Real life intrudes, not only in my life but in Lizzy and Darcy's as well. No rest for the weary - or recently married ;)
Once again Lizzy woke first, but this time she was still tightly wrapped in his arms. 'He loved her.' She could feel it in his hold, his kisses and she could see it in his eyes but to hear the words, I love you, was spectacular. She'd wanted to return those words without reservation, without hesitancy, but knew that when she uttered them it wouldn't be in response to him. She would know when the time was right. Listening closely she began to hear his breathing change. He was starting to wake up and they'd be beginning their first day as a married couple. No honeymoon for them. They had classes, a potential meeting with lawyers and homework. Getting married at the end of term was not the best choice if one wanted to lounge around getting to know their new spouse. Oh well, it is what it is, she thought.
"Are you awake?" William whispered.
Turning in his arms, Lizzy found herself nose-to-nose with him, "Good morning," she smiled.
"I have to say, I sleep very well with you in my arms. I've become spoiled after only two nights." William said as he brushed the hair away from her face.
"I slept rather well myself. I can't imagine being cold at night any longer."
"Please accept my services as a heater whenever you're in need. Speaking of the cold, I think we need to leave this warm bed and get started on the day soon."
"I'll get out of bed on one condition, I need a kiss first," Lizzy said sweetly.
"That is a condition I'm happy to fulfill," and he did.
They were still trying to figure out the best way to organize themselves in the morning. William agreed to give Lizzy first dibs on the shower, and respecting her privacy, he kept clear of the bathroom until she was dressed. Lizzy prepared breakfast while William was getting ready.
"The cupboards are looking a little bare," Lizzy remarked.
"I should've mentioned that Mrs. Reynolds was going to stop by and stock up the refrigerator and cupboards. It's her wedding present to us. She didn't want us to feel like we needed to worry about food this week."
"That's so thoughtful. Do you think it'd be ok if I left her a list of some items I'd like?" Lizzy asked.
"Of course. It might be easiest if you text it to her in case she goes to the store before she comes over." William went over to his phone to let Mrs. Reynolds know that she'd be receiving a list of items from Lizzy. He noticed a text from his cousin Matthew. "Lizzy, is it ok to meet up back here at lunchtime? Matthew wants to come over with his colleague. They've prepared a full complement of documents to begin the process of your legalization and want to review them with you and get your signature."
"Of course. Wow. I guess it begins. Is it ok that I'm nervous about all of this?"
"I think I'd be more surprised if you weren't nervous. You're basically announcing your presence to the government. But I'll do everything in my power to protect you Lizzy. I promise."
"Alright, enough of these thoughts. Let's clean up and get to class. I'm glad we only have a little over a week left before the holiday break. I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit." Lizzy said as she pushed her chair away from the table and began to clear the table.
They walked together towards campus, discussing their schedules for the week. William was planning to drive to Maine with his uncle the next day to meet with his Aunt Cathy. Lizzy would go to his Aunt and Uncle's house and they'd meet up at dinner. The rest of the week would be focused on getting through their final classes before Lizzy's birthday and then, the holidays. William still hadn't figured out what he was going to do for her 21st birthday and he only had a week to figure it out.
Lizzy spotted a few of her friends as she approached the lecture hall. Kissing William goodbye she watched him walk away before joining her friends in the lecture hall. "Morning all. Did you guys have a good weekend?"
"It was fine. We were wondering though, who's that guy you were kissing just now?"
"That's William. Why, do you know him?"
"I've heard of him. William Darcy right? Super rich, super hot, are you dating him?"
"I'm not exactly dating him." Lizzy averred.
"Then what exactly are you doing?" She should've known she couldn't get out of the question that easily.
"He's my husband actually."
"Wait a minute, you're married? to William Darcy? Since when? I thought you lived in Pho-ho." One of her classmates asked incredulously.
"Since yesterday," Lizzy answered with a smile and turned to run into the classroom.
Grabbing her arm, Lizzy's ascent up the stairs was halted. "Oh no. You're not getting away that easily. You married him yesterday and you're in class today?"
"Yup, that about sums it up." Lizzy tried again.
"Girlfriend, come on... we need the details."
Sighing Lizzy figured she'd need to get used to telling the story. "We've been dating for a little while. He asked me to marry him and I said yes. We were married in a small private ceremony at his home in Maine yesterday. My roommates and my sister were my attendants. We had a small reception at the Charles Hotel last night and well, here we are. Given the potential for press interest- that we did NOT want to attract - we kept it small and private."
