“I just got a text from Denny, he’s back in town!” screams Lydia running to find her sister clipping out celebrities and other note worthy people from magazines and gluing them to a poster board to hang in her room.
Jumping over the pile of magazines, Lydia pauses and curiously looks behind her “Kitty, why are you using a National Geographic?” stopping Lydia in her tracks noticing that she is pasting an unfamiliar face in between a picture of the commoner Kate Middleton who will soon be marry Prince William and another picture of Captain “Sully” Shellenberger who saved many of his plane passengers.
“It has a face that represents 7 billion people in the world. I think everyone has a chance at being famous” nonchalantly replies Kitty “I want to be famous some day too!”
“Umm . . . what would you be known for?” asks Lydia strangely interested in hearing her sister’s reply.
“I’d like to be a skydiver but one who ‘dances’ in the sky. You know, something similar to water ballet but in the clouds” honestly replies Kitty daydreaming of her possible future adventures.
“How would that work? What would you do with your backpack? You would be going so fast. How would you remember to open it after all that dancing?” inquisitively asks Lydia not exactly appreciating the visual of her sister falling from several miles in the sky.
“I don’t know. I would just know. But don’t you think it would be great? I’d have to find somebody to dance with me though” considers Kitty “it wouldn’t be much fun by my self”.
“Good luck with that” frankly replies Lydia “By the way, what I really came in to tell you is that Denny is spending his college Christmas break at Meryton. He’s going to be staying with Aunt Phillips!” explains Lydia “We can go see him any time we want! Mom won’t mind because he’s staying with our cousins!”
“What is he doing there? Why would he go to Meryton?” asks Kitty not knowing why anyone would ever bother to visit Meryton let alone spend their entire Christmas break there.
“He’s going to be a bell ringer and play his trumpet at the kettles. He says it will help pay for some of his college tuition the next semester and it’s something he likes to do” Lydia continues twirling in the room and hugging her less than impressed sister “Honestly, I don’t really care why he is here I’m just so excited he is coming!”
“Is anyone else coming with him?” hopefully asks Kitty knowing that college boys are often the cutest.
“Actually, there is an entire ensemble that is coming to ring at the kettles. There might even be one for you, Kitty! We just have to convince our parents or Liz to let us borrow her car” strategizes Lydia.
“I think you would have more luck boring the minivan rather than asking Liz or Jane. Liz is delusional where ‘Maud’ is concerned. She thinks her car is too precious to touch” sulks Kitty at the futility of that particular request.
“Jane will let us use her car. She has a hard time saying ‘no’ to anybody. But we will probably have to use our allowance to pay for gas” considers Lydia apprehensive about the lack of cash in her purse “I need a job then we would have some real money. I shouldn’t have quit the dollar movie theater when they got so mad at me for putting too much salt on the popcorn. Who doesn’t like salty popcorn? Movie theater popcorn is the best because of the coconut oil and the salt just makes it taste better!”
“Maybe you could try the sandwich shop the next time. They pay a quarter more per hour. It would definitely be an upgrade” suggests Kitty attempting to be helpful but relieved that she has already found a job as an aid at the day care on the corner.
“You have money! I forgot! We can use your savings for gas!” inspired confirms Lydia “I wouldn’t need a job and then we could go as much as we wanted!”
“I would still need to work though. You need to pay half of it too because that is not fair” considers Kitty but liking the idea of spending more time in Meryton especially if there are attractive boys around “Do you think that I look like a senior? I’ve still got a year to go, but college guys will date a girl if she is a senior.”
“Umm . . . let me see. We’ll need to do something with your hair and makeup and I think you could possibly pass for a senior” instructs Lydia assured that her maturity will provide the necessary guidance for encouraging another year of growth.
Kitty clips and adds a few more pictures of Oprah, Christa McAuliffe – NASA’s first teacher in space, Ty Pennington with Habitat for Humanity, and JLo from “American Idol”.
In the meantime, Lydia takes out her cell phone which she keeps on her at all times in case Maria Lucas calls with the current suspenseful and tragic local high school gossip of ‘whom’ is dating ‘whoever’ and of course ‘who’ is mad at ‘another’ and no longer speaking to them for the rest of eternity.
“Jane? Are you busy? Kitty asked me to call you. Kitty wants to borrow your car to see a friend in Meryton” states Lydia hoping that she will be more willing to let Kitty borrow her car since the last time that she drove and accidently backed into one of the yellow poles at the bank denting Jane’s bumper and leaving pale mustard colored remnants on the frame. “It really wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t there before” silently reflects Lydia “some one put it in my way”.
“How about if I drive you to Meryton on Saturday?” suggests Jane having thought about going to Meryton earlier in the day “I need to go there anyway. There is a music store I would like to go to that has several selections of sheet music which is difficult to find anymore.”
“Okay, whatever” replies Lydia glad that it is all right to go but not wanting a long discussion about various types of old favorites that her oldest sister hopes to discover “What time will you be by to pick us up?”
