Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Truth to Materials: Rick, Gibbs, and Larry
The beauty of working part time is that you can still contribute to a family's income, as well as have time to yourself. At least that's Elizabeth Turner's opinion. Being a middle-school history teacher, and blessed that fact that her employing school does not support a semester system, Elizabeth only taught every other day. She had always loved teaching, but teaching the same kids day after day seemed like too much of an undertaking for her likes. "This way," she had once responded to Will, "I get the best of both worlds." Will did not quite understand what she had meant by that, but he figured it would be best to bite his tongue and not to express his opinion, for everyone's sake.
It was on one of Elizabeth's days off that she had found herself making a mad dash for the nearest gas station. She had been out running several errands earlier, and had forgotten how much gas her car does go through. She was out that morning, because she was buying, supplies, for another yet day spent with her darling Will. After their last attempt, Elizabeth had been determined to plan a flawless day for the two of them. It was the least she could do for Will, she had thought. She pulled into the gas station and rolled down her window. An idle mechanic made his way over to Elizabeth's car.
"How much would you like?" The mechanic asked.
"Twenty pounds worth." Elizabeth answered, as she handed the man a banknote.
"Alright there miss."
As the mechanic gave her the signal to go, she began to make the roundabout onto the main street. She had not yet rolled up her window when she heard a feeble cry. Elizabeth stopped her car. Was it just her imagination? She heard the sound again. She got out of her car, and tried to find the source of the sound. One last time, she heard that undisguinshed sound. It lead her over to a cluster of dying shrubbery, a failed attempt at beautifying the gas station. She crouched down and looked around. Elizabeth soon found herself face to face with a small, ravenous kitten. Elizabeth stared at the poor animal for quite some time. She was aware that it was a stray, and that the kitten may be riddled with God knows what. But Elizabeth's heart broke when she say it attempt to meow yet again. She wanted to bring it home, where she could nurse it back to health. But she knew what Will would say. If Will was here, he would say no. If Will was here, he'd say to put it in a shelter. If Will was here, he would ask, "You're not going to treat this cat like you did Gibbs?" Elizabeth paused. "Gibbs," she thought, "I haven't seen Gibbs in ages!" Despite sitting on wet, cold asphalt, Elizabeth was smiling when she thought back on Gibbs.
Elizabeth had first met Gibbs three years ago. It was one of the few times that Elizabeth had taken her son William to a rugby, rather than Will. This time, she had even stayed to watch. She stood awkwardly by herself on the side of the playing field. Elizabeth had never gotten to know the other parents of William's rugby team, because Elizabeth had always considered them to be Will's acquaintances. They were all men, for one thing. Loud, intense men, who she would most likely find in an Irish pub every night. She stood with the parents of the opposing team. As if anyone knew who she was.
Elizabeth had always known that her son William was a good rugby player. Will would come home after every game, beaming and raving on and on about all of William's game plays. But it wasn't until seeing her son play first hand, that Elizabeth had realized the difference in ability between her William and the rest of his team. She let out a small cheer and applauded as William ran past. It wasn't long before Elizabeth had become immersed in the game of rugby, feeling like an actual diehard fan. If she had any clue of what was happening around her, she might not have been as pleased, for William's team was losing. Perhaps she had forgotten that she was standing among the opposing team's parents.
As Elizabeth stood and watched, she looked around at the parents around her. She spotted one man close to her, who seemed to a a little out of place, just like her. She casually made her way over to the man, and began cheering for William again.
"Which boy is yours?" the man asked.
"He's number nine," Elizabeth replied, "Oh, he's on the red team." She giggled.
"That's your son? Turner?" the man sounded excited. Elizabeth nodded. "Well, blimey, your son is the finest hooker I've met in a while!" he paused, "If he wasn't so young, I'd think he was a professional!"
Elizabeth shot the man a look of complete disgust. "Excuse me?!" she exclaimed, "Who the hell do you think you are?!" The man looked at Elizabeth, confused. Before the man could answer, the referee's whistle screeched and an uproar from the parents and players caught Elizabeth off guard. Did they too hear what that man had just said?
"Oi!" the referee yelled, "Give that back!"
Elizabeth turned to look at the playing field, and saw a man on the field run off with the ball. Both teams sent their fastest players after the thief. Elizabeth looked in disbelief. She never knew rugby games were filled with so much excitement. Perhaps she should come to these more often.
Twenty minutes later, and the game was still on hiatus. Everyone had tried to get the ball back, but whoever had took it was not giving it back. Everyone knew that they couldn't hurt him. Because of poor planning by the coaches, neither teams had any extra balls to play with. Everyone was getting frustrated and ansy, whilst the coaches were considering to plan a rematch another day.
"We've tried everything!" one parent ranted, "He tried bribes, orders, coaxing.. The damn idiot still won't give it up!"