"Whoa. That's great. You really did keep that quiet. It's just, I can't believe you're married. Can we see the ring?"
Lizzy was happy to show off her ring. It was beautiful, elegant and an original.
"I thought I saw that sparkling on your hand last week but it never occurred to me that it was an engagement ring. You're a sly one Lizzy Benetez. Oh, I guess it's Darcy now right? Are you taking his name?"
"Yea, I guess so. We haven't done anything about that yet but I guess I'll need to figure that out too."
Class was beginning and Lizzy was relieved the Q&A part of her morning was over, for now at least. Maybe she'd start showing up for classes right as they started to avoid the inquiry.
Darcy slipped into his seat just as class was beginning to start. Opening his laptop his saw an IM pop up on his screen. "Impressive dedication to school!" Darcy looked around and saw that Charlie was sitting across the room with a grin on his face.
"No rest for the married set," William responded.
"Gotta minute to catch up after class?" Charlie typed.
"Sure. I've got an hour or so before I need to head back home." William answered.
"Ah, back home to the wife. It begins already." Charlie returned.
William shot him a dirty look effectively ending the chat session. Class went by reasonably fast and William had a raft of notes he'd need to review before finals next week. Fortunately he only had three finals. He'd already finished his papers for the other two classes thankfully so he hoped he could make time for everything he needed to accomplish.
Charlie waited for him as they exited the classroom. "I can't believe you're here today. Very impressive."
"Thanks but I'm hoping I can borrow your notes for tomorrow. I've got to go back up to Maine to see my aunt and it really can't be delayed."
"Happy to share although you know my notes are pretty atrocious. Maybe I'll just try to record the class so I don't have the guilt that you're relying on me and my notes." Charlie said.
"That might be best. Thanks. Anyway you wanted to chat, what's up?"
"I hate to bug you so soon after your wedding but I saw you in class and thought I'd tried to take advantage of you while I can." Charlie admitted.
"I'm all yours, at least for the next 45 minutes or so. How can I help?" William asked.
"It's about Jane. I need some advice. She seems, well, disappointed in me and I'm not quite sure I understand it. I thought maybe you could give me some advice seeing as now you're a happily married man."
"Yea, I'm sure my one day of experience is such an endorsement."
"It's more than me so let's go with it. A week ago I was worried that Jane was hoping for a ring and now I'm worried she's breaking up with me. I'm not sure what went wrong." Charlie sighed.
"I heard from Lizzy that things were a little shaky but I promised her I'd stay out of it. I can listen and possibly give advice but at the end of the day, this is between you and Jane." William warned.
"Look, I'm desperate for advice. I really think I'm in love with Jane so it's important to me that I don't screw this up." Charlie pleaded.
"Alright. Tell me what happened and we'll try to figure this out."
The two boys settled into chairs next to one another in Casperson Hall. "So everything seemed fine last Thursday. Jane and I were hanging out. She was talking about the wedding and, I'll be honest, I was uncomfortable because I thought she was trying to drop hints, you know? I'm not even close to thinking about getting married."
"Do you think Jane wants to? She's only a junior and Lizzy wouldn't have wanted to get married if she didn't have her immigration issues to deal with."
"I don't know. Over Thanksgiving her mom kept talking about weddings and my mom joined right in. When you and Lizzy came back from the holidays engaged I got worried, I guess."
"Alright, then what happened."
"I was trying to change the topic away from weddings and the like, when Jane started pressing me to talk about what was bothering me. I didn't really know what to say so I tried to, well you know."
"Actually, I have no idea. You did what?" William pressed Charlie. He really wanted him to say his actions out loud because that was the only way for him to realize what he might have done to contribute to the situation. He knew Charlie well enough to know he'd avoid conflict at all costs.
"Well I was trying to distract her. We were um, kissing and the like and she kept stopping to try and talk. Then Caroline called and she got upset that I answered the phone and that I'd told her we were going to Maine. Then Jane just got up and walked out. Since then she keeps telling me we need to slow down and spend more time getting to know each other but I feel like I know everything I need to know. I just don't know what she's talking about half the time."
William listened carefully and had to laugh. His friend was so clueless. "So Charlie, let's take this step by step. First, you assumed Jane wanted to get engaged and now SHE wants to slow things down, right?"
"Yea, I guess so."
"So you totally got that one wrong and you started pulling away before you really knew what she was thinking."
"Ok. So."
"Then, she wanted to talk to you about it and you basically pressed for sex right?"
"It didn't have to be sex." Charlie tried in his defense.
"Close enough. She wanted to talk and you avoided it."
Charlie sighed.
