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Prologue Posted on Friday, 14 July 2000
Up until his twenty-sixth year, William Darcy had had the "good life." He had two, happily married parents, an adoring little sister, and a beautiful, devoted wife. He was also a thriving businessman, and well loved by all his employees. He had climbed up the corporate ladder at his Uncle Frank's company (a chain of restaurants called "Big Frankie's"), and by the ripe old age of 25, he had become a CEO.
His life was everything anyone could have wanted, including William. He had the happiness dreams were made of, and he wouldn't trade it for the world.
To make the package even sweeter, William was very handsome. He was every women's dream--the tall dark and handsome escapee romance novels. His features made him more than just your average 'tall dark and handsome' guy, though. His body was muscular and tan, and his face had character. He had smile lines on either side of his mouth--caused by years of smiling, of course--a twinkle in his eye, and a nose that would wrinkle up in both disgust and happiness. It was all this and more that made women melt over him ever since high school.
One evening, around six o'clock, a few months after William's twenty-sixth birthday, he drove his corvette up the driveway of his beautiful, new mansion. He waited in the driveway, tapping his thumbs lightly on the steering wheel, to the beat of a song on the radio, as the garage door slowly lifted, exposing an immaculate garage. He parked his car in his like he did any other day. He got out of his car, and twirled his keys on his pointer finger like always, and whistled as he walked up to the door.
It was locked. William found this quite odd. The door was never locked when he got home. Perhaps his wife had gone shopping.
William slipped the shinny, silver house key into the lock, but it wouldn't turn. How odd, thought William. Had he come to the right house? William checked. Yep, it was the right house.
"Caroline!" He shouted, knocking on the door. There was no sound from the inside. "Care! If you're in there, open the door!" He heard a slight stirring from the somewhere in the house. "Care, honey! I can't get the door open."
The door was flung open. A blond women, with disheveled hair stood in front of him, hands on hips, and an angry look on her face. "You can't open the door because I had the locks changed. What are you doing here, anyway?" She asked
"Doing here!" cried William. "Caroline, I live here. This is my house."
"Ha!" the women said, throwing her arms in the air. "Not anymore, hon." Sarcasm practically dripped from her voice.
"What are you talking about?" William asked. Things still weren't clicking.
Suddenly, from the background somewhere a man emerged. His white dress shirt was partially un-tucked, and his hair too was a mess. The man stepped over to William's wife, and put his hands protectively around her shoulders. "Hey, Will."
"Uncle Frank?" William choked. He couldn't, and wouldn't understand this. What in the world was his Uncle Frank doing at his house, with his wife?
Caroline used the next few moments to pull something from behind the door. "Here," she said. She threw something out of the house, brushed her hands off on her short orange skirt. She reached her hand up behind his uncle's head and kissed him, all the while, smirking at William.
A moment later, William found himself standing alone on the sidewalk, with two suit cases and a bright red corvette, and nothing else.
Within five minutes, it seemed, his perfect live had fallen apart; smashed to smithereens like the good china on a sidewalk. (William had experience with smashing china on the sidewalk. Needless to say, his mother had not been pleased.)
After Caroline finished filing for divorce, and the proceedings had ended. William only had two things left from his previous life: his sister and parents, and his rather cushy job in his uncle's business.
However, his ex-wife had other ideas. Not only didn't she want him living with her anymore, but she also didn't want to live in the same town with him. Therefore, she begged her lover, who was, of course, Will's uncle and boss, to transfer Will to some other town.
Uncle Frank was more than happy to do his lady's bidding, and William was quickly transferred, with his red corvette and two suit cases, to a small town: Casey, Iowa. William was surprised to find himself, in the matter of a few short months, in the middle of nowhere, far from his family, and a job as a manager of the brand new "Big Frankie's" in Casey, Iowa.
Anyone who had just met William at that moment would never have guessed he had once been a CEO, and well on his way to being the next Bill Gates (of restaurants, not computers...oh yeah, and William is much better looking, too;-)).
???????????????????????????
Elizabeth Bennet was tall, pretty, intelligent, and disgruntled. She was fresh out of college, a full-fledged teacher, and only 23 years old. The teacher she had student taught with had adored her; said she would be the best teacher ever, someday. All her professors were rooting for her. They knew she would go far in life.
So why, after all her trouble and hard work, did Elizabeth find herself in a dinky town in Iowa?
She had, of course, sent her resume to many different schools, but Garfield Senior High in Casey Iowa had been the only school to offer her a job. Sending her resume to GSH had been more of a joke than anything else. Elizabeth had to accept the offer, however. She didn't know if another would ever come.
Elizabeth had just finished reading over her contract, which was why she was so disgusted. She was sure she would be paid more per week if she worked part-time at Bobby's Pizza for minimum wage. The money she earned would hardly be enough to support herself, so she was forced to get a second job.
She drove her blue dodge neon into a parking space in front of Bobby's Pizza, and hopped out of the car. She looked up at the old 50's style building, with a huge, rusty sculpture of "Bobby's" head (a smiling boy with brown hair, sticking up in a huge curly-cue on the top of his head. The boy also had dimples, and pizza sauce on his face...or maybe that was just rust. No one was quite sure).
"I don't want to work here," sighed Elizabeth. She looked around her to see if there was anywhere else hiring in the immediate area (which was pretty much the whole town). Her eyes landed on a relatively new looking building. There was a big sign on the front that proclaimed the building to be "Big Frankie's." But another, smaller sign drew her attention. It said:
Now hiring. All shifts. Apply within.
Since poor ol' Bobby's head was not the choice decor of this Big Frankie's, she decided she would apply for a job there.
After parking her car, Elizabeth walked slowly into the dimly lit building. It was obviously not open for business yet.
The only person inside was brown haired a man standing at the counter, drying a plate, and gazing into space. It looked like he had been drying it for sometime now.
"Hi," Elizabeth began.
The man was so surprised by her entrance, that he dropped the glass plate on the floor, and it shattered into a million pieces.
"I'm sorry--" Elizabeth began, but before she could continue, the man cut her off by saying in a very sarcastic tone,
"Can I help you?"
"Yes. I was just looking for a job, and I saw the sign out front--"
"Oh, that," said the man. "I meant to take it down."
"Someone already has the job?"
"Jobs. Yes."
"I'd like to speak to the manager," Elizabeth said. She didn't want to have to put up with this snotty man any longer.
The man sniffed, and spread out his arms, "You're looking at him, toots."
"The name's Elizabeth," she snarled, "Not 'toots'. Now I saw the sign out front. I drove over here, and wasted precious gas. I at least want to fill out an application."
"Suit your self," The man nodded. He sighed, and made sure Elizabeth saw how much of an effort it was to have her fill out an application. "Here," he said. He handed her a pen and a blank application.
"What's your name?" she asked as she filled in her own on the top blank.
"William Darcy," he sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was make small talk with a girl from the sticks who would probably spend the rest of her life working as a waitress.
"Are you from around here," asked Elizabeth.
"No," William was slightly confused. In a small town like this, he was sure everyone would know everyone on first name basis.
"Where are you from," Elizabeth asked. She lifted an eye from the paper to look at him. Geez, did she have to drag everything out of him?
"California," he said. He glared at the counter. He'd still be there too if it wasn't for stupid Uncle Frank, and stupid Caroline.
"Oh," Elizabeth said. She put the finishing touches on her application, and handed it to him. "So when do you want me to come in for an interview?" she asked, as she watched him push the application around on the counter.
"You're pretty cocky," William said, eyeing her. "I can tell you now, though, that we're not going to hire you."
"Why not?"
"I don't like you."
Elizabeth raised her eyebrow. "That's the dumbest reason I've ever heard. If that's your attitude, that I don't want to work here anyway."
She began to walk away, when William looked down at the application, and saw the education section. Wow, thought William. She had her master's degree. That was much more than he would have expected from a country girl. "I'll give you a call!" He shouted after her. Elizabeth turned around, and flashed him the most amazing smile he had ever seen.
Chapter 1 Posted on Wednesday, 19 July 2000
"Must have been love, but it's over now..."
"When two people decide to get a divorce, it isn't a sign that they 'don't understand' one another, but a sign that they have, at last, begun to."
