AN: Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying this story. Hopefully, it will fill our MS need during hiatus.
Chapter 2
The Halloween party was the first of many dates, and by Thanksgiving, they decided to make it official. Now it was almost March and Elizabeth was admittedly head over heels, smitten with Henry. She felt connected to him in a way that she had never felt with anyone before. She wasn't sure it was love, but she was hoping Henry would be around long enough to find out.
The moment she hit the top of the third floor stairs in the library, she immediately knew something was wrong. Henry was sitting at his normal table, but there were no papers strewn about and he wasn't bent over old books from the archives. He was sitting with his elbows on the table, his head buried in his hands. Elizabeth pulled out the chair next to him and sat sideways on it facing him. Her hand went to his back and up to the nape of his neck. "Henry, what's wrong?" When he looked up at her, she could see the tears forming in his eyes. "Come here," she said, scooting forward and leaning in to take his weight. He rested on her chest and she felt her shirt get wet as his silent tears fell. She held him close, her cheek resting on the top of his head.
Henry was overcome by grief. He'd received the phone call right before he left for the library. The news was devastating and there was only one person he wanted to see, only one person who could comfort him. Elizabeth. He knew she would be meeting him at the library after class, so he managed to hold himself together long enough to get to their spot. Now, as she held him, he could finally let go.
She had no idea how long they sat together, but he finally pulled himself off of her. "My mom called this morning. My grandma had a heart attack and passed away early this morning."
"Oh Henry, I'm so sorry." She leaned in, wrapped her arms around Henry once again and placed her head on his shoulder, holding him tight. "When do we need to leave?" she murmured.
The question took Henry off guard. "We?" he asked, tipping his head down to see her.
Elizabeth pulled away, a rose colored flush creeping across her face. "I-I-I just thought that you'd want me to go. It's fine if you don't." Her voice trailed off.
"No. That's not what I meant. I just figured we were too new and you wouldn't want to come home with me, especially to meet my family. I would love it if you came. I don't want to do this alone," he said.
Placing her hand on his cheek, she replied, "If you are dealing with something, and I might be able to help, I want to be there for you. Besides, I'm going to meet your family sometime, right?"
"Yeah, definitely. I was going to leave after I told you what was going on." Henry kissed her cheek. "Thank you for being so wonderful."
"Let's go by my room first and I'll pack and then I'll drive so you don't have to." Henry nodded at Elizabeth's suggestion and they were headed to Pittsburgh within the hour.
Elizabeth maneuvered her car onto the interstate and then settled in for the five hour drive. "How are you doing?" she asked.
"Alright I guess. I'm just thinking of things Grandma and I used to do, stories and stuff," Henry said, resting his head on the window.
"Would you tell me about her?"
Henry turned to look at Elizabeth. "Really? You want me to tell you old stories about someone you've never met and are never going-". Henry's voice trailed off as he realized that neither of them would ever see her alive again.
"I want to know about someone you love." She placed her hand on his knee. He took it and squeezed it before starting in on a three hour storytelling fest with his grandmother at the center of it. There were stories of playing cards, going to Mass, chasing down the runaway bunnies that escaped their cages, and her backing into the garbage cans at the end of the driveway. He told sweet stories of homemade cookies, and crocheted afghans made especially for her grandkids and bedtime stories she told when he stayed all night at her house. He actually found it very therapeutic, so by the time they made it to Pittsburgh, he was feeling better.
Henry directed Elizabeth to the correct exit and they made their way to his house. She pulled up and parked a few houses down due to the number of vehicles already in the drive and lining the street. Deciding to get their bags later, they went ahead and walked in. Elizabeth didn't think she'd ever seen so many people gathered in a room that size. It reminded her of the parties she'd been to when she first came to campus. Small houses hosting campus sized parties, with no room to move. At least no one was drunk. They walked in further and she thought she may have to amend that thought seeing empty beer bottles on every flat surface in the room.
