Something: Old, New, Later, True: A Pride & Prejudice Collection Read online

  When the young man aced the game, Gianna took a turn. He stayed close, so Gianna crashed even faster than her brother had. Repeatedly. Elizabeth appreciated the boy’s patience while Darcy, seeing his sister’s attention captivated by a male other than himself, crossed his arms over his chest and frowned as if he was meditating on whether or not he could pound the teen into the pavement without too much trouble. His he-man mode was as stoic as he had appeared the last time they were in the restaurant. Elizabeth didn’t know whether to laugh at him or punch him. She did neither.

  “Thank you for letting me play.” The young man was polite. He stepped aside and looked at where Darcy stood as still as a sentinel.

  “Thank you for…” Gianna, her eyes as big as Feline on the old Disney Bambi cartoon, batted her long lashes slowly, never quite able to finish her thought.

  Elizabeth extended her hand for him to shake. “We need to thank you for helping us get at least a few minutes of play time for our quarters.” His grip was firm, and she appreciated it. “I am Elizabeth Bennet, and this is Will Darcy and his sister, Gianna. And you are?”

  She saw Gianna lean forward so as not to miss his reply.

  “My name is Zach Kaiser.” His eyes flickered to Gianna. “Are you from here?”

  “No,” Darcy bluntly answered. “We live in New York City and will be returning there soon.”

  “I live here, Zach. It has been a pleasure to meet you. Maybe we will run into you again sometime.” Elizabeth sought to keep the peace with the young man as she glared at Darcy. She remembered the feelings of hope at almost thirteen. “Do you text?”

  Zach shook his head. “I made an agreement with my parents when I got my phone that if I don’t add the numbers of single girls to my contact list until I am old enough to date responsibly, I get certain privileges that are kept between them and me so, no, I don’t text.”

  Darcy’s posture relaxed as Gianna pouted her disappointment.

  “Good for you and your parents, Zach. I’m sure it is worth being strict with yourself. Maybe we will run into you with your parents some time. Again, thanks for your help.” Elizabeth had manners too.

  “You bet.” And he was gone.

  “What a nice young man.” Darcy spoke to himself. “I think I should adopt him.”

  Gianna punched him in the arm while Elizabeth harrumphed.

  “You weren’t feeling the love before he laid down his parent’s rules, Will Darcy,” Elizabeth taunted, laughing as she did so. “I saw you with your arms crossed and a scowl on your face. Big Bad Brother was protecting his little lamb sister from the cute boy.”

  “He was cute, wasn’t he?” Gianna asked, the dream still in her eyes.

  Unexpectedly, Darcy spun towards Elizabeth. “You didn’t think he was cute, did you? Really?”

  She guffawed. “He was new-puppy adorable. He was the first taste of chocolate, first sip of wine yummy…if I was Gianna’s age, you goof.”

  Their pizza was delivered as they were seating themselves. Darcy broke the sudden silence.

  “I like the idea of rules. In fact, I think my new rule will be that Gi can’t keep boys’ numbers in her phone, she can’t date until she’s at least twenty-one, and she can’t marry until she’s thirty.”

  Elizabeth felt her jaw drop and saw Gianna’s had done the same as well.

  “And…she has to live at home the whole time. Besides, I think I saw a big pimple starting to break out in the middle of his forehead like a red stoplight at an intersection.”

  “You did not!” Both females proclaimed at the same time before they burst into giggles.

  Who was this man? For the first time since she met him, she was curious to find out.

  FIVE

  After the last slice of pepperoni with extra cheese had been devoured, Gianna was pleased when a girl about her age approached and asked if she wanted to play a game that took two players. Darcy and Elizabeth moved their chairs so they were both facing the arcade. This placed them side by side.

  “Thank you for this, Elizabeth. I haven’t seen my sister this happy since…well, I can’t remember when.” Darcy stretched back in his seat and took a last sip of his soda. “But what do I do now that her ears are pierced? Is there something she needs or wants that I can get her here?”