Elizabeth looked over and saw the man in the distance, curled up on the ground. She looked around at the chapped parents and players. She sighed.
"..Mind if I try to get the ball?" Elizabeth asked the referee.
"Go ahead, it's a free country."
Elizabeth walked over towards the man. As she got closer, she saw that the man was dressed in mere rags that could barely be called clothing. His face looked dirty, as did the rest of his body. Elizabeth assumed this man was homeless. She crouched right beside the man. She was determined to get the ball.
"Hello." Elizabeth said cautiously. She got no response. She sighed, and tried again.
"Do you like that ball you have there?"
The man shook his head. Elizabeth was confused.
"So, you don't like this ball?" she asked. Once again, the man shook his head. "Well why not?"
The man looked at her, as if the answer was obvious. "Don't you see?" the man whispered. Unfortunately no, Elizabeth didn't see. She too, shook her head.
"You saw the ball touch the bare ground, didn't you missy?"
"Yes.." Elizabeth answered.
"You see now, missy, this ball..It's diseased!" The man exclaimed.
Elizabeth figured the only way she could retrieve the ball was to go along with the man.
"Diseased?!" she whispered. The man nodded.
"But," Elizabeth began, "If it's diseased, then why are you touching it?"
The man let out a bellowing laugh. "I'm diseased enough as it is! I is just protecting the young kids is all."
Elizabeth was taken aback. She hadn't expected a homeless man to say such a thing.
"Well thank you very much, Mister.."
"Gibbs!" the man exclaimed, "You can call me Gibbs!"
"Alright then Gibbs," Elizabeth looked down at the ball, then back at Gibbs. "You won't let me take that ball, will you?"
Gibbs shook his head. "You know well you're not getting this!"
Elizabeth smiled, and walked back towards the anxious parents.
"Gibbs here says we can't play with the ball. It's defective." Elizabeth looked back at Gibbs, "I say we reschedule the game."
Elizabeth used to see Gibbs downtown every once and a while, spreading his words of wisdom on illnesses and diseases. As Elizabeth had already known, Gibbs was, in fact, homeless. She saw him sleep in various places all around Clochester, accompanied by his trusty teddy bear Larry, and it broke her heart knowing that there was nothing she could do about it. Of course, Elizabeth knew that she could help Gibbs, but she also was very much aware that Will would not approve. However, whenever Elizabeth and Gibbs met face to face, she had taken the liberty of giving him a small sum of five pounds. "What Will doesn't know won't hurt him." Elizabeth had concluded. More frequently than Elizabeth liked, Gibbs would decline the five pounds. He would tell Elizabeth that he had begged for enough money that day. Should Will ever find out about her donating to Gibbs' cause, at least she could say that he was not a greedy man.
After nearly two months without a permanent home, Gibbs and had now settled into his "own" back alley. The buildings on either side of the meter-wide back route had perished in a fire, and were rendered as vacant lots. Elizabeth saw Gibbs more and more now that he had moved into the alley. She found it much easier to find him, and he seemed less inclined now to turn down money, much to Elizabeth's joy. Elizabeth had considered Gibbs' alley a convenience for her to come and visit. She said this, because Gibbs' alley was situated right across from Will's studio, Truth to Materials.
Will had not even known of Gibbs' existence until he started hanging out right around his studio.
"I can't stand him," Will complained, "neither can James. He drives away our customers. Supposedly the dust from the clay that I use causes lung cancer, and that James' deli is infested with Mad Cow. What the hell does that dim wit know anyways?"
"Will, he's a nice guy!" Elizabeth objected, while she was fixing dinner, "Have you even talked to Gibbs?"
"Who?"
"Gibbs!" Elizabeth exclaimed, "The homeless man who you are currently ranting about!"
Will eyes grew wide, and he began to chuckle. "I knew I had seen him before!"
"What?" Elizabeth asked, "How so?"
Will shot his wife a smile. "He taught English literature at University. Professor Joe Gibson, I could never forget him!"
"Really?" Elizabeth inquired, "Were you in any of his classes?" She handed Will a plate of the mediocre meal she had finished, and the couple sat down at the dinner table.
"You bet I was" Will chuckled, "I took English literature with James."
"You did?" Elizabeth laughed. She couldn't imagine Will seriously taking such a heavy course such as English literature. "Why?"
"Back when dear James the butcher was going through his literate phase, he convinced me to take that bloody course with him." Will looked over at his wife, who was trying her best not to laugh at his "literal phase" remark, "At the beginning of the semester, there were twenty four students in his class. By the end, all but three had dropped the course - Those three being James, some blonde girl, and I."
"You stuck through with it until the end of the semester?" Elizabeth asked. She sounded impressed. Will nodded in response.
