This part of the park was peaceful today. The heat had dulled some, leaving most of the families still choosing the pool, but a brave few stood near the playground area. The small fountain had no shade nearby and wasn't even big enough to justify sticking one's feet inside. There was no one about. Elizabeth had chosen one of the stone benches because of the silence. She could just sit there and think. Figure out exactly what she wanted to do about Lucky Spencer without interruption.
The family audition had not been as entirely nerve racking as she had feared. Luke and Cruz had been charming. Patrick had all but disappeared once the cake came. The rest of the family had been too busy catching up with each other to really notice her. Of course she hadn't spent that much time with any of them to make an impression on them. For all they knew, she had been a cater hired to keep the family fed.
Cameron being asleep in the backseat of the Jeep had prevented any repeat of their previous goodbye when Lucky had driven her home. This, while disappointing on some level, was a good thing since she still hadn't confronted him yet regarding Daphne. She had already broken her rules once and she was determined not to do it again. Their work schedules were going to help. Lucky had told her he was in the finishing stages of launching a new artist. She was scheduled to work the closing shift for the next three nights. Other than the promise of phone calls, she didn't expect to talk to him much or spend a lot of time with him anytime soon.
The last time she hear from him was asking her out for Thursday. Elizabeth had gotten the message late last night and she still hadn't completely decided if she wanted to see him again or not. Some part of her said she should see him just to ask him about Daphne. And some other part that had read The Rules years ago argued she shouldn't just say yes every time he asked to see her.
Don't be naïve Elizabeth she could hear Robin's voice telling her. You don't want to say yes, because you don't want to find out that Daphne is more important to him than you. Daphne had become the mythic phantom in her mind. She teased her and taunted her all night long. As much as she wanted answers about Daphne, she could admit enough to herself that answers would make Daphne real, too real. She had to confront him but she was terrified to at the same time.
She could finally admit to herself that she liked Lucky, that she wanted whatever this was between them, and that she wanted to explore it more. Elizabeth had sworn off men and had only been on a handful of dates since she had left Max in the dust. The intensity between her and Lucky was something she had never experienced before and somehow she sensed, would never really experience again. It scared how much she craved it, looked forward to it and how often she secretly plotted on how take advantage of it. Confronting Lucky about Daphne required her to take a very real risk of losing this by pushing too hard, too fast. Elizabeth had to approach this carefully. There had to be a way to discuss Daphne without coming off like a screaming harpy. She just had to find it.
"Miss Lizabeth! Miss Lizabeth!" She heard Cameron before she could see him clearly. The three-year old was a blur of legs and arms as he sprinted towards her spot on the bench. He stopped with the precision of a finely tuned race car immediately in front of her feet. "Hi Miss Lizabeth!"
She could feel herself smile. "Hello there Cameron. You here all by yourself today?" She glanced over his head, hoping to see Lucky trailing behind his son, grinning that knee-shaking grin of his.
Cameron shook his head, his curls swinging. "Gramma here." He explained just as she caught sight of Laura Spencer racing to catch up with her grandson.
"Cameron Lucas Spencer! You know better than to run off like that." Laura scolded gently.
"You could have gotten hurt."
"I see Miss Lizabeth Gramma."
"I see that." Laura smiled up at Elizabeth. "Hello Elizabeth."
"Hello Mrs. Spencer."
"Cameron, I know you like Miss Elizabeth but you can't run off like that sweetheart."
"I sorry Gramma."
Laura reached out and hugged the young boy. He was a handful, but she never could be mad at him for too long. He reminded her far too much of his father at that same age. "It's okay. Now are you ready to go to the playground?"
"Yeah!" Cameron reached up and tugged on Elizabeth's hand. "You come Miss Lizabeth?"
"Yes Elizabeth, if you aren't busy, please join us." Lucky had managed to keep Laura away from the new woman in his life for most of the party. She had managed a few brief pleasantries with the younger woman but nothing along the lines of what she had wanted. It had been three years since she had seen her son this interested in a woman and Laura was not ashamed to admit she was dying of curiosity. It seemed fate had just handed her the perfect opportunity to receive answers to some of her questions.
"Oh I don't want to intrude." For reasons not entirely clear to Elizabeth, spending time alone with Laura Spencer seemed infinitely more intimidating than facing his entire extended family. It made no sense but there it was.
"Nonsense. I insist."
"Please Miss Lizabeth? Please?"
She could feel herself caving. Damn if Cameron wasn't just as persuasive as his father was. In entirely different ways of course, but Elizabeth could already see the future clearly. Cameron Spencer was a born heartbreaker.
"Alright. I love the swings."
Cameron happily scampered off to play with some new friends on the teeter-totters, blissfully unaware of the terror his leaving left in Elizabeth's heart. As long as Cameron was nearby, she had this false sense of hope that Laura Spencer wouldn't ask too many prying questions. Now that he had left, there were no protection.
Laura smiled in Elizabeth's direction. "So your grandmother tells me you just moved to town not that long ago."
"About seven months or so. I moved to help her out when she had her accident."
"I must tell you that is quite admirable of you." Laura nodded her approval. Family was obviously important to the young woman. Audrey Hardy was a wonderful woman who quite clearly doted on her granddaughter.