--Helen Rowland
Flashback...Summer, 1997
William stood solemnly in front of Caroline. Surprise covered her face. She rubbed her palms nervously on her orange jeans, and looked disbelievingly into William's eyes.
"Well..." he ventured. For a moment it seemed like Caroline was going to refuse. She seemed to be weighing the odds on an invisible scale somewhere in her mind. Perhaps William won, because after a little more deliberation, she said,
"Yes."
"Yes?" William said, mistrusting his ears. Had she actually accepted?
"Yes," she repeated softly.
William gathered her into his arms, orange jeans and all, and kissed her. Caroline seemed more surprised by this gesture than she had been by his question in the first place.
A few minutes earlier, William barged into the house with a troubled look on his face. "Caroline!" he shouted when he found her, "Is it true? Tell me it isn't true!"
Caroline had been quite confused. "What isn't true?" she asked, innocently blinking her blue-gold eyes at him.
"I just heard," he panted, "That you are engaged to someone. Wickmar, or workmen, or--"
"Oh," Caroline said. She lowered her eyes. Her voice remained innocent, but when she looked up again, understanding crossed her face. "You heard right, then," said she. She breathed out a deep, content sigh.
A troubled look crossed William's handsome face. "You can't marry him, Caroline," he whispered while moving closer to her. Caroline didn't like the closeness, it made her feel claustrophobic, so she sat down on the couch behind her, to force him to move away a little.
"Why not? I lo--" Caroline said, but she stopped. The only reason she could think of that William was upset by her engagement was that he loved her. Love meant nothing in a world of money and power. Screw love! Hand over the cash.
"Why not?" asked William. He paced nervously across the room. "Because I love you, that's why not."
Although she had already thought of the possibility, the actual words from his lips surprised her. She almost backed out. She had known him so long, she didn't want to hurt him. However, the prospect of marring into a rather wealthy family forced her to change her mind, and keep her mouth shut. Caroline pictured herself prancing around at some big name party, wearing gaudy jewelry and fancy dresses, and (of course) being the center of attention.
Had William been able to read Caroline's thoughts, he would have called her an impostor then and there. She was no longer the shy girl she had once been. Something had changed her, and William didn't even notice it.
Labor Day weekend, 2000...the weekend before school starts...
William was forced to hire her. Although he was beginning to (or had since the first day he saw her) hate Elizabeth Bennet, he was forced to hire her, no matter how badly he disliked her.
William stood behind the big, green desk in his office, scanning Elizabeth's application. He finally found what he was looking for. He slowly dialed Elizabeth's phone number. The phone rang.
As he listened to the endless brummm...brummm...brummm (nice phone sound effects), he thought about Cookie.
A day earlier he thought Cookie would be working weekends and nights. Not five minutes earlier, however, Cookie had called him with some rather bad news. "Willie," she drawled (she had obtained a rather deep southern accent, which was strange since she had spent her whole life in Casey, Iowa). The way Cookie always called him Willie made the hair on the back of William's neck stand on end. He didn't like it at all. "Willzie, I'm sorry to say this," she paused. William could hear her gum snap, and he was sure she was twirling her perfectly painted fingernail through her short, grey-blond perm. "But I'm not gonna to be working' for ya' after all."
William was stunned, "What!" he cried.
"I'm not gonna to work for ya'," she repeated, snapping her gum again.
"W-why not?" William stuttered.
"We-al, Barney, my boyfriend. Well, he's a-goin' ta move to L.A., and he wants me to come too," here Cookie paused giggled mischievously. "Listen, Willzie, I'm real sorry to leave you in the lurch like this, but, we-al..." Cookie's voice trailed off. It was obvious that she was losing interest in the conversation fast.
"No, no. Don't get all stressed out over it," William said sweetly, as he clenched his fist angrily. "I'll find someone to replace you."
"Honey," Cookie drawled, "You ain't goin' to find no one who can replace Cookie Gibbins." Cookie returned to her normal sweet self, and after snapping her gum, said, "Bye, bye Willzie."
"Hel-loo," a voice filled with annoyance on the other end of the line shouted.
"Oh," William said. He had forgotten he had been trying to call Elizabeth Bennet.
"Oh," she repeated sarcastically. "Who is this?"
"This is William Darcy...from Big Frankie's."
"Oh," she replied. "What do you want?"
"Well," William began reluctantly. "There is an opening. Nights and weekends. Do you--"
"I'll take it," she cried enthusiastically, momentarily forgetting his rudeness. "When do I start."
Never, hopefully, William grumbled inwardly, but he said, "Is Tuesday soon enough."
"Guess so," Elizabeth grumbled, trying not to sound happy about the job.
"See you Tuesday, then. Five sharp," William said. He laid the phone carefully in its cradle, and brushed his hands off mechanically.
He looked toward to Tuesday with dread.
Tuesday evening: 4:45 p.m.
Elizabeth sat in her blue neon. She was parked next to a beautiful red corvette. Who owns that puppy? she wondered. She had arrived fifteen minutes early, and this disgusted her (she didn't want to spend any extra time around that snotty William Darcy), but having the privilege to look at that awesome car cleared away all her disgust completely.
She popped open her car door, and stepped out, eyeing Big Frankie's almost reverently. Somewhere in that restaurant was a person who owned a red corvette.
Elizabeth always arrived early to a new job. When she was 16, she got her first job at a clothing store in the mall in her hometown (Maryton, Oregon), called "Hot Stuff." Back then she had been a shy teenager, fighting acne, experimenting with make-up, frantically studying for AP exams, and learning to drive.
She had arrived at the mall a half-hour early, and spent twenty-five minutes of that time crying in the bathroom. She had been so afraid of people, and what if she messed up?!
After working at Hot Stuff for a week, however, Elizabeth had loosened up. During the next few years of high school, Elizabeth had worked at Hot Stuff. She was constantly surrounded by people. Her shyness had almost completely disappeared.
Whatever was left in the way of shyness had disappeared during college, when she started waitressing.
A customer opened Big Frankie's front door, and the little bell above the door jingled shrilly, waking Elizabeth from her thoughts. She checked her watch. The fun begins, Elizabeth grumbled inwardly. She took a deep breath, smoothed her pink and white stripped waitress outfit, took another deep breath, and walked into Big Frankie's.
"Mr. Darcy," she said softly. Elizabeth knocked lightly on the doorframe of his open office (there was no door). William looked up from his 1985, apple computer, and nodded his hello.
"I'm here," she said. Wasn't he going to say anything?
"Yes you are," William said, without lifting his eyes from the junky computer.
"Wow," Elizabeth commented. "What a crappy office...wait a minute," Elizabeth paused to laugh. She walked over to the phone, "Is it?" she asked. She picked it up, and touched it as if to make sure it was real. "Could it be?" she asked William.
"Could it be what?" William questioned. He still refused to lift his eyes from the computer screen.
"This phone. It's a rotary dial!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen one of these baby's in ages."
"Goodie," William grumbled. "Now you have."
"Oh my gosh," Elizabeth said, looking around her in utter amazement. "This whole office is from the 80's or something."
"Yeah. I'm so happy I have someone to tell me these things," for the first time William lifted his eyes from the screen. "Don't you have something better to do. Serve tables, for example?"
Elizabeth glanced at her watch. "Nope, I still have five minutes."
"Oh," William said sarcastically, "So we learned how to read the clock, did we." He sniffed, and returned to his computer.
"Listen, you freak," Elizabeth growled. "I may not be your favorite person, but We're stuck together for a little while. I need this job, and you need an employee. We have to get along somehow, and I hate your degrading sarcasm."
William stopped typing, and was gawking at Elizabeth. His mouth was half-open, and his eyes filled with reverence.
Will, He thought angrily. Put yourself together. "Whatever you say," He said, turning his eyes back to his computer.
"Well," Elizabeth said, "I better get to work." She paused for a moment, then turned around. "Can I just ask you one question?" She asked.
"I believe you just did," William said.
"Come on!" Elizabeth cried. She threw her arms up in exasperation.
William laughed, "Shoot."
"Why is this office so junky? I can't believe that you would pick out such junk."
William frowned. He thought about his uncle. Uncle Frank was the one who oversaw the equipment (obviously with Caroline's help). "The stupid leadership. The guy who runs the entire company did it," he grumbled.
