When Ordinary Isn't Ch. 01

(Revised 11/11/2022)

Will didn't write this one, I (Devo) did, so please go easy on me!

This story was inspired, in part, by a tale a former roommate ages ago once told me. I only adapted it to modern times since her story happened two decades ago.

The timeline of the story-telling changes, but I don't think it should be too confusing.

The second chapter of this story makes a few mentions of things which occur in a lunar rhythm. When you come to a line marked:

you can choose to skip to the next identical marking if such subject matter bothers you. That will skip you past the majority (but not the entirety) of their mention. It's a completely normal part of life.

By the way, Will and I both love comments. Please add yours.

Finally, for a little fun: Both of us place "Easter eggs" in our stories which, in certain ways, stitch them together. If you think you've found one, comment on what you found.

Thanks for reading,

When Ordinary Isn't

"No way."

"Yes way."

"You've got to be kidding me, woman. There is absolutely no freaking way . I simply can't believe you, little Miss Prissy, did something like that." Stephanie Moore stared in disbelief, shaking her head slowly as the three ladies took their seats on the patio of their favorite bistro during their lunch break.

"I know! It's crazy, right? I lost my mind. I went nuts, okay?" Margaret "Peggy" Foreman said.

"If it's true, you'd better bet your tiny ass you did!" Nina Parnell chuckled.

"Can it , Nina," Peggy objected. "I don't know why you're judging me considering the weekend you spent with, what'd you call him? Brazilian Dude?"

"Yeah, so what?" Nina scoffed. "He was the first man I ever met who'd had a Brazilian."

The other two laughed.

"But, you know what?" Peggy said.

"What?" both of her friends asked in unison.

"It was the most incredible time I've experienced in ages." Peggy smiled wistfully.

"Oh, really?" Stephanie said, elongating the syllables.

"Beyond any doubt," Peggy answered.

"What was his name again?" Nina asked.

"What do you mean, again ? I never mentioned his name."

"Okay, fine," Nina said with an exasperated sigh. "What was his name?"

Peggy paused awkwardly, trying to figure out a way to deflect. "Not important."

"Oh. My. God!" Stephanie said.

Nina looked at Stephanie curiously.

"Oh, my god !" Nina repeated. "You don't know his name!"

Both women laughed when Peggy blushed a little.

"No, I don't. Well, I know his first name, but who cares? He doesn't know my last name, either. He knows as much about me as I know about him. It was so anonymous. It was so... holy hell it was just incredible." She grinned.

"You have to start from the beginning," Nina demanded.

"Okay, fine," Peggy said as she began to collect her thoughts. "It was a dark and stormy night--"

"Oh, come on," Nina barked. "This isn't a Bulwer Lytton contest entry, is it?"

"See what I did there?" Peggy chuckled. "But it really was . Remember the Monday a few weeks back?"

"Okay, yeah, it was dark and stormy," Nina agreed. "Where's our waiter? I'm dying to hear this."

The three women were on staff at the same hospital in Orlando, Florida. Peggy and Nina attended medical school together and developed a friendship they'd maintained for more than a decade. Stephanie met them during their residencies. The three had been inseparable since.

Nina was quite striking. Though her tetchy demeanor had deterred many, her current gentleman suitor had seen through her gruff affectations to her compassionate and witty true self. She ordered her usual Cobb salad with honey mustard dressing on the side.

Stephanie ordered the signature BLT with kettle chips. Not because she was particularly fond of it, but she chose to select whatever was next on the menu after what she'd ordered at her prior visit.

Margaret chose the fried chicken sandwich with coleslaw and french fries. At just shy of six feet tall and one hundred twenty pounds, she tried to gain weight to amplify her diminutive proportions. She chose to ignore the fact her slight, less than hourglass-like curves, were entirely genetic.

"So, anyway, I'd just gotten off shift, and I had to go to the twenty-four hour pharmacy to get a prescription refilled. When I got there, the line for the drive-up window was damn-near wrapped around the building. I guess people didn't want to get out of their cars in the rain.

"I decided I didn't want to wait in that line, so I parked, went inside, and barely got wet on the way in. I was thinking all those other folks were wimps.

"Well, the line at the counter wasn't much better. There had to have been at least twenty people waiting around. I guess that's a typical Monday night, right? Doctors' offices are crammed after the weekend, and all those prescriptions have to be filled somewhere.

