When You Least Expect It (13 page)

             
“But Mom, it takes forever to get to school on the bus!  I have to take the city bus, not a school bus.  This sucks!”  Alex went to get ready for school.  He hated this, but barring not going to school, which his mom would never allow, he had to get on the bus.  He grabbed his backpack and went to say goodbye to his mother.  “I’ll see you later, Mom.”

             
“Have a good day, Alex.  I’m sorry.  I love you.”  She hated disappointing her kids.  She knew Alex was upset, but all this was for him was an inconvenience.  Life always didn’t fall right into place, and he might as well learn that now. 

             
“I love you, too.” 

             
She went and poured herself a cup of coffee.   She had to call the mechanic, but was putting it off for as long as she could.  She had a bad feeling she was not going to get good news.  Naturally, this would not surprise her.  Not this week anyway. 

             
She went over to the computer to check her email.  She had tons!  She hadn’t been on in a while. 

             
Kitcat had sent her a long letter about meeting her Rocknroller.  She said it had gone great and they had hit it off right away.  They’d had a lot in common.  She’d had a blast in Florida and was anxious to go back.  Of course, she had to add that she had lived through it and there had been nothing to worry about.  Rocknroller had been a perfect gentleman, much to her dismay.

             
Amanda wondered if she would ever have the nerve to go and visit Ray.  She couldn’t imagine herself alone on a plane, heading to Maine to visit a man she had literally never met.  It happened all the time in cyber space, but she’d be very hesitant to try.  She could just hear her sister and various friends and family members if she ever decided to do this.  All hell would break loose!  She laughed out loud at the thought.  She put it right out of her mind, filing it under Y for ‘yeah right’.  

             
The phone rang and she just stared at it like a deer in the headlights. She just knew it was the mechanic.  She slowly went to pick it up, dreading the news that was coming.  She held the receiver to her ear without saying anything.

             
“Hello?”  It was Ray.

             
She laughed with relief.  “Hey there, Ray.  I thought you were someone else.  I’m expecting a call from my mechanic.             

             
“You sound better this morning, Mandy.  At least you’re laughing.  How is everything?”  He knew that she was under a lot of stress, which was why he kept calling.  He hoped that it helped her to talk about it.

             
“I’ll let you know after I talk to Ernie, my mechanic.  I have a feeling he doesn’t have good news for me.  I don’t know what I’ll do.” 

             
“Well, don’t worry about it until you have to.  We’ll figure it out.”

             
Amanda thought about the “we’ll” for a minute.  Even though she knew this definitely wasn’t Ray’s problem, it made her feel warm inside to think he wanted to help her.  She liked it.

             
“I better get back to work.  What did your boss say about missing today?”  He had called her job and was told she was out sick. 

             
“Nothing.  But I can’t stay out forever, so I’m going to have to figure things out fast.  Just pray my mechanic has good news for me, in a way I can afford.”

             
“I will, Mandy.  Take care.  Call me later if you want to talk.”

             
“Okay.  Have a nice day at work.  Thanks for calling and checking on me.”

             
“Bye, Mandy.”  As always, Ray hated hanging up the phone.  He loved talking to her.  He wished he were in the position to help her more, even financially, but at this point there was just no way to explain it.  He sighed and put his head in his hands.  His attorney appointment was in a few days.  He hadn’t told her yet because he wasn’t sure he could actually go through with it.  As much as he wanted to end the marriage, he hadn’t been alone in so long, he just wouldn’t know how to do it. One step at a time, he thought.  That was going to be his motto from now on…one step at a time.

             
                                                        ‘~~~

             
“Amanda?  It’s Ernie.  I have finished going over your car with a fine toothed comb.”  Ernie Owens was from Tennessee and had the accent to prove it.  Amanda loved listening to it, and had a real problem with mimicking him after too long. 

             
“So is it good news, Ernie, or bad news?” She crossed her fingers.   She told herself not to react too much either way.

             
“Honey, I’m afraid it’s bad news. It looks like your engine block has cracked.  You’re gonna have to replace it sweetheart.”

             
She wanted to vomit.  “How much will that cost me Ernie?” 

             
“Honey, I think I can bring it down to about $2500, cash.”  Ernie felt bad for this little lady.  But he also had a job to do and a family to support.  His hands were tied.

             
“I don’t have that kind of money! Can’t you just fix it?”

             
“It just doesn’t work that way.  I promise you if I could, I would.  It’s cracked, plain and simple.  That’s why the green fluid was coming out of the muffler, it was from the crack.  I’m so sorry, honey.  What do you want me to do? I can fix it right away and have it ready in a few days, if that’s what you want.  I could start right after receiving your payment, in full.”

             
“You’ll just have to wait on that,” drawled Amanda.  “I’m going to have to see what plan of action I’m going to take and then I will call you back.” 

