This Time Forever

by Williams, Adrienne

  On Friday Daniel, Elliott's long-time friend and associate asked, "So, who is she?" Elliott replied "See, why you automatically assume there is a woman involved?" "Because," Daniel replied, "when someone decides out of the clear blue sky that he will be taking some much needed time off, there is usually a woman involved, or least there will be a woman involved." Elliott grinned and said, "Look, do us both a favor and stop watching so much Lifetime TV, okay?" Daniel laughed and said "Okay, my man, but I'm just saying . . . " Elliott asked Daniel to call him if anything pressing came up. "Will do, but don't think about us too much. Just go find your girl." With that, Daniel turned and walked away. Elliott shook his head of wavy, black hair as his friend strode down the hallway. He put the finishing touches on the case that he just wrapped up and took the paperwork to Janet, his legal assistant. "Okay, Elliott, I'll make sure that everything is handled." When Janet first started with Elliott she had a huge crush on him. Everyone knew it and teased her constantly about it, but they understood. However, over time, Janet's crush on Elliott lessened and she really saw him more as a mentor. Elliott had always been extremely handsome. At 38, he stood 6 feet 4 inches, and has maintained his slim, muscular build. He had a few gray hairs mixed into his coarse, black hair, but his face was still boyishly handsome and his blue eyes had not changed a bit. "I know you will, Janet. Don't let them work you too hard, okay?" Janet placed her hand on her huge belly and said "Oh believe me, we won't." Elliott chuckled and said, "When I get back, you and Rob will be in full-time parent mode." She chuckled and said "Yeah, I still get a little nervous thinking about it." "Well, I'm sure you three will be just fine. Take care, and remember to call me if anything pressing happens. You'll be working with Daniel, so things will go really smooth." "Bye, Elliott, have a safe trip." Elliott replied, "Thanks, Janet, goodbye."

  Elliott's flight left LAX at 7:00 Sunday morning. Since the flight was to be about five and a half hours to JFK, he decided to take the earliest flight available so that he could get to New York at a reasonable time. He did manage to get a couple of hours sleep on the plane. After he gathered his luggage from the baggage claim, he picked up his rental car and headed over to the house that he would be renting for the next few weeks. The owner really did not give Elliott a lot of information about the house, other than to say that it was fully furnished and that all he would have to do was unpack his things Elliott had to triple check to see if his GPS had brought him to the right place. It had. He drove up a long driveway to find that the owner was already there. The house was a stone beige and red brick home that was quite simple on the outside. There were two large trees on both sides of the house. He could see that there were two chimneys. Elliott grabbed a couple of his bags and took the steps two at a time to the door. He rang the doorbell and a man who appeared to be in his late 60's answered the door. "Hi, you must be Mr. James. I'm Edward Kline, the owner, we spoke over the phone." Elliott took in the elegant surroundings of the inside of the house. He had seen it online and he had expected that only the best rooms would be represented, but on quick inspection, the house was beautiful. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Kline, and please, call me Elliott." Mr. Kline shook Elliott's hand and said "Only if you call me Eddy." Elliott agreed and Eddy took him on a tour of the house. "I recently had the place remodeled. The wife and I decided to get a smaller place over in Chelsea. It's been a tough market for selling, so we thought we'd go ahead a give renting a try. I think you'll really like it here." As the man was speaking, Edward took in the dark hardwood floors, the high vaulted ceilings, the marbled kitchen counters. "Eddy, how many bedrooms?" Eddy said, "There are four bedrooms and they each have their own private bath, so if you have company over, no one has to scramble for the bathroom." They continued on the tour, and Elliott was very pleased that he found this place. "Well, son, what do you think? Do you think you can stay here for a bit?" The tour had brought them back to the kitchen. Eddie took in the surroundings and said "Yes, Eddy, I think this place suits me fine." "Excellent," Eddy said. "Well, I guess all that's left is to give you the key and have you to sign the paperwork for the property management company. You'll contact them if anything comes up maintenance-wise, but I don't believe anything will come up. You'll make the rent check to me. I pay the property manager to handle the yard work and maintenance, but again, I don't believe you'll have any issues." Elliott wrote the check to Eddy and collected the key from him. They shook hands once again and said goodbye.