Henry took her hand and pulling her through the crowd. He leaned back to talk in her ear, making sure she could hear. "Mom's probably in the kitchen." He pointed his head to the right and they weaved through the crowd to the kitchen. Joanna McCord had one hip leaned against the kitchen counter, holding a glass filled halfway with an amber liquid, talking to a group of women her age. Glancing around the room and seeing the drastic shift from beer bottles to hard liquor, Elizabeth assumed it wasn't iced tea in the glass.
Henry, still pulling Elizabeth behind him, walked up to his mom and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned, and seeing it was him, set her drink down and swept him into a tight hug. "How are you doing Mom?" he asked.
"I'm alright. Just unexpected, you know. How are you?" she asked.
"I spent the entire trip telling Grandma stories, so I'm actually feeling quite a bit better. Hey, you know how I told you I met someone? She's here." Henry turned and put his hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "Mom, I want you to meet Elizabeth Adams. Elizabeth, this is my mom, Joanna."
"Call me Jo," she said, shaking Elizabeth's hand. "It's nice to meet you, although, I'm sorry the circumstances aren't a bit more joyous."
"I'm sorry about the loss of your mother, but I am glad to meet you. Henry tells some very wonderful and fun stories about his family and your mom sounds like she was quite a character," Elizabeth said.
"That she was," Jo said. "Henry, go away. Elizabeth and I are going to chat a while. There's a cooler on the front porch and your dad is out in the garage." Henry let go of Elizabeth's hand and raised his eyebrows at her as to question if she was okay.
Elizabeth laughed. "I'll yell if I need help," she said. Henry grinned and disappeared through the kitchen door back into the main room.
"Scotch?" Jo asked as she pulled a tumbler from the cabinet.
"I'm not a big drinker," Elizabeth answered. Jo chuckled and poured half a glass handing it to her. "If you're going to be around us very much, you're going to need to start." She handed Elizabeth the glass. "We're hard to take sober."
After meeting thirty people Elizabeth knew she would never remember, and likely never have reason to, Jo took her out to the sunroom where it was considerably quieter. "Henry tells me you stalked him."
"I'm pretty sure that's not how it went down," Elizabeth said, laughing. "I would say it was more like I was around and he avoided me at all costs. Well. Until he didn't." Jo smiled.
"Thank you for offering to come with him. I was worried about him driving up here. I knew he'd be a mess. He and my mom were very close." Jo placed her hand on Elizabeth's knee.
Elizabeth smiled. "I wouldn't want be anywhere else." A few ladies stepped out and needed assistance, so Jo excused herself.
Elizabeth made her way back through the house. Not seeing Henry, she headed out through the kitchen to check the garage. The garage door was open and there were several guys sitting around in a circle. As she approached, one of the men turned to look at her. She could have picked Patrick McCord from a line up anywhere. He looked exactly like Henry, only about 25 years older. "Hi. Have you seen Henry around?"
"He was out here to say hi, but he left. And you are?" Patrick, cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes.
"I'm Elizabeth Adams." In spite of her better judgment, Elizabeth adopted a slightly defensive tone. She decided she shouldn't leave that as her first impression. "Henry and I came together." She smiled.
"Ahh, that explains the ridiculously expensive car." He paused and then muttered, "The benefits of privilege."
"Excuse me?" Elizabeth asked, trying to ascertain where his prejudice was coming from and if it was directed at her.
"Everyone there looks down their noses at the working man. If you don't have money, you're nothing and I'm not a fan of that attitude." Patrick spat out the words like they tasted bitter in his mouth.
"So, anyone who you think has money, you lump into that boat? Sounds like you paint a broad stroke with that brush,"
"I call it like I see it." Patrick said and shrugged.
"You need glasses, because situations certainly aren't always what they seem, and that car is absolutely in no way indicative of my upbringing or level of privilege. I'll go look for Henry back inside. It was nice meeting you Mr. McCord." Elizabeth turned on her heel and headed back in the house. Once inside, she leaned against the door and took a deep breath. "Well, that didn't go very well," she mumbled.
