A Life Less Ordinary (21 page)

“Why?”
Tris demanded petulantly.  “Mom and Dad just left everything, including me,
behind.  Why should I have to be the only one who needs to stick things out?”

Rebecca
dished up their breakfasts, placed the plates on the table and took a seat
across from Tris, all in thoughtful silence.  Tris stared with distaste at the
omelet and hash browns in front of her.

“Because
somebody has to be the grown-up,” Rebecca said finally.  “And until your
parents are ready to be that again, you’re going to have to.”

“What
about you?  Why aren’t you being the grown-up?”

Rebecca
raised one warning eyebrow.  “And how am I not being a grown-up?”

“You
complain about Mom and Dad and me all the time.  Just because I’m in a
different room doesn’t mean I can’t hear you!”

Rebecca
blinked, suddenly scrambling to remember all the conversations she’d had on the
phone or in person since Tris had arrived.  She sincerely hoped Tris couldn’t
hear everything, especially some of the calls she’d had with Jackson.

She
awkwardly cleared her throat.

“All
right.  That’s a fair comment,” she replied, pleased with how calm she
sounded.  “I’ll try not to complain anymore.  But other than that, am I
treating you like it’s your fault?”

“Isn’t
it?” Tris asked.  She was trying for defiant but she instead sounded like the
vulnerable ten-year-old she was.

“Are
you nuts?” Rebecca blurted.  “This situation is your parents’ fault – and only
your parents’ fault.  What they’re going through and doing has absolutely
nothing to do with you, or anything you have or haven’t done.”

Tris
slammed her hands on the table, and yelled, “How can you say that?  They left
me!  I must have done something to deserve it!  Especially since you don’t want
me either!”

She
violently pushed her chair away from the table and ran out of the room, leaving
Rebecca staring disconsolately at the table.

* * * * *

“Hey,
Zeke,” TJ said, putting the call on speaker.

“Hey,
TJ.  How’re things?”

“Great,”
TJ said.  “Never been better.  You guys hitting the road again today?”  Nothing
in his tone revealed he was going to the hospital later in the day to undergo
the last of the tests the doctor had ordered. 

“Yeah. 
Manny and I are just standing here, waiting for somebody to pick up our luggage
before we head out to some place in Nebraska.”

“
Nebraska?”

“
Don’t ask me – Manny’s
in charge of the itinerary.  And she still hasn’t learned the value of planning
ahead.  We have to be back in Los Angeles in a few weeks for some movie
premiere thing she managed to score tickets for.” Zeke deliberately raised his
voice, “All this driving and being stuck in a van together is bound to make one
of us homicidal sooner or later!”

TJ
laughed as he heard Manny’s faint reply of ‘wimp’ in the background, and he
waited patiently while Zeke made arrangements to meet her at the van.

“What’s
in Nebraska?” TJ asked once Zeke was back on the line with him.

“Manny
isn’t saying.  I think she just likes keeping me in the dark.”

“Don’t
we all,” TJ said drily.  He glanced up as the door opened and Leah walked in. 
“Look I have to go,” he said.  “Leah’s here to take me to – to another doctor’s
appointment.”

“What
– are you getting a
third
opinion?”

Leah
raised an eyebrow at TJ as he hesitated for a split second before saying,
“Yeah, a third opinion.  Who knows?  Maybe third time’s the charm.”

Zeke
chuckled, then said, “Well, I hope this one turns out better than the last
ones.”

“Yeah,
me too,” TJ replied quietly.

“Is
everything okay?” Zeke asked after a slight hesitation.  “Between you and Leah,
I mean.”

Leah
leaned forward.  “Everything’s just fine with us, Zeke.”

“Whoops.”

Leah
laughed.  “Sorry, I guess I should have said something when I walked in.”

“Well,
no harm done so long as you didn’t overhear us talking about that hot blonde TJ
met last night,” Zeke teased.

“No
worries. TJ and I will just have a little chat later; he’ll tell me everything
then.”

TJ
rolled his eyes.  “Zeke, how is it you can still get me into trouble even when
you’re thousands of kilometres away?”

“It’s
a gift.”

They
laughed, then Leah said, “Thanks again for getting those articles done for me
on such short notice.  Especially when you were in Vegas!  I feel bad about
cutting into your partying time.”

“Hey,
considering you’re bankrolling this trip, it was the least I could do.”

“What
story did you tell Manny?”

“Manny
thinks I was tucked away with the hot blonde I really did meet the night we
arrived.  As far as she’s concerned, I was far too distracted to bum around
with her.”

“She
already knows your priorities well,” TJ said drily.

“
Was that a slam?” Zeke
asked curiously.

“
Just an observation.”

“
Anyway, wait until you
get my next set of blogs.  You’re not going to believe what happened while I
was busy getting that work done for you, Leah.  I almost don’t believe it
myself.  My readers are going to have a field day with this one.”

“
They’ve been having
field days with all of your blogs so far, and traffic’s increasing,” Leah
replied.

“
Great!  That’s the
whole reason behind this trip, after all – to help put
What Women Want
on the Internet map.”

“
What?” Leah gasped. 
“You mean it’s not for you to maybe learn something?”

“
How can I possibly
learn anything when I already know it all?  Hey, I’ve gotta go.  Listen, TJ –
good luck at the doc’s.  I hope third time really is the charm and you guys get
better news this time around.”

TJ
grinned a little sadly, “Thanks, man.  Drive carefully.”

“Will
do.”

TJ
stared at the phone in silence after he ended the call.  He was very conscious
of the weight of Leah’s gaze on his bowed head.