"It was literally, no pun intended," Will laughed at his joke," the least of my worries course-wise at university. I rarely did the homework assigned, nothing but the bare minimum. The only reason Gibson said he'd pass me was because I stuck it through until the end!" Will looked over at Elizabeth, making sure she was still paying attention. "I only stuck through with the course so that James would get a ride back to the dorms!"
Elizabeth laughed with Will.
"So," Elizabeth began, "Was Gibbs a good professor?"
"Of course he was! Not so cheery if you get in his bad book, though. Once I hadn't written some bloody essay on the influence of Hamlet of modern society, and blimey, he could be scary." Will looked at his wife, who looked slightly frightened, "But other than that, he's a good man. Shame to see him on the streets. He must have snapped or lost it. He was a brilliant man though."
"He still is." Elizabeth corrected.
The following day around noon, Will decided to take a quick lunch break and grab a bite to eat. He went over to James' deli and ordered a cold cut sandwich, Will's favourite item on the menu.
"Will," James asked, "isn't that Elizabeth over there?"
"What?" Will looked out the deli's front window. James was right. There was Elizabeth, walking down the opposite side of the street. Will assumed that she was simply running some errands. He looked over at his wife, trying to get her attention. That attempt came with no such luck. It was then when Will saw Gibbs emerge from one of the back alleys. Will smiled at his wife. At least somebody was paying attention to Gibbs, and didn't mind his presence. Will was beaming over his helpful wife, up until the point when Elizabeth handed Gibbs money. "What?" Will thought, "Why is she doing that?" Will wouldn't have minded if Elizabeth wasn't the queen of goodwill that she was, helping out the needy whenever she possibly could. Will wouldn't have minded either if she hadn't handed Gibbs a banknote instead of change. But Will did mind, because he knew his Elizabeth, and he knew that she probably willingly gave Gibbs bank notes at any given moment.
That night at dinner, Will and Elizabeth ate in silence. Will still hadn't mentioned seeing Elizabeth that afternoon with Gibbs. Will cleared his throat.
"You really shouldn't do that, Lizzie."
"Do what?" Elizabeth asked, still with a mouthful of food.
"Give Gibbs money! Not to mention eating with you mouth full." Will explained, "All he does with it anyways is spend it on alcohol and lottery tickets."
Elizabeth sighed. "I know. But, I feel like I should help him out a little. I mean, Will, we have so many privileges, and Gibbs has none. It just doesn't seem fair."
Will nodded in accord. "I know what you mean," Will sighed, "But we work hard to earn our money, and Gibbs should work to earn his. Right?"
Elizabeth paused, "Yeah, I guess so."
It wasn't until June of that year that something big did happen for Gibbs. He won the lottery. He didn't win the grand windfall, but Gibbs still won five thousand pounds nonetheless. He had cashed his cheque at the bank, returning with a wad of one hundred pound bank notes. The first things he spent it on were more lottery tickets, alcohol, and a sewing kit to patch up his teddy bear Larry. That day, he was handing out money to passerby's on the sidewalk. Will watched in shock from his studio. Was this Gibbs, a homeless, unemployed man, giving away his small fortune. "Well," Will thought, "I might as well claim my share of money from him." As Will made his way over to the other side of the street, he was suprised not to be awarded immediately with his banknote. Will coughed.
"So I heard you won the lottery, Gibbs." Will started.
"Why yes sir, I did!" Gibbs beamed.
"Then why" Will asked, "Are you giving it away to all of Clochester?"
Gibbs laughed. Will looked confused.
"I'm not giving it away to everyone" Gibbs chuckled, "just the good people!"
Will felt slightly offended. "So," he laughed weakly, "I guess then, well, that I'm not a good person?" Will puted at Gibbs slightly.
Gibbs then looked Will square in the eyes. "Don't think I haven't forgotten about that essay you owe me."
Will was taken aback. To the man did remember him. Will forced a smile as he made his way over to his shop.
Once he was home, Will sat at his desk, pen in paper in front of him. It had been over fifteen years since Will had last written an essay. He leaned back in his chair. What did he even know about Hamlet and its influence on society? What kind of topic is that anyways? Will moaned in frustration. He was determined to earn his banknote from Gibbs, and if an essay is what Gibbs wants, then an essay is what Gibbs will get. Suddenly, Will had an idea for his essay. He began to write.
Elizabeth's hands were shaking when Gibbs handed over the bank notes. He had told Elizabeth, that nobody else in all of Colchester had been as nice and accepting of him as she was. Now she stood in front of the old man, shaking and a numbing sensation made its way through her hands. Gibbs had told Elizabeth that she deserved a little more money than anybody else. Again, Elizabeth recounted the money in her hands. One thousand pounds.
"Gibbs I can't accept this!" Elizabeth told him.
"Of course you can!" Gibbs smiled at Elizabeth, "For all the money you have given me over time, well this is just to pay you back!"
