A Life Less Ordinary (28 page)

“I
was cold,” she said simply, “and you weren’t there to warm me up.”

He
gave her a half-smile and patted the couch beside him.  She shuffled over and
curled up beside him, his arms snug as he held her, her head on his shoulder. 
They sat in comfortable silence, TJ staring somberly at nothing.

“Worried?”
Leah asked softly.

TJ
squeezed her gently.  “Sleep,” he urged.

“I
don’t like sleeping without you,” she mumbled, nuzzling closer.

“What
would the feminists say?” he teased half-heartedly.

Leah
pinched his arm without opening her eyes, and he chuckled.

“Sorry,”
he said.

She
lifted her head and blinked sleepily at him in the dimness of the room.

“We
should hear on Monday,” she told him.

“Dr.
Valesquez only said next week.”

“I’m
hoping for Monday.”

“Me
too.”

They
once more lapsed into silence.

“Are
you going to worry about this every night until you know something?”  Leah
asked, her head once again resting against his shoulder.

“Are
you?” TJ countered.

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

TJ
swallowed heavily.

“But
staying up all night isn’t going to help,” Leah added.

“I
know.  But...I’m scared to sleep.”

She
quickly lifted her head to look at his face, hidden in the shadows.

He
gave her a half-smile.  “I only seem to be dreaming about the worst possible
outcomes.  And I dream about telling everyone – our friends, Zeke, work.  I
dream about...putting you through the hell of a long illness...about leaving
you behind, leaving you alone.”

Leah
watched him somberly, digesting his words in silence.

“I’ve
never made you a promise I couldn’t keep, TJ,” she said carefully, “and I’ve
never lied to you.  I’m not about to start now.  So, I’m not going to say it’s
going to be all right – because it may not be all right.  The only thing I will
promise you is that no matter how hellish it may be, I’m not going anywhere. 
If – and it’s a big ‘if’ - the worst should happen, I’ll still be here, beside
you.  And I promise I’ll be okay no matter what happens.”

Leah
leaned her head against his shoulder, and they sat in silence, listening to the
dark.

* * * * *

Daisy
poured water into the coffee maker with a pensive frown on her face.  She
tensed as she heard the bedroom door open and Hub pad down the hall towards the
kitchen.  She didn’t turn when he came into the room, keeping her eyes fixed on
her hands as she continued through the motions of spooning coffee into the
basket.

She
stiffened when Hub slid his arms around her waist from behind and pressed a
kiss to her neck.

He
said, his breath whispering across her skin, “So, I guess I’ll cancel my lease
on that apartment today and get the furniture moved back as soon as I can
arrange it.”

Daisy
froze, then she twisted out of his hold and turned to face him.

“What?”
she asked incredulously.  “No!”

Hub
frowned.  “What do you mean ‘no’?  We made love last night!”

“
Yes we did, but that
doesn’t mean all is forgiven and we’re back together.  I’m sorry if you got the
wrong idea, Hub.  And honestly?  If you think sex is all that’s needed to solve
our problems, you’re sadly mistaken.”

Hub
glared at her, and now he was the same cold, disapproving man he’d been for the
last few years. 

“So,
are you saying last night ‘just happened’?” he sneered sarcastically.

Daisy
rolled her eyes.  “Of course not.  We each had moments when we could have
stopped, when we made a conscious decision to continue.  But I meant it as a –
a – good-bye, not as an ‘all is forgiven’.  I thought that was how you meant
it, too.”

Hub
deliberately, scornfully, stepped away from her.

“So
– last night was just – what?  A farewell fuck before you pack me out the door?”

Daisy
crossed her arms and glared back.  “As I recall, you kissed me first.  And
considering you still have a
girlfriend
,” venom dripped from the word,
“I’m surprised you’re so anxious to find some excuse to stay!”

“
Does last night make
you the other woman, then?” Hub snarled.

Daisy
barked a laugh although there was no humour in it.  “Maybe it does.  Let me
know how
she
likes it.”