“How does ten sound?” offers Jane thinking that it would be have an all-girls day again with her sisters.
“Sounds good, but I’ll have to kick Kitty out of bed. She likes to sleep-in until noon and then just grunts like a caveman for the next two hours while she tries to pry her eyes open” explains Lydia dreading the alarm going off seven times on a Saturday morning before Kitty will finally get up.
“I’ll see you then! Love you and be good!” suggests Jane with slightly more intent and emphasis than a typical farewell.
On Saturday morning there is a loud honk outside. Mary is the first one out the door wearing a fanny pack to protect her money which she quietly hoards until the delightful moment of finding something that she wants such as nighttime inferred goggles for camping, black light florescent socks, or a secret stash of Royal Family trading cards which she only takes out on special occasions. Hearing of the invitation, Mary has willfully decided to join the inane frivolity of her sisters to Meryton in hopes of a great purchase.
Lydia and Kitty follow closely behind dressed up with full make-up in their recent purchases from the Longbourne Mall.
“That is some red lipstick Kitty. Where did you find it?” asks Liz sitting in the front passenger seat of the forest green two-door Ford Focus but noticing that she would also like a true red in that shade to go with her uniform.
“Its called “Santa’s Stocking” and I found it at the dollar store. I really like it but it is difficult to remove unless it is smearing on some of your clothes” saddened states Kitty from personal experience.
“Well, doesn’t anyone notice what I’m wearing? I’m wearing “Plum Passion” right now. I also bought “Eve’s Kiss” which is almost the same red” Lydia considers “I think the inventors must have been talking about the apple she bit into.”
Mary stubbornly corrects “It was not an apple. The Bible only mentions it being a piece of fruit from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden”.
“Whatever. She still ate it whether it tasted good or not” Lydia further explains her train of thought “I don’t like fruit. The only kinds of fruit I like are apples. Eve probably only liked apples too!”
Liz rolls her eyes and considers that it not worth the effort to enter the hopeless conversation in the backseat of the car.
Trying to change the discussion, Jane suggests “Why don’t we play ‘eye spy’ on the way to Meryton using license plates? See, there is an A on that plate from Oregon” pointing to the car in front of her.
“I see a B on that blue minivan!” joins Kitty trying to enjoy the game rather than Mary nudging her elbow into her rib because of trying to squeeze three life sized adults in the back seat.
“There’s a C on that red convertible. Hey, I think that might be Darcy and Bingley. Hurry Jane! I think they are passing us!” yells Lydia excited to see some friends along the road and wanting to race them. Jane suddenly slows down.
“Why are you breaking? We’ll miss them!” anxiously calls out Kitty.
“I don’t want them to think we are following them” explains Jane a little unnerved that she didn’t dress up more not knowing that there would be a chance to see Bingley today.
“I think it might be too late for that. Bingley already waved back to us before Lydia noticed the C on the license plate” explains Mary “I wonder if they are going to Meryton too?”
“We were on the road first. If anybody is following anyone, he is following you! However, I think Darcy is driving not Bingley” suggests Lydia trying to make Jane feel better “I don’t think Darcy is the one interested in you though”.
Liz smiles knowing that there is no way that Darcy could be following her but pleased at the thought that it would be really nice if that were actually possible. It has been a long couple of months. However, Jane has heard from Bingley on a fairly regular basis and assumes that she told Bingley they would be in Meryton for the day. She wonders how Bingley convinced Darcy to go along as well.
Upon arriving at Meryton, “Do you think you could have driven any slower? I think that took 20 minutes longer than ever!” replies Lydia shaking her head at Jane’s nonsense.
Kitty whispers in Lydia’s ear, “Where are they? Did Denny text you?”
“They are in front of Kindlewoods” whispers Lydia “Jane, why don’t we go over to Kindlewoods. I hear they are having a sale!”
Jane parks the car along the curb and puts some spare change that she mostly uses for soda money in the parking meter.
“Look whose here!” exclaims Lydia running up to Denny and giving him a huge hug “What a surprise to see you!”
“Lydia, it’s been a long time! I want to introduce you to some of my friends. This is Graham Pratt on horn, Mark Yates on trombone, and Dan Wickham on Euphonium. Who is with you?”
“You remember Kitty from camp. These are my older sisters, Mary, Liz, and Jane” introduces Lydia as each of them politely greeting the others.
“We’re shopping today” anxiously explains Mary not too excited about the delay in her plans.
“We’ve been playing carols for about two hours and looking forward to a break. Would you like to join us for some hot chocolate?” asks Denny thrilled to see someone near his age and so pretty in the small town.
“Sure! I think there is a café on the corner called “Ethel’s Enchantment”. They have some great homemade pies and a variety of coffees too” suggests Lydia taking Denny’s arm and leading him down the block.
The largest available table only has four seats. Lydia, Kitty, Denny and Pratt are at one table with Jane, Mary, and Yates at the other. Rather than letting Liz sit by herself, Wickham joins her in the two-seater orange pleather booth and concentrates on the plastic sleeved menus with black cloth trim listing several delicious bakery items.
