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48
Elizabeth strolled into work on Wednesday morning exhausted but happy. She’d nixed the idea of riding her bike, feeling far too tired to expend the energy.
California had been a whirlwind; it was mostly business for Will, with a little sightseeing thrown in—and an unexpected wedding. Richard and Lauren had planned a small ceremony at city hall around Will’s trip, followed by a small, short celebration, after which Will and Elizabeth had to rush to the airport to catch their flight home. It was a wonderful surprise, and turned the trip into something sweet and special.
She and Will had taken a long walk through Golden Gate Park on Monday afternoon, and talked more about the things he was learning about himself and his issues. He’d asked if she would consider meeting his therapist and possibly attending a session or two with him, and she readily agreed, feeling it would be beneficial for both of them. But she’d also told him that she would never ask him to reveal anything he discussed in confidence with his therapist; instead, she would let him initiate any conversations they had about the past, or about his progress. He had to do it on his own terms, but she would always be ready to listen.
Now, as she turned on the lights in her office, her eyes immediately lit on a large bouquet of flowers placed on her desk. She smiled, assuming they were from Will, and pulled the small card from the arrangement.
Dearest Elizabeth,
I am so very sorry. Please forgive me.
Yours,
Bill
She frowned and tossed the card to the desk and then went to speak with Brenda.
"Do you know when those flowers were delivered?" Elizabeth asked.
"Oh, I forgot all about those! They came yesterday. Are they from Will? You know, I forgot to tell you, he called while you were in South Carolina. He needed some information about where you were staying, so I helped him out. Far be it from me to keep two lovers apart!"
Well, that answers the question about how he found me.Not that it matters now.
“I think I'll put them in the staff lounge so everyone can enjoy them,” Elizabeth said, evading her question. “They'll brighten it up a bit."
Once the flowers were gone, Elizabeth considered what she should do. She promised Will she would tell him if Bill contacted her again, but knew he would only worry. And Bill hadn't contacted her, not really; he’d only sent an apology, one she would ignore. If anything else happened, anything at all, she would tell him. But for now, she would keep this to herself.
When she arrived at his house later that afternoon, he was outside on the deck talking to Georgiana, who’d just come from work. He greeted her with a warm kiss, and the women shared a hug.
“How were your first two days of work?” Elizabeth asked Georgiana.
"Great! I have nineteen students, which isn't too bad. They have a fantastic volunteer program, so I have an excellent pool of parent volunteers. And the other teachers have been very helpful. All the classrooms are grouped together by grade, so everyone is teaching at the same level. It makes it easy to do multi-class activities and all that."
"Makes sense," Will said.
“Will was just telling me about California. I can’t believe Richard and Lauren got married!”
“We were so surprised! The ceremony was beautiful, and Richard and Lauren were practically giddy. Did he tell you about the grand opening of FRD?”
Georgiana nodded. “He said it went well.”
“It wentbetterthan well. He gave an excellent speech, and spent an hour chatting up his new employees and their guests, being Mr. Social.”
Will chuckled. “Wrong. Well, I agree with the excellent speech part, butyouwere the one chatting and being social. I just stayed glued to your side. You made me look good.”
"Oh, sothat'swhy you brought me along,” Elizabeth teased. “For my mouth. Hm."
His eyes dropped to her lips and he grinned, and Georgiana rolled her eyes.
“Ugh, all right. I’m leaving. It’s hot, and I need to get out of my teacher clothes.”
"Do you want to have dinner with us?" Will asked. "I'm not sure what we're doing yet, but we'll figure it out."
"I would love that. I want to hear more about the wedding!”
"Great. Come back around six, and we'll decide what to do."
