All A Man Wants For Christmas: Chapter Two
11:20:00 AM
Chapter One .....
.....She tried to keep her voice from betraying her when she said....
Mandy: "I’m sorry I was late but it was unavoidable"
Zeke: "Really? I would like to know what was more important than my production Miss Brown. I presume it was nothing less than a life-or-death matter?"
Mandy: "Death actually" (she said in a hostile voice)
Zeke: "Really? I would like to know what was more important than my production Miss Brown. I presume it was nothing less than a life-or-death matter?"
Mandy: "Death actually" (she said in a hostile voice)
Zeke: "I’m sorry" (his eyes had narrowed as he’d stared at her more intently before sitting down once more)
Backstage, a couple of the other dancers she knew gathered around her and she filled them in on what happened as they all waited to find out their fate.
Katie: "A cat?"
(A tall redhead who was easily the most ambitious person Mandy has ever met, was looking at her in disbelief) …
"When we heard you say “a death”, we thought it must be your nearest and dearest that could stop you from auditioning for the part of Sasha, but it was just a cat?"
(A tall redhead who was easily the most ambitious person Mandy has ever met, was looking at her in disbelief) …
"When we heard you say “a death”, we thought it must be your nearest and dearest that could stop you from auditioning for the part of Sasha, but it was just a cat?"
Mandy: "It might be just a cat to you, but it was Mrs. Wood’s companion and best friend. She was very heartbroken this morning"
Katie: "You’re a sweetheart, you really are, but I wouldn’t have kept Zeke James waiting even if my dear old mother had kicked the bucket in front of my very eyes this morning. You have to look after number one in this world because no one else will take it from me. It's a dog eat dog world."
Dancer Sue: "And we all know you’ll step on any one of us, Katie, if it gave you an edge on getting what you want. You won't care less for an old lady and her cat"
Katie: "Too true" (she grimed)
"…but the only difference between you and I is that I admit it up front. You’d do the same, Sue, And you Christie. We all would, except perhaps Mandy, our own little angel of mercy."
"…but the only difference between you and I is that I admit it up front. You’d do the same, Sue, And you Christie. We all would, except perhaps Mandy, our own little angel of mercy."
It was at that moment they realized the director, producer and Zeke James were standing having a cup of coffee some distance away. That the three men must’ve heard their conversation became apparent when Zeke strolled over a few moments later, his face deadpan as he murmured softly, so no one else could over hear…
Zeke: "It’s the first time I’ve played second fiddle to a cat, Miss Brown. Novel experience."
(he walked away before she could even reply)
(he walked away before she could even reply)
And when she glanced at Katie something made her suspect Katie had known Zeke James and the others were within earshots all the time. Ten minutes later they were all called on stage and she got the part of Sasha and Katie was her under study. As she exited the theatre later that day, Zeke’s black Ferrari was waiting for her…
Mandy: "Stop. That's enough walk down the memory lane."
(She said to herself as she snapped back to reality, forcing the memories back into the little box in her mind…flicking her silky shoulder-length strawberry blond hair, which had missed being titian, free from the collar of her coat.)
She reached for her suitcase, her hands were trembling, taking several deep breaths, she composed herself. She said in her mind, she’ll be fine and her plans have been carefully made.
(She said to herself as she snapped back to reality, forcing the memories back into the little box in her mind…flicking her silky shoulder-length strawberry blond hair, which had missed being titian, free from the collar of her coat.)
She reached for her suitcase, her hands were trembling, taking several deep breaths, she composed herself. She said in her mind, she’ll be fine and her plans have been carefully made.
Once she was in the main ward, she was touched by how the nursing staffs gathered round despite having said her goodbyes earlier. She made her way to the lifts, she felt a bit shaky as the lift sped her downwards to the hospital lobby, it was as though she was venturing into a hostile alien territory. When it stopped and the doors slid open, she had to force herself to move. A large robust man brushed past her on his way to the lift and although it was enough to knock her off balance due to her injuries, the weight of her bulging case helped her regain control. To her horror, she knew she was going to fall, and then suddenly a pair of strong arms were holding her, steadying her and the next moment the suitcase was taken out of her hand.
