Hunting High and Low

Part Three – The Girl With The Broken Smile

Robert sat on a bench shaded by a grand old sycamore tree, watching the doors to the Royal Free Hospital casualty department. He wriggled about trying to ease the numbness that had taken a hold of his ass and sighed. It was a warm day and combined with his jet lag he could feel himself wilting fast. He glanced at his watch and frowned. Two hours he'd been sat here now, and a plan of action still eluded him. It was all fine and dandy acting impulsively, but now that he was here, he didn't know where to begin. He didn't even know if she was working today, and calling up the surgery department would probably not be a good idea if she were still angry.

What the hell do I do now?

He watched a nurse who'd been smoking a cigarette outside the doors. She tossed it to the floor and stubbed it out with her foot. When she began walking in his direction he glanced around, and seeing no one near, sat up straight.

"Are you okay, sir?" she asked. "You've been sat here awhile. Are you waiting for someone?"

"Yes, I am. Actually, you might know her.... Doctor Elizabeth Corday?"

"Oh yes, she's pretty new here. Should be off soon, I expect.... started at seven this morning."

"Great. Do you know if she's likely to use this exit?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction she'd just come.

"Don't you know?" she asked suspiciously, looking him up and down. She seemed to like what she saw. "You're American," she said, her tone softening.

Robert nodded and stood up, flashing her a dazzling smile. "Listen, I'm only in town for a few days and I wanna surprise her. I'd appreciate any help you can give me."

"She your girlfriend or something?" she asked coyly and returned the smile. "I'm Lilly by the way."

He held out his hand and she shook it. "Robert – and no, she's not my girlfriend. She's an old colleague I just wanna say hi to."

That response elicited a wider smile from Lilly, who changed her posture immediately to showcase her physical assets.

"Oh, okay. Well, Robert, in the interest of trans-Atlantic relations, let me just go and make some enquiries for you – I'll be right back."

'So easy,' Robert thought and laughed, as he watched her wiggle her ass into overdrive as she disappeared back into the hospital.

Ten minutes later he watched her re-emerge from the building. As she got closer he was assailed by the smell of cheap perfume. On closer inspection it was obvious she had hastily applied a fresh coat of make-up and lippy, too.

"You're in luck, she's off in ten minutes. But she won't come out this way. Her dad's one of the big bosses here so she's in the good car park. I'll take you round if you like."

"Lilly, you're a gem," he said in a low voice that made her blush and run a hand through her hair.

"This way, then," she said.

Robert followed her until they came to another entrance. Across the path was a large car park.

"Well, here we are, she should be out soon," she purred.

"Thank you, Lilly, you've been very helpful," he said, his voice still low.

Lapping it up, Lilly took out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Maybe after you've said hello to your friend, you could give me a call?" she asked, her eyes roaming over him.

"I might just do that," he said and smiled at her.

"I'll be waiting," she said in her best seductive voice and walked back in the direction they'd just come.

Robert smirked watching her go. He was about to toss the paper to the ground when something made him look up at the door.

There she was. Elizabeth. Staring at him wide eyed with her mouth hanging open.

Shit, what do I say?

"Close your mouth, Lizzie, you look like a goldfish." He chuckled.

Smooth, Rob - real smooth.

Elizabeth continued to stare unbelievingly at him.

"Robert?" she eventually gasped. Her hand shot out to touch him and he caught hold of it.

"In the flesh, Lizzie."

"Robert, what the hell are you doing here?" she whispered, looking around still surprised.

He shrugged. "You called me up, remember?"

Elizabeth looked down at their clasped hands, recovered her wits and pulled her hand away.

"Yes, I remember. I said I had no desire to ever speak to you again, never mind see you! Was that not clear enough for you?" she hissed.

"Why are you angry with me? You can't seriously be pissed because of what happened between us."

"I don't want to talk about that!" Elizabeth snapped.

"Yeah? Well, tough because I do and you're the one who brought it up." He looked into her eyes and softened his voice. "Look, can we go somewhere?"

"No!" she said.

"Okay, we'll talk here."

"Go away, Robert."

"Sorry, no can do."

Elizabeth snorted and pushed past him, striding off towards the car park. Robert turned and followed behind her. She reached inside her bag and pulled out some keys, aiming them into the mass of waiting cars. A large back Bentley blinked its lights and beeped at her in return.

"Lizzie, do you remember that little chat we had about you running away from tough situations?" he said to the back of her head.

She reached the car and lunged for the handle.

Robert caught up to her and tugged gently at her arm. "Elizabeth?"

Her shoulders slumped, and she turned slowly round to face him. Looking down at his hand on her arm she moved her free hand to remove it and glanced into his eyes. "I remember it very vividly, Robert.... that's the problem."

Spinning back round she yanked the door open. As she climbed in she said, "Go home, Robert."

Robert raced around the car and climbed into the passenger seat just as she gunned the engine. Elizabeth stared at him, her face a picture of shock and he couldn't help but laugh.

"So, where we going?" he asked casually.

"We are not going anywhere – get out!" she said.

