When You Least Expect It (17 page)

             
“Mandy?”

             
“I’m here, and yes, I’m really anxious to get those pictures.  They should probably get here tomorrow, I’ll give you a call, and we’ll open them together.”

             
They hung up on that note, each lost in their own thoughts.

~~~

                            That night, she decided to go online, hoping to find Ray.  She missed him and really needed to talk with him, even on the internet.  The kids were already in bed, so she sat at the computer and logged on.  He wasn’t on of course, so she sent him an email saying she was waiting around for him, just in case he checked his email.  She went to the 40s4fun room to see who was there.  Looks like all the old regulars, she thought to herself.  Kitcat, Hawaiianlover, Skygazer, LAconfidential, all her old friends.  She was happy to see them…she popped in and wrote, “
Hi everybody…long time no see
!  They were happy to see her too.  There was the continuous “
Hi Mandy”
until everyone in the room had greeted her.  She loved that part.     

             
They kept her laughing, keeping her company.  It was so weird to be sitting home alone, yet not really, because she had a roomful of friends.  This is exactly what she considered them.

             
Finally,
Maineman
popped in.  Everyone gave their salutations, although Amanda hung back so she could see him in action.  All that he asked the whole time was if anyone had seen Mandy40. She thought it was cute.

             
Amanda typed in, “
hey Maine...what’s shaking?
 

             
“
There you are!  How are you?”
 

             
They moved into the message box so no one else could see their conversation.

             
“
I’m fine.  What’s new with you?”

             
“Not a lot…same old thing”             

             
“We lead very boring lives, Ray.  If you were here, we could at least catch a movie or something.”

             
“Yes, I know what you mean.  But it seems unrealistic to come twenty-five hundred miles to check out a movie
.”

             
She laughed and agreed.  She told him about her day, and Hilary’s sudden turnaround. 

             
“
What do you think caused her to change her mind?
  Ray was glad about Hilary’s about-face, but he was also very suspicious. 

             
“Who knows, Ray, I’m just glad she did.  It’s nice to have someone in my corner.  She’s even going to call Blossom and tell her to mellow out.”

             
“Great, I hope it doesn’t cause World War III”

             
“LoL Ray, it won’t…or at least I hope it won’t”

             
They chatted for hours, talking about nothing in particular. She noticed that the only thing he didn’t bring up was his divorce.  She wondered why but decided not to bring it up.  Maybe he thought about it so much he wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.  She would wait until he was ready.

             
Finally Ray wrote, “
The sun is beginning to rise over here, Mandy.  The sunrise is beautiful, but it’s my cue to hit the hay.  I loved talking to you. Thanks for staying up with me.  You are an amazing woman.  I will call you soon.”

             
“Ok, Ray, take care.  Have a restful sleep.”

             
  “LOL, you mean within the next three hours?  ‘Nite, Mandy.”

             
Amanda turned off the computer and drifted off to sleep on the spot.

~~~

             
Bright and early the next morning, the phone rang.  Amanda’s first thought was who could be calling in the middle of the night!  Then her eyes opened and she noticed the sunlight.  She groaned.

             
“Hello?”

             
“Oh no, did I wake you?”

             
She didn’t recognize the voice and became instantly irritated.  “WHO’S THIS?”

             
“I’m sorry, Mandy, it’s Bud.  I was trying to catch you before you left for work.”

             
“Oh Bud, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize your voice.  I’m a little cranky before coffee.”  Amanda could feel herself flush with embarrassment.  “What can I do for you?”

             
“You can come and pick up your car.”  Bud was smiling.  This felt good!

             
Amanda bolted straight out of bed.  “What?”

             
“I got it all worked out for you…and if you don’t mind driving an older Cavalier, you just have to sign the papers, get insurance, and drive away.”

             
“Bud!  You’re kidding me, right?  You’re serious?” She was beside herself.

             
“Can you do it today, Mandy?  You have to start with the insurance.”  Bud gave her all the information on the car. 

             
“I’ll do it today.  Can I call you at work when I get it all situated?”

             
              Bud gave her the number and address of the car dealership.

             
“I can’t thank you enough, Bud.  I’ll owe you forever!”  Amanda was grinning from ear to ear.  Finally, something was going right!

             
The older Cavalier turned out to be only four years old.  She was so excited!  She didn’t know who to call first and then picked her boss.

             
“You’re not coming in, right?” Mariah was losing her patience with Amanda.

             
“No, I’m not. Don’t be mad! I’m picking up my new car! Then I won’t be such a loser anymore, Mariah! Be happy for me! See you tomorrow, bright and early?”

             
Mariah had no choice but to be happy for her. “Hooray! I will get the old, responsible Mandy back! See you tomorrow, ready to work!”

             
Next, she called Hilary.  She sounded cranky.  “Hey, can I get a ride from you in a bit?”

             
Hilary rolled her eyes.  “I have a busy day today, Mandy.  Where do you need to go?”

             
“Bud came through! I have to go pick up my new car!”

             
“Mandy, that’s great! Yes, I will arrange my day to take you! Hooray!” Hilary was only too happy to do this for her.  This would make her life so much easier.

