First Impressions: A Contemporary Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

by Debra White Smith

  He gripped the top of the grave marker and gazed after Jeff Brown. A thin trail of dust along the country road testified to the blue bike’s progress. Jeff’s red baseball cap bobbed up and down with his effort.

  Dave closed his eyes and rested his head on his hand. Tears seeped between his lashes and plopped onto his fingers. And he prayed that Eddi heeded his warning about Rick Wallace.

  Seventeen

  Linda padded into Rick’s unkempt kitchen and opened the refrigerator. A shaft of cold air sent a rash of gooseflesh along her bare legs as she shoved aside a gallon of milk. She examined the back of the refrigerator. A wide array of condiments and foil-wrapped leftovers cluttered the shelf, but no wine coolers. She frowned. Rick just told her he had a couple of wine coolers on the back of the top shelf. Accompanied by the smell of stale onions, she crouched in front of the refrigerator, squinted, and tried to peer past the maze of junk on the second shelf.

  “Hey, babe,” Rick called. “Having any luck?”

  “No.”

  She glanced up. Rick stepped into the kitchen, pulling a T-shirt over his head. He shoved both arms through the sleeves and tugged the shirt down to the top of his gym shorts.

  Linda smiled and toyed with the button of the uniform shirt she wore. The badge on the shoulder said Houston Police Force. Rick’s nameplate was still attached, as it had been when Linda met him at the door an hour ago—except he had been wearing the shirt. The visit had been a surprise, but after a hard day, Rick was thrilled to see her.

  When they arrived from Eddi’s Sunday night, Linda had dropped off André first. From there, she and Rick drove to his apartment in north Houston. By midnight Rick acted as if he’d never even met Eddi—just as Linda had predicted. Two days ago he’d given her the key to his apartment.

  As he neared, Linda stood and leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and nibbled her neck. Delicious tingles darted along her shoulders and she giggled.

  “I can’t find the coolers,” she said.

  “Ah, man, don’t tell me they’re gone.” Rick released Linda and bent in front of the refrigerator. After a round of mumbles and jar pushing, Rick straightened and shook his head. “Gone,” he said and perused the kitchen.

  “Aha!” Rick closed the door and stepped toward the sink full of soiled dishes. He reached near the faucet and retrieved two empty bottles. “I remember now. André and I drank them Monday night when we were watching the baseball game.”

  “Oh well.” He shrugged and tilted his head. “Want to go to Dolly’s for a drink? It’s just around the corner.” He gazed past her as if trying to decide whether to make the next offer. “Or maybe you’d like to smoke some weed,” he said with a silent dare.

  “You mean marijuana?” Linda’s eyes widened.

  “Yeah. I’ve got a stash in my bedroom. Ever tried it?”

  “Not really,” Linda hedged. She hated to admit her lack of experience, but the idea scared her. So had getting drunk, until she’d done it a few times.

  “You know what I’d really like.” Linda stepped closer and pressed her body against his. “I’d like us to get high on Hawaii—together,” she said with a pouty turn of her bottom lip that she hoped hid her misgivings about the marijuana.

  “I already told you, babe,” he crooned. “I don’t have the money. I’m living on a policeman’s salary.”

  “But you have money for marijuana,” she whimpered.

  “I get that for free every time I agree to turn my head the other way,” he admitted. “If you want me to go to Hawaii, you’ll have to pay my way.”

  Linda raised her head and examined his scrumptious brown eyes. She contemplated her anemic checking account and maxed charge cards and wished she hadn’t indulged in the Nordstrom’s shopping trip last week. Leave it to her friend Hallie to wait until a month before they go to plan such a trip. Hallie and her friends were all so rich that they didn’t have to budget such luxuries.

  “It’s taking my whole allowance this month to make the trip,” she said. “When I asked Dad for more money this morning, I thought he was going to have a heart attack. He told me if I couldn’t make it to Hawaii and back on two thousand, I didn’t need to go.”

  “Oh well.” Rick shrugged, and his shoulders sagged. “I guess you’ll have to go without me then.”

  “But you want to go, don’t you?” Linda placed both hands on either side of his face.

  “Well . . .” Rick hesitated as if he were trying to cover his desires. “I’d love to go anywhere with you, Linda,” he admitted.

