Goodbye and Hello Again
"She is amazing. She volunteers at the community garden, and the animal shelter, and the community center, and at her church. She's an amazing cook; did you know she baked those cookies we had last night? And she's so smart; she skipped kindergarten and was in one of those programs where she started taking college courses her junior year of high school, so now she's going to be in her senior year. She's going to be an elementary school teacher."
The next morning at breakfast, Charles had just finished extolling Jane's many virtues when he mentioned that he was thinking about asking her out on a real date, to dinner and a movie. Will nearly choked on his cereal. He had been planning to do this with Caroline and Louisa there, but they were sleeping in late, and there was no time.
"Charles," he said carefully, "are you sure about this?"
"About what?"
"Are you sure she's interested?"
"Of course…I mean…I'm pretty sure…Will, you can't seriously think…"
"Look, I'm just saying, you've only known each other for what, three weeks? If she doesn't feel the same way, now's the time to get out, before she ends up breaking your heart."
What few people understood about Charles was that as a child, he was painfully shy and socially awkward. This may have been due to the fact that his time with children his own age was limited, because instead of going to school, he had a private tutor until he was ten. Maybe it was because when he started school, he was picked on because of the lame clothes his mother picked out for him. Or maybe it was because his sisters always took the spotlight in social situations while he was ignored. Anyway, he buried himself in his schoolwork, and it wasn't until he started high school that he gained enough confidence to branch out and make friends. As an adult, he was usually confident and outgoing and made friends easily wherever he went, but he was still clueless when it came to certain things, like women. As a focused, goal-oriented individual, he had never had a girlfriend before, but lots of girls wanted to be with him, and they were never subtle about it. Jane was different. All day, Charles watched her and saw that she was being perfectly nice, but nothing more. By that night, he was convinced that it would be best if he left as soon as possible to save himself any further heartache. Will, Charles, Caroline, and Louisa left early Monday morning. There was no warning and no goodbye. Caroline sent an email to explain.
Dear Jane,
So sorry we couldn't stay longer, but Charles was just so anxious to get back to work in the city. He's missed so much; it will be months before he's done. Plus, we all want to see Will's sister again. Anna Darcy is so wonderful in every way. One way or another, I'm sure it won't be long before we're sisters for real.
Sincerely, Caroline
Needless to say, Jane was absolutely heartbroken. She couldn't understand why this had happened, and Elizabeth knew better than to try to convince her that Caroline Bingley was a lying, scheming witch. The worst part was, Jane wasn't one of those girls who fall in "love" every other week. She had also been focused on reaching her goals, and because of that, her life was just about perfect. Now, for the first time in her life, she felt out of control. She went to work, volunteered, helped out around the house, and took on as many projects as she could, always smiling and pretending everything was fine, but it her family knew better. When she wasn't busy, she was in her room, thinking about Charles and playing the same song over and over again.
Talk is cheap, but the price is high when it's true…
Shortly after moving to Longbourn, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet became close friends with Edward and Madelyn Gardiner, who owned the nearby farm. When they mentioned their wish to become foster parents, the Bennets decided to put their money to good use and make it happen. Twenty years later, they had adopted twelve children, from ages two to seventeen. The two families stayed friends and helped each other out whenever they could. When they heard how depressed Jane was, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner came up with a solution. For years, they had wanted to take a trip to the city, but with so many children, it just didn't seem possible. But with Jane along to help, it would be perfect. So they packed and made the necessary arrangements, and a week later, Jane was with them when they got on a train headed for New York City. They would be there until a week before she had to go back to school.
Surprisingly, Jane had a good time. She was only responsible for the four youngest children, Sarah, James, Luke, and Martha, and they were all very well behaved. She could take them shopping, sightseeing, out to lunch, or simply to the park with no problems. Seventeen-year-old Debbie Gardiner also helped out sometimes, so she had some free time. It wasn't enough to make her forget, but she felt like things were looking up. Then one day, she was coming back from lunch when she ran into someone. Literally. She spilled her iced tea, and papers flew everywhere.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"No, it's fine. Are you alright?"
"Fine, thank you." Suddenly she looked up and saw none other than Will Darcy. Oh no.