             
“Thanks, sis.  I’ll call you.”

Next, she dialed Ray number.  She had saved him for last on purpose. 

              “Ray Knight.”

             
“I got a car!”  Amanda blurted it out. 

             
“That’s great” 

             
“Yes, and it’s only four years old and not too many miles and I just have to go and pick it up!  I’m so excited, Ray.  I couldn’t wait to tell you.”

             
“I’m excited for you!  You sound so happy.”  Ray was smiling on the other end of the phone.  She sounded like a little kid in a candy store.  She was so cute!  “When do you pick it up?”

             
“As soon as I get insurance, Hilary’s going to take me to sign the papers and pick it up.  So I better get started.  Mariah was great about letting me do this today too.  This is my lucky day, Ray Knight.”

             
“I’m happy for you, Mandy.  No more buses!  This is great.” 

~~~

             
Amanda and Hilary were inspecting her new car.  It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was in good shape and it worked.  Bud promised it was dependable.  The car payment was a lot less than her Mustang, so she was thrilled.  Bud had told her it hadn’t been easy due to her other pending car loan, but his boss had put it through anyway. 

             
“Well, thank him for me too, Bud.  Thank you, thank Sheryl.  You just don’t know how much this means to me.”

             
“Yes, I do and I am happy to help.  Whenever you have problems, come to us.”

             
Amanda enveloped him in a giant bear hug.  “I will, I promise.  Thanks so much.”

             
She got into her new-to-her blue Cavalier, and she and Hilary went to celebrate.

             
Amanda pulled an envelope out of her purse and tossed it at Hilary. 

             
“What’s this?”  Hilary looked at the return address.  Her eyes bulged.  “Is this what I think it is?”

             
Amanda sheepishly nodded.  “It’s Ray’s picture.” 

             
Hilary shrieked.  “Oh my God and you haven’t even opened it!  Aren’t you the least bit curious?”  She looked at her sister like she had three heads.

             
“I’m scared, Hil.  What if he really does look like Jabba?  He hasn’t exactly painted a pretty picture for himself, what if it’s for a reason.  Of course, I keep harping that looks don’t matter, but it’s going to be kind of hard to kiss a Jabba the Hut look-a-like, don’t you think?” 

             
Hilary burst out laughing.  “You are a hypocrite!  Looks DO matter.  I knew you weren’t the Pollyanna you proclaim to be!” 

             
Amanda pulled into the restaurant where they were going to have lunch.  Irritated, she grabbed the envelope out of her hand.  “Shut up, and I am not a hypocrite.  Do you want to look at these with me or are you going to celebrate your moment of thinking you’re right?”

             
Hilary backed down.  “No way!”  I have waited a long time to see these. Let’s go in, order some ice tea and do the unveiling!”

             
They walked into the restaurant in silence and were seated.  They ordered the ice tea and two chicken salads.  They looked at each other.  Hilary was hardly able to contain her excitement.  “Well?” 

             
Amanda bit her lip.  “Let’s do it.”  She silently prayed that the man in the picture would be kissable.

             
She ripped open the envelope and took out the pictures.  There were two.  She slowly looked at one, then the other.  In one, he was standing in front of a cottage.  He looked relaxed, and was smiling.  In the other, he was obviously at the beach.  He was coming out of the water, wet and happy. 

             
She looked at her sister. 

             
“Well?”

             
“I could easily see myself with this man, Hil.

             
“Let me see!”

             
Amanda handed her the pictures.  She was lost in thought, actually trying to put this face with the voice she heard so often.  It definitely was not what she imagined.  At first glimpse, he looked better than average. His hair was a light brown, short, done like any professional man of his age, with a brown, well trimmed mustache.  Looking closer, she noticed his smile.  He had one great smile.  It lit up his face. In the picture at the beach, he looked sheepish, his arms opened like ‘yep, this is me!’  She arched her eyebrow as she noticed that in his swim trunks, she really got a good look at his body.  In the picture at least, it wasn’t half bad.  She liked the way he had a spattering of hair on his chest, which was nice and full.  She could imagine the muscles rippling through them as he walked.  His green eyes were small, but alive with emotion.  She could see that even in the picture.  His lips looked soft and inviting.  She could definitely kiss this man.  In fact, looking at this picture, she really wanted to. 

             
Hilary shook her out of her fantasy. 

             
“Mandy!  Are you listening?”

             
She looked at Hilary.  “Cute, huh?”

             
“You lucked out, Mandy.  He looks nothing like Jabba the Hut.”

             
“Well don’t sound so disappointed!”

             
Hilary stuck out her bottom lip.  “I’m not.  I’m happy for you.  I was just hoping you would have to be put through the test of him being homely.”

             
Amanda threw her napkin at her.  Smiling smugly, she crossed her arms on the table, looked straight in to her sister’s eyes and said, “Looks like I won’t have to be put to that test.  I definitely like what I see.”

~~~
 

             
              Amanda had not told the kids about the car.  She waited for them to get home from school.  They would be so excited.