NOTE: Sorry for the delay, this is a very busy time of year at my work and this was a *very* difficult chapter to write!
Chapter Forty-two
"And that's how I ended up influencing basically every famous work by John Walker since 1972."
Elizabeth shook her head and laughed at the end of Mozzie's long, convoluted, and mostly fabricated story. Mozzie smiled as well, enjoying the chance to entertain. Mozzie had long felt that the purpose of casual conversation was not to convey truth and facts but to affect the mood of your audience in a positive way. Sitting on the small couch Mozzie reached out to pick up his mug of tea off the coffee table and took a sip of it only to discover that it had gone cold. He glanced over at the wall clock and discovered that he and Elizabeth had been chatting for just over two hours in what had felt like the blink of an eye.
So far Elizabeth had told him very little about herself other than a few harmless facts. She was currently working part time as an assistant at an event planing business, but she wasn't really interested in talking much about it. Having caught sight of her tracking anklet earlier Mozzie guessed that her job was part of some sort of work program that gave the business a tax break. She expressed a love of art when Mozzie had given his own occupation as an 'art dealer' and demonstrated more than just a casual knowledge of famous works and artists.
Mozzie had become so wrapped up in their time together that he had completely forgotten to work on steering the conversation in a direction that might help him better understand her relationship with Peter. The picture in her bed room, the ring she wore despite clearly not sharing the apartment with anyone, and her daily letters to Peter didn't suggest that she had ever seen him as a possession or if she had she had eventually seen him in a much different light. She certainly hadn't been working as a part time assistant her whole life, there would be no way she would have enough contact with any Animula in that line of work to develop a relationship with one. In fact Mozzie was guessing that she would have had to be either part of independently wealthy family or high up in a major cooperation to afford her the kind of interaction that would allow her to interact enough with Peter to see past his gold ringed eyes.
"Would you like me to refresh that tea for you?" Elizabeth asked as she noticed the look on Mozzie face after he had taken a sip at the tea. "It has to be stone cold by now."
"It is, and I'd love that. Thank you."
"No problem. Sorry I don't really have an snack type foods, I wasn't really expecting company."
"I wasn't expecting to be company so no harm no foul."
"Well I'm glad we ran into each other, it's been a while since I've been able to talk early nontraditional classic expressionist art with anyone at all, let alone how it may have related to the decline of the European upper middle class." Elizabeth chuckled.
"I'm telling you the theory is solid. I have another one on how the Illuminati have communicated throughout the centuries using hidden messages in fore-edge paintings on classic texts."
"I can wait to hear it. I'll get more tea."
Elizabeth laughed again and smiled brightly, looking like she genuinely wanted to hear the story, which was not the reaction Mozzie was used to getting when he announced one of his theories. Sitting across the coffee table from him in a small love seat Elizabeth got up and taking both her own and Mozzie's mugs she disappeared into the kitchen. Mozzie looked around to see if there was anything from Elizabeth's past around that he could ask about conversationally. However what little there was in the apartment was either strictly functional or impersonal decor. The only photo was the one in the bedroom and that would be inappropriate and awkward to just bring up out of nowhere. Laying on the floor at his feet Satchmo looked up at Mozzie with what Mozzie could swear was an accusing look in his deep brown eyes.
"Stop looking at me like that." Mozzie ordered the dog feeling guilty.
Satchmo just thumped his tail against the floor a few times before settling back down. Elizabeth soon returned with a fresh offering of hot tea which Mozzie accepted graciously. She sat down and took a sip at her own mug before putting it back down on the table. Mozzie was still trying to think of something to say that might lead to a useful conversation when Elizabeth brought her leg up slightly so that she could reach down and try to scratch at an itch under her tracking anklet. Mozzie was a little surprised that she didn't bother trying to hide the device as she tried to get in between the black band and her skin.
"Have you tried a coat hanger?" Mozzie teased.
"I actually have on occasion." Elizabeth smiled.
"Don't let me stop you if you need to head to the closet for a moment."
"I'll be okay, but thank you." Elizabeth said as she put her foot back down. "You know you're the first person that hasn't instantly become uncomfortable by my anklet. No one has ever even mentioned it, they just get awkwardly silent when they see it."
"It's not my place to judge." Mozzie shrugged. "It's not like it means you're dangerous or anything."
"You'd be surprised how many people think it means exactly that."
"Well I'm not afraid." Mozzie chuckled. "When does it comes off?"
"Never." Elizabeth replied defiantly.
"Never?" Mozzie repeated more surprised by her tone than her sentence.
"The parole board won't take it off until I formally acknowledge remorse for my actions, and that will never happen."
"You could just lie to them." Mozzie pointed out.
"No." Elizabeth said firmly. "Even giving them a lie would be allowing them to take what little I have left."
"Somethings are more important than freedom."
"Exactly." Elizabeth smiled warmly. "Thank you for understanding, no one else seems to."
"I'm guessing most people, the parole board included, think you're just being stubborn and unreasonable."
"Something like that." Elizabeth agreed sadly.
Suddenly looking weary Elizabeth stared down at the golden wedding band as she momentarily became lost in dark thoughts of the past. Mozzie found that he genuinely disliked upsetting Elizabeth, he wasn't used to becoming so quickly involved in the life of a mark. He had come here for information, but the more of it he got the more he felt guilty for having tricked his way into her home and trust. The fact that she had so easily accepted his company told him that she was probably fairly alone. He hated to push her further, but at the same time she seemed like she needed someone to talk to and revealing a secret even to a stranger could be cathartic.
