FF was going a little crazy on January 11th. I received five emailed alerts for the same review and fourteen emails telling me about one person favoriting one of my stories. Both times I was excited to be getting some reviewer love from the last chapter, and then felt a bit let down. And then two people reviewed, I got no email alerts about them, but was fortunate enough to see the reviews when I checked the story itself, but things seem to be back to normal now.

I am waiting until I get five reviews on Chapter 33 before I post this chapter. I sure hope I don't have to wait too long. I already have the next chapter partially written, but review love will get me to finish it faster. Hint, hint.

BTW, pay attention to the interaction between Caroline and Ruimundo; does it remind you of anything? And should she have to eat her words later?

XXXIV

The rest of Mary's day was just as busy as it was before her lunch, and she didn't even think about the fact that Darcy still had her keys until she was standing outside of her car and couldn't find the keys in her purse. She was just about ready to empty her purse, right there on the hood of the Outback, when it finally occurred to her.

Mary went back inside. Fortunately she was not the last out of the building as she had wanted time to prepare for the wedding and had not stayed that extra half-an hour that she usually did, so the building was still unlocked, although the woman who manned the front desk during the drop off and pick up time had already left. Mary went behind the desk to her inbox on the back wall, hoping against hope that there was something under the pink flyer that every box seemed to have. She pulled it out and even felt around near the back, but there was nothing else there.

With shaking hands, Mary retrieved her phone from the top of her purse and waited the seconds for it to start back up, hoping against hope that there was a message from Darcy that said he was on his way back. Although there was a message from Henry, and one from her mom, too, there was nothing from Darcy. Mary hit the phone icon by Darcy's last message.

Darcy answered on the third ring. "Hi Mary, you'd never believe what I am doing right now, painting ceramic swans out in your parents' driveway. They are the cake topper, it was supposed to be white, but the store ordered a black piece by mistake, and didn't exchange it like they were supposed to. So your mom asked me to spray paint the swans white and then right after I finished the first coat, she came out and told me that they'd changed their minds and the swans should be a light iridescent pink instead, something about it making a better contrast with white of the cake and matching Jane's colors. Do you know how hard it is to find that color without special ordering it? I looked online at store inventories at the big box places, and the one store that had it, couldn't find it when I went there, and long story short, now I am trying to hand color the swans with a metallic pink permanent marker."

This was the most Darcy had ever talked to Mary in one go, and she was a bit taken aback at his volubility. "Wow, is it going okay?" she asked.

"Sort of. The spray paint isn't exactly set and if I don't color super delicately a bit of the white paint flakes off. I think it will look okay, add depth or something, at least that is what Lizzy says, but I am not really the creative sort. A few minutes ago your mom said I should color the black and orange part of their heads, too, but then she talked about making their beaks hot pink. So as soon as I finish this part, and the colors are firmly fixed, it is back to the store for me."

"It sounds like a complicated project," Mary told him. She entered into problem-solving mode and commented, "Maybe you can remove the white paint from the part that should be black by using a bit of rubbing alcohol of fingernail polish remover, just be careful to get it only on what you want black, maybe using a cotton swab."

"Oh, good idea. I never would have thought of that."

"You seem pretty absorbed in this project," Mary added before pointedly telling him, "I guess then that is why you forgot to bring my keys back to me."

There was a pause on Darcy's end as he took in what she had just said. "Oh, I am so sorry, Mary! I didn't mean to leave you stranded." Darcy paused and felt his jeans pockets, pulling out his own keys but not finding any others. "I'm not sure right now where I left your keys. I'll call you back as soon as I find them, or better yet be on my way. Do you need to go home or come over here?"

"Home first," Mary responded. "My bridesmaid dress and shoes, makeup and everything else is at my apartment. I really wanted to take a shower before getting ready, so I need to get into my apartment in the next half hour or so." She glanced at the wall clock. "I would just get someone from here to give me a ride home, but the apartment complex office will be closing in a few minutes and there isn't enough time to get there to get someone to let me in."

"Do they have an after hours number? Maybe you can get them to let you in."

"They do, but it could take an hour or more to get anyone to respond to the call and unlock the door," Mary responded.