"Anyway, I got in line. They've only got three or four people in the back, furiously counting pills and filling bottles, and only one person manning the register and doing prescription intake and also working the drive-up window. The doofus was as slow as cold molasses.

"So, I see this guy--"

"Nameless guy?" Nina interrupted.

"Yeah. Last -nameless guy. I see him sitting in one of the chairs against the wall. I mean, I'll just say he caught my attention, but I didn't want to stare. After a few minutes, I notice him staring at me. He's got this odd, nervous expression. I mean, he's not like overtly staring. He's more like... glancing at me. But not at my face.

"The dude is checking out my butt, I'm thinking, and I'm totally cool if he wants to check me out because I'd be checking his out if he were standing in front of me, you know what I mean?" Peggy smiled mischievously, wagging her eyebrows.

"I'd been standing there for maybe ten minutes, checking Instagram on my phone, and he taps me on my shoulder and holds up his jacket. I'm thinking, 'What the hell?' and he says, 'You can borrow this if you want.'

"I'm standing there looking at him. All I said was, 'Uh, no, thank you, I'm not cold.'

"I didn't know whether to burst out laughing or what. I mean, who does that? I'm thinking, if this is some sort of pick-up line, it needs a little work.

"Don't get me wrong. Any other time and place, a good line from a guy like that would have probably worked by itself, because he was a hunk. Total hottie hot guy. Like six-one and one-eighty and a rocking hot body. He's wearing this like almost skin-tight plain white tee-shirt, and he's very nicely built. But, like I said, he's just giving off this nervous vibe. Hotties like those aren't supposed to act nervous when trying to chat up a woman, right?

"He just stands there and says kind of quietly, 'Sorry, that's not what I meant. If you need something to tie around your waist, you can use my jacket if you want.'

"I asked him why because I was clueless what he was talking about.

"He says, like really quietly, 'I'm guessing from your scrubs you're a doctor or a nurse or something,' and he kinda leans in close to me a little bit and whispers, 'I don't think the blood on your pants came from your job' and he kinda looks around to see if anyone overheard him."

"Oops," Stephanie said.

"Yeah. Exactly."

"You got your period standing in a line?" Nina laughed. "Been there, done that."

"No, it started while I was in my car. It came a couple of days early so I wasn't exactly prepared. I had no idea it had come on so fast and furious until the guy said what he said.

"I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I took his coat from him. Then he said 'I'll hold your place in line.'

"I didn't even say anything! I just stepped out of the queue and went off into a corner and tied his jacket around me and grabbed some pads off the shelf, paid for them at the front register, ran out to my car and took one and threw the rest in the back seat, then went back in and took care of things in the restroom. The rain had picked up by that point so I got a bit more soaked.

"This guy had eyes like an eagle or something. It was just a small spot. Maybe the size of a quarter. I guess it was in the perfect place that he could see it from where he was sitting. You know how it is, right at the nook of the thighs?

"So there I am, standing in the restroom. I'm trying to figure out if I can run out the service door without setting off an alarm and just leave his coat on the floor or take it to a clerk or something. I couldn't decide whether I was embarrassed or not.

"I mean, Jiminy Cricket ! When was the last time some random man told either of you your period was visible?"

Stephanie laughed.

"Before never ?" Nina laughed, too.

"So what'd you do?" Stephanie asked then sipped her iced tea.

"There wasn't anything I could do. I've got this incredibly hot guy's incredibly nice-smelling hoodie strapped around my waist so it's covering my butt. My scrubs are stained, and my undies are a lost cause because I've got a thong trying to hold up a pad.

"I know, I wasn't thinking straight getting pads instead of tampons, and I figure I have like a timer going. I've got maybe thirty minutes until it all went to hell again."

"Stop it, Peg. What did you do?" Stephanie repeated herself.

"I went back."

"Only two customers have checked out," he said. "Are you okay?"

He was an incredibly handsome man, she thought, and reckoned he was a few years younger than herself, very early thirties, perhaps. He was maybe an inch or two taller than her.

"Well, considering I've been horribly embarrassed, yeah, I guess I am," she said.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking away from her. "That was the last thing I wanted to do. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Oh, sure. How else does one say such a thing?"

"Hey. As far as I'm concerned, it's no different than if you'd told me I have a little visitor in my nose," he said and rubbed the inside edge of one of his nostrils.

He made her laugh. "Yeah! Like that would have been so much better!"

