I'm dedicating this chapter to my daughter and to Avanell, both of whom had some very major surgery recently. My leave has started although it's been a bit consumed thus far by my 14 yo daughter's surgery. It was pretty major surgery... on her spine so I'm a bit exhausted. There was lots of time sitting and waiting however so I did this to keep me distracted. We're back home from the hospital tonight. Yay! 4 days in the hospital is plenty! Now onto our story...
RF: Has the package been safely delivered?
WD: Affirmative
RF: All is well?
WD: Left G with Mint eating carrots
RF: Georgies eating carrots?
WD: Mint
WD: U know Georgie wont eat carrots
RF: ETA?
WD: 1300
William drove up towards the Pentagon, looking forward to meeting up with his cousin. He was preparing the paperwork to gain admittance when he spotted Richard standing tall in fatigues at the guardhouse. He would have been an intimidating sight if William didn't know better. Rolling down the car window, he called out, "Demoted to guard duty already or is this simply punishment for some infraction."
"What could be more important than protecting the Pentagon? And that's Sir to you." Richard hopped in the car. "Nice wheels. We could spot you coming in at 1000 meters."
Ignoring his cousin comments, William gave Richard a bear hug before turning the car around to head away from the massive fortress. "Where to?"
"I'm free for the afternoon. Let's head back to my place. I'll change out of these and into something a bit more comfortable and we can grab a bite to eat."
William headed into the city. He was starving but couldn't begrudge Richard a chance to change out of his fatigues and into a pair of jeans.
"So what's the story on these wheels. They're not your usual fair." Richard grinned.
"This is what happens when I try to do things for myself. I thought I'd make the car rental reservation. When I got to the airport I had a choice of either this bright yellow monstrosity or a black mustang. Given the amount of luggage Georgie managed to accumulate during her stay at home, I had no choice but to go with the H2. I won't be making reservations for myself anymore."
"I think you can handle one day like us plebians. So Georgie was good?"
"Yes, I dare she is very good actually. New Years was a low point for us but I think Georgie had a bit of a wake up call with Lizzy's accident. If anything good came out of our ill fated ski trip, I'd say that was it. I know some of it is driven by guilt but if guilt is what it takes for my sister to think of others before herself then so be it."
Richard looked over at his cousin. "I see and hear a bit of anger in that statement Will. You're going to need to let it go if you and Georgie are going to have a good and honest relationship."
"Thanks Dr. Ruth but I think I'm good." William snapped back.
"What's going on Will? Georgie's good, is it Lizzy? Is she ok?"
"I'm just hungry. Let's get you changed so I can eat and maybe grab a beer. We can discuss more over lunch."
Richard agreed to let it go, for now. Something was eating at his cousin and he'd figure it out sooner or later. Changing the topic, Richard filled him in on the bachelor party he was arranging for his older brother before sharing a few anecdotes from his day job in the armed forces. Richard had the gift of finding humor in most everything and it made him a very good storyteller. By the time they reached his apartment, William was in a much better frame of mind.
"You can toss your stuff in the spare bedroom. I'll be ready to go in five to ten."
William took a few minutes to put his bag away and splash some water on his face. Walking back into the living room, he sat down on the lone piece of furniture in the room, a long black leather couch placed directly across from the wall mounted flat screen tv. "Like what you've done with the place," William called out. Looking down at his phone he was surprised he hadn't heard a peep from Lizzy since he'd first landed in DC. A quick call would do him some good, just to let him know all was well. Listening to the ringing of the phone he was disappointed when, rather than her sweet voice, he heard the automated voicemail. The least she could do is record a new message but she'd refused, saying it was too complicated and it was just fine the way it was. Stuffing his phone back in his pocket he was tempted to begin pacing. Fortunately, Richard chose this moment to reappear.
"Ready to head out?" Richard asked, keys in hand.
William pulled himself off the couch following his cousin closely behind. It wasn't a long walk to the pub. It wasn't really a walk at all given it was in the first floor of Richard's building. The staff seemed to know him quite well, pulling two beers and setting them in front of the guys mere seconds after they'd sat down.
"I now can see why you chose an apartment in this building."
"Hey my parents wanted me to own a place, they were willing to put down a sizable down payment, so I figured I might as well have one above my favorite bar in DC." Taking a sip of the beer, Richard had a self satisfied look on his face. "See how good they are to me here?"
Pulling an envelope out of his pocket, William slid it across the table towards Richard, "See how good I am to you?"
Opening the envelope, Richard pulled out two tickets, center ice, to tonight's Capitols vs. Bruins match. "I knew there was a reason you're my favorite cousin. Lunch is on me." Richard grinned.
