The door bell rings, Liz feels one last pang of panic as she stares one more time into the mirror hoping that everything has found its place and not randomly dangling , falling or springing from nowhere.
Trying to gain a natural composure she takes one deep breath before opening the door, “Hi! Come on in! I’ll just grab my purse and I’ll be ready to go.” She gives a quick anxious glance and smiles at him.
Relieved that he is wearing a lavender oxford shirt with cufflinks, but with his collar open and a pair of dark tailored slacks, Liz silently remarks to herself “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him more attractive that tonight!”
As she is walking out to the car, Liz finds herself sliding off the walkway slightly twisting her ankle and landing her heel firmly in the soft grass. She struggles to gracefully pull her heel out but fails. Gritting her teeth determined not to take her foot of her shoe, she tugs valiantly and the shoe is released from its muddy prison. With momentum she flings herself forward and awkwardly catches her balance. She flips her hair behind her shoulder pretending the whole unexpected act was intentional.
Observing her routine, Darcy warmly smiles and calmly thinks “I just like her . . .”
Politely Darcy unlocks her car door on the passenger side rather than flipping the more convenient switch located on his door. Waiting for Liz to find her seat belt, he then closes the car door and heads towards his side with a swag of anticipation. He quickly makes sure his pants are pulled down over his shoes and tucks in any material accidently hanging out from over his leather belt . Darcy runs his hand through his hair to confirm that everything is in place before opening his door.
Feeling a little apprehensive about the evening, Liz takes a deep breath and inhales the masculine aroma of Darcy’s cologne. Subconsciously speaking her thoughts while daydreaming out the window, Liz accidently murmurs under her breath “I should have worn the dress with the slit . . .”
Wanting to be attentive Darcy looks at her, “What did you say? I don’t think I heard you.”
Embarrassed that he might have actually heard her, Liz flushes beet red, “uhh . . . I . . I just said “I think my blouse is wet” pretending to brush off invisible water that has not spilled on her shirt with her rapidly rotating hand.
On hearing what she originally said and liking her quick comeback, the corners of his eyes fold in a sweet smile towards her and he relaxes in the driver’s seat.
Wanting to start an easy conversation on the way to the restaurant, Darcy turns on the radio to his typical station that he likes listening to. However, today the music is a new recording from an unknown musician. The lyrics begin “Tell her that you need her, Tell her that you love her, tell her that you want her so”. Not wanting to add any more pressure to the evening, he flips to another station which begins with a commercial with a warm inviting voice “Do you ever wonder how will you meet that special someone in your life? We can help you at soulmate.com”. He quickly hits the scan for some other station for them both to enjoy, it stops at “This is your station FM96.8 for all dreamers and lovers”. Panicked Darcy hits the CD button forgetting that he left in the music for the Singing Company competition which he is helping to judge at junior youth councils next month. With cute little girls singing on the demo tape it is a new arrangement of “Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam”.
At this Liz bursts out laughing, stifling earlier giggles from random choices on the radio. “I guessing this is for next month. I’ve been helping Char during the week with her singing company group. They’re doing really well.”
“Yes, they’ve asked me to be a judge for the divisional competition. Since I don’t actually lead a vocal group they believe that I will be more fair and unprejudiced in selecting who will win” explains Darcy .
They pull into the parking space. Liz steps out and adjusts her necklace and bolero see-thru jacket to make sure that everything is falling into place where it should. Darcy walks with her to the door and holds it open as she passes through the entrance. Liz is delighted that Darcy has such good southern manners even if he isn’t from the south. “He might beat Rhett Butler in a duel”, she thinks to herself as her imagination runs away from her.
Darcy looks at her, “What were you just thinking about? You had a kind-of a different look on your face.”
Calling herself to quick attention from her daydreams, Liz chuckles “oh, nothing really . . . thinking about how this restaurant reminds me of ‘Gone with the Wind’.”
A little confused Darcy looks around at the grape and vine décor, he can’t recall a scene in the classic that looked anything similar to an Italian village. But covering that he doesn’t know what she is talking about agrees “Yes, I can see what you mean.”
While he is standing so close to her in the crowded lobby, Liz takes one more deep breath of his manly cologne, finally the name of it comes to mind “Possession”. It has been one of her favorites since high school.
Darcy notices her arbitrarily sniffing and wonders if his cologne might be a little overbearing or worse yet if she is allergic to it. He moves slightly away from her to give her more breathing room hoping that his cologne will not cause her any future problems. He considers for a moment that he might have gotten a little carried away with the shampoo, body wash, after-shave, and cologne all in the same scent profoundly wanting to impress her tonight.
Finally the hostess guides them to a table set for two in a very peaceful corner of the restaurant. After placing her napkin in her lap, Liz looks Darcy directly in the eye and likes what she sees. Darcy returns her gaze with an affectionate grin.
“So, how are your fund-raising efforts going for the new Kroc center?” asks Liz starting off the conversation with something she knows that Darcy is interested in.
“I’m glad you asked. Things are going well. We’ve reached about 80% of our fund raising goal. I’m meeting with a couple more of potential corporate sponsors next week which seem very interested in offering their support to something that will be like a “beacon on the hill” begins Darcy taking a piece of bread and dipping it into the olive oil and grinded pepper mixture.
“What have been your some of your community contacts that have introduced you to the right people who can help build your project?” asks Liz knowing that it usually takes a friend of someone to introduce you to a stranger.
“As you know my cousin, William, is involved in that new Salvation Army auxiliary group for young adults both men and women ages 23-35 called “Eshelon” which is a military name but with a French flair. They have a lot of initiative and show great momentum in helping us find people who will understand their cause to help the less fortunate in their community” sensing a perceptive audience Darcy continues “Just as you know my family is a social and financial leader in Pemberley , their contacts are either parents, friends of parents, friends or employers since most are in training to be eventual CEOs or CFOs and have an obvious future ahead of them.”