"What does your husband think of your stand against the parole board?"
"Wha…what?" Elizabeth jerked her head up and stared at Mozzie fearfully.
"I'm sorry." Mozzie quickly apologized. "That was much too forward of me. It's none of my business, I saw that you're wearing a ring. I just assumed he must be taking your side on all this."
"No, I mean, yes, but it's complicated."
"Most things are, anything worth while anyway." Mozzie agreed. "He won't mind that I'm here will he?"
"No. He's...he's not..." Elizabeth stopped, unable to finish the sentence out loud a solidify the idea that Peter wasn't coming home.
"Elizabeth?"
"My husband was…" Elizabeth's voice had dropped to a whisper and she paused for a moment as her down cast eyes brightened with tears "He was…taken from me."
Mozzie had been looking to see if she even knew he was still alive, but he couldn't tell if Elizabeth had used the term 'taken' literally, as a euphemism for death or both. In any scenario her broken tone when she said it instantly gave Mozzie a horrifying image of the discovered lovers having been violently torn from one another. Mozzie curse his decision to pry for more information by mentioning Peter to her as she started to have trouble breathing from struggling to hold back her tears. He had tried to justify himself by reasoning that if she turned emotional he could offer her a shoulder to cry on, but when he reached out to comfort her Elizabeth jerked back.
"I'm sorry." Mozzie said genuinely. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's not your fault," Elizabeth assured in a weak voice "you didn't know."
Mozzie's stomach twisted painfully at hearing her forgiveness considering he didn't deserve it. He didn't know the details but he had known that something terrible must have happened to have her end up on an anklet for life and to be daily trying to reach out in vain to her lost love. Mozzie was starting to understand why Peter never replied to her, having been sold to sadistic Master what could he possibly say that would have made her feel better? It would be kinder to allow her to believe he was dead, give her a chance to move on. The problem was she wasn't moving on, the wounds may be old but they hadn't even started to heal yet.
Still trying to maintain her composure Elizabeth brushed away a stray tear that had managed to spill over and slip down her face. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath in an attempt to center herself. Although she managed to momentarily rein in her tears the tension in her body told Mozzie that all she really wanted right now was for him to leave. Slowly getting to his feet Mozzie was about to grant her wish and leave her to grieve in peace when tears silently streaked down her face again.
Unable to just leave Elizabeth alone after having put her in such a devastating state without at least trying to help Mozzie came around the coffee table to stand in front of her. After moving the tea out of the way he at down on the low table to bring himself eye level with Elizabeth once more. Looking lost Elizabeth she stared at him with red rimmed eyes unable to stop tears from slipping down her face but still unwilling to truly cry.
"Elizabeth…it's okay to cry."
To Mozzie's surprise Elizabeth actually managed a slight smile before she finally broke down into a heartbreaking weeping. Mozzie reached out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to show her some support. Seeking comfort after two long years without anyone to confide in even with just half truths Elizabeth leaned against Mozzie's shoulder as she continued to be swept by the torrent of emotional release. Mozzie risked lightly putting his arms around her and sat quietly allowing her to cry without bother her with any empty words. She didn't need anyone vaguely telling her everything was going to be okay, right now she wouldn't even be able to pretend to believe that could ever be true.
Feeling the sting of tears himself Mozzie wanted to tell her that Peter was not only alive but was in good hands. However it wasn't an option right now. He would have to go to Neal first to see how to best handle the new situation. Mozzie had no doubt that Neal would do anything to help put the star-crossed couple back together again, but it wasn't going to be as easy as just inviting her over for dinner. Peter might not even accept the idea of intruding on her life again considering the traumatic past. Eventually Elizabeth drew a few shuddering breaths as she fought to calm herself.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Elizabeth whimpered between her tears. "I do regret what I did, just not why I did it. I'm sorry…"
"It's okay, you don't have to explain yourself to me."
"I knew there were risks, I knew we might get caught," Elizabeth continued breathlessly, talking more to herself than Mozzie "but I never imagined he would be kil…I…I should have insisted that we run."
"He wouldn't have put you in that kind of danger." Mozzie said without thinking.
Elizabeth suddenly pulled away from Mozzie. Realizing that he had just let on to knowing more about the situation than he should know Mozzie gave Elizabeth his best 'innocently ignorant' expression followed quickly by the slight variation of 'ignorantly innocent'. Mozzie had found it to be a powerful combination in the past, even against Neal who should know better than to fall for it. Elizabeth regarded him with suspicion for a moment but eventually she just sighed heavily and brushed at her wet cheeks with the back of her hand as she gave Mozzie a genuine looking warm smile. As much as the display had been hard to watch she did look like it had been helpful to share her pain with someone. Mozzie released the breath he'd been holding in relief not only because he felt that he had successfully avoided her suspicions but that he may have actually helped her in some small way.
"I'm sorry." Elizabeth apologized again.
"No need to apologize."
"I just met you, I shouldn't be burdening you with my problems."
"Shared joy is a doubled joy, shared sorrow is half a sorrow, Swedish proverb." Mozzie smiled. "It's what friends are for."
"Are we friends?"
"Maybe not in the traditional sense yet, but I'd like to think that we have good potential for it."
"Me too."