A/N: See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.
Chapter 2: Tea Party Interruption
"Well, let's just say that things really went downhill between my husband and me, especially after my daughter Gail was born," Liz explained while sitting with William at his kitchen table, enjoying the soup and sandwiches he'd prepared for them for lunch. "Frank just couldn't stand it that my whole world no longer revolved around him alone; that he actually had to share my time and attention with our daughter."
"He would have been a good match for Ann," William joked, but in another way, he really was being quite serious. Liz laughed for a brief moment, and then he said, "Ann was much the same way when our daughter Priscilla was born. I was thirty and Ann was twenty-four when we were married. At the time, she seemed like a decent, caring person. Then after we were married, the mask came off, and she turned into this shrew who was constantly finding something to criticize and complain about. Nothing I ever did was good enough. And she made it clear, only after we were married, that she never wanted children, despite the fact that she led me on to believe that she did want children throughout our entire engagement. She had a number of 'miscarriages' throughout her twenties and thirties, but I've often wondered if those so-called miscarriages weren't in fact abortions."
"How awful," Liz said sadly.
"And then when she was forty and I was forty-six, she got pregnant one last time. I was very upfront with her. I told her what I'd suspected through the years, and even though it wasn't easy, I convinced her to go through with the pregnancy."
"Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion these days, but I think that abortion is utterly cruel and inhumane, both for the mother and the baby. Most people won't talk about it, but there actually are mental, emotional, and spiritual consequences for the mother if she chooses to end her baby's life in the womb. Abortion does leave many women horribly scarred inside. And the consequences to the poor unborn baby are more than obvious."
"How right you are, my dear. And what you said may be unpopular, but it isn't an opinion. It's the truth. And the truth is almost never popular with people. And there are also consequences for the unborn baby's father. Nobody ever takes the father's feelings into consideration, but I've had many nightmares over the years, thinking about the hellish way my unborn children probably died."
"I'll bet you have," Liz said sympathetically.
"And tragically, until I finally got my act together and divorced Ann four years ago, things weren't much better for Priscilla. I was such an unbelievable fool for so many years. I really did love Ann in the beginning, and through the years, I kept making excuses for her and attributing her horrific behavior to things like mental illness and depression. I guess I just wanted to believe so badly that somehow, someday, I could get the woman I married back. And I also made excuse after excuse after excuse for her when she was cold towards Priscilla. Just like with your husband, Ann could not stand it that my whole world no longer revolved around just her; that she actually had to share some space in my heart with our daughter. Can you imagine that? A mother jealous of her own child. They say mothers have an automatic, instinctive love for their children, but that's not always true. I do agree that most mothers do, but there are some narcissistic women in the world like Ann who honestly don't care anything about their own children."
"It was the same way with Frank. He hardly ever spent a moment with Gail when she was a child, and when he did talk to her, nine times out of ten, it was to criticize her in some way. The way he constantly deprived her of the love and acceptance she craved was so emotionally abusive, even cruel. Then one night when Gail was eight, they got into an argument, and Frank actually hit her. He slapped her so hard, he actually knocked her down. And that was it for me. He'd slapped me around a bit from time to time through the years, but when he dared to raise a hand to my Gail, he went where angels fear to tread. What he did to Gail was the final straw. I threw Frank out of the house that night and I told him to never come back."
"Good for you!"
"Frank worked as an executive for an oil company here in England at the time, and he hoarded his money. He actually made a great deal of money at his job, but Gail and I only received a small fraction of what he made most of the time. Frank knew that if I filed for divorce, I would likely get half of his money as well as the house, and that's why after I threw him out, he agreed to a job transfer to Saudi Arabia. He lived there for the last thirteen years of his life, reluctantly sending Gail and me just enough to live on–"
"All the while hoarding most of his wealth for himself and hiring expensive, hotshot lawyers to do everything in their power to prevent you from getting a divorce and moving on with your life."
