by Ari Rhoge
“It's done. —— Is Pete better than me?”
“Well, he's very cute. But I like my men tall,” Lizzy teased. She heard Will's warm, deep chuckle from the other end, and felt a strong desire to pull him close to her, be near him always. “Did you drive Georgie back home yet?”
“I did. She has to get ready for her internship in D.C.”
“Mm.” Pete began to fuss and cry, so Lizzy cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder, and scooped him up, jogging him on her hip. “What's the matter, sweet boy? What's got you so down? Are you hungry?”
“I'm okay, actually. The game's on so I've just been watching that, eating chips. I've got a little bit of indigestion—”
“Not you,” Elizabeth said, laughing.
“Damn Pete.”
“Your godson.”
“Whatever.”
• • •
They met Jane at the corner Starbucks down in Newbury. She had finally taken up an appointment to get her hair cut — it was shorn to her chin now, sleek and honey-blond. “Very nice,” Lizzy said, grinning, and handing Pete over. “Here's your child.”
“Oh, thanks. I was wondering where I put him.” Jane peppered her boy's face with kisses. “Petey, were you nice for Aunt Lizzy?”
He reached for her dangly earring, and deposited it in his mouth.
“If he can't eat your question, he's not interested,” Lizzy deadpanned. “You guys heading home?”
“Yeah. Charlie's waiting for us, watching football. He even bought this itty-bitty little jersey for Pete. I think he's Skyping his commentary with Will now.” Jane raised her eyebrows. “It's really, really sad.”
“Those losers — I didn't know they were Skyping.”
“Seriously.”
“Unbelievable.”
“Did Will ask you to marry him today?” Jane teased. Lizzy glared at her.
It was becoming a game between them over the past two years. The first time Lizzy turned Will down, it had been devastating for him. They had been on a long romantic walk on the beach at nighttime. He had thrown his jacket over her shoulders when she grew cold, and she found the little black velvet jewelry box in its canvas pocket. No had come out almost immediately.
She loved him. She loved him with all her heart, and she didn't want anybody else. But she felt financially frazzled. She felt like she didn't have her professional life in order, and wanted to teach at college level. There was so much she wanted to accomplish before settling down, and she didn't want his help.
So, Will would have to wait.
And wait he did.
Except he did begin to ask half-heartedly every couple of months. And in truly unromantic ways — through the bathroom door, or in the laundromat, or when Lizzy's car was in the shop getting an oil change.
“No,” Lizzy said, patiently.
“I really wish he would hurry up and make that grand gesture again,” Jane said. “I finally lost the last five pounds of baby weight, and I feel like I would rock that maid-of-honor dress really, really well.” A beat. “Basically, you can see my waist again — I'm excited.”
“So, this is all about you, then.”
“Yeah, of course.”
Pete, crying, leaned toward Lizzy fussily. She took him into his arms. “Pete! You are so needy.”
“You definitely have a way with him,” Jane said, smiling. “You're gonna make an awesome mom someday.”
Lizzy looked up, smiled demurely at her sister, and handed her nephew back to his mother.
• • •
The train from Trenton was relatively empty. Lizzy rested her head on her backpack, and curled on the brown leather seat, half-dozing. Her arms settled around her lower belly, and she pursed her lips, thinking, thinking, thinking.
She took a cab from Penn Station to the apartment. The lobby to the elevator. She pressed the button for the penthouse floor, and walked down the hall to her left, fiddling with her keys. Will was at his desk, in front of his laptop. The Eagles and the Giants was on in the background, but he was working. His black frames were on the tip of his nose. The sleeves of his sweater were rolled up to his elbows. He brightened immediately when he saw her.
“Hello.” She dropped a kiss on his mouth. “My hardworking boyfriend.”
“I do what I can.”
Lizzy pulled off her scarf, and shrugged out of her jacket. “Jane told me you and Charlie were Skyping.” She shot him a withering look. “I can't even get you to Skype with me when I'm back home on the weekends.”
“I thought this was your home,” Will tutted. Lizzy was sitting on the arm of the sofa now, and he had gotten up and was now standing before her. He fingered the end of her braid.
“Don't pull that shit with me,” Lizzy said, laughing. “You know what I mean.”