Zeke: "Hello Mandy" (his voice was expressionless, his ebony eyes unreadable as they stared into her startled green eyes)
Mandy: "What_?" (She was so surprised her brain wouldn’t compute)
"How_?"
"How_?"
Zeke: "Save the questions for later" (He was leading her towards the huge automatic doors, with a firm hand at her elbow and she had no choice but to walk with him)
"For now, let's get out of here"
"For now, let's get out of here"
It was the impact of the freezing air outside the house warmth of the hospital that jolted her out of her shock…her wits returning along with her voice.
Mandy: (she jerked her hands free, stopping dead as she faced him)
"What are you doing here?" (she bit out hotly)
"What are you doing here?" (she bit out hotly)
Zeke: "Isn’t it obvious? Taking my wife home" (his voice was unruffled, even lazy)
But Mandy knew better than to be fooled that it was how he was feeling inside. She remembered the night they got engaged when he talked about the teacher who predicted his future…
Zeke: "That teacher did me a favor, although he didn’t know it at the time."
(He had told her that evening at a fancy restaurant when she’d been seeing him for a couple of weeks)
"It was one of those crossroads in life- a decision time, you know? It would have been easy to go down the dark route- I was already more than halfway there-but to make a fortune legitimately was harder, more of a challenge. And I’ve always liked a challenge to prove something to him and to myself."
(She was staring at him fascinated)
Mandy: "And is that the only reason you veered on the side of law and order?", she asked as she grabbed her glass of red wine.
Zeke: "I should say no- that deep down, I wanted to do the right and noble thing – shouldn’t I?" (he answered with crooked grin)
"But the truth of it is, I didn’t think that way then, I’d lived in dumps mixing with all kinds of types when I was with my mother, and once in care I developed a huge chip on my shoulder. I was an angry young man I guess" (his grin had widened)
"I’d have been an excellent villain though."
(his face had straightened as he reached across the table for her hand)
"…So am I?"
(he said softly) "and never more than at this moment, I would have found it very hard to look into your eyes and asked you to love a man like that."
"But the truth of it is, I didn’t think that way then, I’d lived in dumps mixing with all kinds of types when I was with my mother, and once in care I developed a huge chip on my shoulder. I was an angry young man I guess" (his grin had widened)
"I’d have been an excellent villain though."
(his face had straightened as he reached across the table for her hand)
"…So am I?"
(he said softly) "and never more than at this moment, I would have found it very hard to look into your eyes and asked you to love a man like that."
Mandy: (She blinked before murmuring) "And is that what you’re asking me to do? To fall in love with you?"
Zeke: "I’ve loved you from the minute you stood on that stage and put me in my place, and I’ve never told another woman I love her because it hasn’t been true before. I don’t want to rush you but I want to marry you, Mandy. I want you to be my wife, the mother of my children, my partner through life. I love you, I want you, I need you and I adore you."
(He let go of her hand and leaned back on his seat)
"Does that answer your question?" (He drawled self-mockingly)
(He let go of her hand and leaned back on his seat)
"Does that answer your question?" (He drawled self-mockingly)
They had gotten engaged that night and married. She felt life had just begun the day she married Zeke. To have someone who was hers, who loved her, had been sweet…
The happiest moments of her life had been soured by the present but she had made a decision, it was irrevocable, she didn’t belong in Zeke’s world anymore, perhaps she never did. She never understood what made him love her in the first place not when he could get any woman he liked, but the Mandy he married was gone....
Mandy: (forcing a strength into her voice that bellied her trembling inside, she said)
"How did you know I was leaving today? I haven’t told anyone."
"How did you know I was leaving today? I haven’t told anyone."
Zeke: "But I'm not just anyone, I’m your husband." (he smiled, but it didn’t reach his mind)
Mandy: "We are separated, Zeke. I’ve told you, I want a divorce." she said with a stern face.
Zeke: "And I’ve told you, only over my dead body" (he said conversationally)
"So do we stand here in the cold discussing this in the next umpteen minutes or are you going to be sensible and come home with me?"
