Chapter 6:
"And then?"
"Well... I mean he thought you were funny. Not that I blame him. You were a riot, going on and complaining about how mad you were at Alex! That was really funny. Have you spoken to him?"
"Alex? He's back at work. When he gets home tonight though... he'll hear it from me."
"Good! Either way... I just haven't been able to stop thinking about him. It's insane. I mean, it's been almost three days and he called me at work yesterday and I swear Maria the minute I heard his voice my heart almost jumped out of my chest." Elizabeth stabbed her ice cream with her spoon and looked up at Maria frustrated. She could tell Maria was getting a kick out of her behavior. The behavior that not even she could understand. She wasn't a child. Acting like one was definitely unlike her. But she couldn't stop the butterflies that attacked her stomach at the thought of him... and frankly, it really pissed her off.
"Not surprising. I saw the way you two looked at each other. It was unbelievable. I thought you guys would devour each other in my presence. But I'm not surprised. It's the look of love honey. And you definitely got it." Maria put down her own spoon and headed back to the freezer to serve herself another cup.
"No! No I don't. I can't. Maria... falling in love at this point in my life? I mean... I thought I WAS in love! I thought I had everything I needed. And I didn't. I am not willing to go through that again. I rather just play it safe. A few dates never hurt anyone."
"Denial... it is one of the most interesting of human characteristics." Maria smiled as she brought Elizabeth another cup of ice cream.
"I am not in denial!"
"Tell me how you really feel." They sat in silence for a few minutes enjoying the quiet of the day. It was Saturday and like every Saturday afternoon they were sitting back lounging and bonding.
"I'm stuck on him. He's in my dreams at night and then again on my mind the minute I wake up. Just the sound of his voice gives me shivers and when he looks into my eyes... I want to just tell him I'll be his forever." The wide-eyed shock of Maria's face almost made Elizabeth want to laugh. That was exactly how SHE felt. And they were HER emotions.
"Wow. That is like... deep. All this after just a date and a few phone calls?"
"I think it's getting worse."
"Worse?"
"Well... you know how I told you that we kissed?"
"Yea."
"We haven't kissed since then." Elizabeth played with the leg of her long blue pajama pants.
"Ok... why is that a bad thing?"
"Because he's trying to be a gentleman. And it's driving me crazy. I mean he came to visit me at my job and brought me lunch and stuff but he won't get too close. It's like... I don't know. Like he's having second thoughts or something."
"I doubt it. That man calls you every night just to wish you goodnight."
"The weird thing is... I've only known him for about six days. Almost a week. He's leaving soon Maria. I don't think I can deal with that. I don't want to get close... knowing he's just going to leave."
"Well, it doesn't fare too well then that he invited us all over for dinner does it? You could've just said no."
"I can't say no to him. Besides, he likes you! And he's heard so much about Alex that he wants to meet him. He also wanted me to meet his sister and it'd be nice to check up on Michael. I think you'd like him."
"If Michael looks anything like his buddy there... I'm sure I'll like him." They laughed and took down another few bites of their ice cream.
"Well... he seems to be quite the difficult one from what I hear. So... you've got a challenge."
"There is no ice I can't break." Elizabeth laughed and thought of how funny it'd be to see Maria and Michael together. They'd be quite the unlikely couple.
"I'm afraid of what his sister will think of me. I hear she's a difficult audience."
"You're Liz. There's no way she wouldn't like you. Everyone LOVES you. So stop worrying about it. Let's go look for what we're gonna wear. Alex will be home soon and we gotta shower and get ready."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is so stupid. Here? You really are something Max!"
"It's just dinner Iz... not a marriage proposal."
"I don't approve of this! And you want to get me involved!? If you wanna throw your life away like this, you can do it on your own!" It was obvious by the stomping of the heels back and forth from the kitchen that Isabel was in a foul mood.
"Isabel please. She's a great person and she means a lot to me. Can you at least pretend you want to see what this is about? I mean... aren't you the least bit curious who it is I'm 'throwing my life away' for? As you say...."
