Another update... eager to know what you think. Getting ready to return to real life soon. Work, school for the kids. I hope I can find time for everything else!
Elizabeth relished being back in a classroom. Sitting at the dark oak table, surrounded by fellow classmates, listening and responding to questions posed by the professor energized her. Each semester it was always the same rush of amazement and appreciation. Lizzy had not lost the sense of wonder of being a student at Harvard. Knowing she might not be sitting with her classmates come the fall drove it home for her and she promised she'd savor each moment.
She appreciated the classes in her major the most; surrounded by a community of friends and familiar faces. Class this morning, French and English Comparative Literature, 1750-1900, contained a group of people who shared her passion for the written word each engaged in the exploration of the evolving social structure in England and France throughout the period before, during and after Napolean's rule and the repeated wars between the two empires. She had always believed that fiction, far better than dry history books, provided an effective way to describe the lives of individuals, families and communities during periods of upheaval. In this semester they'd be discussing the tumult as these two countries underwent tremendous socio-economic and political change. Now if only she could get this nausea under control. She'd been able to make one or two comments early in the class but was forced to keep her mouth shut mid-way through the discussion. Fear her breakfast would come out, rather than the salient comment she wanted to make, kept her quiet. Quickly ducking out of class, she still had 45 minutes until she was meeting up with Charlotte and Jane for lunch.
Wandering the aisles of CVS pharmacy, Lizzy began collecting various items she thought might help. Sea bands, ginger sucking candies and gingersnap cookies were added to her basket. She found her way to the infant care section. Remembering William's comments after his trip to Target, Lizzy began a quick mental tally of the various items Yes, one could spend a lot of money on babies. The price of diapers and formula shocked her. Reminding herself that money was no longer an issue, it amazed her how much sacrifice having a child could require on the part of it's parents. It drove home how lucky she was.
"Heading out of town on a cruise?"
"Excuse me?" Lizzy wasn't sure if the cashier was speaking to her or his fellow cashier and couldn't imagine what he was talking about if he was addressing her.
"I see you've purchased some sea bands. I used them on a Caribbean cruise last year. Didn't do me much good. Better off with some Dramamine although then you might as well just sleep your vacation away."
"Oh, well I thought I'd try these."
"I did wonder if I might've used 'em wrong. Let me know if you have more luck."
"Um, Ok," she answered a bit skeptically.
"Goin' anywhere good?"
Lizzy was getting uncomfortable with the conversation but wasn't sure how to get out of it until the purchase was completed. "I'm not sure yet."
"Mexico is beautiful. I'd recommend you stop there. My favorite cruise stopped at several ports in Mexico."
"Thanks for the advice." Lizzy quickly stuffed the items into her backpack, eager to avoid any additional conversation about her purchase. Checking her watch it was almost time to meet Jane and Charlotte. They still needed to recap their triple date from Saturday night. Lizzy started to giggle to herself. Muffin top. Charlotte's not going to live that one down.
Lizzy saw that Jane had already secured a table for them. "So where's muffin top?"
Jane started giggling. "I've given her a fair amount of grief about that one so you might want to go easy on her."
"There is no way I'm not getting my share of the fun. Muffin top is simply too good to let it lie. Charlotte wouldn't expect me to anyway. It would be out of character."
"Too true. So has William left for Asia?"
"This morning, first thing. It's going to be weird not having him around for ten days. I plan on using the time to dig into the semester and maybe get ahead a bit."
"If you're in the mood for a girls night, let us know. We have an empty bed in the suite and would love to have you back for a night or two. Planning ahead would be good though. The room is often empty."
Lizzy's brows rose high on her forehead. It seemed that Jane and Charles may have returned to their old routine. "We'll see how I do. I think our kitty would be a bit upset with me if I abandoned him for too long. If I get lonely I'll call over before I sneak my way into PhoHo." Pausing for a minute or two Lizzy decided to broach the potentially contentious topic of her love life, "I take it things are good with Charles these days?"
Jane seemed to smile from head to toe. "He's changed Lizzy. I mean, he's still the same incredibly sweet guy but it's been good. Really, really good. He seems a bit more determined now to get things right between us and he's willing to talk about stuff that matters to us."
Lizzy smiled, so happy to see her best friend in such a good place. "I'm really glad. He's William's best friend so I know he has to be a good guy. I'm glad he's showing that side of himself to you too."
The pair had no problem killing time catching up on Jane's relationship with Charles and their common friends before Charlotte arrived. They were equally surprised when they spotted their friend full-on engaged in a lip lock with one Billy Collins at the cross walk. The couple was so engaged in their activity they missed a full walk cycle. The girls were about to draw straws to determine who would go out to garner the passionate couple's attention when a fellow student barreled into them while texting. All three jumped apart before crossing the street towards the restaurant. Charlotte spotted her girlfriends sitting at a table by the window and had the decency to look embarrassed. She knew she'd been caught and would hear in florid detail all they'd witnessed. Walking up to the table she already had her hand raised, "All right. Let it rip. I could hear the comments before I walked in the door."