"Exactly. When Frank died suddenly of a stroke ten months ago, it really did set me free in a lot of ways. For one thing, after he died, Gail and I finally received everything he'd been holding back from us financially, and that made it possible for me to buy the bookstore. I'd always loved walking there over the years and finding some good books to get lost in for a while. For me, reading has always been a good way to recover from a coffee session with Hyacinth."
"I'll bet," William said with a laugh.
"When I found out three months ago that it was going out of business because the previous owner wanted to retire, I had to do something. I've always adored that bookstore, so I convinced him to allow me to buy it from him. Running Blue Sky Books has been a bit of a challenge, but it's also been a very good change for me."
"I'm sure it has been."
"And Frank's death has freed me in other ways as well. I can never be one hundred percent certain, but I've always suspected that while Frank wasn't exactly faithful to me during his time in Saudi Arabia. And even though it was very tempting to seek out an affair of my own in all that time so I wouldn't be so lonely, I just couldn't do it. I've had quite a few bumps in the road in my relationship with Jesus over the years, but even though God and I haven't always been on the best of terms, I just couldn't do something like that knowing that He was watching me. I don't think I'm quite ready to start dating again just yet, but it is nice to know that I can do it now with a clean conscience."
"You, my dear, are something in this world that is exceedingly rare."
"And what's that?"
"A sweet, gentle soul with honor and integrity and a conscience, who truly believes in values."
Liz smiled and told him, "It takes one to know one."
"You're very kind."
"It's true."
"I try to be, but I've made many appalling mistakes, particularly as a father."
"What do you mean?"
"To my knowledge, Ann never hit Priscilla or physically abused her, but emotionally speaking, she was very cruel to her. Whenever I was around, Ann was civil to Priscilla. She was a little cold, and she certainly wasn't loving or maternal, but in my presence, Ann was never hurtful to her. I told you earlier that Priscilla and I are from Askana, and I hold a prominent position in the Askanian government that has frequently kept me away from my family over the years. Sadly, I wasn't at home often enough to see, really see, what Ann was putting my child through. My frequently being away from home, combined with my selfish and stubborn refusal to let go of the delusion that maybe I could get the old Ann back, prevented me from truly understanding what was happening with Priscilla. One day when she was ten years-old, it all came to a head. I was late coming home one night. It was about midnight or so, and on my way to bed, I heard Priscilla crying in the bathroom. I knocked on the door and I called her, and she unlocked the door and she opened it, and when she did, I saw that there was blood everywhere," William told Liz as a couple of tears escaped from his eyes. "She'd actually slit her little wrists with a razor blade."
"Oh, no," Liz gasped.
"After we called an ambulance and got her to the hospital, the doctors were able to fix her up easily enough. When she was still in the hospital, I talked to Priscilla alone for a long time. It was difficult to get her to open up, but she finally told me why she attempted suicide. It was because Ann had told her over and over again through the years that she'd never wanted her and she didn't love her. She did what she did because she was so utterly heartbroken. And like with you and Gail, that, for me, was the final straw. I filed for divorce the next day. Mercifully, Ann didn't even try to fight me for custody."
"Oh, that's absolutely devastating what Priscilla went through. But thank God you did something about it. So many parents won't."
"If there's any one thing in life that infuriates me more than anything, it's parents with an abusive or narcissistic spouse who come to realize that their own child is great danger, and yet they stay with them and continue to enable them, and they throw their children under the bus."
"I know exactly what you mean. I couldn't possibly agree more," said Liz. "There's nothing in life that angers me more than a parent enabling their child-abusing spouse. I won't go all into details, but when my parents were alive, my mother constantly enabled my father. She never once tried to protect my brother Emmet and me, and she certainly never tried to leave him and provide a safer, healthier environment for us. That's precisely why I went ballistic and kicked Frank out of the house when he hit Gail. I'll never understand parents who enable and even protect their abusive spouses. How, how, could a parent throw their own child under the bus for the sake of an abuser?"
"I honestly don't know. I've asked myself that question for a long time now."
"William?"
"Yes?"
"How on God's green earth did we end up talking about all this?"