  She lifted her lips into a tantalizing smile. “Then it’s settled,” she crooned. “I’ll make it happen somehow. Hawaii just wouldn’t be the same without you.”

  Rick pinched her bottom and Linda squealed. She dashed from the kitchen, through the cluttered living room, and into the hallway. With a growl, Rick followed. When Linda collapsed in the middle of the bed’s tangled sheets, her cell phone began to blast forth a heavy metal tune.

  Linda rolled to the end of the bed. She reached toward the floor and shoved her shorts and shirt off her purse. Rick collapsed beside her and lazily ran his fingers along her spine as she rummaged to the bottom of her cluttered purse. When she pulled out her phone, a flat, oval-shaped package plopped onto the floor.

  Linda’s fingers tightened around the noisy phone, and she looked at the pink pack of pills as if she’d never seen them before. A flutter of a thought irritated her mind. She tried to remember when she was supposed to start taking the birth control pills again this cycle. Rick began nibbling her neck, and a delightful giggle gurgled in her throat. Fully expecting her friend Hallie on the phone, Linda ignored the caller ID and continued to laugh all the way through her greeting.

  “Hi, Linda,” Jenny’s voice floated over the line, and Linda grew rigid.

  She sat up and began tugging at the neckline of her shirt as if Jenny could see her.

  “Oh, hi,” Linda said, and all traces of revelry disappeared.

  “Who is it?” The bed jostled as Rick sat up beside her.

  Linda covered the receiver and waved at Rick. “It’s my sister Jenny,” she hissed. “Be quiet.”

  With a grimace, Rick got up and left the bedroom. An awkward pause seeped across the phone as Linda watched her lover disappear down the hallway. Her chest burned with an onslaught of anxiety. She hoped she hadn’t irritated him so much that he lost interest in her.

  “Linda? Are you there? Have I lost you?” Jenny prompted.

  “Yes . . . I mean, no, you haven’t lost me. I was just . . .” She stood and tugged on the end of Rick’s shirt. “What’s up?” she queried.

  “I just wanted to let you know that Eddi’s coming down this weekend. She’s supposed to be here by six o’clock tonight. I was just on the phone with Mom. She said it would be great if we all could eat dinner there tonight. Dad even offered to grill hamburgers.”

  “Oh, sure,” Linda said and checked her Rolex knockoff. She had four hours to play. Linda stepped down the hallway as Rick sauntered out of the bathroom. With a saucy grin, she wiggled her fingers at him. He responded with a wink that relieved Linda. “Do you think anyone will mind if I bring Rick with me?”

  “Oh no,” Jenny said. “Was that him I heard earlier?”

  “Yes, it was. Uh, we’re actually at the park. He asked me out for a walk.” Linda repressed the telltale giggle while Rick released a sensual chuckle.

  “Good,” Jenny said as if she were relieved. “Eddi and I really liked Rick. I think Mom and Dad will be glad to see him again, too. I’ll call Mom and make sure they prepare enough food for an extra.”

  “Okay,” Linda agreed. As soon as she disconnected the call, she set the phone down and turned to place a hand on the side of Rick’s face. “Want to go eat at my folks’ with me tonight?” she purred and dreaded a negative response.

  “Sure.” Rick’s smile lines ended in dimples beside his mouth.

  “Both my sisters will be there,”
Linda said and doubted the wisdom of trotting Rick out in front of Eddi again. What if he acted like their father and decided he preferred her?

  “What we need to do is figure out a way to get one of your sisters to pay my way to Hawaii,” Rick said.

  Linda stood up straight and looked at him. “Now there’s an idea,” she mumbled and began to brainstorm ways to manipulate Jenny or Eddi into forking over two grand.

  “I was just kidding, Linda,” Rick said.

  “No.” Linda held up her hand. “Jenny has already hinted that she doesn’t think I need to go. She and Eddi are as thick as thieves. I bet Eddi already knows by now and is going to rat to Dad about how she thinks I shouldn’t go.”

  “Well, if Jenny and Eddi don’t think you need to go, then maybe she’d like it if you had a chaperone,” Rick toyed with one of Linda’s curls. “You know, somebody who is strong and brave and respectable and who will protect you.” His lusty grin was matched by the unbridled desire in his eyes.