“It’s great that they are able to help with their resources to assist the Army in being successful in reaching out to others and providing the means to meet their needs” Liz concurs wholeheartedly supporting the kind philanthropy of the newly established group.
“So how are things going with your writing? I’ve read a couple of your articles for the paper and I was impressed with your insight” sincerely offers Darcy taking another bite of his bread.
Thoroughly pleased that he has read anything that she has written, Liz glows “Really? I didn’t know you had read anything of mine. What particular articles are you talking about?”
“Well, I thought the one about conserving water was interesting because you listed both the positive and negative aspects, as well as standardized state testing for students” suggests Darcy “actually, I googled your name and found other stories on your blog which were quite entertaining.”
With her eyebrows raised, Liz can feel her eyes widen and her jaw drop a little longer than usual. She wonders exactly what he read. Liz considers for a moment that she likes getting carried away in her stories and doesn’t review them very often as they wander the maze of the internet open to anyone perusal. “Uhh . . . thanks. I’m glad you liked them” shyly taking another sip of her sweet tea.
“Don’t worry about anything. I found your stories funny and I like your characters. How do you keep them all straight in your head as far as their interests and personalities?” genuinely asks Darcy.
“Oh I just like talking to myself” jokes Liz but then afraid that he might take her too seriously “Umm . . . some of my characters remind me of people I have known and I sort of blend several people together to create one new person” taking another sip of tea “and then they become my friends”
“Really?” asks Darcy not sure what she entirely means by “friends”.
“Yes, it is a little like a child having imaginary friends, even if I am a little too old for that” smiles Liz as her eyes dance enjoying watching Darcy’s reaction to this information in regards to her writing.
“How do you work out the conversation between the characters?” inquisitively asks Darcy wondering where she is going to go with this question.
“I role play in my mind each character and try to think of how they would respond in any given situation. I try to experience what they might feel if they encountered certain awkward or painful events” explains Liz enjoying talking about her writing with someone that she trusts and feeling a mutual fondness for.
“Well, I don’t know about the whole talking to yourself thing, but I like what the end result is, so it is probably a good thing whatever it is that you do” rambles Darcy not sure where he is heading in his statement but trying to be encouraging and supportive of her creative talent.
“It keeps me busy in my spare time and lets my mind wander freely without too much obligation in the way” remarks Liz drifting into her own thoughts.
“Well, just don’t write about me, unless you make him ‘wonderful’, then it will be all right” teases Darcy instantly grabbing her by the hand which is lying gently on the table. Although not planned, he lets his grasp linger enjoying feeling her soft touch.
The dinner continues as Darcy and Liz enjoy casual conversation over many topics which are of interest and in common with each other. Much of the time is spent laughing or appreciating the value of the life experiences of the other.
After the last spoonful of dessert is finished, Liz looks down at her watch, “Did you realize what time it is? We’ve been here for over three hours!”
“No, not really. It’s gone by so quickly. I think we’ve missed the movie. We’ll definitely have to do this again” remarks Darcy as he glances over the bill. He muses that although more than a burger, it was significantly worth every penny for this wonderful evening spent with Liz.
As Liz gets up from the table, Darcy moves closely beside her and takes her hand as they exit the restaurant. In return, Liz feels the gentle pressure of his calming presence and looks up at the stars enjoying everything that is filling that moment.
As they return to the car, Darcy asks “It’s too late for the movies. Have you been down to Monument Park? Would you be interested in going for a walk?”
“Sounds good! It would be nice to have a chance to walk off dinner” automatically placing her hands on her stomach but self-consciously Liz wonders if referring to anything remotely to do with her weight was really necessary at that moment.
“There is a scenic view of the city at night along the drive that is worth seeing” offers Darcy sincerely but with a desire of wanting to spend more time with Liz.
While driving, he takes Liz’s hand again in his own right hand. It seems to him that this is the happiest he has been for a very long time. When he can, he takes glances to observe Liz’s profile and tries to capture the moment so he can remember it at a later time.
Liz catches him a few times looking intently at her and lovingly smiles back at him knowing that she would like this moment to last forever.
After a bit of chatter about nothing in particular, they arrive at the park. Darcy meets her on the passenger side of the car and offers his hand again to politely help her out but with the intent of not letting go of her hand.
Eventually while they are slowly walking along the cement path, Darcy lets go of her hand and moves it around her shoulder. Liz feels comfortable and places her arm casually around his waist as they walk and admire the city lights at night.
“Liz, if you could do anything in the world without any restrictions, what would it be?” curiously asks Darcy wanting to know what her dreams are for her future.
“That’s a good question. Well, if I didn’t have to have a paycheck to survive, I think being a novelist would be a lot of fun as long as I found a few people who enjoyed reading my books” jokes Liz feeling Darcy’s grasp tighten around her shoulder.
“What would you do? Do you like working for the Kroc or would you do something else?” probing asks Liz “What do you enjoy doing the most?”
“I think that I would be a professional musician, but then again I would have to find people who were interested in listening to me play” teases Darcy with a twinkle in his eye “But the Kroc is all right for now.”
As they reach a strategically placed bench in a garden in the walkway, Darcy guides Liz and sits down next to her. He gently places a hand on her cheek and looks into her eyes for a moment before he kisses her. Liz feeling his care and admiration returns her whole hearted feelings towards him.
On arriving back at the home of Char and Collins, Darcy leans in to say goodbye again to Liz. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Thank you for the wonderful evening.”
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