UNSTUCK
Summary: Eliza has a timely conversation on the phone with her Mom. This is my take on a continuation of the end scene in 1x12 (Stick in the Mud), which means Eliza is in TeamFreddy and Henry is on TeamSalad. Characters belong to Emily Kapnek, and because I miss seeing Heliza, I'm borrowing them for awhile. COMPLETE, one-shot.
Warmed by the fact Bethany was now following her on Instagram, Eliza headed to the breakroom and began pressing digits to a phone number she hadn't dialed in some time.
It's been far too long ...
Hearing Henry's voice in her head wasn't setting her in the right frame of mind to speak with her mom, even if his voice was correct. The phone continued to ring until she heard a click.
"Hello?"
Eliza's heart beat a little faster. "Mom!"
The woman was hesitant, not immediately recognizing her daughter's voice. "I'm sorry. Who is this?"
"It's Eliza ..."
The older woman squealed with delight. "Eliza! It's great to hear from you!'
Eliza giggled nervously at the sound of joy in her mom's voice. "So ... how are you?" Eliza asked sincerely without the usual condescension or mockery: she genuinely wanted to know.
"I'm doing well, thank you. My yoga studio and wellness spa in La Jolla are building some momentum, and my client list is growing slowly but steadily. I'm biking on the weekends, and I'm brunching regularly with friends throughout the San Diego area. I'm healthy, and I'm happy with the way things are going right now. And as for you, Eliza, I have to admit I'm surprised, because I haven't heard from you in awhile."
"I'm sorry about that, Mom."
"I'm glad we're talking now. So please tell me what's going on with you."
Eliza gave a short summary: top sales rep in the company, bonus check, assigned new projects as lead, working with great people, super hot boyfriend, awesome social media presence ...
"I'm proud of you, Eliza."
The warmth settling nicely in her abdomen was more than a simple feel. "Thanks, Mom."
"What's your boyfriend like? Are you serious about this guy?"
"We've been having a lot of fun, but we just started getting serious ..."
"I'm not getting any younger, Eliza. Chop chop! Grandkids!
"As glad as I am talking to you, I'm not exactly comfortable talking about having kids. Besides, Bethany is pregnant," Eliza protested.
"That's true. But that's more reason for you to get moving ..." Her mother started the very familiar story about how with two daughters she managed to navigate their lives through divorce proceedings and beyond, all by herself. Mom received a decent settlement, but Eliza remembered a fractured past with stony silence, hushed anger, and ugly accusations between parents. She had felt especially alone and abandoned when Bethany went to college. Years passed, wounds healed, and Eliza understood, but sometimes she could feel the spark of that pain as fresh as yesterday.
"Mom ... mo ... mom? Mom!"
But her mother continued with the one-sided conversation. Eliza rolled her eyes but listened anyway, still on the side of happy to be listening to her mother.
I wonder if I babble when I get going ... I'll have to ask Henry ...
Eliza sensed a change in the air, and turned to look over her shoulder. She saw Henry with a mug of coffee and an odd look on his face. A beat passed when he realized he'd been caught. He voicelessly mouthed the word 'sorry', and raised his free hand, gesturing he was leaving to give her some space.
"Wait! No, not you, Mom! Mom, can you hang on for a moment?" She motioned for him to join her on the couch.
"What?! Noooooo," he whispered.
"Yessssss! Don't go! Henry! Come here! ... Mom? Mom! Yeah, I was talking to my friend, Henry ..." She looked up at him, and patted the seat next to her.
He sat next to her reluctantly, wondering what kind of trouble she was getting him into.
"Who's Henry? Is this your hot boyfriend?"
Eliza blushed at the word 'hot' associated with the man seated next to her, prompting a curious look from Henry.
"Actually, Mom," she looked at him. "He's my best friend."
Henry's eyebrows shot up. Did she really say that? To her mom?
"So, he is hot, but he's not your boyfriend ..."
Eliza glanced at Henry. "Yes, he's hot. And no ..."
And there it was, Henry thought. She must be referring to Freddy. He knew where this conversation was going ...
"I'm a little confused, Eliza. I spoke with Bethany yesterday, and she told me you seemed to get along with a guy with dark hair, but you were kissing another ..."
"Mooom, it's not exactly like that ..."
"Please tell me how what it is like ..."
"It's like, I once needed help with a problem. He was the best person to help, and he's been advising me ever since. But over time, we've become friends and we've gotten a lot closer." She glanced at Henry. Could Henry's eyebrows be any higher?
"I have to talk to him. He's there with you, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is."
"Could you put him on the phone?"
Eliza sighed. "My mom wants to talk to you."
"What?" Henry asked. "Meeeeee? Whatever for?"
"It's no big deal. She just wants to talk to you. She's likely going to ask questions about me, and all you have to do is say nice things about me."
"I can't possibly lie to your mother, Eliza."
"Henry!"
"I kid, I kid ..."
"You do realize I can hear you both?" Eliza's mother chirped out of the phone.
