A Good Name: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Variation

by Sarah Courtney

  He untangled himself from his hopelessly twisted sheets and stood up, at first thinking to go to their rooms and check on them. But he wasn’t at his parents’ house; he was at his own apartment. And they wouldn’t be happy with a phone call in the middle of the night. He didn’t want to panic them by calling now.

  He touched his phone to see the time. Just after three a.m. Hours before he could reasonably call them.

  He sighed and lay back down. He was unlikely to sleep again tonight. He could text Mom, at least, and ask her to call him when she woke up. She always put her phone on nighttime mode when she went to sleep, so the text wouldn’t wake her up.

  At least his Kindle had charged while he had been sleeping, so he could read for a little while. He was about halfway through Bastiat's The Law and was finding it surprisingly riveting for a book about economics. If nothing else, it should help him calm down after his nightmare.

  It was after seven a.m. when Mom called. The moment he heard her voice, cheerful and steady, he was finally able to relax.

  He couldn’t articulate why he’d asked her to call him as soon as possible, but with her mother’s sixth sense, she seemed to know he was worried about them again.

  “We’ll all here and we’re all fine, Will,” she said before he could even ask. There was a long pause as he regained control of his breathing. “What was it this time, son?” she asked softly.

  “Plane crash,” was all he could manage.

  She didn’t say anything, but just having her voice on the phone was comforting to him. After a few minutes, she said, “Want to come down to the shelter after work this evening? I’ll save some dinner if you don’t make it in time to eat with everyone, so you can come straight from work.”

  Will nodded, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll see you then. Love you, Mom.”

  “I love you too, Will.”

  By the time he got to work, the fear from the nightmare was over, leaving only the dull but usual ache of worry. He knew the car accident was long past, and everybody had survived and mostly moved on, even if his father was still healing. But he couldn’t help worrying.

  After work, he drove down to the shelter. The shelter looked much the same as it had back when he had lived there, but the neighborhood looked so completely different. Back then, the shelter had been located in an area with low-rent apartment complexes near a busy downtown area with lots of strip malls. But gentrification had changed the look of the neighborhood. The nearby residences were houses, now—nice ones, not apartment complexes. The strip malls had been converted to upscale shopping centers.

  He waved at two kids playing basketball on the outside court on his way in. The court looked exactly the same, although he remembered large groups of teens playing before.

  Will checked in at the front desk, then headed down to the main room. He wasn’t surprised to find Mom there.

  “Hi,” he said, kissing her cheek.

  “Will!” she exclaimed. “Finally!”

  He shrugged. “Sorry. I had a teleconference with our sales department in Seattle, so it went a bit late. How did dinner go?”

  She shrugged. “Forty people tonight. And we only have ten families staying in the shelter.”

  He winced. “Didn’t any come by bus?”

  “A few. Not as many as we’d like.” She sighed. “The construction delays are killing me. They’re saying we should be able to open the new building in two months, and it can’t come soon enough. I hate thinking about all the people who could really use this place but are too far away.”

  The trustees had found the perfect new location for the shelter, a large building right in the middle of the area with the largest struggling population. It had good bones but unfortunately needed some serious renovations before they could be ready to move all of their services over.

  It would be an easy walk for anyone who wanted a free meal or needed a place to stay. Furthermore, it was larger than the current building with rooms that could be used as classrooms, which meant that they could offer GED classes and tutoring for children after school.

  After he grabbed a quick bite to eat, he let her know he’d be outside. It was dark, but a streetlamp was enough for him to see. Usually he preferred to read to the smaller children when he came to the shelter, but today he felt the urge to do something physical—so basketball was it. There were three teenagers outside still playing when he arrived.

  By the time he was ready to go, he was sweaty and exhausted. Every muscle ached. But he knew he’d sleep soundly tonight.

  Will had heard of people using their connections and calling in favors before, and he knew that having good relationships was important in business. But he’d never attempted to do anything like that himself.

  He knew Borami Park fairly well, as she was on the board of advisors for AirVA. When he’d done his research on McTavish House, he’d discovered that it was owned by Parkland Inc., Borami’s family’s company. Just the kind of connection he was looking for.

  He called Borami and told her about having a friend who had applied for an entry-level job in publishing.

  She laughed. “Big romantic gesture, huh?”

  Will was too embarrassed to respond. And now he was having second thoughts. Borami was good friends with his dad through work. Was she going to tell him that Will had a girlfriend? Did he want Dad to find out that way?

  “Well, I don’t have much influence in the day-to-day working at McTavish,” Borami said after Will had outlined Elizabeth’s education and experience. “But I can give the head editor over there a call. No promises, but I’ll see what I can do for your lady love.”

  He gave a little laugh at the phrase, but he had a feeling it wasn’t entirely wrong. And he found he didn’t mind as much as he once would have.

  His call finished, Will amused himself by looking up some real estate listings for Lizzy. Something not too far from the publishing firm—two bedrooms so she’d have enough space, perhaps a townhouse? It would be a step up from an apartment, and she’d probably like having her own ground-level entrance.

  When he found a few that looked to have promise, he emailed them to Lizzy.

