However, when the bread emerges fragrant from the oven, the hen’s friends come flocking to her door. “I’ll help now!” they all cry, eager for a share in the fruits of her industry.
At this, the hen looks up at all of them and scoffs. “You didn’t help me when I needed your assistance,” she cries. “Now it is my turn to relax.” And she eats the bread alone, leaving the other animals to go back to their vain pursuits.
There are many morals that can be taken from this story, but the one that struck me as I watched the young woman reading to her rapt charges was that the little red hen wasn’t selfish so much as she was determined. She knew what she wanted and did everything she could to make sure she obtained her goal. In this world of instant gratification, she teaches us a very strong lesson on hard work and determination.
As I watched the youngsters clamor for another story, I started to think about my own dreams and goals. I once yearned to be a Pulitzer-prize winning author. The odds of that, I’m afraid, are very slim, and I’m okay with that. What I’m not okay with is the thought that I might be allowing my biggest dream, that of true love, to slip through my fingers once again.
So here I am, standing at the proverbial crossroads. I can choose to let things go as they are, or, follow the example of the little red hen and do everything in my power to convince the woman who haunts my dreams to give me another chance.
The decision was made the moment I saw her again, even if I tried to convince myself otherwise. So enemies and rivals beware–I am back, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me from trying my darndest to win her affections.
I am determined. And, barring death itself, I will prevail.
Chapter Fourteen
“You sound happy today,” Jen said later that afternoon as she passed the children’s section. Rebecca was sitting on the floor, humming to herself as she sorted through puzzle pieces a child had left scattered haphazardly about. “Can I make the assumption that your happy noises stem from a certain columnist’s article?”
Rebecca blushed slightly and then laughed. “I read it first thing this morning.”
“I didn’t know you got the paper.”
“I don’t. I had to run to the corner in my bathrobe to get a copy.”
Jen’s eyebrows lifted. “I think someone’s in love,” she sang.
Rebecca’s blush deepened. “Haven’t we already discussed this?”
Jen chuckled and sat next to her, pulling a pile of puzzles into her lap. “Okay, you win. When are you going to see Elliot next?”
Her smile faltering, Rebecca looked down. “I convinced him to go with us to the House of Blues on Saturday. I hope you don’t mind.”
Jen looked surprised. “Why would I mind? He’d do a better job at killing Aaron, if the opportunity presents itself. He might even enjoy it.”
Rebecca glanced up. “Were you in Water Tower Place yesterday afternoon?”
Jen snorted. “Of course not. Why, did Elliot meet the famous Aaron again?”
Rebecca took a deep breath and told her about her ‘accidental’ meeting with Aaron the day before. “I told Elliot we weren’t dating and invited him along this weekend. No offense,” she added hurriedly, “but if Aaron tries something you and Scott aren’t really going to be that threatening.”
Jen frowned. “You know, there are so many things about that man that just don’t add up. I think we’re missing something important. I just wish I knew what it was.”
Rebecca placed a stack of completed puzzles back on the shelf and sat back. “You’re right,” she said slowly. “I keep thinking there’s some sort of connection between William’s missing money and Scott’s shooting. But why would there be?” she asked, not really expecting an answer. “No one knew I’d asked Scott to help.”
The words jarred something in her brain, but before she could remember properly, the next group of children streamed into the room, chasing the memory out of her mind.
When Rebecca reached home that evening, she ran up the stairs and changed into shorts and a t-shirt. The park behind her home had been calling to her since she’d first moved in, and she hadn’t had the time to explore it yet. She took a book off the shelf and headed out the door, grabbing an apple as she went.
The air outside was warm, and the late afternoon Sun felt good on her skin. She stood at the edge of the water and watched a little boy try to catch a fish. He didn’t much care for waiting; every few minutes he’d wade into the water in his sneakers and check the end of his line, disturbing anything that might have been in the area. She smiled to herself; she’d never gone fishing before, but she doubted she’d have any more patience for it than he did.
