***
Hector was over again. He and Gianna were decorating the house for Christmas, with Gianna directing and Hector climbing the ten-foot ladder, risking life and limb to put up whatever she wanted.
To Will’s dismay and relief, he liked the guy. Hector truly cared for Gianna. He was respectful and patient. He’d even come to Caroline’s rescue the night of the charity event, when her tennis player got slobberingly drunk and told Caroline exactly what he expected in exchange for his company. According to Gianna, Hector lifted him by his collar and deposited him in a cab outside.
Will should have been the one there to do it. No longer would he avoid public events. If Gianna was going, so would he. He RSVP’d for a spring benefit concert he knew Gianna would like. With any luck, he’d have Elsie as his date for it.
Waiting on Charlie was slowly killing him inside. He’d promised himself he’d give them a week, but somehow it had turned into two. There were contractors to meet with, and an unavoidable two-day trip to Phoenix. Then there was the family charity. Will had the best people overseeing the trade school, but there were still meetings and plans, decisions they left to his discretion. If he was heading to Meryton for the unforeseeable future, that meant tying up loose ends first.
Charlie rarely called with an update, but from what Elsie described, the two lovebirds were disgustingly happy together. Will wasn’t sure if Elsie was suspicious or jealous. He hoped it was jealous. He knew he was.
Will wasn’t a phone person. It was something Gianna had teased him about on more than one occasion. He liked to look a person in the eye, let the conversation die down and pick back up again, where looks and body language could replace the words. When there were lulls in their phone conversations, sometimes Elsie abruptly said good night and hung up. He smiled to himself. She was less of a phone person than he was. And he couldn’t wait to see her again.
***
Christmas time meant the annual Bennet talent show, a party Elsie dreaded with every fiber of her being. It was her mother’s brainchild. Mary was coming home to recite select pieces of her poetry. Jane dutifully agreed to sing. Lydia would be performing a scene from her favorite movie. Elsie planned to suddenly come down with the flu.
She’d participated the last two years. If anyone deserved a reprieve, she did. Especially after seeing who had RSVP’d. Charlie would be there to support Jane, of course. The Lucas clan always came, along with many of the other neighbors. But Charlotte and Collin were coming this year and participating in the show. Elsie could only imagine what Collin might do with a little undivided attention.
Charlotte would also undoubtedly grill Elsie about Will. And there was nothing to tell her. He still called. It was the highlight of her day. She loved his droll sense of humor and his insightful take on things. But she was here and he was there. Just as she’d feared, there was no future in a long distance relationship. It only led to heartache. It made her slightly more understanding of Charlie’s wishy-washy treatment of Jane.
The night of the party, Elsie put on her pajamas and hid in her bed. Jane came to check on her. She looked beautiful in a bright red Christmas dress.
“You’re really pulling the I’m-too-sick-to-get-up gag this year, Elsie?”
“Lock the door behind you.”
Jane didn’t leave. She came over and sat on the bed, pulling the covers off of Elsie’s face. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m sick.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Jane peered into Elsie's face. “You’d tell me if there was something, right?”
Elsie nodded, swallowing hard. “I’m okay. I just really hate poetry.”
Jane smiled. “I know you do.” She reluctantly left. Elsie heard the lock click after the front door shut.
She waited five minutes, and then got up and headed for the kitchen. It was a shame to miss out on all that party food. Nothing in the fridge looked good. She finally settled on a Hot Pocket. Wow, this was the saddest Saturday night she could remember.
While the microwave hummed, Elsie retrieved her tablet from her room and searched for something to read.
The front door lock turned right after the microwave dinged, and Elsie’s shoulders slumped. Jane must have been bullied into giving up her keys. But it was Jane who rushed in the door, not their mother.
“Elsie! You have to come now.” Jane grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her toward the front door, regardless of the fact that Elsie was in pajama pants and a ‘procrastinators believe in tomorrow’ T-shirt
“What are you doing?”
“Will’s here.”
“What?”
“He’s at the party. Mom’s putting him in the show. Get your sorry butt over there right now.”
Elsie panicked and ran down the hall, smacking her arm on the door jamb as she turned the corner too fast. She yanked a red sweater off a hanger and had it over her head before she realized she’d have to take her T-shirt off first. Will had come while she was hiding in her house microwaving a Hot Pocket.
***
This was the worst party ever, but Will set aside those immediate feelings and reminded himself not to be a snob. This wasn’t about entertainment or prestige, he was here for Elsie. He realized the reason he’d been so unhappy in social situations all his life was not just his introverted nature. It was his selfish nature, the one that always graded things on an unfair scale. Nothing would ever measure up to the perfect ideal in his head.