             
“Okay, darlin’.  I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

             
She hung up the phone and burst into tears. She wasn’t going to be able to come up with that kind of money.  No how, no way.  She laughed at the thought of coming up with a plan of action.  As of this moment, she had none.  Wait, yes she did.  She was going back to bed.  She crawled under the covers and cried herself to sleep.

~~~

              Everybody was up bright and early the next morning to take the bus to wherever they were going.  Unlike the kids, Amanda never rode the bus, so she felt slightly challenged.   She decided to just get on, and ride in the direction of her job.  It was a straight shot down the road, how could she go wrong?

             
She called Ray that morning to tell him of her predicament.  He had been very sympathetic, even a little worried at the thought of her getting on the unfamiliar bus.  But from miles away, the most he could offer her was his sympathy.

             
“It shouldn’t be so bad.  Lots of people do it every day.”

             
“That’s true, Ray.  I’m sure it’ll be fine once I get more familiar with it, and hopefully it will be a short term thing.”  Amanda said this with more confidence than she felt.  She had come up with no ideas on how to come up with the money to fix her car.  Her very large car payment was due next week, and she was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.  The salary of a medical assistant was barely enough to cover the necessities, barring any complications.  This was a major complication.

             
“Well Ray, I better hit the pavement.  Wish me luck!”

             
“Be careful, Mandy.  Good luck.”  

             
Walking to the bus stop was no big deal.  That was easy.  Finding the right bus was no problem.  Finding her job…now that was a different story.  The bus went straight then veered off to the right.  Amanda tried not to panic.  She figured it would take a few side routes then get back on the main path.  She didn’t recognize any of the streets she was on, so getting off the bus was not an option.  Everyone seemed to know each other on this bus.  They talked back and forth about the previous evenings, or their jobs.  They drank coffee and shared donuts.  She definitely felt out of place.

             
She asked the bus driver about her destination and if they were headed back to the main road.

             
“Nope we don’t get back on 22
nd
Street.  You’ll have to get off at the next stop and walk over, about a half mile.”

             
Amanda resisted the urge to burst out crying.  She was already over an hour late for work.  Mariah was going to have a cow.  She waited for her stop, got off and commenced walking.  She felt like a spoiled brat.  Lots of people don’t have cars, she told herself.  They have to ride the bus wherever they go every day.  This was temporary so get over it.  She walked as fast as she could towards her office. It was a nice breezy morning, so she tried to enjoy the weather and scenery.  She was failing miserably.

Finally she arrived to work.  It was 9:45.  She went straight into Mariah’s office. 
             

             
“Oh my God,” cried Mariah, “where have you been?  We have been worried sick.  I tried and tried to call you, and no one answered, not even the kids.  Amanda, it’s not like you not to call.  What happened?”

             
Amanda gave in to her urge to cry.  She told Mariah the whole unhappy tale, starting with the divorce, the car breaking, $2500, and ending with the bus ride from hell.

             
“I don’t know exactly what is happening to my life Mariah, but right now it sucks.   It’s more than I can handle.  I’m sorry I’m letting my personal life affect my job.”  She put her face in her hands and continued crying.  She felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders with no help in sight.

             
Mariah felt so sorry for her.  She wished she had the money to give her, but that was a lot of money.  She would just have to be compassionate for now, and try to understand her situation, even when it interfered with her job.  She was a good employee and she was definitely worth waiting this out.

             
“Don’t worry, things will work out. You know the old saying, behind every dark cloud…”

             
Amanda looked at Mariah and started crying all over again.

             
                                                        ~~~             

             
After trying everything she could think of, Amanda decided enough was enough.  She couldn’t afford to fix it, nor pay the car payment.  She called the bank.  After much negotiation, (or a lot of no help whatsoever) they were going to pick up the car at Ernie’s.  Her car was gone forever.

              Ray waited for everyone to go to bed before turning on the web.  He desperately wanted to talk to Amanda.  Tomorrow was his big day at the attorneys.  He was so nervous.  He didn’t know what to expect and the anticipation along with the uncertainty of it all was making him crazy.  He would feel better after talking to Amanda.

             
Ray hung out in the chat rooms waiting for her to appear.  He clicked on 40s4fun to see if she might go in there first.  He watched all the people laughing and talking.  It was hard for him to believe he had met Amanda on here.  What was he thinking?  People don’t really do this do they?  Ray’s instant message box came on…it was Mandy40.

             
“
Hey there Ray, been waiting long?”

             
“Not too long, just a few minutes?  How are you Mandy?”

             
“
Fair to middlin’.
”

             
“Guess what?  Tomorrow I go see the lawyer.  I’m so nervous yet excited at the same time.  I don’t know what it’s going to bring, but I hope to get all my questions answered. I’ll then know where I stand in all this.  What do you think?” 

             
“I think it’s great if you’re sure this is what you want.  It’s a big step.”
  Amanda didn’t want to encourage him one way or another.  This had to be Ray’s decision and his alone. 

             
“Thanks, Mandy.  I’m going to need it. Carrie has been crazier than usual.  I think she suspects something.  I know she’s been going through my stuff and reading my email.  I had to change my password.  I hope she isn’t having me followed; now that may present a problem,
LOL
” Ray laughed at this, but deep down knew Carrie was capable of it.

             
She wished she had some words of encouragement for Ray, but tonight she just didn’t have it in her.  She decided to change the subject.

             
She told Ray all about her bus ride.  She changed some things to lighten the mood, and wrote it in a comical way.  She described the people on the bus, and made up silly things they said or did.  Not only did they forget their woes for the moment, it made Ray feel better about her riding the bus.  She made it sound like it was the time of her life.