"Okay, I will work very hard on finding those keys or I will send Lizzy to pick you up and get you in."

After Mary got off the phone with Darcy, she read her mother's and then Henry's texts. Her mother's read:

We are so far behind with the wedding preparations. I really need you to come over and help us with the centerpieces as soon as you can.

Mary made no reply and then moved on to Henry's message. She read it once and then twice.

Hope you are having a good day. I miss you and can't wait to be your date tonight. Then he had added a big smiling emoticon and a thumbs-up.

Mary responded: It has been a tough day. I am currently stranded at school because my sister's boyfriend borrowed my keys to get into my apartment and get Jane and Lizzy up. He forgot to bring them back.

Thirty seconds later Mary's phone rang and she picked up once she saw it was Henry. "Is there anything I can do? Any way I can help? I'd come pick you up, but as I am about 45 minutes away, I am guessing your sister or her boyfriend can get to you sooner."

"You are right about that, but I wouldn't mind talking for a while. Until he calls or someone shows up with my keys."

They talked about this and that, and Mary found herself telling Henry all about the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner a couple of nights earlier. She had wanted Henry to attend, but he had to work.

Mary described Caroline's dismay when she learned that the groomsman who would be walking her back down the aisle was a short Brazilian man. "Raimundo barely reaches her shoulder," Mary explained, "and naturally Caroline wasn't thrilled about that. Caroline asked, 'Why can't I be across from David.' That's who is walking me," Mary explained.

"I would have traded partners, but Charlie explained that he and Jane had decided on the order and that was that. Then he mentioned, and this was a surprise to me, 'Originally we were hoping to set Mary up with David but as she's dating Henry, that's not going to happen, but the order is set anyway.'"

Henry interjected, "You bet I am. No 'David' gets to steal you away from me."

Mary smiled to herself at Henry's assertion of their status, even as her eyes continued to scan the parking lot through the glass doors. She briefly considered flirting with David or Raimundo at the reception, to get Henry to finally make a move, but almost immediately rejected the idea.

Mary didn't want to manipulate Henry into acting (that felt more like a Caroline move) and Mary was reminded of what Nancy had told her when she confided in her. "You young people don't have to be in such a rush to get to all the physical stuff. It sounds like he is properly courting you. You know, way back when, people didn't even kiss until they were engaged and sometimes not even until they were married. If it is God's plan it will happen, just you be patient; God works on his own schedule."

Henry prompted, "And then what happened?"

Mary continued, "Caroline complained some more, and then Charlie said, 'I didn't really want to have to tell you this, but David doesn't really like you. Raimundo on the other hand thinks you are pretty.

"Caroline ignored the first part and then made a show of tossing her hair and saying, 'Naturally,'" Mary did her best to imitate Caroline's tone and Henry laughed.

"But then Caroline put her foot in it by saying, 'He can look but he doesn't have a chance with me. I like them tall, dark and handsome,' while she was saying this she was looking right at Lizzy's boyfriend, and then she added, 'not fun sized.' And naturally just when she was saying all that, Raimundo came around the corner. I guess he was really insulted because he spouted off all these words rapid fire in Portuguese. I have no idea what he said, but maybe Caroline had some idea for her face got redder than her hair."

Henry laughed again. "That shows her. I can't wait to meet all these people you have described in person."

Mary had never felt herself to be particularly funny and enjoyed hearing Henry's hearty laugh. Just then, she saw her father pull up in his car. Mary had to say goodbye to Henry then, but promised to call him after she got home.

"Hey Papa," Mary greeted her father as he got out and handed her the keys. "Darcy made you run his errand, huh?"

"I was just glad to get out of there, and luckily enough I have proved my ineptitude sufficiently to not have to be forced into any decorating." He wiggled his eyebrows and twisted his mouth into a smirk with evident glee. "It's only taken me twenty-some odd years of marriage to convince her I am really helpless when it comes to things like that. Darcy, on the other hand, seems to be trying to get in your mother's good graces by jumping to do her bidding. But it is so noisy in our house, I couldn't get any reading done, couldn't even hear myself think. I'm going to have a beer or two at Denny's bar before I head back. Hopefully your mom won't even notice."