"Then once she got you talking, your sister called and you answered the phone and told her about the weekend in Maine - without, may I remind you, mentioning that my wedding would be taking place. How do you think you made Jane feel when you answered Caroline's call in the middle of your discussion?"
"I don't know. It's not like she's a threat, she's only my sister. What's the big deal?"
William rolled his eyes at his clueless friend. "By the way, you know you're totally lucky that Lizzy was so easy going about Caroline, although I think she enjoyed the punishment extracted by your sister on you this weekend. How much did it cost you by the way."
"About $1000," Charlie groaned.
"Lizzy's a wise woman. If it'd been me alone, I would've dealt with the issue myself but Lizzy pointed out that Caroline would punish you more by allowing you to fall into your own trap. I'll have to tell her about your $1000 weekend. It might make her feel better." William said with a laugh.
Charlie's mouth was agape. For the first time in a long time he didn't know what to say, "I'm so sorry," he stuttered.
"You don't need to apologize to me. Really, I ignored her like I always do, but Lizzy was forced to have her at the bachelorette party and as one of the very few women at the wedding. For your sake, I hope she decides you've been sufficiently punished by Caroline and Jane. I'm not sure what she'll do if she decides that their measures have been insufficient."
Charlie wasn't sure he wanted to find out what William was alluding to. "I didn't realize. I'm sorry."
"Like I said, you need to apologize to Lizzy."
Charlie sighed, "Ok. I'll do that the next time I see her. But what do you think I should do about Jane?"
William looked at his friend. When was the last time Charlie'd had a relationship that had lasted longer than a month? He couldn't remember. "If you want this to last, you need to find out what she wants in a relationship. Clearly you aren't seeing eye-to-eye and she wants something you're not delivering. Stop making only way you're going to find out is to talk to her. Tell her what you're worried about and ask her what's bothering her."
Charlie groaned. "You say it so simply but I'm not good at talking about serious topics."
William shrugged his shoulders. He was impressed that Jane had enough backbone to push Charles out of his comfort zone. It would be interesting to see what Charles might ultimately do. "I need to head back home. Good luck Charlie. I hope you figure it out."
"Fine, fine. Leave me to my dilemma. Run back to your wife." Charlie said with a grin.
"Keep me posted on how things go and TALK to her." Picking up his bag William headed out the door.
Walking back home William was lost in thought. Lizzy had looked positively delicious last night in the cream silk and pale blue lace nightie she wore to bed. Long after she'd fallen asleep he found himself staring at the beautiful woman lying in the moonlight beside him. His hands itched to slide the lovely garments off of her but he'd promised himself and her they'd take their time. As bold as Lizzy was to the outside world she seemed positively shy inside the bedroom. He was following a careful plan to get her comfortable with greater intimacy. 'So far so good,' he smiled in thought. Lizzy seemed to enjoy kissing and was getting bolder. Last night, for the first time, she started exploring him a bit. Her small hands were so gentle as they roamed across his chest.
"Well that's quite a smile cousin." William was pulled from his reminiscing by his cousin Matthew. "I guess the first day of wedded life is treating you well."
"Nice to see you too Matt. I'm sorry to keep you and your colleague waiting." He said as he pulled his keys from his pocket.
"William, allow me to introduce Melanie Isaacs. She leads all of our immigration work. Typically its employer related but she's also trained in family law so she's got a good background for what we've been dealing with."
"Nice to meet you Ms. Isaacs." Walking in he showed them to the dining room where they could review papers. "Can I get you two anything to drink? We've got tea, coffee, and various types of water that Lizzy seems to like."
"If you have something sparkling amongst your water that'd be great." Ms. Isaacs requested as she pulled out her laptop and placed several piles of paper on the table. "When will your wife arrive?"
"Lizzy has two classes this morning so it's going to be a little while but I'm sure it's fine to start without her. I'm the lawyer in the family anyway so its probably best for me to review everything anyway." William answered confidently.
"Are you sure William? We can wait. We've blocked out the time on our calendars." Matthew pressed. He didn't know Lizzy well but suspected it might be wiser to include her.
"No its fine I'm sure. Let's begin." Ms. Isaacs began walking through the process she was planning to follow. She explained each of the documents and asked William questions about some of the information they'd need to provide. They were about half way through the forms when Lizzy entered.
She was walking quickly through the condo when she came upon them in the dining room. "Oh! Hi. I didn't realize you were all in here. I'm Elizabeth, uhm, Elizabeth Darcy." She said with a quick glance to William. It was actually the first time she'd introduced herself as such and it didn't roll of the tongue yet.