  Elliott went back to the car and finished taking his luggage into the house. While he was unpacking, his phone rang. He looked at the ID and saw that it was Daniel. "Hey, man. Just checking to see if you made it in okay." Elliott told him about the house. "Sounds really nice. Think you'll wanna come back here? Oh, before I forget . . . so, you actually didn't tell Sara that you were leaving town for an unspecified amount of time? How big does one's balls have to be do that?" Elliott thought for a minute and responded "Oh yeah, man, thanks a bunch for setting me up with that one. I don't report to her. I'm really not trying to hurt her, but we are not a couple and I told her that. I mean she's fine, but she is clingy and needy and possibly crazy." Daniel agreed and said "Well, she tracked me down and asked how come she hasn't heard from you. I told her you went to New York, and she seemed really pissed, so don't be surprised if she calls to rip you a new one." "Okay, thanks for the heads up. Hey, why do you think I'm here to get some girl?" Daniel said, "You're joking, right? Man you were not right for a long time after that sweet, young thing took off. I remember she was really beautiful and totally into you, for some weird reason. I remember how messed up you were when she left. I figured you decided to check out women on the East coast. You never got over her though, did you?" Elliott was slightly annoyed at Daniel's preciseness and annoyed with himself for being annoyed. "No. That's not even how it is. I've always wanted to visit here. You remember E from school, right? Well he's been telling me for years that I ought to check out New York for a while, so I figured now is as good a time as any." "Whatever," Daniel said. They talked a bit longer and Elliot said, "Look, I really need to finish unpacking and find a grocery store around here. I'll give you a call in a few days." Before they ended their call Elliott said, "Oh, one more thing, man . . . no more fix-ups, okay?" Daniel laughed and agreed. When the conversation ended, Elliott set up his computer in the office and went online to find a nearby grocery store. He still had a couple of hours of daylight so he went to do his shopping and returned to his new temporary home.

  Later that night after his shower, he settled himself into bed. It had been a long day and he had not realized how tired he was until he finally lay down. Daniel was right, whether Elliott would admit it or not. He had come here to get the girl. He finally drifted off to sleep.

  Elliott awoke the following morning from a restful night's sleep. The bed was soft, yet supportive and the linens were the perfect weight so that his body temperature remained at a comfortable level throughout the night. A fireplace was located in front of the bed. He thought to himself that he probably wouldn't be using that. It was August and was still quite hot. He would probably be gone before it got cold enough to use it. He got out of bed and did a walk-through again of his new surroundings. The house was really beautiful. The way that the natural light streamed in through the windows was exquisite. The furnishings were beautiful. He had to call E and thank him for letting him know about this place. His wife did a beautiful job with the interior decorating. The living room had large French doors that opened out to a courtyard. It was not big by any stretch of the imagination, nonetheless, it was beautiful with an assortment of fragrant flowers and green shrubs. There was even an area with an outdoor grill. "I could really get used to this," Elliott said to himself. He went back inside and put on his jogging gear. He was actually hoping to spot a gym while jogging. He actually did spot a couple and made a mental note to check out their facilities. The day was quickly turning hot. He managed to get in 45 minutes of jog time before it became unbearable. He arrived ba
ck to his house and checked his email. There was a message from his parents. He called them to let them know that he was there and getting settled in. He told them about the house and told them that they should come up for a visit. They agreed that they would try to visit before he returned. After his call with his parents he took a shower and then made himself a turkey sandwich with a side of carrots and cucumbers drizzled with olive oil on the side.

