Short: Consequences of a Day in the Park: Part 2

Hi there, everyone! I’m back for Part 2 of Consequences of a Day in the Park. If you read the original years ago at AHA, you might recognize some changes. I did a little expanding on it. Who knows, maybe I’ll play with it some more one day :). I usually do not like revisiting old work very much, but this was fun. I hope you enjoy!

Consequences of a Day in the Park – Part 2

William
After he helped carry the basket to Lizzy’s car, he walked to his apartment building. When he had first seen Lizzy, he had been struck by how lovely she was, but after talking with her for a while, her kind and outgoing personality made her easy to confide in. She was intelligent as well. He was not one to confess his thoughts and feelings to anyone, yet he had opened up to her quickly—and without reservation. He had told her the majority of the argument with Charles, without names of course, although he had only said that he was estranged from his sister. He could not reveal too much of himself to someone he had just met. Besides, she might believe him to be snobbish or a bad person if everyone in his life had deserted him for some reason or another.

What had been the most shocking about the encounter was that Lizzy had not looked at him with avarice in her eyes. She had not seemed to recognize him as a wealthy man, a rarity these days. How many people tracked who owned or was CEO of what company? It was disturbing how many women knew him at a glance, but Lizzy just saw him—a rarity in his world. Perhaps not everyone was interested solely with money.

Caroline Bingley treated him as though he was prey she was to catch in her snare. He shuddered. She brought a black widow spider to mind, and that species was known for snacking on their males after mating. Caroline always licked her lips when she spoke to him. He choked down something in the back of his throat. Despite his estrangement from Charles, Caroline often attended the same functions as him. Why couldn’t she have disappeared instead of Charles?

The next morning, Mrs. Reynolds, his assistant, had been wide-eyed at his arrival at work. He was always early and greeted her, but he had taken a couple of days after Georgiana had left and hadn’t given his assistant warning of his return. Even so, Reynolds had to know he wouldn’t stay home and sulk forever.

By that afternoon, he had asked Mrs. Reynolds to find him the contact information for Charles Bingley. His phone that had last contained the number had been stolen. When he had purchased a new one, he had been forced to start over with his contacts list, and since they weren’t on speaking terms, he no longer had Charles’s information.

Mrs. Reynolds had a phone number quickly, but he sat and stared at the digits on the Post-it in front of him for at least an hour without making any attempt at using them. He’d chickened out. What if Bingley refused to talk to him?

When Saturday dawned, he woke, eager to start the day for the first time in a long while. He dressed quickly and arrived early to the coffee shop where he and Lizzy had agreed to meet. While he waited, his heart jumped whenever the door chimed, and someone entered. He kept looking for her smiling face to arrive. He had never anticipated seeing someone so much in his life.

At the first sight of Lizzy walking by the front window, his heart gave a jump, and when she saw him and her lips curved to one side, his heartbeat quickened. She entered the shop and ordered a drink and a muffin at the counter. At the moment she sat across from him, he was surely smiling as widely as Bingley often did.

The conversation between them started easily, and they talked about anything and everything in that small corner coffee shop until the time came that she asked about whether he had called his friend. His stomach sank. He should have known it was coming. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint her.

With a sigh, he idly turned his coffee cup in his hand. “No, I lost my nerve the moment I went to dial the number.” How would she react?

She tilted her head and watched him for a beat. “Well, you’ll never find out if he’s willing to forgive you if you don’t call. In fact, why don’t you do so now? I’ll even hold your hand if you need it.” Her soft smile relaxed the muscles that had tightened when she had asked her question.

He glanced around them. Such a public setting wasn’t ideal for this, but Lizzy was right. He needed to speak to Charles whether he was ready or not. An apology was long overdue.

The coffee shop was not all that crowded, and no one sat close by, so he took out his phone and pressed send on the number he had finally programmed into his phone the day before at work. When he put the device to his ear, he jumped at Lizzy’s soft hand taking his and squeezing. A current flowed up his arm from where she touched, and he inhaled at the sensation but had to ignore it. He had to keep some of his mind on speaking to Charles or he’d flub it all up.

He had been forced to change his number a couple of years ago, and he now had an anonymous number, so when Bingley answered the phone, he did so with a wary “hello?”

With a hard swallow, he closed his eyes. “Hi, it’s me William. Before you hang up, I want to say I’m sorry for the way I behaved the last time we spoke. I shouldn’t have said what I did about your girlfriend, now wife. Who you were to marry was entirely up to you, and I had no right to interfere. I can’t apologize enough for what I said. For what it is worth, I’ve heard you are happy, and I’m glad. I just wanted to say that.” Yes, he was rambling, but as soon as Charles answered, he had just started speaking without his brain keeping up.

