"Exodus."
She looked confused. "The Bible?"
"No, the book by Leon Uris."
She whacked him on the arm. "You're just trying to show me up. Go away and leave me to my romances. I'll make sure to be reading The House of the Seven Gables next time you steal my Kindle."
"Not my fault you left it temptingly in my car."
Adventures
June 2016
Will opened the door to his parents’ house quietly, placing his shoes in the bin so that he could pad silently into the kitchen.
He couldn’t have planned it more perfectly. Ana was facing away from him and dancing; he could see that she had earbuds in.
He crept up behind her, then when he was as close as he dared, he poked her between her shoulders. “Boo!”
“Ack!” she squealed and spun around so fast she almost slipped on the hardwood floor. “Will!”
He laughed and kissed her on the nose just because he knew she hated that. “Gotcha!” he said, just as his mom walked into the room.
“Hey,” he called behind him as he walked towards his mom, “I think you might need to clean out the cats’ litter box. Definitely stinks in here!”
He leaned in to kiss his mom’s cheek, and she grabbed his arm and pulled him close to whisper, “It’s not the litter box. It’s Ana’s perm. They use ammonia, so it smells for a day until she can wash it. Just ignore it. But maybe comment on how pretty she looks.”
Will turned quickly to look at Ana. Her hair was different. He hadn’t looked closely before, especially approaching from the back, but it was now a wild riot of curls.
“Oh, wow, Ana,” he said honestly, “your hair looks beautiful! I love the curliness.”
“Riiight. Thanks, Mom, for telling him what’s up.”
“Well, she had to tell me you’re the one who smells like a litter box.”
“Will!” they both said at the same time.
“Sorry, but it does! But it looks amazing, and Mom says the smell will wash out tomorrow.”
Ana nodded and sighed. “Yeah, I know, it’s awful. That’s why I did it over the weekend and not on a school day. I’m going to have the awesomest hair in school on Monday, though! And it won’t stink by then, either. It’s actually kinda giving me a headache.”
He nodded sympathetically. “Beauty is pain, and all that, right?”
“Something like that, but I’m pretty sure ibuprofen is allowed.”
The next weekend, after working twelve-hour days every day for the past week, Will began to think Charlie’s teases about his work habits might have been true. So he worked up the nerve to call Elizabeth.
“Okay,” Will said as soon as Elizabeth picked up the phone, “I’m going to go insane if I don’t get out this weekend. Charlie and Jane are going to some sort of music festival. So you’re it.”
“Lovely to know that I rank number three in terms of people to entertain you,” Elizabeth answered with a laugh. “Why didn’t you want to go to the music festival with them?”
“It’s country music.”
She laughed. “Ahh. Not a fan?”
“Not really my thing, no. So what are we doing instead?”
“How about renting a canoe? The doctor gave me a brace I can put over the wrap to give it more support.”
“You’re on.”
It only took them about half an hour to discover that they should never share a canoe.
“Elizabeth!” Will called to the front. “Steer left! There are rapids on the right!”
“Oh, goody! Let’s go right—I love rapids!”
Will forgot to breathe until they were through the rapids.
“For crying out loud, Elizabeth, we do not have to go through every bit of whitewater you see! There’s nothing wrong with taking the easy route.”
“Nothing wrong, maybe, except that it’s boring. Come on, Will, where’s your spirit of adventure?” Elizabeth taunted.
He was relieved when they passed without comment by a little creek branch separated from the rest of the river by trees, since it looked rocky and dangerous. He should have known better.
“Oh, Will, we missed an adventure!” she called back. “Quick, turn around and let’s go upstream a bit so we can go in!”
“You know what, Elizabeth? I think we should get separate kayaks tomorrow,” Will said. “We can still paddle close by each other and chat, but you can go through all the rapids and I’ll just coast along in the deeper water.”
She shook her head sadly. “You stodgy businessmen. It’s almost like you value life and limb or something.” She looked at her ankle. “Clearly, I don’t nearly enough.”
They had planned a two-day adventure, spending both Saturday and Sunday afternoon on the water. So Sunday, he rented two separate kayaks instead of a canoe. Will was relieved, as he spent a lot less time fearing for his life and more time enjoying the view and laughing at Elizabeth’s antics―and watching the way her hair sparkled in the sunlight.
The next time he saw a place where a little branch of the river was separated from the rest of it by a stand of trees, he pointed it out to Elizabeth. He loved such little side routes when they were gentle, but he could see the beginnings of rapids at the mouth and figured it was more Elizabeth’s speed than his own.
“Thanks!” she called as she paddled her canoe into the entrance.
Will continued on the main part of the river and waited at the bottom of the little branch for her to exit. When she didn’t appear, though, he grew worried, and after some minutes, he finally paddled against the current upstream to see what had happened. He didn’t really want to follow her, but he got as close as he could to see what happened.
“Hey, Will!” she called when she saw him. He could see her sitting on a cluster of rocks on the little tree-covered island between the branch-off and the river, just a few yards in from the entrance. “A little help, please?”