"You must be Elizabeth." A teenage girl came bounding in through the kitchen. "I'm Erin, Henry's little sister. He said that if I saw you to let you know he's upstairs. His room's the second door on the left."
"Thank you Erin. It's nice to meet you." Elizabeth said as she started walking, snaking her way through the crowd to the staircase. In a moment, the noise level died down and Elizabeth could think again. She was certain that Henry escaped to his room to have a quiet moment. She knocked on the door. She heard the bed springs squeak and the shuffling of feet, then the door opened. "Hey there," she said.
"Hey. Sorry I ended up ditching you." He stepped aside so she could come in. Henry pushed the door shut behind her and Elizabeth sat on the edge of his bed. Henry pulled a chair out from under the desk and sat near her. "I made a lap around the house and realized there wasn't anyone I particularly wanted to hang out with other than you, and you were occupied with Mom. How was that by the way?" Henry asked.
"Your mom was nice. Your dad, well, I'm pretty sure he hates me." Elizabeth gave him a pained look and shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly what I said, but I'm sure I didn't make things any better."
Henry pinched the bridge of his nose. "I should've warned you to stay away from the garage. He has a hard time being decent anyway, but he's never likeable when he's been drinking. I'm sorry. Whatever he said isn't true. I'd like to say he didn't mean it, but he probably did and most of the time it's just easier to avoid him. I promise I'll be around to run interference next time."
"Eh, I can handle myself. I just don't want to make enemies on day one, you know? Erin seemed nice. I haven't run into the others. What are their names again?"
"Shane isn't here yet and Maureen is around. She was making out with some guy in the downstairs hallway when I came up her "
"What?" Elizabeth wondered if she heard that right. "Did you just say she was making out with some guy? Like, with everyone around? Is it her boyfriend or something?"
"Doubtful. Maureen doesn't have boyfriends. She has tagalongs, that are fair game for whatever, whenever she's in the mood." The disdain in his voice was obvious.
Elizabeth's eyes went wide. "That was your deal." She slapped him in the arm. "You didn't want to have anything to do with me, because you thought I was like her."
"Well, yes," Henry replied never really having consciously putting the two together, but realizing it was true.
"Well, I'm not." She crossed her arms over her chest. She tried to tell herself not to be annoyed, but she was. "Do you think I slept with those guys from freshman year?"
Henry sighed. This was not the conversation he wanted to be having and he didn't need Elizabeth pissed off at him. "Back then, yeah I did."
"And now?" she asked.
"I don't care if you did or not." Henry knew this wasn't the right answer, but they hadn't talked about it because he purposely hadn't brought it up. He figured ignorance was bliss. He didn't want to know the details of how many people she'd been with.
"But obviously you think I did, and you are wrong." Elizabeth didn't try to hide her hurt. Tears welled up in her eyes. She stood and paced his bedroom floor. "Just because you see a girl with a bunch of guys doesn't mean she's fucking them. Did you ever see anything inappropriate? Any kissing, touching, anything? I can tell you that you didn't because it never happened." She stood and paced the room. "Yeah, I did go out on a date or two with most of them. We might have had dinner or watched a movie or taken a walk, then it was a nice thank you at the door. I've kissed four guys in my life, not counting my father and brother. Why is it that everyone assumes the worst from women? I am so pissed off right now. Dammit Henry. I expected more from you. I can see you maybe thinking that before you knew me, but now?
"Listen. I'm sorry. My point of view has been a little jaded. I didn't want to think about it at all. Would it have been better if I'd asked? I doubt it." Henry grabbed her hands. "What can I do to fix this?"
"I don't know." She pulled her hands away from him and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "I can kind of understand you thinking that when you first met me. I mean I think it's ridiculous to assume that I'm sleeping with multiple guys given the little information you had, but I'll give you a bye since you came in with some preconceived notions. But, we've spent months together and you still thought that I did?" Suddenly, she jumped off the bed. "I need some time to cool off. I'm going to take a drive." She stepped past Henry and walked out of the room.