  Elizabeth examined his posture. To a bystander who glanced his way, he would appear relaxed. However, his fingers twisted his napkin into a thin strip of paper that threatened to break. His jaw was clenched and his right foot was tapping the floor. He was anything but relaxed.

  During the past several days, Elizabeth had wondered how she would answer if he asked. She doubted her reply would please him.

  “I believe the best thing you could get for Gianna cannot be found in Meryton.” She wasn’t surprised when he nodded. “I don’t think you can find it in New York City either.”

  “But there are thousands of shops there from Fifth Avenue to the boroughs. Anything that can be had can be found in the City. Have you never been?”

  “Yes, I have, Mr. Snobby Darcy.” Exasperated, Elizabeth determined to be patient. This was too important a subject to allow it to degenerate into a battle. “When I was younger, my mother constantly complained to my father that we didn’t have enough money to buy what we wanted. She was right. There never seemed to be enough. My father had no more hours in the week to pick up extra work and no inclination to do so anyway. So, they decided, as a team, that the best they could do for their girls was to do things together rather than to have things that would wear out or break. On weekends, when we were out of school and Dad finished grading his student’s papers, we packed a picnic lunch, filled the tank with gas, and explored every hiking trail and waterfall in our area. Jane loved the smells of the forest and the wildflowers on the sides of the paths. Mary was given a book on geology and started a rock collection she still has. Kitty and Lydia drew pictures of the places we went. My Mom enjoyed laying on the blanket, resting while she soaked up the sun. My Dad loved getting away.”

  “And you? What did you enjoy?” Darcy sat erect in his chair.

  “Me? I loved to explore, finding places that were new.” Scenes from the past scrolled through her mind like an old reel played at the downtown cinema. She smiled. “Some of my first stories were born in those woods. My father read Swiss Family Robinson, a chapter a week until all of us imagined we were Fritz and Ernst building a treehouse. Those were the best times ever, and my memories of them are priceless.”

  “I imagine they would be.” He did not look happy. “My father worked long hours in his law office while my mother cared for the details of running our ancestral home. She spent a lot of time in the U.K. after we moved to the States, so although I loved her, I didn’t see either of my parents much. Neither did Gianna. Please do not get me wrong, I have memories of my parents, but Gianna has far fewer than I do.”

  “I’m sorry for this, Will.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “I have to ask, then, do you want your sister to have vague memories of things you bought her or vivid memories of things you did together? You cannot go back and change your past. You are her family, and she is yours.”

  “I know.” Barely a sound came out of Darcy’s mouth.

  “You have five years until she is eighteen. If she goes away to college or wants her independence, you only have those years to create memories, Will. That time will fly by and then be gone. Please don’t waste them, or you will destroy yourself from the inside out with regrets.” Elizabeth rested her hand on his arm, squeezing. “Give her an example of the kind of man she will want to find some day—a man who makes it his priority to spend time with her, to show her she’s cherished. I know you need time for your work, but if you learn to love the things you do have time for, she will carry a piece of you with her forever.”

  He looked up in time to see Gianna flash her earrings to her new acquaintance. When she pointed out her brother to her competitor, Elizabeth added, “Gianna is telling the girl that you did this for her,
Will. She is feeling really, really special right now and you are solely responsible for what is in her heart. Now, how does that make you feel?”

  “Like I am ten feet tall and bullet proof.” He smiled as his chest filled with pride. Then it collapsed. “But, what do we do together? What do I do with a teenage girl?”

  “Ask her.” Elizabeth shrugged. “It’s that simple.”

  When he started shaking his head, she continued, “As a suggestion, after you drop me off at the apartment, tell her how much you enjoyed spending time with her today, then ask what else she would like to do while you are in this part of the world. Let her know it will mostly be the two of you and then plan activities around her response.”

  “What if she says, ‘I don’t know?’”

  “Don’t worry about something that hasn’t happened yet. I can see the wheels turning in there.” She tapped the side of his head. “You are a smart man. You can figure it out.”

  He grabbed and held her finger. “You think I’m smart?”