The pond wasn’t very large, and after she’d circled it for the second time, she sat under a tree near her apartment. She ate her apple, her book lying forgotten in her lap. The park reminded her of the one she used to go to with Elliot; the only thing missing was the stream. Thinking of Elliot made her smile, and she tilted her head back to look up at the Sky through the leaves. She wondered what he was doing right then.
“Rebecca.”
She lowered her head slowly and saw Elliot standing in front of her, his hands in his pockets and a curious expression on his face. She stared at him for a minute, wondering if she’d fallen asleep. He slowly took his cell phone out of his pocket, dialed a number without looking, and put it to his ear. She jumped when hers rang in response.
“Hello?” she asked, not taking her eyes off him. qct
“Hey, it’s Elliot. I told you I’d call before Saturday. Is now a good time to talk?”
She started to laugh and nodded, clicking the phone closed. “What are you doing in my park?” she asked, sitting up straighter. “And how did you know I’d be here?”
Elliot shrugged and sat on the ground next to her. “Cassie and Michael are here somewhere,” he told her, gesturing vaguely behind him. “They got into town a few hours ago and were on their way to see you. I happened to come across them in the parking garage as they were leaving, and your sister invited me to come along.”
“That doesn’t explain how you found me in a public park.”
Elliot smiled faintly. “True. When we saw your car on the street and no one answered the door, I figured you’d gone back here. I remember how much you used to like reading outdoors.”
Rebecca kicked her shoes off and wriggled her toes in the cool grass. She breathed in the damp smell of the Earth, then leaned forward and hugged her knees to her chest. “I guess I haven’t changed as much as I thought I had.”
“You have and you haven’t. You have a lot of the same habits, obviously, and you’re still the kindest person I know, but you aren’t as willing to be stepped on as you used to be. You’re much stronger. And definitely more independent.”
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Is that a good thing?”
Elliot’s eyes were steady as he stared back at her. “Without a doubt.”
“Rebecca! Elliot!” Cassie’s voice carried across the park, followed by a thud. “Michael, pick that up. You’re going to ruin our dinner.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. We brought food. I hope you haven’t eaten.” Elliot stood up and waved at the two people slowly making their way across the grass. “Do you need any help?” he called.
“No, that’s okay. Michael needs the exercise.”
Rebecca leaned forward so she could see around Elliot’s legs. “How much dinner did they bring?” she asked, looking at the bag in Michael’s arms. It looked like they were planning to feed the entire block.
Elliot shrugged and grabbed the picnic blanket from Cassie’s arms. “Enough to leave you leftovers for the next month or so, I’d say. Michael told me he missed the food in Chicago and wanted to stuff himself silly.”
Wanting to greet her sister properly, Rebecca started to get to her feet. She hadn’t made it very far before Elliot had grasped her hand, pulling her the rest of the way up. They stared at each other for a mome
nt, hands still clasped together, until Cassie threw her arms around her sister and hugged her tightly. “How have you been? Is your job going well? Have you painted the apartment yet?”
Rebecca laughed and hugged her back. “It’s good to see you, too,” she said. “Why didn’t you call me when you got back? I would have picked you up from the airport.”
“We didn’t want to bother you at work.” Michael placed his bag on the blanket and sank down. “Come on, people. Stop flapping your jaws. There’s dinner waiting.”
It was nearly dusk when they finished off the last of the cheesecake, and Cassie lay back contentedly, her head resting on her husband’s lap. “That was good,” she sighed. “No offense, Rebecca, but I don’t know how you survived all those years in Michigan. The food just isn’t as good as it is here.”
Rebecca stretched out her legs and leaned back on her elbows. “Why do you think I can still wear the clothes I had in high school?”
Cassie turned her head and looked at her sister critically. “Can you really?”
Rebecca could feel Elliot’s gaze on her and she blushed. “For the most part.”
