“And forty-fifth in line to the throne,” added Will. Harry glared at him.
“Oh, well aren't you important,” Liz teased.
“Haha, very funny, you two. I'm going to go dance. There's a breathtaking blonde over there who is just dying to meet me.” Harry stalked away with his nose in the air, leaving a laughing Will and Liz behind him.
“Do you think we should tell him that Jenny's my sister? Or that she’s with Andy?”
“Nah, he'll find out soon enough,” answered Will as he watched Harry strutting toward Jennifer where she stood next to the bar.
A slow song began and Will held out his hand to Liz. “Care to dance?”
“I'd love to.”
They swayed along silently for a while, Liz's head resting on Will's shoulder, their bodies pressed closely together, Will's hand rubbing small circles on her back. After smiling at a few guests who commented on how cute they were, Liz pulled her head back to look at her husband.
“I didn't know Harry was going to be here. Did he come over just for this, or was he already here?”
“Here, actually. He's in town for business and called me a few days ago to see if I wanted to grab a drink and I invited him tonight. I thought we could all go to dinner tomorrow night if you want.”
“Sounds nice. Or we can have him over and I can cook. You two would have more privacy to tell your sordid stories that way.”
“Thank you, Lizzy, that's kind of you. I'll ask him tonight if he's free.”
“Are there any other surprises here tonight?”
“Not that I know of. I recognize most everyone except for your school friends, of course.” Will leaned his head in the direction of three large tables that were filled with Liz's classmates from Columbia and NYU. “One of them is glaring at me.”
Liz looked to the tables again. “I don't see anyone glaring. They're not even looking this way.”
“Over there,” Will gestured to the other side of the dance floor as the song was ending. “Did you two used to date or something?”
“No one I ever dated was invited, I can't imagine who—” Liz stopped mid-sentence as the crowd parted and she saw who Harper was looking at.
“Jeremy!” she breathed.
“Who’s Jeremy?” Realization dawned. “Ex-boyfriend Jeremy?”
Liz nodded silently.
“He doesn't look happy. Shall we say hello? Do you want me to ask him to leave?”
After another few moments of silence, Liz found her voice. “No, no that won't be necessary. Let's go say hello.”
Will took her hand and led her across the floor until they were standing in front of the no longer glaring but still unhappy face of Jeremy. He looked at them calculatingly, his eyes resting on Liz long enough to make her uncomfortable.
“Hello, I'm William Harper. You must be a friend of Liz's,” Will said as he extended his hand. The younger man shook it firmly.
“Jeremy Taylor. Yes, Liz and I are good friends. How are you, Lizzy?” he asked as he released Will's hand and turned his intent gaze on his ex-girlfriend.
“I'm great,” she answered with a smile she didn't feel. “How are you, Jeremy? How's Phoenix?”
“It's great. No more rainy springs.”
He smiled and Will had to admit he was a handsome man. He was trim in an athletic way, tall, nearly as tall as Will himself, and he had a thick head of jet black hair that hung low over dark brown eyes. Will subconsciously stood a little straighter and pressed his shoulders back, glad for the inch he had over the other man.
Before Liz could say anything, Jeremy asked her to dance. “That is, if your husband here doesn't mind?” He tilted his head toward Harper while he kept his eyes on her.
“Of course not, I'd love to.” Liz gave Will's hand a squeeze then followed Jeremy to the dance floor.
Hearing a tsk behind him, Will looked over his shoulder to see Harry sipping a drink as he watched Liz on the dance floor.
“Oh, you've done it now.”
“Done what?”
“Really, Harper, at your age, you ought to know how to hold on to your girl.”
“What? They're just dancing! He's an old friend.”
“Tell yourself that if it makes you feel better. He's clearly in love with her and hates you, and I've never seen Liz look so uncomfortable.”
“You just met her tonight!”
“Still... I'm just saying a little slow dancing of your own might not go amiss, that's all.” Harry raised his glass, took one last drink, and left Will to observe his wife in private.