  After Elliott had finished his sandwich, he decided to take a drive to get a feel for his new surroundings. He didn't think it was possible, but the drivers in New York were just as bad as the ones in LA. He was able to find a place to park the car for a bit. He was walking and making mental notes of streets and various shops that he would be returning to. He stopped and got himself a bottled water. As he was opening the bottle, he glanced up quickly and thought he saw a familiar face. He tried to get a closer look, but before he could, her back to him and she was entering a building. Elliott crossed the street and went inside the building. Once inside, he was greeted by a tall, pretty woman. He took note of the establishment and knew he was in the wrong place, but asked her if a slender, petite woman with dreadlocks was there. She explained that she was not at liberty to give him that information, but asked him if he would like to leave his name and number and she could check to see if anyone there knew him. He told her that would not be necessary because it looked like he had come to the wrong place. Nah, he thought to himself. Couldn't have been. He suddenly felt foolish for even thinking it. Heat must be affecting him. He took a few sips of his water and went to his car and drove back to his house.

  When he arrived at his house, Elliott's neighbor was outside. He got out of the car and walked over and introduced himself. "Pleased to meet you, Elliott," said Mr. Dolan. "So, you're buying Eddy's place, I see?" "Oh, no sir. I'm just visiting for a bit. Thought I'd see how things are on the East coast." Mr. Dolan said "I see, well, you never know. You may decide that you like it enough here that you'll want to take up permanent residency." Elliott chuckled and agreed. "There's Carol." A silver Prius pulled into the Dolan driveway and a petite woman with gray hair stepped from the car. She was dressed in white pants and a lightweight, sleeveless, lavender top. "Carol, honey, this is Elliott," Sam Dolan said. Carol smiled and Elliott said "Hello, Mrs. Dolan, it's very nice meeting you." She replied, "And you as well, Elliott. We were hoping to get to meet you soon. We both have such hectic schedules. I own a boutique and Sam sees his patients in the office and then at the hospital." They spoke on a while longer and made tentative plans to have dinner one evening.

  Chapter 4

  "E, my man, it's great to see you" Elliott greeted Elias with a handshake and brief hug. "Well, it's only taken what, 15+ years to get you up here? It's great seeing you too, man. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get over to the house right away, but you know how things can be." Elliott shook his head in agreement. "So, tell me, how are things in Cali?" E inquired. "Pretty much the same as the last time you were there. Nothing much has changed. I've been so busy with work, though, that if things have changed, I might not have noticed." They talked on a bit more about their busy careers when Elliott asked Elias about his family. "Oh, man, they are great. I gotta tell you, in school, I never would have thought about being a family man. " Elliott chuckled as he remembered what a ladies' man E had been during their college days. He was from one woman to the next, sometimes even managing to wrangle dates with women old enough to be his mother. But, that was just E. "Yeah, I know. So you can imagine how surprised I was when you told me you had met a woman and said she was 'the one.' I couldn't believe it." E nodded in agreement and said "Well, you're going to meet Elizabeth later on. She can't wait to finally meet you after all these years of me talking about you. She's really something, man. I can't say enough about her, but you'll see for yourself tonight." "I'm looking forward to meeting her, too. What about the kids? Are they going to be there?" E took a sip of his water and said, "Yeah, but only for a little bit. You know how they have their own plans and stuff, but they will be there." Elliott was still marveling at his friend. "Here you are with a wife, kids, a great job, and living in the city that never sleeps. You did alright, you know." E looked at his friend for a moment and replied, "Have you been serious about anyone since your last girlfriend?" Elliott replied that he'd had some dates, but none of those dates really turned into relationships. He blamed it on work and the fact that the women he had come into contact with just were not the ones for him. He did not elaborate any further. "Well, you never know. Maybe something as simple as a change of state will give you a new outlook." Elliott shrugged his shoulders. They talked a while longer and firmed up their plans for dinner that evening before leaving the outside eatery.

