21. Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-One
Lizzie
Istretch in bed, waking to Will’s scent. He isn’t beside me. His private suite is on the other side of the hall, while I’m staying in the guest suite.
But he let me borrow his old clothes. Wearing his big T-shirt and joggers makes me feel close to him. I smile as I sit up in bed.
My phone buzzes, but before I pick it up, I say, “Thank You, God, for waking me up this morning.”
Because I refuse to pick up my phone and get stressed out before I’ve had a chance to talk to God. When I pick up my phone, I see that I have lots of missed messages and calls. I’m not surprised.
I left in such a hurry last night that I didn’t get a chance to check in with anybody. First things first. I check the crew group chat because my girls have been blowing up my phone.
Their messages are a mix of: How is everything going? Please let us know you’re okay. Your family is kind of freaking out. What do you want us to tell them?
Me: Hey, girls. I am so sorry that I didn’t follow up last night.
Will’s dad is in the hospital, and we’re staying at his family’s home in Chicago.
I didn’t want to leave him here with everything going on, so I’m staying in the guest suite and really trying to be supportive.
Not sure when I’ll be back, but can you two please put up a sign on the front door of the cafe saying closed for the day and sorry for the inconvenience?
Almost instantly, the replies start coming in. I double check the time and realize that it’s later than I thought. I don’t get to sleep in often because I’m always up early for the cafe, but it’s already 8:00 a.m., and the cafe is supposed to open at 9:00.
Hopefully now isn’t too late for them to put up the sign.
I take a deep breath, realizing that my lack of planning has put them in a bit of a predicament.
Just when I’m about to start stressing, thinking maybe I should rush back home, even though I’d be late getting there, just so I can still open the cafe, I read their replies.
Nic: No worries. I’m already at the bookstore, so I can get something typed up, print it for you, and head over there now.
Jane: And I can check in with Mr. Wolfsheim to let him know that the cafe will be closed for a bit.
Me: Yes, I think we’ll close it for the day, so please put that on the sign and let him know as well. Thank you both so much for your help. It’s been a little crazy, and Will and I stayed up late last night, so I’m trying to play catch up.
Nic: How is his dad doing?
Me: He had a heart attack. He was sleeping when we saw him at the hospital yesterday.
Will’s mom seemed a little upset, but I met Will’s sister, and she was really nice.
I’ll have to check in with Will today to see how his dad is doing, but from what it looked like, he wasn’t doing too well.
On the bright side, Will and I stayed up late baking when we got back to his family’s house, and that seemed to lift his spirits a little.
Jane: Why were you up baking in the middle of the night?
Me: You don’t trust me to be up in the middle of the night with a boy?
Nic: Do you trust you? LOL.
Me: Well, for your information, we talked, and we were able to just bond and bake, and it was really nice.
Jane: Bond???
Nic: What kind of bonding are we talking about here?
Me: Relationship bonding.
Jane: Oh no.
Me: Not that kind of relationship bonding. Get your minds out of the gutter.
Nic: You’re the one who typed relationship bonding. LOL.
Jane: Nic is right. You did.
Me: I meant that it was nice. It’s just that he and I spend a lot of time together, but last night was different...
I hit send, but I don’t know what to add to that because I don’t know if I should tell them everything we talked about last night. I don’t know if I’ll sound crazy. Will people think that what we have isn’t real because he and I don’t have history like Billie and I did?
Or because we weren’t flirting with each other for years like George and I were? I don’t know. But I do know that I don’t want to spoil the feeling of knowing that we both feel the same way. So I’ll keep that information to myself for now.
Nic: And...???
Jane: Yes, don’t leave us hanging, Liz.
Me: And I’m staying until he’s ready to come home.
Nic: Hey, we understand. I’ll make sure to let Jay know as well, and I know he’ll probably let Edward know.
Though the guys do have their own group chat, so they’ve maybe already been talking about everything.
I just want to let you know that if you guys can’t make it for the wedding stuff, we understand.
And I love you so much, and I just want you to be okay. I’m happy that Will has you with him.
Oh no. Wedding stuff. Nic’s bridal shower and bachelorette slumber party are coming up.