“What are you doing here, Jeremy?” a confused Liz asked.
“Aren't you glad to see me?” he teased.
She looked down. “Jeremy—”
“I know, that wasn't fair. All right.” He sighed. “I was in town for my sister’s birthday and I met up with the old gang last night.” He gestured to a table of Liz's friends from university. “They told me about tonight and I came with them.”
She nodded, her head still slightly down, then she looked up and asked, “That explains how you knew about tonight, but not why you are here.”
He smiled reluctantly, then nodded in agreement. “Well, I wanted to see you. Is that so shocking? I wanted to see how you are, if you’re happy. I wanted to meet the guy who swept you off your feet so thoroughly that you married him just two months after we broke up.” He tried to disguise the bitterness in his voice, but was unsuccessful.
“Almost three months,” Liz muttered under her breath. Louder she said, “You moved away to Phoenix. What was I supposed to do? Sit around pining for you? Do you expect me to believe you haven't moved on?” She struggled to keep her voice steady and at a normal volume to not draw attention.
His temper surged at her defensiveness. “No, I haven't! I haven't moved on, Lizzy! Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?” he hissed.
Her gaze softened and she unconsciously squeezed her hand on his shoulder. He visibly relaxed at her touch and whispered, “I still miss you. I miss our talks. I miss reading the morning paper to you because you're too groggy to see straight. I miss the way you snuggle up to me in your sleep when it's cold. I miss the smell of your hair. God, Lizzy! How could I move on?”
Just then, the music stopped and everyone applauded the band. Liz clapped belatedly, then woodenly marched out a small side door into the narrow hall where she and Will had taken a breather after the receiving line. Had that only been a few hours ago?
She leaned on the wall for a minute, then looked up to see that Jeremy had followed her.
“Lizzy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. This is not the right time, and absolutely the wrong place.”
“This is my reception, Jeremy.”
“I know that.”
“To celebrate my marriage!”
“I know,” he said as he dropped his head to stare at the carpet.
“You can't just show up here and act like nothing's changed! EVERYTHING's changed!” Liz paced back and forth, her agitation evident.
“Oh, it’s changed alright,” he whispered harshly.
She abruptly stopped pacing. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Just that you got what you wanted,” he said simply.
“What? What do you mean?” she asked.
“Another man on a chain, just the way you like it.”
“What are you talking about?”
His expression clearly showed his disbelief. “This is your M.O., isn’t it? You waltz in, you make everybody love you, and then you cut and run, leaving a trail of broken men in your wake.”
She stared at him wide eyed. “What? I do not!”
“You laugh and smile and flirt, with your quirky little habits and your homemade food and those legs. You’re every man’s fantasy! Do you like watching these men fall at your feet? Do you get off on having power over these poor saps? Collecting men’s hearts like key chains,” he spat as he roughly ran a hand through his hair and paced away from her. “I
won’t be one of them, Liz. Not anymore. I’m cutting myself loose.”
She shook her head as tears streamed down her face, completely shocked.
“Why, Lizzy? Why all the games? You have men, strong, smart, good men that love you, and when it comes time to commit, you cut and run. Until you find a millionaire, that is,” he added darkly.
“That’s not true,” she choked.
“Isn’t it?” He tugged on his jacket angrily. “You did it with Matt.” She opened her mouth to protest but he continued, “And you did it with me.” He stared at her, daring her to protest, but she said nothing, cowed into silence. “I wanted you to go with me, but you wouldn’t. Did you even consider trying to make it work? You could have transferred to another university, we could have done the lonGodistance thing, but no, you wouldn’t even attempt it. Why not? You said you loved me. You said you thought we’d be together forever. God, Lizzy, we picked out names for our children!”
He looked back at her with dark, soulful eyes, all his pain and anger and sadness coming at her like bullets she couldn’t dodge. “Maybe you should just admit you never loved me.”