"She's actually a really nice lady."
"Michael shut up!"
"Ok... just saying." She slammed the glass cup on the table and looked up at Max with menacing eyes.
"I don't care what she's like or who she is or where she got her frickin' doctorate. She is a threat to us and to everything we have been trying to protect! And I DEFINITELY don't see why you had to invite her stupid friends along with her!" Max's head shot up in Elizabeth's defense. Isabel had no right to be talking about people she didn't even know.
"I'll have you know her best friend is a singer... and a good one. And her other best friend works on Wall Street doing some computer stuff. They are far from stupid."
"I don't care what you call them..."
"You know what Isabel? Why don't you stop thinking about yourself for just ONE second, ok? I am so tired of this. I have been here a week and ALL we have done is argue. This is probably the best week of my life. I solved a case, I've gotten to see all of New York City and I think I found the girl of my dreams. So why not just be happy for me and let me be me!" He tried to catch himself, but at that point it was too late. Michael was staring at the exchange from the couch in awe. Isabel was staring at her brother with her mouth open. This was not good. Then to make matters worse, the doorbell rang.
"I think they're here. Can you TRY and be civil or is that too much to ask?" Max set down the last plate and Michael shot up to help Isabel finish off.
"Just give them a shot for him. It seems that it's a big deal but it'll blow off. It's just a crush. Besides... he has to leave soon." They heard some laughter and several voices. Isabel wiped off her hands and fixed up her hair. She looked at Michael desperately and he smiled with the bit of comfort he could provide.
"Go ahead and sit in the living room." Max then appeared in the kitchen and looked into Isabel's eyes with his own pleading. The three stepped out from the kitchen and into the living room. On the couch sat the three friends.
"Liz, this is my sister Isabel. And you remember Michael." A rather small woman with dark brown hair held back with a ponytail stood from the couch, her dark blue jeans and gray turtleneck making her look even more petite.
"Hi! I've heard so much about you! It really is a pleasure to finally meet you." Isabel shook her hand, keeping her eyes pasted on hers with no enthusiasm. Michael looked at the two women fighting for the same man. Isabel to keep her brother, Elizabeth to find her match. This would we one ugly fight.
"Hey Dr. Parker! How's it going?" She turned from the icy glare of Isabel to the dark brown eyes of the tall man standing next to her.
"Great thanks! How about you? How's that hand?"
"Couldn't be better. Of course I got great service." Elizabeth smiled and looked over to the couch.
"Oh! There's someone I want you to meet." She grabbed his hand and headed him to the couch.
"Michael, this is Maria DeLuca my best friend and Alex Whitman, my other best friend." He watched as the woman sitting with her legs crossed stood up, her short skirt lengthening her legs and her blonde hair framing her face.
"Hey. Nice to meet you." She held her hand out to him and he hesitated. Something about this woman was too much. Finally, he reached his hand out and nodded.
"Yea."
"Geez... calm down. I won't bite."
"I might." The look of pure shock in her eyes made him smile. She would be fun.
"Excuse me?!" The man sitting on the couch then jumped up.
"Hey! Alex Whitman. It's a pleasure." Michael laughed and shook his hand. Seemed she had a bodyguard. He moved away from them and began to bring out the snacks from the kitchen. Isabel turned to help him when she heard a voice behind her.
"Hey. Isabel right? You've got a really great place here. Do you need help with something?"
"No. Thank you. I have it under control."
"Are you sure? I make some mean Pina Coladas."
"I don't drink."
"The guys do, right? Doesn't Michael own a bar?"
"Yes, he owns one. It doesn't mean he drinks."
"Well, I just assumed...."
"Don't." She turned around and headed towards the kitchen without another word. Alex stood, unsure of what had just happened and shrugged. That was unproductive.
Dinner began and the conversation flowed smoothly at the table for the most part. Isabel mainly sat in silence, Michael threw in retarded, unnecesary comments, and Maria stole most of the conversation.