"That's a mature attitude," Elizabeth said.
William stood up, "If you knew the whole story, you would understand. Unfortunately it's a long story, and " he said, half smiling, "we both have work to do. Now, scat."
Elizabeth grinned, and left. God, she hated that man! (but in a good way).
Big Frankie's, Casey, Iowa: 11:42p.m. (almost closing time!)
William ran his pointer finger across the phone sitting on his desk. It was green. It matched his desk. "Please ring," he whispered. He longed for outside contact. He felt like he was in a cage with no friends. He had no friends in Casey, and he didn't want any either. He wanted his old friends.
Suddenly the phone rang. He picked it up before it could finish the first ring. "Hello?"
"Hey, dork!"
"Charles," William said, relieved. He was glad it didn't turn out to be his sister. Last time he talked to Georgie he ended up crying like a baby. He didn't want to cry when Elizabeth was around.
"I haven't talked to you in a while. I got your business number from Frank. He didn't understand why I wanted to talk to you, though."
Charles Bingley had been William's best friend since the first day of Kindergarten. The girls in their class may have looked innocent with little pigtails and frilly pink dresses, but William and Charles were not deceived. The girls were little monsters--all wild over the two from the moment they laid there beady little eyes on them. After that Charles and William stuck together for protection from "girl germs."
"Yeah, well..." William's voice trailed off. He knew he didn't need to finish. Charles understood, it was kind of awkward talking to an ex-brother-in-law.
Charles had been the first to fall in love with girls. When the girls quit chasing them on the playground, trying to get a kiss, Charles turned around, and started kissing them himself. William had just stood in the background, while girls glanced shyly in his direction. Charles never failed to attract attention from the opposite sex, with his blond hair, and deep blue eyes. He was an N'sync-look-alike in a time when girls were nuts over boy bands.
"I don't think Caroline is actually in love with Frank. She's in love with his money," Charles said seriously.
Throughout high school, Charles dragged William and Caroline to parties. Inevitably Charles would go flirt with this blond, or that brunette, and William would be left in a corner somewhere. He always felt so uncomfortable! There was one consolation, however, and that was Caroline. She was Charles' twin. She had been shy all through elementary school, and had just begun to come out of her shell her freshmen year of high school.
"She sure wasn't in love with me," William commented to Charles.
"What!" Charles laughed, "You were the love of her life."
"She had an awfully short life, than."
During elementary school and most of high school William had been her only non-family friend. When Charles began to drag the two of them to parties, William and Caroline spent the whole time side-by-side, talking only to each other (or Charles if he happened to walk by). William and Caroline had never actually gone on an official date. They had been "just friends" their whole lives, up until the day he asked her to marry him.
"Things just change, man," Charles said.
"Yeah, but why did I have to get stuck in the middle of it?"
"You have had a great life up till now, Will. It was just your turn, I guess."
"I guess I had it coming," agreed William. "She's beautiful, and most men like beautiful."
Charles snickered, "And most women like you. I don't know what her problem is. What does Frank have that you don't?"
"He's ugly," William agreed, as he looked at the required framed picture of Frank, hanging on the wall of his office. Frank Fitzwilliam was almost bald, but the little bit of hair remaining on his head was always greasy with little white specks of dandruff. His face was baggy, and wrinkled. He had bags under his eyes, and moles all over his neck. He never actually had a clean shave, so he always had stubble all over his face and chin, and longer hairs on his neck. "but he has much more money than I do," William ventured.
Thinking about how ugly Frank was made Charles sick. There had to be some sort of law... "So how's the business going?" Charles asked, trying to change the subject.
"Fine, I guess. Today was our first day, and I think we did pretty well."
"Good, good," said Charles cheerfully. "That's what I like to hear. Keep up the good work, young man," Charles made a feeble attempt at an impression of Frank.
William heard Elizabeth clear her throat. He looked up to see her standing in the doorframe. Annoyance crossed her face, as she brushed a finger through her brown hair. William glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 12:00pm, and time to close up.
"Hey, bud," William said. "I have to go now. Could you do me a favor?"
"Sure," Charles said cheerfully. He loved helping people!
"If you see Georgie, tell her I love her and miss her," he muttered into the phone, hoping Elizabeth couldn't hear.
"Will do!" said Charles.
"Oh, and if you see Caroline, please thank her for making my life hell."
"Good-bye, Will," Charles said, wearily.
"Bye," said William. He could hear Charles' laughter as he hung up the phone.
"Took you long enough!" Elizabeth cried. "I want to get out of here tonight."
"Yeah, well..." William began. He stopped himself, though, after deciding he didn't want to explain everything to her of all people. "Come on, let's go lock up," William said.
After locking the doors and turning out all the lights, William and Elizabeth headed outside. Elizabeth was surprised to see the red corvette still out there. She was even more surprised to see William climb into it. That's his car! she thought. After seeing him, she would never have guessed that a glum looking guy like him would have such a fancy car.
"Nice car," she said.
William only nodded. He slipped the key into the ignition, He put his left foot on the clutch, shifted into reverse, pulled his other foot off the break, and backed quickly out of the parking lot onto the road.
"Nice car," Elizabeth repeated in a dazed sort of surprise. She knew she was going to dream about shinny red paint, and a leather interior tonight. She just loved corvettes!
Chapter 2 Posted on Friday, 21 July 2000
"I think it's time for you to find another dumb blond..."
Jealousy is indeed a poor medium to secure love, but it is a secure medium to destroy one's self-respect. For jealous people, like dope-fiends, stoop to the lowest level and in the end inspire only disgust and loathing.
--Emma Goldman
Wednesday, after Labor Day
Garfield Senior High was named after the 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield--not the cat in a certain comic strip. He had been president for only four months before his assassination, and had never actually done anything for Iowa (let alone Casey). It was a mystery to Elizabeth why the school was named for him, a man from Ohio, who hadn't been able to do much of anything for the country as a whole, before he was assassinated.
Elizabeth stood in the middle of the tiny, cramped gymnasium, where she would be teaching three of the eight periods of the day for the next few years. There was only an average of 25 students in a grade, in a school containing only sophomores, Juniors, and seniors. There were actually only three P.E. periods altogether in the day.
Elizabeth dreaded first period the most. For the first time ever, she would be basically on her own, in a room full of kids who were just as dazed an confused as she was. Squashmores, she thought wickedly.
She remembered being a sophomore at her own high school a few years earlier. Kids from two junior highs were combined in an already over flowing high school, filled with brutal upperclassmen. Some sophomores went home crying after the first day.
Elizabeth remembered standing in front of her first hour classroom, when a boy walked up to her and asked for directions to Mr. Lisack's office. Elizabeth hadn't known who Mr. Lisack was, and had no clue where his office might be, and she told him so. The boy stalked off, muttering profanities under his breath about "Stupid Squashmores."
Since juniors and seniors made sophomore year hell, it only seemed fitting to make sure every sophomore who ever graced the school with their presence experienced the same thing. As a junior, Elizabeth watched her friends blockade the doors to the Junior Prom (to which the sophomores were for some odd reason invited). As a Senior, Elizabeth watched her friends stink bomb sophomore lane (a little, seldom-used road running next to the school where sophomores, and juniors without parking passes parked. It was really called Bennson Boulavard, but it had been doubled "Sophomore Lane," and the name seemed to stick).
All this and more made Elizabeth nervous about teaching sophomores first. They were just too new to high school. She hated it when people cried, and on the first day of school especially, sophomores cried.
Elizabeth was woken reverie when a masculine voice behind her shouted, "Bennet!" Elizabeth turned around, and found herself looking into two of the most handsome blue eyes she had ever seen. Elizabeth was a stickler for guys with blue eyes.
"That's me," she said. "And who might you be?" She was trying to focus on his face, but she found it hard. The Nicholas Cage wanna-be in front of her was wearing a gray shirt, with the sleeves cut off, displaying well toned biceps, and a perfect tan.
"George," he said, flashing her his best smile.
"Oh!" Elizabeth said, "Than you are the other P.E. teacher, Mr. Wickham."
He nodded gleefully. He liked this woman. She was pretty.
Elizabeth turned away from him for a moment to glance over her schedule. "Physical fitness first, huh," she said.