  Eighteen

  That evening Eddi settled into the lounge chair on her parents’ patio, propped her head against the back, and relaxed. The sun warmed her legs, and she was glad she’d opted for shorts rather than long pants. Jenny had yet to arrive, and Linda was out with Rick. Eddi was left as her mother’s sole helper. That meant she made the potato salad, warmed up the baked beans, and laid out the hamburger trimmings while her mom complained about her nerves.

  Presently, Mary Boswick flitted from the food-laden table to the gas grill, and back to the table. She rearranged the ketchup and mustard, scooted the plate of sliced cheese, and fretted over the dill slices.

  “For Pete’s sake, Mary,” Edward Boswick groused, “go sit down. You’re acting like you’re as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.” He mopped his temple with a paper napkin.

  “Oh, it’s just my nerves,” she worried. The humid breeze whipped her oversized cotton dress around her ankles and sent a whiff of grilled meat to tantalize Eddi’s taste buds. “I ran out of my anxiety pills yesterday and I forgot to get them filled today. I didn’t think I was ready for a refill yet.” Mary touched her temple. “But you know how I’m not good at keeping up with those sorts of things.”

  Eddi tuned out her mother’s complaints and observed her father’s huge greenhouse nestled in the yard’s south corner. He spent hours a day cultivating his first love. Once, at a Boswick family reunion, she overheard a distant cousin call her father a blooming idiot because he abandoned a career in oil for his plants. Little did that opinionated snob know her father had built a significant business shipping rare orchids all over the world. Some he’d even crossbred himself. Eddi planned a stroll through the greenhouse with her father this weekend and looked forward to the quiet time with him.

  “Helloooo! Anybody home?” Linda’s muffled call emanated from the kitchen.

  “Out here!” Mary yelled. She lifted her dress and hurried toward the patio door. After a discreet peek through the window, she hissed over her shoulder, “Wonderful! She’s got that yummy policeman with her!”

  “Oh, goody,” Edward said before flipping a patty. “We can have him for dessert.” The gas grill sizzled.

  “Oh, Dad.” Eddi swung her feet to the patio. “I think this one’s okay. I’m hoping he’s going to be a wholesome influence for Linda.” Her sandals scratched against the concrete as she stood.

  “Really?” Edward appraised his daughter as if he had his doubts. “I guess we shall see.”

  Eddi didn’t bother to tell her father that she had fleetingly harbored hopes about befriending Rick herself. But if he and Linda were hitting it off, she would graciously and gladly bow out.

  The patio door slid open. Linda, dressed in a snug red T-shirt dress, burst into the family gathering with Rick close behind. He offered Eddi a brief handshake and a distracted smile before Linda insisted upon showing him her father’s greenhouse. With a good-natured chuckle, Rick acquiesced. As they meandered toward the greenhouse, arm in arm, Eddi was left with the overpowering scent of Giorgio and the impression that Linda had chosen and made her conquest.

  “Oh, he’s soooo handsome,” Mary chirped. She picked up a sliver of lettuce and munched it as she watched the couple walk across the oak-laden yard.

  “The number-one requirement for a happy marriage,” Edward drawled as Eddi neared him. She picked up the platter stacked with meat and extended it toward her father. He plopped the final patty on top. “If you’re good-looking and have money, that guarantees you’ll live happily ever after.” He looked at Eddi, his gray eyes alight with sarcastic mirth. “Don’t you agree, Eddi?” His tanned crow’s feet stretched as he lifted his brows.

  “Whatever you say, Dad,” she said.

  “Oh, would you stop it!” Mary dug her pudgy fingers into a burgeoning bowl of cherry tomatoes. Half a dozen tomatoes spilled onto the checked cloth as she hurled a tomato at her husband. The red missile landed on the side of his nose and exploded. A wet tomato seed slammed into Eddi’s forehead and she flinched. A bit of tomato skin clung to the side of Edward’s nose.

  “You never have liked anything Linda does—no matter what it is!” Mary hissed. “For once, leave her alone!”

  Eddi gasped. Her father’s face darkened. He grabbed the platter of meat from Eddi and slammed it onto the table. The top patty teetered and then tumbled to the patio. His lips quivered until at last a guttural growl erupted into an edict, “Don’t you ever—”

  “Hi, everyone!” Jenny’s greeting was accompanied by the sound of the sliding glass door opening. “The front door was unlocked, and I just let myself in. I hope that was okay,” she said.