"Well, either way they just would not listen to me. I kept telling them it was a bad idea and they were dead set on having her sing because she LOOKED like pop star material. They were screwed. She sucked... I mean badly. It was crazy!"
"Do you ever stop to breathe?" Everyone stopped and looked over at Michael. Isabel tried to contain her laughter.
"What?"
"You. I mean geez... give others a chance."
"Fine. If you want to talk so badly be my guest. Steal the conversation, oh hosting guru." They all looked from Maria to Michael then back at Maria. Seems that for a second, she got him to shut up.
"No need to be sarcastic."
"I wasn't being sarcastic."
"Do you always argue about everything?"
"Only with people who get on my nerves."
"Glad to see I've made the list. Whose on there? Everyone?"
"I am actually quite the friendly person. Most people will tell you they enjoy my company." At this point, Maria had put down her utensils and was staring at Michael with her death glare. Seems their fight was underway.
"What do you do? Get them wasted or pay them to say that?"
"You are really the biggest...."
"Dessert anyone?" Alex picked up his plate and smiled cordially as he tried to intervene yet again. Babysitting Maria was never an easy job.
"That's a great idea." Max smiled thankfully at Alex and went back to his private conversation with Liz.
"I can take that." Isabel stood up and grabbed both Maria and Michael's plates and headed toward Alex."
"Oh. I just thought that since before you didn't really feel like talking to me you might not enjoy my company in washing these." Isabel looked up into a pair of bright blue eyes and stood confused.
"Washing what?"
"The dishes."
"You're not going to wash my dishes."
"Why not? I dirtied them." Something was wrong about this picture. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Because. It's my house. You're my guest. You DON'T do dishes."
"Look... I've been told to always clean up after myself. Maria and Liz DEMAND cleanliness. Washing dishes is nothing, trust me." He smiled and took the dishes from her as he headed to the sink. She felt her composure begin to break. Maybe they weren't THAT bad afterall.
"I'll help you with those." She headed towards the kitchen after him and pulled out the ice cream and cake.
"And then?"
"Well... I mean he thought you were funny. Not that I blame him. You were a riot, going on and complaining about how mad you were at Alex! That was really funny. Have you spoken to him?"
"Alex? He's back at work. When he gets home tonight though... he'll hear it from me."
"Good! Either way... I just haven't been able to stop thinking about him. It's insane. I mean, it's been almost three days and he called me at work yesterday and I swear Maria the minute I heard his voice my heart almost jumped out of my chest." Elizabeth stabbed her ice cream with her spoon and looked up at Maria frustrated. She could tell Maria was getting a kick out of her behavior. The behavior that not even she could understand. She wasn't a child. Acting like one was definitely unlike her. But she couldn't stop the butterflies that attacked her stomach at the thought of him... and frankly, it really pissed her off.
"Not surprising. I saw the way you two looked at each other. It was unbelievable. I thought you guys would devour each other in my presence. But I'm not surprised. It's the look of love honey. And you definitely got it." Maria put down her own spoon and headed back to the freezer to serve herself another cup.
"No! No I don't. I can't. Maria... falling in love at this point in my life? I mean... I thought I WAS in love! I thought I had everything I needed. And I didn't. I am not willing to go through that again. I rather just play it safe. A few dates never hurt anyone."
"Denial... it is one of the most interesting of human characteristics." Maria smiled as she brought Elizabeth another cup of ice cream.
"I am not in denial!"
"Tell me how you really feel." They sat in silence for a few minutes enjoying the quiet of the day. It was Saturday and like every Saturday afternoon they were sitting back lounging and bonding.
"I'm stuck on him. He's in my dreams at night and then again on my mind the minute I wake up. Just the sound of his voice gives me shivers and when he looks into my eyes... I want to just tell him I'll be his forever." The wide-eyed shock of Maria's face almost made Elizabeth want to laugh. That was exactly how SHE felt. And they were HER emotions.
"Wow. That is like... deep. All this after just a date and a few phone calls?"
"I think it's getting worse."