William laughed and answered, "I'm really not sure. It just kind of…happened."
"Just a few hours ago, you and I didn't know one another from Adam. Now we know some of each other's deepest, darkest secrets. It's kind of unnerving."
"I know. It's not like we woke up this morning and said to ourselves, 'I'm going to share some of my innermost secrets with somebody I just met.'"
"You want to know what's really strange, almost scary?"
"What's that?"
"I think you understand me more and connect with me better after knowing me for just a few hours than Frank ever did in the entire history of our marriage."
"I think I can say the same thing about you. This is really getting spooky."
"I know."
"I don't think your neighbor Hyacinth would approve."
"Oh, she definitely wouldn't. She probably thinks that I should spend at least the first ten years after my husband's death locked away in my house, wearing black and mourning all the time. She's very strict, much like Mrs. Councilor Nugent."
"Who's that?"
"A lady Hyacinth is always trying to impress. If there's any one thing Mrs. Councilor Nugent hates, it's open displays of romantic affection. As a matter of fact, I think she hates romance altogether. I really do feel rather sorry for her. She does seem to live a kind of unhappy existence. Hyacinth is having her over for tea tomorrow afternoon, as a matter of fact. She's been bragging about it all week. The bookstore is closed on Sundays, so I'm expected to be there as well, unfortunately."
"You know, I could come with you, and right in the middle of things, I could grab you and kiss you passionately in front of both of them, just to stir things up and ruin their day!" William said mischievously.
"William, you really are terrible!" Liz said with an obvious laugh, and he laughed with her.
"It's like I told you earlier. It's the naughtiest souls in this world who are the most fun!"
Liz shook her head at him and laughed.
That was basically how they spent the next hour and a half, just laughing and talking comfortably and having a wonderful time, enjoying each other's company. Finally, at two-thirty, Liz forced herself to tell William goodbye so she could get back to the bookstore and reopen it, at least for another two and a half hours before it was closing time.
Liz had a handful of customers through the rest of the day, and then at five o'clock, she closed up shop and went home – humming and singing to herself all the way. When she arrived home a little while later, she was greeted to the pleasant aroma of Emmet cooking steaks and rolls and a multitude of vegetables for their dinner. (Ever since Liz started working at the bookstore, she and Emmet had agreed that they would split the cooking and the housework fifty-fifty from now on, and as she'd cooked dinner the night before, it was officially Emmet's turn tonight.)
Liz set her purse down on the coffee table, still smiling brightly and humming to herself, when Emmet came into the lounge.
With a small chuckle, Emmet asked, "What's got you in such a cheerful mood tonight, sis?"
"Oh, nothing," Liz said innocently, but Emmet could easily see the sparkle in his sister's eyes and he knew she was holding something back.
"Come on, Liz. What is it? I haven't seen you this happy in quite a while."
"Fine. If you must know, I met somebody at the bookstore today."
"Uh huh," Emmet said with a knowing smile while folding his arms across his chest. "Go on."
"It really is kind of crazy. William and I just seem to have this kind of automatic chemistry."
"So it's William already, is it?" Emmet teased.
"Oh, stop!" said Liz as she and Emmet laughed, and then they sat down in her two living chairs.
"So go on. Tell me more about this William of yours."
"He's tall. He's handsome. He's thoughtful. He's funny. He's from Askana."
"Askana. Isn't Askana that tiny little island that's very close to Ireland?"
"Yes. William says it's even smaller than the micronation of Liechtenstein. It only has a population of around fifty thousand people."
"Go on. Tell me more about your William."
"He divorced his wife Ann four years ago, and she died in a car accident a while back. And he has a fourteen-year-old daughter named Priscilla."
"He sounds like a nice enough chap."
"Well I certainly think so. We struck up a conversation when we met at the bookstore today. Hyacinth was also there, and as usual, she was murder, but William was very understanding. He mentioned that he lived near the bookstore and that he'd walked there, and right after he left, it started pouring outside. So I decided to go rescue him with my umbrella."
