Will Fitz glancing down at the cell phone in his hand and sliding the photos across the screen with his thumb, “Who are these girls, Darcy? I don’t remember you mentioning anything about being an ABBA fan. They look cute in silver and the eighties hair!
Darcy eyes widen and he blushes at the memory of Liz and Char singing together on karaoke night, “They are some friends of mine” attempting to grab his phone from Will.
Will holding the phone more tightly and hiding it behind his back turns in mirrored precision as Darcy does his own dance to recover his private world. Teasingly Will begins “I think you must like one of these stardust divas.” Will blocks Darcy with one hand while taking a quick second look with the other “I think the brunette is very pretty. What’s her name? I might ask her out sometime!”
Darcy’s eyes narrow. This is not a pleasant statement for him to hear and feeling a twinge of jealousy. “I don’t think so. She’s not your type anyway”.
“What do you mean, ‘not-my-type’? I haven’t even met her yet” laughs Will a little surprised at Darcy’s protection of this unknown costumed stranger.
“Liz is smart. I don’t think you would understand her” smirks Darcy still tempting to wrestle the phone out of his cousin’s hand “Liz would have you lost at her first sentence”.
“Oh ooo . . . so her name is Liz. So where did you meet Liz? What does she do? Do you think she would like to meet me?” smiles Will jumping over the couch to brace himself against Darcy’s anger that seems to be increasing by the second.
“No, I do not. She sees through people very well and I think she would be bored with you rather quickly” angrily states Darcy not appreciating the friendly rivalry and throwing himself towards the phone but missing and flipping over the couch.
“Ha, ha, ha . . . I’ve never seen you this coordinated before!” teases Will running to the opposite end of the room and holding the phone as high as he possibly can to full potential of his two inches taller in height difference “Maybe I do need to ask this Liz out and see if she likes me more instead”.
Darcy stares him down. With his hands on his hips, he determines the best strategy to retrieve this object that suddenly has gained value in the last few moments. “It will never happen. She’s too good for you”. Darcy determinedly runs towards Will’s chest and he lands with a loud thud on his back surrounded by the soft plush bamboo carpet.
“Ugh . . . hey that hurt” whines Will Fitz rubbing his chest. He loses his trophy to the hands of the other winner. “Even though I don’t know her, she is pretty. How often do you get to see her? Do you have any other pictures you’d like to share with me?”
“I haven’t seen her for awhile. She is very pretty and intelligent as I mentioned before. But she is not your ‘type’” Darcy adamantly replies then slightly quieter to himself, but loud enough for Will to still hear “She’s funny too and has a beautiful smile” reflecting for a moment lost in his own memories.
Will Fitz grins noticing that Liz must have some sort of effect on his cousin that he hasn’t seen before. “Who is she?”
“If you must know, her name is Liz Bennett. The other girl is her best friend Char who is now married to Lieutenant Collins who is assisting at Crestwood” reluctantly explains Darcy.
“I remember Collins from camp as a kid. I feel sorry for Char. Collins has to be interesting to live with on a day to day basis” remarks Will “I wonder if he ever discovered how to match his socks. Every year at camp his three striped socks would never be the same. He would have blue with black or red with orange. He never seemed to get it together. It wasn’t like the rest of us were wearing knee-hi basketball socks either with every outfit. If I remember right, he also loved to wear purple suspenders with his bold shiny shorts with a white stripe on the side.”
Darcy grins at the memory. “Yes, he wasn’t exactly what I’d call aware of some things. But he had a good heart and was a pretty good guy from what I remember.”
“I guess you’re right. He always had something encouraging to say to everyone even if it wasn’t always at the right moment. Do you remember that time at the Final Concert at Camp Longbranch at the National Music Institute? Collins’ grandma had given him that perm that she left in too long.”
“Oh yeah, he looked like he could have been a twin for James Brown” Darcy begins to mimic twisting his leg back and forth while shuffling and singing in a raspy tone “I feel good, like I knew that I would now . . .”
Will looks at him with an inquisitive look at Darcy’s uncharacteristic attempt to provide a celebrity impression.
Darcy smiles collecting himself and continues “I think his hair was nearly two feet taller than his head” remembers Darcy feeling a bit sorry for Collins lack of social adeptness as a teen.