He had to laugh. She’d somehow managed to tip over her kayak, getting herself completely soaked through. Not only that, but the kayak had managed to turn on its side and get wedged up against a tree on the island, filling with water from the strong current, enough that she couldn’t get it off the tree.
“I don’t even know how you manage to get into such fixes,” he said as he found a safe spot on the river side of the island to wedge his kayak, then climbed gingerly onto the rocks next to the tree.
Between the two of them, they managed to push one end of her kayak until the angle changed enough that the current couldn’t keep pressing it against the tree. He dragged it up a bit onto the rock pile to dump out the water, then he held it while Elizabeth limped over.
“I’m getting hungry,” she said as she gingerly climbed in, careful of her ankle. “I wish we’d thought to bring a picnic lunch. This would have been the perfect spot.”
“If you’d had it in your kayak, it’d have been long gone by now.” Will winked at her. “I do have a granola bar, though, if you’re hungry.” He always had two on him when he wore casual clothes, and of course some in his desk drawer at work and the glove compartment in his car. “Here.”
“It’s all crumbled!” She laughed as she tried to take a bite without sending bits of granola everywhere.
“Beggars can’t be choosers. I don’t see you pulling out a stash of granola bars. Of course, given the way you paddle, that might be a good thing.”
“Squished is better than wet,” Elizabeth agreed. She took a bite and waved at him as she pushed off. “Thanks, Will!” she called as she entered the current. “I’ll beat you to the next mile marker!”
He had to laugh as he carefully stepped back into his kayak, avoiding getting so much as his sneakers wet, while a sodden Elizabeth paddled at top speed back down the river.
By the time they took the shuttle back to the park headquarters, Elizabeth hobbling along with Will’s help because she’d had to leave her crutches, she was a mess. Her hair was dripping wet and hung down her back in tangles, she had
no makeup left, and her shirt was clinging to her body in odd folds. Her shoe squished with every hopping step. It was a good thing she only had a sprain, so that there was no cast to get wet. Will couldn’t help smiling, though, because she positively shone with happiness and excitement.
When they reached the building, Will ran in to grab Elizabeth’s crutches while she waited on a bench outside. Just as he handed her the crutches and she stood, they heard an unwelcome voice behind them.
“Will!” Caroline called. “Charlie told me you’d be . . . here.” She glared at Elizabeth. “What are you doing here?”
“Swimming, clearly,” Elizabeth said, flipping her wet hair out of her face. “How about you? Planning a paddle?”
Caroline looked Elizabeth up and down. “I see. You do look rather worse for wear. Whatever possessed you to go into the river fully clothed? Oh, I’m so sorry, I suppose you couldn’t afford a swimsuit? They are rather expensive.”
“Caroline!” he started to say angrily, but Elizabeth broke in before he could get any further.
“They are! And so is the alternative.”
Will resisted the urge to groan. He didn’t know exactly where Elizabeth was going with this, but it couldn’t be good.
Caroline frowned. “Which is?”
“A fine for public indecency.”
Will snorted.
Caroline turned to him. “Will, dear, I couldn’t bear to think of you being left alone all weekend. Charlie told me you were determined to spend the weekend away from work, but then he abandoned you to go to a festival with that . . . Jane. He said that you were going boating, so I couldn’t resist making you a lovely lunch as a surprise.”
“As you can see, I’m here with Elizabeth.”
“Oh?” Caroline looked at Elizabeth again, her eyebrows raised. “I thought perhaps you ran into each other accidentally. How exactly did you end up maintaining your usual pristine look while she looks so very ruffled?”
“Ruffled! I like that!” Elizabeth grinned.
“We were kayaking. Elizabeth is rather more adventurous than I am.”
“That, I can believe.”
“I’d offer to leave the two of you to your lovely picnic lunch,” Elizabeth said, “but Will’s my ride.”
Will groaned internally. He supposed that he ought to accept Caroline’s offering, but eating lunch with the two of them together had disaster written all over it.
“Is there enough for three, Caroline?” he asked reluctantly.
She glared at Elizabeth. “I suppose there will have to be.”
Elizabeth touched Will’s arm. “Will, do you mind if I just grab my backpack from your car and change clothes before we eat?”
“Not at all. I’ll run and grab it for you.” It would save him a few minutes of being left alone with Caroline.
When Elizabeth had crutched off to the bathroom to change into dry clothes, Caroline dropped onto the bench of a picnic table with a huff. “What are you doing with her, Will? She’s nowhere near your league. An unemployed waitress with a CEO? And did you see her clothes? And her hair! A tangled mess! I think I even saw a leaf in it. How can you bear to be seen with her?”
“Caroline, seriously? Her kayak tipped her into the lake,” Will said, trying to keep his voice mild. “It’s no big deal. I’ve done the same before.”
“I’m sure you never looked as awful as she does, though. Can you imagine your sister carrying on like that? Being seen in such a mess in public?”
He rolled his eyes. Would she never stop? “Look, Caroline, if you want to have lunch with us, you’re going to have to drop the attitude about Elizabeth. She’s my friend, I’m here with her, and if you have a problem with that, you’re free to leave.”