"Every good citizen's duty," Emmet said jokingly.
"Precisely," Liz said with a bit of a laugh. "Anyway, I walked him home, and he insisted that I stay for lunch."
"And it would have been far too rude to say no," Emmet kidded.
"Precisely," Liz chuckled. "He made us soup and sandwiches, perfect food for a rainy afternoon I might add."
"Just perfect," Emmet said in the same teasing tone.
"And afterwards, we spent about the next hour just…talking and laughing. Everything is just so incredibly…comfortable with him. I know we only just met today, and I know how crazy it is, but I literally feel as though I've known William all my life. It's just so easy to relax and let my hair down with him. He makes me feel as though I can talk to him about anything."
Emmet's face really brightened in that moment as the truth began to hit him. "You're falling in love with him!" he joyfully announced.
"Well I wouldn't take it that far."
"Déjà vu."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You're giving me a déjà vu. You had the exact same look in your eyes when you first met Andrew in school. You fell for Andrew in ten seconds flat and the whole world could see it, and none more so than your little brother. And now you're falling in love with William." Liz had met Andrew at age fifteen when his family had first moved into hers and Emmet's neighborhood. It really had been love at first sight. They'd dated for the next two years, and then Andrew proposed to Liz and she accepted. But five months later, Andrew was tragically killed in a horseback riding accident. Liz had ended up marrying Frank Warden a few years later, but her marriage to Frank was truly nothing in comparison to the kind of love she'd shared with Andrew.
"You know, for many years, it really hurt to even think about Andrew, much less talk about him. But I'm in a place in my life now where it truly makes me happy to look back on all the wonderful times we had together," Liz said philosophically.
"And now William makes you feel the same way Andrew once did, doesn't he?" Emmet asked in all seriousness.
"I think it's far too early to say. Like I told you earlier, we only just met today."
Again, Emmet's eyes shined with mischief as he said aloud, "Liz and William sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
"Oh, shut up!" said Liz as she playfully threw a small pillow at her brother, and then they both had a good long laugh.
The following afternoon, just as Emmet stepped outside to take a walk, he spotted William walking down the street. He looked like the man Liz had described to him the night before, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was him or not. But when he approached Emmet a moment later, he knew.
"Excuse me, sir," William said kindly. "You wouldn't happen to be Elizabeth Warden's brother Emmet by any chance?"
Emmet smiled and shook hands with him and told him, "Yes, as a matter of fact, that's precisely who I am. And let me guess: you're William Spencer."
"Guilty as charged," he joked. "I spent a most delightful afternoon with Liz yesterday, and I couldn't resist the urge to ask around and find out where she lived. I wanted to drop off this little card for her, but now that you and I have met, would you mind terribly giving it to her for me?" William asked as he reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope.
"Of course not," Emmet said kindly, and then he took the envelope.
"Thank you very much. I, uh…I suppose the poor dear is trapped having afternoon tea with Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent next door?"
"Indeed she is," Emmet answered, clearly feeling sorry for his sister.
"What a shame. I ran into Hyacinth at your sister's bookstore yesterday. It was a painful experience. I can only imagine what you two must go through living next door to her."
"It's murder," Emmet told him truthfully.
"I'm sure it is murder having to put up with the likes of Hyacinth all the time. It's a shame I can't go in there right now and rescue your poor sister. You know, when Liz and I were having lunch yesterday, I was joking around with her that perhaps I should go to tea with her and then kiss her madly in front of Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent just to ruffle their feathers a bit."
Emmet laughed and said, "Oh, that would ruffle their feathers way more than just a bit." In the following moment, a very mischievous idea took shape in Emmet's mind. "I tell you what. Why don't you come along with me? I know Hyacinth will let me join her tea party. You see, I produce and direct the Amateur Operatic Society here in town, and Hyacinth is constantly trying to get me to give her a part in one of my productions. I'll tell her you're a friend of ours, and once we're inside, you can find Liz and kiss her in front of Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent."
