A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.
Chapter 8: Wake-Up Call
A couple of weeks later, Hyacinth threw her biggest, grandest, most successful candlelight supper yet, with Elizabeth as the guest of honor. Naturally, Emmet was there, and he came with Gracie and Gabriel. The vicar and his wife and many of their friends from church attended as well, along with even a couple of neighbors who lived on their street. And instead of being self-centered and obnoxious like she had been in the past, she was almost completely focused on the needs and comfort of the guest of honor, and everyone there found Hyacinth's great concern for Elizabeth to be most endearing. And during that unforgettable night, Hyacinth discovered a very deep truth: that she could find far more joy and satisfaction out of showing love to others and taking care of the needs of others than she ever could out of trying to impress the upper class through pretense.
This attitude in Hyacinth was still very much present in her when she invited – not ordered – Elizabeth over to her house for coffee the next morning. As soon as Hyacinth saw Elizabeth coming out of her house, she went over to Elizabeth's front door so she could walk with her to her back door on their way to her kitchen.
"Hello, dear. Let me walk with you," Hyacinth said kindly while wrapping a protective arm around her. "If you start to feel weak, just let me know and I'll support you."
Elizabeth chuckled and said, "That's very sweet of you, Hyacinth, but it's really not necessary. You don't have to worry. I'm fine."
"I know you are, love, but your poor body has really been through hell these past couple of months, and you can never be too careful," Hyacinth told her as they walked the short distance to her back door. "Did you get enough rest last night?" she asked as they walked through the back door into Hyacinth's kitchen.
"Oh, yes. I slept like a baby," Elizabeth assured her.
"That's good. I was worried that perhaps I might have held your candlelight supper too soon; that it was too much excitement for you with you just barely being two weeks out of the hospital. I was afraid that perhaps I'd let you overexert yourself and tired you out too much."
"I appreciate all the concern, Hyacinth, but you really are worrying too much. I didn't overexert myself last night. Not at all. In fact, I really had a wonderful time, and so did Emmet. I think it did us both a power of good. And I think Emmet's new girlfriend and her son enjoyed it almost as much as we did."
"I'm very glad to hear it. Go ahead and sit down, Elizabeth. Sit anywhere you like, and I'll get your coffee. I know your doctor told you that you can't have caffeine anymore because of your heart, so I'll be serving you decaf."
"Thank you, Hyacinth. That's very kind of you."
"Of course. After all, we mustn't disobey your doctor's orders," said Hyacinth as she poured the pot of decaf coffee she'd made into two beakers and putting them on a tray sitting on the counter nearby. She then put some cream and sugar on the tray and carried it to the kitchen table before taking her usual seat across from Elizabeth, facing the window.
Over the next few minutes, Hyacinth and Elizabeth just enjoyed a nice little chat, but then when the telephone suddenly rang, it startled Elizabeth, and she accidentally knocked her beaker of coffee over with her weak left arm. Thankfully, none of the coffee spilled onto her weaker arm, but it certainly spilled out all over Hyacinth's kitchen table.
"Elizabeth!" Hyacinth cried out in that instant, and she immediately came around to where Elizabeth was sitting. Then, she asked in a very worried tone, "Is your arm alright? Have you hurt your arm?"
"No, no, Hyacinth. My arm's fine," Elizabeth reassured her.
"Oh, thank You, Jesus," said Hyacinth with a big sigh of relief while looking up. "Is your heart alright? I know you were startled. Did that affect your heart?"
"I'm fine, Hyacinth," Elizabeth insisted. "Both my arm and my heart are just fine. It's just your table you need to worry about. And your phone call."
"Oh, who cares?" said Hyacinth with a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's just a silly little table. And as for the phone call, it's probably just Violet calling to complain to me about one of Bruce's foolish stunts. Or Daisy calling to tell me that Daddy's run off chasing after another love interest of his. Or Sheridan calling to ask for money. They'll be perfectly alright for a little bit. They can all just hold their horses a minute or two."
"Like I said, Hyacinth, I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine. Why don't you go answer the phone and while you're doing that, I'll clean up in here."
