"BETHANY"
Summary: Henry gets a surprise call from Bethany. Needing help with a project, she's confident his insights will be particularly useful. The Dooley sisters are talking to each more after what happened in 1x12 (Stick in the Mud). Eliza is in TeamFreddy, and Henry is king of the kale on TeamSalad. COMPLETE (3 chapters); this is my 18th SelfieFic.
Characters belong to Emily Kapnek, and because I miss seeing Heliza, I'm borrowing them for awhile. I've developed this in line with 1x12 and after my story "Unstuck".
Chapter 1 of 3 : The call to action
Had there been another person present, they would've made the following astute observation about the man in his office: storm clouds rarely strayed far from the man's skull.
Henry sat at his desk, chin resting on steepled hands, and contemplating how a number of customers claimed one of their itch ointments was inducing hallucinations. Again! What the hell was with the hallucinations, and what was going on in R&D? Frantic calls to Larry and his lackies weren't initially revelatory, but given the statistical nature of anomalies, Larry assured Henry they'd get their answers.
"Hey, at the very least, the hallucinations aren't Satanic in nature ..."
"That's not exactly a selling point, Larry, and that's not going to impress the shareholders."
"Look, we've gone back to the basic compounds. We're tearing the formulae apart, and starting over from scratch. We'll keep you apprised."
"OK, thanks; and good luck, Larry."
Henry approved Charlie's three-day leave because he wanted to spend time with his parents. They really were in town, because Henry checked this time. And it turned out a little funny Charlie had taken his parents to Palm Springs after all. Henry stayed on top of calls to his office with Charmonique's help.
He was deep in the middle of a file, when the ringing phone sent a momentary shock and disrupted his chain of thought. Henry grunted in irritation as he picked up the handset. "Yes, Charmonique?"
"Henry, there's a woman on the line who says she needs to speak with you."
"Who is she?"
"She didn't say her name, although she did say it had to do with Eliza …"
"Is Eliza punking me?"
"What? Why would she … no! The call is from an outside line …"
"Oh. Sorry. Well then, please patch her through, Charmonique ..."
The mysterious woman spoke. "Hi, is this Henry Higgs?"
"Yes, hello ..."
"Hi, my name is Bethany; I'm Eliza Dooley's older sister. We met at the mud race?"
Bethany? "Yes, I remember …"
"Thanks for taking my call. The reason I'm calling and it's a little embarrassing to admit this, but I really could use your help."
"What seems to be the problem?"
"Strictly speaking, it's not really a problem. I have an important project in mind and it has to do with Eliza."
Henry knew what he was about to say would come out abrupt and wrong, but he was careful not to butt into people's business and particularly not get too deep into someone else's family business. Unless it was about Eliza. But his need to maintain propriety won out. "We just had lunch an hour ago. But excuse me for saying this, but I don't see what this has to do with me."
"On the contrary, I think this has everything to do with you, because Eliza talks about you …"
"She does?"
"Yes, she talks about you a lot. And for what I have in mind, I think you're the one person who can definitely help."
"Well then, you've piqued my curiosity ..."
"Great! I called to inquire if we could meet and talk ..."
"How does next week work for you?"
"Actually, I was hoping we could meet today."
"Today?"
"I apologize for springing this on you, and you don't even know me …"
"It's all right. You're her sister, and she told me you two are getting along much better now."
"She told you that?"
"She tells me everything …"
"Does she now?"
"Yes, well …" He cleared his throat. "As for meeting today, let me have a quick look at my schedule. As a matter of fact, I can clear some time this afternoon for a couple of hours. I must admit I am very curious. Are you in the Burbank area? If you are, why don't we meet over coffee?"
"I'm in the Valley right now. I can be in Burbank in the next hour ... "
"Great! Let's meet in an hour and a half, at 230. The Coffee Room is a café, about a mile from KinderKare, and the address is ..."
After completing the call with Bethany, Henry pored over the contents of three folders. He set them aside at the 60-minute mark, and organized his desk for meetings later that afternoon. Henry passed reception on the way to the elevator, and saw Eliza in quiet conversation with Charmonique. Eliza's face lit up when she caught sight of him on the way out.
"Hey!"
"Hi, Eliza. Charmonique, I'm heading out. I'll be back in about an hour, maybe two."
"What's the rush, Henry?" Eliza asked.
"Oh nothing, just a little something I need taking care of." He didn't like lying to Eliza, but he didn't want to give himself away either. He wasn't sure if his 'poker face' was holding up.
"Thanks, Henry." Charmonique replied.
Eliza watched Henry enter the elevator. Her eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed. She had a cold 'feel', like an honest-to-god disturbance in the universe.
"What's wrong, Eliza?"
"Nothing." At Charmonique's look, Eliza gave in. "Something's going on with Henry. I don't like it."
"See? That's what I've been trying to tell you for weeks. Right there, again, you sounded like his girlfriend."
"Pfffff, please. I'm with Freddy."
"And?"
"I think something's up, and I'm gonna get the low-down."
Interesting how Eliza didn't deny 'girlfriend'. "I don't think that's a good idea. May I remind you of what happened with ..."
"... mini-she of the Doc Pene, whose name we do not say aloud ..."
"... Julia ..."
"Gaaah!"
"Eliza, not everything is about you."
"Oh, I beg to differ, my fine bootylicious friend. With Henry, it's allll about me. SRSLY. One time he said it was a tie between his job and our friendship - can you believe it?"
"Tie?" Charmonique looked at Eliza dubiously.
"Big. Fat. Liar. Am-i-rite?! Another time, I got him to admit I was his best friend. It was like pulling teeth, but he said it all the same. Even if we were at a classy bar on a Friday night. And I kept buying him drinks. And he might've been tipsy. And he might not even remember what happened ..."
"Eliza, you didn't ..."
"I did. I got him drunk. But then I took him home and ... nothing happened!"
"Thank you ..."
"Even though I was tempted to …"
"… aren't you with Freddy? …" For a second, Charmonique was eager and reluctant to hear Eliza say she was trying to get it on with Henry again.
"… to paint bright red dicks on his face …"
"Oh my God, what are you, twelve?!" For the next second, Charmonique promised herself never to be on Eliza's bad side.
Eliza smirked. "Yes, I am. But seriously, Charmonique, he acted kinda funny just now; I really think something's up ..."
"If there's something going on, give him time and space. If you say you're friends, trust he'll come around."
"Oh, I trust. Him to give it up. When I ask him to ..."
"I hope you're right."
"I hope so, too. I don't wanna burn his house down ..."
"Now in all fairness, Eliza, I didn't exactly start that fire ..."