"So do we stand here in the cold discussing this in the next umpteen minutes or are you going to be sensible and come home with me?"
Mandy: (Her temper rose)
"I have no intention of doing either" (She glanced over the taxi rank outside the hospital gates)
"I’m getting a cab to where I want to go, so can I have my suitcase, please?"
"I have no intention of doing either" (She glanced over the taxi rank outside the hospital gates)
"I’m getting a cab to where I want to go, so can I have my suitcase, please?"
Zeke: (he shook his head) "No can do"
Mandy: (she glared at him) "I mean it, Zeke"
Zeke: "So do I"
Mandy: "Fine, keep it" (she had her handbag containing her credit cards and cash over her shoulder) "but just leave me alone."
Zeke: "Stop this!" (the studiously calm pose varnished)
"I’ve stayed away the last 6 weeks as you asked, I thought that will give you time to come to your senses, after the doctors said my presence was upsetting you and hindering your recovery. But I'll be damned if this ridiculous farce is continuing for another hour. You’re my wife, we’re in this for the long haul, remember? For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part."
"I’ve stayed away the last 6 weeks as you asked, I thought that will give you time to come to your senses, after the doctors said my presence was upsetting you and hindering your recovery. But I'll be damned if this ridiculous farce is continuing for another hour. You’re my wife, we’re in this for the long haul, remember? For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part."
She only heard the “long haul” part, which suggested a fulfillment of duty, doing the right thing when everything in him was crying out against it. It confirmed all her fears. Zeke on the other hand has never made it a secret that he delighted in her body every night of their marriage, as she thought back, sometimes in the day too. He had worshipped her with his lovemaking, taking her to heights she had never imagined as they gloried in each other. He was a skillful and generous lover, adventurous but infinitely tender, intent always on giving her pleasure even as he satisfied his own desires…
Mandy: (She took a deep breath as the first starry snowflake wafted by in the wind) "It takes two to keep a marriage together, Zeke. You can’t force me to stay"
Zeke: "I don't want to believe I'm hearing this"
Mandy: "Believe it because i mean every word. Things are different now"
Zeke: "I don't want to believe I'm hearing this"
Mandy: "Believe it because i mean every word. Things are different now"
Zeke: "Are you telling me you don't love me anymore?" He growled out finally. "Is that it?'
Mandy: (lowering her eyes to allow her hair swing forward and hide her face, she muttered) "Yes yes, that's it. I don't love you, alright?"
Zeke: "Look at me and say it" (His fingers forced her chin upwards)
"Tell me you’re prepared to wipe away the last couple of years and all we’ve shared together as though they never happened. Tell me that and look me in the face while you do it"
Mandy: "Of course they happened and Im grateful for them, but things have changed, people change" (she could hear herself saying the words as though it was someone else speaking)
Zeke: (with a raised voice he said) "I haven’t changed"
(he suddenly shook his head in rapid movement as a silent apology for his raised voice)
"I haven’t changed" (he repeated softly and the sensual quality to his voice, apparent) "and I simply don’t believe you have either"
Mandy: "Oh I have" (She said with much bitterness so he couldn't fail to believe her.)
(he suddenly shook his head in rapid movement as a silent apology for his raised voice)
"I haven’t changed" (he repeated softly and the sensual quality to his voice, apparent) "and I simply don’t believe you have either"
Mandy: "Oh I have" (She said with much bitterness so he couldn't fail to believe her.)
He had married a young whole woman, now she didn’t feel young anymore, she was a mess inside and out and there was no room in Zeke’s life for emotional and physical cripples.
Zeke: "You mean the accident? Your legs? (He was speaking so quietly she barely heard him)
"That doesn't make any difference to me, surely you know that. You are still you"
Zeke: "You mean the accident? Your legs? (He was speaking so quietly she barely heard him)
"That doesn't make any difference to me, surely you know that. You are still you"
Mandy: "No" (her voice was brittle with a thread of steel running through it)
"I'm different Zeke, you can’t wave a magic wand and make me the old Mandy, anymore than you can pretend I’m not damaged. I’ll never dance again, I’ll never even walk without a limp, I have months of intensive physiotherapy to attend and they’ve already warned me the chances of arthritis as I get older are high. I could end up in a wheelchair at worse."