"Yep," he said.
"Should we start wi--"
"Do you want to go out to eat or something tonight?" he asked, interrupted her.
Elizabeth was in shock. Had this gorgeous guy whom she had only known for (maybe) five minutes just asked her out? "Yes," she agreed excitedly. She began to turn away, when she remembered her second job. "No," she said sadly.
"Huh?" George grunted. Confusion crossed his handsome face. He ran his tan fingers through his sun-bleached hair.
"I have a second job," Elizabeth said. She silently cursed William for taking away her social life. "I work at Big Frankie's from five till twelve."
"What about weekends?" asked George. His lips began to pout.
Elizabeth studied at her feet. "I'm afraid I work weekends too," she said.
"You just don't want to go out with me," George pouted.
"Not true!" Elizabeth shot back.
"Sometime..." George began, but he was cut short by a wave of twenty-five kids rushing through the doors, and leaping onto the open bleachers on the left side of the gym.
Elizabeth sighed, and wondered if she would ever find out what he was going to say.
Garfield Senior High, 4:37 p.m.
It was raining by the time Elizabeth left GSH. She had had a pretty good day. She liked all the kids--including the sophomores. She really liked George Wickham, and couldn't wait to spend more time with him.
She walked out the door that led to the loading dock, and the teacher parking lot. She slipped the key into her car door, and unlocked it. She climbed into the driver seat, and slipped her key into the ignition, and turned it, "Rrrrrr...Rrrrrr," the car sputtered. Nothing. Elizabeth tried it again. "Rrrrrr....Rrrrrr." Nothing.
"I'm going to be late for work!" she cried. She beat the steering wheel with her fist, and cursed the car.
Elizabeth climbed out of her car, and unlocked the back door. She took out the paper bag containing her work uniform, then locked all the doors.
"I'll just have to walk," she shouted at her car.
It didn't reply.
Suddenly a great day had turned into an awful day. She had to walk all the way across town to Big Frankie's in the pouring rain, without a raincoat, while carrying her uniform in a bag that would inevitably leak.
"This sucks," she grumbled. She walked quickly along the cracked sidewalk, praying William wouldn't notice her tardiness
Big Frankie's, 5:03 p.m.
Elizabeth rushed past the William's car, looking at it only long enough to reassure herself that it did actually exist. She hurried into the building, Knocking over a leaving customer. "I'm sorry," she shouted over her shoulder. She left the customer cursing her, and brushing himself off.
She hurried into the back room, and stopped short when she saw William had finally put on his office. Elizabeth whipped her hands off on her wet pants, and turned the door knob.
Inside, Elizabeth was surprised to see William hugging a pretty blond woman. Both looked up at her intrusion, surprised to see her. "I'm sorry," Elizabeth murmured. She quickly closed the door.
At least know I know why he has a door to his office now, thought Elizabeth. She was angry, but she didn't know why. She wasn't jealous, was she?
Elizabeth hurried to the bathroom, and quickly changed into her uniform. All she could think about was what she had seen.
"He has a great car," she grumbled, "Of course he has a pretty girlfriend, too."
Elizabeth looked into the mirror, and made eye contact with herself. "I'm pretty too!" she said, sticking her nose up in the air. Her uncertainty echoed off the bathroom walls.
"Who am I kidding?" she asked. She slumped against pink and white tiled wall, and closed her eyes. "I'm so ugly...compared to her."
George Wickham thought she was pretty. She could tell he liked her a lot--if he hadn't, why would he have asked her out within the first few minutes of their acquaintance?
William doesn't even have blue eyes, she thought. I don't' like brown eyes.
Elizabeth felt better after this reminder. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked very nice.
With one last glance at her at the mirror, she picked up her paper bag, threw it in the garbage bag and pushed open the swinging bathroom door. She walked quickly out, paying no attention to her surroundings, and ran into something hard and solid.
"Oof," she gasped. She fell back through the door. She would have fell to the ground, if two strong arms wouldn't have caught her.
Chapter 3 Posted on Sunday, 23 July 2000
"Let's sing a song for the broken hearted..."
"Kisses honeyed by oblivion."
--George Eliot
5:10 p.m., outside the ladies' restroom, at Big Frankie's
Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut, and waited in silence for the inevitable impact of her head slamming against the cold, hard, concrete floor.
She waited.
It didn't come.
Elizabeth finally sensed the arms holding her up, and her heart leapt into her throat. Was it him? It had to be!
Elizabeth opened her eyes, ready to gush over her savior, William Darcy.
"George...?" Elizabeth was in shock. She found herself gazing into the blue eyes of George Wickham, rather than William's brown eyes.
George grinned at her like a school boy. "Caught ya'!" he laughed.
"Thank you," Elizabeth said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice, but failing miserably. George didn't notice.
William became aware of the commotion in the hallway, and hurried out of his office to investigate.
Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw! Elizabeth was in the arms of some other man. However the initial surprise was not half as strong as the after-surprise, when he realized he actually cared.
William cleared his throat to notify the couple of his presence.
Elizabeth quickly pulled away from George, who eventually, and reluctantly let go of her.
"What's going on out here?" William asked crossly.
"Well she--"
"Well, I fell--"
"And I--"
"He caught me."
"Oh." William raised an eyebrow. After listening to all that, he figured they must be in love. They were finishing one another's sentences...something he and Caroline never did.
The tiny blond Elizabeth had caught with William a few minutes earlier crept shyly out of the office, and stood next to William.
"I'm sorry about all the noise," Elizabeth apologized.
The blonde began biting her finger nails. "As long as everyone is all right..." William said. With out skipping a beat, he took the blonde's fingers from her mouth, and patted her hand gently, before returning it to her side.
George watched the blonde with fascination. He thought she was beautiful. She had her long, blond hair tied up in a pony tail. She dressed far too conservative to be fashionable, but it showed that she had her own style. She wasn't a clone of every other girl in the world.
"So who's your friend?" asked Elizabeth. Curiosity was eating her whole!
"Don't you have something to do?" William asked, after checking his watch. "Like work, for example...that is what I'm paying you for, isn't it?"
Elizabeth nodded dutifully, and scampered off to the dinning room.
"What's your name?" George asked the blonde, flirtatiously.
She looked at the floor, and examined her Nikes. "Georgianna," she said softly.
"You're not from around here, are you?" George made is voice soft, to match Georgianna's.
"No. I'm William's sister."
"She's just visiting me," William said happily.
"Well, since your brother is working," George said, throwing a glance at William, "Do you mind if I show you around town?"
Georgianna looked up at him worshipfully. She looked like she was about to agree. She looked to her brother for his consent.
"Oh...go ahead," William said.
Georgianna grinned at William, and nodded. She left with George.
11:58 p.m., Big Frankie's
It was almost closing time. Elizabeth checked her watch again. She didn't want the day to be over, especially since it meant walking two miles, through the rain, to her house.
She watched the last two customers leave, and picked up her last tip of the day. Goodie. Ten cents, she thought sarcastically. She knew half of Casey was below the poverty level, but she never would have guessed it wasthat bad.
Elizabeth glanced at her watch again, as she carried the dirty plates away. Howard, the cook, gave her a sleepy smile as she entered the kitchen.
"Thirty seconds, Liz," he said, checking his watch. "Wait, twenty-five..."
Elizabeth grimaced, but was struck by a sudden inspiration. "Do you have a car, Howie?" she asked.
"Nope," he said sadly. "Can't afford it. I usually ride my bike."
"Oh."
Howard checked his watch. "Closing time!" he cheered.
"I'll go tell William," Elizabeth said.
She walked slowly down the hallway to William's office, where she found him talking on the phone.
"In love...again?" William cried. "...no, I'm not at all surprised....what's her name this time... h...hmmmm..." William glanced up and saw Elizabeth standing in the door way, and nodded. "I have to go now...bye." William hung up, and followed Elizabeth out of his office.
After locking up, Howard, William, and Elizabeth walked outside. Howard road off on his yellow Huffy, through the pouring rain, shouting his adieus as he disappeared in the foggy distance.
"Where's your car?" William suddenly asked.
"I left it at GSH. I think the battery died."
"Oh." William began to run from the door to his car. He stopped, and ran back. "Come on," he said quickly. "You can't walk home in this. I'll give you a ride."