Hub
snapped his mouth closed, his lips pressed tightly together.  He turned and
left the kitchen without another word.

~~~~~

Max
raised an eyebrow at Daisy’s focused and furious scowl as she viciously typed
up his notes.

“Should
I even ask why you’re here on a Sunday morning?” he teased, his usual crooked
smirk firmly in place.

“Not
if you value your life,” she growled without taking her eyes from the screen.

His
eyebrows rose higher.

“What
happened?” he asked in a worried tone, his smirk gone.  “Are you still upset
about what happened yesterday with Paolucci?”

Daisy
very deliberately lifted her fingers from the keyboard, but kept her eyes fixed
on the screen. 

“I
had sex with Hub last night.  That’s what I’m upset about.”

Max
blinked, his face expressionless.

“Well,”
he finally said slowly, “he is still your husband.  Does -”

“I
swear,” she snarled viciously, finally looking at him, “if you ask if this
means we’re back together, I’ll – I’ll – I’ll put salt in your coffee!”

“Whoa
– whoa – whoa!”  Max leaned away, his hands up.

Daisy
sighed and deflated.  She shook her head, rubbing her forehead.

“I’m
sorry, Max.  I’m just so angry at how
stupid
I was last night.”

Max
nodded cautiously.  “Okay.  Should I ask what happened?”

Daisy
shrugged.  “We were reminiscing and one thing led to another – and I
thought...why not?  A last good-bye to all our years together, you know?”

Max
nodded.  “Yeah.  I know.”

“I
thought – what would it hurt?  Then this morning Hub was all - ‘oh, I’ll cancel
my lease; no need to move out anymore; blah, blah, blah’.  I had to set him
straight.  The sad part?  The really sad part?  I think he only slept with me
because he thought it would save our marriage, and then he wouldn’t have to
leave the house and kids!  Like all he had to do was give me sex, and I’d
forget everything that’s been wrong for the last few years!  Hah!  I don’t
think so!”

Max’s
eyes widened at every word.

“Casual
sex with my soon-to-be-ex husband!” Daisy continued.  “That can’t be so
unusual!”

“No,”
Max quickly agreed.

“All
right, then.”

“Okay.”

“
Fine.”

“
I...have things to
do...somewhere else...I’m sure...”

“
Good.”

Max
all but tiptoed into his inner office and very carefully sat behind his desk. 
He winced when Daisy once more began to viciously pound on the keyboard.

Several
hours later, Max cautiously wandered out of his office because it seemed the
amount of pressure Daisy was putting on the keys had finally eased.  He handed
Daisy a cup of steaming black coffee.

“No
salt in the sugar bowl,” he said.  “I checked.”

Daisy
smiled and ruefully rubbed her forehead.  “Thanks – and I’m sorry,” she said as
she took the cup.

Max
led the way to the office’s small waiting area and they each settled in to an
armchair.

“Feeling
a little calmer?” he asked.

Daisy
sat back in her chair and stared at the cup cradled in her hands.

“Not
really.  Max...do you realize I’ve never lived alone?”

He
frowned.  “Never?”

Daisy
shook her head.  “Rebecca and I moved in together that first semester at
university.  I looked after Jaime when Rebecca was at work.  Then, when Mom and
Dad were killed that January, Rebecca and I dropped out of university and
stayed home with Manny until she finished high school.  We all lived together
while we went to university.  I met Hub when I was twenty-three, and we moved
in together after I graduated.  And, of course, we’ve been together ever
since.”

She
lifted her eyes to his.  “I’ve
never
lived alone.”

“You’re
not really going to be living alone,” Max pointed out gently, his green eyes
soft.  “You have the kids.”

“I
know – but it’s not quite the same.  They’re kids, not fellow adults, you
know?  Plus they’ll be moving out soon to start their own lives; that’s what
I’ve raised them to do.  Anyway, I’m trying to say I don’t actually know if I
can live alone.  The thought scares me.  A little.”

“Well,
maybe when Manny gets back -” He stopped when he saw how vigorously Daisy was
shaking her head.

“Manny
has the opposite problem,” Daisy said with a small smile.  “She’s been too long
alone.  We’d kill each other if we lived together now.”

Max
smirked.  “At least you know that and won’t make the mistake of trying.”

“True.”

Max
stared intently at her.  “You’ll be fine,” he assured her firmly.

“I
hope you’re right.”

“Trust
me.  I am.”

Daisy
stared somberly at him.  “I hope you’re right,” she repeated.  “Because I don’t
want to take Hub back just so I won’t be alone.  That’s not the person I want
to be.”

Max
very gently touched her wrist.

“If
you take Hub back, it’ll be because you’ve truly forgiven him; that’s the
person you are.”

Daisy
blinked back sudden hot tears.

“Thank
you,” she managed.

Max
leaned back and smirked, his not-quite-dimples on full display.

“Besides,”
he said lightly, “between me, Manny and Rebecca, we’ll tell you if we think
you’re falling off the wagon.  If you feel yourself weakening, you call one of
us, and we’ll talk sense into you.”

Daisy
laughed, a genuine laugh this time.  She wagged her finger at him.

“You’ll
be sorry when I’m calling you at 3:00 a.m.!”

Max
shrugged.  “Why should you be any different than anybody else?”

~~~~~

Rebecca
cautiously took a sip of her tea and watched Daisy systematically viciously
throw each couch cushion across the room.

“Not
that,” Rebecca warned calmly as Daisy took aim at a china cabinet filled with
knick knacks.  “That’s from your parents.”

Daisy
paused, then she deflated and tossed the cushion back on the couch and followed
it down.  She pressed the balls of her hands against her eyes and groaned
loudly.

“Are
you done wrecking my living room?” Rebecca asked drily.

Daisy
stared up at the ceiling.  “Yeah,” she sighed sadly.

“Okay,
I know you feel like shit – and I don’t blame you,” Rebecca said.  “On the
other hand, you didn’t go out and have sex with a complete stranger.  Hub’s
still your husband – well.  Sort of.”

“I
made him use a condom,” Daisy whispered.

“You
had
one?  How old was it?”

Daisy
shook her head.  “
He
had one.”

Rebecca
frowned and opened her mouth, then closed it again.

“Go
ahead,” Daisy sighed.

“You
really did
decide
to go through with it,” she said slowly.

Daisy
nodded glumly.

“Did
you ever think you did it to deliberately try to hurt him?”

Daisy
opened her mouth, then closed it again with a snap, her eyes wide and
thoughtful.

“Maybe
I did,” she said slowly.  “Which would explain why I didn’t really enjoy it
that much.”

“Oh,
please!” Rebecca snorted.  “I can’t imagine Hub was ever that much fun in the
sack!”

Daisy
glared.  “He used to be really fun.  For a while, anyway.”

Rebecca
snorted skeptically.  “You need to expand your horizons, Daisy.  Honestly?  I
still find it hard to believe Hub would even have an affair!  He just seems
so...I don’t know...bloodless and buttoned-down.”

“Hey
– I loved him!”

“Did
you?  Or did you just want to be safe?”

Daisy
glared.  “That’s a shitty thing to say!”

Rebecca
raised an eyebrow.  “Come on.  You lost your parents when you were nineteen and
you met him just as we were running out of what little money they’d left us. 
Thank God it was enough to send all of us through university!”