"I'm different Zeke, you can’t wave a magic wand and make me the old Mandy, anymore than you can pretend I’m not damaged. I’ll never dance again, I’ll never even walk without a limp, I have months of intensive physiotherapy to attend and they’ve already warned me the chances of arthritis as I get older are high. I could end up in a wheelchair at worse."
Zeke: "I know all that, I’ve been seeing the consultant on a regular basis and I have worked out a program of treatment with him" (he took her arm before she could react)
"Its starting to snow and you’re getting cold. Come and sit in the car at least."
"Its starting to snow and you’re getting cold. Come and sit in the car at least."
Mandy: "I’ve told you, I’m getting a cab" (She stubbornly insisted)
He was wearing a black overcoat and he looked big and dark as he glanced down at her. A part of her noticed the way his hair was curled over his collar, unlike his usual short, almost military style. Was that intentional or did he need a haircut? For some reason, she found the thought almost weakening so to combat that she used a sharp voice as she added..
"And I don’t want you talking to my consultant again, okay? Much less deciding on my treatment, I can look after myself, we are not together anymore Zeke, deal with it."
Zeke: "You’re being extremely childish, Mandy. At least let me drive you to where you want to go. What do you think I'm going to do, for crying out loud? Kidnap you against your will?" (It was exactly the kind of thing he would do and his face was answer enough)
(he clicked his tongue in exasperation) "I give you my word, how’s that? But you must see we need to talk, you owe me that at least. The last time we talked, you were all hysterical and I had half the medical team at the hospital breathing down my neck and accusing me of delaying your recovery. I didn’t understand what I had done wrong then, I still don’t, and I intend to get to the bottom of this."
(he clicked his tongue in exasperation) "I give you my word, how’s that? But you must see we need to talk, you owe me that at least. The last time we talked, you were all hysterical and I had half the medical team at the hospital breathing down my neck and accusing me of delaying your recovery. I didn’t understand what I had done wrong then, I still don’t, and I intend to get to the bottom of this."
Mandy: "I wrote you last week. There’s nothing more to be said." She flatly said.
Zeke: "Ah yes, a lovely missive" (he said with heavy sarcasm) "A few lines stating you wanted a divorce, that you required nothing at all in the way of settlement and that in view of this kindness you expected the divorce to go through without contest. Well, I’ve got news for you, theres no way, no way I’m going to let you walk away from me. You’re my wife, when I made those vows they were for life, it wasn’t some kind of nice little event that could be put to one side when it suits you"
Mandy: (her chin came up) "I’m not a possession, Zeke. Like your Ferrari or your villa. This acquisition can think, feel and make decisions."
Zeke: "Don’t twist my words" (he said, remarkably calm) "Now are you going to let me take you where you’re going without a scene or shall I put you over my shoulder and carry you to the car? The choice is yours, I'm easy either way."
She didn’t make the mistake of saying, ‘you wouldn’t dare' because she knew he would.
She eyed him icily before allowing him lead her to the direction of the car. As he helped her into the black Ferrari, she watched him as he walked round the bonnet, her heart aching and her stomach churning. This was just the kind of confrontation she was hoping to avoid.
He didn’t start the car immediately, turning to her in the luxurious leather-clad interior as he slid an arm along the back of her seat)
Zeke: "I’ve missed you, every minute, every hour, everyday" He said huskily as his eyes went soft like velvet.
Mandy: "You shouldn’t have come here today. Zeke" (hardening her voice)
Zeke: "The hell I shouldn’t. Nothing could have prevented me."
The snow was coating the windscreen in a blanket of white, shutting them in their own little world. He was so close, the faint familiar smell of his aftershave mingled with the leather from the car's interior, bringing back memories, memories that turned her fluid inside. She knew he was going to kiss her..
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