"This would pay me back five times over!" Elizabeth protested. She looked at Gibbs, and saw the disappointment in his eyes. He wanted her to take the money. Gibbs thought she would be happy. As much as the money thrilled Elizabeth, guilt overwhelmed her. And now looking at Gibbs, even more guilt consumed her. She swallowed hard.
"Well, Gibbs," Elizabeth began, "Thank you very much! I know exactly how I shall spend my money!"
"That's what I like to hear!" Gibbs laughed, the excitement in his voice evident. He gave Elizabeth a big bear hug. "Tell Will that twenty pounds of that is for him"
Will had nearly finished his third paragraph when Elizabeth came home. He rushed downstairs to greet his wife, nonchalantly bringing up Gibbs in conversation. He knew that Gibbs had given Elizabeth the one hundred pounds she deserved. All he needed was for Elizabeth to confirm so.
"Sit down, Will," Elizabeth told him, "There's something I should tell you." Elizabeth went on to tell Will about the money Gibbs had so unselfishly given her. She told Will how she couldn't spend it, and that the same rules apply for him too.
"What are you going to do with it?" Will asked, "One thousand pounds - That's a lot!"
"I'm going to give it back to him. Five pounds at a time." Elizabeth looked over at Will. "You didn't think that I would stop doing that, did you?"
Two weeks later, however, Elizabeth had looked all over town with no such luck of finding Gibbs. She figured that he must have had some money left over and got out of town. Elizabeth was heartbroken. She really liked Gibbs. He was like a friend to her. He was a friend to her. And now that he had left without saying goodbye baffled Elizabeth. Now what was she going to do with the money?
The postcard arrived soon afterwards. Elizabeth reread it over and over again. It was sent from Gibbs. How he knew the Turner's address? Elizabeth nor Will still don't know. The postcard showed a tropical sunset, with the words "Jamaica" emblazoned across the top. On the back, Gibbs had stapled a picture of himself on a small boat along with some locals, and Larry. Gibbs wrote that he had bought a one way ticket to the Caribbean to find a new life. He had found work on a fishing vessel, and had recently been appointed first mate of the fishing crew. Elizabeth smiled. She was so proud of Gibbs. She was proud of his newly-found independence, and that he was happy. She had hoped that he could have turned his life around back in Colchester, but if Gibbs was happy, so was Elizabeth.
Elizabeth has hope that Gibbs will return to England one day. From time to time, she'll read the postcard whenever she misses Gibbs. In a drawer in her dresser, you will find a compartment where if you pull it up, a secret hiding place is revealed. Elizabeth still keeps the one thousand pounds from Gibbs there, waiting to give it back to him. Five pounds at a time.
It wasn't until she heard the sound of a car's horn behind her that Elizabeth had snapped back into reality. She looked around. She was, in fact, still sitting on the wet asphalt at the gas station. Why was she sitting on the ground again? Her eyes made their way over to the kitten. "Oh," Elizabeth thought, "That's why." Then her thoughts came back to her. She was debating whether or not to bring home the stray kitten. And that's how she came to think about Gibbs again. Elizabeth picked up the kitten, which she describes in retrospect as being nothing but skin and bones. The look of hope in the kitten's eyes had sold her. "What the hell." muttered Elizabeth as she went back into her car and drove home.
Driving home, all that Elizabeth could think about was what Will was going to think of the kitten. Elizabeth knows that she can't tell Will about the cat. A pet would be the last thing Will would want in his life right now. But how did she know that? Elizabeth had never discussed having a family pet with Will ever before. She then realized how deprived her son William was of having a pet. Sure he had had a caged rodent or two, but never had William had a substantial pet like a cat or dog. "Maybe this was a good idea, after all." Elizabeth thought. Maybe, she was doing a good thing, for the sake of her family.
Will was at work when Elizabeth came home. She brought the kitten inside and went into the kitchen, searching for food to give the poor thing. She found a can of tuna, looked down at the kitten, and then back at the tuna. "Cats like fish, don't they?" she thought. Come to think of it, Elizabeth realized that she herself had no experience with animals either. But she opened the can of tuna, fed it to the cat nonetheless, and much to her joy, the cat ate it all up. Elizabeth smiled. As she looked around her house, she knew something didn't feel right. She knew now, that Will wouldn't not approve of the kitten. When Will did find out about it, the poor kitten would be sent off to the nearest shelter. But as Elizabeth looked down at the kitten, she knew she wasn't going to let that happen. She convinced herself to keep the cat a secret. The question was now, where would she hide it? As Elizabeth made her way down the main hall, kitten following her, she looked over to the door that led to the basement.
Elizabeth figured that keeping the cat behind the laundry machines would hide it best. She had found an old blanket, as well as an old hamster cage for the kitten to stay when Elizabeth wasn't around. She knew a hamster cage was not the best place for a cat, but it would have to do for the time being. Elizabeth looked at the cat, which was looking back at her through the cage, and she said to herself, "Kitten, you need a name." Elizabeth examined the kitten, its green eyes beaming its jet black coat.