Jane and I have been working on it for months, and Nic wanted it to be a combined event because she doesn’t like parties thrown in her honor.
So we did our best to create something she’d really love.
It’s supposed to be just us at her house, in the childhood bedroom she grew up in, having a sleepover like we used to.
I even set up the online gift registries, and people have been sending gifts to both Jane’s apartment and my house. We’ve been collecting everything so we can bring it to the party for Nic to unwrap. But now that I’m here, and with the party for tonight, I realize that I don’t want to miss it.
But I also want to be here for Will. And I don’t want to rush his father’s healing process either. But Nic is my best friend. I’m her maid of honor. I simply cannot miss this event.
And Will is in the wedding too. I don’t know if he’s going to choose to come back for it, but I know I have to be there. So if I have to stay here with him for a bit and then travel back and forth, then that's what I’ll do.
Me: I’m not sure if Will will be coming back for the bachelor party tonight.
I’ll talk to him. But I am definitely going to be back for the slumber party.
We worked really hard on this, and you deserve to have your night.
I’m going to go check in with Will now, but y’all please be praying for him and his family, especially for his dad.
Nic: Praying. Will you keep me updated? And know that if you have to sit this one out, I’ll understand.
Jane: We’re here for you. We love you, and we’re definitely praying.
I close out of the group chat and go to the family group chat that I use from time to time with my sisters and my parents.
Me: Hey, all. I know I’ve gotten a few messages from you.
I left in a hurry last night with Will because his dad was rushed to the hospital.
We’re back in Chicago right now, and his dad is still in the hospital.
We’re going to go get some updates today, but I’m here to support Will.
I won’t be back in town for a bit, and the cafe is going to be closed for the day.
I plan to be back tonight for Nic’s party.
Mama: You left town without telling us??? How could you do something like this?
Papa: We will be praying, Lizzie, and we love you.
Just like I suspected. Mama was bitter, while Papa was sweet. And even though Papa’s response was sweet and touching, he didn’t check Mama. He just ignored her like he usually does.
There’s still a part of me that always wishes he would say something instead of just brushing her off or ignoring her. He may be used to her by now, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the way she treats me like I’m an issue all the time.
Janet: Praying, but you need to be careful with that guy. My husband says he’s playing you.
Mary: Why don’t you just mind your own business, Janet, and pray for her instead of being so negative all the time?
Mama: Actually, Janet is the only one out of the five of you who’s married, so she knows a little something about relationships and men.
Kitty: Is this really the time to be calling Lizzie out on relationship stuff?
Lydia: Yeah, I feel like this is definitely not the time. Maybe making her feel bad about being single isn’t helpful. Period. And she finally finds a guy and runs off with him, and now you have a problem with that?
Me: First of all, I did not find a guy and run off with him.
Second of all, Will and I have been friends for months, and I came with him to help him right now because he’s going through something.
So if everybody could just chill and pray like I asked, then maybe we wouldn’t be in the group chat arguing about this. Seriously.
Mama: Maybe if you had just applied to those dating apps like I told you to, then we wouldn’t be in this situation, and you would be home with a man that we actually approve of.
Me: You mean a man like Billie? The guy who literally left me after he said he wanted to marry me? The guy that you invited to dinner without telling me?
Lydia: I think it’s safe to say now that Lizzie won’t be needing any dating apps anymore since she and Will are dating.
Mama: Yes, I know. I suppose I have to be happy about this. But I found out through a text from Lizzie. The senior walking group also have been talking about it. I missed the last walk so I did not get to see Will and Lizzie on their first couple outing.
Kitty: You also missed the big announcement Lizzie yesterday when we were having dinner.
Mama: This is the dinner that I wasn’t invited to? Is that why I wasn’t invited???
Me: I literally can’t deal with this right now. I’ll be back soon. Love you guys so much, but seriously, everybody needs to get it together. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.
I’m more than happy to focus on getting out of bed instead of texting them. Soon enough I’m showered, and dressed in the clothes Georgiana left for me to wear.
She had some new never worn clothes and said I could have them. I’m feeling like a new woman in the softest and most expensive pair of leggings, T-shirt, and undergarments I’ve ever worn.