Dear Readers: Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! I love getting them. (and a message to M: I'm planning the next chapter of Reversal in my mind and hope to have it written and posted in November:) )
This chapter may not be what you were expecting but Elizabeth needs a chance to show her hubris! 🙂 And she'll get it!
CHAPTER 15– RELATIONSHIP CHANGE
"Everything went fine, Ma. It just got me thinking. If something happens to me while I'm gone, I don't want you to blame Elizabeth Thatcher."
Jack was sitting alone in his living quarters. He stared into the small round circle on the top of his laptop. Its flashing red light indicating that it was recording his hologram message for his mother which he would later take to the Communication Center to transmit.
"I know that I was angry that I was reassigned to Coal Valley because William Thatcher wanted someone to babysit his daughter. And I said some not very nice things about her. Like that she needed to be babysat. But she's not like that. She's really nice. She's not the spoiled brat I thought she would be. She's one of my roommates and we've gotten to be good friends. Really good friends."
Jack paused. He had just spent ten minutes talking to his mom about his recent space-walk. Even though the hologram was a one-sided conversation, it somehow still felt cathartic to tell her all about it; allowing him release the left-over tension of his foray into space. Ever since he had been a little boy, things always felt better after he talked to his mom about them.
He stared at the camera again.
"The spacewalk hit home for me how dangerous this assignment is. I don't have to tell you that a job in law enforcement can be dangerous. I think a lot about dad too. And I'm careful like I promised you I would be. I just want you to know that if I don't come home . . . . . If something happens to me, I don't want you to blame Elizabeth or her father. I know that they're the reason that I'm here but I'm okay with that. I'm not upset about it anymore. She's really great. . . .
. . . Now don't start planning a wedding, Ma", Jack added with a soft chuckle. "Seriously. I know you're probably getting all excited hearing me talk about a girl, but stop it. There's not going to be any big wedding for you to plan. . . . Still, it would mean a lot to me if you and she can comfort each other if something happens to me. "
Shaking his head to clear his somber mood, Jack took a deep sigh.
"Okay that's it, Ma. Sorry to be so serious. On another note, I won fourth place in a talent show competition."
Elizabeth, her skin warm and moist from a three-mile run on the treadmill, swiped her bracelet across the door sensor, watched it slide open, and then walked in.
"Hey there," she said happily when she saw Jack sitting on his berth. "Let me just jump in the shower really quick and then we can go to dinner. The Smatters are back to being healthy so I am free of babysitting."
"Do you need some of my water-minutes?" Jack asked as he looked up from his computer. Elizabeth had never told him that she had traded her minutes for Wayne's silence and Jack assumed that she was simply bad at budgeting her shower time.
"No, that's okay", Elizabeth called out as she reached into her locker and pulled out a fresh set of clothes. "Abigail took pity on me and gave me a couple of hers."
Elizabeth continued to talk as she walked into the shower room. "I can wash my hair and condition really fast. I'm getting to be a speedster. How was your afternoon?"
Elizabeth turned on the hot water and climbed into the shower without realizing that Jack hadn't responded.
"Okay, I'm ready", Elizabeth declared ten minutes later. She came out of the shower room and slipped on her shoes.
"Can we talk for a minute?" Jack asked.
He quickly closed his computer, hiding the screen image of two people in the backyard of a modest home. The young boy in the photograph was wearing a baseball mitt on one hand and laughing with a man in his thirties who looked strikingly like an older version of Jack.
"Actually, I'm starving. Why don't we talk at dinner?" Elizabeth efficiently pulled her wet hair back, secured it with a rubber band, and then quickly put on some light lip balm.
"I really don't want to talk in front of a tableful of other people."
"Why not? We like the people at our table," she noted as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror and smiled in approval. She liked the fresh healthy glow and toned muscles that she was getting from exercise.
"It's kind of private."
"Okay. We'll walk slow and talk in the hallway. Let's go", Elizabeth declared as she headed out the door. "I hope it's veggie lasagna tonight. That stuff is delicious."
"Elizabeth."
Elizabeth stopped and turned around. She looked at Jack and for the first time she realized how serious he was looking.
"What's going on?" she asked. She walked back into the room and leaned against the bunk-beds.
"I've been doing some thinking."
"That's always good."
When Jack didn't laugh at her teasing, Elizabeth looked puzzled and asked again, "What's going on?"
"I want to talk to you."
"Okay. I'm listening."
Jack opened his mouth to talk but quickly closed it when the door to the living quarters opened again almost immediately after it had just closed.
"Jack, can I borrow your spiral gadgetor? I can't find mine," Carl asked as he walked in. He stopped and looked back and forth between Jack and Elizabeth. "Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt" he said uncomfortably.