"Molly. I'll call you Molly."
Elizabeth had figured out a system of keeping Molly a secret. On her days off, she would let the kitten roam free throughout the house, and when she went to teach, Molly tagged along in the car. Elizabeth had also began to do laundry whenever Will was home, to muffle out Molly's meows. Since Elizabeth had taken Molly in two weeks earlier, the once cadaverous kitten was now plump and healthy, and had grown to love her little hamster cage. Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Without her, Molly would still be starving on the streets, or worse.
Elizabeth hadn't heard Will one night when he came home. Will had finished up and order early that day, and had no further work that could be done that day, so he decided to come home early. Will heard Elizabeth down in the basement, and went down to say "Hello" to his dearly beloved. Elizabeth was busy playing with Molly when she finally heard Will coming down the stairs. In an act of desperation, Elizabeth put Molly into the dryer, which was not on, thank God. Meows soon echoed through the room, and as Will made his way over to Elizabeth, she froze.
"Elizabeth," Will started, "What's that sound?"
Elizabeth looked around. "Crap!" she thought, "Shut it Molly!"
"That?" Elizabeth laughed, "That's..That's just the dryer!"
Will wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? It sounds more like..an animal of the sorts."
"And how would you know, Mr. Turner?" Elizabeth stalled, "It's not as if you ever do laundry down here."
Will shrugged at Elizabeth. She was right. Will looked down at a grocery bag by his wife. "What's that?" he asked.
Elizabeth looked down as well. She had been to the grocers that day to buy some more cat food, as well as some other inanimate things. She picked up a random object from the bag, praying that it wasn't cat food.
"Foot cream?! " Will exclaimed.
"Foot cream?!" Elizabeth echoed. She looked at what he had picked up. There was a sale on foot cream that day, and Elizabeth couldn't resist the deal. She doubted that she would have any use for it. She had to think up an excuse fast.
She smiled at Will. "Yes, foot cream," she began, "Uh..Jack recommended it to me!"
"Jack did?" Will was now more interested. It did bother him a little whenever Jack started to interfere with Elizabeth's life.
"Y-eah, he did!" Elizabeth had no clue where she was taking this. But she was stalling. As long as she kept talking, it would be fine. "Haven't you ever used foot cream, Will?"
Will shook his head.
"Well...you should!" Elizabeth was running out of things to say. "It really does improve the look of your feet!" Will gave Elizabeth a strange look.
"I think.. I should go upstairs.." Will mumbled. As Will made his way up the stairs and out the door, Elizabeth let Molly out of the dryer, and let out a sigh of relief. That was a close call.
Will hid his head in the local newspaper the following morning. Ever since Elizabeth had mentioned Jack and the foot cream, he had thought that Elizabeth meant that his feet weren't up to her standards. When Will had taken a good look at the feet, he personally thought they looked fine. But that night he had worked himself into such a state that the next morning he had looked in the phone book for the nearest day spa. That's how Will found Le Spa de Luxe, which was, much to his suprise, situated right in the heart of Colchester. And now here sat Will in the main lobby of Le Spa de Luxe, hoping that nobody would notice him.
So far so good. Everyone he had seen were young mothers there with their infants, trying their best to look as good as they did before pregnancy. After fifteen minutes, a woman at the front desk called Will's name.
"Appointment for..Mister Turner?" the woman asked it like a question, as if she wanted to be corrected for calling a "Mister." Will frowned.
"Yes, that'd be me." He answered. The woman gave Will a judgmental look.
"I have you booked for a..pedicure?" Again, the woman had asked it as a question.
"That is correct." Will mumbled. He became very uncomfortable about his given situation.
"Right this way, sir."
Will had been led to a large leather chair, with a small pool of bubbling water where his feet should be situated. He was instructed to remove his socks and shoes, and to roll up his pant legs before sitting down in the chair. Will had to admit, as his feet submerged in the bubbling hot water, it did feel great. He sighed in relaxation. The thought that anyone could walk into the spa at any given moment had been completely forgotten. The pedicurist came over with her kit of feet-beautifying equipment, which to Will looked similar to those used in an operating room. She then handed Will a sample of colours to pick from.
"What are these for?" Will asked.
"They're shades of nail polishes," The pedicurist answered, "Now which colour would you like, Mr. Turner?" It was then that Will had realized how loud of a voice the pedicurist had. It was then that he realized that she had said his name. It was then, that Will heard the spa's door open. Will didn't look at who came in, but he knew for a fact that he knew who was there. He had a gut feeling about it. Will turned reluctantly towards whoever was at the door. He was hoping to find acceptance and agreement from whomever was there. Instead, he found his neighbour Jack Sparrow, and his girlfriend Ana. Will quickly looked away. Perhaps they hadn't noticed him.