"It's so easy to make you happy. Why isn't everyone in my life as easy to please as you are?"
"It's not my fault you keep choosing to surround yourself with difficult people. Besides, you've got Lizzy. She seems to be very well pleased by you."
Thoughts of Lizzy filled him with emotions, not all of them the happy, fluffy kind, but he let the good thoughts flow for this moment. "I'm lucky to have her. Lizzy's been amazing with Georgie. I wouldn't blame her if she wanted nothing to do with my sister but she's been nothing but open, affectionate, and kind towards G."
"You've still got that crinkled look to your face though, so what is it? Something's bothering you. We've got a serious night of fun ahead of us and I intend to enjoy myself but we won't be able to until you get this off your chest."
"I didn't realize I was so obvious. Lizzy hasn't been feeling well lately and she's not answering her phone. She was fine yesterday but I'd still feel better if I knew she'd seen a doctor. And, I need to leave for Asia next week. The combination of worrying about her and worrying about our Asian business has me in foul mood," William grumbled.
Richard knew Darcy better then anyone, probably even better than his new, young wife. The Asia issue Richard knew how to deal with. This issue with Lizzy was going to be trickier. "You're leaving for Asia on Monday night, right?"
"Tuesday morning actually. Julia suggested I hold off until then and as I've learned on this trip, better to leave the travel arrangements to the experts. There's a reason we specialize. There's a direct flight to Tokyo that gets me in for dinner time on Wednesday."
"What's your plan when you get there?"
"Julia pulled Marc's calendar, downloaded the locations of the various people he's meeting with and while I'm in air, she'll let those individuals know that I'll be joining Marc for these meetings. I'm fine with surprising Marc, just not our customers. Once I land, I'll shower and meet Marc about fifteen minutes before our clients show at the restaurant."
"It sounds like you've got a plan. I applaud the element of surprise, as long as those customers don't call Marc to find out why you're coming and then give him a heads up."
"We've worked that out too. Louis has arranged for Marc to be in a regulatory training all day. They've got some intense rules around those trainings. You have to literally lock up your phone for the day and he won't get out until thirty minutes before the dinner. The regulators are pretty strict over there about cheating."
"Ok, so Asia is as well planned as you can make it. And you'll deal with whatever you find when you get there. So it sounds like there's little you can worry about there. No sense in thinking about it more."
"Yea. You're right."
"So the real concern must be Lizzy. Things seemed good last we talked. She was healing and the green card interview went as expected. I know my dad is doing everything he can to move it along. So what's up?"
William was frustrated with himself at this moment. Things were good. She was feeling fine yesterday, despite being tired. "You know me Richard. I worry. It's who I am. Lizzy's healing but she's not back to normal yet. In New York she was throwing up and she's so sleepy. I want her to see a doctor but she refuses. I wish she weren't so stubborn."
"Ahh, I get it now. Something is not in your control, or rather someone isn't. She's a strong woman Darce. You're going to have to let her dictate her own life a bit. I think if she's not feeling well, she'll go to the doctor and she has a lot of people in Boston to support her. Just think, this is good practice for when you have kids. Can you imagine how my parents feel when I'm off on some mission overseas? It took my mom a long time to chill out about it all."
William laughed, "You think your mom is chill? I guess she's perfected the act because my aunt is anything but relaxed when you are gone. Why do you think she wanted you to have this apartment so badly. She wants you to have a place to call home so you aren't as tempted to leave it for some dangerous adventure."
Richard actually turned a bit pink at the mention of his mom. He didn't like to think of her worrying about him. "Alright! Enough of this. There's a pool table open in the back and we'll do better spending a few hours there then whining like babies into our beers."
Walking out into the brisk January day, the cool air and bright winter light sent a small jolt to her senses. Since leaving Dr. Daniels office, Lizzy had been in a bit of a daze. It was fortunate someone had entered the elevator with her or she'd probably still be riding up and down, forgetting to press the correct button. She wasn't ready to get into a cab and began to wander instead. Walking past the Whole Foods, down a narrow passageway and a set of stairs, Lizzy found herself on a short tree-lined street. Bare branches were reaching skyward as if coaxing the sun to share it's warmth with the naked trees. Turning the corner she found herself in front of a brick church, St. Joseph's Parish. Lizzy would have never known the church was there if she hadn't literally stumbled upon it. The sudden idea that she might be able to sit, undisturbed, sorting her tumbling thoughts held appeal and Lizzy tugged on the front doors, relieved to find them open.
