Beginning, Previous Section, Section III
Jump to new as of March 28, 2001
Jump to new as of February 23, 2002
Jump to new as of April 21, 2002
Meanwhile (again) back at the Lizzy apartment....
Lizzy struggled to get up off the floor... It was not like she had hurt herself or anything... just it is extremely hard to move, when your back and your butt are numb....
She struggled to get up and made it only as far as the couch. There she flopped on her stomach and began to think again.... She let the events of the last 12 or so hours replay in her head..... then without warning... it hit... the realization that Will was willing to pay her way to Europe.....
"YIKES!!!!!" this outburst was heard up and down the fairly deserted street on which Lizzy lived.... Some would credit it to a neighbor who had unexpectedly found a large spider sharing their pillow... others would never truly comprehend the reason for the outburst.....
He wants to send me to Europe with George... he says no strings.... But what does he want from me????? Could it truly be that he has no ulterior motives??? Or.... Is he wanting something when I get back or .... Before ......Could it be that he .... A man... wants to do something nice for me??????
Her thoughts were so conflicting.... She really wanted to go to Europe....she had wanted to go to the 'old country' for as long as she could remember....
The memories came flooding back....( if this were a movie... the picture would go all watery and then the flashbacks could occur....),.....she remembered how, after seeing the SOUND OF MUSIC, when she was younger... she had wanted to grow up and be Maria....she even tried to learn how to play the guitar... She remembered the beauty and the majesty of the Alps.... The excitement and beauty of walking through the fields of tulips in bloom in Holland..... the canals of Venice drew her interest every time the name of Italy was mentioned...also Rome and all of the wonderful historical draws of that city... and let us not forget Paris.... With the Louvre... the Eiffel Tower and just the thought of being in France.... As Lizzy was lost in these daydreams... she remembered that she would have to reach a decision regarding the wonderful offer she had received from Will Darcy that afternoon.....
The interruption of her dream brought back the debate over the question of what Will wanted out of this whole she-bang....Then, all the thoughts of what she could do in Europe came flooding back to her.... These two trains of thought, leaving the station of her mind, at the same time, each gained ground on the other as they came to the forefront of her thoughts... until they finally hit head on... as she fell asleep on the sofa...... (which poses the question... if two trains left their respective stations at the same time traveling in the same direction at two different speeds which one would be the first to derail or hit St. Louis.... Whichever comes first??? ... and on which side would they bury the survivors.....?????)
The next morning, the pair woke up in their respective houses, each with their own set of problems...Will felt like he had a raging hangover...that PWNOTION had really lit into him... enough to leave him reeling and feeling like someone had put little wool socks on his teeth and in a generally cruddy funk.....
Lizzy lay on the couch wondering, still trying to make some sense of all the events of yesterday.... Trying to find out if there were any casualties on the trains of thought that had collided as she fell asleep.......She too, felt like someone had put little wool socks on her teeth and wondering how she had actually slept through something like that..... The big question still on her mind, was .... "should I stay or should I go?!?!?!? if I stay there will be trouble....." nah nah nah nah nah nah nah.....(okay... sorry....)
After laying on the sofa, trying to get her morning legs... Lizzy finally got up and trudged her way to the shower. Singing in the shower wasn't normally her shtick, but this morning, (one could actually say this noon) it was all she could actually do.... Finally, after singing her own rendition of "How do you solve a problem like Maria?"
Substituting Will Darcy for Maria, and adding the words puzzle, enigma, confusion and the like, in her rather long and hot shower, ( after all, she did have trouble coming up with words to rhyme with enigma, puzzle and confusion...), she reached her decision. (I know run-on sentences... your humble, yet grammatically incorrect author apologizes... sorry...)
After dressing in her favorite, comfy gray sweats, she plops ( I know ... not very graceful...) down on the couch and calls Will.......
Meanwhile.... At the Darcy residence....
Will was in his private little boy's room... scrubbing furiously at his teeth. It seemed that no matter how many times he brushed them, he was not able to get rid of the nasty woolen socks that were coating his teeth. It is during his tenth attempt to get those nasty socks off that the telephone rings...
Will runs to the phone, (after all it is Mrs. R's day off and George is nowhere to be found.... And besides it is his private line....) and answers the phone with a "hewwo" muffled by a mouth full of toothpaste and Listerine... (kids don't try this at home, it could cause your cheeks to explode... and promptly tries not to swallow the nasty concoction in his mouth as soon as he hears Lizzy's voice on the line.....
Lizzy hears the sounds of spitting and gagging and wonders out loud if Will is alright.....
Will returns the phone receiver to his mouth and begins to try and explain the reason for the unnatural sounds just heard. All Lizzy caught before breaking out in a fit of laughter was something about tiny little woolen socks and teeth. After her bout of laughter subsided, Will got to the point...