  “I think you are a lot of things, Darcy, including being good big brother material to a girl who already cherishes you, you dunce.”

  “Will you go with us? Please? My mother told me it is the magic word.” The plea in his voice, combined with soft, dreamy eyes, almost had her agreeing to his suggestion. When he brazenly batted his lashes, she pulled her finger away and punched his arm again.

  “No.” Elizabeth sat back in her chair. “You can do this.”

  “Okay, fine. I can do this,” he readily agreed. Too readily. “Then, give me some suggestions just in case.”

  Over the next half hour until the girls ran out of quarters, she and Darcy plotted a variety of activities which Will jotted on a napkin. Elizabeth patted his arm where she had punched him and he smiled delightfully.

  The next morning, her phone rang before the sun had a chance to make its presence known. Elizabeth, who had quit leaving her phone next to her bed so she wouldn’t wake up and check her Facebook page, rolled out of her comfortable bed to see who was having an emergency.

  “Elizabeth.” It was Will. She rubbed her eyes to clear them and looked at the surface of the phone. 5:18 a.m.

  “Are you okay? Is Gianna okay? What’s going on?” She was barely articulate as her mind spun with all that could have happened to either of them. Visions of a burglar breaking in, an ambulance being called, or a major flood crossed her mind before he started talking. She was already sticking her feet in her tennis shoes and grabbing her jacket when he said, “You were right.”

  She paused with one arm in the sleeve. “I was right.” It was not a question. “What was I right about, Darcy, because right about now I’m thinking fondly of a baseball bat over your thick skull for causing me to panic at being awakened out of a sound sleep with a wonderful dream where my pillow and blankets were positioned just right. Yes, tell me what I was so right about?”

  She hadn’t meant to be snarky. Well, that wasn’t entirely true.

  “Gianna. You were right about Gianna.” He spoke slowly like she barely had a grasp of the English language. “She wanted to do everything on the list…well, except she had no desire to go to the cheese factory and try limburger. In truth, neither did I.”

  Elizabeth’s mind cleared. “That wasn’t on the list.”

  “I was seeing if you were paying attention,” was his highly unsatisfactory response.

  “Darcy!”

  “We were told that the sunrise was particularly beautiful from the view at the end of Lying Dog Creek Trail. We stopped at the store on the way home so we have all we need for a picnic. I’ll bring binoculars, a blanket to sit on, and cool water for you to drink if you would please come. Will you come with us?” He was using the same tone he did before, when he got his way.

  Elizabeth clapped her hand over her mouth until she could regain control. Clearing her throat to gain time, she asked, “Did you say Lying Dog Creek Trail?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “How soon can you pick me up?” Elizabeth grabbed undergarments from her dresser and layers from her closet. Kicking her hiking boots from the bottom of her shoe rack, she wondered if there would be enough time to hop in the shower before they got there.

  “We are ready to head out so we will be there in fifteen minutes. As a matter of fact, we have the car loaded and Gianna is already strapped in. So, we will see you in ten?”

  “You are not giving me much time. I need to take a shower and—”

  He interrupted. “Do your feet stink?”

  “No. Girls don’t stink. Boys do.” She moved the phone away from her ear to pull her sports bra and t-shirt over her head. Wiggling them down, she was able to hear his chortle.

  “Ha! We are on our way. Please be ready because we don’t want to miss the sunrise,” Darcy insisted. Then he hung-up.

  Brat! She hurried to get ready. A sunrise at the end of Lying Dog Creek. Hmmm! I wonder who told him about the trail. She couldn’t wait to see his reaction when they reached the final bend of the pathway. It would be priceless!

  ***

  They had almost reached the main turnoff when Gianna’s voice piped up from the back seat. “Why do they call the trail Lying Dog, Lizzy. I’ve never heard that name for a nature route.”

  Elizabeth grinned in the dark, confident neither Darcy could see her. “Do you have an idea?”

  “No.” Gianna had paused for thought before she replied. “Will, do you have an answer?”