“Why
didn’t you tell him what tests you’re really having done?”  she asked quietly.

TJ
shrugged.  “What can he do?  Besides, these are just tests – we don’t know
anything yet.  I’ll tell him everything once we have some idea of what – if
anything – we’re dealing with.”  He lifted his eyes to Leah’s.  “Zeke may seem
like a guy who doesn’t give a shit about anything, but if he knew there was the
slightest possibility of – of something being seriously wrong with me, he’d be
back here in a shot.”

Leah
squeezed his shoulder.  “I know he would.  That’s why I think you should tell
him.”

TJ covered her hand with his and shook his head.  “Besides the
fact that his blog is the most popular blog on your site, you know he’d just
sit here, worrying and getting in your way.  Which would drive you crazy.  More
importantly, he’d also be driving
me
crazy.”

Leah
lifted TJ’s hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.  “That’s what I love about
you the most, TJ.  You’re always thinking of me.”

TJ
stood with a weak imitation of his usual smile and took her in his arms.  “I
have my priorities,” he agreed, “and my own sanity is number one on the list.”

They
kissed then he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight, his face buried
in her hair.

“Ready
to go?” she asked, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

“No. 
But let’s go anyway.”

~~~~~

Manny
and Zeke drove out of Vegas in relaxed, companionable silence.  Manny sat
behind the wheel with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“How
many of the Misfit Toys were still in town today?”  Zeke asked casually.

“None. 
I deliberately chose this morning because everyone would be on their way to
their respective homes.  Well, except Lionel and Jack, of course.”

“Simon-Simone
going to be okay?”

Manny
pursed her lips as she considered the question.  “I hope so.  From the sound of
it, she’s not going back to the most supportive environment in the world.  She
may decide to continue being who her family expects her to be for the
foreseeable future.”  She shook her head.  “I just don’t know.”

“So,
she was Simon when she got on the plane?”

“Had
to.  She’s Simon on her ID.”

Realization
dawned.  “Of course.  That was a stupid question.”

Manny
shook her head with a smile.  “I asked the same thing, except directly to her. 
Talk about feeling stupid.”

“Ouch,”
Zeke laughed.  “Now I don’t feel so bad.”

“She
promised to let me know how she’s doing.”

“I
suppose she can text you,” Zeke said uncertainly.

“Or
e-mail.” 

She
indicated the back of the van.  Zeke turned and saw a new laptop case nestled
on the bed.

“You
bought a new laptop?” he asked incredulously.

“I
didn’t have a choice,” Manny replied drily.  “Apparently the one I brought with
me simply wasn’t good enough.  Angeline took me to the store and insisted on
buying that thing for me.  Complete with wireless and – I don’t know – a
travelling Internet or something.”

Zeke
laughed.  “You’re so technical!”

“Whatever. 
Anyway, my Misfit Toys as you call them insisted they’d friend me and I’m
ordered – ordered! - to post regular status updates.”

“How
regular?” Zeke asked curiously.

“Preferably
daily but no less than once a week.”  She shook her head.  “I’m not sure what
I’m supposed to post.  I doubt anything else on this trip is going to be nearly
as interesting as Vegas was.”

“They
probably just want to make sure I haven’t finally snapped and left your body
someplace.”

Manny
rolled her eyes.  “Oh, please!  You don’t spend enough time with me to go
crazy!”

Zeke
raised his eyebrows. 

“
How
many hours to Nebraska?” he drawled.

Manny
shifted uncomfortably.  “Good point,” she muttered, and focused on her driving.

The
sun hung low on the horizon, the late afternoon light glinting off the van
where it sat on the side of the deserted dirt road, the engine ticking as it
cooled.  The hood was up, the smoke and steam still dissipating as Zeke and
Manny stared with matching frowns from the exposed engine to the cell phones in
their hands.

Zeke
met Manny’s eyes and slowly shook his head as he showed her his phone.  “I’ve
got nothing,” he said.

“Same
here,” Manny sighed.  “Please tell me you were a mechanic in a previous life.”

“Sorry. 
You?”

“It
turns on when I turn the key.  That’s all I need to know.”

“We’re
fucked.”

“
Oh yeah.”

~~~~~

Zeke
walked back to the van shaking his head.

“Still
no signal,” he called.

Manny
groaned and hung her head. 

“None
from my side either,” she said.

They
stood and looked around them.  All they could see was an endless expanse of
gently rolling land, a tree or two, and the immense, slowly darkening sky.  The
sheer size of the land and sky pressed in on them, along with the profound
silence of an empty countryside. 

Zeke
suddenly shuddered and said, “I don’t see any lights coming on at all.”

“Me
neither.”

Manny
shook her head, then led the way back to the van, flung open the passenger side
door and pulled a map out of the glove compartment.

“We’re
about a hundred miles from anywhere,” Zeke reminded her as he squinted over her
shoulder.

She
frowned as she pinpointed their general location, pressing the map against the
van as she began to trace their route, looking for the closest sign of life.

“No,”
she said slowly, “just a hundred miles from anywhere big.”

Zeke
squinted at the tiny circle Manny indicated.

“You
have
got
to be kidding me.”

She
grinned at him.  “It’s better than nothing.  And if I’m reading the map right,
we should be able to get there by noon-ish, if we leave early enough.”

He
stared at her in consternation.

“You
mean you want us to spend the night out here?”

“Well,
if nobody drives by before then and gives us a ride.”

“Why
don’t we start walking now?  Three-four hours of walking -”