Elizabeth gawked at him. She, Elizabeth Bennet, was going to ride in a real corvette. It was like living in a dream. "Thank you," she breathed.
William only nodded, and the two scrambled through the rain to William's car.
Elizabeth couldn't believe she was sitting in William's car. She ran her hand slowly over the smooth leather seats. Her heart pounded, but some how she didn't think it was all the cars doing.
She enjoyed the splash of the water off the windshield, and the loud roaring of the engine. She was impressed by the clean dashboard (hers was always dusty) and the way the street lights reflected off the shinny paint. It was indeed a beautiful machine.
William watched her out of the corner of his eyes. He could tell by the sparkle in her eyes that she liked his car. She looked so beautiful when her eyes sparkled, and it made him wonder why he had never, in the week and a half he had known her, noticed how beautiful she was. He couldn't help but feel jealous of what she had with George Wickham (and his car, for that matter).
Caroline had never liked the Corvette. She had begged him to buy a anything but a corvette (who cared what kind, as long as she had a car?) William put his foot down. He wanted a Corvette, and that was that.
"Turn here," Elizabeth instructed, breaking his reverie.
They were almost there. The ride was almost over. Within a few minutes, Elizabeth would be standing behind a locked door, while William would pull out of her driveway, onto the street. Then it would be over.
"This is my house," Elizabeth said softly.
William pulled carefully into the driveway, and stopped the car.
They both sat there. Elizabeth not wanting to leave, and William not wanting to tell her to leave.
"Well," Elizabeth began, running a hand across the leather again.
"Well," William repeated. He looked away from her. Somehow he knew if he looked at her again, he would crack.
"I guess..." Elizabeth began again.
"Yeah," said William.
Elizabeth nodded. He wanted her to leave. She had to leave. She had to leave...
She carefully popped the door open. She was afraid if she did anything quickly, the car would shatter into a million pieces, and she would wake up, and find herself in the middle of a dream.
"See you tomorrow, then," Elizabeth said softly. She looked at William. She forced him to look at her.
William couldn't do it any longer. He had to look at her. Their eyes met at the same time their lips did. As quickly as it happened, they pulled away. Neither of them wanted to admit that for a brief moment, they had kissed.
Without another word, Elizabeth left.
2:06 am, Elizabeth's house
The phone rang. The ringing was annoying. The ringing was very loud. It buzzed in Elizabeth's brain. It wouldn't give up the fight. Elizabeth turned on her side, and put a pillow over her ear. The ringing continued.
Finally, Elizabeth was fully awake, and picked the phone up. "What do you want?!" she cried into the receiver.
"This is William Darcy. Have you seen Georgianna?" he asked nervously.
"Who?"
Chapter 4 Posted on Tuesday, 25 July 2000
"Movin' right along, duga-dum-duga-dum-duga-dum..."
I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."
--Former U.S. Vice President, Dan Quayle
2:07, William's house
"Who?" Elizabeth asked.
Damn, William thought. He had never actually introduced Elizabeth to Georgiana. "That blond girl I was with this afternoon."
"Oh," Elizabeth said curtly. "No, I haven't seen her."
William began to pace nervously back-and-fourth across the room. "She left Big Frankie's with your boyfriend. She was supposed to come back here."
Elizabeth was furious. Where did he come off calling George her boyfriend? "Maybe your Georgiana decided to get a hotel room."
"Why would she do that?" asked William. He was confused. He had a guest room all prepared for his sister!
Now Elizabeth was really angry. "Get over yourself, William!" she cried. "Not every women you run across wants to sleep with you."
William choked. Sleep with him. He couldn't speak. He hung up the phone. She thinks Georgiana is my girlfriend, he realized. Chills went down his spine. He had to set her straight.
The phone rang. Elizabeth was now fully awake, but she was determined not to answer it. She sat tapping her fingernails rapidly on the table. She refused to talk to William again, because She didn't want to put herself thought that torture a second time.
An hour passed. The phone still rang. Elizabeth tried everything. She tried to sleep, watch TV, read, cook, anything to force herself to ignore the ringing, but it was impossible. Finally, she had to answer.
"Hello, William," she sighed.
"Huh?" said William. His voice betrayed the fact that he hadn't expected her to answer.
"What do you want?" she asked rudely.
"Georgiana is my sister, and I can't find her. She left with your boyfr--"
"He's not my boyfriend," Elizabeth said quickly. She wanted to clear that up right away. "I've only actually known him for a day... not even.
"Wonderful. This guy could be a lunatic, and I trusted him with my sister," he cried helplessly.
"Okay," Elizabeth said, "Calm down, relax. How 'bout you come to my house, and pick me up. Then we can both search Casey for her."
The other end of the line was quiet.
William said nothing.
"Okay, William?" Elizabeth asked. She wasn't even sure if he was there anymore.
"Okay," William said, finally.
Earlier that evening, in front of "Mickey and Misty's Super fast Convenience Store"
George Wickham waited in his beat up black 4x4. Georgiana was in the gas station paying for the gas (with his money). He opened his wallet again, and looked inside with disbelief. The gas alone had cleaned him out almost completely.
"Two lousy bucks," he grumbled, and shut his wallet again. As he sat up to put his wallet in his back pocket again, he saw Georgiana heading toward him, smiling happily.
"Darcy..." he said aloud. Where had he heard that name before? It sounded so familiar, and yet he couldn't put a finger on it.
Georgiana opened the door, and climbed into his truck. "Hey," she smiled. She liked him a lot already. They had only been together for an hour, and she was already sure that she would fall in love with him if she wasn't careful.
"Hey," George greeted her. He did his best to smile brightly at her.
George drove out of the parking lot, and on to the street again.
"So what else is there to see?" Georgiana asked.
"Not much, Kiddo. This is a small town," George replied.
"No kidding," she laughed.
Hit by a sudden inspiration, George asked, "What was your brother's name, again?"
"William...William Darcy."
"Oh." William Darcy....William Darcy...Caroline Bingley... It hit him like a box of rocks on Tuesday! (the author requests that the reader not make any comments on the last line, as it is still a tender subject. Her head still hurts) William Darcy was the idiot who stole Caroline Bingley from him.
"Do you know him?" Georgiana asked.
"Yeah, he married a friend of mine. Does Caroline live here, too?"
Georgiana smoothed her outfit. Darkness passed across her face. "No. She dropped him for my Uncle."
It's about time... "So they are divorced now?"
"Yep."
Better and better.
It had been love at first sight. When he saw Caroline, a little, shy freshmen in college, George fell for her immediately. Her blue eyes, her blond hair, her snotty attitude; everything combined made her perfect for an ego-maniac like himself.
After following her with his tongue hanging out for a few weeks, Caroline finally, and reluctantly agreed to go out with him. She was a "good girl," kind of like Georgiana. Her innocence didn't last long, though. After a month or two, Caroline's old friends didn't even know her anymore. She dressed slutty, and had begun to use drugs and alcohol. She was a different person, and George liked her--rather loved her--even more for it.
Two years passed, and George graduated from college, and had his teaching degree. A few years later, Caroline graduated. George professed his love for her, and she related similar sentiments, and they agreed to get married. Then she went home.
A few days later George received a phone call from Caroline, calling off the engagement. She said she found a man, William Darcy, and he thought he was in love with her. As an afterthought, Caroline added that his family was rich.
So his family is rich George thought, as he felt his nearly empty wallet in his back pants pocket. A malicious smile crossed George's lips, and a plan began to form in his mind, as he leaned over, and pulled a map out of the glove compartment.
L.A., California--Caroline's house, 2:30 am (Casey, Iowa time)
The phone rang. Caroline glanced at Frank, sleeping next to her. He was ugly, but filthy rich. Whatever it took, though! The cost of the money meant nothing to Caroline, as long as she had it. George taught her that.
"Get the phone, Carrie," Frank mumbled into his pillow.
"Okay," Caroline grumbled. Sometimes it seemed like Frank's money was more expensive than William's. William had, at least, been easier on the eyes!
"Hello?" Caroline said. She pushed her hair up on her forehead.
"Caro!" the voice on the other end said. Only one person had ever called her that. George.