  Darcy surmised. “I cannot be certain, of course, but there is an idiom about letting sleeping dogs lie. I am assuming this will be an easy trail that takes little effort because a sleeping dog barely expends the energy to breathe. Am I right?”

  “We need to turn here.” Elizabeth pointed at the upcoming road sign. “I have no doubt you will understand the name before we reach the ‘vista’.” She would say no more.

  Her backpack contained a flashlight in addition to sunscreen, a first aid kit, three granola bars, a change of clothes, and a lukewarm sports drink from her cupboard. She turned on her flashlight at the same time the Darcys did.

  The trail started wide enough for the three of them to walk next to each other. Gianna took the middle. Within a quarter of a mile, it narrowed so they had to hike single-file and the grade steepened until the vapor from their breathing came out in puffs. At three quarters of a mile, they were huffing as they climbed higher and higher.

  Gianna stopped to wipe her brow and drink from her water bottle. “Where’s the creek part of Lying Dog Creek? I don’t hear any water.”

  “You don’t?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Neither do I, Gi,” Darcy admitted. “It should be close as there’s only one more mile before we reach the vista point where we will watch the sunrise.”

  Gianna bent over and rested her hands on her knees. “This is quite a hike.”

  Elizabeth smirked, but said nothing. Her calves were screaming and her thighs were complaining just as loudly. This was one of the hardest hiking trails within one hundred miles of Meryton. All the locals knew what to expect, and Elizabeth suspected someone who knew better had pulled a fast one on Will Darcy.

  By the time they traveled another half mile, they were gasping for air. Thin rays of sunshine were attempting to break through the darkness. The trees alongside the trail were looming outlines of themselves. They still needed their flashlights to keep from tripping over roots buried under the soil and large boulders strewn across the landscape. The path ascended higher.

  “You didn’t tell me we were climbing Mt. Everest today, brother.” Gianna again stopped for a drink and to wipe the perspiration from her brow. “I can’t wait to put my toes in the creek. My feet hate me for wearing new boots on a hike like this.”

  Darcy grumbled. “Why in the world would someone name this route after lying dogs? It makes no sense.”

  Acting like his question was rhetorical, Elizabeth kept quiet.

  Within the next thirty minutes, the trail gratefully s
tarted to level out as the sky continued to lighten.

  “We need to hurry or we will miss the sunrise,” Will petitioned his lagging sister. “Come on, I’ll help you.”

  Since the path had widened at the same time they quit climbing, Will grabbed his sister’s hand and pulled her behind him.

  “I’m coming. I’m coming,” the girl chanted, her steps keeping time with her words.

  At the final turn before the “vista”, Elizabeth hurried to walk immediately behind them so she wouldn’t miss anything. Somewhere on the planet, the sun would be peeking above the earth making its presence known in all its glory. Not at Lying Dog Creek. For there was no creek. There were no dogs. And there was no vista from which to watch a sunrise.

  “What?” Both Will and Gianna exclaimed as they faced a dry escarpment where a waterfall from antiquity had once flowed. They slowly turned around, seeking what they were not going to find.

  Elizabeth’s joy started at her toes, traveling rapidly through her whole body until she shook with evil glee. Her hoots of laughter bounced off the bland gray rock wall canyon surrounding them.

  “Where’s the view, Elizabeth? Where’s the creek?” Will demanded as she laughed harder.

  “Lying dogs, Will.” She snorted, wiping her eyes with her fingers. “Outrageously, brazenly tell a whopper like a lying, thieving dog. Newbies fall for it every time.”

  “You knew this?” He was incredulous. Then, he pointed his finger at her, walking closer. “You knew this when I told you where we planned to go. It’s why you agreed so readily with little coercion.” He stopped and flapped his arms in the air. By then, the sun filled the sky, leaving shadows and lovely hues on the rocks. “I should have known. When you gave in so easily after being a grump, I should have figured out you were up to something.”

  “Yep! You should have known.” She laughed until she had to take in great gulps of air. “Oh, man! That was good.” Clutching her belly, she chortled a few times before she finally regained control.