Can I Claim For My Heart - chapter 26

Sorry that I have not posted for so long. Hope that this small offering whets your appetite

CHAPTER 26

As soon the children were old enough to be trusted to sit reasonably still Liz & John Bennett had made a tradition, each time one of them had a birthday, of going out to dinner as a family and Liz was keen to continue with this. She decided that David’s birthday dinner would be on the coming Friday night so she rang and made a reservation for three at Vapys, a family style restaurant which had been a favourite with them. It catered for all tastes and had a large selection from which to choose – fish and chips, burgers, schnitzels, grilled salmon, vegetarian options etc, with desserts to die for.

Liz heard the phone ringing as she was coming inside with a basket of clean laundry, but by the time she had negotiated the basket through the doorway the phone had stopped. It was from a private number and Liz thought that it was probably a telemarketer or charity as they seemed to be the only ones who rang during the day from unlisted numbers. Not long after the phone rang again – still showing that it was from a private number – so she answered with a cheerful “Hello Liz speaking” and was ready with her pre-prepared answers – no, she did not have 10 minutes to spare to answer a survey and no, she had other charities that she was supporting at the moment, but thanks for calling.
However, the voice at the other end was a surprise “Hi Liz, it’s Will”.

She was quite shocked and did not answer so he continued “Hi Liz….are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here. Hi Will, how are you?” she probably sounded a bit icy, but truth be told Will didn’t notice. Dulcie’s death had affected him more than he thought that it would – in fact he had decided to spend a few days working from home so that he could take a breather when he wanted to. He had discussed her death with his mother and Jenny, both of whom were of course very sorry to hear the news. Jenny had asked him if he knew whether or not Rebecca would be at the funeral and he lied and said that he hadn’t heard anything about her – he did not want to answer the questions that Jenny would no doubt ask if she knew that Rebecca would be attending.

The funeral was to be held on the coming Monday. His thoughts kept turning to Herbert - he pictured the old man pottering around and not really being of any help in the preparations. Whilst he was sure that Rebecca would be of next to no use he knew that her father would be very glad to see her at such a time – he just hoped that Rebecca would realise that she needed to spend her time with him and not with her friends.

Will, however, felt in need of a friend which is why he called Liz. He did not really notice Liz’s tone – he just said that he was sorry that he hadn’t spoken with her for a while. He was pleasant and polite, asked what she had been doing and what the children were up to. Liz answered as briefly as she could and waved her hand around the air in exasperation – wondering why he was ringing her and what excuse she could give to end the call. Will was trying to engage her in small talk and Liz obliged him for a while, however when he sensed that she was going to say goodbye he took the plunge, and asked if they could catch up again during the coming weekend.

Liz was not prepared for this. She really wanted to put an end to their acquaintance once and for all – nothing was going to come of it as she was not interested in him but he had to come to that conclusion on his own so she answered honestly and told him that it was her sons’ birthday and she would be busy organizing celebrations. Will asked if he was having a birthday party and Liz quickly said no, and then hesitated before haltingly explaining further,

“We have a tradition that when it is one of our birthdays, we go out to dinner. And on Sunday my family…..and others…..are coming over for lunch”.

“That sounds nice”, Will responded, “we do much the same when someone in my family has a birthday. My sister usually also throws big birthday parties for her kids and always invites me – I did make the mistake of attending once or twice but never again – it was like hell on earth”.

Liz laughed – she could picture the terrified look on Will’s face as he was surrounded by children. “David had a party last year with his friends”, Liz responded, “and, yes, it was pretty full on and exhausting. Thankfully he didn’t want one this year, but I still have a lot to do with dinner and the family coming over”.

“Yes, a family dinner is a nice thing to do. Where will you go?” Will enquired. He would have been surprised to realise that Liz was affronted at this question. Where did he get off asking such information? Her maternal instincts kicked in and she felt like a mother bear shielding her cubs so she answered him a tad frostily,

“Oh, we go to a family style restaurant – you know, with burgers and chips and lots of kids running around. You no doubt would never set foot in such a place”, and would look down your nose at it, she thought.

“You’d be surprised”, Will answered, “I have been to some doosies with my sister and her brood”.

“But did you enjoy them?”, she asked

“Weeeellll, ok, I will be honest. I can see the necessity of having somewhere to take children but, I must admit, not my favourite thing to do” he answered.

And then Liz had a lightbulb moment – she realized how to get rid of Will Darcy for good. “Will”, she asked in a beguiling voice, “Would you like to join us for dinner on Friday night?”.

Will was stunned to say the least – he had not expected this at all. A minute passed as he tried to collect his thoughts. He did not consider himself “good” with children – his niece and nephews excepted – and the thought of meeting Liz’s children filled him with fear. What sudden prior engagement could he conjure up? But surely Liz wanted him to come and he could not allow her to think him rude and snobby. He would have to agree to attend.

Liz was smiling as she thought about how uncomfortable Will must be feeling at that moment. The silence on the other end of the phone confirmed to her how shocked he must have been. Surely he would come up with some excuse and then hopefully she would never hear from him again. So it was with surprise and some disappointment that she heard him say, voice softer and a bit shaky “I would love to come to dinner with you and your children”.

Annoyed that her plan had been thwarted and no doubt sounding a bit unfriendly Liz said that she would send him all of the details, hastily said goodbye, and hung up.

DRAT!! That hadn’t worked out how she had planned. Liz now had to break the news to her kids that there would be a guest at dinner with them. David would no doubt be delighted, but she dreaded Sherie’s reaction.