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Chapter Seven

By the time Charlie's date rolled around, Elisabeth was ready to kill her cousin. Not only had Charlie awakened her at the crack of dawn, panicked because she'd looked through her entire wardrobe and found nothing suitable, but she'd insisted on going to Decatur to shop.

"It is seven-thirty, Charlie! For God's sake! Nothing opens until ten."

"Sears opens at nine, I think. Besides, if you get up and take your shower now, you'll be ready by eight-thirty so we'll get there right as they open."

Elisabeth was about to make a cutting comment when her stomach gave an abrupt roll. With a groan, Elisabeth frantically motioned Charlie out of the way as she ran to the bathroom. She made it with just enough time to spare.

"Dammit," she hissed when she was able to catch her breath. "What is wrong with me?"

"You must have some bizarre virus," Charlie answered from the doorway.

"Go away," she muttered.

"This has been going on for three days, Elisabeth. I'm not going away. I'm taking you to a doctor."

"Oh, no, you're not." Elisabeth had a great deal of dislike for doctors. She'd seen far too many of them when her father was dying, all of them with that smugness which she absolutely loathed, all of them giving dumb advice such as "prepare yourself for the worst."

None of them could say, "Try to make every day with him count. Try to make his last days happy."

Just doomsday predictions that, of course, came true.

"Come on, El. At least go see Dr. Hewitt. She's nice."

"I don't care if she's as nice as Barney the Dinosaur, she's still got an M.D. after her name. I've just got the flu, nothing more, and I don't need to see a doctor for that. They charge too much and they don't do squat."

"If you're not better in a few days, I'm knocking you out and dragging you there myself. You could be seriously ill, you know."

"But I'm not. No one dies of the flu."

"Remind me to loan you my copy of The Stand."

"Har har."

So Elisabeth had called in sick, something she hated to do but knew Sean would understand, and had Charlie go out to buy her 7Up and a box of crackers.

Three hours later, when Charlie returned, she had a sack with the items Elisabeth had sent her after in one hand and a clothes box in the other.

"Where'd you go-Alaska?"

"No, I went to Mattoon."

Elisabeth glared at her. "I could've used these things about an hour ago," she said, snatching the bag with the food in it when Charlie handed it to her.

"I'm sorry, but I knew Effingham wasn't going to have anything I wanted. So I went to Mattoon, and I found this!" Charlie opened the box with a flourish, beaming. "What do you think?"

Nestled inside the box was a very pretty aquamarine cotton long-sleeved shirt. "Nice," Elisabeth said.

"Thank you. Worth every penny, too."

Elisabeth thought that would be the end of it, but she hadn't figured on Charlie fretting over everything from her hair to makeup to shoes. Elisabeth was ready to rip Charlie's hair out, thus alleviating her of the hair problem, but she was feeling too weak to do much more than sip her soda, eat the occasional cracker, and read the latest edition of Cosmopolitan which Charlie had been sweet enough to bring her.

By late afternoon, Elisabeth was feeling much better but pretending she was still sick to avoid getting dragged into Charlie's date preparation any more than she already was. Under normal circumstances, she would've felt guilty about her attitude. Charlie, underneath her sharp wit and warm heart, was extremely shy, which was why this, a first date, was a big deal.

And Elisabeth had to be Scrooge and the Grinch all rolled into one by feeling lousy and wishing that she'd chosen any other time to be going out on a first date. But she couldn't help it.

All she prayed for as the clock got closer to six was that Darcy was prompt. Then she could go back to sleep.

Darcy was nothing if not prompt. He tapped on Charlie's door right at six o'clock and waited for it to be answered.

A minute later, the door swung open and there stood Elisabeth Bennet.

"Hello," she said. "Charlie's about ready, so come in and make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you." Darcy couldn't help being uncomfortable around her, considering that yesterday they'd been at each other's throats. But she hadn't growled at him the moment she'd opened the door, so maybe cool and collected was the best way to play it. He took a quick look around the apartment.

It was pretty much like his, except they didn't have the vaulted ceilings like he did. Their décor was pretty much to be expected for a pair of young women with little money-mismatched chairs and sofa, battered coffee table, dining room table that, what little he could see of it, had been scribbled on in black marker.

Darcy sat on the orange sofa and thought he was about to fall through to the floor, it was so low.

"Oops," Elisabeth said. "I should've warned you not to sit there. Tall people have a bit of trouble with it."

"I noticed," he muttered.

Elisabeth had situated herself in a large overstuffed chair facing the kitchen. Apparently, she didn't have anything more to say to him because she picked up the copy of Cosmopolitan she'd discarded to answer the door and raised it high enough to avoid looking at him.

So I guess she's still mad at me.

It was on the tip of Darcy's tongue to apologize, Charlie's advice haunting him, but no matter how many times he tried to phrase it, the words wouldn't come out. He noticed a glass of 7Up and a package of crackers sitting on the end table next to Elisabeth's elbow.

"Have you been sick?" he asked.

She slowly lowered the magazine. "Yes," she replied coolly. "But I'm feeling better now, thank you."

"That's good." Darcy cleared his throat and tried again. "I guess maybe that's what caused you to faint yesterday."

"Perhaps." Elisabeth turned her attention back to her magazine.

Darcy was about to muster his courage and say he was sorry when he heard the door to one of the bedrooms open, then footsteps coming down the hall and into the room.

"I didn't keep you long, did I?" Charlie asked as she stepped hesitantly into the room.

Darcy struggled to his feet but managed to stand up. "No, not at all," he said with a smile. "It was worth waiting for."

And it was the truth. Charlie's golden brown hair was arranged in tidy curls tumbling down to the middle of her back, the sides pulled away from her face with a gold clip. Darcy hadn't realized her hair was quite so long. Gone were the glasses, replaced with contact lenses for the evening. She'd applied only a few cosmetics, which was to her advantage because Darcy didn't care for heavily made-up young women.

She wore a long-sleeved aquamarine shirt with blue jeans and white dress shoes without heels. He wondered at the long sleeves in this weather, but didn't comment on it.

"You look lovely," he told her.

"You lie, but thanks anyway," Charlie replied, smiling. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes." Darcy sneaked a glance at Elisabeth, who was beaming at Charlie.

"Have a good time, you two," Elisabeth said as Charlie reached for her purse. "And don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"You know me, El."

"That's what worries me."

Charlie laughed as Darcy held the door for her to go out of. Before he could pull it closed, Elisabeth hissed, "Darcy!"

He looked at her. Elisabeth darted from her chair to the doorway, frowning at him. "If you hurt her in any way, you'll wish you'd never walked into Planet Earth Pizza," she said.

Darcy took a step back. "Is that a threat?" he asked blankly.

"No. It's a promise." And with that, she slammed the door.

Darcy turned away from the door to see Charlie looking at him murderously.

Now what did I do?

Only he realized she wasn't glaring at him. She was glaring at the shut door.

"I'm going to kill her when I get home," Charlie grumbled as she opened the door to the apartment building and waited for him to walk outside. "I'll bet you anything she's standing at the kitchen window, watching us. If she is, I'm peeling the hide off her when we get back."

"In addition to killing her?" Darcy asked as he stepped outside.

Charlie let the door shut and didn't say anything for a second. Then she chuckled.

"Good point," she said. "I'm right, though." She pointed to the kitchen window. Darcy glanced in that direction just in time to see the blinds snap shut.

"You have to admire her," Darcy said, surprising himself as they walked to his car.

"You do?"

"Yes. There's only one person in this world I'd protect like that." Darcy opened the passenger door for her.

"Your sister?" Charlie asked as she slid into the seat.

Darcy nodded. "I think it's nice that Elisabeth cares enough about you to worry about you."

Charlie snorted. "She thinks I'm this fragile little flower she needs to protect from the big, bad world."

Darcy shut the door and walked around to the driver's side and got into the car. He put his key in the ignition and prayed the car would start. With a satisfying hum, it did.

"Thank God," he mumbled.

"I was just thinking the same thing."

Darcy looked at her for only a second before the two of them laughed. He pulled out of his parking space and then stopped. "You do realize that you're going to have to tell me how to get there, don't you?"

"Not a problem. I delivered pizzas for about nine months after I graduated from college because it was more hours and what I thought was better money. It wasn't until I realized how much wear and tear it was putting on my car-not to mention that I wasn't making nearly the tips I was as a server-that I quit doing it."

"You went to college?" Darcy asked, then mentally smacked himself in the head. Of course she'd gone to college if she was a crisis counselor!

But Charlie didn't seem to take offense at that. "Yes, I went to college," she replied. "Four fun-filled years at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, as a matter of fact." Oddly enough, she sounded bitter.

"Bad experiences at college?" he asked.

"No, not really...turn right here and go straight until we get over the overpass to the Baptist church on the right corner. College was fun, for the most part. I had some real witches for roommates my last year, but other than that, it was good. Why do you ask?"

"You didn't sound like you had a lot of fun."

