CHAPTER FOUR
(chapter title - First Date & Second Chances)
People see each other as either chocolate or vanilla - why can't we all just come together and be hugs?
Becky Mann
A week later, Roger and Lizzie were having lunch at the Life Café. They were sharing an order of onion rings and a strawberry shake when they were joined by Maureen and Mark. Ever since meeting them a week ago, Lizzie was starting to like them and the black woman that sometimes joined them - Maureen's former lover, Joanne. Joanne was a lawyer who worked in Times Square at a law firm called Skadden Arps. Unfortunately, that day, Joanne was working and couldn't come to lunch with them.
"When are you due?" Lizzie asked, looking at Maureen's stomach. Maureen had told both Roger and Lizzie that she was expecting twins the other day.
"Sometime in November - the week of Thanksgiving." Maureen answered, looking at her stomach. Mark put a comforting arm around Maureen's shoulders and helped himself to an onion ring.
The four of them took a walk in Central Park after they ate lunch. Maureen and Mark ended up leaving five minutes after they started walking - Maureen had a doctor's appointment that they had to go to.
Roger and Lizzie looked at each other and smiled.
"You having fun?" Roger asked, taking Lizzie's hand in his. She nodded and looked at the rows of carriages in front of Central Park. Letting go of Roger's hand, Lizzie walked to the first horse - a big gray one - and held out her hand.
"You're so pretty." Lizzie told the horse, stroking its forelock. The horse bobbed its head and nickered. The driver came over and looked at Roger and Lizzie.
"How much for a ride around the park?" Roger asked the driver.
"Twenty bucks." he grunted. Lizzie fished out a twenty from her back pocket as she and Roger climbed into the carriage.
"What's your horse's name?" Lizzie asked, taking Roger's hand in hers.
"Storm." the driver answered.
"Mare or gelding?" Roger inquired.
"Gelding." the driver told him, snapping the whip over Storm's flanks. The gelding snorted and took off at a trot. The driver didn't pay much attention to Roger or Lizzie - mostly on Storm.
Twenty minutes later, Lizzie and Roger stepped off of the carriage and walked back to the loft, hand in hand.
Three days later, Roger and Lizzie were having dinner on the roof when Roger reached into his coat pocket and handed Lizzie a small box. Curious, she opened it and felt tears come to her eyes - inside the box, was a silver ring with a pattern of ivy on it.
"Elizabeth Dexter - will you be my girlfriend?" Roger asked. Lizzie nodded and felt tears stream down her cheeks as Roger put the ring on her right ring finger. It fit perfectly. She threw her arms around his neck and cried into his shirt. Roger kissed her neck and told her that everything was going to be okay. From that moment on, the two of them were never seen apart.
A month later, Roger proposed - of course, Lizzie said 'yes'. The two of them went to work planning their marriage.
Maureen had her twins - a boy and a girl - the day of Thanksgiving. They named the twins Thomas and Tracie - friends of Maureen and Mark's from high school who had passed away. When Lizzie held little Thomas in her arms, she wondered if she and Roger would ever have kids - probably not, seeing as both of them were HIV positive, but there were always options - adoption and having a surrogate mother. Roger liked the idea of adoption, but it would have to wait until the wedding stress had passed.
The week of the wedding, Roger received some horrible news - his mother had passed away from lung cancer, so he would have to fly to Florida for the funeral. The wedding was put off for another month, which Lizzie was okay with.
Once Roger got back from Florida, the wedding was on.
"Roger, it's Christmas - why don't we wait until spring?" Lizzie suggested, snuggling closer to Roger. The electricity had gone out during the middle of the night, making Lizzie shiver in the cold. Roger put extra blankets on the bed and snuggled closer to Lizzie.
The wedding was back on in April and the happy couple was finally married.
At the reception, Roger got to meet Lizzie's grandparents - Earl and Mabel. Her parents, unfortunately, couldn't make the wedding for personal reasons. When it was time for the father-daughter dance, Lizzie ended up dancing with her oldest brother, Steve.
Once Lizzie was in Roger's arms, everything seemed so perfect.
