Relieved that Jennings is
carrying the conversation, Liz quietly sits in the backseat listening to the
conversation and observing as much as she can.
Glancing at her profile, Ginny
shares similar features with her brother, but beautiful. Her warm smile is genuine and welcoming. In just a few moments, she makes everyone
feel as if they are running into an old friend again.
Lost in her thoughts Liz’
nods, unlike herself, Ginny appears to be a much safer driver giving
plenty of room to stop before the crosswalk and not gunning the gas as soon as
the light turns green. Her car is
impeccably clean and has an aroma of fresh cut spring flowers. The car is filled with accessories such as
multiple cup holders, seat warmers, and defrosters for every window. By comparison Liz considers, “Maud can barely
defrost a small spot out the size of a plate for the driver”.
They finally pull into a long
narrow driveway through a large garden and vine designed black cast iron gate.
Although dusk with night coming near, the panoramic view of the grounds cast
dramatic shadows from the generous branches of the large overgrown oak trees. Looking
at the age of the trees, Liz wonders if a carriage that might have gone along
these grounds two hundred years ago. The
car finally comes to a stop in a semi-circle at the front of the house.
“Welcome, can I help anyone?”
graciously asks Ginny “I’ll show you where your guest rooms are so you can
freshen up if you would like to.”
“Thank you Ginny! This is a great room!” exclaims Jennings
plopping down on the bed and bouncing a few times to check the comfort of the
mattress and then looking over to the nightstand “You even remembered my
favorite butterscotch and hot cinnamon candies!”
Down the hallway, Alice Hammer is
quite pleased to find the beautiful soft plush pastel towels are in the shape
of swans ready to greet her by the marble sink. As she washes her face, the
other colors blend into the sink and down the drain. But a faint green hues still leaves its watermark.
Scanning the other amenities,
Alice Hammer notices that Ginny has even included some heavenly scented
perfumed lotion from Bed and Bath Works which she lavishly molds into her
hands. She puts a few dabbles behind her
ears and conditions her elbows as well leaving a cloud of sweet fragrance
surrounding her.
“Is everything all right?” asks
Ginny popping in the door to check in on Alice Hammer who just at that moment
is fluffing her hair while blowing
kisses and waving to imaginary fans mimicking Marilyn Monroe in front of the
large mirror “If there is anything you need, just let me know.”
“Oh … I was just having some fun”
blushes Alice Hammer grinning ear to ear “What fantastic mirrors. I can see
myself head to toe and then some! I’d
like to take one to my home!”
“I’ll have to keep that in mind
for a Christmas gift!” teases Ginny a floral aroma fills the room making a
mental note that some scented lotion might be something that she would like.
A few minutes later, Liz hears a
small knock at her door. Closing her
suitcase, she finds Ginny standing in front of her and smiling.
“I’m so glad that you decided to
come! I’ve heard so much about you and I
wanted to finally meet you” honestly remarks Ginny “I hope that you enjoy your
stay!”
“Thank you. It’s quite lovely. The flowers are beautiful too!” remarks Liz
fidgeting with the sweater in her hands.
“They came from our garden out
back. Darcy said you liked yellow roses”
explains Ginny arranging the baby’s breath and greenery again on the table next
to her “Roses are my favorite too!”
“It’s nice to meet you too. Caroline, Bingley, and Will Fitz have told me
so many good things about you” offers Liz “It was very kind of you to invite us
to stay at your house”.
“When I saw that you were coming,
I went to the Chairman to request that you stay with me” smiles Ginny “I’d
really like a chance for us to get to know each other better. Darcy has such wonderful things to say about
you.”
Hearing this, Liz blushes and
looks down for a moment very pleased to hear this news but not wanting to give
too much away, “We spent some time together a few months ago while I was
visiting my friend Char, but I haven’t heard from him since then. It’s nice to hear that he remembers me.”
“Remembers you? I think he somehow manages to bring up your
name in just about every conversation. I’ve never heard him talk so much about
anyone before” informs Ginny “My brother keeps his feelings to himself but it
is fairly obvious that you made an impression on him.”
“That’s nice to hear. He made a lasting impression on me too. I hope that we can be friends again, but I’m
not sure when they will happen” shyly confesses Liz feeling oddly comfortable
expressing her feelings to Ginny.
“What do you mean? He’s downstairs. You can go see him now if you’d like to”
offers Ginny, “He told me to come up and see if you would like some cookies and
other snacks that he made.”
Liz blushes a deep red knowing
that she wouldn’t have shared anything if she knew that he was only a few feet
away “I didn’t know he was here.
Jennings told me that she had called him earlier this week and he was
going to be out of town at a conference”.
“Oh yeah, he was supposed to be
but changed his mind when he found out that you would be in town. He sent another representative from his
office instead” replies Ginny explaining further “In fact he’s rearranged his
schedule while you are here. I think he
wants to spend some time with you.”
Surprised by this news but not
sure how to comprehend this new revelation, Liz politely responds “It would be
great to catch up! It’s been awhile
since we last talked and I’m sure many things have happened since then that I
don’t know about.”
Appearing slightly confused,
Ginny offers “Why don’t we go downstairs.
I’ll let Jennings and Alice Hammer know as well. I’m sure the cookies are ready by now.”
Alone for a moment, Liz takes in
a deep breath unsure of what the evening will hold. Feeling nervous, she pulls
on the edges of her blouse, straightens her jeans, and runs her hand through
her hair. She licks her lips whispering under her breath “It will be okay. We’re friends. It will be all right.”
Downstairs in the family room,
Liz finds Jennings looking through photo albums that have been placed on the
coffee table and Alice Hammer admiring the book shelves filled with a wide
range of popular fiction, classics, historical, and instructional books.