“It wasn’t that simple!”
“Yes, it was. I loved you enough to take you with me. You didn’t love me enough to go,” he said with a sad sense of finality.
Her bottom lip trembled and she stared at him, her eyes filled with tears, her cheeks flushed, and she whispered, “I did love you.”
He looked at her doubtfully, but a spark of hope flared in his eyes. “Do you still?” he asked, just as quietly.
“Does it matter?”
“It matters to me,” he said, moving toward her. He looked down the dim, deserted hallway and seeing they were alone, he leaned one hand on the wall behind her and stroked her cheek, then rubbed away her tears with the pad of his thumb.
Liz released a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. “We’re not right for each other, Jeremy. It’s time to move on.”
Jeremy’s jaw tightened and he stared hard at her. She could feel his eyes burning into her, but she refused to open hers. As long as she didn’t open her eyes, she could stay strong. If she didn’t look at him, she could resist him.
“Is everything all right out here?” Will’s voice shattered the moment and Liz quickly strode to his side and ducked under his arm, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into his side. He reflexively pulled her closer and gave Jeremy a serious look.
“And you, Mr. Taylor? Everything all right?”
“Fine, thank you,” Jeremy bit out.
“Jeremy just came to say goodbye. Isn't that right, Jeremy?”
He looked at Liz for a moment, his expression slightly tortured, then answered, “Yeah, that's right. Goodbye, Lizzy. Best wishes for a happy life. Harper,” he said as he walked past. The two men nodded at each other, and then he was gone.
“You okay?” Will asked gently.
“Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.” She took a shaky breath. “I just need a minute.”
She smiled weakly and Will led her to the ladies room. “Lock the door,” he said as she went inside. She nodded and he reached out to touch her hand for a moment. “Just another half hour and we can politely leave.”
She looked relieved and pushed her discomfort aside until she was alone to unpack it at leisure.
**
They walked into the apartment without saying a word. Liz hung up her wrap and Harper put his keys in the dish by the door. She got a glass of water from the kitchen and made her way to her room, calling goodnight to Will on her way. He was so exhausted he barely mumbled a reply, then fell into bed and was fast asleep before he even took his socks off.
Liz took off her shoes and dress, unpinned her hair, and stepped into a hot shower. As she lathered up the shampoo, Jeremy's words ran through her mind. Did he really remember the smell of her hair? He had always been a little romantic, and she had always liked that about him. Now in the safety of her own room, she let the hot tears fall and the feelings of loss, guilt, and sadness come to the surface. After half an hour of cry therapy and strolling down memory lane, she toweled off, slipped into soft pajamas, and crawled into bed. Elizabeth Taylor. How ridiculous would that have been?
Her hair was cold where it lay wet across her pillow and memories of snuggling under the covers on winter nights came unbidden to her mind. She remembered the first time she had spent the night with Jeremy. A friend's father had a big cabin in the Berkshires and a group of friends from NYU went for the weekend right after midterms. They were the only two not paired up, and rather than one of them sleeping on the couch in the drafty living room, she and Jeremy decided to share the queen-size bed in the guest room.
They stayed up late talking and discovered that each of them had been secretly crushing on the other for a few weeks. Talking led to kissing and kissing led to cuddling and by the morning, they were officially a couple. Two weeks later he slept over for the first time and they started spending every spare moment together. And so it had gone for the next year, four months and two days—not that she was counting—until he accepted a job offer in Phoenix and she refused to drop out to move with him.
She remembered it like it was yesterday. It was Valentine’s Day. He made her dinner, steak with roasted potatoes, the only thing he knew how to make. There were roses on the table and chocolates on the counter. He’d changed his sheets and vacuumed the rug in his tiny studio apartment. He was going to tell her that night. Tell her that the trip he’d taken at the end of January wasn’t just to visit family. It was to interview for a job. A very good job. He’d had two phone interviews and then they’d wanted to meet him in person. So he’d packed his only suit and gone to Phoenix. Ten days later, they’d called. They wanted him. The job started next week and he’d given his landlord notice. He was moving to Phoenix and he wanted Liz to go with him. The ring was burning a hole in his pocket and his hands were sweating.