"Aww Muffin Top, you take all the fun out of it. Preempting the commentary is decidedly not fair," Lizzy whined.
Charlotte responded with a pout. "We don't get to see each other very much during the week so we take what we can get. You get to live with your guy. Have some pity for the rest of us."
"My guy left for a ten-day trip to Asia this morning. Have some pity for the newly married," Lizzy returned.
"Fair enough. Ten days. That's a long trip. What are ya going to do with yourself?"
Lizzy shrugged focusing intently on the glass of water in front of her. She'd been trying not to think about this separation. Her emotions seemed to be resting just under the surface threatening to spill over at any moment. Her raging hormones didn't seem to be helping. If her friends pushed her too far she'd likely end up in a puddle of tears at the table. Jane could read the cues and realized a change in topic would be helpful.
"I almost forgot to tell you guys. Charlie wants to organize a dinner at his place for Valentine's Day. Rather than battling the restaurants he's hired a chef to come in and cook for all of us. I think he mentioned it to Billy and William on Saturday night and they seemed interested. What do you think?"
The change in topic grabbed their attention and the girls became absorbed in the idea. Jane had brought along sample menus and they poured over the options. Lizzy could see that her friend was happy her boyfriend had actually planned something with her desires in mind. The nearer term issue seemed to be an exploding relationship with one William Collins.
"So Charlotte, things seem pretty intense with Billy. Just how serious are things?"
"You said the word so I'll let it stick. I'm trying to get an internship in Maine for the summer. Billy's going to be living in a cottage on his employer's estate. It's part of the job package and I'm going to stay there with him."
Lizzy was shocked. "You're parents are ok with that?"
"My mom is thrilled I've landed a guy. You know I never had a date in high school, not one. I think she thought I was destined to never give her grandchildren. Living with a guy is a no brainer for her. My dad doesn't get too concerned about much. I swear he lives in his own little bubble where everything is wonderful."
Lizzy was frustrated with Charlotte. That she could undervalue herself so much to throw herself at the first guy who's attention she'd sustained was unbelievable. A look from Jane quelled her tongue. They'd discussed this already. Jane had encouraged Lizzy to keep her thoughts to herself. Charlotte was as stubborn as Lizzy and an argument was not what they needed today. Freshman year Charlotte came to campus on a mission to attract male attention. She had: the wrong kind. Charlotte had developed a bit of a reputation. Jane had reasoned that, all things considered, a relationship with one guy was better than the series of one-night stands Charlotte had previously settled for.
Looking at her phone, Lizzy realized her next class started in fifteen minutes. "Sorry girls but I need to run. I've got class. See you Thursday? Same time and place?" They hugged goodbye quickly agreeing to the plan.
William had done his best to adjust his sleep cycle so he could reset his body clock on the 16 hour flight. He'd done a reasonably good job and by his estimates had managed to rouse himself at what should have been 10am Tokyo time. Filling himself with water and coffee for the remaining hours of the flight, he was fairly confident he'd be in good shape for dinner that evening. It was always the third day that killed him. He could trick his body's natural rhythm's for a few days but he always need to plan a lighter day in the midst of a trip to give his body a respite. This time he'd timed the trip so he'd be hitting that day over the weekend, part of it on a plane to Singapore. Reclining in his seat, he turned his thoughts back to his conversation with Georgie on Monday night. They hadn't connected on Sunday, some start-of-the-semester banquet keeping her occupied so they spoke on Monday instead. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting and the turmoil their conversation had generated was something he was still trying to process. Their interactions had, at the very least, not been always comfortable over the past few months and he was prepared for everything, or so he thought.
"Hey sis. How was the banquet?"
"Fine I guess. The desserts were amazing so we were grateful for that much. Anything new over the past three or so days in Boston?"
"Actually, we got some surprising news Elizabeth and I wanted to share. It's pretty important you keep this to yourself though. We're only telling you and Richard within the family. Do I have your promise?"
Georgie had quickly agreed but he still reservations about it, even now. He was trusting Lizzy's judgment on this. The words came quickly once he had her agreement though.
"Come September you're going to be an aunt. We met with Dr. Daniels and Lizzy is pregnant." The silence on the other end of the line had confused him and he quickly attempted to fill the empty space with more words. "Georgie, you know how important family is to me. We couldn't be happier and we hope you will be too."
His clock had indicated that only another 30 seconds had passed, rather than the 30 minutes it had felt like before Georgie finally spoke. "Is Lizzy ok with this? I mean, I'm not surprised you're happy but Lizzy's not done with school. In our conversations in New York we talked about her internship and school. She seems so goal-oriented. What will happen to all of that?"