"Good luck Papa," Mary told him. After a quick hug with her dad, Mary set off for her apartment. As she drove she thought about what it would be like to dance with Henry at her sister's reception. Maybe tonight, she thought, I will finally get a real kiss from him.

Meanwhile, Darcy had finished working on the swans. He carefully transferred the piece into the cardboard box it had originally arrived in, and brought it into the Bennets' house. He had just set the box down on the kitchen counter and was looking for the cupboard that had the glasses, as he dearly wanted a drink of water, when Mrs. Bennet found him there.

"Oh good, are you done with the swans?" He showed them to her and she eyed them with a little frown. "I suppose that will have to do."

Darcy felt a bit let down after all the effort he had put into his painting job. Perhaps it wasn't perfect, but he had expected a few words of praise.

Instead Mrs. Bennet said, "It is about time to set up the chairs and tables. I don't know why the other groomsmen aren't here yet."

Darcy glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost 4:30. "I'll call Charlie and see when he plans on getting to your house. The tuxes for the guys are at Charlie's. Originally we had all planned on changing there and I'll have to get him to bring mine here."

"Oh no, they shouldn't change there. They need to help with all the heavy lifting, so they should bring the tuxes here." Mrs. Bennet explained. "They can change in the guest room."

"Okay," Darcy replied. "But we need to make sure Charlie doesn't see Jane before the wedding. They were both very clear on that."

A few minutes later, after his phone call to Charlie, Darcy found himself moving folded tables from the driveway to the back yard all by himself, with Mrs. Bennet directing and watching. After about the fourth table, he felt a bead of sweat slide down his back. His mouth felt dry and it was just about then that he realized that he hadn't ever gotten his drink of water. And more than that, he'd never gotten lunch, either. It was only when he was picking up the final table to move it to the back yard that Charlie and two of his groomsmen showed up.

Darcy set the table back down and greeted the guys. He knew David somewhat, but Raimundo hardly at all as he lived out of state. Charlie had gotten to know the whole family when he did a year as a foreign exchange student in Brazil. Raimundo had gotten his medical degree in the states and a green card to work in an underserved community. He did general surgery at a rural hospital.

"Did you save any work for us?" David Wilson joked when he saw how sweaty Darcy had become.

"Plenty. All the tables still need to be set up and the stacks of chairs moved."

Darcy quickly called Elizabeth on his phone, "Charlie's here, so make sure Jane stays out of sight."

"Tell her I am sending her a link at around five thirty, that I want her to watch then," Charlie told Darcy, so he passed that along.

After Elizabeth relayed the message, Darcy could hear her ask her sister, "Is your phone charged?" and then Jane's fainter, "Uh-oh."

The rest of the tasks went much faster with four men. Raimundo seemed to be going out of his way to prove how strong he was, carrying more folded chairs at once than anyone else. Mrs. Bennet kept up her supervisory role and then the men set up the tables inside the reception tent and the chairs outside of it for the actual ceremony. Fortunately, the sky was clear and the day was on the warmer side for March.

It was only after all of the tables and chairs were set up that Mr. Bennet and Don Hurst finally showed up, the latter already wearing his tux. They may not have had to do much heavy lifting, but Mrs. Bennet put them to work setting up the table cloths, cutlery and centerpieces.

Darcy took a break then, going inside the house to finally claim his drink of water. When he got into the kitchen, he saw Elizabeth sitting at the kitchen counter, working on applying clear labels to packets of flower seeds. She was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, with her feet in socks stripped socks on the rung of a bar stool. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail and she had no makeup on. He was pretty sure she was taller sitting on the bar stool than standing up.

Elizabeth looked up and smiled when he entered. "Hi Darcy! I saw the swans. You did a really good job! And I saw you working on moving all those tables. Thanks for that. I bet you didn't expect to be put to work like that."

Darcy shrugged. "Weddings are a lot of work. What are you working on?" he came closer to see.

"These are the favors," Elizabeth explained. She showed him a completed packet. "They picked all different kinds of flower seeds, but they all have the same label. That way the guests can pick out what they would like to grow. They will be at a table with the guest book."

Darcy focused on the packet she was showing him. It was for sunflowers and the label provided Jane's and Charlie's names, the wedding date and then said, "May love bloom in your heart, too."

