Chapter 3: 'Tis the "Season (Opener)"


Dillingham Residence, Georgetown

Saturday, November 27th, 3 pm


"You ready for this?" Tara's voice on the other end of the line was shaking a bit.

Elizabeth laughed as she closed up a patient file and leaned back in her desk chair at home. "Tara, it's just a party. I've spent more time at these things than I care to. I know the drill."

"Good. Then you can hold me up."

"Tara, get used to it. Sam may not have been immersed in high society before now, but I get the distinct impression that he's planning on coming out of hiding in a big way." She twirled the phone cord around her fingers. "If you're going to be with him, then you need to get used to 'the scene.' It's really not so bad, once you know how to work the game."

There was silence on the line for a moment. Elizabeth gave it a second longer, then spoke softly. "Tara, the only person who can make you feel inferior is you. Sam doesn't, Myles doesn't, I don't; none of us think any less of you because your background doesn't include debutante balls and closets full of overpriced clothing that get worn once and then discarded out of boredom. You know me; we've been friends for almost six years now. Have I ever given you the indication that any of that matters to me?"

"No, you haven't," Tara replied. "I'm just nervous. The way Sam describes her…"

"Tara, trust me; Sam will make sure that you have a good time, no matter how stuffy the rest of the guests turn out to be. You've been dating him for six months; you should know that by now."

Now Tara giggled, the tension draining away. "Very true. Hey, I think this is a personal relationship record for me."

Elizabeth grinned. "It wouldn't surprise me if shortly you have a chance to make that record last a lot longer. I think he wants the rest of his life to beat you at MarioKart."

Just then, her doorbell rang. "Gotta go, kiddo," she told Tara. "Someone's banging on my front door. Just relax and let yourself have fun tonight. I'll see you there."

"Okay, Liz. Thanks. Bye!"

She got up and went to the door. Swinging it open, she saw Sam Leland standing there, armed with a shopping bag from a local high-end boutique.

"Liz, you are looking at a desperate man."

She laughed. "So I see, if you've resorted to buying women's jewelry as a stress reliever. What's up?"

He bounded into the house, and immediately swung around. He took a single breath and let it all out.

"Tara told me you all went shopping for dresses, and I wanted to get her something pretty to go with it, but she wouldn't tell me even what color she was wearing, and so I have no idea which to pick, so I bought both, and now I need you to tell me if I did okay, and which one will go better, and then I can just save the other for Christmas unless you think she'll think I'm overdoing it, she's like that sometimes, and—"

Elizabeth held up a hand, laughing. "Whoa, there, bro-to-be. Take a breath, please." She led him over to the table and sat him down. "Now, since I do know what Tara's wearing, why don't you show me what you bought, and I'll tell you which would go better."

"Okay," he breathed, "Okay." He pulled two square velvet-covered boxes out of the bag, and laid them on the table. He opened the first one to reveal a set of blood-red rubies, necklace and earrings, cut teardrop-style and bordered by a single row of tiny diamonds in a yellow gold setting.

"Wow." Elizabeth said, her eyes wide. "That's beautiful, Sam."

"I liked it because she's just, I don't know, a red-type of lady, but do you think it's too much or—" He stopped as she held up her hand again, a sheepish grin crossing his face. "Sorry. Here's the other one."

This set was in a white-gold setting, and it was stunning. Bright blue opals, fire-filled, oval-cut, shimmered in the setting. The necklace had a small series of filigree swirls at the top of each side, which were set with about five small diamonds each, and the earrings were topped by a single diamond each.

"Oh, Sam," the psychologist whispered. "This is… she'll love this, and it will go perfectly with her dress."

"You're sure?" he replied, his eyes troubled. "I really want this to be special for her. She doesn't think she'll fit in, and she's really nervous."

"I know, Sam. I just got off the phone with her." She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me; this will make her feel like a princess."

"Oh, good." He leaned back in the chair, visibly relaxing. "Well, now that this particular dilemma is solved... got a soda?"

Elizabeth laughed and opened the fridge. She grabbed a soda, and water for herself, then turned around and gasped.

On the table lay a third open jewelry box. This one held emeralds in white gold; a beautiful necklace of alternating round-cut emeralds and diamonds, small enough to be unpretentious but breathtaking all the same. A pair of simple drop earrings accompanied the necklace, a small diamond at the top of each holding the slightly larger emerald just beneath it.

Her breath caught in her throat. "You're going to spoil her, you know."

Sam smiled mysteriously. "Maybe, if those were for her."

"They're not? But who…?" Her eyes got very wide as she looked up at him.

His breath came out in a laugh. "Tara did tell me what you were planning to wear tonight. Sure hope you didn't change your mind."

"Sam, you didn't have to do this."

He shrugged. "So call it a belated engagement present. Or," he added, his voice going a little rough, "call it a very belated 'thank you' for all you did for me… us…"

Elizabeth shook her head. "You two found each other again. Don't try to give me credit for that. But, since I know better than to argue with you about this gift, thank you. It will go perfectly with my dress." She stepped over to give him a big hug.

"No prob. Truth is, the more completely knocked out Myles is when he sees you tonight, the easier this all will go. I'm having the Jag detailed as we speak. How often does he get to drive that thing, anyway?"

She sighed. "It's been a weird summer. We got to use it quite a bit just after you gave it to him, but then the serial murders and the trial, and now the aftermath… I do know he's taken good care of it, even if he just starts it up once a week to keep the engine from gumming up."

"Well, tonight you kids are showing up at Maggie's in style." Sam leaned back in the chair in a manner so reminiscent of Myles last night that Elizabeth had to smile. "It's about time he actually enjoyed this little event. And somehow, Dr. Liz, I think you're going to play a big part in that."

She surveyed him for a moment, then sat back down at the table. "I'm not going to ask what you mean by that, but I hope you're right."

He stood, pulling her back to her feet and enveloping her in a huge bear hug. He dropped a quick kiss on her cheek. "I'm always right, sis-to-be. It's part of the Leland genetic code. I need to go start planning another 'entrance' of sorts. I'll see you there tonight. You just concentrate on my twin's mind going completely blank when he lays eyes on you tonight."

Elizabeth laughed. "I'll do my best. You go work the same magic on Tara."