"You'll do no such thing. You're a guest. I'll go answer the phone and then I'll clean up in here myself. I'll be right back," Hyacinth told Elizabeth, and then she rushed to the telephone. But while Hyacinth was talking on the phone, Elizabeth went ahead and started cleaning up the kitchen table with her strong right arm, even though she knew Hyacinth didn't want her to, because she felt so guilty about it.
"Elizabeth, what do you think you're doing?" Hyacinth asked in a loving yet scolding tone of voice, much like a worried mother speaking to her sick child, when she came back into the kitchen a few moments later.
"I know you didn't want me to do it, Hyacinth, but I really wanted to take care of it myself since it's my fault it happened in the first place," Elizabeth explained.
Hyacinth came up to Elizabeth in that moment, put her hands on her upper arms, looked her in the eyes, shook her head, and lovingly told her, "It is not your fault that it happened, Elizabeth. It's mine. It is completely my fault. The reason you got startled and spilled your coffee the instant the phone rang is because for years, you have had to put up with me and my impossible attitude and me making you so self-conscious over every tiny little insignificant detail. Because for years, I cared more about the periwinkles on my Royal Doulton set than I did about human beings. I've been awful to you, Elizabeth, absolutely awful, for a very long time, and I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry. I just hope you can forgive me for being such a selfish fool all this time."
"Oh, Hyacinth," Elizabeth said lovingly, and then she gave her a big, long hug. "I forgave you ages ago."
"You have a very big and generous heart, Elizabeth," Hyacinth told her through her tears, and then the embrace ended.
"And you do as well, Hyacinth," Elizabeth told her kindly, but Hyacinth shook her head. "I don't know what Emmet and I would've done without you these past couple of months. You really kept us going during that terrible time in our lives. You really were there for both of us when we needed you the most."
Again, Hyacinth shook her head, and she admitted to Elizabeth, "I may have been there for you and Emmet during your recovery in the hospital, but up to that point in time, I was a very poor excuse for a friend, Elizabeth, and you know that just as much as I do. Half the time, I treated you more like a servant than like a friend. I ordered you about all the time. I walked all over you and I constantly disrespected you. Lord knows I never really appreciated you until the accident. And it never should have taken such a horrific car wreck and you being at death's door to get me to realize how wonderful you are and to get me to stop taking you for granted. If I'd really been a true friend to you all this time, I would've started appreciating you way before now."
"Oh, well. You know the old saying: better late than never."
"True."
"And anyway, as far as Emmet and I are concerned, it's all water under the bridge now. So why don't we just move on and start getting this table of yours cleaned up, huh?"
"I'll take care of it, Elizabeth. You just sit down and relax. I know you keep insisting that you're fine, but even so, I don't want you overdoing it. You haven't been out of the hospital that long and you really should rest and relax and take it easy now. I know you want to help, but what would help my heart the most right now is seeing you sitting down and relaxing."
"Very well, Hyacinth. If you insist."
"I insist," Hyacinth told her with a smile, and Elizabeth smiled in return, and then she sat down again while Hyacinth finished cleaning up the kitchen table.
"If you don't mind my asking, Hyacinth, who was on the telephone earlier?" Elizabeth asked as Hyacinth poured her another cup of coffee and brought it to her.
"Oh, it was just Richard," Hyacinth replied after sitting down again. "He had to go into town and run a couple of quick errands and he called to ask if I wanted him to pick anything up from the store before coming home."
"Oh, I see. That was very thoughtful," said Elizabeth as she put cream and sugar into her coffee.
"Yes, it was. Richard's always such a dear. I think this whole thing has been a giant wake-up call to me from the Almighty. It wasn't just you and your friendship I've been taking for granted for a long time now; I also see it that I've been taking Richard for granted even more. But never again. Never, ever again."
"I know exactly what you mean. It's been a giant wake-up call to me, too. I don't think I've ever been more grateful to God for my life and my family and friends and my health than I am today."
"Neither have I. I think it's been a giant wake-up call to us all. I may have been blind and asleep before, but now, my eyes are wide open, and I am never shutting them again."
"I'll drink to that," said Elizabeth while holding out her cup of coffee, and Hyacinth responded by clinking her cup with Elizabeth's. And as they drank their (decaf) coffee together, they both found themselves appreciating each other's presence more than ever before.