"Will Turner, which nail colour would you like today?" the pedicurist asked again. Will winced. She had said both his first and last name as loud as she possibly could have. Will knew that Jack and Ana were now looking at him. He sighed, and pointed to the colour closest to his own skin colour.
"Natural peach!" the pedicurist exclaimed, "Smart choice, Mr. Turner! This is one of my favourite colours!"
Will looked at Jack, who was staring square at him, his mouth open and a look of confusion riddled his face. Will could feel his face going red. There was nothing Will could do at this point. Jack had seen him, no doubt. Will decided to make the best of the situation. He took a deep breath, and waved at Jack.
"Jack!" Will called, "What are you doing here?" Will thought that there was a chance that Jack might be here for himself as well. You never did know with Jack, Will figured. He never knew what his neighbour got up to. After all, it was Jack who recommended the foot cream to Elizabeth.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sorry to disappoint you William, but I'm just dropping off Ana.."
Will sighed. It was worth a shot to ask. Jack then left the spa, never once taking his look of confusion off of Will. Will heard laughter from outside as soon as Jack was out of sight. Will frowned. Ana was instructed to sit in the chair beside Will. According to yet another loud spa worker, Ana was there for her regular facial. "Thank God," Will thought as two slices of cucumber were placed over her eyes, "At least she can't see me now!" Both Will and Ana were left to bask in their luxuries for some time, with Will and his soaking feet, and Ana with her rejuvenating facial. An awkward silence set the scene. Will coughed.
"So Ana," he began, "Do you come here often?"
"Once a week," Ana answered, "And you, Will?"
"Me? Well, I come here all the time!" Will lied, "I've been all around England, and this place right here gives the best pedicures!" He didn't want Ana to know that by coincidence, today was his first day ever in a spa. He looked over at Ana, who was trying her best not to laugh, however her lower lip was quivering uncontrollably.
"Is that so?" Ana managed to say calmly, "I would have expected Elizabeth to be the frequent customer!"
"Elizabeth? Pfft!" Will had began to master his metrosexual role, or so he thought, "Elizabeth knows nothing when it comes to spa treatment! I think she still uses Vaseline on her poor feet!"
Ana didn't say anything afterwards. Will hated this. He hated awkward silence, and he hated small talk. He wasn't as close to Ana as he was Jack. He didn't know what to say, and nor did Ana. After a traitorous ten minutes in painstaking silence, Will's pedicurist returned. She removed his softened feet from the water, and began rubbing a sandpaper-like stone over the bottom of his feet. Will had to admit, it felt good. He didn't care if he was a grown man getting a pedicure, he liked it. Next, the pedicurist filed his toenails. Will remembered how he had done that once as a young child, and skinned nearly all of his toes. His feet then went back into the foot spa for another minute or so.
"Mr. Turner," the pedicurist asked, "Will you be wanting a foot massage today as well?"
"Yes, please." Will quickly answered. He looked over at Ana, who was now biting her lip, trying her best to stay quiet. Just when Will thought that his pedicure couldn't get any better, it did. Despite the fact that the pedicurist had caused Will much embarrassment, she worked wonders with her massage. She applied this foot cream, much to Will's enjoyment, and gently rubbed his feet. Elizabeth was right. Jack was right. These pedicures were well worth it. Once Will's pedicure was all done, he looked down at his feet. Much to his amazement, his feet looked beautiful. Radiant, even. They looked like those feet you saw in foot commercials, the ones that seemed to glow almost. Will couldn't wait to go home, and be all snuggled up in bed with Elizabeth, then slowly pull back the sheets to reveal his gorgeous feet. Will smiled. As he exited the spa, he saw Jack coming to pick up Ana. Jack smiled at Will, then looked down at his feet, which were now covered by his socks and shoes. Will smiled back at Jack.
"Thanks for recommending these pedicures, Jack." Will beamed, "They're better than I expected!"
Jack once again raised an eyebrow and dropped a jaw towards Will, before turning around and entering the spa. Will went back to his car, promising himself that he would do that again sometime.
Will went back to Le Spa de Luxe four days later. As he did every week for the past month. Will and Elizabeth had both inadvertently worked out a system to cover their little secrets. Will went for his pedicures biweekly, and Elizabeth kept Molly quiet in the basement quite easily now. It seemed as if neither of them really cared what the other did now, for they were so self-conscious of themselves. For the past month, Will and Elizabeth had seemed a lot happier, as well as secretive. Will spent most of his free time locked up in the bathroom, admiring his feet, whilst Elizabeth spent her time now with Molly in the basement. Their son, William, was very confused by his parents behavior. He had concluded that his parents were expecting another child, much to his dismay, and that they would break the news to him any day now.
