Can’t Catch a Break
It was his
birthday, Ezra’s first birthday since the formation of the team. In the months since he had joined the team,
his six team mates had come to understand some of his reticence. Having been hurt so many times, he would
automatically pull away from them.
This time
though they were determined to have Ezra out and celebrate with him. So they devised a plan they though he would
enjoy. Knowing his love of fine art,
Josiah got them all tickets to go to the exhibit that was opening that
night. They figure to take him to
dinner, then to the museum, then back the saloon for
drinks.
Things definitely
didn’t go as planned.
First the
bust that took place that afternoon resulted in Ezra breaking his arm and a
trip to the hospital to get it cast. By
the time they had finally gotten him out of the hospital and on the way, they
had lost their reservation at the restaurant.
While Ezra expressed his gratitude at their efforts, he just wanted to
go home and sleep.
JD finally
confessed that they had had more planned and told him about the exhibit they
had tickets for. Non-refundable
tickets. JD wasn’t sure, but he
thought he saw Ezra’s eyes mist over when he told him what they had had
planned.
Ezra
couldn’t believe these men had gone to so much trouble to think of something
that he would enjoy. Putting his pain and
exhaustion aside, he agreed to continue the evening as they had planned.
“Here we
are, Ez,” Josiah announced as he pulled his suburban up and parked in front of
the museum. Helping Ezra out, he guided
the man towards the main entrance.
Everyone decided that they were going to enjoy this for Ezra’s
sake. Within five minutes, everyone but
Ezra was bored stiff. Ezra, however,
found himself enjoying the company of his friends. Finally working himself through the crowd,
Ezra came to the special exhibit that was opening that night.
Chris,
standing a little to Ezra’s left when they came to the
display, grabbed his unhurt arm when Ezra suddenly swayed and looked
like he was going to pass out. “Nathan!”
he said urgently as he helped Ezra over to a chair that stood by the wall.
Nathan
pushed his way to Ezra side and grabbed his wrist. Finding Ezra’s pulse much to fast, he asked,
“Ezra? What’s wrong? Did you hit your head, when you went down?”
“I’ve got
to get out of here,” Ezra suddenly said, standing and starting to push his way
toward the exit. Chris glanced back at
the rest of his team and saw his confusion mirrored on each face. Walking beside the shaken man, Chris and Nathan
helped him get back out of the building with minimal fuss.
Ezra didn’t
say another word as he left the building and got back into the suburban, his
thoughts in total turmoil. He didn’t
even notice when Chris and Nathan had him step into the Suburban.
“Chris?”
Nathan said worriedly.
“Let’s go
out to the ranch, and maybe he can tell us what’s going on. At any rate I don’t want him alone. Whatever is going on has him really shook
up,” Chris answered.
The thirty
minute drive out the Larabee’s ranch was made in almost total silence, not even
Buck and JD had the heart to joke around with Ezra looking so totally
shattered.
When they
got there, Nathan and Chris took charge of Ezra again, maneuvering him out of
the vehicle and into the house.
When Ezra
quiescently sat silently in the chair, Chris finally took hold of his face and
lifted it so that he could look in his eyes.
“Ezra, what going on? Can you tell us?”
Ezra looked
into the worried eyes of his team leader and friend and decided it was time
they knew. “When I was fourteen, Maude
had just been divorced for the third, or was it the fourth time?” Ezra puzzled over that for a moment before
realizing that it didn’t really matter.
“The mark she set her sights on next was a painter of some renown. I’m not going to tell you who, but you would
know who I’m speaking of. Anyway, in
order to impress him, she enrolled me at one of the more well-known art schools
in
“What
happened, Ezra?” Nathan said softly from his other side.
“Mother. She took all of my paintings, changed the
signatures on them somehow, and sold them as another person’s work. Our styles were similar, so no one caught her
at it. She made quite a tidy sum off
them, too. She then tried to get me to
forge paintings for her. When I found
out what she had done, I swore I would never paint again.” Ezra swallowed hard then looked directly at
Chris’s hazel eyes. “Those were my
paintings in that exhibit tonight.”
Everyone
sat silently in stunned shock.
“Aw, hell,”
Buck muttered. “This day has been one
big Snafu!”
Everyone but
JD nodded there agreement. Looking
confused he asked, “Snafu?”
Ezra spoke
up before the others could reply, “Situation Normal: All Fucked Up!” and burst out
laughing. The laughter soon turned to
tears, and Chris held him as he broke down.
Today, a day that was supposed to have been a happy day for Ezra, had
turned out all wrong. The man just
couldn’t catch a break. Tonight they
could help him, tomorrow was soon enough to deal with Maude.