"Yeah, it's in my locker", Jack said with a frown at the interruption. He fumbled with the latch before getting the door open. Pulling out the metal tool, he handed it to his roommate.
"Thanks."
No one spoke again until the door slid closed behind Carl as he quickly left the living quarters.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Elizabeth asked when the two of them were alone.
"You know I really like you, right?"
"Yeah. I was kind of hoping that was the case," Elizabeth said with a smile. "You know, with all that kissing we do."
"We get along really well. We have since day one."
Elizabeth laughed. "That's not exactly true. You were horrible to me at times on day one. And two. And maybe even three."
She expected Jack to laugh back, but he seemed too preoccupied with what he wanted to talk to her about.
"I think you're a great girl."
"I think you're a great guy." Elizabeth grinned again and wondered why Jack was so sentimental. "In fact, I think you're so great that I'm going to let you take me to dinner."
Jack nervously paused and looked at Elizabeth's smiling face. He hated ruining that smile.
"This has nothing to do with you," he said as she looked at him expectantly.
"What has nothing to do with me?"
"You know you're really great."
"You already said that. So, I'm really great. What has nothing to do with me?"
"It obviously has something to do with you," Jack conceded as he nervously paced the small two-foot space between bunks.
"You just said it didn't", she reminded him.
Jack took a deep breath. "I mean it has something to do with you because it concerns you, but it's not your fault or anything that you did or didn't do."
"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth asked in a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "What's not my fault?"
"I think -" Jack hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I think we should not be involved with each other anymore."
"Not be involved with each other?" Elizabeth's brows crinkled as if she had heard incorrectly.
"It might be best. Until we get to Coal Valley. And then we can spend more time deciding –" He paused again. "Deciding what we want and where things are going."
"What are you talking about?"
"We've been moving too fast in this vacuum of a spaceship," Jack explained. "Things might be different if we're around other people in a normal world doing everyday things."
"We haven't been moving fast at all", she countered in bewilderment. "And why would things be different when we get to Coal Valley?"
"They just might. Think about it. We're roommates here. Kind of forced to be together a lot."
"Forced? Is that how you consider our time together?"
"Okay, that didn't come out right," a flustered Jack said as he found himself backpedaling. "I just mean that here on the ship, we spend a lot more time together and it's an unusual situation for two people."
"I agree that some things will be different when we get to Coal Valley. We won't be living together and we'll both be working more. We won't see each other as often. But I don't understand. Where is this coming from? What do you mean stop being involved?"
"I think we should stop being involved. For the rest of the trip."
Elizabeth stupidly wondered if maybe the word 'involved' had a different meaning than the one she was familiar with.
"You want us to stop being in a relationship? Stop kissing? Stop holding hands? Stop being a couple?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Until we get to Coal Valley and decide then what we want?"
"It might be for the best."
"Why?" Elizabeth demanded. "And don't say it's because we're living in a vacuum on a ship. Like we're caught up in our own world and not living in reality. Because we are. This is reality. You and me. We're honest with each other. We're real with each other."
"I just think it's for the best," he replied with a shrug. "Before we get too serious."
"Before we get too serious?" she asked in astonishment.
"Yeah."
"Was this some kind of game for you? You flirt with me. You make me fall for you. And then you dump me?!" Elizabeth said in bewilderment. "Because there are better games to play. Checkers. Chess. Drinking games with holograms!"
"No. It's nothing like that. I'm not playing a game with you."
"Well maybe you should because it would be more fun than this!"
"Elizabeth", he said in frustration. "This isn't a game to me."
"Then what is it? Did you not get enough oxygen today?"
"Elizabeth, I -"
"I'm serious. Did you get enough oxygen today?" she interrupted him with concern in her voice.
Moving past him, she pulled down an emergency oxygen mask from his berth and looked at it curiously.
"Put that away. Yes, I got enough oxygen today!" he said in frustration before calming himself and continuing. "I'm in law enforcement. It's not always a safe predictable job. I can be reassigned easily. I can be in danger. I just don't think you know what you're getting into. We naively got into this relationship."
"So, you're breaking up with me?"
Jack nodded guilty.
Elizabeth tried to keep her irritation out of her voice but it was there, just beneath the surface when she spoke.
"Because I know what I'm getting into. And if I don't, that's my decision to make. So, don't blame this break up on me. If you want to stop seeing me and you don't want to see where this is going, just admit it. But don't use me as an excuse. Don't use me being naïve as an excuse."
"Elizabeth", he said. "It's not like that. I was naive too. But now I've had some time to think."
"Time to think? And this is the best you could come up with?!"
"Yeah," he muttered as he looked away.