One night, Will had brought up enough courage to show his feet to Elizabeth. For a month now, he had been aware to keep his socks on at all times. Even though his feet were, without a doubt, stunning, Will was still nervous how Elizabeth would react. But he promised himself that tonight would be the night to show her. Will shifted around awkwardly in bed, his feet reeking of vanilla foot cream. He was about to speak, until an odd moan broke the silence. Will looked at Elizabeth, Elizabeth looked at Will. Surely this wasn't Elizabeth's Mad Cow Call. It was something downstairs. Elizabeth sighed. Molly.
"Will, I'll go check what's making that racket." she yawned. Will nodded. Once Elizabeth had left the room, Will turned on his table lamp, pulled up the bed covers, and admired his feet alone, as he has done for the past month.
Elizabeth fumbled around in the darkness of the basement before finally finding the light switch. She made her way over towards the laundry machines, only to hear the sickly moan again. Molly lied in her hamster cage, not showing any excitement to see Elizabeth as she usually did. Elizabeth stroked the kitten. She didn't get it. Molly was fine two hours ago. What had happened? Surely, Elizabeth thought, it couldn't be anything serious. "First thing tomorrow," Elizabeth whispered to Molly, "I'll take you to the vet!" By the time Elizabeth had gone back up stairs, Will's light was now shut off, and her husband had fallen asleep. Elizabeth made her way into bed, pulling the covers over Will's exposed feet.
Elizabeth felt horribly guilty as she held Molly at the veterinarian clinic. It turns out that nothing serious was wrong with Elizabeth's kitten, however shots were needed for a healthy kitten, according to the vet.
"It's like going to the dentist every six months," Dr. Hopper explained to Elizabeth, "Everyone needs regular checkups." Elizabeth agreed with the vet. She only wanted the best for Molly. However after her "checkup", per say Dr. Hopper, Molly was as skittish and nervous as a wild animal. When Elizabeth tried to coax Molly back into the hamster cage, a fit of angry meows were Molly's protest. Elizabeth let Molly sit in the car sans cage. She had nestled up in the passenger seat, still shaking from the injections. Elizabeth tried to plan out how she would get Molly back inside the house unnoticed. It was a Saturday morning, and surely Will and William were awake by now. As Elizabeth pulled into the driveway, she heard someone inside the house yell "She's back!" Elizabeth had no time to react.
Will and William, clad in his rugby uniform, ran out to the car, ambushing as Elizabeth claimed, the car.
"Where were you Lizzie?" Will asked, "We're late for our game!"
Elizabeth didn't answer. She was forced out of the drivers seat and into her driveway. "Shit." she thought. Molly. Molly was still in the car, but she had moved from her spot in the passengers seat. As Will pulled out of the driveway, Elizabeth forced a smile, and waved to her husband and son. "Cat's out of the bag soon enough," Elizabeth muttered, "Sadly, it's still stuck in a car."
Will and son William drove out onto the main autoroute. William was going to play rugby in Ipswich, a half hour drive away. It was a beautiful day to play rugby. It was a beautiful day in general. It was an abnormally warm day today, and when Will peered out his window earlier, he had seen passerby's wearing flip flops and sandals. This was the day Will was waiting for. The day the world would stare in awe of Will's perfectly kept feet. Elizabeth and William hadn't noticed yet, but they will. Hopefully. Will tapped on the wheel.
"Excited, William?" Will asked his son, "I heard Ipswich is a hard team. You haven't played this team before!"
"Mhmm" was William's attempt at responding. The music from his iPod drowned out his father's voice. Will frowned. Will peered over at his gas meter. It was nearly empty. Exactly where had Elizabeth gone? Will and William stopped at the next gas station. As Will filled up, William asked if he could but a sports drink inside.
"Go ahead," Will had replied, "You have money, right?"
Will decided to join William, and buy himself something to eat. As the Turner boys made their way into the lineup, a familiar voice called, "Will!" Will turned around. Jack Sparrow was standing at the doorway. Will looked down at his feet suddenly. As did Jack, and as did William, who shot his father a bewildered glare. Jack laughed a little.
"Hi Jack." Will mumbled.
"Ello Will, Will junior." Jack grimaced. William rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing here, Jack?" Will asked.
"Just filling up the ol' truck! I was away up North this week, remember?"
"That's right." Obviously Will had forgotten that his neighbour was missing.
"Oh!" Jack exclaimed, "You left your lights on Will. Even though it's ten in the morning."
"Thanks Jack." Will was getting impatient. They were late enough as it was. Will bought his food and paid for his gas, and was quickly out the door. As William opened the door, he exclaimed, "Bloody Hell, it's hot! You left the car right in the sun, dad!" For another five minutes, Will and his son drove down the autoroute. Then, as Will took a handful of the Smarties he had bought, he felt something scratch his ankle. Usually, Will would have ignored it, but seeing as he was exposing his precious feet to the real world for the first time, Will gasped. He couldn't let his poor feet get irritated just yet. He then felt another scratch, this one more painful and prominent. Instead of pulling over, Will looked over behind him, and saw no approaching cars. He slowed down the car, and leaned over to see what exactly was underneath his seat.