"It's not the college years I regret. It's what's happened since then." Charlie looked out the passenger side window and fell silent.

Darcy sensed that this was a taboo subject with her.

"Where did you go to college?" she asked.

"Harvard."

"Did you enjoy it there?"

There was a red stoplight up ahead. He slowed down. "I suppose I did."

"You suppose you did? Did you or didn't you?"

Darcy drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the light to turn green. "I did. I attended classes and made good grades and made my aunt and sister proud of me."

"Were you proud of yourself?"

Darcy frowned at her. Just what was she trying to do? Analyze him on their first date?

"Yes," he said shortly, then felt guilty as Charlie turned away from him again.

"Turn left at the stop light," Charlie said quietly after they'd crossed the overpass. "Then you go straight all the way to Jumpin' Jimmy's."

"What's that?" he asked.

"A gas station."

An uneasy silence filled the car as he continued driving, a silence only broken by Charlie's directions to the restaurant. By the time Darcy pulled into the parking lot of TGI Friday's, he had a bad feeling that he was going to be in a great deal of trouble with one Elisabeth Bennet by the time this evening was over.

A sharp knocking on the door woke her up. Elisabeth figured she could ignore it but whoever was knocking wouldn't let up. With a groan, she got up from her bed and shuffled her way to the front door.

Maybe it's Charlie, home and ready for me to kick Darcy's butt. I'm just in the mood.

"Who is it?" she snapped.

"Jenna."

With a brief sigh of relief, Elisabeth opened the door and let her sister inside. Jenna looked her over carefully.

"Charlie was right-you look like hell," Jenna said in her matter-of-fact way as she stepped inside.

"Gee, thanks. Do the two of you have nothing better to do but tell me how bad I look? This is the second time in a week."

"Sorry, El, but I haven't seen you this run-down since the time you got mono."

Elisabeth shut the door and let her sister's words sink in. "Ohh! I'm such an idiot!"

Jenna sat on the couch. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I've been driving myself and Charlie crazy-"

"Yeah, I know. That's why she called."

"Did she also happen to tell you that she's been returning the favor?"

"Has she? Why?"

"She had a date tonight."

Jenna gaped at her sister. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

"That's terrific! Charlie hasn't had a date since...since..."

"Since that time her friend Shannon set her up on a blind date that went nowhere," Elisabeth finished. "And that was nearly eight years ago." She flopped into Charlie's chair.

"With whom?"

"Brian something...no, wait. Brian was the guy who spat beer into her hair. Jeff...no, he was Shannon's boyfriend. Well, I thought I remembered who it was."

Jenna's eyes narrowed. "Not him. The guy she's gone out with tonight."

"Oh, him." Elisabeth snorted. "Our upstairs neighbor, Darcy Williamson."

"The one you don't like?"

"I wouldn't go that far. I would say that I'm well on the way to disliking him, but right now I have no opinion of him. I'm trying to keep it that way because I have to work with him."

"I hope the fact that Charlie's interested in him is part of your reason as well."

"Now it is."

"So, what does he look like? Let me guess. Tall, dark, muscular and handsome?"

"Tall, yes. Blond, dark blue eyes, in good shape...I suppose. Handsome...well, I suppose he is to Charlie."

"And not to you?"

"You know that I like the dark, brooding artist types."

"Hmm."

Elisabeth eyed her sister with suspicion before frowning. "Don't think I don't know what you're getting at. You're still on that Pride and Prejudice kick, aren't you?"

Jenna gave her a look one might give a person who was in need of heavy psychotherapy. "No. I was just thinking happy thoughts for Charlie and trying to get a good picture of what this guy looks like."

Elisabeth was tempted to add that she could add a perpetual sneer on his lips and a disdainful look in his eyes to get an accurate picture, but she decided not to bother. Why spoil Jenna's happiness about Charlie's date?

"To go back to my original question and the purpose of my visit, why are you an idiot?" Jenna asked.

"Because I didn't know what was wrong with me, or I thought I didn't. Dizzy spells, nausea, exhaustion...aren't those symptoms of mono?"

"I'm not a doctor, El."

"Well, I seem to remember being really tired when I had it. I'll bet you a dollar that's what's wrong with me now."

"Then go to the doctor and get some medicine. That'll take care of it."

"Yeah, yeah. Charlie's already threatening to drag me to Dr. Hewitt's office next week."

"Don't fight it."

"I'm not, but the only reason I agreed to go is because Charlie assures me Dr. Hewitt isn't a quack."

"She's the doctor who ordered blood work and a biopsy when Charlie went to see her, which is more than the doctor Charlie was seeing before did."

Elisabeth snorted. "And you wonder why I hate doctors. When they get to be as old as Charlie's former family practitioner, they think they know everything when they don't know squat."

Jenna nodded her head. She hesitated before speaking again. "Are you honestly happy that Charlie's out on this date?"

Elisabeth frowned. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you don't like the guy." Elisabeth was about to protest, but Jenna amended her statement. "Okay, someone you don't have a good opinion of, let's put it that way."

Elisabeth thought about her answer before giving it. "I'll admit, if I had to pick someone for Charlie, it wouldn't be him."

"Why?"

"Not because I don't like him-God knows, I've dated enough guys Charlie's given the evil eye to. It never stopped me and I would hope it wouldn't stop her." Elisabeth smiled. "Actually, I wish it had stopped me. Those guys were real losers. But...Charlie's vulnerable. She's innocent. She reminds me of me at fifteen, only she's twenty-five."

"She's not stupid, you know." Jenna toyed with a throw pillow. "Do you think Darcy would take advantage of her?"

"The man has ice water for blood. I doubt it would occur to him. I just don't want to see her getting hurt, and I think he could be the one to do it."

"Well, you know what Daddy always used to say. There's nothing a girl likes more than being lovesick over a boy."

"Daddy said that when we were twelve, Jen. We didn't know better then."

Jenna sighed. "True."

Fortunately for Darcy, the awkward silence from the car didn't carry long into their meal. After ordering, he started the conversation by saying, "I'm sorry."

Charlie looked up from her glass of lemonade and asked, "For what?"

"I think I upset you in the car. I didn't mean to do that. I just felt like you were trying to analyze me."

"It's okay," she replied. "I probably was trying to do that. Call it an occupational hazard." And then she smiled, which made him relax.

"At the risk of getting in more trouble, would it be possible for me to ask you a personal question?"

Charlie's eyebrows rose and she nodded.

"On Tuesday, I noticed you were wearing these strange glasses. Yesterday, you didn't wear them and you're not wearing them today. Is there any reason why you wear them?"

Charlie sighed and put a hand to her temples. "I get asked that question a lot," she said quietly.

"I shouldn't have asked. Never mind."

"No, it's okay. I'm used to the question."

"Which means you're also tired of answering it."

Charlie paused for a moment before saying, "Yeah, because people aren't really sure how to take it when I tell them I have skin cancer."

Darcy's eyes widened. "Cancer?" When she nodded, he said, "Aren't you rather young to have skin cancer?"

"If what I had was what people normally think of when they think of skin cancer, you'd be right. What I have is called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma."

"I've never heard of it."

"You're not alone. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't know what the hell it is, either." Charlie took a drink. "I probably need something stronger than lemonade to get through this tale."

"Would you like...?"

"No, but thanks anyway." Charlie took a deep breath. "About five years ago, I started to notice these funny bumps on the tops of my hands. I thought maybe I was allergic to something, but I wasn't coming into contact with anything I hadn't before. A few months later, I had patches of these bumps on my arms and on my lower legs." She folded her arms over her chest. "I started using hydrocortisone cream on the worst of the spots, which helped a little but never cleared the patches up completely. I went to see my family doctor about a year after they first appeared. He told me that all I had was dry skin. He said that blondes and redheads were prone to these types of conditions during the winter. He said nothing was wrong with me." Charlie's jaw set and her voice was very cold. "He didn't suggest any tests or a biopsy or anything. He didn't give me a prescription for medication which might clear it up. He did nothing. If I'd been younger, he'd have patted me on the head and called me a silly goose."

"So you sought a second opinion and they discovered the cancer." Darcy took a healthy drink of his Coke.

"Not exactly. I went back to that clinic about three months later and asked to see a different doctor, Dr. Hewitt. Looking at my records and seeing that there's a history of diabetes in my family, she ordered blood work and a biopsy. The blood work came back normal. The biopsy wasn't conclusive for anything. The official diagnosis was 'generalized skin condition of unknown origin.' I was given a special cream and told that if it got worse, I would need to see a dermatologist."

Charlie looked directly at him. "Have you ever been in serious denial about something?"

"Yes, I think so."

"That's how I got about my skin. The cream worked for a while, but the patches continued to spread and sometimes got irritated. I told myself that there was nothing really wrong with me, it was just some funky skin problem that was unsightly but nothing to worry about. I told myself that if it had been something serious, that biopsy would've revealed it. About a year and a half ago, I pulled my head out of the sand and went to see a dermatologist."

"And that's when you found out what it really was."