The familiar scent of incense clung to the air within the chapel, providing her with a measure of peace she hadn't felt all morning. The church was indeed empty and it was a relief to sit down on the hard wooden pew and allow her mind to go blank, feeling, seeing and breathing. She now understood why churches were often sanctuaries for the troubled. Even though she had never before walked into this particular church, there was something safe and familiar in this space. Placing her hands on the back of the pew in front of her, she moved to kneel as she had been taught all those many years her Papa had brought her to church. Papa. It had been weeks since she'd heard his voice. What would he say if he knew she was going to have a baby? Would he be disappointed in her? Angry? He, even more than she, expected her to graduate from Harvard. A baby would impact those plans. Was she selfish if she still wanted to go to school and graduate? What about working? William had been so supportive of her career goals. Would that change with a baby? She was mid-thought when she felt a warm hand on her arm.
"Excuse me. I'm Father Patrick. I thought I might come over to welcome you to St. Joseph's."
Sitting back on the pew, Lizzy felt her face turning bright red. "I'm sorry for intruding, I uh, I just needed some place to sit and think for a bit. Do you need me to go?"
"No, please stay. Our next service is in about an hour and you certainly can stay for that as well. I just wanted to welcome you and see if I might be of service."
"Thank you. My parish is in JP but I came upon your church and thought I might sit and think. I received some surprising news this morning and I'm trying to make sense of it all."
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"I'm not sure I'm ready to yet."
"I understand. Well this is a good place to ponder all manner of things so I will leave you to it. G-d be with you."
"And also with you." Lizzy responded instinctually. She almost laughed when she realized how much all those years of weekly attendance had sunk in. Maria would be proud.
Settling back to her familiar posture, her mind drifted back to her concerns. There was no question as to having this baby. She was married to a man she loved, and who loved her in return. There were no shortage of financial resources for this baby, even if William divorced her. No she was simply disappointed. Disappointed that another challenge was placed in her path towards accomplishing her dreams. And she was frustrated with herself for these selfish thoughts. It was on this internal conflict that Lizzy chose to pray.
She had no idea how long she sat there but with no answer appearing to her, she decided to depart. Rising from the pew, Lizzy chose to light a candle under Mary, another mother, and exited from the church. She didn't have to walk far before locating a cab stand. Once buckled in to her seat, Lizzy's mind continued to wander over everything she'd learned that morning. As they drove along the river, Lizzy was turning over in her mind what and when she would tell William. She had no idea how he'd react. This was brand new territory for them and she needed advice. Maddy. Her substitute big sister/aunt was the one person she trusted to provide it. Hopefully Madeline Gardiner was at home today and the kids were safely away at school. Redirecting the taxi driver, Lizzy figured he'd be happy to have the larger fare for the extra distance he'd have to bring her.
The slowing taxi caught Madeline's attention and she walked towards the front window. Seeing Lizzy emerge she quickly moved to the front door. "Lizzy, what a pleasant surprise. I'm so happy to see you."
"Maddy, I'm glad you're home. I took a bit of a chance but was in the taxi and thought I'd check to see if you were around and had time to catch up." The two women hugged and Lizzy began to divest herself of scarf, mittens and hat.
"You caught me at the perfect time. I was just taking a break from work and was coming downstairs to have some lunch. Join me?"
"I'd love to. I didn't think about the time and I'll admit to being a bit hungry."
"I'm glad for the company." Making their way into the kitchen, Lizzy was comforted by the familiar scene. She automatically fell into her role, filling a pitcher of ice water and setting the table. "I hope you don't mind vegetable soup for lunch. I made some for dinner last night and thought the leftovers would be good along with this baguette."
"Sounds perfect Maddy. Thanks once again for feeding me. I should've thought about the time when I made the impromptu decision."
"I'm so glad you decided to come by. We know one another well enough that if it was a bad time, I certainly would have told you." The two women sat across from one another catching up on the recent goings on with their respective lives. The kids antics brought Lizzy to tears with laughter and Maddy appreciated Lizzy's first foray into the role of CEO's wife at the dinner Monday night. "It sounds like you did very well. I'm sure William was pleased beyond measure."
"I think so. The people he works with seem really interesting, in a good way, although one of them, this guy Marc, seems a bit smarmy if you ask me. William is going to Asia next week to evaluate him a bit and get to know the customers there better."
"Are you worried about his trip?" Maddy could tell something was bothering Lizzy and wondered if this was the issue.
"It'll be our first time apart for more than a night or two so I'm sure I'll miss him. That said, its the first week of classes. I'll have plenty to keep me busy."
"Lizzy is something else bothering you? You seem a little troubled and you should know I'm always a willing listener."