The line was silent.

After a few moments, he couldn’t take the quiet any longer. “I’m sorry to have bothered you. I’ll let—”

“William, wait,” said Charles before he could hang up. “I’m sorry, but you took me by surprise. If someone had told me an hour ago that William Darcy would call me and apologize, I wouldn’t have believed them.”

“I can understand that.” He opened his eyes to Lizzy watching him with her eyebrows raised. He attempted to smile, but the muscles in his shoulders were so tense they were painful. His expression was probably more frightening than reassuring.

“If you remember, I’m not one to hold a grudge,” said Charles. “Why don’t we meet up for drinks this evening, and we can talk things out.”

Drinks? He nodded. “Yes, I’d like that. Hamilton’s on Fifth?”

“Seven o’clock. Sounds like old times, doesn’t it?”

“It does. I’ll see you then.

William pressed end and released a heavy exhale. As he looked up, Lizzy beamed at him.

“That sounded like it went well?”

He shrugged. “We’re meeting for drinks. I’m sure I’m going to have to earn back his trust.”

“Maybe it won’t be as hard as you think.”

“Maybe.” He squeezed her hand in return. “Thank you for sitting with me while I made the call.”

“I was happy to do it.” She tilted her head while she regarded him. “Now, I’ve been in the mood to walk through the Museum of Art. I haven’t been in a while, and I happen to have the afternoon free. Would you like to come with me?”

He couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t remember the last time I walked through the museum, but before we go, would you put your number into my phone? I’d like to be able to call you sometime. Maybe we could have coffee again—without the helping me with my problems part. I appreciate it, but I would prefer to get to know you better without the drama.”

Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink, and she glanced at him once or twice while she entered the digits. When she handed it back, he texted her his own number.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

“Definitely.” When he stood, he held out his elbow, and she grinned when she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. He relaxed for probably the first time that day. Why did this seem like this was just how it was supposed to be?

Elizabeth
Elizabeth was going to burst! William was going to call her. Sweet and sensitive William—at least to her he was those things. He was also smoking hot! She bit her lip to keep from grinning like a fool. She had never before experienced a jolt that traveled through her like the one that occurred when she took his hand for his phone call. That had to mean something, didn’t it?

Their trip to the museum had been nice. He knew his way around the maze of a building with ease and could tell her a lot about many of the works that hung on the walls. A couple of the people who worked there greeted him as they passed. He had obviously visited a great deal.

After their afternoon at the museum, she had gone home to clean and had been checking her phone often in case she missed a call from him. The last thing she expected was for him to call every night that week, but when her phone rang on Monday night, she had to calm her racing heart. That night, they had talked about almost nothing really, mostly their days, but in general terms. Before he hung up to go to sleep, he had asked if he could call again tomorrow. She had said, “yes,” of course, but the anticipation had made it difficult to go to sleep after.

On Tuesday evening, she had let him talk about where he grew up, a house called Pemberley. He seemed to love the place and spoke fondly of it.

“You never told me what happened with your friend.” She had given him a few days, but he hadn’t mentioned their meeting, and she had a vested interest since she’d tried to help them work things out.

“It went really well. I’ve been invited to come to dinner with him and his wife on Saturday night. Would you like to come with me? I told him I had met someone who helped me call him. I think he’d like to meet you.”

She bit her cheek. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Normally, I’d love to go, but my sister and her husband asked me to come to their house for dinner on Saturday. I’m their daughter’s godmother, so either I take Bethy out for a picnic or a movie, or I go to their house for an evening about once a week.”

“No worries. I understand. How about a movie on Sunday? I could tell you what happened at dinner, and you could tell me about your sister and her family.”

She laughed. “During the movie? I think we’d irritate everyone around us.”

“We’ll do lunch before, the maybe go to a matinee. That way, we can always find something to do after if we want.” His tone was a little eager. Despite his lack of reticence with her, she had noticed his reserved nature with others, even if they hadn’t spent much time together. He hadn’t been comfortable when people talked to him at the art museum. His arm had tensed under her hand. He seemed shy.

“I’d like that,” she said. “I better go to sleep, or I’ll get nothing done for work tomorrow.” After they hung up, she lay in bed staring at the glowing stars on her ceiling for a little while. She couldn’t sleep. Now, she wanted tomorrow to be Sunday more than anything.

                                              ~*~

On Saturday evening, she rang Jane’s doorbell a couple of times before walking inside. That had been a ritual since Jane and Charlie moved out of an apartment they all shared when the two married. They had always insisted she never needed to knock, but after one time when she walked in on them on the sofa. . .Well, she never entered without giving fair warning anymore.