Charlie nodded. "It's likely that I wouldn't have found out what it really was even if I'd had half a dozen biopsies between the first one and the one that came back positive last September."

"Last September? But I thought you said-"

"I did. I had a bunch of tests run last February that came back negative for cancer. I was told to come back in six months, and when I did, that's when it finally showed up." Charlie sighed. "They say that's about the average time between the first outbreak and diagnosis."

Darcy shook his head. "It's the most unusual thing I've ever heard of."

"I know." Charlie smiled briefly. "I bet you're thinking that this is a long answer for a pretty simple question."

"No, I wasn't. You're just telling me about things I would've asked about."

Charlie took another drink before reaching underneath the table and pulling up her purse. She rooted through it until she came across what she was looking for. She handed him a picture.

In the picture, Charlie was sitting under an oak tree with a cigarette in one hand and giving the finger to the person taking the picture with the other.

"This was taken three weeks after I started treatment. See those red spots on my arms?"

"Yeah."

Charlie rolled up the sleeves of her shirt. "I had spots like that on about forty percent of my body. This is how they're looking now." She extended her arms, which were virtually blemish-free. "My doctor is very impressed with how well I'm responding to the lights."

"Lights?"

"Phototherapy. Ultraviolet A lights. I take a bunch of pills about an hour and a half before I go to the doctor's office, where I stand in a light booth for about nine minutes. The pills I take make me sensitive to ultraviolet light-like what you get from the sun. The reason I wear the funny glasses is because they protect my eyes from sunlight. If I don't wear them for twenty-four hours after I take the pills, I risk going blind." Charlie started rolling her sleeves back down. "I also have to keep myself covered up or I'll get too much sun and run the risk of getting the other types of skin cancer later in life."

"Will you have to do this for the rest of your life?" Darcy asked.

"No. My doctor thinks I'll probably be able to stop the treatments by the end of the year. But like every other kind of cancer, there's a good chance it'll come back someday, so I'll have to have checks every year for the rest of my life." She sighed. "You know, it's so ironic. I've never visited a tanning bed in all my life, unlike my sister Danie, and I wasn't the outdoors type, like Andie. But I'm the one who got skin cancer in the end."

"How do they think you got it?"

She shrugged. "Mutant gene somewhere, I guess. The same way most people get cancer."

"Does it ever make you bitter?"

"No." She shook her head for emphasis. "Look at those innocent kids you're always seeing on TV who have far worse things than I've got. What I have is the pesky gnat of cancers. I mean, you don't want to get cancer at all if you can avoid it, but if you have to have it, what I've got isn't so bad. The treatments don't make me sick, I haven't lost my hair, and I have the best tan I've ever had in my life. Better than either of my sisters'. And the most important thing is, it's going away. One day very soon, it's going to be gone altogether. That's what I try to focus on."

"Seems like a good attitude to have. I know a lot of women who would probably be suicidal if they had skin cancer."

"Yeah, well, I have my days." Charlie looked down at her table setting. "Late at night, when I'm trying to sleep, sometimes I start to fear that it's going to come back, only this time it's going to be so bad the lights won't work. Sometimes I want to scream at God for doing this to me. When someone asks me why I wear the glasses, I want to snap that it's none of their business. Things like that. Then I get to feeling guilty about it."

"I don't think anyone would blame you if you did do something like that."

"Yeah?" Charlie fiddled with her wrapped silverware. "Right around the time I found out what I had might be cancerous, Erin's husband was diagnosed with bone cancer. His prognosis wasn't good."

Darcy was taken aback. He'd worked with Erin yesterday and today and she hadn't said a word about it. "I didn't know she was married," he said.

Charlie looked right at him again. "She isn't anymore," she said softly. "So now you see why I don't complain about my skin problem."

Just then, their meals arrived. After they'd been served, Charlie smiled wistfully. "I'll bet you're regretting that you asked," she said.

"Not at all," Darcy reassured her. "I'm glad you told me. I might've made some asinine assumption if you hadn't. Thank you for telling me."

"I'd say you're welcome, but I'm not sure that's the right response to make."

Darcy had been about to take a bite of his chicken sandwich when he startled himself by laughing. He was relieved when Charlie joined him.

"By the way, I thought I'd better remind you now about Lydia's birthday," Jenna said as she took a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator.

"What?" Elisabeth stood at the entrance to the kitchen, watching her sister crack an egg into the skillet.

"Lydia's birthday. It's next month, remember?"

"Why would I care to know about that?" Elisabeth asked.

"Because Ma's having a special dinner for her. You know how she gets about birthdays." Jenna cracked another egg.

"You couldn't tell it from my end. I was surprised when I got a phone call from her on my birthday last year."

"Well, then let's just say she gets this way about Lydia's birthdays, then. She's already worrying about what to serve. She wants me to make my homemade beef stew."

"That was my recipe, swiped from an ex-boyfriend. How did it wind up being your homemade beef stew?"

"El..." Jenna sighed. "I know what you think about Ma, but I wish you could try a little harder to get along with her."

"I don't see the point. She sees me as the mistake she had in between two gems. Even when Daddy was alive, she was like that."

"No, she wasn't." Jenna broke the yolks.

"She was. Don't you remember how she used to describe us to people? 'My oldest daughter, Jenna, is so smart and beautiful. Straight A's, 1330 on her SATs, going to St. Louis University to study psychology. My youngest daughter, Lydia, is so talented and sweet. Such an active girl! Oh, my middle daughter? Well, Elisabeth is Elisabeth.'"

"She never said that. She always said you were unique."

"In such a way to make it an insult. And even if that were my only problem with her, there's still the matter of her marrying Mel barely a year after Daddy died."

Jenna was silent on this point. Ordinarily, Elisabeth would take this as a sign that Jenna couldn't argue the point, but the way her sister wouldn't meet her eyes made her suspicious.

"Jenna...you do agree with me that she married way too soon after Daddy died, don't you?"

"You guys still keeping the bread in the fridge?" Jenna opened the refrigerator door to look.

"Jenna!"

Finding what she was looking for, Jenna shut the door again. "Look, El, last year I would've agreed that Ma should've waited to get married. But my point of view's changed a bit since then. You have no idea how lonely it is being on your own."

Elisabeth huffed. "She had you and Lydia."

"Come on. I was in school and you know Lydia. And to be quite honest, I think Ma's always been the type who needed a man around to feel secure. Mel came along at the right time for her."

"Mel is a jerk who came sniffing around a woman he thought had money."

"If that were the case, then why is he still around?" Jenna stuck two pieces of toast in the toaster oven and turned the knob.

Elisabeth shrugged.

"You just don't want to like him because he's not our father. And I can understand that. Of the three of us, you were the closest to Daddy. I just wish you'd give him a chance. You'd be surprised at what a nice guy he is."

"Don't go analyzing me, Jen, I'm really not in the mood."

"Okay, okay. I'll just finish making you a nice healthy supper and go."

Elisabeth sighed. She could tell that Jenna was irritated. Jenna always got irritated when it came to a situation she considered unfair.

But then, Elisabeth got irritated when Jenna played do-gooder. It wasn't because she thought it was insincere, but rather because she knew it was genuine.

"I wish I could see things the way you do," Elisabeth said quietly as Jenna flipped the eggs. "I wish things were as simple to me as they are to you."

Jenna hesitated, her spatula over the skillet. "I don't think things are simple," she said.

"I didn't mean it that way. I meant...you're able to figure things out better than I can. Life isn't full of crap to you the way it is to me. You see Ma and Mel being happy together whereas I can only see the fact that Daddy's dead and Ma's with another man. You could probably meet Darcy Williamson and think he's a great guy, worthy of Charlie. I only see the guy who called me 'tolerable' and told me I'd be dead soon if I didn't quit smoking."

"We all tell you that, El."

"I know that, but you know me. He doesn't, so where does he get off telling me that?"

Jenna flipped the eggs skillfully onto a plate, then took the toast out of the toaster. When she was finished, she walked past Elisabeth to the dining room table, where she set the plate on a small space she'd cleared before cooking. "Eat, and forget about Darcy Williamson...and Ma."

"But not about Lydia's birthday. Did Ma ask you to remind me?"

"No, she didn't. I just thought I'd get a head start on reminding you so could be sure to ask off for that day."

"She's having an all-day party?"

"No, it's going to be dinner, but I know you. You'll need all day to run out and buy her a present."

Elisabeth's eyes narrowed. "I'm not buying her a present. I'm just going to get her a card."

"El!"

"C'mon, Jen. The last time I got a birthday present from Lydia, George Bush Senior was in the White House. No way am I spending a dime on her. I'll just buy her a nice card."

Jenna shook her head, her feelings made clear to Elisabeth. Elisabeth was determined that no matter how much Jenna cajoled or tried to play the guilt card, she was holding firm on this.