The man disarmed her. He wasn't classically charming, but he was charming. Peggy found it difficult to conjure a single word to describe his nature. He was the antithesis of off-putting, but on-putting didn't seem like a real word to her. She thought of him as... natural. Real. Present, yet noticeably on edge. His nervousness made him seem vulnerable. Perfection was one word which bounced in her head a few times.

"Really. I'm truly sorry to have upset you, but I didn't know if you knew. I just... Hell, I don't know. Sorry."

Peggy watched an extraordinarily handsome man fidget. His affectations gave him the appearance of an addled boy. She observed him for quite a few moments.

"Thank you for telling me before I made a fool of myself."

"You're welcome, I guess." His fidgeting continued. "Crap. I don't know what to say to you."

"Then shut up," she said, but with a kind smile.

"Yeah. Maybe I should." He laughed nervously.

"Are you okay?" Peggy asked after a few moments.

"No, maybe not."

"Why? Did I do something else to offend you?"

"No. I mean... crap. No, you've done nothing at all to offend me. I'm just..."

Peggy saw his face blush. "Well?" she challenged, watching him paw a foot on the floor.

"I just think... um... you're really cute and I'm kind of at a loss for words."

Peggy felt her heart skip a beat or two.

"Cute? Are you blind?"

"What? No!"

"I'm standing here after getting rained on and in a very unbecoming state overall and you saw what you saw, and you still call me 'cute'? No one has ever called me cute ."

"Can't imagine why. You are. Maybe cute is too regional. Is 'pretty' better?"

"I... um... thank you, I guess."

"I'm sorry. Really. I'm trying to pay you an honest compliment, but you're not making it very easy," he said, matter-of-factly.

"I can barely take my eyes off this guy, right?" Peggy said. "But I've got like vapor-lock or something, because I couldn't think of anything to say to him. He was acting so unsure of himself."

"Who cares. Get to the point, would you?" Nina said with an anxious grin. "I want to know how sullying yourself got you a hottie."

"Hold your horses. Here comes our food."

The ladies sat quietly as their server approached and placed their dishes in front of them.

"I've been rude. My name is Eric, by the way."

"I'm Peggy," she replied, offering her hand which he gently shook.

"So, Peggy, what do you do? Are you a doctor or something?"

"I'm a pediatric trauma surgeon at Orange County Regional."

"Whoa. Hell."

"What's wrong?"

It took him a few moments to speak. "I just can't imagine a more horrific job. That means like seriously injured kids, right? It makes my heart ache when I think about it."

She saw his gaze shift, genuine pain in his eyes. Her own heart quickened at his modest, mostly shielded but still evident display of honest-to-goodness emotion.

"There are far more good days than bad," she offered.

"Are you good at what you do?"

His question knocked her off balance a little.

"I'm not sure how to answer that. I think I am because I've only been sued for malpractice a couple of times so far, which is much better than par in my specialty."

"Have you lost any of the suits?"

"No. Not yet."

"Is your hospital a teaching hospital? I mean, do you do research and stuff, too?" he asked.

"If only. Research funding there is seriously competitive. I'd love to research a particular idea I have, but it just hasn't happened," she said. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm kind of out of a job as of a few weeks ago."

"Oh. That sucks. What's your field, though?"

"I have a couple of degrees in science and engineering. I guess I'm kind of a tinkerer. I worked at Reiter-Marlin."

"Don't think I've heard of it."

"Not surprising. The company doesn't have offices in Florida."

"Oh? So you're not a local?"

"No. I'm from Oklahoma where the company is based."

"You brought your family to Orlando for vacation or something? Even though you're out of a job?" she probed.

"Well, no, I didn't bring anyone. Don't have a family to bring. I just decided to come here for a week and blow off some steam. I love theme parks and stuff."

"I wouldn't think of Orlando as a steam-blowing place. Maybe New York City or Vegas?"

"Been to New York many, many times. Not at all a fan. Went to Vegas once, which was enough."

She chuckled at his grimace.

"So, um... when do you head home?" she asked.

"The day after tomorrow."

Her curiosity got the best of her when she noticed he was only wearing a single shoe and an orthopedic sandal on his other foot, the one he'd been pawing the ground with.

"Gotta ask, because I'm a doctor and all. Why are you in line here?"

"Because I'm an absolute idiot," he said with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Aren't we all at times?"

