Chapter Five - A Change of Fortune
Monday morning found Elijah leaning his elbows against the front counter of the library, his head cradled in his hands. There was a dull throbbing between his eyes that hadn't faded from the night before. He had been right when he'd predicted their mother's reaction to Jane's date with Charles Bingley; Mrs. Bennet had actually whooped with joy, jumping and shrieking her excitement loud enough for all of Nassau County to hear. She had broken out the bottle of special wine usually reserved for holidays and, despite the fact that nearly everyone had to work in the morning, she'd kept them late celebrating.
"You look awful." Elijah looked up to see Maria Lopez, one of the library assistants, on the other side of the counter. She was a petite Latina with her hair cut in a jagged pixie, multiple piercings, and a wardrobe that consisted almost entirely of black and neon. Her glam punk exterior hid a warm and intellectual inside, though, and Elijah had taken an immediate liking to her when she had been hired at the library several months ago. "Rough night?"
"Family dinner," Elijah said, and Maria nodded. She had heard enough about his family to know that was an answer in and of itself. "Do I really look that bad?"
"A bit like you just emerged from a weekend in Vegas that you won't remember," she said with a shrug.
"That would've been more fun," Elijah admitted with a laugh. When his mom broke out the wine, she made sure it was the good stuff. Not quite as pricey as the champagne from Netherfield, of course, but still potent enough. He'd also had to drink quite a lot just to deal with his mother's incessant chattering. The only relief had been that because Mrs. Bennet's entire attention was focused on Jane's love life, she had for once not been pestering him about his own.
"Had a bit too much of the old lady last night, huh?" Maria asked, giggling. She had opened her mouth to say more, but a mother with her small children approached the front counter with their arms full of books. Maria smiled pleasantly at the kids and then took off with her cart of books to be put away.
Elijah straightened up and grinned at the little family. His phone started vibrating on the countertop, and he quickly silenced it before anyone noticed. "Hello there, found yourself some books?" he asked, directing his question at the children.
"Kitty book!" the little girl with blonde pigtails said eagerly, holding the book up so Elijah could see it.
Smiling, Elijah chatted amiably with the family as he checked the books out for them. The little boy was quiet and shuffled self-consciously, but the girl was all too eager to tell him about her favorite books in the animated gibberish of a toddler. Once they were gone, Elijah picked up his phone and was surprised to see he had a missed call from Charlotte, followed immediately by a text.
Call me back asap!
Elijah frowned, his brow furrowing. Charlotte very rarely resorted to texting; she hated the impersonal nature of it. If she had bothered to text him, something crucial must have happened. As much as he tried to stop his hopes from climbing, just in case, he couldn't help the thrill that surged in his stomach.
Elijah wandered over to the non-fiction section where he'd last seen Maria. She was scanning the shelves, a book poised in her hand and ready to be put into its proper place. "Hey Mar, can you watch the counter?" he asked. "I have to return a call real quick."
"Yeah, no problem," she said, dropping the thick book back onto her cart. She walked over to stand behind the counter while Elijah stepped out of the back door of the library. Standing in the little alcove between the Queens Central Library and the large Islamic mosque next door, he dialed Charlotte's mobile.
It only rang once before Charlotte picked up. "Good, you got my message," she said in lieu of a greeting.
"Yeah, what's up?" Elijah asked, feeling his heart rate climbing.
"We did it!"
The three simple words shot straight through to Elijah's core. His heartbeat throbbed in his ears, driving the usual hum of New York to the background. "We - what?" he finally gasped out after several long seconds of silence.
"I called you as soon as I got off the phone," Charlotte said. "We did it, Eli. You've got a publisher."
"Please tell me this isn't a joke," Elijah said weakly as his legs threatened to buckle underneath him. Tremors were vibrating through his entire body, and he felt equal parts elation and absolute terror.
"You know I'd never do that," said Charlotte. "I mean it. The assistant editor from Pemberley Publishing called and said they want to publish your book. It's going to take us a little while to get the contract ironed out and sorted, but this is going to happen. Congratulations, Elijah, you're one step closer to being a published author."