“So Denny tells me that you are quite an interesting person” compliments Wickham taking a seat next to Liz quietly away from the others listening to shrills of Lydia’s laughter at something humorous Denny has said.
“I’m not sure that your terms sounds like a good thing” jokes Liz not sure how to take his friendly manner and warmth.
“Interesting can include adjectives such as captivating and astonishing. I think anyone with those qualities would be a ‘good’ thing” replies Wickham enjoying Liz’s ease of conversation.
“Good is a loaded word and can be defined as so many different things to each person” states Liz “but I suppose for the most part, I am ‘good’ if I need a definition to explain myself”.
“I’m not. I only pretend to be in order to get what I want” teases Wickham with an unknown ring of truth in his statement.
“So how long are you in town for?” asks Liz wanting to start another topic of conversation.
“I’m here through the holidays. I don’t have to be back at college until the end of January if I have enough money for tuition. It is a rather expensive Christian school that I am attending. But as you know a lot of Salvationists attend the college and it is a good way to make future connections” explains Wickham feeling her sympathy “I was robbed of my inheritance so I have to work in order to make it through school.”
“Really? What happened?” curiously asks Liz intrigued by his personal story.
“My dad use to work for the Darcy family. Mark Darcy’s father and my dad had been in the military together. My dad saved him and Mr. Darcy was indebted to him but they were also very good friends. When my dad was promoted to glory, Mr. Darcy basically adopted me. I came to live in the Darcy’s family home when I was 16. When Mr. Darcy passed away when Darcy and I were both 19, I inherited a great fortune from his will. But as the overseer Mark Darcy refused to release the money to me. I wanted to go to college and then on to the training school as an officer, but Darcy felt that I wasn’t “good enough” to become an officer or to go to college for that matter.”
“That’s terrible!” interjects Liz intent on listening to Darcy’s cruel arrogance and conceit “What did you do?”
“I did what any young man would do under those conditions. I joined the military for awhile and have now been discharged. I’m going to school but barely making ends meet” explains Wickham as Liz offers her hand across the table in support and sympathy.
“You seem like such a wonderful person and that it such an obnoxious and selfish thing to do! How dare he!” states Liz feeling that there might be a new mission coming her way.
The tinker bell on the clear door rings as Liz looks up to find Darcy and Bingley entering the café. Liz is surprised to find how excited she is to see him in spite the circumstances.
Liz smiles at first but then glares at Darcy. She then looks down realizing that Wickham is watching her embarrassed that she would be friends with someone who could be so callous to another.
“Look it’s Bingley, Jane!” yells Lydia and with less enthusiasm but still joking “And his ‘robin’, Darcy. I think you forgot your capes if you are coming to rescue us!”
Bingley smiles and walks directly over to Jane’s table to say hello. Darcy remains by the front glass display case of fresh bakery items. He looks puzzled with a note of concern.
“Hello Darcy. It has been a long time” finally responds Wickham after a long strained pause.
“Yes it has” sharply states Darcy feeling extremely uncomfortable and angry that he should find Liz holding hands with Wickham.
Feeling Darcy’s eyes on her, Liz subconsciously releases Wickham’s hand and feels uneasiness in her perception of the moment but not entirely sure how to explain it.
“What are you doing here?” interrogates Darcy in a tone of authority as if investigating a crime.
“I’m in town for the Christmas season. I’m working for the Meryton corps ringing bells at the kettles to help with my college tuition” frankly states Wickham looking over at Liz to make sure that she is listening.
Darcy shrugs or some might say shivers “When will you be leaving?”
“I’m here until January unless better plans come along” smiles Wickham at Liz quite at ease feeling that he has the upper hand of the situation.
As these words enter the room, a melodic “Hello there!” echoes throughout the café. Collins is wearing yellow smiley face ear muffs, a tight knit light tan hat with dangling knit balls on each side, a mustard yellow parka, and burnt orange safety boots with fur trimmed edges with his pants tucked in for warmth, “Liz, I didn’t know you would be here in Meryton today! How exciting we get to see each other two days in a row! I can hardly wait for our ‘date’ tomorrow!”
Liz turns beat red but doesn’t know what to say . . . Mary gives her daggers but then completely relaxes into giggles when Collins plops down in next to Mary in the one empty chair at their table.
Darcy feels pangs of jealousy but tries to ignore them at the moment. “Bingley, I forgot that I have a business appointment this afternoon. We need to get back to Longbourne.”
Bingley and Jane look extremely disappointed at the abrupt farewell and say goodbye to each other with faithful promises that they will see each other again soon.
Let down Bingley walks out of the café behind Darcy who is already crossing the middle of the street.
“See! Isn’t he such a pompous jerk?” observes Wickham leaning in closer so Liz can hear “I never had to chance to have what was rightfully mine.”
“He had no right to take your inheritance from you!” explains Liz subconsciously exaggerating to win some obtuse favor with the attractive Wickham “It sounds so like him! He is definitely more of a snob and selfish than I even thought!”
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