Caroline's pulse quickened. It was George! She took the phone out into the hall, so she wouldn't wake Frank. "George?" she asked.
George laughed, "Yep, that's me, Caro."
Caroline couldn't believe she was actually talking to him. She must have been dreaming, but it seemed so real.
"What's going on, George?" Caroline heard a woman in the background say. So he had a girlfriend, maybe even a wife...Caroline was the ex-girlfriend. She broke the whole thing off. She wasn't supposed to care. But she did.
"Who's that with you?" She asked, carefully.
"That's what I'm calling you about. I know how much you like money, Caroline, so I brought you a key to a fortune."
"Huh?" Caroline was confused.
"Georgiana Darcy. I have her right here, and no one else knows."
"Where are you."
"Los Angles Airport. I flew her here from Iowa. She was visiting her brother, but I shortened the trip a little."
Caroline laughed. It was perfect. She had been looking for a way to make William's life even more miserable, and nice George had provided it.
"I need your help, though, Caro," George said.
"I don't know..." Caroline said softly, thinking about the huge amount of cash lying on her bed at that moment.
"Come on, it'll be like old times."
"This isn't robbing a convenience store, George. This is kidnapping my boyfriend's niece."
"Boyfriend, huh?" George said, suddenly jealous.
"Temporary," Caroline said. "He's loaded, and I like a man with lots of dough."
"Well, after this whole thing is over, I'll be the rich one around here, besides it's not kidnapping if the victim comes willingly."
Caroline thought about his words. The Darcy's were certainly rich, and they would definitely be able to pull a lot of money out of them in return for their precious daughter. "Okay," she agreed cheerfully.
4:55 am--Mickey and Misty's Super fast Convenience Store
William pulled his car up in front of the junky gas station, and glanced at Elizabeth. She had been quiet for some time.
"What's wrong?" William asked.
Elizabeth made a face. "Nothing."
"Come on," William began, "You can tell me."
"I'm just upset with myself. It's all my fault. If I hadn't shown any interest in George, he wouldn't have come to Big Frankie's in the first place."
"How could you have known?" William asked. His brown eyes probed her face for a reaction before he continued. "It's really my fault. I was the one who let her leave with that SOB."
"Well, I guess it's our fault, then. I just feel so stupid..."
William nodded, and climbed out of his car to fill the gas tank. He wished he had never gotten Elizabeth involved, but she was the only person in town he really knew.
This ruins the whole effect, Elizabeth thought sadly. She was once again sitting in the most amazing car ever built, only this time she was unable to enjoy it. How could she, when Georgiana was out alone with George Wickham?
Chapter 5 Posted on Thursday, 27 July 2000
She is such a good friend that she would throw all her acquaintances into the water for the pleasure of fishing them out again.
--Charles Talleyrand, Count
4:58 am--Mickey and Misty's Super fast Convenience Store
Elizabeth followed William into the gas station. Somehow she didn't feel comfortable sitting alone in the car--not when a vile George Wickham was on the loose, that is!
As William stood at the counter, paying for the gas, something fell out of his wallet. He was about to pick it up, when the guy behind the counter said, "Dude, do you know that chick?"
William raised an eyebrow. He saw it was a picture of his sister, and gave the affirmative.
The guy behind the counter, who's nametag read, "Brett," grinned sheepishly. "She was a hottie, but real shy."
"Are you saying you saw her earlier?!" Elizabeth asked, pushing William aside.
"Yeah. She came in to pay for the gas, while her boyfriend sat in the car. What I wouldn't give to be in his shoes right now..."
"When did you see them?" William asked.
"Dude, I don't remember. It must have been earlier this evening."
"Duh..." William mumbled. Luckily Brett didn't catch it. "Maybe this will clear up some of the fog." William waved a fifty-dollar bill in front of his nose.
"Oh yeah," Brett said, as he pulled the money out of William's hand, and pocketed it. "It was at the beginning of my shift, around ten or so." (the author agrees that it was a long shift, but Brett is a 17 year old high school drop out, and doesn't have to go to school tomorrow...)
"Is that all you know?" Elizabeth pressed.
"Well. My memory is getting a little fuzzy again..."
Elizabeth dug around in her purse, and pulled out a five. "Here, tell me everything you know." Elizabeth gritted her teeth angrily.
"Okay, okay. You don't have to be nasty about it. Her boyfriend came in about an hour later, and he asked me where the airport was. I guess the two of them were going to L.A., or maybe it was Los Vegas. My memory isn't working so well again."
"Your memory is just fine, Butthead. Go on," Elizabeth growled.
"Fine, settle down...it was L.A."
"Thanks for the help, bud," William said. He dropped a one dollar bill on the counter, and added, "That's for keeping your mouth shut."
"Gee thanks, Mister!" Brett cried excitedly. Now he could go make a phone call, using the infamous Mr. Washington. Besides having a sucky job, Brett spent way too much time watching, and enjoying, cheesy TV commercials.
"So what are we going to do next?" asked Elizabeth, once they were back on the road again. She woke William from his thoughts, so his reply was rather curt.
"I guess I'm going to drop you off, then head to the airport."
"Nah-ah!" cried Elizabeth. She playfully punched his arm. "You're taking me with you, buddy!"
"Why?"
"Because you were the one who got me involved in this whole crazy scheme in the first place. Now I'm determined to see it through."
"But--"
"But what, Mister Skeptical."
"But you have a teaching job. How are you going to get enough time off?"
"I'll..." William had definitely hit the nail right on the nose this time. Elizabeth had no clue what she was going to say. It was obvious that George wasn't going to show up. The school would be two gym teachers short, and they only had two gym teachers in the first place. Hummph.
"You'll what," William prompted.
"I'll tell them the truth of course."
"What truth?"
"That my sister is having a baby, and I must go to visit her for a couple weeks," Elizabeth said, simply.
"Whatever," William said. He had known Elizabeth long enough to know that he couldn't stop her from doing something she had set her heart on doing.
For the next few minutes, as William drove to Elizabeth's house so she could pack, the car was quiet. William was deep in thought. There was something so familiar about George Wickham's name. Where had he heard it before?
6:00 am (Casey, Iowa time)--and old, deserted warehouse on the outskirts of Los Angelous, California
George sat down next to Georgie, and put an arm around her quivering body.
"What's going on? What are we doing here?" Georgie sniffled.
"We're waiting for an old friend of mine," George grinned. He squeezed her shoulder. "Hey, Kiddo. Don't worry!"
Georgie still didn't know what was going on. George hadn't told her anything, and Georgie hadn't guessed. She was too scared to guess.
"Who's your old friend?" asked Georgie. She looked up at George. The dim sunlight reflected off her tear stained face.
"Someone you know quite well, actually."
"Who?" Georgiana pressed. She looked up at him with her imploring eyes, glistening with tears.
"Well, it's--"
"It's me." Both Georgiana and George turned, to find Caroline standing there. "Hello, darlings!" Caroline squealed.
"Caro," George grinned, as he stood up, and began walking toward her.
"Sit down, George," Caroline growled, as she pulled a handgun from her purse, and pointing it at Georgiana. "And we'll talk business."
Oh my g-d, Georgiana gasped.
Chapter 6 Posted on Saturday, 29 July 2000
6:05 am (Casey, Iowa time)--and old, deserted warehouse on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California
Georgiana hadn't wanted to guess what was going on. She had just hoped it was nothing. Now, with a gun staring her in the face, all guessing was over. Georgiana knew.
"Caro," George began calmly, "Don't you think maybe we should go somewhere more private to discuss this?" He gave a sideways glance at Georgiana.
"What, and let her get away? Not a chance!"
"But don't you thin--" George began again, but was stopped abruptly by Caroline turning the gun on him.
"George, shut up, for a second, or I will shoot," she said. She eyed him angrily.
"Okay, okay," George grumbled, raising his hands in the air. He was starting to wonder why he had brought her into the scheme in the first place. Oh yeah, he loved her.
"I said shut up!" Caroline cried. Anger covered her face. God, she loved George.
George looked down at his shoes. He was almost afraid to look up at her. He didn't feel comfortable having the gun on him. Who cared if it was on Georgiana? He didn't value her as much as he valued himself.