  She emailed back immediately. “Will. I’m a waitress, remember? How exactly do you think I’m going to afford a place like this?”

  “Not for now. Once you’re working at McTavish!”

  As soon as he sent the email, he winced. He hadn’t meant to give away the game so soon. Fortunately, she took it as misplaced optimism.

  “I haven’t even been called in for an interview yet, Will. Stop counting my eggs before they’re hatched. Besides, the pay might be better than what a waitress makes, but it’s not going to be great. I think a townhouse will still be well out of my reach.”

  He closed the browser window after bookmarking his favorite listing. Lizzy was right. There was still the interview process to go through and weeks before she’d even get her first paycheck. And even then, she might not want to jump right away into a lease.

  Charlie dropped by with some documents the next day and had clearly heard about Will’s townhouse search. “Seriously, Will? A townhouse before she’s even got the job? And I thought I was supposed to be the perpetually optimistic one in this friendship!”

  “Well, she said her résumé perfectly fits the qualifications, and we know she’s great, so I figured she was a shoo-in.”

  “Right. Weren’t you the one who thought she was mooching off Jane back when you met her?”

  “Yeah . . . what was that, six months ago? I’ve gotten to know her better since then. Anyway, I just wanted to help her . . . and you and Jane.”

  Charlie frowned. “Help me and Jane? How?”

  “By helping her get her own place. I mean,” he quickly added when he saw Charlie’s expression, “you know, you guys are getting married, and I figured you’d like your space to yourself. It would be easier to have dinners together, that sort of thing, if Jane and Elizabeth had thei
r own places.”

  Charlie shrugged. “Plenty of people our age have roommates. It’s no big deal. Although I guess some privacy would be nice since I want to talk to Jane about a pre-nup tonight.”

  “Want me to see if Lizzy wants to go out tonight, so you and Jane can talk?” He winced, realizing he’d used “Lizzy,” but Charlie didn’t seem to notice.

  “Sure,” Charlie said. “Jane’s cooking me dinner, and it’s a bit awkward to ask her to move it to my place. But I also don’t really want to put the conversation off, as we’re getting closer to the wedding.”

  Will nodded. “I’ll check with Elizabeth and see if she’s free. If she’s not, I guess that works out for you anyway.”

  He hoped she was. He’d been interested in her before, but now that he knew she was not just Elizabeth, the beautiful, funny, kind woman that he’d come to appreciate, but also his much-adored friend from childhood, he wanted to spend time with her to reconcile his two loves.

  Loves?

  He shelved that thought for later.

  Lizzy was up for an evening of paddleboating when Will called, so he picked her up and took her out on the river at Riverbend Park. The same park, as it happened, where they’d run into Caroline after kayaking.

  “I made Charlie swear not to tell Caroline where I am this time,” Will said. “I told him I’m never going to let him know where I am if he keeps telling Caroline. He just can’t seem to say no to her.”

  “Hey, that picnic lunch was pretty good,” Lizzy said. “Where do you think she got it?” She gave him a sideways look.

  He grinned. “I think it was Applebee’s. But the picnic basket was a nice touch.”

  “You know, it’s kind of a nice thing that she keeps trying to bring you food. It’s too bad―”

  “That she uses it to try to seduce me? I can’t seem to sit far enough away to avoid footsie.”

  Lizzy’s eyes went wide. “Wow.”

  They were both quiet for a bit. Then Will said, “You know, you’ve never brought me lunch. Not even once!”

  “Ha!” Lizzy punched his shoulder, which made him lean to the left and put their entire paddleboat off-kilter. “I’m not trying to seduce you. Besides, Jane would never let me live it down.”

  “You, I wouldn’t mind,” he said softly. Then he closed his eyes, realizing that he’d just put it out there. But was that such a bad thing?

  “Me?” Lizzy was quiet for a long moment. “Are you saying . . . what are you saying?”

  It was now or never. He took a deep breath. “I’m saying that I’d like to date you, Elizabeth Bennet. Take you out for dinner, maybe.”

  “Or paddleboating?” She raised her eyebrows and indicated their location. “We are out on a river all alone, you know.”

  “But today we’re out as friends. I want to be more than friends.”

  She smiled at him. “I think I could go for that.” She reached across the boat and held Will’s hand.

  He could hear the mischief in her voice when she spoke again. “Does this mean I’m pretty enough for you now?”

  “You heard!” Will could feel his face heat up. “I was sure you hadn’t. You were laughing!”

  “Well, it did make for an entertaining story. Charlotte shares my sense of the ridiculous.” She lowered her voice. “I’ll admit, it did hurt my feelings for a while. Charlie told us about all the pressure you were under, but it still took me a while to get over my grudge.”

  “And yet you did?” He squeezed her hand. “When was that?”

  “When you bought me ice cream, I think,” she said slowly. “I figured out of all those extra apologies, at least one could count for the “not pretty” remark. Plus, I think seeing how pushed and pulled you were, even by friends―well, Charlie’s family, anyway―went a long way to figuring out where it came from. And then I guess I got to know the real you. Even if the real you is a know-it-all sometimes.” She winked. He couldn’t take offense at that. He probably was.

