Chapter 9: Unlit Fireworks

          For as much as he complained about it being full of boring adults, Eddie was doing great in school. He had a natural knack for communicating with people and had spent hours practicing his motor skills on the monkey bars, younger brother in tow. Since he was at an A average, Finley decided to give him the option to age into a teenager, which he accepted without a second thought. “What kind of cake would like?” Finley tentatively asked. She was doing better with cooking, but wasn’t exactly sure if she could pull anything tasty off. “Um, I could do blue or pink or maybe frost it to look like a hamburger.”

When she put it that way, it was no surprise that her son eagerly shouted, “Hamburger!”

          It may have been a bit passive aggressive, but Finley didn’t wait for Manu to be home to celebrate Eddie’s birthday. She bought a toy horn and blew into it loudly while Quinn clapped eagerly. “Mom, you’re obnoxious,” Eddie groaned. That didn’t deter her celebrations in the least.

          Eddie approached his silly cake and sized up the candles. They didn’t look so tough. It was better to be safe though. He sucked in air until his lungs burned, then blew it out with all his might. Thankfully, the flames all flickered out.

          Finley’s son stepped away from the cake as a nearly full-grown man. He had a lot of his dad in him looks wise, and it unnerved her some. “Ugh, just looking at that thing gives me a stomachache. Why’d you let me pick such a gross cake, Mom?” Yes, he was definitely Manu’s child.

          That afternoon was spent snacking on cake and reminiscing about some of Eddie’s finest childhood moments. To be honest, there weren’t many that came to Finley’s mind. She’d been awfully concerned with so many other things during his lifetime; she felt as though she’d never really gotten to know her first child. It wasn’t fair to Eddie, but he seemed to have grown up just fine.

          Finley had thought for a moment that the small revelation of never having connected with her son would throw a wrench into her plans for the night. It hadn’t. When it was getting late and Brandon finally showed, she still felt excited to get dressed up and flee out the door. Manu got to date around, why couldn’t she?  Butterflies flapped in her stomach on her way to the bar in the next town. That couldn’t wipe the goofy grin off her face though.

          She was able to spot a target within minutes of being at The Rattlesnake. A man kicked back three drinks in a row at the bar. In the dim lighting, he looked pretty cute. His facial hair was actually attractive to her.

          Finley slipped onto the stool next to his. Immediately, she started some light flirting. He reciprocated, though it was apparent that he was well out of his mind with drink. All she could get from him was his name, Valetin Meyers.

          He poured even more juice down his hatch.

          And that’s when Finley made her move. With him being so juiced, she didn’t feel embarrassed about her flabby post-pregnancy midsection. She barely even compared their levels of attractiveness really. She offered him physical affection and he greedily lapped it up.

          She waited until she was sure the kids would be in bed before she brought Valetin home. Having a man actually want to visit her bed instilled a boost of confidence in her. This wasn’t what she’d been primarily after though. Ever since the birth of Frankie, Finley couldn’t help but wonder if she squandered an opportune moment with her creator. There were still so many things she wanted to know. The only way she could think to get answers was to give birth yet again. But she didn’t want to be tied to Manu by a fourth stake.

     

    

          Woohoo with Valetin was nearly worth the travel time. A rush went to her head. It was exciting! Perhaps not the act itself entirely—he was quite drunk—but for the fact that she was with a stranger.

          The two snoozed for a few hours, limbs still tangled. At about four in the morning, Valetin jolted awake, stirring Finley as well. “Shit! What time is it?” he asked, gripping his head. He groaned in pain.

“You can grab some orange juice from the fridge, if you want,” she offered. Now that he seemed irritably right in the head, she felt uncomfortable exposing her nude form by getting up to dress.

He did indeed leave the room for some family-friendly juice, and Finley breathed a sigh of relief. That is until she heard Manu’s voice greeting her most recent partner. “Sup, Bro?” Valetin amicably returned the acknowledgment.

          When Finley was through pulling on her jeans and sweater, she walked out into the living room, preparing to face two men heatedly throwing insults and accusations at her. It was rather calm though. Valetin finished his glass and then made a comment about needing to get home. Manu and Finley lamely waved together.

          This is where Finley really expected some fireworks to get lit. After all, hadn’t Manu thrown a huge fit over her simply having Brandon as a friend? Surely he would be ten times angrier that she had done the deed with another man.

          What actually happened was a bit of a letdown really. It was a hell of a lot easier, but Finley found herself almost offended that Manu didn’t yell or try to fight for her. All he did was say that they needed to talk, which was true. He sat her down on the bed, the one she just used with Valetin, and he still kept to a level tone. If anything, he appeared relieved. “Look, I think we both know that this isn’t going right.”

Finley just shrugged.

“I’ve done some stuff, and you obviously have too.” He chuckled. He actually laughed at her pseudo-infidelity. “I want to have easy access to my kids. So let’s just get through raising Frankie without killing each other and then move on with our lives.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.”

          Finley sighed after Manu left to go sleep on the couch. She had just maneuvered her way through what could have been a dangerous minefield and passed it without a scratch. Luck had been on her side. Still, it wasn’t very exciting, was it? What was wrong with her? Why would she have wanted any kind of drama? She shook her head. At least she could appreciate the fact that splitting with Manu would easier than she feared.

          Once Finley found out she was carrying her newest ticket to her creator, she no longer cared much about how lackluster her first breakup type of situation was.