Making Plans for Nigel

Part One

Smooth
Author's Note: Words For "Smooth" by Santana and Rob Thompson (Oh, and my apologies to XTC, lol.)

The hot Salsa sounds of Santana blared through his car stereo speakers as he idled in the middle of rush hour traffic. His arm hung lazily out the driver’s side window as his hand tapped a leisurely beat to the sultry Spanish rhythms under the heat of a mid-August sun. The summer holidays always felt like such a waste of time for him, and he had decided that was going to have to change before this summer was over. For the first time in nearly five years, Nigel Bailey was taking a holiday.

He reached for the warm and melted cherry slurpee cup resting in the console, and taking a sip to wet his parched throat, made a face. “Ugh, that was intolerable!” he groaned aloud. Pouring the rest of the hot liquid out the window, he then tossed the cup to the littered floor of his 1989 Honda, where the rest of the trash and other various items of interest, and not, had been relegated. Where was that floor again?

He packed everything in his arsenal for fun in the sun, and over the next two weeks planned to do nothing more than lay on a pristine beach in beautiful Catalina Island, California. He took the liberty of renting a two bedroom cottage only a few minutes walk from sun and surf, hoping it would meet the approval of his traveling companion… God knew he would never hear the end of it if she were anything less than pleased. He had not wanted her to tag along in the first place, and tried desperately to wriggle out of it, citing the need for time on his own, to think about where the course of his life was heading.

After Sydney lost the baby, things went into a Goddamned tailspin that Nigel couldn’t control no matter what he did or said. She took a leave of absence that lasted a mere two weeks, then returned to work with all the spit and fire of a raging bull! To say working in the Ancient Studies office was a challenge was putting it rather mildly at best, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. While she was gone she had refused to see him or even talk to him. Sydney was changing, almost overnight, and Nigel was still hopelessly lost. He smiled when he thought about Sophie. How could he not? Sydney finally relinquished the doll to him when she returned to work, telling him to keep it, that she didn’t have any more use for it.

Well, he did. If that was how she was going to deal with her grief, so be it. Nigel had tried on many occasions to get her to seek some grief counseling, but she just waived him off. That was for people who needed it, she countered. I’m fine. He would have to be a fool to believe that, but there was nothing he could do unless she asked him for his help, so he finally gave up trying.

He had decided from the get-go to be normal about the whole process, and took Sophie home, resting her on his nightstand just beside the clock radio. He did talk about it, albeit Syd forbade him to tell anyone other than Karen about what had happened in Turkey. Her exact words were, "I don’t care if you decide to see a professional about this thing Nigel, but please, keep it confidential. I don’t want anyone on the outside knowing about the baby." Out of respect for her, he honoured the request, as unbelievable as it was! Part of her actions stung his pride, and wounded his heart to think she could so easily forget about their little baby so readily. It took him a while to realise that this was the way Sydney handled grief. Badly, in his opinion. He was probably no better, and would have been wiser to seek out medical help himself instead of bending the ear of their secretary almost daily for the following month. But that required effort, and he hated the thought of doing that alone. He didn’t want to have to explain to a therapist that the mother refuses to acknowledge there was a problem any more.

The upbeat melody of his cell phone sounded off, interrupting his thoughts, and he thankfully answered.

“Nigel, where are you? I thought the plane was leaving in less than an hour!”

“I’m stuck on the turnpike, but don’t worry, we’ll make the flight, I promise,” was his confident, airy reply.

“I hope so.” She didn’t sound terribly convinced.

“I know so. Now, just make sure you’re ready, because I don’t want to sit around waiting for you at the last minute. All right?”

“Nigel, since when, am I not READY?”

Chuckling to himself, he shook his head and turned off the phone, making his way off the turnpike. Smooth Karen, smooth…

Part Two

(Yes, there really is a song called "Making Plans for Nigel", by a group named XTC!)

Sydney didn’t know what to think. He certainly didn’t say a word about it to her, and now she was beginning to understand why.  Karen had been a little too chipper, too happy-go-lucky, she thought. And when she asked to borrow a suitcase for some trip she was taking, the girl had an absolute glow. Sydney was sure that it could only be over some guy, but never in a million years did she ever think it could be over her Nigel!