“Fine.” Caroline crossed her arms and sat back on the bench, looking annoyed. But she couldn’t resist one last Parthian shot. “Enjoy your little picnic. At the very least, I’d imagine this adventure has changed your opinion about her ‘beautiful eyes.’” She stood up to go, leaving the basket.
Elizabeth, he saw, was returning from the bathroom. She wore some sort of light sundress that bounced a bit when she swung forward, her untidy hair had been pulled back into a wild ponytail, and her color was high at the extra effort it took her to walk with the crutches. She gave him a wide grin when she saw him watching her.
“Not at all,” he replied. “They were brightened by the exercise.”
July 2016
“Turns out I don’t have to ask you what you think of Elizabeth for me,” Richard said without preamble once he’d walked into Will’s office, waving Susan off and closing the door behind him.
“Why’s that?” Will closed his laptop so he wouldn’t be tempted to multitask.
“Because she just wants to be friends,” Richard said. He sat on the chair across from Will’s desk.
Will stifled a pleased smile. Richard wouldn’t be competition after all.
Wait, competition?
“The worst part?” Richard said. “I don’t even mind. Don’t get me wrong, I like her. A lot. And she’s pretty. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that When Harry Met Sally may be wrong about men and women just being friends, because she feels more like . . . my little sister.”
“Or you,” Will said dryly.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the two of you are an awful lot alike, Richard. Maybe too much alike, and that’s why you see her as a sister more than a girlfriend.”
“That, or the fact that she keeps Gibbs-slapping me every time I tease her.”
This time Will did grin. “You probably deserve it.”
“Sooo . . .” Richard leaned back in his chair and put his feet on Will’s desk. Will swatted at them, but Richard just smiled.
“So . . . what?”
“Are you interested in Elizabeth yourself?”
Will sputtered. “Of course not!”
Richard laughed and stood up. “Might not want to make your relief about Elizabeth not being interested in me quite so obvious, then, cuz.”
Will leaned back in his chair and groaned.
He’d wanted to ask Elizabeth if she had any plans for the Fourth of July. He had a feeling she’d come up with something fun and patriotic for them to do. She always seemed to have a good idea.
But now? Now he’d be second-guessing it the whole time. Was he leading her on? He wasn’t, of course. She was not at all the type of girl he’d pictured on his arm. She was just a friend.
He closed his eye and pinched the bridge of his nose, then massaged his forehead. Then why was a part of him wishing she were more?
Will was flipping through the handouts from his meeting with the production team as he stepped into his office and almost ran into Leonard Bailey.
“Leonard,” he exclaimed, clamping down on his papers just in time to keep them from slipping to the floor. “Good to see you.”
Meeting with Leonard without preparation always made Will feel put on the spot―perhaps that was the reason that Leonard liked to show up unannounced. Leonard was considerably older than his father and had always intimidated him. Will had often gotten the impression that Leonard even intimidated his father.
“Same to you,” Leonard said. He took a seat in front of the desk, and Will took his own seat.
“How can I help you?” he asked. He avoided looking at his calendar, because he knew he only had forty minutes to get something to eat before he had to speak with the head of HR over some hiring issues.
“I saw the numbers on the new residential ventilation system,” Leonard began. “They look good. Very good. I came to congratulate you on a successful rollout.”
Will hardly knew what he was saying as he thanked him. Leonard Bailey, congratulating him?
“You’ve done better than I expected, young man. When I heard your father was going to leave you in as CEO, I will admit that I was skeptical. I’d watched you struggle to handle the job temporarily. But you’ve grown into it.”
Will nodded. He was still reeling as he escorted Leonard to the door.
He was doing better than Leonard expected? He’d grown into it? Congratulations?
Leonard was never one to offer praise easily. It felt good to know that Leonard thought he was doing well. But if he was, why didn’t he feel it himself? Perhaps he wasn’t making the level of mistakes he’d made in his first few months, but he still felt as if he was barely keeping his head above the water.
He had to laugh when he saw Elizabeth at the Independence Day parade with Jane and Charles. She had put her hair in pigtails and wore a headband with a sparkly red-white-and-blue antenna that bobbled when she moved, and a t-shirt with the Bill of Rights on it. She was showing off her scooter that let her kneel and scoot along instead of using the crutches.
“I’m not sure if it’s actually easier or not,” she confessed to Jane, Will listening curiously. “It’s physically easier―the crutches are hard on my arms and back and even my other leg. But I have to watch out for curbs, and if I get going too fast . . .”
“Run into more cars, have you?” Charlie asked. Clearly Charlie had heard a story Will hadn’t, but nobody enlightened him.
“You make one mistake, and you never hear the end of it.”
The scooter was certainly convenient when Will and Elizabeth made a visit to the train museum the week after the Fourth, which had accessibility ramps that made getting in and out a breeze. Will felt like a three-year-old who’d just got his first train set, running from display to display and peppering the docent with questions.
“Hey, check this out!” Elizabeth called after she’d read something interesting. “Clara Barton helped out the relief and evacuation efforts here in 1862 after a Civil War battle! That’s pretty cool.”
A Good Name: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Variation Page 16