It was nearly ten before Darcy and Charlie started back to the apartment complex. They'd spend a delightful time together, at least Darcy had thought so. He was startled by the ease with which he was able to talk to Charlie. He hadn't revealed the real reason he was in Effingham to her-he was afraid she'd tell Elisabeth, which was the last thing he needed-but they'd talked about darn near everything else. Through Charlie's eyes, he'd gotten a better idea of the people he was going to be working with for the next year.

She would've been surprised to hear how close her opinions were to those of George Wickham. They differed on one major point, of course, that being Elisabeth, but Charlie was allowed to be biased since the woman was her cousin and roommate. But she did have some good things to say about people she obviously didn't care much for, such as the Benson sisters and their cohort, Lucy Steele.

"They're not bad most of the time," Charlie had said. "They're fun to be around. All you have to do is remember to watch yourself around them because just when you think you're on good standing with them, they stick a fork in your back."

He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car. "I had a wonderful time this evening," Darcy told her.

Charlie smiled, and he was struck again by how lovely her smile was. "So did I," she replied.

Darcy decided not to waste time. "Do you think you'd want to go out with me again sometime?"

"Absolutely."

"Really?"

Charlie nodded. "Have you ever been bowling before?"

Darcy hesitated. "Uh, no. Not that I recall." And he wasn't sure it sounded all that interesting.

When he looked at Charlie, he knew his hesitation told her everything he was thinking. It was rather unnerving.

"You're gonna love it, trust me. Say Monday night, seven? A group of us from work get together...pretty much everyone on the day shift except Erin because she has to work."

Without warning, a memory flashed through his mind...

His father, dressed in a hideous green shirt with his name on it, Meryton Maulers on the back. A group of men in similar shirts...

"Keep an eye on your old man, Dare! Watch how an expert gets the 7-10 split!" Ron Williamson called out, ignoring the razzing he got from his friends.

Dare Williamson, eight years old, watched his dad throw a heavy black ball down the alley with great skill. The ball knocked one pin across the way into the other one. The men cheered. Dare cheered, too, because he knew how tough that was. His father slapped him on the back and said, "Someday, son, I'm gonna teach you all the tricks to it."

"Can't you show me now, Dad?" Dare asked eagerly.

The other men laughed as his father shook his head. "We're playing for the league championship tonight, but someday soon. Don't worry."

"Damn fine kid you got there, Ron," one of his dad's friends said. "Almost makes me wish I had one myself."

Another one of the men snorted. "You'd have to find a woman that wants ya first, Bertram."

Dare laughed along with the rest, happy and content and knowing that nothing could be better than being with his dad.

"Darcy?"

He blinked several times, realizing with a flush that he'd been ignoring Charlie. "I'm sorry," he said. "I was just thinking of my father."

"Oh, I see. Was it good or bad?"

"It was good. Most of my memories of my father are good."

He could tell she wanted to ask what he'd been thinking about, but she didn't. Instead, she asked, "So, are we on for bowling Monday?"

Darcy thought about his father...and smiled. "Yes. I'd love to go bowling."

Chapter Eight

When the alarm clock woke Elisabeth up on Friday morning, the first thing she did was look out her bedroom window. The sky was gray and unpromising, but she smiled. It was going to be a busy day at the store today, she could just feel it. For the first time all week, she was excited about going to work, which was a miracle considering that she would have to work all day.

But first...

She was going to have to apologize to Darcy, who was working the afternoon shift.

Elisabeth had chickened out last night by going to bed before Charlie could come in. She had told herself she was giving Charlie and Darcy privacy if they wanted it, but when she'd heard footsteps walking up the stairs at the same time a key was turned in the lock, she'd admitted to herself that she hadn't wanted to face her cousin.

She'd tossed and turned for nearly an hour before finally dropping off to sleep, pondering over Jenna's last words to her before she'd left.

"You make too much of your first impressions of people," she'd said. "You always have. You thought Mel was a fortune hunter and you haven't changed your opinion of him even when he proved you wrong. You think Darcy is a jerk, but if Charlie thought enough of him to be out with him tonight, then maybe you're wrong about him as well."

Deep in her heart, Elisabeth knew she'd been acting childish towards the newest employee of Planet Earth Pizza. When she reminded herself of his comment about her looks, and then his censorious attitude toward her smoking, a little voice in her head made sure to remind her about her overreaction to discovering he'd loosened her clothing and then the sarcasm of her apology.

She realized that she owed him a sincere apology. Of course, he owed her one, too, but she wasn't going to remind him of it. If he didn't offer her one, she would accept it and move on. She doubted they would ever be friends but for Charlie's sake, for the store's sake, they would get along together if it killed her. After making her decision, she'd felt a lot better about the whole situation and sleep came easy.

Elisabeth shut her alarm off and kicked her legs free of the sheets. She stretched her arms over her head, yawning. She stood up and raised herself up on tiptoe to stretch out her legs, then reached for her bathrobe and walked out of her room.

The sound of snoring greeted her from across the hallway. Elisabeth breathed a small sigh of relief-hopefully, she'd be able to avoid Charlie until much later tonight, although they would see each other eventually. Elisabeth worked from ten to eight, Charlie from four to nine. She walked into the bathroom and hopped into the bathtub for a quick shower.

Fifteen minutes later, she was dressed in her work outfit, needing only an apron to complete the look. She hoped she had a clean one at work, because the only two she had at home were both half-covered in sauce. She'd meant to do the laundry yesterday after she'd gotten off work, but her illness and Charlie's date had made any sensible thoughts flee her mind.

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was close to nine-thirty. She grabbed her keys and decided to get a donut at the Dixie Cream next door rather than have a quick bowl of cereal. She shut the door gently behind her so as not to disturb Charlie and made a mad dash to her car.

Yeah, you're really acting adult right now, El, sneaking out of the house like this.

Elisabeth drove to work listening to Bob and Tom on the radio. They were playing Sean Morey's "The Man Song," which always made her laugh. Her mood was extremely good as she drove into the parking lot and got even better when she noticed a Pepsi truck sitting in the parking lot.

"It's about time!" she said, but there was no frustration in her voice.

She parked next to Sean's truck and killed the engine. She was whistling "The Man Song" as she walked into the store via the driver's door.

"Good morning!" she called.

"Yeah!" Sean was in his office, so that was where Elisabeth headed. Sean was hunched over the keyboard of his computer, punching in next week's schedule. He tossed her a glance over his shoulder then returned to the computer. "You're looking better."

"I'm feeling a lot better. It's a good thing, too, because Charlie was threatening me with a visit to the doctor's office." Elisabeth smiled. "But today I'm in a good mood."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Uh-huh. What time is Darcy coming in?"

That got Sean to turn away from his computer screen. "Why?" he asked, frowning.

"Because I need to apologize to him for Wednesday-seriously this time."

"Good." Sean turned back to his computer. "I'll holler when he comes in."

Elisabeth walked into the break room and set her purse on a shelf in one corner. She took her cigarettes and lighter and lit a cigarette.

"Hey, Elisabeth! How's it going?" J.P. Thorpe walked into the room.

"Lovely," she replied coolly, her mood dimming slightly. I guess it would've been too perfect if I'd gotten to work with Chazz today, she thought. I gotta remember to find something to bribe Sean with.

It wasn't that Elisabeth hated him, because despite his annoying tendencies and his habit of blowing her off when she told him to do something resembling work, he did have a good sense of humor. She also knew (although she wasn't supposed to-Charlie had sworn her to absolute secrecy) that J.P. needed his job desperately. He'd been fired from just about everywhere else.

But the fact remained that he had to be prompted several times before he would do anything and dawdled while he worked. He played his car stereo too loud-something he'd been reprimanded for twice before-and drove too fast. Elisabeth lived in fear of the day she got the phone call saying he'd been in a car wreck or hit someone.

J.P. walked behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, massaging them. "I heard you've been sick," he said.

"I was," she said. "Bad case of the flu. You might want to stay back."

"Aaah, I'll take my chances. Besides, you probably got the flu from me. I was sick a couple of weeks ago."

"In that case, can I give it back? I'm really kinda tired of it." She took a drag off her cigarette.

"Nope. Find someone else to pass it to, like that guy you don't like-what's his name, the new guy." J.P. stopped massaging her shoulders and walked over to the stereo sitting on top of the shelves. He rifled through someone's CD collection, frowning.

Elisabeth sighed. Word must've gotten around in order for J.P. to hear it. "I don't not like him," she said. "We didn't get off to a great start, that's all."

"Uh-huh. God, who the hell listens to Marilyn Manson?"

"Bubba," Elisabeth replied. "You never find anything worth listening to in his collection."

"Ahh...here's something good. Def Leppard's greatest hits."

Elisabeth's eyebrows rose. "I stand corrected," she said. "Put it in."

J.P. stuck the CD into the player and turned up the volume. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" started blaring.

Jack walked in to grab some pans. He stopped to listen for a second. "My favorite song," he said. "Brings back fond memories of New Year's Eve and dancing on the bar."