She sat in her car with the top down, just fuming, her jet black hair flying wildly in the hot summer breeze as she drove home and flicked on the radio… Smooth…

"…well I'll tell you one thing. If you would leave it be a crying shame. In every breath and every word I hear you name calling me out. Out from the barrio, you hear my rhythm on the radio. You feel the turning of the world so soft and slow, turning you round and round…

Perfectly suitable, she thought, for her current love life, or lack there-of. She had seen to that in no uncertain terms! Good job Sydney, give yourself a big pat on the back! Difficult at the best of times, Sydney rarely acknowledged her failings to anyone, and Nigel would just have to understand that. He balked big-time when she told him he had to keep quiet about their loss to everyone and anyone at the college. He had already told Karen, too late for that, but she made him promise on his mother’s grave to not tell another living soul.

Her unreasonable demands were what created the current rift between them in the first place, and she wasn’t going to back down no matter how much he caterwauled. It hurt her too much to think about it, let alone talk about it. Nothing ever effected her like losing Sophie did, and maybe she did handle it all the wrong way, but that was the only way she knew how to cope. She had been taught form an early age to deny what you were feeling if it got in the way of your life.

She’d set him free… told him that they could never go back. Hell, she already broke his heart twice, once more wouldn’t be that bad, right? He was a big boy, he would certainly recover. How many times did he come to her to try and get her to open up, only to have her turn him away? Stupid, stupid, stupid. This truly was all her fault. She literally drove him off. What else was he supposed to do, she asked herself, wait for her all his life and hope she would come to her senses sometime this century? Sydney knew then and there what a huge mistake she had made, and now there was another woman zeroing in on what she considered her personal property. Far be it for Sydney to get territorial at this stage of the game, but man, this was Nigel they were talking about!

Catalina was gorgeous this time of year, and when Nigel mentioned in passing that he was going she almost asked to join him, but thankfully she stopped herself. Karen’s appearance into this folly only confirmed that Syd had been right to keep her cool and say nothing. After all, it wasn't Karen who pushed him away he needed someone willing to listen.

Sexy, blonde and beautiful Karen Petrusky had been only too willing to let him cry on her shoulder, and whatever else he might have bumped into… He was a man with all the normal appetites, and she knew them well. They were carved into her memory with the precision of a laser. Irremovable. Karen and Nigel had been spending a lot of their down time in one another’s company, Sydney wasn’t blind, but to be going on vacation together? Sighing, she had to hand it to her love-savvy secretary. She wasn’t just a pretty face, she had a brain to go along with it! And who could blame her? When someone like Nigel Bailey came along and wanted to pour his heart out, irresistible did come to mind. He was the kind of guy you wanted to mother, and when he whined about it you think he’s being cute. Sydney made it clear she was finished with him, she was so sure… Or was she?

Sydney, in an unusual pattern of behavior, grabbed her cell phone and dialed. “Hello, I need a ticket out to LA. Today.”

Karen wasn’t the only one making plans for Nigel…

Part Three

Undone
Motivation: The Sweater Song, "Undone", by Weezer

My God, the water is rough, Nigel thought, and he turned to Karen. She’d been nothing but a great big chatterbox for the entire five hours in the air, including the cab ride to the ferry terminal and that had been nothing less than sheer torture. His ears were still ringing at all of her ohs and ahs and hey-look-at-that’s, and he wished desperately that he’d been a little firmer with her when she first asked to accompany him. Grudgingly shoving his hands back into his pockets, he groused to himself, politely nodding and smiling every so often for her benefit. After all, he was still a proper English gentleman.

“They say there’s a snack bar and cocktail lounge on board, want to check it out?” Karen asked her esteemed traveling companion, her nose buried in the ship’s brochure. “I’m famished,” she freely admitted, “airline food is the worst!”