"Lizzy, was there any particular reason why you called, or is it just because you wanted to hear my voice again?" Will was teasing and he couldn't believe that he had just said that. (for we all know that he abhors disguises of any kind...)...... he was actually enjoying this...
Lizzy responded in kind, " Well, in fact yes, I did want to hear your voice again!"
Will could tell she was teasing, and batting here eyes at him through the phone lines...(rolling her eyes was more like it...) Lizzy was intrigued by this teasing side of him... must have had good sleep....
"No, in fact I did not get good sleep," Will responded.
"Oh, did I say that out loud?"
"Do you always speak what's on your mind without thinking?" Will asked with a hint of sarcasm.
Lizzy was quiet for a moment, then responded, "Not usually. Only when I am not in total control of all of my facilities... and after your explanation about the little woolen socks and teeth, and then my subsequent laughing fit, I guess it just sorta slipped out."
Will and Lizzy chatted amicably about the weather, state of politics in Madagascar and various other sundry topics until finally they landed on the "real" (yeah, right!) reason that Lizzy had placed the call.
"Alright, Lizzy, why did you call me, really?" Will asked with a hint of concern.
"Well, Will..." Lizzy hesitated.
"What is it Lizzy?" Will asked in a slow and concerned voice, "You aren't having second thoughts about this trip to Europe offer, are you???" ( your grammatically incorrect author wanted him to say thingy -as she herself is so often wont to do -but could not for the life of herself, actually imagine that word coming forth from the lips of our beloved hero..... apologies abound if your humble author disappoints...)
Lizzy returns with... "No, ... No, not really... actually that is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. I need some information from you about this trip."
"What kind of information?"
"Well, like... is there some sort of itinerary? Are we gonna be able to just muck about, or are there certain places we are expected to be and things we are expected to do? Are we gonna be forced to take the tours that do not allow for extra time on the things we want to see, or are we gonna be shuttled here, there and then someplace else without the option of standing and staring into the fountains at Tivoli, or at the Mona Lisa?????" Lizzy practically exhaled all of that in one giant breath.
"Well, I am not exactly sure what you mean by being able to 'muck about', (Will was not even sure he liked saying those words, let alone knowing their meaning...), but the only things set so far, are the outing to the theatre in London, the dinner George and I had planned in Paris, and some sort of evening out in Venice. Other than those events, the hotel reservations and oh yes, the possibility of a boat tour of the Greek Isles, there is nothing else set in stone, shall we say." Will was not sure what Lizzy was thinking, but he knew he was looking forward to London, Paris and Venice.
To her delight, Lizzy found that there would be plenty of time for mucking about to the less populated places in Europe. "So what you are saying, is that besides those four days, nights, or whatever, we are pretty much free to do as we see fit?????"
"Well, yes, I suppose.... I guess so..." Will responded, "I'm not sure... What exactly did you have in mind???"
"Well," began Lizzy, " I have always wanted to just walk about the different areas in Europe. You know, like touring a castle in Bavaria, or just staring at the houses in Oberammergau -want so badly to see those houses- I don't want to do the completely touristy thingys, just travel the back roads and byways of the continent. Of course, I want to spend a few days in Paris and at the Louvre. And I want to just hang out in the countryside of England. But all this must meet with George's approval of course..."
"Well..." interjected Will during her little mental trip down the back roads of Europe, "I don't see any problem with you and George 'mucking about Europe' as you so elegantly chose to put it, however.............." and here he paused.(one of those very pregnant pauses...)
After a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Lizzy, or that he had actually fallen off the face of the earth, she said, "However, what?" She was beginning to wonder if Will was having second thoughts about bankrolling her trip to Europe with George.
"However, you and George will be required to be present at those events I, I mean we had planned. You remember, London, Paris and Venice? And if you do not want to do the Greek Isles excursion, I am sure we can forego that one outing."
"Am I to understand, sir," Lizzy stated with a mild state of shock, "that you are to be in attendance at these, as you said, events? Or was I under the mistaken impression that our party would be made up of only George and myself? (Not that I would mind seeing you all gussied up)... oh did I say that out loud????"
Will could actually 'see' Lizzy wishing, expecting and wanting the floor of her apartment to open up and swallow her. "Um... Yes... you did." (he was actually wondering himself how well Lizzy cleaned up....) "And just so you know, appropriate dress will be required for these engagements."
Here Lizzy fell silent. Sure, she had seen what women wore to fancy dinners and the theatre, but sadly, she had nothing in her meager "college chic" wardrobe that would even be considered remotely appropriate for an evening out in Paris, let alone dinner at Paris in Vegas...