Elisabeth nearly choked with laughter. Charlie, having been inspired by the movie Coyote Ugly and three cherry Cokes comprised of Coke and Cherry Pucker with plenty of Everclear-soaked cherries thrown in, had gotten up on the bar and started dancing to "Pour Some Sugar on Me." Jack, just as bombed on tequila shots, joined her on the bar.

"If Charlie were here, you wouldn't have dared mention that," Elisabeth said. "She gets embarrassed at the words 'New Year's Eve.'"

"I think she's afraid she did something more than dance," Jack told her. "I told her she was better than Caro, but that didn't seem to help."

"Did I miss something?" J.P. asked, curious.

"You usually do," Jack muttered under his breath as he took his pans into the kitchen.

"What did he say?"

"He said yes. You missed a great time." Elisabeth crushed her cigarette out in the ashtray and got to work.

Darcy arrived thirty minutes later. He wore his new red Planet Earth Pizza shirt over tailored black pants, shoes shined to a polish. He carried the J.D. Robb book Charlie had loaned him, hoping to finish it before he had to start working. He had twenty minutes before the doors were opened. With this goal in mind, he took a seat in the dining room.

He'd just sat down to read when a shadow fell over his book. Darcy looked up to find Elisabeth looming over him. With a mental groan, he knew he was about to be grilled over last night's date. "Hello, Elisabeth," he said politely.

"Hi. Could I talk to you privately for a second?"

"I didn't think such a thing was possible around here."

"It is, but only if you're willing to risk catching pneumonia."

Darcy almost smiled. "The walk-in it is, then."

Elisabeth led the way into the refrigerated room, but didn't speak until the door closed on them. The room was dark but for one bulb over the door which didn't put out much light.

Elisabeth decided not to waste any time. "I wanted to say...I'm sorry about the other day, with the fight, and...and about yesterday. I shouldn't have threatened you. That was wrong of me to do, and I'm sorry I did it." She sighed. "I don't know exactly how George described me to you, but he was probably more accurate than I'd like to admit. I'm not as mature as I ought to be, and I know it. And these last few weeks have been really tough, I've been in a real emotional quagmire...not that it's an excuse for behaving so badly, but I'm sure he told you about Newton. I've been sick, and I hate being sick. So I've been even worse than I normally would be, and you...you took the brunt of it. And I'm really sorry about that."

Darcy hadn't expected her to apologize and therefore didn't know quite what to say.

"Actually, yesterday..." Darcy stopped before he insulted her again by saying that her show of concern for Charlie was the first time he'd found something about her to admire. He stumbled over several other responses which might come across as insulting before deciding that simple would be best. "I accept your apology," he said. "I should apologize to you as well. I shouldn't have gotten on to you about your smoking. That was none of my business. But...this whole thing wasn't what...I'm having the same problems you've been having. This hasn't been the best couple of months I've ever had."

"I shouldn't have overreacted to you trying to help me after I fainted."

"You know, the more I think on that, the more I realize what a bad idea it was. I should've let Jack or Chazz do it, because they knew you and I didn't. I should've realized that you would probably be freaked out by a strange guy practically undressing you."

"You only did what they wouldn't because they're wimps."

"You might not have reacted the way you did if one of them had done it."

"Trust me on this-I would've, and they knew it." Elisabeth crossed her arms and wished there was somewhere else they could've talked in privacy. It was bloody cold.

Darcy was cold, too, but he was curious. "Does this apology have anything to do with Charlie?" he asked.

"Partly," Elisabeth admitted. "I know what it's like to care about two people who are constantly sniping at each other. It's always the worst for the person in the middle. I don't want that happening to Charlie. She more than deserves a chance to be happy, and I don't want to be the reason she doesn't get it. If you don't mind my asking, are the two of you planning to keep going out?"

Darcy smiled and nodded. "She invited me to go bowling with the rest of you on Monday."

"Bowling?" Elisabeth asked incredulously. The moment the word was out, she wished she hadn't said it. "Sorry!"

"What for?"

"For the way that came out. I'm sure you're a fine bowler."

Darcy considered that. "I haven't bowled in years," he admitted. "Not since I was a kid."

The news that Darcy had ever bowled astounded Elisabeth. "Really?" she asked, her tone more curious than anything else.

Darcy nodded. "My father loved to bowl. He taught me everything I know. It'll be interesting to see if I remember any of it."

"I'll look forward to seeing that." Elisabeth smiled, and he smiled in return.

Darcy considered pinching himself, wondering if this Elisabeth Bennet was for real. This new Elisabeth was someone he might like, or at the very least, someone he wouldn't mind making small talk with when he came to pick up Charlie for dates. He was about to speak when the door to the walk-in opened.

"I hate to break up this little love-fest, but I need to refill the cheese," Jack said. "Excuse me."

"Of course," Darcy said, stepping out of the walk-in.

The door closed on Elisabeth and Jack. "What's going on?" Jack asked.

"I think Darcy and I kissed and made up."

Jack's eyebrows rose. "Literally?"

Elisabeth gave him a look. "No, not literally. But we both apologized for our behavior over the past few days. We've both been acting like a couple of jerks. Me more than him, I think."

Jack grabbed a box of cheese and hefted it over his shoulder. "Don't take this the wrong way, El, but I'm glad you've come to your senses."

"I'm having too good a day to take offense."

Jack pushed the door open and walked out, Elisabeth quickly following him, nearly moaning in delight at the heat. They walked into the kitchen.

"How did Charlie's date go?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. I was in bed before she got back. I guess it went fine, because she invited Darcy to come bowling with us on Monday."

Jack slammed the cheese onto the make table. "That should be interesting."

"It should be."

Jack used a box cutter to open the cheese, then took out the bag within and dumped it into a clean container. He stopped to look at her. "You're staring," he said.

"I'm going." Elisabeth headed over to the register to do the opening cash count.

As Elisabeth had expected, business was good. Erin and Kit were handing things well, but Darcy was struggling to keep up. He had five tables to Erin and Kit's nine apiece, and he was having a hard time remembering which table got Pepsis and which table had Dr. Peppers. He forgot to bring extra napkins to one table with a messy baby and forgot the drink order of another table altogether.

Darcy was handling it as best he could, but Elisabeth could see that it was starting to get wearing. He had a funny look in his eyes when he came back to the computers, jabbing at the screen with angry fingers. He stared at something for a moment before lowering his head in frustration.

Elisabeth, who was manning the cut table at the time, noticed. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," he said shortly. "What do you do when you've messed up an order and the woman says she's in a hurry?"

"We give her a gift certificate so she can come back some other time. You'll get it right the next time."

"I swear, I thought I punched in half cheese and half supreme. She got the whole thing supreme."

"It's okay," Elisabeth reassured him. "Every employee in this store despises these computers."

"Cut table, El!" Sean yelled.

"Tell her to bring her ticket to the register so I can discount it and don't worry. It won't be the last time you goof, and you're not the only one who does it." Elisabeth scampered back to the cut table just in time to prevent a glass bowl of spaghetti from falling off the conveyor belt onto the floor.

But there seemed to be no end to Darcy's frustrating afternoon. A woman came up to the register to complain that he never got back to her table to bring her refills, and another table-suspiciously comprised of two teenage couples-complained that he'd charged them for too many buffets.

Before Elisabeth made the correction, she asked him about it.

"Those lying little brats!" he snapped, bringing the entire dining room to a stand still. The teenagers at the register glared at him.

"What's the matter?" Sean asked.

"They're claiming that I charged them for too many buffets when I did not. They said only two of them were going to eat, but when I went past them to another table I saw that the other two were eating as well, so they were charged for four buffets."

"We didn't eat," one of the boys said. "The girls wanted pizza. We're going to get hamburgers later."

Sean stared at the boys with his cold dark eyes, contemplating something. Then his frown deepened. "I saw you two at the salad bar," he said. "And I saw you getting breadsticks and cavatini. They get charged for four buffets."

The teenagers started to protest, but Sean held up his hand and said, "And if I ever catch you in here doing it again, I'm calling the police."

"I can see it now-'Local Teens Arrested for Pizza Theft,'" Kit said in a low voice to Darcy as she walked past him.

For his part, Darcy was relieved that Elisabeth had believed him. As the teenagers reluctantly-and mutinously-paid for their entire meal, Elisabeth said, "Darcy, can we have a quick word in the back?"

Darcy nodded, not trusting himself to speak as they went to the walk-in.

The moment the door closed, Elisabeth smiled. "First of all, good eye. When we're this busy, people are more likely to get away with that sort of crap."

"The only reason I noticed was because I go so slow," he said lowly. "Kit and Erin are taking twice the number of tables I'm taking. They probably resent it."

"They understand what it's like to be new. Lord knows, they've seen enough newcomers go through this, and besides, if you weren't here, they'd still have all these tables to take, plus yours. Don't worry about that."

Darcy nodded.

"But...and I hate to say this, because I agree with what you said one hundred percent...you can't call the customers names."

"I know, I know. It wasn't the right thing to do, but I couldn't help it."

"I understand, and I know Sean does too. But it's going to affect the other tables you have to see you lose your temper like that. You're not likely to get good tips from any of them."