"I know, and I'm grateful. It's why I came here actually. I got some surprising news this morning and I'm still trying to process it." Lizzy looked up to see Maddy's kind smile, her warm eyes and knew she'd made the right call. The words wouldn't come so it took a few moments to organize her thoughts in a way she could tell her story.
"For the past week or so I've been feeling really tired and my stomach's been upset, especially in the mornings. The smell of coffee or bananas completely sends my stomach into turmoil. I've actually started keeping crackers next to my bed and eating a few before I get up in the morning. It's the only thing that's been helping but I still find I feel sick until around noon when it changes completely and I become incredibly hungry. I also fall asleep in the middle of the day without any effort. And...I didn't get my period this month. I'd blamed that on the pill, but it turns out I was wrong."
Maddy stared at Lizzy open-mouthed. "Lizzy, are you trying to tell me you think you're pregnant?"
Relieved she didn't have to say the words herself, Lizzy responded. "I am Maddy. I just came from the doctor."
"Does William know?"
Lizzy shook her head no. Anticipating the next questions, she spoke up. "I'm due around September 18th and I'm about five weeks along."
Maddy reached out her hand to take hold of Lizzy's. She wasn't sure what to say. Lizzy would be a wonderful mother but it was terrible timing and her heart went out to the young woman. "Tell me honestly, what are you thinking and feeling right now?"
"Honestly? A lot of different emotions, and not all of them positive, and that makes me feel terrible." Shaking her head, she had to bite back a laugh. Lizzy was always the person with a plan and yet these past few months, nothing worked out like it was supposed to. "I want children. I really do. I just didn't want them now. I wanted to enjoy school, graduate and then spend a few years establishing my career before beginning a family. And yet, there is a baby, growing inside of me. I would never want a child of mine to feel unwanted or unloved. To add to all of this, I have no idea how William will feel about having a baby. He's been so diligent in making sure I'm taking the pill, even when I had the ski accident, he made sure I took it. What am I going to tell him?"
Madeline had lots of sympathy for Elizabeth. She'd have felt the same way if she'd gotten pregnant before she was ready for it. But as Lizzy was learning again and again, life doesn't always work out the way you want it to. "There's a saying that I often say when my plans go awry, 'Man plans and G-d laughs.' You don't have to have this baby though. You can make that choice."
"No I can't. This baby was conceived in love and I couldn't terminate a child conceived in such a way, no matter what William thinks."
"Do you really think he will feel differently?"
"I don't know actually. I can't imagine he would but he has so much going on too. He's taking the reins of his family's company and we were already trying to figure out how we'd make a long distance marriage work. Now there's a baby to complicate matters. And Maddy, I really want to finish school. I've worked so hard to get here. I need to finish."
"Lizzy, you will finish. You might need to take some time off, a semester or a year, but Edward will work with you to figure it all out. There is no way Edward will allow his star advisee to abandon her degree. And I'll do all I can to support you too. This will work out just fine."
"Do you really think so? You think I can pull it off?"
Laughing, Maddy looked at her insecure friend, "Lizzy, if anyone could pull off her senior year at Harvard and a baby, it's you. You've dealt with much harder problems in your young life. And Lizzy, this baby is very fortunate in its choice of parents. He or she couldn't have a better mother. Of that I'm positive."
"So what do I say to William? How do I tell him?"
"Do you think he has any suspicions?"
"He's been worried about me, I've been feeling pretty lousy and he's pressed me to see a doctor. But as it never occurred to me that I might be pregnant, I can't imagine he's thinking I could be. I've never missed a dose of the pill and he knows it."
"How do you think you got pregnant then?"
Lizzy shrugged, "The doctor thinks that maybe when I had my concussion and I was throwing up all the time that the pills I was taking came up with my food. It never occurred to me."
"That sounds like a logical explanation. Well, as for William, I can only imagine he'll be most worried about you in all of this. For what it's worth, I think he'll be a devoted father. He seems to be the responsible sort and I have no doubt he'll feel responsible for the two of you. He does seem to love you a tremendous amount."
"So do I just tell him? I can't even say the words out loud."
"Well, you might want to practice then. Lizzy, when you married him, you knew this could happen. Trust him and I think it will be fine. And if it isn't, you're welcome back here while I kick him in the knees."
"Aw Maddy, you say the sweetest things." Lizzy and Maddy laughed, appreciating the lighter tone.
The two women started clearing the table from lunch. Lizzy felt much better than when she first arrived. She honestly needed someone to tell her it was going to be ok and that she could do this.
Checking her phone Lizzy was chagrined to find that that she'd missed several of William's calls. She'd need to call him with some semblance of an excuse for her day long distraction.