“Who reads? You have some of the lesser know works of my
favorite authors” excitedly asks Alice Hammer flipping through a handful of two in her hand
and one stowed under her arm “May I borrow one or two of them?”
“Yes, go ahead. Feel free to borrow whatever you like, you
can return it when we see each other the next time” offers Darcy turning to
notice Liz as she enters the room while carrying a hot plate of fresh baked
cookies “Ginny is more of a reader than me but since both of us like to read as
a result have collected many books.
Together we have quite a selection. Liz, I know you like to read. If you see something you like, we might have
something you haven’t read before. If
you find something that you like, you can give it back to me when we see each
other again.”
Pleased but a little unnerved by
his friendliness, Liz smiles walking towards the rows of bookshelves built into
the walls. “Thank you. I’ll definitely have to take a look.”
Darcy sets the plate on the
coffee table and walking over to stand next to Liz. “How have you been?”
“Pretty good, thank you. How are you?” responds Liz feeling a familiar
comfortableness as he moves near to her “How are things going?”
“Everything has been going
well. I’ve been very busy and in need of
a vacation” shares Darcy “The last few months have gone by very slowly but so
far have managed to keep up with things. What about you? How is work at the paper?”
“It’s fine, same as usual. I miss being down at Char’s home” offers Liz
wondering if he will pick up that it is him that she misses “A vacation sounds
like a nice idea.”
Moving closer, Darcy smiles with
the hope that she is inferring that she has missed him too. “I know that you have scrapbooking tomorrow,
but having they scheduled in any free time?”
“It’s a come-and-go-as
–you-please schedule with additional technique classes for those who are
interested” Liz explains further “ They have vendors, owners of craft stores,
and other experts who come as guests to demonstrate and offer advice. Since I
am a beginner, I think after five hours tonight I’m close to reaching to my
limit.”
“She’s free to do as she pleases”
interrupts Jennings listening in on the conversation “I’m going to try and keep
Alice Hammer away from the stamping tomorrow.
We’ll probably try using some stencils this time”.
“I think that I’ve spent enough
time looking like the Wicked Witch of the West.
The green ink appears to have stained my skin” agrees Alice Hammer but
then adds “I prefer to think I’m more like Elphaba though.” And then proceeds
to sing a few bars from ‘Defying Gravity’ with extra animation for everyone’s
entertainment “… something has changed within me, something is not the same, I’m through with playing by the rules …”
Excitedly Ginny interjects “Have
you seen it? ‘Wicked’ is my favorite
musical. I loved the costumes and the
voices. The cast blended so well
together and the leads were wonderful!”
“I would like to see it, but I
haven’t had a chance yet” offers Liz “But I’ve already read the book by Gregory
Maguire. It was quite good.”
Jennings yawns quite loudly
“Alice Hammer, I think it’s time to go upstairs. We have a long day tomorrow”.
“Oh no, I could stay up
forever. I’m full of energy” honestly
answers Alice Hammer not picking up Jennings clue propping her feet up on the
ottoman while chopping on another cookie.
Perturbed Jennings leans forward
attempting to grasp Alice Hammer’s attention, she quickly nods her head back
and forth towards Liz and Darcy talking together “Aren’t you tired?”
“Is your neck all right? Do you have a cramp? You seem to be
twitching. I brought some muscle cream
with me if you need some” offers Alice Hammer “I had to use it the last time we
went bowling and brought it with me because my arthritis acts up after
scrapbooking for so many hours in a row”.
“Thank you. Why don’t you go upstairs and get it for me?”
asks Jennings raising her eyebrows and taking her two thumbs to point in the
direction of Liz and Darcy.
“Are your hands hurting too? There is nothing more painful than when my
hands hurt. I love to knit, and I’ve
found if I do hand exercises it helps.
Did your doctor give them to you too?” earnestly asks Alice Hammer
demonstrating some of the instructions that she was given by her physician.
“I’m fine” states Jennings
tightening her lips and staring at her decides to aim her hint by using another
angle “I think you might be missing your show, ‘American Superstar’
tonight. It looks like Ashley Allison
might have a chance at winning this time.”
“Oh yes, I almost forgot! There are only three weeks left to the
finale” looking at her wristwatch Alice Hammer
scuttles out of her chair “I only have two minutes until it starts! Goodnight
everyone! See you in the morning.”
Shaking her head with a sigh of
relief, Jennings shakes her head as she follows behind Alice Hammer up the
stairs, “Good night! Go ahead, stay up
and talk it won’t bother us. We’re old
ladies and I’ll probably already be asleep before the show is over like I
usually do. I don’t think that I’ve made
it through an entire episode yet. Typically, Alice Hammer has to wake me up
because I have a habit of snoring too loudly for her to hear.”
Once everyone has left the room,
Darcy finds a place next to Liz on the sofa.
They spend the evening talking and catching up. As the hour gets later into the early
morning, time passes quickly as they chat. Each can see that the other is
tired, but they still continue to talk and share. As Liz unintentionally yawns, Darcy
sympathetically smiles at her.
“Liz, would you like to go to the zoo
tomorrow? From what I hear of the
forecast, it is supposed to be a spring day” asks Darcy trying to encourage her
decision “It’s a good zoo with lots of animals and it’s very scenic too.”
“Sounds great! I’ve not been to
the zoo here yet” accepts Liz excited to be unexpectedly spending the next day
with him “What time do I need to be ready?”
“I think we’ll leave by 9:30 if
that is all right with you” suggests Darcy grateful for another opportunity to
spend more time with her.
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