  The rest of their boating time was blissful to Will. They didn’t talk much, but just the feel of Lizzy’s hand in his own was delightful.

  When he dropped Lizzy back off at Jane’s, though, they discovered Jane and Charlie’s relationship was anything but blissful. They could hear them fighting even through the locked door to the apartment.

  “I can’t believe this!” Jane was shouting. Jane? Shouting?

  Elizabeth gave Will a worried look as she unlocked the door.

  “I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of it!” Charlie said, waving a hand in the air.

  “Because you’re telling me, right from the start, that you could see us getting divorced down the road!”

  “I’m not saying that I see us getting divorced! I’m just making sure I’m prepared in case we do!” Charlie looked distraught. “Caroline said―” He appeared to think better of what he was about to stay, because he stopped abruptly.

  “Caroline said what, Charlie?” Jane asked, her voice dangerously low.

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing. Right. Because Caroline never says anything cruel. Out with it, Charlie! What mean and selfish thing has she said this time? Because I don’t think I’ve heard one word out of her mouth that wasn’t!”

  Will looked at Elizabeth in shock. She was staring at Jane, mouth open.

  “She said if you protested the pre-nup, it just proved that you cared more about my money than me!”

  Jane went silent. She stared at Charlie for a long time. Then she said softly, “Do you believe that?”

  He threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know what to believe! But . . . if it’s not about the money, then why won’t you sign a pre-nup?”

  Jane shook her head. “I won’t go into marriage assuming that it will fail! Making a pre-nup says, ‘Oh, we’ll love each other until death does us part . . . unless of course we change our minds down the road, in which case I want to make sure I keep my own money!’”

  “It’s not about keeping the money, it’s about . . . well, divorce is messy! You know that from your parents’ divorce!”

  “It’s supposed to be messy!” Jane yelled. “Marriage is messy! Marriage is hard! If divorce is simple and straightforward and easy, don’t you think we’d be tempted to take the easy way out when times get tough?” Her fists were clenched, and her body rigid with anger.

  Charlie was shaking his head vehemently. “Maybe a temptation to you,” he spat. “I’ve already told you I have no intention of taking the easy way out.”

  “Of course you say that now,” Jane said, rolling her eyes. “We haven’t hit hard times yet. But there might come a time when it gets hard! Then that nice neat pre-nup that outlines everything might make divorce seem like a lot easier solution than working hard on a marriage that’s no longer thrilling.”

  “We’ve both had experience with divorced parents and maybe identifying with them a bit too much. I think you’re worried that you’re going to turn into your mom and maybe end up like her.”

  “You’re bringing my mother into this? My mother raised us!”

  “And now she’s bitter and alone,” Charlie said. As soon as the words came out, he froze.

  Jane went equally still. “That’s low, Charlie.”

  The two of them stood for a long moment, looking daggers at each other. Will looked over at Elizabeth. Should they leave? Should they stay?

  Jane finally released her clenched fists, and her whole body seemed to droop. “If we’re going to get married, it’s forever, Charlie. We’re not going to go into it assuming it will fail.”

  “It’s not assuming that it’ll fail,” Charlie said softly. “But . . . divorce happens. My parents are divorced. Your parents are divorced.”

  “Not to us.” Jane let out a sob. “It’s not supposed to happen to us.”

  “Jane . . .” He started towards her, his arms open.

  “No!” Jane said. She backed away from Charlie and pointed to the door. “I can’t marry a man wh
o can’t promise me forever. If this is the way you feel, then I think you should go now.”

  “Jane!” Charlie took another step towards her, and she again stepped back.

  “Just go, Charlie. You can tell Caroline that she finally got what she wanted. At least somebody did.”

  Jane turned and walked into her bedroom and slammed the door. Charlie turned to Will and Elizabeth, looking bewildered.

  “Come on,” Will said, slinging an arm over Charlie’s shoulder. He felt sick to his stomach. Obviously the pre-nup was a major point of contention between Charlie and Jane, and he was the one who had pushed it on Charlie. He’d never considered not getting a pre-nup when it came time for him to marry―but Jane had made some points he’d never considered.

  What was Charlie thinking, bringing up Caroline’s suggestion that Jane was a gold digger? Surely he didn’t believe it on some level? Did he?

  He led Charlie out of Jane’s apartment and down the stairs. “Look, call Jane tomorrow. Right now your tempers are high, and you might say things you regret. Give her time to calm down, and I’m sure you can sort all this out.”

  “Things we regret?” Charlie said, looking at Will with tears in his eyes. “Will, it’s too late for that. She said she doesn’t want to marry me!”

  At first, Will thought Charlie was overreacting. But a red-eyed Charlie told him the next day that the wedding was off.

  Will wasn’t sure what to think of all of this. On one hand, Charlie was rich, and Jane was certainly not. Surely it was reasonable for Charlie to want to protect what he’d worked so hard for? With no-fault divorce, she could choose to divorce him at any time and force him to break up his fortune.

  On the other hand, Jane had a good point that it wasn’t healthy to go into marriage while planning for divorce. Having a straightforward way out might make divorce look like a simpler solution in the future than working through problems.