“If I remember right, Susan Wentmore tripped during the advanced timbrel routine at the final concert and fell off the stage in front of everyone revealing a little more than she expected or wanted to” begins Will with his childhood reflection and feeling some of the anguish that she must have experienced.
Darcy kindly adds “Collins had such a huge crush on her. It was obvious to everyone that he would do anything for her but unfortunately I don’t think it was appreciated by Susan.”
Will continues “As soon as she landed on the floor, Collins instantly ran up without even helping her and grabbed the mic. He announced to everyone to clap for her outstanding timbrel skills.”
Darcy empathetically interrupting Will “I don’t think she realized at the time he really wasn’t being sarcastic”
“Probably not” agrees Will “But it was awfully funny when she came up behind him during the refreshment time and poured a pitcher of red Kool-aid on his awesome curly head” muses Will smiling with delight at the memory.
Darcy sympathetically states having known Collins since childhood and a witness to his many social attempts “Collins didn’t always have the best timing”.
“Hey, does this Liz have any sisters?” asks Will “Since it appears Char is married and you may seem to have some special interest in Liz”.
“I’m not interested in Liz” defends Darcy but with feelings of jealousy of a possible loss “She is just not right for you. I’m not sure she would give you the time of day anyway. But, ‘yes’ to answer your question, she does have four other sisters. Jane is the oldest and very pretty. Then there is Mary who is interesting. She had a crush on Collins for awhile. They actually might have made a good match. Liz has two younger sisters that are still in high school – definitely too young for you”.
“Really? What is Jane like? What was your impression? You’re usually a good judge of character” states Will Fitz having been saved a few times by Darcy from girls who were only after his family money.
“I have to admit, I was fooled by her at first too. She seems very gentle, sweet, with a kind spirit. But she has a horrible reputation” earnestly remarks Darcy.
“Who told you that?” asks Will knowing that Darcy isn’t usually fooled even with first impressions.
“Collins told me how much she has chased every guy in the divisional youth group for years” frankly replies Darcy.
“Are you sure? Did you see her do that? Did you ever see her chase any guys? Collins might be exaggerating just because perhaps Jane just wasn’t interested in him” inquires Will and then recalls from personal experience “Collins had a habit of saying a lot of stupid things about a girl when he was rejected by someone. He made up stories about the girls that were not true in order to defend why he might have been rejected rather than just accepting that the girl didn’t like him”.
“I would think he would have grown out of that by now” honestly replies Darcy “it’s not what an adult does.”
“You never know” replies Will “Some people take a long time to grow up”.
“It wasn’t only what Collins said about Jane that was a problem. Bingley really liked her. A few months ago he told me that he was falling in love with her. I must admit, they both seemed rather devoted to each other” states Darcy but more animatedly “But even her mother talked about how much Jane was admired by all the guys. She bragged about it so much. If ever there was a mother trying to relive her childhood through her daughter, I believe it was Mrs. Bennett. She would tell everyone how every guy wanted to be with her daughter. It’s not something a mother should brag about.”
“Did Jane seem like a flirt? Or even after Bingley’s money?” curiously asks Will not sure that to base opinion off of what Collins believes is the best point of wisdom.
“No, I never her saw her flirt with anyone except maybe Bingley. But her mother said to anyone who would listen how much Bingley made and what his financial advantages were. She bragged about how their marriage would make her daughter very wealthy and she would have everything she ever wanted”.
“Oh, I see” politely agrees Will but not entirely convinced.
“I don’t want Bingley stuck with some greedy girl who only cares about his money. He’s too good a guy for that. He needs someone who will be there for him and be his soul mate, and not just care about his bank account” sternly replies Darcy affirming his own desire to find the right person to share his life with.
“What happened?” asks Will sensing that Darcy’s tone seems rather prideful about something in regards to the relationship between Liz’ sister and Bingley.
“I told Bingley that Jane was after his money and that she didn’t really care about him. He’s like a brother to me and I would do anything to protect him from getting hurt. He needs someone in his life that understands and cares for him not just with a motive to promote their own status and number of advantageous friendships” defends Darcy with true motives but shadowed opinions.