Elliot stood up and wandered over to throw the bag in the garbage can. When he returned he sat next to Rebecca again, much closer this time. She could feel the warmth from his arm next to hers, and thought idly that if she shifted slightly they’d be touching. The thought gave her goose bumps. She wondered if she dared.
They sat there for a while, listening to the crickets as they started to talk to each other. Cassie’s voice was casual when she broke the silence. “Elliot, have you read any good books lately?”
He turned his head slowly in her direction, as though his mind had been far away and her voice had pulled him out of a good memory. “I don’t know; not really. Why do you ask? Are you looking for a good read?”
Cassie’s eyes twinkled. “I heard you’ve been to the library recently, so I though you might have a suggestion. I’m in the mood for a good children’s book.”
Rebecca’s arm slipped out from under her, and she fell into Elliot. He grabbed her arm and helped her up, and when he went back to his lounging stance, his shoulder was touching hers. It felt good, and she grinned at him.
“Yeah, Elliot, did you find any good books at the library yesterday?”
He had the decency to blush, but he grinned back when he answered. “I wasn’t looking for a book so much as inspiration for a column. Lucky for me, my inspiration was right where I thought it would be. I don’t suppose you know if it will be there again tomorrow, do you?”
Rebecca looked down at her bare feet, crossed at the ankles. “I’m afraid I don’t know the whereabouts of your muse, but I’ll be off-site for the rest of the week.”
“That’s too bad,” he murmured, looking slightly disappointed. “I may have to write boring political columns until I meet up with it again.”
Cassie cleared her throat loudly, looking pointedly in their direction. “Tell me what you’ve been doing since I went back to Michigan,” she said. “Did you ever wear the dress I bought with Elisa and Adrianna?”
“Not yet,” Rebecca admitted.
“Why not? Didn’t Aaron ask you out again?”
Elliot stiffened next to her, and Rebecca closed her eyes. For all her newfound self-reliance, Cassie was still sadly lacking in tact. “Yes, he did, and I didn’t wear your dress.” She shot a quelling look at her sister, but Cassie wasn’t paying attention.
“Well, did you go out with him again?”
Rebecca sighed and looked up at the stars that were starting to emerge into the darkness. Elliot didn’t move beside her. “We went to Faye’s garden party last week.”
Elliot shifted away slightly so that his shoulder was no longer touching hers.
“Oh.” Cassie finally looked up at them and swallowed. She didn’t seem to know what to say, and they lapsed into silence.
Rebecca was starting to think that she’d need to come up with a hasty exit strategy when Elliot’s voice cut into her thoughts. “I thought you weren’t dating Sharpe,” he said tone of forced neutrality.
“I’m not. I needed a date for Faye’s thing, and he was available. That’s all.”
“Then how did I find the two of you together yesterday?”
Rebecca took a deep breath. “I came out of the library to get some lunch, and he happened to pull up right then and asked if I wanted to eat with him. It seemed like a good idea at the time…” Her voice trailed off. It hadn’t really seemed like a good idea, but Elliot didn’t need to know why not.
“Well, he didn’t look like he was just hanging out with a friend. He looked like he was going to…” Elliot stopped talking, his hands clenching into fists on the blanket.
Rebecca reached over and smoothed out his knuckles. “I’m not dating anyone,” she repeated. “You’re just going to have to trust me.”
Elliot looked into her eyes for a long moment before finally nodding and looking away. She didn’t take her hand off his, and after a minute or two, he turned his palm up, lacing his fingers through hers.
***
The next morning, one of the girls at the library gave her a copy of the Sun-Times. “Have you seen this?” she asked excitedly. “I guess that writer from the Tribune isn’t getting married after all.” She sighed dreamily. “I would pay good money for a date with that guy. “He’s so… so...”
“Confusing.”
“What?”
Damn it. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Nothing. Can I read that?”