"I think we need to discuss the money issue. How much am I getting, how much are you getting, etc.," Caroline said, as soon as she was sure he wasn't going to say anything else. "Then we need to talk about," Caroline cleared her throat and glanced at Georgiana, "Storage."
George only nodded.
"Well, I think it should be a 50/50 split. I mean, you did bring the kid here. That does count for something. I was originally going to say more for me, since I need the money more, but I'm feeling generous."
Caroline still held the gun in her hands, pointed at George, but she had let it drop a little. It scared her when Georgiana suddenly gasped, and she accidentally pulled the trigger of the already cocked gun. The gun fired.
"BAM!"
Caroline screamed, and looked around her. For a moment she thought someone else was firing on them.
"Darn it all, Caro!" George cried. He painstakingly pulled his shoe off to inspect the damage she had caused.
"Baby, are you all right?" Caroline exclaimed anxiously. She rushed to him, and helped him pry his shoe off. His big toe, and half of the one next to it were virtually gone.
Georgiana took one look at the missing toes, and threw up all over Caroline (who just happened to be sitting almost in front of her). Caroline would have made a comment, if George hadn't cried,
"Thanks a lot, Caro. Now we have to go to the hospital."
"I'm so sorry," Caroline whimpered, momentarily forgetting about the vomit covering her skimpy orange tank top and black, leather mini skirt. The outfit had been designed with George in mind, but now it was ruined.
6:30 am--A small, crowded airport somewhere in Iowa
William and Elizabeth climbed out of William's car, and rushed into the airport. They stopped at a counter.
"We need two tickets to Los Angles immediately," William cried, breathlessly.
The women behind the counter looked at the two over her wire framed glasses, and nodded. "I'm sorry sir, but all our flights to California have been canceled. There has been some bad weather in the area--"
What!" Elizabeth interrupted her. "We need tickets now. For today."
"I'm sorry, miss. No can do." The women looked down at the paperwork in front of her and sighed.
"But ma'am, you must understand," William began.
"Oh, I'm sorry, are you still here?" the lady asked politely. She glanced at William and Elizabeth over her glasses, with an air of boredom
"Never mind," William said. He grabbed Elizabeth by the hand, and led her outside.
"What now?" Elizabeth asked.
"Now we drive," William said. He opened Elizabeth's door, then quickly walked around to his side.
It really was disappointing that they would not be able to fly. Flying was faster than driving. But there was a rainbow in the cloudy sky. Elizabeth would be able to spend much more time in the corvette! Hurray for Elizabeth. It was so sad that such a joyous occasion should be clouded over by the sadness of hunting down Georgiana and George...
Chapter 7 Posted on Monday, 31 July 2000
7:31 am, a small, crowded hospital in Los Angeles, California
George and Caroline locked Georgiana in a small supply closet in the hospital. It was dark, hot, and stuffy. Since Georgiana was semi-claustrophobic, it was altogether a bad experience for her. She couldn't wait till George and Caroline would come to pick her up.
The whole closet was so dark, that she couldn't see anything. She felt along the wall for a light switch. At last her fingers brushed against something that felt like what she was looking for, and she flicked it on. And there was light!
Georgiana looked around her, and found it was a closet for various medications, including chloroform. She grinned evilly, and pocketed two bottles in her baggy shorts. That might come in handy later, she thought.
A few minutes later, the door swung open, and a menacing Caroline stood in front of her.
"I hope you enjoyed your stay, hon, but we will be leaving now," Caroline said. She pulled Georgiana out of the closet, and dragged her down the hallway.
They met George at the entrance. He was in a wheel chair, and he had a crutch next to him.
"Are we leaving now, Caro?" George sighed.
"Yeah. I got Georgiana right here. Let's blow this joint!"
"I'm hungry, so we're going out to eat on the way home," George said. Caroline started to protest, but George stopped her. "We're trying to get money here, not starve the poor kid to death. She needs to eat. She hasn't had a decent meal since we left Casey, and neither have I."
8:20 am On the road somewhere in Nebraska
"I love your car," Elizabeth said, breaking a two-hour silence.
William grinned. "Me too. Caroline, my ex-wife, never liked it. She thought it was too loud, to...sporty. She drove a Ford Escort."
"I didn't know you were married," Elizabeth said, suddenly serious.
William was suddenly quiet. Elizabeth saw the pain covering his face. "It still hurts..." William said softly.
A lump rose in Elizabeth's throat. "I'm sorry--"
William turned to look at her. "No, don't be. How could you have known?"
"Sometimes it--"
"Helps to talk about it. I know. That's what my sister, Charles, and my cousin always say. I have yet to talk."
"We have a long drive ahead of us," Elizabeth said softly.
"What about your family?" William asked, changing the subject. "What are they like?"
"I have four sisters. three younger, one older," Elizabeth began.
"I just have one sister," William interrupted, "But my cousin Ryan is like a brother to me. I think you'd like him, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth smiled, and moved a little. She was starting to get tired of sitting.
"So what are your sisters like?"
"My older sister, Jane, is very pretty--beautiful, actually. But she's shy. Whenever she thinks a guy is interested, she gets nervous around him, and starts to avoid him. That's why she's had very few boyfriends. I guess guys think she's not interested, or something. She lives in California, outside of L.A. Anyway, She's probably my favorite sister."
"My friend Charles is in love with a girl named Jane," William said thoughtfully. "He lives in L.A., so I hope I get to meet her--after rescuing Georgiana, that is. Okay, what about your other sisters?"
"Mary, is the middle sister. She's a lot like Jane, except she's not as shy around guys. She just graduated from high school a year ago, and will be marring her steady boyfriend next summer."
"I thought she'd be nerdy," William said thoughtfully.
"Why's that?" Elizabeth asked. She cocked her head, and looked at William strangely. How dare he call Mary nerdy? Mary had been Prom Queen, Homecoming Queen, and had entered and won many beauty pageants.
"Well, haven't you ever read Pride and Prejudice? The middle sister, Mary was kind of...well..."
"I get your point," Elizabeth said dryly. She didn't like her nice sister Mary being compared to some dork in a book! "After Mary comes Katie. If it wasn't for Jane, Katie would probably be my favorite sister. She's so much like me. Whenever we're together we have a good time. She looks an awful lot like me, too."
"What about your last sister?"
"Lindsay." Elizabeth took a deep breath. Lindsay, Elizabeth though. She gritted her teeth. "Well, Lindsay is...Lindsay. If my family had a 'black sheep' it would be her. She's only fifteen, and I know she's sleeping with her boyfriend. It disgusts me to think about it." Elizabeth turned away. Tears filled her eyes, when she thought about Lindsay.
"How do you know?" William asked, confused.
"She's...pregnant," Elizabeth said quietly. She sniffed. "I'm sorry," she apologized to William. "I must be coming down with a cold." Why were her eyes watering all of a sudden? It must be the dust in the air, or something.
William looked at her sympathetically. What would he do if his sister was to become pregnant? An awful thought hit him. What if George Wickham made his sister pregnant?!
William suddenly began to catch Elizabeth's cold.
Meanwhile, in a Big Frankie's in L.A., California
George guided Caroline into the restaurant. Goodie, Caroline thought sarcastically. She didn't like Big Frankie's in the first place, and she could not understand why George had chosen it.
After being seated, a women with short, curly blond hair walked over to their table. "mornin'," she drawled. "I'm Cookie, and I'll be your server."
"Cookie Gibbins!" cried George.
Cookie squinted her eyes, to get a better look at him. "Wickie?" she asked. She licked her bright red lips.
"That's me," George smiled. He extended a hand and shook hers. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
"And here I be!" cried a jubilant Cookie. She threw her hands in the air in mock surprise, and giggled.
"So this is where you work, huh?" George asked. He shook his head. Cookie had a job at the Big Frankie's in Casey, but had left for L.A. with her boyfriend, Barney Collens.
"Yep," Cookie said proudly. She twisted her long, red fingernails through her hair, and snapped her gum. "My husband manages it."
"Husband, huh?" George asked. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous, since he and Cookie had had a little fling a few summers earlier.
"Yeah, Barney and I made it legal in Vegas on the way here. It was so romantic. We were married by an Elvis impersonator." Cookie flashed her genuine imitation diamond in front of George's nose.