"Well…uh…how are you?" Oh no.
"Fine. I'm staying here with some friends of the family for the rest of the summer."
"That's nice. Well, I better go back to work."
"It was nice seeing you again." Jane went back to her hotel room. Will went back to his office. Both tried to forget what had just happened.
In early August, Elizabeth was invited to her friend Charlotte's engagement party. Elizabeth had first met Charlotte Lucas on her first day of college, when Charlotte was a junior. She was very helpful and told Elizabeth and Jane everything they needed to know. She was tall with brown eyes and dark brown shoulder-length hair and had a bright personality that made up for her somewhat plain appearance. Now, she was engaged to Bill Collins, who just happened to be David Collins' nephew, and he was just as weird and annoying sometimes. At the engagement party, Elizabeth was listening to him go on and on about his wonderful boss and his lovely wife, who was kind enough to say hello at the last office party and suggest how he could redecorate his cubicle, when Charlotte came over and suggested that he greet the other guests.
"Thank you so much, Charlotte. How are you?"
"I'm great. Really. Bill is a really sweet, caring guy, and we have so much in common." And I don't listen to half of what he says.
"Well then, I'm happy for you." I feel so sorry for you.
"So, listen, I met this guy who would be just perfect for you."
"Charlotte, no…"
"No, listen. Remember when we made those lists of everything we want in a guy? Well, he fits your description to a T. He's a CEO at the company where Bill works. And here he comes now…no wait, that's his cousin. They look so much alike."
Elizabeth turned around and saw who Charlotte was talking about.
"Elizabeth, this is Jack Fitzwilliam. Jack, this is my friend Elizabeth Bennet," Charlotte said before walking off to get some appetizers.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. So, are you here alone?"
"Yes. Charlotte said you're here with your cousin?"
"Yeah, his name's Will, and he's a real drag. He doesn't like to come to this kind of thing, so he's been complaining the entire time."
"Really?" Will? Did he say Will?
"Yeah, but I told him it was either this or he could fight with his girlfriend some more. Apparently, she says he's too busy for her and he thinks she's extremely shallow and clingy. It's only a matter of time."
They talked some more, but the entire time, Elizabeth was thinking, It couldn't be the same person, could it? There must be dozens of antisocial CEOs named Will who look like this guy and have shallow girlfriends in New York City. She had been tuning him out until suddenly he said, "He needs to do himself a favor and break up with her already, like he got her brother to break up with some girl he met on vacation."
"What?" Did he really just say that?
"Well, he never said who, exactly, just that his friend had fallen head over heels for some girl who didn't reciprocate. Apparently they weren't that serious yet, so he stopped him from getting his heart broken. He's a good friend like that."
"Wow." That JERK! How could he think…?
Elizabeth stayed about five more minutes before saying goodbye to Jack and going to the bathroom and having a complete breakdown. After ten minutes or so, she splashed some water on her face, redid her makeup, and came out. She was sitting at a table near the dance floor when she heard, "Forget Caroline. There are plenty of pretty girls here. I just met one who was pretty, smart, and funny. You should meet her. Look, there she is now."
It was Jack. She turned around partway and hoped he had meant someone else, when she heard Will, yes, it was definitely Will, reply, "She's okay, but not pretty enough for me."
If Elizabeth had any less self-control, she would have gone up to him and hit him. Instead, she smiled and laughed and pretended not to hear. She counted to ten before she stood up and went to say hello.
Will knew he was making a mistake. Caroline had never been the best girlfriend, but since their return from Longbourn, she was unbearable. He now saw that she was petty, jealous, mean, and vapid, and he had had just about enough. The woman Jack had pointed out was beautiful. Then she stood up and turned around. Elizabeth? Oh no. How did this happen? He suddenly remembered the first time he saw her. Now he had insulted her twice. She didn't look like she had heard, but how could he have been so careless? Hadn't he learned anything the first time? As she said hello and Jack made small talk, all he could think about was how different she looked. Her dress, shoes, hair, and makeup made her look older, more mature, than eighteen. Thinking back over the time they spent together earlier that summer, he realized he loved her. Things were about to get explosive.