"Do people even use guest books anymore?" he asked.

"Not really, but it is still a wedding thing, or at least my mom thought it was necessary."

It was right then that Elizabeth finally seemed to get a good look at him. "Darcy, do you want to shower before you get dressed?"

He gratefully agreed, certain that there were more than enough men present now to get the rest of the work done, but then mentioned, "I've got to get a drink first."

Elizabeth fixed him a glass of water with lots of ice and as he sipped, she told him, "Bingley's sisters are busy helping Jane get ready. They have very definite ideas about wedding make up, so I decided to make myself useful here. Fortunately, I think this is one of the last things that needs to be done."

"Yes, weddings are a lot of work," Darcy repeated again. Elizabeth thought it was a bit odd that he had said this a second time. Just how tired is he? she wondered.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied, "you said that before," she gently noted, looking up at him with concern as she laid a hand over his wrist.

"Weddings are a lot of work . . . " Darcy repeated again, "but it is all worth it."

"Yeah, worth it for my mom to show off to all the friends she invited that her daughter is marrying a well-to-do man. Worth it for the guests to get drunk at the open bar and then not even remember the wedding itself." Elizabeth heard the bitterness in her tone and then added brightly, "but I think things will go well tonight."

Darcy got closer, "No, worth it so that Charlie and Jane can be bound together, have their love recognized for everyone to see."

"Ah, a bit of a romantic, are you, Fitzwilliam Sebastian? Still thinking about Prince Eric marrying Ariel?" Elizabeth lightly teased. "Ah, ah, ahhh, ah, ah, ahhh!" she sang quietly in immitation of Ariel.

"No," Darcy said, setting down the glass (which now had nothing but ice left in it) on the counter and then leaning his back and left elbow against the counter, just to the side of her. He angled his body a little toward her and brushed a bit of lose hair off her forehead, his hand lingering to sweep around to the side of her cheek and cradle her face in his hand. "And I'm not really thinking about Charlie and Jane getting married, but you and me, what you mean to me."

Darcy looked intently into Elizabeth's eyes and her breath caught. She saw such warmth and fondness, and dare she think love? in his expression. It had been less than a month and Elizabeth knew it was way too soon, but still . . . .

"Before we started dating, I really couldn't understand how Charlie could fall so quickly for your sister." Darcy told her. He glanced away for a moment as he collected his thoughts before looking back at Elizabeth, even as his hand began gently caressed her face. "But now I understand it all too well. I . . . Lizzy . . . you know how I feel about you, don't you?"

"Yes," Elizabeth replied, knowing what he wasn't saying, "I know because I am feeling the same thing."

"I thought so." Darcy bit his lower lip and his eyes grew bright with what Elizabeth thought might be un-shed tears. In truth, Darcy was battling with himself to maintain some self control. He hadn't meant to say even as much as he had here and now, when he was sweaty and stinky.

Elizabeth was feeling the intensity of the moment, too, even though they hadn't actually said the words, which hovered in her mouth but had not yet made it to her lips. She wondered, Should I be the first one to say it, or should I wait for him to do it?

Elizabeth was saved from making a decision when Louisa walked in. "Oh, there you are, Eliza. The photographer wants to take some pictures of us all getting ready, wearing those matching robes."

"I'll be right there," Elizabeth told her, "I've got to show Darcy the right bathroom to use." She led him up the stairs and to the far right corner of the house. She opened a door to reveal a small bedroom, which had an open closet door showing the tuxes hanging and opened the door to the bathroom across the hall.

"Towels are in the cupboard. See you soon," Elizabeth told Darcy. She beckoned for him to come closer and he hunched over to give her a quick kiss. Only their lips touched.

"I can't wait," Darcy told her.

As Darcy showered, he thought of all the other things he couldn't wait to tell Elizabeth. Darcy had never considered himself a particularly romantic guy and with previous girlfriends often felt like he was just going through the obligatory motions when he got them chocolates on Valentine's Day, or flowers on their dating anniversary. But it was all different now, because Lizzy was different and he wanted to do so many things for her. In the privacy of the bathroom, with the shower on full blast, Darcy confessed aloud. "I love you, Lizzy and, someday, I'm going to marry you."