"Um," Caroline interrupted them, "If you don't mind my breaking up your little Lady's aid meeting here, I'd like to order."
Cookie gave Caroline a fake smile. "Sure, hon. Whadda ya' want?"
After taking their orders, Cookie disappeared. A few minutes later, she came back to the table, dragging her husband behind her.
Barney Collens was a rather plump, harry Irishmen, who sweat too much. If was often thought, by his minimal amount of friends, that someone should introduce him to a razor, or maybe even a shower... but no one wanted to hurt the poor fellow's feelings.
"You remember George, don't you Barney?" Cookie asked, snapping her gum. She pointed a long, red fingernail at George.
"Sure do," Barney smiled. He extended a chubby hand. "Nice to see you again, buddy."
"Same here," George grinned. Despite the whole Cookie-thing, George really liked Barney (even if he could be somewhat annoying at times, and lacked basic manors). Barney Collens loved to team up with George, reeking havoc on the world around them.
"So what brings you to L.A., son?"
"Actually business--something you might want to get in on."
Caroline kicked George under the table, and hissed at him, "There are already too many people involved!"
"You hurt my foot, Caro. Now we need someone to make up for it," George hissed back.
"Perhaps we can talk somewhere...private?" George asked, glancing back at Barney. He looked pointedly at Cookie, not sure whether or not she could be trusted.
"Oh, sure!" said Barney. He enjoyed a good scam. He and George had pulled off many a con in their Casey days.
Meanwhile, on the lonely Nebraska freeways...
He hates me now, Elizabeth thought. She glanced at her stoic companion. He hadn't said a word for more than twenty minutes. the stupidity of one sister doesn't reflect on the whole family--or me, for that matter! Elizabeth screamed inwardly. Geez, what was up with this stupid cold? Elizabeth reached for another Kleenex. Who cares what William thinks, anyway?
William glanced at Elizabeth. He felt a pang in his heart when he thought about the story she had related. He didn't know why he cared so much...
I care, he realized. He cared. He couldn't believe he cared about the feelings of a women he had hated with a vengeance not a week earlier. But he cared anyway.
To break the silence, William put a CD in the CD player. Suddenly Savage Garden flooded out of the speakers, and into the car.
When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart
I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you
It's hard to find relief and people can be so clod
When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't
take anymore
"You like this stuff?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, don't you?" William asked. He glanced over at his passenger.
"Yeah. This is one of my favorite songs, but I didn't think you would like them..."
"Actually it's my sister's CD. She left it in the car. I have to admit, thought, I do like Savage Garden--a little."
Elizabeth grinned.
Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Left you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone
Elizabeth, I'm here for you. William tried to send Elizabeth a telepathic message. She only glanced at him, and half-smiled.
When you feel all alone
And a loyal friend is hard ot find
You're caught in a one way street
With the monsters in your head
When hopes and dreams are far away and
You feel like you can't face the day
Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone
Oh William, Elizabeth cried inwardly. You may hate me now, but we're in this together, and I'll be here for you. She looked at William again. He seemed to be concentrating on his driving, and (of course) singing.
He was a really good singer...
Because there has always been heartache and pain
And when it's over you'll breathe again
You'll breathe again.
When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please
To tame your wild wild heart
William gripped the steering wheel tighter. We have to help each other
We need to help each other through our painful pasts, Elizabeth realized.
Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
Your not alone*
"You're not alone," William repeated.
"What?" Elizabeth asked, glancing at him.
"You're not alone," William repeated. "We're in this together. I know the whole thing with your sister has...broken your heart, in a way. I guess I just want you to know I'm here for you."
Elizabeth starred at him. He's here for me, Elizabeth thought joyously. She was so glad he wasn't upset with her.
"I'm here for you too, William. Whatever happened between you and your ex-wife." William shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I'm here to help..." Elizabeth concluded hurriedly.
After a long pause, during which Elizabeth was sure William was starting to regret saying anything about not being alone, and the CD moved along to the next song, William nodded, and said softly, "Thank you."
*Crash and Burn by Savage Garden
Chapter 8 Posted on Monday, 7 August 2000
"What's taking them so long?" Caroline grumbled. She paced quickly back and fourth across the Big Frankie's Lobby.
Georgiana wiped her sweating hands on her shorts. If she was going to make her move, it had to be done now.
"I--" Georgiana began, but was cut off by a savage,
"What!" Caroline stopped mid pace, to glare at Georgiana.
"I need to go to the bathroom."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Didn't you go before you left Iowa?"
"Well, yes. That was a long time ago, though." Tears began to form in Georgiana's eyes.
If Caroline had a soft spot, it was for tears. When she saw a person crying, her first instinct was to comfort them. "Oh, Georgie," Caroline began. A tear began to prickle at the edge of her own eye. "You don't have to cry. Come, let's take you to the bathroom."
Georgiana looked at Caroline, with a grateful smile, and carefully touched her pocket to make sure the two little bottles of chloroform were still there.
"I'll wait here," Caroline said, as they entered the small, two-stall bathroom. Caroline leaned up against the wall opposite the door.
Georgiana really had no clue how to use Chloroform, other than what she'd seen on TV. She was worried that somehow it was wrong, and Caroline would still be awake. She'd take away the bottles for sure!
Pretend you're Dr. Quinn, she ordered herself. She dumped a small portion of the bottle's contents on a piece of toilet paper. She then hid the bottle once again in her pocket, took a deep breath, hid the toilet paper behind her back, and slowly exited the stall.
"Well, that was fas--" Caroline began, but was cut off by Georgie putting the toilet paper over her nose. "What's going on?" Caroline cried. She struggled, but the Chloroform was too strong for her, and she fainted dead away.
"Oh my gosh," Georgie said aloud. She hadn't expected it to work that well.
Georgiana had just enough time to walk back out to the Big Frankie's lobby and sit down, before George and Barney emerged from Barney's office.
George ran his fingers through his hair, and looked around him. Confusion covered his face. "Where's Caro?" he asked.
Innocence covered Georgie's face. She said nothing.
"Where did she go?" George asked. He took big step closer with every word, and on "go" his face was in hers.
Georgie cleared her throat, and played nervously with her rings. "We were just sitting here, waiting for you. She got tired of waiting, and finally said she really didn't want to be a part of your plans after all."
George looked hurt. Caroline, the love of his life, didn't want to be with him...didn't want to get rich with him...didn't want to ruin William Darcy's life with him...
...How un-Caroline-like.
George turned away from Georgiana, and looked at Barney. "I guess it's just you and me now. You still in?"
Barney shrugged his fat shoulders. "Okay with me, man."
"I just wish there was someone to take Caro's part..."
"How 'bout Cookie? She's a schemer."
George pressed his lips. "Can we trust her?"
Barney shrugged again. "Can we trust anyone?"
"Fine. Whatever," George grumbled. He grabbed Georgie's arm, and dragged her out of the restaurant.
7:45 pm--Just outside Nebraska
"Mmmm...where are we?" Elizabeth asked, stretching after her long nap. Half-way through Savage Garden Elizabeth had fallen asleep, and she had slept soundly ever since.
"Did you have a nice nap?" William asked sarcastically.
Elizabeth shrugged, and twisted her neck, trying to get the kinks out. "As good as it could be, I guess."
"Oh," William grumbled. He wanted to take a nap. He hadn't slept in almost forty-eight hours.
Elizabeth eyed him carefully. "Worried about you sister?" she asked lightly.
William turned from his driving to look at her. His eyes narrowed. "Duh, Sherlock. Someone has their observation skills in hyper drive today."
Elizabeth shook her head. She knew he was upset about his sister, but she hadn't thought he was this bad.
"I'm hungry," Elizabeth said, changing the subject. "Wanna get something to eat."
William snorted. "Yeah, then maybe we can get a hotel room, and spend the night in some dinky town. Gee, Elizabeth, I hope we make it to California in at least a week," he said in a sarcastically bright voice.
"I was just thinking--"
"Don't."
Elizabeth tuned angrily away from William. Fine. She would starve. If William didn't care, why should she?
William mentally kicked himself. Why had he been so rude. Now Elizabeth would hate him. But could he help it that he was worried about his sister?
William carefully pulled on to the next exit proclaiming McDonalds. He had to admit, he was hungry. Sort of.