"Lizzie, I've just flown thousands of miles because you said you never wanted to see me again. Do you seriously think I'm gonna do what you want now that I'm here?"

She stared at him for a moment then, despite herself, smiled and shook her head.

"Tenacious little bugger, aren't you?"

He gave her a warm smile and winked. "So?"

"So what?" she asked.

"So, where are we going?"

Elizabeth looked him up and down, shook her head again and reached her left hand up to the back of his headrest. She reversed the car out of its spot and put them on the road.

Robert looked around the interior of the car and whistled appreciatively. "Nice car."

"Thanks, it's Daddy's. Have you eaten?"

"Why, you gonna buy me dinner?"

"No, you're buying mine."

"Hey, I just flew all the way to your weird little isle – the least you can do is spot me a meal."

She glanced sideways at him. "You really are all armpit, aren't you?"

Robert pulled a pouty face. She muttered something inaudible as she returned her attention back to driving.

He grinned and rested his left elbow on the armrest of the door. Looking out the window he watched people going about their business as they fought their way through the gridlock that is London's rush hour.

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Robert handed the menu to the waiter and watched him turn and walk away. Returning his gaze to Elizabeth, he found her staring at him with an expression he couldn't quite read.

"Why have you come here, Robert?" she asked quietly.

He reached over and took her hand, gripping it harder when she tried to pull away.

"Lizzie, you called me up at two-thirty in the morning. You were drunk and you were very angry – angry with me. Did you in all conscience think that I wouldn't come?"

Elizabeth snorted half-heartedly and looked down at his hand covering hers. She slowly brushed her thumb over it, drawing lazy circles, before lifting her eyes back to his. They were glistening with unshed tears.

"Talk to me, Lizzie," he said gently.

Elizabeth gulped and took in a deep breath.

"Oh God, where do I begin? I'm just so miserable, Robert. Nothing seems to make sense, and try as I might, I just don't fit in here anymore."

Robert's lips pulled into a lopsided grin. "I'm not trying to be clever, Lizzie, but when I first met you, you didn't fit in here."

Reaching for her glass of water she shrugged her shoulders and said sadly, "Nothing's the same."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "Did you seriously expect it to be?"

She stared at him, still close to tears.

"Lizzie, you've spent the last four years making Chicago your home. Your friends, everyone who cares about you is there. I know you're angry and you want to lash out..."

"I don't know what I want anymore," she snapped.

He looked down to their clasped hands. "Why, if things were so bad didn't you call me?" he asked softly.

She lowered her eyes and started playing with her bread knife.

"I wanted to, I really did. But every time I reached for the phone, I'd feel guilty and...."

The waiter appeared and hovered over them with two plates. Robert released her hand and they sat back in silence as he served them. When he left Robert looked at her. "You felt guilty of..."

Elizabeth cut him off, shaking her head. "Lets just eat – please," she said quietly.

He watched her flick out her napkin and place it over her lap. Picking up his own he copied her movements and said, "Okay."

After five minutes of watching her absently push food around the plate, he'd had enough.

"Not hungry?" he quipped.

She glanced up at and flashed him a weak smile. Once that smile would have dazzled him, taken his breath away, even - but not today. He took in the sad expression, the slumped posture. She looked as if she'd lost weight and her hair, which was normally a law unto itself, hung listlessly. She seemed broken, a mere shell of the person that he knew. On reflection, that smile had been broken for quite some time.

"Where'd you go, Elizabeth?" he asked softly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, putting her fork down on her plate.

"When I first met you I'd have sworn you had fire in your soul. Nothing and nobody got to you - you took on all comers, you took on life. And now you sit there and let it beat you down. Well guess what, Lizzie, life is not a bed of roses, it's a struggle. It's the same battle we all have to do every day. You have to choose what you're going to do. Are you going to swallow what life throws at you or are you gonna spit it out. It's your choice: you can throw it up or you can choke on it."

"Charming analogy to use over dinner, Robert," she said.

"Don't change the subject," he chuckled.

"Robert, would you mind awfully if we call it a night?" she said. "I'm knackered and I really should be getting back to Ella."

He shrugged. She was running away as usual but he didn't want to push her. "Can I see you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Well, let's see – if I say no, you'll find me anyhow, right?" she said.

He nodded and smiled. "See, you do know me."

"Do you need a lift? Where are you staying?" she asked.

"Kensington."

"Kensington? Why'd you book in Kensington if you knew I was working in Hampstead?"

"No Five Star hotels in Hampstead." He chuckled, as he raised his hand to attract the waiter's attention.

"That's so you, Robert." She smiled.

He winked at her, then dealt with the waiter who appeared at the table...

Thirty minutes later Elizabeth dropped him off outside his hotel. He watched her manoeuvre the car back into traffic and reflected on a day that had gone pretty well, all things considered. He was ending it on a bonus, too. She'd told him she was off tomorrow and had agreed to see him. Stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets, he drew one out and looked down. There in his hand was a crumpled piece of paper with a carefully written name and telephone number. He laughed and tossed it to the sidewalk, then turned and climbed the steps to his hotel.

To be continued....

Please R&R