William stood and gave her a quick kiss before introducing the new lawyer. "Lizzy, come and join us whenever you're settled. We're about half-way through the papers. Hopefully the remaining parts of the meeting won't bore you too much."
Lizzy raised her brows, puzzled by what William could be talking about. How could they be halfway complete when she'd only just arrived? Perhaps there were some other topics they were covering in addition to her immigration. After getting herself a cup of tea, she joined them in the dining room. Sure enough they were discussing her immigration and some of the facts surrounding her entry to the country. She sat there for several minutes listening to the three lawyers talking amongst themselves as if she didn't even exist.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting but it seems to me that if you're going to be discussing me, you might want to actually include me in the conversation. I'm sorry to waste your time, but I'd appreciate it if we could start at the beginning so I'm in the loop on what this all entails." Lizzy requested politely but clearly a bit annoyed.
"Lizzy, its truly very mechanical and not very interesting. Why don't you get us some lunch and we can chat while we eat?" William said as he rubbed her back.
Lizzy was doing all she could to suppress an urge to throw her tea in William's face. Did he really just suggest that she should go make them lunch while they did the work? Was he really that patronizing? She was not prepared to have their first argument of married life in front of these two lawyers and so she excused herself to the kitchen. Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself a bit and then very sweetly called out. "William, can you help me with something in the kitchen?"
William came in and she handed him a jar tightly closed. "William dear, my poor weak little hands can't seem to open this jar and I was hoping that my big, strong husband could get it open." Lizzy said batting her eyes.
Looking at her and trying to figure out why she was acting so strangely, he opened the jar and set it on the counter. "Here you go. Lizzy are you ok?"
"You'll find the rest of the items for sandwiches on the counter. Please let our lawyers know that I'll be coming to their offices tomorrow to discuss the documents after I review them tonight. You can leave them in my room for me. I'm going to campus now where I plan to fill my empty little head with some knowledge." With that Lizzy walked out of the kitchen and began putting on her coat.
"Lizzy where are you going? These lawyers are here to help you with your immigration. Why are you walking out?" William said following her out into the hall.
"You're a smart one William. Why don't you think about it and see if you can figure it out. I need to cool off and I don't want to get in an argument in front of your cousin so please, let me leave and I'll see you around dinner. You may want to think about what you're preparing as I will be busy reading legal documents and won't have time to cook." The elevator doors opened and Lizzy stepped into the elevator leaving William standing in the hallway.
William walked back into the kitchen and made a rudimentary lunch. Carrying a tray with the sandwiches piled up on a plate, William returned to the dining room. "Hope you guys like turkey sandwiches. It's the best I have to offer right now. I'll bring out the condiments in case you want anything specific on your sandwich." A few minutes later he was back still trying to figure out what happened with Lizzy. They began to eat and a few minutes passed before Matthew asked, "Where's Lizzy? Is she ok?"
"Apologies but Lizzy had to run back to campus. She asked if she could stop by tomorrow to review any questions regarding the documents and process." William said in explanation.
"Sure. Just have her give a call before she comes by so we can be prepared for her." Matt answered.
William tried to keep his focus on the papers but was so distracted by Lizzy's behavior. He'd never seen her act so, so strangely. She was angry about something but he couldn't understand what possibly had transpired in the twenty minutes she was in the house to upset her. The trio finished up reviewing the documents and left the papers organized for Lizzy's later review. William walked them to the door when Matthew paused. "Melanie, do you mind waiting for me downstairs. I just need to chat with my cousin here about a family matter."
"Oh sure. I'll try to get us a car or a cab while I'm waiting." Melanie offered.
Closing the door, Matthew looked at his cousin, "So have you figured out why Lizzy's mad at you yet?"
He was startled by his cousin's question. What did he know that William didn't? "I can't imagine what I could've done to make her angry." William answered defensively.
"Truly? Did she really need to leave so abruptly for class? That didn't seem to be her plan when she arrived home to find us halfway through discussing HER immigration process. I don't know Lizzy very well but if I'd treated my wife the way you treated Lizzy, she would've had my head. And when you sent her off to make us lunch? I'm surprised you didn't end up with lunch dumped on your lap." Matthew was wondering if he had ever been so clueless. Surely his wife could rattle off a list of similarly stupid moves he'd made early in their relationship.
"Matthew, I don't honestly know what you're talking about. To my mind, there were three people working diligently on her immigration case. A team, I should mention, that I'm paying for, on an issue where I've already spent countless hours volunteering my time to help her." William was exasperated by the conversation. He had nothing to feel bad about.