Elijah was torn between screaming in pleasure and fainting. He felt immediately light-headed, and he collapsed against the wall for support when his legs turned to jelly. "Oh my God," he breathed. "We did it. I mean, I always hoped, but I - I was started to think it wouldn't happen."
"I knew you could do it," Charlotte said smugly. "I always told you we'd get there. Your book is brilliant, it just took a while for someone to see that."
"You are the best, Char," said Elijah, laughing dazedly. "I mean it. Thank you, thank you so much. Look, I gotta get back to work, but we're going out this weekend to celebrate, drinks on me."
Charlotte laughed. "Sounds like a plan," she said. "Have fun at work and congrats again, babe."
Elijah hung up and tucked the phone back into his pocket. For a moment he merely stood there, shaking and breathless, and then an ecstatic grin burst across his face. He leaped into the air, feeling like he could fly. It took several minutes of energetic dancing and flailing before he managed to get himself back under control.
His mind went immediately to Jane, and he grabbed his phone again. He had halfway typed a text to her before he paused. No, he wanted to tell her in person. Erasing the text, he quickly keyed in another. Got gr8 news to tell u 2nite.
He was walking on clouds when he let himself back into the library. Maria looked up when he came around the corner from the back offices, and her eyebrows shot up curiously. "You okay, Eli?"
Elijah was beaming as he moved around the counter and pulled the startled undergrad into a hug. "Honestly? Never been better."
For the rest of the day, Elijah had a hard time focusing. His mind wandered off whenever he wasn't busy helping a library patron. He would look around at the shelves of books around him, and the realization struck him that one day, his own book would be sitting on those shelves. At one point, he even wandered over to the fiction section and found the exact spot where it would sit, there among the B's, in between Benitez and Benson.
He was antsy and bouncing on the balls of his feet by the time the end of his shift finally rolled around. Bidding a quick farewell to the handful of other librarians, he grabbed his things and headed for home. It was a relatively short walk to the Longbourne Deli, the kosher sandwich shop beneath their apartment, but today it took everything Elijah had in him not to run the whole way home. He jogged the last block and clambered up the rusting staircase to the door.
"Janey?" Elijah called as he let himself into the flat.
"In here," came the reply from down the short hall. Elijah tossed his jacket over the back of the sofa and headed to his sister's bedroom. Jane was sprawled across her bed, a glossy magazine opened across the foot of the mattress in front of her. She sat up when he entered the room. "Hey, what's up? I got your text."
Elijah sat down on the end of the bed, practically vibrating with pent-up excitement. He had been waiting all day, and the truth burst out of him in a tangled rush. "Igotapublisher!" he shouted, the words blurring together into one in his haste.
Jane's doe eyes blinked twice. "What?"
"I got a publisher," Elijah repeated, forcing himself to slow down and breathe. "They called Char this morning. Someone's going to publish my book!"
The expression on Jane's face switched so quickly Elijah was surprised she didn't pull a muscle. She went from confusion to shock to excitement in the blink of an eye, and before he'd even realized what was happening, she had thrown her arms around his neck. "Oh my God, Eli, I'm so excited for you!" she shrieked in his ear. "I knew you could do it!"
Elijah was beaming as he hugged his older sister back. Sharing the news with her brought the reality of the situation home, and he felt happy tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. "I can't believe this is really happening, Janey," he admitted, his voice quavering.
Jane drew back and smiled. "I can," she said confidently. "I always knew it would." She reached out and brushed away a stray tear that had escaped his eye. "I always believed in you."
There was nothing more Elijah could say to that, so he simply reached out and pulled her into the circle of his arms again. For a long moment he just clung to her, letting the full weight of the news settle over him, and then he laughed. "This is surreal."
"We need to go out and celebrate," Jane said, bouncing on the mattress. "Dinner on me."
"But your date," Elijah said. She had been talking all weekend about her date with Charlie Bingley, getting exponentially more excited and nervous as the day got closer.
"It's okay, I can reschedule," Jane said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "This is important, Charlie will understand."