The girl handed the paper to her before walking down the hall. A picture of Elliot standing outside Water Tower Place in the rain was front and center.
The caption read, ‘Columnist Elliot Winters of the Chicago Tribune is evidently not engaged. His recent articles have led readers to believe that matrimony was not far away, but this reporter has learned that Mr. Elliot is still on the bachelor list. The question is, whom is he referring to every morning? There was no comment from his editor’.
Rebecca stuffed the paper in the garbage, then changed her mind and pulled it back out. That was a really good picture, after all.
Friday afternoon, Rebecca’s phone buzzed as she was getting her mail. “Hello?” she said, flipping through the envelopes.
“Hey sis!” Cassie sounded cheerful. “Do you have any plans tonight?”
“Nothing besides a bubble bath. Why? Are you bored?”
Cassie laughed. “No, Michael and I are going out to eat and wondered if you wanted to come along. Elliot’s coming, too,” she added slyly.
Rebecca dropped the mail on the kitchen table and headed up the stairs. “Sounds fun. Where are we going?”
“Jaime’s, around seven. I’ve been craving good Mexican food.”
“Craving? Are you pregnant?”
Cassie snorted. “I really doubt that. Not that Michael would mind, of course, but I want to get some schooling in before the babies arrive. Hey, I’ve got to go. That guy is here to fix the oven. See you tonight!”
Rebecca stared at the phone for a second, wondering what Cassie had been doing to break the oven. Shaking her head, she wandered into the bathroom and started to fill the tub. Sometimes it was best not to know.
She’d only been soaking for a few minutes when her phone buzzed with an incoming text. She reached over the side of the tub and felt around on the floor for her skirt, hoping Cassie wasn’t cancelling on her.
Hey, it’s Elliot. Can I pick you up tonight?
Rebecca smiled involuntarily. She hadn’t spoken with Elliot since their impromptu picnic in the park.
Sounds good.
I’ll be there around 6:30. See you then.
Rebecca let the phone fall back on the floor, a silly grin spread over her face. Evidently Elliot had meant what he’d said in his last column. He wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer.
There was a knock on the door promptly at 6:30 PM, and Rebecca put her earrings in as she ran down the stairs.
Elliot stood in front of her, his hands clasped behind his back. He swallowed nervously when she opened the door.
They stared at each other for a long time before Elliot cleared his throat and said, “Are you ready to go? We’re supposed to meet your sister in half an hour.”
He watched as she locked the door, smiling anxiously when she turned to him. “I like your neighborhood,” he blurted out. His cheeks flushed and he turned his head away.
Rebecca stood still on the front mat and gazed at him. “Elliot, what’s wrong?”
He ran his hand through his hair, making it stand on end. “I’m afraid to say anything stupid,” he confessed, staring fixedly at a spot over her head. “I don’t have a great track record when it comes to being alone with you.”
Rebecca laughed and touched his arm. “Neither do I,” she told him. “I promise not to get offended by anything you say or do tonight. Will that make you feel better?”
Elliot smiled slightly and guided her down the hallway. “It’s a start.”
Cassie and Michael were already waiting for them when they arrived at Jaime’s. Elliot pulled Rebecca’s chair out for her and let his hand brush through her hair before sitting next to her. She smiled at him and handed him a menu.
Jaime looked at Rebecca and Elliot critically when he came to take their order a few minutes later. Rebecca stared hard at him, hoping he’d keep his comments to himself. He grinned at her, and put his pad of paper on the table. They started speaking in Spanish to one another.
“So are you two back together?”
Rebecca scowled at him. “That’s kind of a personal question.”
Jaime had the nerve to look affronted. “You guys are my favorite customers. I think I have a right to know.”
She couldn’t help sliding her gaze over to Elliot. He was staring at his menu intently. “I’m not sure,” she said, thinking that she couldn’t say ‘yes’ until she’d told Aaron to take a flying leap. “Soon, I hope.”
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