Chapter 6

Five years later

Lizzy understood why her parents couldn't come to see her graduate. It was a lot of money to fly four people from the US to the UK. She really wanted her dad here though. He was her mentor and most vocal cheerleader when school got tough. Even if he couldn't help her with any of her science or math courses anymore, he still listened to her rants about Organic Chemistry, Calculus 2 or Molecular Biology. He was pretty proud of the A she got in her required British Literature course – at Oxford no less!

He never chided her about her unwillingness to date here, unlike her mom who would shout into the phone "I'm sure there are some cute, rich British boys who would love to show you the sights, Lizzy. You just need to get your nose out of your books long enough to encourage them."

It's not that Lizzy didn't want to date any of the cute, rich, British boys she met here, but she felt uneasy going on dates. She felt like she couldn't form a relationship and then go back to the states. She already knew the heartache that brought on. No, she had decided that she would stick her nose in her books, finish her four years at Oxford, then decide where life was going to take her.

It had been a long four years. She had gone home the summer after her first year, but after that she decided she would rather stay in England and take summer classes. She hadn't seen her parents or her brothers in three years, and that really didn't bother her, well, except for her dad.

Jane had come to visit last month when she was in London with a traveling ballet troupe. She and Chuck had continued to date when they both moved to New York. He asked her to marry him over Christmas during his senior year and they planned to marry in Connecticut in the summer when Jane's tour was over. Lizzy was thrilled for her sister and was looking forward to helping her plan her wedding. The two of them spent hours when they were younger planning their perfect weddings. Funny how the ten tier wedding cake and arriving at the reception on matching white horses no longer seemed like quite the thing anymore.

Tomorrow was the graduation ceremony. She bought the obligatory cap and gown and had splurged on a new dress to wear underneath. She didn't know why she did that. No one she knew was going to be at the ceremony. She didn't know why she even bothered to pick up the tickets allotted to her for the ceremony. She was determined to not cry again. Nope. She wasn't going to cry again.

The bell to her flat rang, pulling her out of her melancholy. Her flatmate had gone to visit her boyfriend and she didn't know anyone else who would ring her up. "Who is it?" she asked over the intercom.

"Delivery for Miss Bender." replied the cheerful, disembodied voice. She pushed the button to allow the delivery guy access to the building. Just what she needed right now, some obnoxiously friendly delivery boy.

A minute later came a sharp rap on the door. Lizzy had been trying to figure out who would be delivering something to her. She opened the door after fumbling through her wallet for a tip.

"Special delivery!" the same cheerful voice said from behind a large bouquet of flowers. As he moved the flowers aside, her heart stopped she saw the very last person she ever expected to see again.

"William!" she cried as she launched herself at him. He shifted the flowers to one arm and wrapped his other arm around her.

"What are you doing here?" Lizzy asked.

"I thought you should have something as beautiful as you to celebrate your graduation tomorrow." William replied.

"How did you know I was graduating tomorrow?"

"Jane has kept Bingley apprised of your schooling here and he kept me informed." Her look of astonishment made him smile.

"Come in, come on in. Oh it's so good to see you! How have you been?" she asked as she looked for a vase for the flowers. He picked up his small travel bag that he had set down outside the door before he knocked and came into the apartment. He smiled. It looked just like he imagined. All Lizzy. Campy and kitschy but with a certain flair for mixing and matching that worked well, elegant almost.

"Good. Real good. Just about finished one year with Harvel Investments. It's been really interesting. I really enjoy working for them. What about you?"

"Well, now that I am not pulling all nighters trying to cram the Krebs cycle or the formula for calculating the molality of a reagent into my brain, I'm fine. It's been a long four years here and I'm ready for a break. I don't have anything lined up yet but I've applied at a few labs here and in the US."

"Here? You're thinking of staying in the UK?"

"Yeah, I kinda like it here. Great cuisine, you know."

"Sure. Beans on toast and mushy peas are the best." he winked at her.

"No, no, no! Sticky Toffee Pudding and Millionaire Bars are the best. I've even learned how to make them!"

"Well, aren't you a true Brit. Those skills alone ought to get you a H-1 visa."

She offered him a cuppa and they settled in for a chat.

"Do you happen to have an extra ticket for the graduation ceremony tomorrow? I'd love to stay for it, if you don't mind me crashing the party." Her face dropped and tears formed in her eyes.

"Yeah, I've got plenty of tickets. Mum and Dad decided not to come and Jane is still on her tour." She tried to bite back the tears, but they wouldn't stay put in her eyes. So much for her vow to not cry again.

William moved over to sit next to her and wrapped her in his arms. He let her cry against his chest until her sobs slowed. He traced gentle circles on her back as he handed her a tissue.