Darcy wanted to say that the tips didn't matter because he had enough money to live on without them, but all that would do was make her ask what he was doing here in the first place.

"It also makes the store look bad, and that can cost us business."

Even in the coolness of the walk-in, Darcy felt heat rush into his cheeks. He hadn't thought of that, to his mortification.

"I'm sorry." He looked at her. "Am I going to lose my job?"

Elisabeth chuckled. "God, no, not for a first offense. Keep it up and it'll be another story, but you can get away with quite a bit and not get fired. I just wouldn't recommend insulting the customers again, and especially not in front of Sean."

"I won't. I promise."

"Okay. I'll tell Sean we're gonna let you off with a slap on the wrist-which is what this talking-to is supposed to be-and that he should be grateful you didn't use foul language, which would have offended everyone." Elisabeth opened the door to the walk-in and rushed back into the kitchen. Darcy slunk back over to the wait station and picked up plates to take to the buffet.

"I wish we could always get away with saying things like that," Kit said as she used the computer to place an order. "But only once, and only in the first few weeks. After that, Sean figures you should know better."

"I should know better anyway," Darcy muttered as he walked by the heavy-set blonde.

"The money on the counter's yours," she said, pointing to three dollars and change nestled between the box of placemats and the little container of dinner mints.

"From where?" he asked.

"Table thirteen. The woman wanted me to tell you that if those had been her kids, she'd have beaten them black and blue."

Darcy picked up the money quickly and shoved it into his apron pocket, unable to contain his grin as he did it.

A general groan arose from those still working when Kit spied the car bearing Caroline, Louisa, Valerie and Lucy Steele pulling into the parking lot at three-thirty.

"Do they have to bring the little girl everywhere they go?" Darcy asked as he added lettuce to the salad bar.

"Uh-huh. Louisa's husband Drew works second shifts. Until Louisa's parents show up to take over babysitting duties, we're stuck with her. We're lucky we don't have Lucy's little girl Kendra with us today. She's even worse than Valerie, and when the two of them are together..." Kit shook her head. "It doesn't bear thinking about."

"I guess not."

The three young women burst into the store in a flurry of talking, scolding, and gossip. "Hi, Kitty!" Caroline called.

"Hi, Caro."

Darcy recognized the girl who had hit on him the other day immediately, and wished he had somewhere to hide because it didn't look like his rejection had deterred her in the slightest. She sidled over to him, smiling, and said, "Hello, Darcy."

"Hello, Caroline."

"You know, you didn't get a chance to meet my sister the other day. Louisa, come say hello to Darcy!"

"Hello, Darcy-Valerie Jane! Get back on this side of the counter now!"

"Wanna soda, Mommy."

"Okay, Mommy's gonna get you one now." Valerie led her mother to the soda machine. "Hey! They actually fixed it!" Louisa exclaimed.

"For another three weeks," Kit said pessimistically.

The unfamiliar face in the trio walked over to them and said, "Hi. I'm Lucy Steele. No need to introduce yourself, Caroline's told me all about you." Lucy Steele had pale blonde hair and gray eyes heavily outlined for a more dramatic look. Darcy was tempted to tell her how ridiculous she looked.

"She has?"

"Yes, she has."

Darcy wanted to say how surprising that was, considering the fact that Caroline knew nothing about him, just then Sean appeared and Lucy drifted away to talk to him.

"So, how was your date with Charlie?" Caroline asked sweetly.

"It was just fine," he replied neutrally. "We're going out again Monday."

"Really? That's great. You know, Charlie really deserves to be happy. She did tell you about the skin cancer thing, didn't she? Her arms used to be absolutely hideous, with all these red bumps and gross marks and all that stuff, but she's looking much better than before. You can hardly tell where she's had it, what with the freckles and all." Caroline smiled. "Charlie told me she had spots like that all over. Can you imagine? I think I'd rather die than have something like that."

"Lucky for Charlie that she didn't feel the same way, then, isn't it?"

"I suppose so, but she wasn't the prettiest girl around to begin with. I suppose she wouldn't mind it quite so much as she might if she'd been beautiful or even moderately attractive."

"Perhaps."

"You know, this one time I had this ugly mole on my back and the doctor told me he thought it might be cancerous. It scared me to death, thinking I might have cancer, and only nineteen at time. But I was lucky. It was only a mole." Caroline shook her head. "Poor Charlie. I'd hate to be her."

"I imagine you would."

Darcy was beginning to wonder if he'd ever manage to get free of this girl when he heard Elisabeth answer his prayers.

"Darcy, as soon as you finish filling the salad bar, you can go home."

"I'm all done," he said quickly.

"Then take off. Thanks for your help this afternoon."

"You're welcome." Darcy nodded politely to Caroline, then beat a swift retreat into Sean's office to clock out. Sitting on the desk was the book he'd tossed earlier in his rush to clock in at eleven. He picked it and prepared to read for a few minutes before heading home.

"I don't get this guy," he heard Caroline say just as he started a new chapter. "I think he might be gay."

"What makes you think that?" It was the other girl, Lucy.

"Because what guy would choose someone like Charlie over me? I'm prettier than she is. I'm thinner than she is. I don't have some freaky cancer that ruined my skin."

"Maybe it's because he met Charlie first."

"No, it's not that. Oh, I admit, that might be why he asked her out on a date, but why would he ask her out again, especially after meeting me?"

"I don't get it, either, Caro. Maybe he feels sorry for her."

"That could be. Plus there's the Elisabeth factor."

"What's that?"

"Well, he's already gone out on a date with Charlie. You know how Charlie gets. If he doesn't ask her out again, he'll break her heart and Elisabeth'll kill him. Only the more times he goes out with Charlie, the worse it gets. He'll never be free."

"That is about the dumbest damn thing I've ever heard you say, Caroline Benson."

Finally, a statement with which Darcy would agree.

"Then you explain it, Lucy."

"Maybe he prefers larger women. There are some guys out there who go for that sort of thing."

"They're usually scrawny little wimps who can't get laid any other way. You saw this guy. He could probably have any girl he wants."

Darcy turned red, setting his book aside.

"The fact remains that there's no reason for him to be going out with Charlie, and no reason why he shouldn't be mine. He's gorgeous, he's got a hot car, and I'll bet he's got some money somewhere."

"What makes you say that?"

"Have you seen his pants and shoes? You don't find those at Walmart."

"And I suppose you're the expert on men's clothing."

"You'd better believe it."

"If what you're saying is true, what's a guy like him doing here?"

"That's the million dollar question. Everyone wants to know that, because according to Bubba he's way out of his league. I'll bet even Charlie doesn't know the answer to it, but I'm going to find out."

Like hell you are.

Lucy apparently agreed with him, because she snorted and said, "Twenty bucks says you don't find out."

"Never make a bet you can't win, Lucy. You're on. Twenty if I find out why he's here...fifty if I can do it and steal him from Charlie."

"You're on."

The two of them continued talking but the voices drifted out of his hearing. Darcy let out the small breath he'd been holding, hoping they wouldn't realize he was listening to them, when a very angry Elisabeth Bennet stormed into the room, lighting a cigarette.

"To hell with Sean's edict, I need this," she muttered. She nearly let the cigarette fall out of her mouth when she saw Darcy.

"Don't worry, I won't tell," Darcy said.

Elisabeth smiled grimly. "Thanks." She took a deep drag off the cigarette, held it for a moment before turning away from him and exhaling. "I take it you heard their little bet."

"And everything else."

"Lord, what a witch."

"I'm beginning to see what you mean."

Elisabeth took another hit from her cigarette, exhaling before saying, "You don't have to worry about the Elisabeth factor, though. As Charlie will no doubt snap at me when she walks in the door shortly, she can take care of herself. Although I might kick some skinny, not-as-pretty-as-they-think-they-are behinds tonight in her defense."

Darcy picked up his book and rose from his seat. "I don't think Charlie needs to hear what they said," he said quietly. "It would only hurt her."

Elisabeth nodded. "Then we're agreed on that score. Besides, I know Charlie doesn't have anything to worry about as far as their bet goes. Right?"

"Of course. Don't worry, Elisabeth. I'm not going to hurt your cousin, and I certainly wouldn't do it for someone like that."

"Good." Elisabeth darted out of the area as the outside door opened, but apparently not in time because Darcy heard Sean say, "I saw that!"

"I didn't do it! Nobody saw me do it! You can't prove anything!" Elisabeth said very quickly.

"So the lit cigarette in your hands belongs to someone else, is that it?"

Darcy could hear the amusement in Sean's voice.

"Yes, it does! I was just adding years to their life by smoking it for them."

"Get outta there," Sean grumbled as he made his way back there. Elisabeth gave Darcy a wink before walking away.

Chapter Nine

Elisabeth spent her weekend either working or sleeping. She'd never been more tired in her life, and it worried her. She normally would've attributed it to having had the flu, but even the flu never made her this tired. Working ten to eight shifts, which was what she'd done, didn't make her tired, either. Normally, she was up well after Charlie returned home and crashed into bed. This past weekend, she'd been lucky to keep her eyes open long enough to drive home.