“Hey, Lizzy!” called Charlie. “I’ll be there in a minute! Bethy spilled chocolate milk all over herself, so I’m getting her cleaned up!”

She grinned. Bethy was just like her when she was a child—getting into everything. Jane was going to regret naming her firstborn after her sooner or later.

When she passed the dining room, she paused. Jane entered and she looked up.

“Why is the good china out? You’ve never used the fancy plates for me before.” She took a step back. “You better not be setting me up.” Jane and Charlie had done so once, and he was the most insufferable man she’d ever met.

Her sister held out her hands, palms out. “No, no set ups. An old friend of Charlie’s is coming for dinner tonight. We haven’t seen him in years, but apparently, he called Charlie last weekend out of the blue and apologized for some things he said once upon a time.”

“Really?” It was crazy coincidental. What were the odds the man coming was William? No, it couldn’t be. With how many people were in the city, it had to be someone else.

“So who is this guy calling you?” said Jane in a sing-song tone. “You practically hung up on me the other night to answer his call.” Her sister wore a wide grin. Jane was quiet and serene with most, but with her, she’d always been more open and a bit of a prankster. She even surprised Charlie from time to time with some of her antics.

“Oh, he’s just a guy I met at the park last week.” Yes, she was deflecting, but things were still so new with William. He hadn’t even kissed her yet, and she didn’t want Jane telling their nosey mother.

“You mean last week when you brought Beth to the park?” Jane’s eyebrows were raised, and her tone had dropped. “Are you picking up men when you take care of my daughter?”

Lizzy took a step back. “No!  I did not pick him. . .” Her sister’s bubbling laughter made her pause.

“You should have seen your face!” Jane shook her head, still laughing.

“I hate it when you do that!” Her sister could be devious when she wished it!

The doorbell rang and Jane and Lizzy made their way into the living room to meet Charlie’s mysterious friend. At a deep voice, Lizzy frowned. It was familiar, but it couldn’t be, could it?

When her William entered the living room, he stopped short when he saw her, and they both began to smile. Charlie stepped forward to make the introductions, but when he reached Lizzy, William put a hand on her brother-in-law’s shoulder.

“Actually, we’ve met. Lizzy is who talked me into calling you.”

Her brother-in-law gave the two of them a wide-eyed look. “Lizzy was the woman you were telling me about? The one you met in the park.” William nodded.

She shook her head. “You must not have told him how we met, because he would have figured it out pretty quickly if you had.”

“Lizzy is apparently using our daughter to pick up men,” said Jane with a shake of her head.

Charlie chuckled and took his wife’s hand. “Do not mind Jane. She likes to give Lizzy a hard time. As for telling me how you two met, he didn’t even tell me your name, but Will always did like to keep things to himself. I was amazed when he told me as much about you as he did.”

“Will-yummmm!” Charlie and Jane startled as their daughter came running into the room and jumped for William. He had no choice but to reach out and scoop her up.

“And how are you, milady?”

“Are you my daddy’s friend?” Bethy’s little face was tilted as she watched him.

“I am. Is that okay?” Charlie gaped at the sight before him, and Jane’s eyebrows were raised.

“Bethy, you shouldn’t run and jump at people,” said Jane as she took her daughter. “You could hurt someone.”

“But I know William. I met him at the park with Aunt Lizzy. Are you happy now?” Her little eyes gazed up at William with an earnest expression that tugged at Lizzy’s heart.

He nodded. “I am. Thank you for helping me that day. I appreciate you keeping me company.”

“How about some Scotch?” asked Charlie. “I have a great Aberlour I purchased a few weeks ago. I haven’t even opened it yet.”

Jane laughed and took her hand. “Don’t worry, Lizzy. I bought wine.”

The evening went as well as could be expected. Charlie had always been the friendliest person she’d ever met, so why William was worried about calling was a mystery. Perhaps how long it had been had made matters more difficult. Time always had a way of making things seem impossible.

William offered her a ride home after dinner, and this time, he walked her to her door and kissed her.

“Are we still on for the movies tomorrow?” He held her in his arms while he asked. Her heart pounded against her ribs.

“Yes, I’d like that.”

After he kissed her once more, he backed down the sidewalk. “I’ll pick you up then at noon?”

She nodded, and he grinned. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Once she went inside the house, she watched him leave through the peephole before leaning back against the door and covering her mouth with her hands. This evening had been perfect. After William had apologized to Jane, she had thanked him then seemed to forget they had ever had a quarrel. She could see them having dinners with Charlie and Jane like tonight for the rest of their lives.

Her heart gave a weird flutter, and she gasped. What if one day William became Bethy’s Uncle William? If tonight was any indication, that would not be objectionable at all.

I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!