"You know something, Emmet? I'm beginning to think you might be as awful as I am!" William observed, and indeed it was quite true. Whenever an opportunity presented itself for Emmet to ruin Hyacinth's day, he seized it without a moment's hesitation.
"Oh, I assure you I'm not. In fact, I'm much worse," Emmet said proudly, and then they had a good laugh before walking next door to Hyacinth's house.
A few moments later, Emmet rang Hyacinth's doorbell. The door opened about a minute later, and Hyacinth was clearly happy to see that it was Emmet (and relieved to see that it was not her slovenly sisters and brother-in-law!)
"Good afternoon, Emmet," Hyacinth said cheerfully.
"Hello, Hyacinth. I just wanted to take a moment and introduce you to a new friend of mine, Mr. William Spencer. I do believe the two of you saw one another at Liz's bookstore yesterday, as a matter of fact."
"Oh yes, hello. I'm having tea now with Elizabeth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent. You must join us," Hyacinth insisted.
"We'd love to, Hyacinth," Emmet said with a grin that was a mile wide. "We'd really love to!"
"Indeed we would!" William said quite cheerfully.
"Please, do come in," said Hyacinth, and then they followed her into the lounge where Liz, Richard, and Mrs. Councilor Nugent were all sitting.
"It's the only thing these young people ever do nowadays. No matter what, they are always obsessing about their romantic entanglements with the opposite sex and engaging in grossly inappropriate public displays of affection. That's the problem with this world. That's why everything is going downhill. Too many people are allowing themselves to be ruled by their hormones," Mrs. Councilor Nugent bickered.
In the next moment, William walked up behind Hyacinth's settee and gently tapped Liz on the shoulder, and when she turned around, her entire face registered a kind of pleasant shock at seeing him again.
"William!" said a very happily surprised Liz, and then she got up and came around to where he was. "It's wonderful to see you again. What are you and Emmet doing here?"
"My darling, I'm here for one reason and one reason alone. I'm here because ever since yesterday, I have been constantly obsessing about a romantic entanglement with you and I very strongly desire to allow myself to be ruled by my hormones and engage in a grossly inappropriate public display of affection with you!"
And with that, William shamelessly grabbed Liz, pressed his lips down on hers, and gave her a very long, very passionate kiss. As they were kissing, Emmet watched intently as the scene unfolded before him, just dying of laughter inside, while Richard merely stared at them with his lower jaw on the floor. Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent were equally shocked. Too shocked, in fact, to say anything.
And as for Liz? She knew it was wrong. She knew she shouldn't allow a man she barely knew to just kiss her like that out of the blue. But it had been so incredibly long since she'd tasted of real romance, real affection even, and William's sudden kiss was practically like finding an oasis of water after spending a lifetime in the desert. Liz knew she shouldn't allow the kiss to continue like this, that she shouldn't allow herself to enjoy it so very much, but she just couldn't help herself. And the thought of how it must be driving killjoys like Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent up the wall was merely icing on the cake.
After the kiss finally came to an end, without even thinking about it, they rested their foreheads up against each other, closed their eyes, and just broke down laughing. Even though they barely knew one another, they truly did have the chemistry of a couple who had been married for years.
"You're horrible!" Liz declared while each of them were still cracking up. They then let each other go and put a tiny bit more distance between themselves, and Liz told him, "You are utterly, absolutely horrible! You must have been murder when you were a young child! I feel sorry for your poor mother!"
William laughed, and then he asked, "Liz, my dear, would you be interested in going out for a walk with a naughty little boy like me?"
"I'd love to," Liz told him honestly. In the next moment, she turned to Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent and said, "Thank you very much for my tea, Hyacinth. It was nice to see you again, Mrs. Councilor Nugent."
"Lovely to meet you all," said William, and then he happily walked out of Hyacinth's house with Liz on his arm. Meanwhile, Emmet was still dying of laughter inside, Richard's lower jaw was still on the floor, and Hyacinth chased after Mrs. Councilor Nugent as she threw a fit and stormed out.