“When I am I gonna get you out of this apartment and off to Pemberley?” he asked. “That's home.”
“When I've gotten my master's and I can find a job down there,” Elizabeth said, gently.
“Wait, seriously?” He blinked. “You would consider it?”
“Yes.” She slid her hands up his chest. “This is nice —— cashmere? Who bought this?”
“You did.”
“I have really good taste.”
“Yes, you do,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss her.
She pulled away shortly, leaving Will hovering. “Do you want to go for a walk?”
“Now?” Will looked puzzled. “Chinese food's gonna get cold. It's in the kitchen.”
“We'll microwave it. —— Come on. Please?” She jutted out her lower lip.
They were outside within minutes. Will stood sulking against the brownstone, his hands stuffed in his coat pockets. “I feel like you have woman-sorcery skills, and I don't understand how they work.”
She tugged him along. They took their usual route, about a mile-and-a-half from where they lived, past their dry cleaner, and their favorite Russian deli. Lizzy had grown used to the nuances of the city. Living here had once been unthinkable — it was so abrasive, so loud and harried and impersonal in New York. But Will loved it, and she loved him. Adding a proper dose of femininity to his apartment had actually been fun. The penthouse had been so clean and Zen and minimalist in the past. Now it was cozy. Messy, but cozy.
Of course, they couldn't stay there forever.
“So, what's up?” Will asked. He had been walking faster than her, and had slowed now so she could catch up, because he had long-legged-person problems. “Did you not have a good time with Jane?”
“Oh, of course I did. I missed her a lot.”
“You miss Pennsylvania, too,” Will said, softly.
Lizzy shrugged. “I do and I don't. I like it here with you much better.”
“Then, what's the problem?”
“No problem, I just… I've been thinking that maybe we need a bigger place,” Lizzy said, tentatively.
“Bigger.” Will stopped walking, and raised his eyebrows. “Pemberley bigger? Why now? I've brought it up so many times before but you were never very keen on it.”
Lizzy looked up at him earnestly, her green eyes wide. “I miss Nan's cooking.”
“That is bullshit,” Will said. But he was laughing — Nan Reynolds did cook phenomenally. “Lizzy.”
“I'm pregnant.”
He actually looked stupid now. “What?”
Lizzy mimed a planet orbiting her abdomen. “You know. Spherical. With child.”
“Oh, my God.” Will ran a hand through his hair.
They were both silent for a good stretch of seconds. Darcy stared at her flat, yet-to-be-inflated abdomen, and Lizzy chewed on her lower lip, looking off into the distance. “Your lack of response besides panic is really making me nervous right now,” she said, quickly.
Then, he drew her in, in such a wide, tight embrace that Lizzy was hoisted from her feet. “Bigger house?” She began to laugh, tears springing to her eyes.
“Bigger house,” he said, breathing against her hai
r. “Yeah, yeah — definitely bigger house.”
“I'm good with Pemberley if you are.”
“We're gonna have a baby,” Will said, shocked. He was beaming.
“We are gonna have a baby.”
“Are you gonna let me marry you already?” Will demanded, pulling away. He was breathless, and his blue eyes were impossibly bright.
Lizzy paused, then nodded vigorously. “Yeah.”
“I feel like you're shitting me right now. Is tonight all some twisted joke? Because if it is I will never ever forgive you…”
“I am not shitting you. I am on board.” Lizzy hit him on the chest. “I'm marrying you, and we're having a baby. Do you still have the ring in your sock drawer?”
“Yeah, I…” Will's eyes narrowed. “Wait, you knew the ring was in the sock drawer?”
“Well, it was only a little better than your last hiding spot by the mail stack.”
“Damn it,” he swore.
“And then the month before that, in Richard's dining-room cabinet. He told me that one.”
“Fucking Richard.”
“I love you,” Lizzy said, quietly. She smiled up at him, and pulled him down for a kiss.
He pressed his cheek to hers, and encircled her in his arms. “I love you back.”
THE END
We at Hanna House Publishing hope you enjoyed this work by the fabulous Ari Rhoge. If you have a moment, please leave a review!
Hanna House Publishing Ltd - hannahouse.co.uk
Dave Jorel, illustrator - davejorel.tumblr.com
