched as the waitress, harried and plump and about Rebecca’s age, grinned and waved her towards an empty table as she hastened to refill the cups of the residents of Coffee Row.
Rebecca slowly smiled, somehow soothed by the thought that some things like Coffee Row never changed as she made her way to a table by the window. She grabbed the menu and waited patiently.
A Life Less Ordinary Page 32