"Well think again! Sit down and think again!" she ordered as she pointed to the lower berth. "I'll wait."
Jack ignored her order, although it crossed his mind that if he was a student, he would have immediately sat down at her firm instructions. "Elizabeth, please. We need to stop being involved."
"Is this because I was worried about you yesterday? Do you think I'm smothering you? Because if you don't want me to worry so much about you, I'll try not to. Next time you go on a space-walk, I'll read a book or crochet a blanket!"
Jack raised his eyebrows at her. "You don't crochet."
"I'll learn!" She threw up her hands in exasperation.
"You're not smothering me. I'm glad you were concerned about me."
"Concerned? You make it sound like I'm just some roommate concerned about another roommate! We have something together!"
Jack shuffled his feet and looked down before running his hand through his hair in an anxious attempt to calm himself and continue with what he had decided to do.
"It's just that I'm working on stuff and I need to concentrate."
Elizabeth took a deep breath and looked at Jack until he again averted his eyes from hers.
"Jack, I understand that you have a job. So do I. And I would never want to interfere with your work. And what you did out there – the space walk- that was incredible. But I don't see why we can't still have a relationship. We can take things slow. But we don't have to stop them."
Jack struggled for a way to explain himself. But how could he explain to her that he was investigating her father's corporation, that there was now a very good chance that he was going to be reassigned back to Earth in the next month and take the return transporter home, that his job could cost him his life, and that he was hopelessly infatuated with her. Not to mention, that his career came first- even if it meant putting her father in jail and bankrupting her family.
And so, he said the only thing he could think of.
"I want to stop being a couple."
Elizabeth stared at him. Wondering what had changed over the last few days.
"Is this because I stopped washing my hair everyday?!"
Elizabeth realized she was wildly grasping at straws but she had no idea what was going through Jack's head.
He gave her a bewildered look. "What?"
"Because I gave up my water-minutes for your career!" she announced as if she had laid down her life for him. "I sacrificed deep conditioning. And loofahing!"
"Loofahing?"
"Loofahing. With a loofah sponge. Body scrubbing. You know," she explained as she started mimicking running a large loofah sponge along her body.
"I have no idea what you're talking about", Jack said with a shake of his head as he watched Elizabeth move like she was doing some kind of tribal dance. "But no, this has nothing to do with water-minutes. You can have mine. I just think we should just be friends."
"You think we can go back to just being friends?"
"Sure, why not?"
"We live together! We sleep on top of each other!"
"Not in the biblical way. I mean the other way," she clarified unnecessarily when he simply stared at her. "Not sexual."
"I know what way you mean! I'm there too!"
Jack paused. This break-up was not going at all as he had expected. "Look, we can still be friends. And roommates."
Elizabeth took a deep breath. She looked at the man who had been a huge part of her life for almost three months. He had the ability to make her swoon and he had the ability to make her furious. Right now, it was the second one.
"Why don't you explain to me your definition of 'friends and roommates so I don't go into this naively?" Elizabeth said rudely.
"Don't be that way, Elizabeth. You know you're my best friend on this ship."
"Best friends do not make out in front of a window of shooting stars!"
Jack wondered how this conversation had gotten so derailed that they were talking about water-minutes, crocheting, a damn sponge called a loofah, and star-gazing.
When he didn't respond, Elizabeth continued. "We were more than friends. We can't go back to where we were before," she scoffed.
"I don't want to lose that friendship. I want you as my friend."
"And your roommate," she irritably reminded him. "I guess you'll treat me like you treat Seth and Carl. I'll be one of the guys."
"I'm not saying it will be easy at first-"
"Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm not one of the guys. Of course, you should have noticed that the other night when your hands were up my shirt. Or have you forgotten about that already?"
"I haven't forgotten, I just -"
"That's good. At least your mind hasn't gone entirely", she said derisively.
"We'll be good roommates. Great roommates."
"Roommates", she repeated harshly with raised eyebrows.
"We'll still eat our meals together, and share stories at night, rely on each other, and heck, we'll even borrow stuff from each other like roommates", he added with an attempt at humor.
"Borrow things?! You're not a lending library or a bank!"
"I am trying to make this easier on us."
Before an angry Elizabeth could think of a response, the door slid open and Seth walked in. He stopped and stared at the two of them. Realizing immediately that he had walked in on something private, he turned around. "Sorry", he mumbled. "I'll leave."
"Don't bother," Elizabeth called out coldly. "You can stay. I'm leaving."
She paused when she crossed the threshold.
"And Seth, if he says he really likes you and tries to kiss you, don't worry about it. Apparently, that's just what normal roommates do. It doesn't last."
Up Next: Chapter 16 The plan