Page 24 of First Impressions
“I’ll call her. Yeah, it’s just been a crazy week with everything going on. I was working late and I must have fallen asleep.” Trying to seem unconcerned, she continued, “I just need a good cup of coffee and I’ll be good to go.”
“If you say so.” Phil looked at her worriedly, but respected her enough not to push it. With a small smile he said, “Just holler if you need anything,” and closed her door.
Shit.She hadn’t slept in the office since probably her second year working for Phil; and she felt terrible for making Jane worry. Gently banging her hand against her head a few times, she stretched, a painful maneuver as her extremely stiff muscles reminded her that she had slept in a chair all night. Gently stretching for a minute, she looked around for where she had set her phone. Finding it on the floor underneath her desk, she figured she must have knocked it off during the night.
Unlocking the screen, she saw she had four missed calls, three from last night and one from this morning, all fromJane. She also had several unread messages, most of them from Jane following up from her unanswered calls, and then two from Char. Still emotionally drained from last night, she opted to text Jane instead of calling her.
Hey Jane. I’m so sorry for not calling last night. I literally fell asleep on my desk working. I’m ok. Talk to you later.
It was the coward’s method of responding, but she didn’t know if she would be as good a liar over the phone.Well, it looked like she was going to find out.Her phone started to buzz with an incoming call from Jane.
“Hey Jane, I’m really sorry about last night. I just completely passed out.”God, she hated lying to her sister.
“Beth I was worried sick. Are you sure you’re ok? You haven’t slept at the office in years.” Jane rarely got angry or upset, but she sounded like she was close.
“I know. I’m so sorry. There’s just been a lot going on with work and then the firm and the ball. I guess it all just caught up to me. Please don’t be mad.”
She could hear the immediate change in Jane’s tone after her plea. “Of course, I’m not mad. I was just really worried, but if you’re sure you’re ok…” She also seemed as unconvinced as Phil.
“I really am. I just need to get some coffee and finish up a bunch of stuff today. I’ll try to head home early.”
“Alright. Love you.”
“Love you too, Jane. Don’t worry. I’m fine.” Her reassurance sounded weak, even to her ears. She hated lying to her sister, but she couldn’t deal with Jane fussing over her right now any more than she already was.
She was emotionally devastated and there was nothing Jane could do about it, so having her dwell on it was only going to make it worse. Beth really didn’t want to go home early today, hating herself for saying that just to make Jane feel better about the situation. She just wanted to shut off all her emotions until the end of the weekend, when she could finally begin to move past this mess without having to see Mr. Darcy ever again.
Grabbing her phone, she stood up stiffly, deciding that walking to the Starbucks next door would be a welcome exertion for her muscles. She made her way over to the coffee shop and ordered a Venti Starbucks Double Shot –desperate times call for desperate measures. When she had finished paying, she realized that she hadn’t read the messages from Char.
-Hey B. What are you wearing on Saturday? I need your help deciding.
A few minutes later she had followed up with,
-Can you just come over tomorrow night? My parents are all over me about this.
Beth sent up a silent prayer of thanks. Char wanted her to come over tonight, which meant she wouldn’t have to go home and see Jane. That thought was accompanied by a twinge of guilt; she’d never tried to be so distant from her sister and she knew it was going to hurt Jane, but it was what she needed right now. Not wanting to text and walk, Beth waited for her coffee to come up on the bar and then called Char as she left Starbucks.
“Hey! You never responded to my texts,” Char picked up.
“I know. You wouldn’t believe it, but I fell asleep at the office last night. I’m so stressed with everything.”
“Oh man! Well, I know that feeling. My mom is bad this time, Beth; you have no idea. I’d trade her for your mom, it’s that bad.” Char was a year older than Beth, making her the dreaded thirty-years-old and unmarried daughter. Their families got along so well because they were all very similar, Irene and Mrs. Lucas, Beth and Char. So, Beth knew that Mrs. Lucas was laying on the pressure for Char to have a date or find a date, or a husband, at this ball. Thankfully, with Jane and Charles hitting it off so well, Irene had been blissfully distracted from her second child’s lack of prospects.
“Shit. Ok, well I’m free tonight. I can come over and stay if you want. Maybe she won’t be as obnoxious if I’m there.”
“Unlikely, but at least I will have an excuse to hide from her,” Char laughed. “Ok, well I’m done at one today so just head over whenever you are done with work. I’ll see you later.”
“Ok. Bye.” Beth hung up with a sigh of relief, looking forward to the distraction from her own life and some quality time with her best friend. Beth and Char were very similar in their personalities, preferences, ambitions, but Char hadn’t been opposed to dating and marriage like Beth had; she just hadn’t had that many good candidates. Unfortunately, where Beth just got annoyed and marginally embarrassed by her mother’s insistence, Char took her mother’s pressure and criticisms more personally, letting it affect her self-esteem and happiness. Her skin had become thicker over the past few years, but she’d come to stay with Beth and Jane many nights, in tears, feeling inadequate and defeated by her mother’s expectations.
As she got back into her office, she set her coffee down and got her laptop back out of the bag. Opening up her email, she was greeted with the message that had spurred her breakdown.Deep breaths.Hitting the button to reply, she locked down her emotions and began her response.
Mrs. DeBourgh,
Thank you for your email. I will personally ensure that your request is attended to. I look forward to seeing you and your daughter tomorrow evening and to our continued partnership.
Beth Bennet
What a load of BS, but what other choice did she have? Quickly sending out another email to one of her assistants, she asked that Mrs. DeBourgh and her daughter be switched with Lydia and George at their table. She’d wanted to move herself to another table away from Mr. Darcy and Anne, but she needed to be at the table to explain who Mrs. DeBourgh was to her parents and why she was there.