Elizabeth felt the starting of a blush. "Really it wasn't that big of a deal." And not the selfless act everyone thought it was. It had been a convenient act of self-preservation.
"Well I disagree. I must say you were certainly lucky to find a teaching position so quickly after the school year had started."
"It was lucky. My grandmother happened to hear about Miss Colleen leaving so unexpectedly because she is friends with some of the directors. She suggested me and the rest went fairly quickly."
"It was a seamless transition at any rate. Cameron couldn't stop talking about you."
"His father can't stop talking about you either you know."
The blush on her cheeks deepened. Laura was good. She was very good. "Mrs. Spencer..."
"Laura. Please call me Laura."
"Laura, I don't know what Lucky has told you..."
"Not much actually. He's been quite evasive about actual details."
"Probably because there aren't that many details to tell." Well not any details she would willingly share with his mother at any rate. "We've been out a few times."
Laura smiled amusedly. "That much I know. But I confess to being curious about someone he brings to meet his entire family after just being out a few times. Normally we meet them after several months of dating, not several dates."
"I was surprised by the invitation myself."
"Surprised?" Laura laughed. "Surprised? Darling if it was me I would have been terrified."
Elizabeth laughed as well. "That too."
"What on Earth possessed you to say yes?"
The blush threatened to overtake her face completely. She knew full well why she wasn't exactly thinking straight when the invitation had been made. There was no way she was going to explain that to his mother. "He said Robin was coming."
Laura noticed the blush but wisely opted not to comment on it. There were some things a mother did not want to know or even suspect about her son.
Robin rolled over, burying her face in a nearby pillow. Her eyes blinked open and she yawned, noticing that she was in her own bed. She could hear The Wild Thornberry's on in the next room, which meant that Morgan was awake. She knew she needed to get up, but there was nothing pushing her to. She vaguely remembered Patrick waking her up at the crack of dawn, but she figured she could have dreamed that. There was no sign that he had been here at all. Had he been a hallucination?
It was only when she tried to stretch to her full height that her muscles protested and she thought back to that damn chair last night. If Morgan had been in the chair and they had been on the couch…yeah, she definitely hadn't imagined his being here. Skipping out of the room like a damned fool, she poked her head inside Morgan's room, smiling when she noticed that he was working on what appeared to be the most detailed house built of Lego's she had ever seen. The TV was apparently just background noise.
"Hey buddy. How are you feeling?" Robin cleared her throat, stepping into the room and bending down in front of him. He matched her smile and sat still while she pressed her palm to his forehead.
"All better." Morgan assured her.
"Humor me. Come on. Let's see what the thermometer says." Robin reached for his left hand and led him to her room. The thermometer was hidden behind a white piece of folded paper. Morgan looked like he might grab it, so she dropped it into the nightstand drawer, and proceeded to check his temperature.
"How long do I have to hold this in my mouth?" Morgan wanted to know.
"Not too much longer." Robin promised.
"Now?" He urged.
"Yes." Robin took the thermometer and read the double digits letting out a sigh. "Perfect 98.6."
"Can I go play?" Morgan asked impatiently.
"By all means. The little Lego people must be in dire need of a home." Robin laughed at her own joke and Morgan hurried back to his room. After she finished making the bed, she took the note from the drawer and unfolded it. She couldn't fight back a smile.
Good morning, beautiful. I would have liked to stay, but I had an early meeting that I couldn't put off. Don't be mad. I'm going to make it up to you tonight. Do me a favor, will you? Get a babysitter and pack a change of clothes. Why does your mind automatically jump the wrong conclusion, Scorpio? I'll be on my best behavior. I don't mind saying that I can't wait to see you back in that bathing suit. Bring that sweet mouth of yours to my apartment at ten o'clock and I'll be sure to pack the sun block.
Patrick
He wasn't traditional at all and he almost always said the first thing that came to his mind. She bet that was the root of the attraction. Where he lacked in modesty, he more than made up for in spontaneity. Last night had opened her eyes and she could no longer say that she was keeping him around strictly out of curiosity. She lost her senses when he was around and all too often said something out of turn, always regretting it later, always wondering why she resorted to his childish tendencies when she had clear, concise reasons for keeping her distance.
She had no way of knowing if it was his exposure that made him feel invincible when they were together or when he spoke of them being together physically. Part of her said that she didn't need to know. He didn't mind being the guy who brought her back to life and, she would admit, she had been hiding for quite some time. She might never be as free as Patrick seemed to think he was, but she could close her eyes and fake it. Something told her when the time came, she wouldn't have to.
She wanted desperately to call Elizabeth and tell her about the note, but first things first: she had to prioritize. Who could she get to watch Morgan while she and Patrick were…well wherever it was he was planning on taking her? Courtney should be in town either today or tomorrow, but she couldn't inflict a six-year-old on her jet-lagged friend. Her neighbor was out of town too, or she would have just asked her. The Spencer's might be willing to. Was it unfair to assume that they wouldn't be busy? No, she told herself. Even if this was slightly selfish, she couldn't imagine turning Patrick down.
Snatching her cell phone from the desk, she dialed a familiar set of digits and put it to her ear. The phone rang for what seemed like an eternity and then Elizabeth's recorded message flooded through the receiver. Damn it. "Charge your phone! This is an emergency!"