Liz arrived at his apartment looking gorgeous in a red dress and heels. She’d made him a frame out of candy hearts filled with little messages like “Be Mine” and “True Love.” Inside was a photo of the two of them at a New Year’s Eve party, her in a sparkly dress with a crown, him in a leather jacket and a smile so big you could see his molars. It was his favorite picture of them, he’d said. Joy in a frame, she’d called it.
After supper, Jeremy nervously explained to her about the job interview and how he hadn’t wanted to tell anyone and jinx it. She understood like he knew she would, and when he finally got around to the offer they’d made him, she congratulated him and asked him what he thought about it. He looked at her in confusion and asked what she meant, and she explained that she was asking him if he wanted to take it. What were the pros and cons of moving? What about his family in Queens? Did he think he could handle the climate? It was with shock and disappointment that she found out he’d already accepted the job, without discussing it with her, without involving her in the decision in any way.
She sat there, staring at the wall, finally noticing the stack of broken down boxes in the corner.
“When do you leave?” she asked.
“Saturday.”
Saturday. Six days away. Six days and the man she thought she’d love forever, the one she thought she’d marry one day, was leaving her and moving across the country. And he hadn’t even discussed it with her.
“Liz? Lizzy, say something. You’re scaring me,” Jeremy said.
She just looked at him, eyes wide, mouth dry, and said, “Six days.”
Jeremy knelt before her and held her hand, disturbed by how cold it felt. “Lizzy. Lizzy baby, you’ll come with me, won’t you? We’ll make Phoenix home. You and me. We’ll find a little house and get a dog and you can finally have a real kitchen, one with a big stove and lots of cabinets, just like you’ve always wanted. We’ll be happy there, I know it.”
“You want me to come with you?” She was filled with hope for a moment, until she realized that expecting her to go with him without even ta
lking to her about it seemed just as bad as leaving her behind. Either way, she was just baggage.
“Of course. You didn’t think I’d go all the way to Arizona without my girl, did you?” He smiled that charming smile of his and stroked her cheek softly, his eyes looking into hers. “Liz, you’re the love of my life. I need you. Come with me. Please.”
He pulled out the ring box and opened it in front of her, a half carat diamond sparkling in the candlelight.
“Marry me, Lizzy.”
She gasped and covered her mouth. “What?” she asked shakily.
It was too much. The high of Valentine’s with the man she loved, the fear of being left, the sense of powerlessness, and now this.
Suddenly her mind was spinning. Jeremy was saying something, but she didn’t know what. He actually expected her to quit Columbia, to give up everything she’d worked for and blindly follow him into an actual desert. Who was he? How could he possibly think she would agree to that? How could he make that decision for her? For them?
She stood and grabbed her coat and bag, shakily telling him that she would have to think about it and that she would call him tomorrow. No, she didn’t want him to call her a cab or walk her home. She was fine to walk, it wasn’t far. She kissed his pale lips, distractedly told him she loved him, and ran out the door.
The next day, she asked him if he had just asked her to marry him because he was moving or if he really wanted to marry her. He said of course he wanted to marry her, he loved her and they were perfect together.
She said she wasn’t ready. She was too young to get married. He apologized for rushing her and said they could just move in together if she preferred. He just wanted her with him.
She told him she couldn’t just quit her education in the middle and that she wished he’d talked to her before he’d made such a big decision, especially if he wanted her in his life long term. He got angry and asked what that was supposed to mean and she said that it wasn’t 1955 and he couldn’t just expect her to pick up and follow him wherever he went. She liked her school, she had friends and a life in New York, and she wasn’t ready to leave. They agreed to take a break to cool down and talk in the morning.
Green Card Page 17