"Worse?"
"Well... you know how I told you that we kissed?"
"Yea."
"We haven't kissed since then." Elizabeth played with the leg of her long blue pajama pants.
"Ok... why is that a bad thing?"
"Because he's trying to be a gentleman. And it's driving me crazy. I mean he came to visit me at my job and brought me lunch and stuff but he won't get too close. It's like... I don't know. Like he's having second thoughts or something."
"I doubt it. That man calls you every night just to wish you goodnight."
"The weird thing is... I've only known him for about six days. Almost a week. He's leaving soon Maria. I don't think I can deal with that. I don't want to get close... knowing he's just going to leave."
"Well, it doesn't fare too well then that he invited us all over for dinner does it? You could've just said no."
"I can't say no to him. Besides, he likes you! And he's heard so much about Alex that he wants to meet him. He also wanted me to meet his sister and it'd be nice to check up on Michael. I think you'd like him."
"If Michael looks anything like his buddy there... I'm sure I'll like him." They laughed and took down another few bites of their ice cream.
"Well... he seems to be quite the difficult one from what I hear. So... you've got a challenge."
"There is no ice I can't break." Elizabeth laughed and thought of how funny it'd be to see Maria and Michael together. They'd be quite the unlikely couple.
"I'm afraid of what his sister will think of me. I hear she's a difficult audience."
"You're Liz. There's no way she wouldn't like you. Everyone LOVES you. So stop worrying about it. Let's go look for what we're gonna wear. Alex will be home soon and we gotta shower and get ready."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is so stupid. Here? You really are something Max!"
"It's just dinner Iz... not a marriage proposal."
"I don't approve of this! And you want to get me involved!? If you wanna throw your life away like this, you can do it on your own!" It was obvious by the stomping of the heels back and forth from the kitchen that Isabel was in a foul mood.
"Isabel please. She's a great person and she means a lot to me. Can you at least pretend you want to see what this is about? I mean... aren't you the least bit curious who it is I'm 'throwing my life away' for? As you say...."
"She's actually a really nice lady."
"Michael shut up!"
"Ok... just saying." She slammed the glass cup on the table and looked up at Max with menacing eyes.
"I don't care what she's like or who she is or where she got her frickin' doctorate. She is a threat to us and to everything we have been trying to protect! And I DEFINITELY don't see why you had to invite her stupid friends along with her!" Max's head shot up in Elizabeth's defense. Isabel had no right to be talking about people she didn't even know.
"I'll have you know her best friend is a singer... and a good one. And her other best friend works on Wall Street doing some computer stuff. They are far from stupid."
"I don't care what you call them..."
"You know what Isabel? Why don't you stop thinking about yourself for just ONE second, ok? I am so tired of this. I have been here a week and ALL we have done is argue. This is probably the best week of my life. I solved a case, I've gotten to see all of New York City and I think I found the girl of my dreams. So why not just be happy for me and let me be me!" He tried to catch himself, but at that point it was too late. Michael was staring at the exchange from the couch in awe. Isabel was staring at her brother with her mouth open. This was not good. Then to make matters worse, the doorbell rang.
"I think they're here. Can you TRY and be civil or is that too much to ask?" Max set down the last plate and Michael shot up to help Isabel finish off.
"Just give them a shot for him. It seems that it's a big deal but it'll blow off. It's just a crush. Besides... he has to leave soon." They heard some laughter and several voices. Isabel wiped off her hands and fixed up her hair. She looked at Michael desperately and he smiled with the bit of comfort he could provide.
"Go ahead and sit in the living room." Max then appeared in the kitchen and looked into Isabel's eyes with his own pleading. The three stepped out from the kitchen and into the living room. On the couch sat the three friends.
"Liz, this is my sister Isabel. And you remember Michael." A rather small woman with dark brown hair held back with a ponytail stood from the couch, her dark blue jeans and gray turtleneck making her look even more petite.