"I'm beginning to think I should stop operating heavy machinery-like my body," Elisabeth told Charlie Monday morning as Charlie got ready to go to work.

Charlie was attempting to pull her thick hair into a bun and growling with frustration when it didn't turn out perfect. Elisabeth would've been content with the way it looked the first time Charlie had gotten it, but Charlie liked her hair to be neat and tidy and had noticed a few hairs had come loose.

"Are you still throwing up?" Charlie asked.

"No, I'm not," Elisabeth said through gritted teeth.

"Good."

"You're not still thinking of dragging me to a doctor, are you?"

"I might, just because there are probably a hundred things wrong with you and you wouldn't know because you refuse to go see a doctor."

"As long as these things won't kill me, I'm content to let them run their course," Elisabeth replied.

"Are you going to be awake enough for bowling tonight?" Charlie asked.

"Absolutely." Elisabeth said this quickly.

"And you're not going to make fun of Darcy if he can't bowl worth a damn, are you?"

Elisabeth sighed. Just as she'd predicted to Darcy on Friday, Charlie had let her have it when she'd arrived at work. Elisabeth had taken it calmly and then reminded Charlie of one small incident in which she'd done the same thing-seven weeks ago.

"What did I do seven weeks ago?" Charlie had asked, confused.

"Ask George-and his eye."

At that, Charlie had turned red, remembering what she'd done to George when she'd caught him sneaking out of their apartment.

"At least I didn't hit Darcy," Elisabeth had said.

"Okay, okay, we're even."

But Charlie couldn't shake the suspicions, as Elisabeth had known she wouldn't, so she had to endure questions such as that one.

"I swear not to make fun of Darcy when he bowls. I suspect he's going to surprise you, though."

"I doubt it. The last time he would've bowled was at least seventeen years ago, before his father died."

Elisabeth stilled. "His father's dead?"

"Yeah. His parents were killed in a car crash when he was ten and his sister was...uh, two, I think."

"He has a sister?"

"Mm-hmm. Ginger. She still lives in New York."

"Do you know why he's here?"

Charlie stopped fiddling with her hair-which promptly fell down-and glared at her. "No, I don't, and even if I did it would be none of your business."

"Yeah, well, I'm warning you now. You'd better find out before Caro does, because she's got a twenty-dollar bet with Lucy about it. And you'd better believe that if she finds out, she'll crow it from the roof of the store."

Charlie turned her attention back to her hair and cursed fluently under her breath, none of it complimentary to Caroline or Lucy.

"Thanks for the warning," she said once she finally had her hair in place.

Keeping her word to Darcy, Elisabeth didn't mention what else Caroline and Lucy had bet on. Charlie finally got her hair set.

"I hate my hair," she muttered. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to shave my head. It'll be much easier to take care of that way."

"You always say that, and then when you cut your hair short, you miss having it long."

"That's because it doesn't do anything I want it to when it's short, either."

Charlie left for work a short time later, leaving Elisabeth alone in the apartment. Elisabeth stretched out, raising her arms as far above her head as they would go. She gave a deep, tired yawn and gave serious consideration to a nap.

Then she gave in to temptation, setting her alarm for three-thirty. She would surely be awake before then, but setting the alarm insured she would get up in time to get ready to go out.

Darcy arrived at work with three minutes to spare, having first stopped at Walmart to buy work pants and shoes. His favorite pair of shoes had been ruined by sauce and bleach on Sunday afternoon. He'd accidentally spilled sauce all over himself, and then cleaned off the mess with bleach water, not realizing until it was too late what it was.

He'd decided then and there that he wasn't about to ruin any more three-hundred dollar shoes and equally expensive pants. Hence the trip to Walmart, where he'd bought black pants of an unknown material and black tennis shoes. While he'd been there, he'd also bought a dozen pairs of black socks, all of which were required at Planet Earth Pizza.

"Good morning, Darcy!" Charlie called to him when he walked in the door. She was leaning on the front counter with a book in her hands. She gave him a quick once-over. "Nice pants!"

"Er...thanks," he replied, even though he thought they were hideous.

"Brand new?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"You forgot to cut the price tags off them."

Darcy twisted around, trying to get a look at the back of the pants. Sure enough, there was the price tag hanging on a belt loop.

"Stand still. I'll get them." Charlie set her book down and walked over to the register and grasped the pair of scissors that were lying next to it. She had the tags off his pants a moment later.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome. Nice shoes, too."

Darcy looked down but saw nothing.

"You were wearing rather formal shoes the last time we worked together."

"Bleach accident."

Charlie made a face. "And I thought I'd had a bad weekend."

"How was it?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Par for the course, actually, which isn't always so good. One of the clients is cycling really bad right now, and it makes life difficult for everyone there. It wouldn't be so bad if I only worked eight hours a day, but working sixteen two days straight...it's not fun when there's trouble."

"What does 'cycling' mean?" he asked.

"It's when a client's behavior gets worse. Like for instance, if someone with OCD is cycling, they'll be doing the compulsive behavior they do more than they do normally. It happens to all of them at some point or another."

"Oh, I see."

"I brought you another book to read," Charlie said, grasping the book she'd been reading and handing it to him.

"I can't take this one. You were reading it when I came in." Darcy glanced at the title--Naked in Death.

"I've read it already, so go ahead. I'm starting the next one."

"Are you sure?"

Charlie nodded, so he took the book and thanked her.

"Did you get a look at next week's schedule?" she asked.

"No. I wasn't aware it had been posted."

"Yeah. It's on the bulletin board across from the dishwasher."

Darcy walked to the back and stopped when he came to the schedule. He was a bit puzzled at first when he didn't see his name listed among the servers, but then he noticed that he'd been put in with the cooks.

D.A. Williamson:
Wed. 11-3
Thurs. off
Fri. 11-4
Sat. 11-8
Sun. 11-8
Mon. 11-3
Tue. Off

"Eleven to eight?" Darcy murmured with a frown.

"Pretty good schedule," Charlie said as she looked up at the board. "Thirty-one hours. Kit's not gonna be happy, though."

"Why do you say that?"

"You've taken her Saturday shift. She usually works that one."

"Then why do I have it?"

"Because Sean's been told by Thomas Palmer to cut Kit's hours." A new voice joined the conversation, causing Charlie and Darcy to turn at the same time.

Darcy didn't think he'd seen a more revolting figure in all his life. The man was tall and wiry, which appeared to be his best attributes. His dull brown hair looked like it needed a serious washing, his face bore acne scars, and when he opened his mouth it was perfectly clear that oral hygiene wasn't high on his list of priorities. He was missing one of his upper teeth and the others looked to be on the verge of joining it.

Hygiene in general didn't seem to be high on his list of priorities, if the ripe, unwashed smell emanating from his body was any indication.

"That's not fair," Charlie said. "It's not her fault she gets sick a lot."

"It's still a liability. I'm surprised Sean's let it go on as long as it has. I figure that with the schedule remaining like this, Kit'll be gone in just a few weeks. And good riddance."

Charlie looked like she wanted to say something to the newcomer. Instead, she turned to Darcy and said, "This is Bubba Collins. He'll be running the shift today."

"Oh...Elisabeth isn't working today?"

Charlie shook her head. "She gets Monday and Thursday ordinarily, but with Sean gone, she's down to Mondays only."

"Where is Sean?" Darcy hadn't given much thought to the man whose job it was to run the store, but he now realized that he hadn't seen much of him.

"Centralia. You see, the downside to having the best manager in the district is that whenever one of the other stores is in trouble, Sean gets sent there to straighten things out. This is the third time in the past year he's been sent elsewhere. In the meantime, Bubba and Elisabeth run the place. He's working open to close today, she'll work open to close on Wednesday."

"How much longer will this be going on?"

"God only knows how long. Sean thought it would only be two weeks, now he's saying it may not be until the end of the month," Bubba chimed in. He passed them by, causing Darcy to cringe at the odor.

"I swear to God, I wish Sean had let us do what we'd wanted to do and buy him a gift basket from Bath and Body Works for Christmas last year," Charlie mumbled. "We had to settle for buying him Managing for Dummies."

Darcy seemed to remember George Wickham saying something about how Bubba Collins had gotten his job.

"If it's going to make Kit mad, I don't want her hours," Darcy said.

"She'll probably ask you if you want her to take them. As long as she's feeling healthy, Kit likes to work. The problem is keeping her healthy."

"I have heard she's not in the best of shape."

"It would take all shift to go through her illnesses. We all get sick of having to cover for her, but I know there's not a single one of us that would want her to leave this place over something like this."

"Bubba seems excited at the prospect."

"He doesn't get along well with Kit. It would be more accurate to say that Kit doesn't get along well with Bubba." Charlie peeked around the corner, obviously to see where Bubba was, then turned back to Darcy. "Kit's mother died last Christmas very unexpectedly. She had an aneurysm. Well, Kit was very close to both her parents, and her mother's death crushed her. She's still having a hard time getting over it."