"Sorry about that. I knew they couldn't come and I thought I had gotten over it. Time to put on my big girl panties." she sniffled a little. The conversation lagged.

William broke the silence. "Are you hungry? Let me take you out to dinner. There is so much to catch up on."

"Would you mind if we did take away instead? All the restaurants are going to be full of noisy, happy families and I'm not sure I'm up to that right now." William mused that she was a true Brit now, referring to "take away" instead of the American version,"carry out".

"Sure, anything you want. What's your favorite?"

"There's a great Indian place just around the corner. Their naan and papadans are to die for. I have discovered that Butter chicken is food sent from the Gods to reward us for our good behavior." Lizzy said enthusiastically.

"Sounds good. We'll make a Brit out of you yet. You call, I run?" William replied.

Lizzy dialed the number she had memorized and placed the order. "They said 30 minutes. They're a bit backed up just now."

"No hurry. I've got no place else to go and nothing else to do." William looked at her. "I've missed you Lizzy. I thought about coming to see you. I wondered how you were doing so far from home. But, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to walk away again. I decided to wait until you graduated. Give you time to see where your world was going to take you, before," he stopped. They stared at each other.

"Before what, William?" asked Lizzy.

"Before, um, before I told you that, um, I have loved you all this time Lizzy. I didn't want you to feel that you had to change your life for me. That I didn't think your education was as important as mine. That I would want you to quit school or not get a chance at any job you wanted. It was hard to hear from Chuck how close you were to me, but not knowing if you would want to see me again."

The silence extended for an uncomfortable time.

"You love me?" Lizzy quietly asked. "Since. Since when?"

"Since the evening we talked about our future. Or rather our lack of one. I was so tempted to ask you to marry me then. But, I knew I couldn't. I shouldn't. I knew you had to do this. Had to have the chance to live a bit and see where life takes you. I wondered if you flew home for holidays. I thought about asking you to spend Christmas with my family when Chuck said you weren't going home last year. But I was afraid of your answer. I thought you must have moved on. Maybe met a fellow student who could make you happy. I just want you to be happy Lizzy. Whether that is with me, or, even if it is with someone else."

"William. I, um. I am not sure what to say." she paused. "I haven't dated any while I was here. I didn't even date seriously during my last year in high school. I think I was just comparing every guy to." she paused again. "To you. They didn't measure up. Either they were too stupid. Or too, um, handsy. Or too loquacious. Or too smooth. One date, maybe two was the most I could handle. You know it's really easy to get straight As when you spend all your time studying."

"Lizzy, my dear Lizzy. Do you think?" William paused. "Do you think we could have a future together? Would you be willing to move to the UK? If we got married, you wouldn't even need an H-1 visa!" She smiled. He took that as encouragement. "I know we haven't seen each other in five years. I would like to get to know you again and give you time to know more about me. After graduation what are your plans?"

"I fly home two days after the ceremony. My parents are going to throw me a party there and then we have to finish planning Jane's wedding. After that is done, I hope I will have heard back from some of the applications I had put out. The one in Kensington looks promising."

"Am I invited to your party?" he asked.

"Of course! I would love it. But that's a lot of money to spend for a weekend."

"Well, I thought I would stay for the wedding. I am the best man after all."

"What? How? We would have seen each other for the wedding! How can you take that much time off?"

"The wonders of technology, dear. As long as I have internet, I can work from just about anywhere."

"Even little old Meryton, Connecticut?"

"Yup, even there."

The timer went off on Lizzy's phone signaling time for William to pick up their take away. Lizzy set the table and opened a bottle of Kingfisher beer for William and a bottle of Fratelli wine for herself. By the time he returned they were both starving and tucked into the savory chicken and fresh naan like they hadn't eaten in a week.

After doing the washing up together, they sat on the couch in the living room, watching "Upstairs, Downstairs", a show Lizzy got into when she moved to the UK. She fell asleep on his lap and he gently woke her up about 11 PM.

"I should go find a hotel. I'll pick you up for the ceremony about 9 AM."

"Mmm,' she mumbled as she burrowed deeper into the covers on the couch.

"Come on sleepy head, off to bed with you." She didn't reply so he lifted her gently and carried her to her bed, tucking her in under the counterpane. She grabbed his hand as he tried to leave.

"Stay." she whispered. "My flatmate is spending the night at her boyfriend's house. Stay."

He was so tempted to stay. She was looking up at him through half closed lids. "Okay. Let me get changed. I'll be right back." He went off to the loo to change into sport shorts and a T-shirt and then set an alarm on his phone for 7 AM. By the time he got back, Lizzy was sound asleep and snoring softly. He snuggled under the covers and fell asleep next to her.