"Hi! I've heard so much about you! It really is a pleasure to finally meet you." Isabel shook her hand, keeping her eyes pasted on hers with no enthusiasm. Michael looked at the two women fighting for the same man. Isabel to keep her brother, Elizabeth to find her match. This would we one ugly fight.
"Hey Dr. Parker! How's it going?" She turned from the icy glare of Isabel to the dark brown eyes of the tall man standing next to her.
"Great thanks! How about you? How's that hand?"
"Couldn't be better. Of course I got great service." Elizabeth smiled and looked over to the couch.
"Oh! There's someone I want you to meet." She grabbed his hand and headed him to the couch.
"Michael, this is Maria DeLuca my best friend and Alex Whitman, my other best friend." He watched as the woman sitting with her legs crossed stood up, her short skirt lengthening her legs and her blonde hair framing her face.
"Hey. Nice to meet you." She held her hand out to him and he hesitated. Something about this woman was too much. Finally, he reached his hand out and nodded.
"Yea."
"Geez... calm down. I won't bite."
"I might." The look of pure shock in her eyes made him smile. She would be fun.
"Excuse me?!" The man sitting on the couch then jumped up.
"Hey! Alex Whitman. It's a pleasure." Michael laughed and shook his hand. Seemed she had a bodyguard. He moved away from them and began to bring out the snacks from the kitchen. Isabel turned to help him when she heard a voice behind her.
"Hey. Isabel right? You've got a really great place here. Do you need help with something?"
"No. Thank you. I have it under control."
"Are you sure? I make some mean Pina Coladas."
"I don't drink."
"The guys do, right? Doesn't Michael own a bar?"
"Yes, he owns one. It doesn't mean he drinks."
"Well, I just assumed...."
"Don't." She turned around and headed towards the kitchen without another word. Alex stood, unsure of what had just happened and shrugged. That was unproductive.
Dinner began and the conversation flowed smoothly at the table for the most part. Isabel mainly sat in silence, Michael threw in retarded, unnecesary comments, and Maria stole most of the conversation.
"Well, either way they just would not listen to me. I kept telling them it was a bad idea and they were dead set on having her sing because she LOOKED like pop star material. They were screwed. She sucked... I mean badly. It was crazy!"
"Do you ever stop to breathe?" Everyone stopped and looked over at Michael. Isabel tried to contain her laughter.
"What?"
"You. I mean geez... give others a chance."
"Fine. If you want to talk so badly be my guest. Steal the conversation, oh hosting guru." They all looked from Maria to Michael then back at Maria. Seems that for a second, she got him to shut up.
"No need to be sarcastic."
"I wasn't being sarcastic."
"Do you always argue about everything?"
"Only with people who get on my nerves."
"Glad to see I've made the list. Whose on there? Everyone?"
"I am actually quite the friendly person. Most people will tell you they enjoy my company." At this point, Maria had put down her utensils and was staring at Michael with her death glare. Seems their fight was underway.
"What do you do? Get them wasted or pay them to say that?"
"You are really the biggest...."
"Dessert anyone?" Alex picked up his plate and smiled cordially as he tried to intervene yet again. Babysitting Maria was never an easy job.
"That's a great idea." Max smiled thankfully at Alex and went back to his private conversation with Liz.
"I can take that." Isabel stood up and grabbed both Maria and Michael's plates and headed toward Alex."
"Oh. I just thought that since before you didn't really feel like talking to me you might not enjoy my company in washing these." Isabel looked up into a pair of bright blue eyes and stood confused.
"Washing what?"
"The dishes."
"You're not going to wash my dishes."
"Why not? I dirtied them." Something was wrong about this picture. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Because. It's my house. You're my guest. You DON'T do dishes."
"Look... I've been told to always clean up after myself. Maria and Liz DEMAND cleanliness. Washing dishes is nothing, trust me." He smiled and took the dishes from her as he headed to the sink. She felt her composure begin to break. Maybe they weren't THAT bad afterall.
"I'll help you with those." She headed towards the kitchen after him and pulled out the ice cream and cake.