"No, Janey, don't do that," Elijah said. "I appreciate the offer, but really, I don't want you to cancel your date. I know how much you've been looking forward to it. Look, I'm taking Char out for drinks this weekend to celebrate, you should come with, and we can all celebrate together then."
"Are you sure?" Jane asked. As uncertain as she looked, Elijah was resolved. Jane never did anything for herself, always sacrificing what she wanted to make other people happy. He wasn't going to let her give up on this.
"Positive," he said. "Now c'mon, let's get you all dolled up. You've got a fancy date tonight."
Elijah lingered on the bed, chatting inanely about their days, while Jane dressed in her new silver and white sequined dress. Her pale skin glowed against the shimmery fabric, giving her an almost ethereal look, and her legs looked miles long when she put on heels. She twisted her curls up into a braided knot and then turned to him apprehensively. "How do I look?"
"Like a goddess," Elijah replied with a smile. Jane flushed. "Seriously, if he wasn't completely in love with you before, he will be when he sees you tonight."
Elijah was in the middle of helping Jane put on her favorite necklace when there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," he said, fastening the necklace. Jane nodded as she picked up her earrings. Elijah walked down the hall and peered through the peephole in the door. On the other side was none other than Charles Bingley, dressed in an immaculate navy suit and clutching a small bouquet.
Grinning, Elijah opened the door. "Charlie, hi," he said.
"Elijah, it's good to see you," Charlie said, offering out his hand. "Is Jane in?"
"She's just getting ready," said Elijah. "I didn't know you were going to pick her up."
"I wanted to surprise her," Charlie admitted with a timid smile. The whole thing just reaffirmed Elijah's conclusion that Charlie Bingley was the sweetest man on earth. If anyone was deserving of Jane, it might very well be him.
"Come on in," said Elijah, stepping back to let the other man into the apartment. "I'll go get her, she should be ready." As Charlie shuffled his feet on the living room floor, looking adorably nervous, Elijah went back down to Jane's bedroom. She was just tucking the last of her things into a clutch purse, and she looked up when he leaned in through the doorway. "It's for you," he said.
"Me?" Jane asked curiously. She glanced at the bedside clock, and he could see her calculating how much time she had before she was supposed to leave, trying to factor in time for this unexpected social call. Elijah bit back his smile and followed a few steps behind as she made her way out to the living room. Jane stopped short at the end of the hall, her eyes wide. "Charlie," she said.
"Wow, Jane," Charlie replied, stars in his eyes. "You look absolutely beautiful."
"Thank you," said Jane, her cheeks turning a soft pink. Elijah lingered back, trying to remain inconspicuous as the couple drank in the sight of each other.
"Oh, these are for you," Charlie said, holding out the flowers.
Jane's face lit up as she accepted the ribbon-bound bouquet. "Lilies and lavender. My favorite, how did you know?"
"You said at the ball," Charlie said, grinning delightedly. "Well, if you're ready, there's a car waiting for us."
"Oh, yes, just let me put these in water," said Jane.
"Go on, I'll take care of them," Elijah said. Jane passed the flowers off to him with a thank you and kiss on the cheek. Charlie grinned, offered an arm to her, and led her out of the apartment. Elijah watched from the window as Charlie held the door of the luxury car for her and then the pair drove off into the rush of the city.
Elijah was smiling as he dug a vase out of the back cupboard and arranged the flowers on the kitchen table. Then, eager to tell someone else who would appreciate his good news, he pulled out his phone and dialed his father's cell phone. It rang four times before the line clicked over to the voicemail.
"Hey, Dad," Elijah said after the tinny beep. "Just calling to give you the news. My book got a publisher. Char's still working out all the details with them and everything, but we've got a real publisher now. Anyway, just wanted to let you know. Call me back when you get the chance."
Elijah decided he deserved a night of relaxation to enjoy his achievement. He changed into his pajamas early and took two pieces of leftover pizza from the fridge, as well as a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Carrying his treasures, he settled down in front of the television to get caught up on his shows.
