The Covenant - Chapter Twenty-One

"Ahhh... Lydia Russell so good to see you again" exclaims Walter Elliot reaching out with one hand but as he poses in front of the hall mirror to check himself once again for the day  and then glancing over towards his daughter "My Annie, it seems that you have a tan! Peru actually tanned your skin rather than burn like it usually does."

"I got burned, but then the tan came" explains Annie giving her father a hug and then heading towards her younger sister, Beth, to give her one as well.

"Be careful with my hair.  Ariel just finished putting it together.  I don't want you to mess it up!" warns Beth politely tapping her sister's back in her rather distant embrace.

"It's good to see you Beth!  Hope you had a good summer!" greets Annie bracing herself for the response.

"I suppose if you call leaving your home and all your friends a 'good thing'.  Although I was glad to have my best friend, Ariel, with me.  We've had some good times together these last few weeks" explains Beth looking over at her friend as if sharing a few secrets unknown to the others "It hasn't been as bad as I expected it would be."

"It's been great!" giggles Ariel Clay as if she has been involved in some mischief of her own looking over at Walter Elliot "This is a fantastic city!  I would love to live here all the time!  But of course, you would need plenty of money to do that.  Your father has been very generous and we've been able to see quite  a few shows as well as visit some of the top restaurants in town. Your dad spared no expense to make sure we had a fabulous time here so far!"

The color drains from Annie's face fully aware of her father's rather limited budget to stay here for so long a period of time. Cautiously she acknowledges their experience "Sounds interesting.  You'll have to fill me in on the details."

"I'm sure Annie would like to tell you about her summer too!" intercedes Lydia Russell feeling the tension starting to rise in her friend "Tell, them all about it Annie. I'm sure they are dying to hear all of your wonderful adventures."

"Well, I worked at a children's home" begins Annie watching her family's feigned interest begins to dissolve "I loved working with the kids.  Major Smith was a wonderful mentor and it was so good to see Harriet Smith again too!"

"Oh yes.  Harriet is Emma's friend" remembers Beth wiping imaginary lint off of her skirt "I think she liked a cowboy or something like that"

"That's good. I'm glad you had a summer that was meaningful to you" dismisses Walter Elliott already a little bored with the conversation that does not center around himself "You'll have to tell us more later when we have more time."

"Okay" agrees Annie not really all that enthused to share how special each person was that she met with those who will not appreciate the love she had for them "I'm sure there will be another time."

"Annie, I forgot to tell you.  We met this gorgeous guy that Beth and I have been going to a few plays with.  I'm sure you'll be quite jealous when you meet him.  I think he positively adores me!" conceitedly gushes Beth raising her voice in a condescending tone "He can hardly keep his eyes off me! Don't you agree, Ariel?"

Ariel looks down and then towards the window not meeting Beth's gaze afraid that the truth will be too obvious. Believing in her opinion that the admiration appeared to be more one-sided and not from him half-heartedly agrees "Yes, you seem to like spending  quite a lot of time with him."

"He's coming to see me this afternoon" firmly states Beth with special emphasis on 'ME' while looking towards the clock "He'll be here any minute now."

Just at that moment, there is a knock at the door.

"Annie, get that would you? I've got to freshen up" explains Beth heading towards her bedroom "Come on Ariel, you can help me."

Opening the door, Annie stares straight into the eyes of the stranger whom she met in Peru. "Hi!" he stutters "I don't know if you remember me.  We met in Peru earlier this summer. What are you doing here?"

Overwhelmed by some shock of her own "I'm staying with my family.  I just got into town a few hours ago."

"It's really great to see you again! I'm sorry that I didn't catch your name before, but I haven't forgotten meeting you" gushes Elliot "I guess it's time we finally introduced ourselves. My name is Elliott Wilkinson. Now, what is your name?"

"I'm Anne Elliott, but my friends call me 'Annie'.  Your first name is the same as my last" amused by the coincidence Annie smiles back at him "It's good to finally meet you! Thanks so much again for the water!"

"I was here to see Beth and Ariel because they invited me to a matinee this afternoon at the theatre on 47th.  Would you like to go with us?' asks Elliot  but seeing her slight reluctance to immediately agree counters "If not, we can do something else.  We could catch up by telling our own stories of Peru".

"What are your plans for this afternoon?" asks Elliot hoping that she might have some free time to spend with him even if it is without her more ambitious sister and friend.

"I was hoping to take a walk down Broadway to see the different shops and sights, but not exactly going to any place in particular" explains Annie "I didn't realize that Beth and Ariel had already made plans with you."

"A walk sounds like a great idea!" offers Eliot believing that if Beth were present she might monopolize anytime available to get to know Annie better  "I'm sure Beth and Ariel will be able to find their own way to the theatre on the subway. I don't think they'll mind.  They've been down to Times Square many times already."

"What's this?  Do you know Annie?" accusingly asks Beth not liking how much attraction there seems to be between her potential boyfriend and her sister "How do you know her? Annie, where did you meet Eliot?  You can't possibly be already making a move on him.  He just walked in the door!"

"I met Annie in Peru up at Machu Picchu.  She was thirsty and I offered her a bottle of water" explains Elliot a little surprised by the possessive tone in Beth's voice. "We're catching up from our summer together."

"Not quite together" interjects Annie for fear of her sister's wrath at not having met him first "We saw each other a couple of times the last few days I was there."

Beth's eyes glare at her older sister "Umm... that's interesting. You never mentioned anything about it. Was this some sort of surprise for me?"

"No, no ... it was by chance we ran into each other.  It's great seeing Annie again.  I'm going to be spending the afternoon with her.  I'm going to show her some of my favorite spots in the city.  You've already been here awhile and don't need to repeat the same places.  Go ahead and enjoy the show. I'll catch up with you later tonight" firmly suggests Eliot with a charming smile winning Beth over in spite of her flare of jealousy.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing you tonight.  Don't think about how much you're missing me too much!" flirts Beth winking her eye at him with a little flip of her hair and then looking directly at her sister to make sure that she knows her 'property' has been claimed and then back over to Elliot with a sweet smile  "You have my number.  I'm sure you must have it on speed dial by now."

"Okay, I'll call when we're done taking my personal guided tour of the city" replies Eliot moving closer to Annie and places his hand on the middle of her back "Are you ready? I've got a few places in mind that I think you'll like".

"I'll be ready to go in a minute.  Just let me grab my jacket and phone" replies Annie quickly picking up her things on the sofa not wanting to be left alone with her sister to hear her disgust and anger over how the arrangements turned out for the afternoon "I think I've got everything."

"Promise you'll meet us later" demands Beth childishly with a fake pout "I don't know how we'll make it without you."

"I'm sure you'll do fine for the afternoon" assures Elliot escorting Annie out the door while he follows closing behind "Have a good time!"

As the door closes, Beth can be heard inside "How do you like that? Annie actually managed to pick up a guy while she was down in Peru.  Who would have thought? I certainly never would have believed it!"