“I don’t think Collins is a great source for information to base any opinion on, but in that her mother is also saying the same things, is somewhat of a concern” replies Will becoming convinced by Darcy’s argument to explain his decision to interfere “If you felt that the girl really didn’t like him, you probably made the right decision to say something. But what if you were wrong? What if Jane really did like him?”
Darcy glares at him “I’m not wrong. I know what I said was in Bingley’s best interest. She was also hanging around Wickham who was in town helping with the Christmas program”.
“I can’t stand Wickham. The girls were always charmed with him. He’s such a jerk though. He uses them, forgets about them, and then moves on to someone else who will flatter his ego for awhile. He always seemed to pick the nicest girl too who would drool over his good looks but not notice anything deeper that was severely lacking in his character” resentfully recalls Will from personal experience.
“It would not bother me if I never saw him again. He causes trouble wherever he goes. His absence is not a loss to my life” responds Darcy “He’s got himself engaged to a wealthy girl now who obviously can take care of his financial chaos and who must at least tolerate his ‘games’ with other women. Maybe she thinks that she will be able to change or tame him after they marry, but I doubt it. A guy like that doesn’t change. He just goes into hiding for awhile until he believes that he won’t be caught again.”
“I agree. Hopefully after Wickham is married he will go to his own corner of the world and stay there” wistfully states Will feeling that Wickham has robbed him of some hopeful relationships in his life by his obnoxious flirtation and deceptive appeal.
“How has your sister been?” compassionately asks Will trying to change the subject.
“She’s doing better and in college now. She’s out of the slump that she was in and seems to be enjoying life and new friends that she is making there. I’m very proud of her” reflects Darcy “She’s leaving her childhood behind and turning into a lovely young woman”.
“Getting back to Bingley, how is he doing now that he is no longer attached to Jane? Has he been able to move on with his life?” asks Will.
“Bingley doesn’t know what is best for him. He checks his phone and email every day waiting to hear from her, but she hasn’t contacted him” answers Darcy with confidence not wanting to let anyone know that he blocked her emails from being received by breaking into Bingley’s email account and then thinking to himself “Fortunately, Bingley’s obvious password was easy, he used ‘ j-a-n-e’.”
Also, Bingley had given his new phone number to Darcy to pass on to Jane before leaving town which he conveniently lost that note before being able to give it to Jane. Somehow Bingley had not retrieved Jane’s phone number by some strange chance of fate either.
“Well, evidently you must have made the right decision since he has not heard from her. She probably has another boyfriend by now” acknowledges Will Fitz from personal heart-breaking experience.
“Bingley will thank me for it later even though it may take him awhile” defends Darcy.
“What are the plans for tonight?” asks Will “I’m starving”.
“I forgot to tell you. We’ve been invited over to Major Debourgh’s for dinner tonight. She has some guests in town that she would like us to meet that evidently are old time friends of Jennings and Alice Hammer. I didn’t ask who they were. They are probably have just moved into one of the apartments and new residents at the Silvercrest would be my guess” offers Darcy looking for a comfortable outfit to change into that would be appropriate for visiting Major Debourgh who finds shorts peculiarly “offensive” for dinner wear.
“Have you kept in touch with Anne, her daughter? I always thought your mother would have the two of you engaged by the time you left high school” jokes Will.
“No, I don’t think that will ever happen. Anne is nice but we really have nothing in common with each other. We got along well as kids, but life has moved on. We’ve grown in different directions. Anne wouldn’t fit in my life any more than I would fit in with her interests and friends. I actually think she had her hopes set on Collins for awhile. It was her mother who wanted something to happen between us” sighs Darcy remembering the many vain attempts to set the two of the up together “Now that Collins is married, I think that Anne is hoping something will still work out between us because of her mother’s encouragement and that she is struggling with her age and not married yet in comparison to her friends. It’s not going to happen. I think as Anne becomes acquainted with more people and not under her mother’s control, she’ll be able to move on and find someone who will suit her much better than I ever would and who will make her happy and content with who she is without having to change anything about herself in order to ‘fit’ into a relationship.”
“So, what about you? Have you met anyone? What about this Liz?” asks Will with a teasing grin.
“Frankly, it is none of your business. However, Liz is one of the greatest people I’ve met in my life in spite of her family” firmly remarks Darcy not exactly comfortable with how the mention of her name stirs up feelings within him and then more quietly “I’ve never met anyone like her . . . ”.
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