"Oops," Eliza said. "Uhm, okay, here's the phone ..."
"Hi, Mrs. Dooley ..."
Eliza could've sworn when she caught him staring moments ago, she would describe his look as "dreamy, topped with a goofy smile."
As he continued their conversation, he became more comfortable in the conversation. He had a knack at getting people more at ease; he could be very charming when he wanted to be. She could tell her mom was being charmed, too. Despite the background noise of the office, the breakroom was empty with only her and Henry on the couch. This quiet moment between them made her happy.
"Frankly, I've always been curious what Eliza's parents are like, and I'm very glad to have this opportunity to be speaking with you ..."
"Thank you! You sound like a perfect gentleman ..."
"I try ..."
He happened to look up at Eliza. Although there was a slight question in her eyes, he could tell she was pleased. Her entire demeanor was warm, open, and relaxed. He felt the attraction again, and instinctively, he inched closer to her.
"Have you dated my daughter?"
"No, Mrs. Dooley, we've never dated. We're friends ..."
Eliza frowned, not liking where this conversation was heading.
"Friends?"
"Close friends. Eliza's right: we're best friends ..."
"Then as her best friend, Henry, tell me: what do you think about this Freddy she's dating?"
He swallowed. Could he answer the question truthfully and without personal bias?
"What do I think about Freddy ... well, Mrs. Dooley, I think that ... hey!"
Eliza grabbed the phone from Henry's hands. "Mom! If you wanted to ask about Freddy, you can just ask me ..."
"Oh honey, what fun is that? You did say you and Henry were close, right?"
"Yes ..."
"How close are you two?"
Perception was a strong Dooley trait: it was strong in their mother, as well as her two daughters. Leave it to Mom to pick precisely this moment to ask her the question she'd been ruminating for weeks. With Henry sitting comfortably by her side.
Eliza raised her eyes to his. "I like him ..."
A little spike of hurt stabbed at Henry, mistaking her words as confirming feelings for Freddy and her gaze as a hint for him to get lost. Gathering what was left of his dignity, he whispered. "I'm going to go ..."
She grabbed his trailing hand and mouthed the words to him. "Thank you ..."
His gaze trailed from her grateful smile to their joined hands. He squeezed her hand in acknowledgement.
She stared at his back as he walked out of the breakroom and down the hall to his office.
"What was that, Mom? I didn't catch that ..."
"I said Henry seems like the perfect gentleman."
"He's old."
"Old? How old?"
"Like, he's got at least ten years on me ..."
"I think that's a little much for someone as young as you ..."
"... Mooooom ..."
"... though I'm tempted to come back up to L.A., and see this complicated situation for myself."
"Situation? One, I don't have a sitch. Two, it's not complicated. And three, you're putting words in my mouth, Mom."
"If I've taught you anything, Eliza, my question is this: does he follow through on what you ask or tell him to do?"
Eliza thought about Freddy, and the answer was somewhere short of a marginal 'yes'. But she got a warm feel, remembering how Henry stayed away from bananas when she declared them forbidden.
"Of the two guys in our conversation, you've talked about Henry more. A lot more. Think about what that means."
"It means we're friends. We're close; we're best friends. That's all!"
"Eliza, I am your mother. Even though we haven't spoken in ages and I'm not there right now to see you, I know my own daughter. I can tell there's something going on. Look, I know you're an adult, so I'm not telling you what to do. But I'm only asking you to think about what I've said."
"Mooooom ..."
"Think about it. That's all."
"I will; I promise. Mom, I've got to get back to work."
"Call me next week?"
"Yes, Mom; I'll call again next week."
"I'm glad you called, Eliza. I love you."
"I love you, too, Mom."
Eliza glanced at her gold-plated smartphone with a little wry grin.
Being an adult can be legit hard. For example, how in the heck did my reluctant time with Bethany get me closer to my sister? I mean I'm glad we worked things out, but totes unexpected. Like the time Waze was actually wrong and I got lost in boooring Pasadena. And how did my conversation with Mom become one about Henry? Leave it to Mom to push me about my feelings about Henry. What? No, they're not feels; we're friends, that's all. Didn't Freddy say he got us tickets to some play? I wonder if Henry's seen the play ...
With Henry's face now in her mind's eye, she flinched, closing her eyes.
Oh God; it's totes true. Mom was right; it is complicated. Daaaaang, Mom was right ...
"Everything all right, Eliza?"
Eliza's eyes popped open, and found Freddy with a concerned look.
"All good! Yeah, I just called my Mom ..."
"She okay?"
"Oh yeah, she's fine." At his skeptical look, she continued. "Really, she is. It's just ... she got me to thinking about some things, that's all."
"Good. I was looking for you, and I wanted to ask what ya wanna do tonight, because I was thinking ..."
As Freddy reeled off a list of clubs and restaurants, Eliza was paying little attention. She couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling that something was off, and that some things were in need of changing. It was a capital-T on 'Trouble': Henry was at the heart of things. And that Henry himself was at the very heart of the matter.