Great, she wants to eat, now? Nigel carefully contemplated her suggestion, feeling a little nibbly himself, but wasn’t sure that this was such a good idea, for two reasons. The first being his tendency to get seasick, and the other was that he had already paid for both of their fares. He was now out the $63.00 for the ferry, and he doubted very much that he would ever see her half! How she did it to him was beyond his comprehension, but he wasn’t about to let her trick him again, surely. “Uh, well Karen… I don’t know…” The wheels turned fast and furious behind his suspicious hazel eyes.

>“I’ll buy.” She smiled at him and winked her eye. “My treat.”

Sure, you’ll buy… It only took about a half an hour for Karen to finally run out of gas, just after he brought a light lunch of pasta salad and soup to their table, which he ended up paying for after her bank card wouldn’t scan in the machine. It had been demagnetised somehow, and unless there was a bank of her particular branch on Catalina, Nigel knew he was going to be footing the bill until they got back to L.A. for their flight home.

“I’ll head back to the mainland in the morning Nigel, I promise. I can get a new card there and pay you back.” She insisted, trying to hide the colour rising high on her cheeks.

Karen was truly embarrassed, he could tell, humiliated even, and she looked like if he said one little thing the wrong way she was going to cry. “Look, that’s hardly necessary…” He let go of a defeated sigh. She did it to him… again. “I have more than enough to cover our expenses for the week. Going back there tomorrow would only be a gross waste of our time and money.”

“Look, I wanted to come on this stupid trip, and I’ll darn well pay my own way!”

“Yes, of course you will. But Karen, don’t worry about it right now. We can settle up when we get back to L.A. next Saturday, all right?” He watched her bottom lip start to quiver. God no, he thought, please don’t let her do that… anything but that!

She somehow managed to miraculously control her emotions, and took a deep breath before answering. “Okay, that’s a deal. But I want you to keep a running tab, you got that?”

Nigel smiled. Situation averted, for now. “I got it.” Yes, he was going to get her for it all right, he promised himself.

Lunch was fabulous, but he knew better than to finish it all in these swells. Karen, on the other hand, cleaned her plate, and while Nigel enjoyed a nice hot cup of tea, she started to appear quite pale. Not long after that she got a very peculiar look on her pretty, round face. He definitely recognised that look. His mouth curled into the most mischievous smirk ever, and he put down his cup.

“So, let’s go out on the observation deck Karen, I read that you can sometimes see dolphins and whales on this crossing,” he suggested. Tossing his napkin on the table, he rose from his seat.

“I, I think I’ll just stay here for a while, if that’s okay by you.” She closed her eyes and took a deep, medicating breath. "I'll pass."

“Oh come on, you’ll love it! Where's you're sense of adventure?” Nigel’s sense of devilry was overtaking his good judgment, unusually so, and he continued to pester her. “Let’s go, Karen, I want some company.” He absolutely insisted on going up to that observation deck, despite Karen’s stanch protests.

“NO! I, I can’t go out there, I can’t!”

“Nonsense, it’s beautiful up there, don’t you want to see?”

She pouted and dragged her feet, but to no avail. Nigel just grabbed her hand and started up the stairs. “Come on, you begged me to tag along, this is my vacation, remember?”

“You can, can’t you just, just leave me downstairs, please?” Her stomach was doing the bloody flamenco now.

The channel winds were cool and strong, but Nigel paid no attention to that. He pulled Karen through the crowd and practically propelled them against the railing. Karen’s long, blonde locks were all askew and in her face, and she hung her body a little over the edge, just in case… The boat was rocking pretty badly, and Karen sucked in her breath, steadying herself for the worst. She now knew how Nigel felt when he would get back from being dragged all over the world with Sydney - three different shades of plaid!

Nigel stood beside her, feeling mighty darn proud of himself. He knew she had probably spent most of her money on the plane ticket, and wouldn’t be getting paid until Thursday. Sneaky devil, he thought. If she had just explained it to him in the first place, he probably wouldn’t have been as ticked off, but this was well worth any price to see… Then strangely, he felt something oddly familiar deep in his gut. Oh no… While Karen had managed to pull herself together, Nigel came quite literally, undone…