William did his best to reassure Georgiana that yes, his wife would finish school. They hadn't worked out the details but it was as important to him as it was to Elizabeth. She still didn't seem convinced and finally he handed the phone to Lizzy in an attempt to calm his sister's concern. Sitting close to Elizabeth he could hear their conversation quite clearly.
"Hi. Umm, congratulations." Georgiana offered tentatively.
Lizzy's eyebrows shot up. Was Georgie unhappy they were having a baby? She wasn't sure she could handle another bout of jealousy. "Thanks? You don't sound very excited."
"I'm excited for William. He'll be a wonderful father. I guess I'm surprised. It's so soon and you haven't finished school. I thought that was important to you but... but maybe I was wrong."
Lizzy released a long sigh. "You're right. It is very important and it's one of the first things your brother and I spoke about. Georgie, I will finish."
"Are you sure? William said you're due in September?"
"Well, it just might not be right on time. I need to speak with my advisor. As of now I'm simply trying to adjust to the whole idea of a baby. I'm a little surprised too but I'll admit to being very surprised this was your first reaction to the news."
Georgie was quiet for a moment and they were wondering if she was still there when they heard her trying to speak again. She started slowly and finally got all of the words out. "When I was at my last school, with George, it was the one thing I was most worried about. You know, that I'd get pregnant and not be able to finish. Sometimes I worried that George would try to get me pregnant so I'd be more dependent on him. The situation is different but I guess it's still the first thing I think about."
Lizzy had looked at William, her eyes opened wide. The girls had danced around the topic of George and her old school in some of their conversations but Georgiana had never shared anything like this before. It had all been surface-level comments when they were picking out clothes or food. William was flooded with emotions; distress and anger chief among them. He wanted to grab the phone back from Elizabeth but she wouldn't allow him. Lizzy had no idea if Georgie suspected that William was listening to their conversation and was not going to let her know now.
"I can only imagine how difficult it was for you. And I thank God that didn't happen. I appreciate your concern. It means a lot to me. The timing isn't ideal but we will figure it all out so I can graduate. It may just be a little late. Once I've spoken with Dr. Gardiner I'll let you know what the plan is...if you're interested."
"It's not really my business but I realized how much I would have had to give up if things continued on with George. I just don't think that its right for a woman to have to give up everything for a man. As much as I love my brother I think there needs to be a way for both of you to have what you want."
"Thank you. And Georgie, William would have always made sure everything worked out alright for you too."
"I know. Look I uh, I should go but take care of yourself and my little niece or nephew. I won't tell anyone I promise."
"Ok, thanks Georgie. Bye."
He'd spent the remainder of Lizzy's conversation with Georgie trying desperately to calm himself while continuing to listen closely. If George Newbury had been before him in that moment there would be no telling what he would've done. Memories of the prior year came flooding back. He was angry.
Lizzy had done a good job of calming him Monday night pointing out that at least Georgie was beginning to share some of these more difficult topics with a family member. She was also quick to highlight that Georgie's first concern had not been for herself but for his wife. That was a monumental step forward and Lizzy was inclined to celebrate. It is what it is. You can't change the past. Learn from it and move on to enjoy today. He repeated that mantra over and over. As he sat on the plane, once again reviewing his concerns for Georgiana, he wondered at the various ways the experience with George had impacted her. On one terrible hand, he'd injured her ability to trust, her self confidence in her judgement and as a result, her ability to form new relationships. On the other hand, this latest example showed that she also might have an ability to empathize with a cohort of people she'd never have before. It was hard to think that anything good had come out of her experiences with that man but if he could find one thing, maybe they could build on it to help his sister grow strong again.
It wasn't only Lizzy's words that calmed him though. She'd fully distracted him in other ways as well. A broad smile covered his face as he recalled her attention to his lips, eyes and ears. Oh his ears! They were especially sensitive and she'd learned to do this thing with her tongue that instantly got him ready for more. Lizzy hadn't often been the one to initiate things but more recently she'd been getting a bit bolder and he was more than happy to experience it. He'd let her experiment a bit, enjoying her explorations for as long as he could stand it before he reciprocated. Pregnancy seemed to be changing things in both good and bad ways. Nausea, exhaustion and tender breasts created some new obstacles but her need for him more than made up for those drawbacks. He left Boston feeling thoroughly loved. These were the thoughts that would keep him sane over the next ten days.
Tokyo always seemed to overwhelm his senses. The tightly packed skyscrapers, sidewalks and roads made Boston seem like a rural country village by comparison. He loved the energy in Tokyo and the clockwork precision of the city and its systems though and he was anxious to get his first dinner underway. Freshly showered and dressed in his suit, William arrived at the restaurant with a few minutes to spare. He itched to call Lizzy but they'd agree to call during his mornings and her evenings when she was feeling better. A quick text wouldn't hurt anyone though and he dashed off a note.