A pair of green eyes stared back at him. A black creature emerged from underneath Will's seat, foaming at the mouth. Will inadvertently let out a yell. Now, in an act of poor judgment, and forgetting that there was an animal in his car, Will slammed his foot as hard as he could on the brakes. The yelp came soon afterwards, and a black blur rushed out from underneath the brake pedal, and roared like a maniac as it raced around the car. By now both Will and William were screaming. The black blur had finally stopped racing around the car, but had fixed itself on William's face.
"My face!! My face!!" William yelled out in pain.
Will looked back at his son, and could clearly see now that a cat was attached to his son's face. How the hell did a cat get into his car? Will didn't think of that much longer. He sped up down the autoroute, and drove William to the hospital. An hour later, William emerged with four stitches and a rabies shot. Will had gotten a rabies shot as well. The doctor even commented on Will's feet. Will and William had began to call the cat Rick. Damn Rick, they thought. If it wasn't for Rick, then William could be saving the sorry ass of his rugby team right now. Will and William returned home soon afterwards. Elizabeth had been staring out the front window from the moment Will had left. She knew they would be home soon. She knew that Molly was scared as it was today, and meeting her husband and son for the first time wouldn't go smoothly. As Elizabeth watched her car pull into the driveway. A feeling of remorse overwhelmed her. She went out into the driveway. As she saw her son emerge from the car, his face red and covered with gauze pads and bandages, she knew that taking Molly home was a mistake.
Will glared at his wife as he came out of the car, carrying a now caged Molly under his arm. As soon as Molly saw Elizabeth, it let out a joyful meow. Will looked up at his wife.
"You know Rick?"
"Yeah." Elizabeth sighed, "Her name is Molly, actually."
Will smirked. "It's a boy, you know."
"You know we can't keep him." Will sighed in bed that night. He had kept quiet about Molly since he had returned home. Elizabeth had showed him where she had kept the kitten, and explained to Will that that was why she had been acting different lately. Honestly, Will didn't notice. But he appreciated Elizabeth's honesty, that he knew was hard to admit.
"I know," Elizabeth sighed, "I would have broken my heart to just leave it there."
"I understand," Will answered, "But we just can't keep the cat, alright? We can give it to a shelter tomorrow."
"I knew you'd say that." Elizabeth mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing!" chimed Elizabeth.
"It's just," Will hated saying this. He knew how disappointed this made Elizabeth, "Rick, er, Molly isn't tame. With me, at least. Or William. Just look what she, er, he, did to my foot!"
Elizabeth looked down at Will's feet. They were prefect, minus a couple of scratches at the back. Wait. Perfect? Elizabeth looked at her husband, then back at his feet and burst out laughing. Will rolled his eyes. He had forgotten that Elizabeth hadn't seen his feet yet.
"William Turner, what have you done?" she giggled. Again, Will went red.
"I thought you were serious when you talked about that foot cream ages ago, alright? I didn't know about this kitten business back then!" Will looked at Elizabeth, who was still laughing, "Hey, you have to admit, they're gorgeous, eh?"
Elizabeth grinned. "Why yes they are. Mind if I take a closer look?"
Jack and Ana were at the Turner residence within a minute of being telephoned. Will and Elizabeth had called Jack to see whether or not he was willing to take in a pet. By the looks of it, he was. As Elizabeth handed Molly, er, Rick over to Jack, Ana squealed and Jack grinned. The kitten really truly was adorable.
"We'll take it!" Jack announced.
"Are you sure?" Will cut in, "He's quite the rambunctious kitten!" He thought of showing his battle scars to Jack, but the thought of showing Jack his feet yet again did not please Will.
"Nonsense!" Jack protested, "He is perfect!"
Elizabeth smiled. She was so glad that Jack was so willing to take a kitten just like that. Also knowing that the kitten would just be next door would make it much easier on her.
"Well Jack," Elizabeth began, "You will need to name him." she paused, "It's a boy, just so you know." She winked at Will.
Jack held up the kitten, giving it a thorough look. He examined the kitten from head to toe, and the kitten examined Jack himself with wide eyes. Will and Elizabeth looked at each other, and then at Jack and his kitten. They knew deep down that the kitten would be better off with Jack.
"Jack?" Ana asked, getting impatient, "Any ideas?"
"Err." Jack squinted at the small kitten that was now his. A smile soon appeared on his face.
"Larry."
OK, so this has been sitting on my computer since Spring Break. I had completely forgotten about it until today, actually.. So this probably isn't my best work, but what the Hell - At least it's something, right? I hope everyone that read this enjoyed it. It was a fun one to write. And of you click the little blue 'GO' button below and submit a review, you'll win a prize. Seriously.