"I can understand that."

"Bubba can't. A couple months ago he made the comment to Caroline that he wished Kit would get over her mother already. I didn't hear the exact quote, but it was something along the lines of 'She's been gone five months. I don't see why she's still so depressed over it.'"

Darcy grimaced.

"Yeah. A model of compassion he isn't. And of course, Caroline being Caroline, she cheerfully went and told Kit, who had a big scream-out with Bubba in which she told him to do several things which are anatomically impossible and finished up with telling him to stay out of her business. So ever since then, there's been bad blood between the two of them."

"This place is beginning to remind me of a dreadful Broadway play I once went to see," Darcy said ruefully.

"Wait until you get so used to it that it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary." Charlie smiled. "Oh, by the way. I'd better warn you now that Bubba doesn't like to do much of anything."

"He doesn't?"

Charlie shook her head. "He'll stand around doing next to nothing while we're out there busting our butts. He'll let the buffet empty out without thinking of putting more pizzas in. And the worst news is, it's also Jack's day off, and we have to work with J.P., so things are going to be absolute hell."

"I worked with J.P. the other day. He wasn't so bad."

Charlie raised her eyebrows quickly. "Just you wait."

And she was right. Things picked up very quickly, and Darcy again found himself struggling to keep up. Erin did well, as did Charlie, but Darcy noticed that her face was becoming set and angry. The reason wasn't difficult to tell.

The three of them had more tables than they could handle, and getting them cleared off and ready for the next group to sit wasn't easy to do when fifty other people were clamoring for attention. J.P. had only delivered one order-the school order. He was in the back making sauces and not doing dishes, which were rapidly piling up.

Which also meant they were rapidly running out of everything they would need to get people food and drinks.

Darcy noticed that the buffet had little on it several times, and despite pleas from Charlie and Erin to get more out there right this minute, Bubba took his time to get things in and get them out. By the time they were out, there were so many people ready to eat that the buffet was picked clean within minutes. When his customers started complaining and blaming him for the lack of food, which affected his tips, Darcy realized in full why Charlie had dreaded working with Bubba.

"Bubba! We're completely out of cinnamon sticks and the lady with the two kids who've been waiting an hour for a dessert pizza want to know when there's gonna be one coming out!" Charlie snapped.

"Soon, like I told you. I'm only one man, Charlie!"

Charlie rolled her eyes and walked out to the beverage bar. "I could do your job and mine and not have this many ticked-off customers," she hissed, but not loud enough to be heard by anyone other than Darcy. "Dammit!"

"What's the matter?" Darcy asked.

"Last glass, and I need four more to go with it." Charlie rushed to the back, where J.P. was slowly stirring sauce, and snapped, "I want some glasses cleaned now!"

J.P. stopped stirring. "Where's the 'please' and 'thank you'?"

"How's this sound? If you don't get your butt in gear and do this, I'm personally gonna kick it out the door."

J.P. snorted. "You and what army?"

Through gritted teeth, Charlie said, "Would you please wash some glasses, thank you. And while you're at it, we need plates and silverware." Without waiting for a reply, she walked back over to the wait area and grabbed to-go cups, carrying them out to the beverage bar.

At twelve-thirty, with the buffet empty yet again and another eight minutes before more food would appear, Caroline Benson walked in with Lucy Steele. Darcy almost groaned, expecting the little demon to walk in as well, but the two young women were alone.

"Hi, Darcy! How are things going today?" Caroline asked.

Here I had hoped she'd given up on me, he thought. "Fine," he replied.

"We're gonna be two for smoking...good God, what happened to the buffet?"

"A bunch of buzzards attacked it," Charlie said as she passed by. "Hi, Caro."

With a wintry smile, Caroline returned the greeting. Darcy seated the two young women and continued to work. He got them Mountain Dews and left them alone, although they managed to find something to ask him about every few minutes. Caroline's questions, he noticed, were slightly more pointed and all about his life in New York.

Maybe she thinks if I'm busy I won't think about the questions I'm answering. It's a nice try, Miss Benson, but I was raised by a master of evasion.

The lunch crowd finally cleared out just after one. Caroline and Lucy remained behind, talking to Bubba, who had spent ten minutes talking to them while the dining room was still full and buffet pizzas were in demand. The dining room was littered with debris from the customers, from the tables to the floor, and Darcy wondered that they would ever be able to clean it all up. Erin had been so exhausted after working till two in the morning at her other job that Charlie had insisted on letting her go home to sleep, leaving the two of them.

"We could definitely use some help," he told Charlie.

"If Sean or Elisabeth were here, we'd be getting it." She glared at Bubba, who was laughing at something Lucy had said. "At the very least, they'd have J.P. out here helping clear tables."

"Speaking of the gentleman..." Darcy motioned to the driver, who had come out of the kitchen to talk to the girls. Bubba left, making no effort to start working on the kitchen, which was in a similar state as the dining room, but instead to the back.

"There he goes, heading to the phones to call someone and waste more time," Charlie muttered. She started to clear off the table across the way from the one Lucy and Caroline were at. Darcy took the table next to theirs.

"She started yelling at me for no reason," J.P. was saying. "Giving me orders, not even asking politely."

Darcy looked up from the table he was clearing just in time to see Charlie stalk over to the table and yell, "Well maybe if you were actually doing your job instead of standing around doing nothing and b---hing about me to other people, I wouldn't have to tell you what to do!"

Bubba was out to the dining room in a flash, but Charlie wasn't finished.

"Darcy and I busted out butts off out here, while you sat in the back doing the bare minimum we needed-"

"I washed all your dishes for you!" J.P. objected.

"Only after I got on your case about it. I shouldn't have to tell you what your job is."

"I don't need you to!"

"Then why weren't you washing dishes? How come you were doing sauce-something we didn't need? How come you're out here talking to them right now instead of doing something?"

"Because there aren't any dishes for me to do!"

"Take a look around you! What do you call all this?" Charlie made a sweeping motion with her arms at the dining room. "Darcy and I need help now, because not only do we have to clear all these tables and wipe them off, but we have to get everything in order for the next shift."

"All right, all right," Bubba intervened. "J.P., help them clear these tables, then get started on dishes."

"I need to do pans so you can do dough," J.P. said sullenly.

"Don't worry about dough. I'll get to it after I get done cleaning the kitchen. If you work quickly, you should be done before I am. Charlie, you need to cool off. Take a breather in the walk-in."

"I want a cigarette," Charlie growled.

"But you don't smoke!" Darcy exclaimed.

"I know that, but I sure as hell could use one right now."

"Take a few minutes," Bubba repeated. "Okay? Go ahead."

Charlie gave J.P. one last glare before walking to the back, heading for the walk-in.

Caroline sighed audibly. "That temper is going to be Charlie's downfall," she said. "I'm amazed she still has a job at the other place, given that she works with people ten times more difficult than here."

"I'm sure she wouldn't exactly agree with you," Darcy told her before continuing to work.

He set the dishes on the table and opened the door to the walk-in. Charlie stood there, breathing deeply.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

Charlie shook her head. "I hate this place sometimes. I really do." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I hope to God Sean comes back soon."

"Me, too, if today was any indication of how things are run without him here," Darcy replied.

"It is-when Bubba's in charge. You've seen how things go with Elisabeth."

Darcy nodded. "How is she, by the way?"

"Fine. Tired. She's probably napping right now. I wish I could join her."

"Will she be bowling tonight?"

Charlie nodded.

"What about J.P. and Bubba?"

"God, no. J.P. can't afford it anymore and Bubba isn't on the dayshift. Besides, he has to close tonight, thank God. He might try to invite himself if he weren't."

"Then look on the bright side. At least you don't have to put up with him all the time."

"It would be a better comfort if I didn't have to put up with him at all," Charlie said, but Darcy saw the tension leave her face and she was looking calmer. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry you had to see me lose it like that. I hate doing that, you know? It looks bad."

"Don't worry about it," Darcy said. "I was warned about it."

"You were?"

Darcy nodded. "Remember what George said? Good worker, fast temper, 'okay.'"

Charlie chuckled. "He should know about the fast temper. Elisabeth reminded me of something I did a couple months ago that was the worst thing I've ever done, I think. I'm always amazed that George still has any interest in me, given what happened the night he broke up with Elisabeth."

"What happened?"

"I caught him trying to leave without talking to Elisabeth so I...kind of punched him in the face."

Darcy started laughing.

"Yeah, I know. So I really didn't have a leg to stand on by getting mad at Elisabeth for doing something similar."

"I guess not."

Charlie walked out of the walk-in, her glasses fogging up in the heat of the room. "Is J.P. actually doing some work?"

Darcy nodded.

"Good. Bubba's not worth much, but occasionally he does something I can live with." Charlie took her glasses off and wiped them off on her apron. "I just wish he'd do it more often."

Continued In Next Section