WD: Landed safely. In Tokyo at the restaurant. Miss u.
ED: Miss u 2 altho groucho is happy to take ur spot in bed
WD: btr not get used to it
WD: gotta run. luv u
ED: good luck. luv u more
"William! What a great surprise. I just got the message you were here in Tokyo and would be joining us this evening," Marc shook his hand vigorously, a smile plastered across his face.
"I'm glad you got the message. The trip fell together so quickly and I know Louis had been trying to reach you," William answered easily.
"I knew you'd been thinking about coming but didn't realize it would be so soon. I would have sent you a detailed briefing had I known."
"No worries. I read through your call notes and have been pouring over the accounts so I feel pretty good about the details." Looking towards the door, William noted the clients were arriving. "It's important to ensure our clients know they can access the CEO. I'm sure we'll strike up a good rapport."
William had brushed up on more than the details of the accounts. Japanese culture, current events in the region and his bios of his clients were among the many details he'd reviewed on the long plane trip. His last trip to Tokyo had been after his father had died. Those months trying to keep clients calm and reassured had felt like trial by fire. This trip was easy by comparison.
Very little in the way of business was conducted in the first hour and a half of dinner and he was careful to drink more tea than sake or scotch. Marc on the other hand seemed quite adept at keeping pace with their clients. William had been patient but decided it was time to venture into the business arena. "I'm glad to hear things are going so well between our two companies. We've been especially pleased to see that your orders have risen this year. Coming to see you in person is the very least I can do."
"The appreciation really goes to your new hire. Mr. Bradley is excellent. He truly understands our issues and develops inventive ways to aid our efforts."
"I couldn't be happier to hear that. Can you tell me more?" William was all eagerness, clapping Marc on the shoulder as a sign of support.
"Your new payment and return policies have been very beneficial to our business," Mr. Toshino offered up his glass in toast to the sentiment. William looked over to Marc and noticed some agitation.
"Perhaps you could tell me what element of the policies are the most helpful. I'm on a learning mission and am trying to understand how we can support our best customers. Your insight would be incredibly valuable to me."
"Mr. Toshino, perhaps I can get you another drink? We can head up to the bar to examine their scotch selection," Marc suggested.
"Surely you can select something appropriate for Mr. Toshino," Will countered. He was not about to lose this chance to better understand these new policies.
"Yes please select something for me Marc, perhaps the Red if they have it. It's so rare to have your time Mr. Darcy. I wouldn't want to disrupt our conversation."
William watched as Marc reluctantly pulled himself up from the table to leave the two CEO's to their discussion. Turning his attention to Mr. Toshino, William eagerly learned of the unusual payment arrangements his deputy had unknowingly negotiated with their largest Japanese client. As Marc returned, William could feel waves of agitation and nervous energy emanating from him. Turning his attention to Marc, William smiled. "I'm so pleased to hear about the creativity you've brought to bear in this market. I've just been telling Mr. Toshino about our excitement of this trial period and our desire to fully understand the implications of the new order management system you've implemented. It will be an excellent learning opportunity for both organizations. Mr. Toshino. It seems to me that an 18-month period should be sufficient to fully understand the benefits and costs of this arrangement. What do you think?"
"I hadn't appreciated how unique this arrangement was for Pemberley Enterprises. I think 18-months is very appropriate and I look forward to speaking with you again on how it's going. Every six months should be sufficient."
"I agree. I plan to be here again in June or July so we can reconnect then to more fully assess the implications of this unique program."
For all of his interesting personality traits, Marc was a bright guy. He appropriately understood that his success or failure at PE was riding on the outcomes of this Summer's assessment. Even more, he needed to ensure the upcoming week to ten-days went well. His mind was reeling as he thought about the meetings on the docket and what each of his clients might share with his CEO. It was too late to dramatically impact the thoughts shared but he could influence the ultimate outcome. The next seven to ten days would significantly influence whether his future was with PE or potentially one of his clients'. His thoughts had already turned in that direction.
"Mr. Toshino we are so grateful for your participation and willingness to be a part of our pilot. I also recognize that Mr. Darcy only arrived in Tokyo this afternoon. If you are willing, perhaps we could continue this discussion in a day or two. I am sure Mr. Darcy is looking forward to seeing his hotel room."
"I appreciate your concern Marc but I'm feeling great. I look forward to a few more hours of conversation with Mr. Toshino if he is willing. The evening is quite young and I wouldn't miss this opportunity with such an important client." William saw the situation for what it was but he would not be put off. There was still more to learn and he was intent on learning it.
I'm researching some topics...in particular the deBourgh issue. I imagine this chapter could end up on the cutting room floor if I had an editor but I like is so I think that's what counts...well and what you all think;)
Thoughts, questions, comments are helpful and soooo appreciated :)