Sure she'd been alone with Darcy a hand full of times at Pemberly Digital. But those situations always had an out if they became awkward. She could always go back to work or use the restroom or…actually work on her thesis.
However this time there was no out. She was at the mercy of Darcy's navigational skills if she wanted to get to Letterman Digital Arts Center, let alone home. Gigi had to get some sort of sick enjoyment out of trapping her brother and Lizzie in awkward situations.
"So," Lizzie began. "Do you have any idea which direction the Letterman Digital Arts Center is?"
Darcy looked over her shoulder as if he were avoiding her eyes.
"Yes. It's right around that corner. Maybe 500 feet from where we're standing. I know exactly where it is."
As does Gigi.
The unspoken sentence hung between them. They were very in danger of entering awkward territory.
He looked at her apologetically. As if she had no idea what it meant to be embarrassed by her family. His words about her parents and sisters at Colins & Colins resurfaced. Now certainly wasn't the time to dwell on the past, but Lizzie couldn't help but think of the irony of the situation. This small reminder that the Darcy's were in fact human bolstered her confidence.
"Well, I guess we better go that way then," she said.
He was still uncomfortable with their situation, but knew he had to enjoy the short time he had left with Lizzie. Who knew if he'd ever have the chance to wander a city with her again. Despite how well the day was going, he couldn't imagine Lizzie wanting to make a routine out of it.
He finally met her eyes with a wistful smile.
"Yes, I suppose we better."
Lizzie was wracking her brain for conversation topics, secure in the knowledge that it was up to here to keep things light. She was surprised when Darcy began speaking with ease, much greater ease than he actually felt.
"So the Letterman Digital Arts Center," he said. "Why didn't you just tell us you wanted a photo with Yoda."
She could hear the smile in his voice, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. After all, she wasn't really in the mood to be mocked for her choice of city sights. She had given him and Gigi plenty of opportunities to let her go on her own. Perhaps Darcy wasn't as quick on the uptake as his sister.
"How do you know that's what I want?" she said lightly.
"No one calls it the Letterman Digital Arts Center. They usually just call it LucasFilms or 'the place with the Yoda statue'."
The jig was up. She sighed loudly and found herself on the defensive.
"I don't know, maybe because Star Wars is a hallmark of American pop culture and I happen to be one of those people who likes pop culture. I mean, I know it's not on par with allegorical friezes or historical shipping yards, but it's something I like," she said.
They walked in silence as Darcy tried to find the right tone for what he said next.
"Lizzie...need I remind you that I purposefully walked you into the path of a man disguised as a bush?"
She wasn't going to forget that anytime soon.
"Yes, I do remember that. Very well. Thank you again for scaring the crap out of me."
He wasn't sure if she had understood what he meant. He tried again.
"I - I don't hate popular culture. I firmly believe that pop culture and "high culture" are not mutually exclusive," He was forming his sentences carefully and Lizzie was reminded of his letter. He had already told her once how difficult it was for him to express himself, but he continued anyway.
"Many of the greatest historical works began as the pop culture of their time. That's why those stories managed to survive to today. Shakespeare could very well have been the George Lucas or Steven Spielberg of his time the way his plays were received by the public," Darcy said. "Not to mention, 'Star Wars' shares plot points and themes with 'Hamlet'. Perhaps calling 'Star Wars' a pop culture hallmark is not giving it enough credit. Maybe if we look closely at what is considered elitist or low-brow we would find that the distinction is based on what has been arbitrarily deemed accessible based on an unfair public education system or the socio-economic insulation of certain academic ivory towers."
"You wanted to be Jedi when you were younger, didn't you?" said Lizzie
As always, Darcy was impressed by Lizzie's ability to extract his main point from his murky monologue. He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.
"Most boys wanted to be Han Solo, not a Jedi."
She felt that increasingly familiar swoop as his eyes lit up on to hers. Her chest tightened and she felt her self blushing like a ten year old with her first crush. Clearly Darcy as Han Solo was an image Lizzie was going to have to save for later. Among other things.
Lizzie cleared her throat and tried to relax
"It's not just about 'Star Wars'. Getting the picture with the statue I mean," said Lizzie. "What I really want is to get a picture of it for my dad."
"Is he a big fan himself?" asked Darcy.
"Well he's a big movie fan in general. And he's also a TV fan and a book fan. He just...he loves stories. And he's the one who made me love storytelling. 'Star Wars' was one of the first movies we watched together," she said. "I mean it wasn't the first movie we ever watched together. But one of my favorite memories is watching the original VHS tapes on our old ugly couch in the basement. Watching together on a Saturday afternoon was our ritual."
"He sounds like a pretty great dad," said Darcy.
Lizzie smiled. It was hard being so far away from her family. Even if they were only 45 min. away by plane and less than 30 sec. away by cellphone. At that moment she remembered that the Darcys had lost their father when they were very young. She couldn't imagine not having her dad around today, even with the amazing memories she cherished from her childhood.
"I just think he'll get a kick out of this statue picture. I've been traveling so much for shadowing that it would be a nice surprise for him."
They walked along the side of one of the adobe buildings. The Presidio had once been an army base and these buildings had served as The Post Office. Today the space had been renovated and gated in with fancy wrought iron all around the perimeter.
Lizzie followed Darcy's lead as they walked around the corner at the end of the alleyway. There is was, a majestic metal Yoda standing on a pedestal above a flowing fountain.
It was behind a gate.
The same wrought iron gate that surrounded the rest of the area.
Lizzie's heart dropped. She had pictured getting closer than this. Yoda was going to be a small speck if she had to take the photo from here.
She didn't even attempt to mask her disappointment.
"Just a moment," said Darcy before walking to the gate and pressing a small call button. Lizzie was trying to get a halfway decent photo from where she was currently standing when Darcy made his way back. He grabbed her hand and smiled.
"Meet Yoda, we must."
Darcy made an honest to god joke and Lizzie was sure that meant hell was experiencing its first glacier.
A security guard opened the gate and let them in. Apparently this was the perk of exploring the city with a Darcy. It was hard to complain about perks like this.
She couldn't hold back her smile as they walked into the gated area. She smiled even harder as she watch him realize that he was holding her hand and he reluctantly let go.
"Full-disclosure, this area is open to the public. Anyone can come in if they just speak with the guard," admitted Darcy.
The guard snorted behind them.
"What's wrong with you boy? When you are out with a pretty girl like this you can't go around admitting stuff like that! How else are you supposed to win the heart of such a woman?"
Darcy was unable to find the proper words and finally the security guard rolled his eyes and gave them some space. Not before giving a knowing wink to Lizzie.
Lizzie took a few photos of the statue and then Darcy took a few of her getting as close as she could. He laughed when she posed with a fake light saber. He waved away her offer to get his own photo with Yoda.
The security guard rolled his eyes and muttered something about youths.
Darcy returned Lizzie's phone to her and was pointing toward the museum at the on the other end of the Presidio when they heard the electronic click of a camera phone.
"You guys found it!" Gigi yelped, bobbing up from behind the fence She spoke a mile a minute trying to distract from the fact that she was sneaking around taking photos of the two of them.
Gigi ignored their looks of disbelief. She knew that they admired her ballsy match-making efforts deep down. Deep, deep down.
And hey, even if they were on to her it's not like they were even remotely close to wanting to kill each other anymore. That was an improvement in Gigi's book. They had to start somewhere.
At that moment Gigi was saved by the arrival of her trusty co-wingman.
"Alright, who is ready to eat?" asked Fitz.
Gigi smiled, safe for now.