  When he arrived back to his house, he still had a while before dinner at E's house, so he decided to see if anything good was on TV. He found HBO's "House of Lies" and decided to watch it. He found himself so engrossed in the storyline that he almost lost track of time. He walked from the TV room to his bedroom and found a pair of dark slacks and a dark blue button down shirt to wear that evening. Just as he was getting ready to get into the shower, his phone rang. "Well, I guess it was too much trouble for you to pick up the phone and tell me that you were going out of town" the high-pitched voice on the other end said. "Who is this?" Elliott asked. "You know damn well it's Sara." She said "Look Elliott, I don't appreciate being blown off the way you . . . " Elliott felt his temper rising and cut her off. "I'll tell you just like I told Daniel. I don't report to you. You need to get it through your head that we have never been and will never be together. " She replied hotly, "Well you weren't saying that when . . ." Before she could finish, Elliott hung up the phone. Elliott returned to the bathroom and took a shower. As the steam rose, some of the tension and anger from his prior conversation seemed to lessen. He put the conversation out of his mind as he got dressed for dinner with E and Elizabeth. He gave himself a final inspection, and upon deciding that he looked okay, he headed out the door dinner.

  Elias' home was as beautiful on the outside as it was on the inside. It was a big house, but not overstated or imposing. The lush green lawn, sugar maple trees, and other foliage was an inviting and peaceful site. Before Elliott could ring the doorbell, E was already there opening the door. "Did you have any trouble finding the place? Since it's kinda off the beaten path, sometimes it can be hard to find." Elliott replied, "Nope, it was pretty easy, but I think GPS took me through the scenic route." A woman's voice replied "Well, then you took the best route. The scenic route is just beautiful." Elizabeth came into the living area and greeted Elliott with a warm hug. After her initial feeling that she had seen Elliott before, she said, "It's so nice to finally put a face with your name," Elizabeth said. Elliott said, "It's definitely nice to finally meet you face-to-face as well." They went into the spacious living area just off the foyer and chatted a while longer while the aroma of Elizabeth's roast beef with vegetables filled the air with its delicious scent. "If you'll excuse me, I think dinner is just about done. I'll go check out what's going on in the kitchen and will let you know when everything is ready." "Okay, babe. Do you need any help with anything?" E asked as Elizabeth exited the room. "I've got it all under control," Elizabeth replied. When she had exited the room Elliott said "Wow, dude, I know you told me she was pretty, but she is absolutely beautiful." E chuckled and said "Yeah, she's truly something else, man. She and the kids are the best thing to happen to me." Elliott feigned tears and said "Aw, man, that's so freakin' beautiful." A few minutes later Elizabeth returned to the living area and announced that dinner was ready. They went into a small, beautifully appointed dining room with French doors. There was seating available to accommodate eight guests. The china closet and its contents were simple and elegant. Once they sat down and started to eat, E said teasingly to Elizabeth, "Honey, Elliott was just going on and on about how good-looking you are. For a minute there, I thought I was gonna have to deck him or something." Elliott chuckled and said "Well
, I just call it like I see it. My friend here did pretty good for himself." Elizabeth blushed slightly and said "Well, you gotta know at my age it's mostly smoke and mirrors. And E's a pretty good guy." With that they decided to raise their champagne glasses to good food and good friends.

  Just as they were finishing dinner, and after touring the house with E and Elizabeth, the door to the front hallway opened. "Oh, hey you guys, come and meet my Elliott." EJ and Mariah both greeted Elliott with handshakes. They exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes before the kids excused themselves. "Wow," Elliott said. "I've definitely got some serious catching up to do. A beautiful wife, a beautiful home, beautiful kids . . . you outdid yourself, old man." E and Elizabeth chuckled and Elizabeth said "Come on now, Elliott. You mean to tell me a man as handsome as you, living in LA, doesn't have hotties lined up for miles?" He gave a brief laugh and told her that his busy work life did not leave him very much time for dating. Elizabeth responded "Well, that's it. You're in New York now. There has to be someone here for you. We just have to set you . . . Before she could finish her sentence, Elliott was laughing and holding his fingers in a cross saying "No way, I recently swore off being set up on anymore blind dates. That definitely does not work for me." "Well, if you change your mind, I know a couple of . . . This time E cut her off and said, "Give the man a break. He'll get out there soon enough." She shrugged her shoulders and dropped the subject. At the end of the evening, as Elliott was driving home, he thought about what a nice life E and Elizabeth have. He had to admit to himself, he did feel a pang of jealousy, but he was very happy for his friend. He just wished he could find someone to love like that.