Wow. William was truly clueless and if he continued with this way of thinking, any sex William was hoping to have would be a distant memory. Laughing he put his arm on his cousin's shoulder to focus him. "William, I know you're new to the whole marriage thing but let me give you some advice before you get yourself in even deeper. She's not your employee or your child. She's your partner. You didn't marry an airhead, so don't treat her like one. And this notion of paying or volunteering your time? Don't EVER repeat that in front of her. My wife doesn't get paid for her work but she contributes more to my happiness and our daughter's happiness than any amount of money. All I can say at this point, my absolutely clueless cousin, is, good luck. You're going to need it. And if you can cook anything for dinner, I suggest you get working on it now. I'd be surprised if she's cooking anything this week." Chuckling to himself, Matthew knew his wife would enjoy hearing this story. It might even make him look good in comparison.
William sat down on the couch reflecting on his cousin's advice and Lizzy's own words. Had he really treated her without respect? Yes, the comments he'd made to his cousin about paying for their time were inappropriate. That was relatively easy to see. He was still processing these thoughts when he heard a key in the door.
"Lizzy? Is that you?" William asked hopefully as he headed to the door.
"Hello William. I'm hoping you can help me with the groceries," Mrs. Reynolds asked breathlessly.
"Of course, let me take those bags and I'll return with you to the garage to get the rest." William agreed.
The two made quick work of loading the groceries into the elevator and bringing them into the apartment. William began unpacking the familiar and new items trying to figure out where to put all of the groceries that now invaded his kitchen. William smiled as he pulled the bananas from one bag. This was a sure sign that Lizzy was living here.
"I'm surprised Lizzy isn't here. I thought she'd be around this afternoon." Mrs. Reynolds commented.
"She had class this afternoon and was staying on campus to get some work done. I expect her back around dinnertime." William replied, trying to appear unconcerned.
"Oh, of course. Classes don't stop just because you married yesterday. I guess its good anyway because I wanted to catch up with you on Georgie."
William didn't need another issue to distract him. What could possibly be going on with his sister? "I always have time for her but what's going on? I just saw her yesterday."
"Did you? With your wedding and everything I'm not sure Georgie felt seen, by you at least." Mrs. Reynolds suggested.
William sighed. Putting his head in his hands he asked, "What did I do wrong now?"
"I don't see why you're so down before we even speak. Do you care to discuss what's bothering you?"
"Not really. Just tell me what you observed or heard from Georgie." he said with another sigh.
"Alright. I'm not sure how much time you actually spent with your sister. That's quite understandable, given it was your wedding and all, but I sat with her most of the day. I've never seen such a spoiled brat and I was inclined to give her a piece of my mind. She moped around most of the day and, while reasonably pleasant when her cousins asked her to dance, spent most of the time complaining that she was dragged away from school only to ignored by you. Like you'd be spending all of your time with her on the weekend of your wedding." Mrs. Reynolds was shaking her head when she continued. "And she didn't have a kind word for your wife at all. Who, I might add, was kind, respectful and solicitous all weekend. She was certainly a better guest than that Caroline Bingley. I told your sister as much when I got fed up with her behavior. You need to talk to Georgie and tell her to stop acting like a spoiled brat."
This was not what he was hoping to hear. "I'm sorry for her poor behavior Mrs. Reynolds. Fortunately the holidays are approaching and she has a month off from school. I'm looking forward to spending some time with her and having her get to know Lizzy better." William said, trying to reassure her as much as himself. He'd barely seen Georgie the entire weekend and felt bad that there seemed to now be a gulf between them.
"Good. I'll leave you now. I have a bit of a drive back to Maine and would like to avoid the rush hour. Give your beautiful bride a kiss from me. I look forward to seeing you all after Christmas." Mrs. Reynolds said before giving him a quick hug goodbye.
William sat down on the couch, dumbfounded by the challenges in front of him. His sister spent the past weekend complaining about him and Lizzy. They had married, in part, to protect her but of course, she couldn't see that. And his wife of a day, was angry with him for his seeming insensitivity. How had he screwed up so much with the two most important women in his life? Sighing, he decided he should probably finish putting the groceries away and figure out what to make for dinner. It was clear that he was on point for that.
The honeymoon didn't last too long. Our poor boy is a little clueless but he'll come around. Thanks so much for the Comments, perspectives, thoughts...I'm sure you see some of what you have written reflected here. I hope I'm not disappointing you all. I strive to please and take seriously every comment...except for the ones that tell me I suck ;)