  As Eddi stroked away the seed from her face, she turned widened eyes to her sister.

  Before Jenny could utter another word, Edward stormed passed her and into the house. He hurled the patio door closed with so much force, Eddi examined the glass to see if it had cracked. Jenny gaped and shot a silent question to Eddi.

  A small white dome over the doorway lighted at the same time a pleasant chime echoed across the backyard.

  “Good!” Mary exclaimed as if nothing were amiss. “That’s probably Conner at the front door. I invited him to eat with us tonight.”

  “Conner?” Eddi questioned.

  “Yes, Conner Boswick. He’s your third cousin,” Mary supplied. “Eddi, dear, go let him in,” she ordered and shoved at her mop of wiry gray hair. “He’s been desperate to meet you.” Eddi’s mom struck out for the greenhouse as if she never doubted her daughter’s dutiful obedience.

  Eddi’s mind raced with each clue that had fallen from her mother’s lips. The evidence suggested that Mary had embarked upon a matchmaking quest. The last time she’d attempted to get Eddi married off, the man had proven himself a groping, self-centered beast. Her mother had been furious when Eddi refused to pursue a relationship with him.

  “But he’s a doctor! He’ll take care of you!” Mary had wailed for a solid week as if Eddi didn’t possess one skill to earn her own living.

  The doorbell chimed anew as Eddi neared her sister.

  “Do you think Mom would try to play matchmaker with a cousin?” Jenny asked.

  “It’s not illegal in the state of Texas for cousins to marry,” Eddi said. “Even first cousins.”

  “Yuck!” The corners of Jenny’s mouth turned down.

  Eddi grabbed her sister’s hand and tugged her into the breakfast nook. After the outdoor heat, a rash of gooseflesh erupted along the back of Eddi’s arms. As always, her father kept the house as cold as the Arctic. While the smell of baked beans stimulated her appetite, she snapped the sliding door into place and observed Jenny.

  She noticed that Jenny’s eyes were uncharacteristically red. Eddi’s thoughts rushed to Calvin Barclay. During her five-hour drive to Houston, she’d concluded she disliked him even more than William Fitzgerald Davidson. At least Dave didn’t misrepresent his feelings. If he didn’t like a person, he didn’t pretend otherwise.

  Eddi made a menta
l note to discuss Calvin with Jenny later that night. Presently, she was faced with another problem.

  “What’s going on with Mom and Dad?” Jenny asked.

  “The usual,” Eddi rushed. “Dad made a caustic remark, and Mom threw a cherry tomato at him.”

  “That’s usual?” Jenny’s brow wrinkled.

  “The tomato throwing isn’t, of course.” Eddi waved her hand. “But we’ll have to talk about that later. First, what do you know about this Conner Boswick person?” she demanded.

  “Nothing!” Jenny lifted both hands. “I’m innocent, counselor. Honest.”

  The doorbell wheezed out another announcement.

  “Come on,” Eddi said and pulled Jenny in her wake.

  She rounded the corner, trekked through the kitchen, and marched across the living room. Like the rest of the house, this room looked like the showcase from Neiman’s home decor section—right down to the claw-footed oak coffee table. The smell of the finest raspberry potpourri created the final christening touch to the room’s appeal. Undoubtedly, Linda inherited her propensity for buying only the best from their mother.

  Eddi shoved Jenny toward the front door.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered and swatted at Eddi’s hands.

  “I’m not answering that door,” Eddi hissed. “I’m not in charge of desperate cousins. That’s your job. You’re the oldest.”

  Jenny rolled her eyes. “Oh, get off it,” she complained. “You’ve been trying to push yourself in front of me since the day you were born.”

  “Just open the door!” Eddi demanded.

  “Okay, okay!”

  Eddi held her breath as Jenny pulled on the door. She peered over her sister’s shoulder and prepared to run. But the pleasant-looking man standing on the front porch proved much more promising than the psychotic doctor. He wore neat golfing shorts and shirt much like her father’s wardrobe. His brown, straight hair hung just above his collar and was the exact color of his eyes. A ready smile nearly convinced Eddi she should relax . . . until the man spoke.