"Well, you're a surgeon, so I doubt it," he said, which earned him a smile. "But, me? Yeah. I needed to get something out of my car this evening, and I was an idiot and didn't put on my shoes. Bad habit. I go barefoot most of the time when I'm home. I stepped on something in the parking garage and it sliced open my foot.

"I went to one of those corner emergency rooms and earned myself a few stitches, a tetanus booster, and a prescription for prophylactics."

Peggy laughed. "You mean prophylaxis , right?"

"Yeah. I wanted to hear you laugh again. You can tell a lot about a person by their laughter."

"Is that so?"

"It is, and you have a nice laugh."

"Thank you?" she couldn't mask the questioning tone of her voice.

"What. What'd I say?"

"You've done it twice now, describing me in ways I'm not accustomed to hearing."

"Well, then I'm not an idiot. Everyone else is."

"Holy frack ," Nina groaned, chewing on a nibble. "I'm imagining the guy having Peter Coyote's voice wrapped in Jason Momoa's body."

Stephanie sighed luxuriantly. "Girl, don't you dare bring Aquaman into this."

Nina laughed.

"Shut up, will ya?" Peggy said, scraping the breading from the chicken filet and popping the delicious crust into her mouth. "I'm trying to tell you what happened."

"Where are you off to when you're done here?" Peggy asked.

"Going back to my... I don't know whether to call it a hotel or a condo or what. But going back there."

"Where are you staying?"

"The Las Palmeras Resort."

"Seriously? Right up the road?"

"Yeah. You know of it?"

"Not first-hand, but I've heard it's a pretty nice place."

"Guess how much it cost me."

"Three hundred a night?"

"Close."

"How much?"

"Nothing."

"Seriously? Nothing at all?" Peggy said loudly enough she drew a few glances from several other waiting customers.

"Nothing. I saw a bunch of reviews on Yelp, called them up, and said I might be interested in buying into their 'vacation club' and asked what they could do," he said with air-quotes.

"Oh! You played the time share game!"

"Exactly. They gave me a week for nothing just to sit through a one-hour sales pitch. I've played the game all over the world."

"So how is it?"

"It's not the best place I've stayed at, but it's pretty well-appointed and comfortable."

The guy pawed the floor with his foot again. "What are you doing later?"

"Well, you know, I've got something I need to deal with."

"Oh."

"Why do you ask?" she asked with a curious smile.

"I was hoping maybe I could interest you in pie and coffee."

The thought of a decadent dessert with a decadent male made her tummy growl.

"Wow. That actually sounds really good," she said. "But it's getting late, and it'd take me at least an hour and a half to get home and back."

"Why do you need to go home?"

"Um... duh?" she answered, shuffling her scrubs' top with a hand to its breast pocket.

"Of course, that's when the counter clerk called his name."

"Whoa! Wait just a second. You said you didn't know his full name, and the clerk said it out loud?" Nina asked.

"Yeah, but, at that point, it didn't matter, so I didn't give it any notice. He went to the counter and paid for his prescription and came back over to me."

"What were you saying?" he asked.

"I can't go out looking like... um... like I sat in paint."

"Oh." He chuckled. "So forget about any of that for just a second. If it wasn't for your current status, would you say yes?"

"Yeah. I think I might. But I can't."

"Sure you can. Please let me take you across the street to the super-center. You can buy whatever you need. On me."

"On you?"

"Yeah. I earned a nice... severance."

"Just how nice is nice?"

"Well, I don't like to talk about such things, but I did alright. Enough, at least, to buy a pretty woman an emergency change of clothes."

"Were you out of your mind? You let this guy take you shopping on his dollar," Stephanie said, "and he took you to a freaking Wal-Mart ?"

"Calm down, Steph," Nina interrupted. "His nickel, shopping spree? Who cares if it's at a megamart. That's where I buy most of my crap."

"Well, there's also the fact it was probably the only place to buy clothes which was open at that time of night. I didn't go nuts or anything. I just got a pair of jeans, a comfy top, and of course some undies. The shoes I wear to work go fine with jeans, so it all worked out. Also got some basic stuff like deodorant and a hairbrush. And yes, I bought tampons on his dollar. He sat on the bench by the registers while I scurried around fetching necessities and waited until the clerk had scanned and bagged everything. Then he came over and paid, I think it was like sixty dollars. I went to the restroom and changed. Now I owe the hospital twenty bucks because I threw the scrub pants in the trash with my panties."