"Lizzy. Finally!"
"Hi. I'm sorry, I must have accidentally put my phone on silent. I just noticed you called. Is everything ok? It looked like I missed your call like five times?"
Relieved to hear her voice, his own softened. "I missed you. I wanted to hear your voice."
Smiling into the phone, her fears from the day about his potential reaction to their news melted away. "I love you too."
"What did you do all day to keep you from checking your phone?"
"Oh I ran some errands this morning, paid a visit to Maddy and then I've been hanging with Maria since about 4:30."
"Sounds like you had a busy day. How are the Gardiners?"
"Well I only saw Maddy but all seemed well. Now onto the important stuff, I'm dying to know how Richard reacted to the tickets. Was he as excited as you thought he'd be?"
William was grinning from ear to ear to hear her enthusiasm for another's pleasure. "I've been reinstated as favorite cousin. We're going to leave shortly for an evening of bad beer, cheap food and hockey. What will you and Maria do this evening?"
"Maria's cooking me dinner and I'm relaxing and munching on pickles and enjoying some Italian ice. After dinner we're going to watch a movie. Nothing as exciting as what you've got planned but it'll be a nice low-key sisterly bonding night I think."
"Did you say you were eating pickles and Italian ice? That sounds disgusting."
"Don't knock it til you try it. I was craving something sweet and salty. The combination is remarkably tasty."
He could hear her chewing on the phone. "Lizzy, where did you find Italian Ice in January?" He couldn't fathom these strange cravings but he was still learning about his wife and this was certainly something new.
"I was telling Maria how much I wanted a Slushee or Italian Ice and she remembered some in the restaurant's freezer from last summer so she brought over a six-pack of them. It was exactly what I needed. Then I saw a jar of pickles in the refrigerator and the combo sounded interesting so I thought I'd try it."
"I think I'll have to take your word for it. I hope you're planning to watch something good."
"I figured we need to watch something girly to counterbalance all the testosterone you'll be exposed to at tonight's hockey game. We picked a Hugh Grant film because I know how much you dislike those."
"Perfect. Which one do I get to cross off the never-have-to-watch list?"
"Nine Months. It has Julianne Moore and I adore her."
"It sounds like I picked an excellent night to be in DC. Enjoy your film fest and I'll enjoy the game."
"Will do. Hey I think Maria needs me to help with dinner so I should run. Call me before you take off tomorrow so I know when to expect you."
"I love you. Have fun tonight and I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Ending the call, William shook his head trying to put the strange call in some kind of context. The past two months had presented William with many opportunities to try new foods and be exposed to different customs. In general they made sense to him. Some of her recent actions, like this call, didn't fit into any rhyme or reason. Life with Lizzy was certainly never boring.
Richard convinced William they should take a car to the arena, fully intending to have them both enjoy the evening to the maximum extent possible. William wanting to retain some level of reason interspersed each drink order with a glass of water and so while he matched his cousin drink for drink, only half were of the alcoholic variety. The game was not as evenly matched although the Capitols managed to put up a very decent effort and, as Richard would later recall, at the very least there were one or two brawls out on the ice which proved entertaining.
Lying in the spare bedroom later that night, the bed slightly rotating as he lay flat, various conversations and thoughts floated in and out of William's consciousness. It was like a puzzle he was trying to figure out. Lizzy's strange illness, various comments from friends and family, his recent conversation with Charlie prominent among them, and at some point he'd drifted off to sleep consumed by the puzzle.
Rolling over William saw it was 4:00 in the morning. He wasn't sure why he was awake but a desire for a glass of water forced him to rise from the bed. He made his way towards the kitchen and managed to find a clean glass in the cabinets. Sipping on the cool water, William tried to recall his dream prior to waking. It was in that moment he recalled what woke him. It was a realization. With perfect clarity he knew Lizzy must be pregnant. It all finally made sense. Had she been trying to give him clues in their last conversation? He needed to get back to Boston, now. Making his way to the room he'd been sleeping in he found his phone.
"Mr. Murray? I'm sorry to wake you but I need to get back to Boston. How soon can you have the plane ready?" Pausing to hear the reply, William began to find his duffle to get his clothes for the return trip. "Perfect. I'll see you in 45 minutes. Thank you."
This was fun to write and i have adored your comments, questions and thoughts. Most of you were pretty happy Lizzy's pregnant. I'm glad we're in agreement here.
Your thoughts, comments and questions are welcomed! They influence the writing...seriously they do! I couldn't imagine writing this without your reactions and questions influencing me along the way. Happy reading!