"Appropriate dress?", Lizzy hesitantly asked. "How , exactly, do you define appropriate dress? Because, I am not entirely sure that I have any articles of clothing that would even begin to breach the indomitable fortress, known as 'appropriate dress'."
Will, who had been trying to figure out a way to get Lizzy into an evening gown or something along those lines, was thinking almost the same thing. He remembered his college days........ ( not that our well-dressed man-about-campus ever had to worry about his attire...) ..... and those classmates that dragged themselves to class in sweats and clothing that looked like it had just come out of the laundry hamper, dirty , I might add, and items reminiscent of chintzy pajama's. He actually wondered what Lizzy had lurking about in her closet...
Realizing that he should probably soon answer Lizzy regarding the 'appropriate dress' issue, he began to formulate a plan.... A wonderful plan.... A wonderful brilliant plan... a wonderful, brilliant, and he hoped, not to forward, a plan...
"Hello???? McFly????? Are you still there?????" came Lizzy's voice into the visions of grandeur he had begun to create in his head.
"Oh, yeah.. I'm still here... just thinking...."
"Well, were you ever gonna answer my question about what exactly 'appropriate dress' actually is????" Lizzy asked.
"Oh, yes, well... that.... Let us just say that three of these engagements that I spoke about are formal... okay 2 , Paris and London. Venice is a comfortable, casual affair and the Greek Isle's... well let's not even address that one now.... As far as formal, let us just not worry about that at this moment.... Are you busy for lunch?" Will threw this last bit in as an afterthought...
Lizzy, somewhat confused by his last outburst, and surprised at his last question, responded in her own cheeky way, "Nope. Whadya have in mind?"
Let us just say that plans were cemented for a casual lunch and then our beloved pair wrung off.... ( let us also say that your humble author did not know exactly how to finish the phone conversation and had written the next scene before finishing the last... sorry.... Life is strange..... get used to it.....)
Now... when our illustrious hero, Will, hung up the phone... two parts of his mind began to churn....( just wait... it will be coming....the notion part that is.....) One part was churning out a to-do list that went something like this....
n find out how to get Lizzy all dressed up for London and Paris...
n see if George will help me to figure out how I could front the bill for a traveling wardrobe for Lizzy...
n explain to George that....after all Lizzy was her traveling companion and therefore should be given..........( here Will could tell that George might not believe his motives for buying Lizzy what she would need...) if all else fails tell her the truth... You like Lizzy a lot and you ant to make a good impression on her....and want her to like you.......
n See if you can get George to help out with this... this my caring readers should be an easy task... smirk...
n Shopping... that's easy... those two would have a blast... just how to provide the fundage...( Will had heard the term before... but never believed he would ever actually use it....) without Lizzy getting upset or freaked....( another word Will had heard.... Now seriously wondering about the effects this woman had on him........)
"Freaked", Will said the word aloud, "Where the sam-hill did that word come from..."
With his to-do list accomplished, Will sat back to relax a bit... sadly... this was not to be the case...
The other part of his brain... the part that he tried to keep behind bolted and chained doors... the one that housed the PWNotion was revving up for an unprecedented assault....
"YOU FOOL!!!! - WHAT ARE YOU THINKING????? ARE YOU EVEN THINKING????? ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME??? PAY ATTENTION!!!!!! DARN YOU!! LOOK, YOU HAVE MADE ME RESORT TO CURSING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION..... AND NOT THAT I HAVE IT... YOU ARE GOING TO LISTEN!!! HOW CAN YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING HER A FORMAL WARDROBE???? HOW WELL DO YOU EVEN KNOW HER??? ASIDE FROM THAT, YOU NEED TO STOP FUTZING AROUND WITH HER AND START LOOKING FOR A REAL LIVE ME!!!!!!!! HOW LONG HAVE WE BEEN TOGETHER DARLING?!?!?!?!? LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT WE WERE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER...NOW STOP STEWING ABOUT THOSE EYES AND GET OUT THERE AND LOOK FOR A REAL LIVE VERSION OF ME.... I KNOW SHE IS OUT THERE... PROBABLY EVEN CLOSER THAN YOU THINK... BESIDES .. YOU DON'T WANT TO SPEND DADDY'S HARD EARNED MONEY ON SOME TROLLOP WHO IS AFTER JUST THAT, DO YOU??? YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER THAN HER...ME!!!!
The PWNOTION realized she was starting to sound suspiciously like a broken record. She figured that she had better get some new material... and fast......
Will hung his head at his desk and let the reverb from the PWNotions last tirade die down... before he decided to move... He had to find George and soon... he had so much to discuss with her before his lunch date with Lizzy.....