First Impressions: A Contemporary Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

by Debra White Smith

  “You must be Jenny,” he said in a high nasal tone that Eddi first thought was affected. He looked past Jenny to Eddi. “And you’re Eddi!” The man tilted his head back and closed his eyes as if he were enraptured. “I’ve wanted to meet you for absolutely ages!”

  “Oh, really?” Eddi asked and held on to Jenny.

  “Yes, really.” He brushed past Jenny as if she didn’t matter and extended his hand to Eddi. “I’m Conner Boswick, your third cousin,” he said. “Your mother has sent me photos of you and all sorts of information.”

  “She has?” Eddi croaked, feeling like a piece of furniture being auctioned off to the highest bidder.

  “Oh, yes! I feel as if I already know you.”

  “You do?”

  “Oh, yes!” Conner hovered over her as if he were a ravenous buzzard and she were the most delectable tidbit he’d ever seen. “You’re as beautiful in real life as you are in your photos.”

  “I am?” Eddi didn’t realize her fingernails were eating into Jenny’s arm until her sister pried her stiff fingers from her arm.

  “I think the hamburgers are ready,” Jenny said.

  “Good!” Conner rubbed his hands together and walked to the living room’s center. He paused and turned toward the sisters. “There’s nothing I love more than a good burger.”

  Jenny massaged her upper arm and darted Eddi a pain-filled glance.

  “Sorry,” Eddi whispered and nudged Jenny toward the newcomer. “You take him outside. I’m going upstairs to talk to Dad.”

  “And leave me to deal with him? What a good sister you are.”

  “He’s not drooling over you. You’re safe.” Eddi bestowed a nervous smile toward her cousin, who observed them as if he were trying to read their lips.

  “Not only are you loyal, you’re also complimentary.”

  “Bye,” Eddi hissed and hurried toward the stairway that led to her father’s study.

  “Oh, aren’t you going out with us?” Conner called.

  “Ummm . . .” Fully expecting the man to race after her, Eddi glanced over her shoulder and increased her pace. “I’ll be out later.”

  “Come this way,” Jenny urged. “Mom will want to see you.”

  “Well, okay,” Conner whined. “As long as Eddi will be out soon.”

  Without an answer, Eddi took the stairs two at a time. When she reached the second floor, she hurried down the hallway and stepped into her father’s study. The smell of aging books enveloped her, and she snapped the door shut and leaned against it.

  Her father sat in his recliner near the picture window that overlooked the backyard. Surrounding him was a sea of library books, all in neat rows on bookcase shelves. The droop of his face suggested that he wished he were a million miles from his home.

  “What brings you here?” Edward Boswick asked.

  “Two things,” Eddi answered. “I wanted to see if you were going to come back down and eat, and I’m also running from my third cousin.” She turned around and inched the door open. Feeling like a spy, Eddi scanned the hallway for any sign that she’d been pursued.

  Nineteen

  “Your third cousin?” Edward inquired.

  “Yes.” Satisfied that she had really escaped Conner, Eddi closed the door. She walked to the multi-paned window and looked straight down. Below, Jenny and her mother stood at the food-laden table with Conner. He held a paper plate and appeared to be salivating over the food as much as he had Eddi.

  “His name is Conner Boswick. Apparently, Mom has been shopping me around,” Eddi complained. “He just arrived at the front door and said she’d sent my photos to him. She told me before he arrived that he’d been desperate to meet me.” Eddi looked at her father. “Do you know anything about any of this?”

  Edward grunted. “If I had known, I would have stopped her. Conner’s father was that imbecile who called me a blooming idiot for not staying in the oil business.

  “Your mother is worried sick that I’m going to die before her, and she’ll have to find another place to live since this house goes back to the Boswick estate when I die.” He propped his elbows on the chair’s arms.

  “But don’t you have enough money invested for her to buy another home?” Eddi questioned.

  “Of course,” Edward agreed. “Problem is, she couldn’t buy a house as nice as this one. Besides, she says she raised her kids in this house and worries sick about losing all those memories.” His voice softened as if he were embarking upon a rare moment of understanding his wife.

  “But,” he continued, “if one of you girls were to marry a Boswick who stayed in the business, you could live here.”

  “Or we could arrange for her to live here,” Eddi said.

  “Exactly.”

  Eddi weighed the saved memories against marrying Conner Boswick. In a flash, she decided she’d rather slam dunk the memories into the Atlantic before marrying the likes of him.

  “I guess this Conner person is worth a good bit—just like every other Boswick who’s still in oil.”

  “Yep. Last I heard, his father has taken over the coveted position as king of the whole shebang.” Edward lifted his head and gazed outside. “More power to them all, I say. I’m just glad I don’t have to report to duty every day. It would drive me crazy.”

  “You made the right choice,” Eddi agreed and reached for her father’s hand. After an affectionate squeeze, he released her.

  “In career, maybe,” he said, “but . . .” Edward stood and paced across the room. His back to Eddi, he rested his arm upon the side of a bookcase and propped his forehead against his arm.

  “Eddi, my dear,” he began, “you’re looking at a man who has allowed his passions to overrule his reason.”

  Intrigued by her father’s admission, she moved from the window and leaned against the edge of his desk.

  “Do you know why I married your mother, Eddi?” he continued.

  “No, why?” The tension mounted as Eddi caught an unusual glimpse of her dad’s inner being.

  “Because she was pretty. She looked so much like Jenny it’s not even funny.” When he turned around, his disillusioned eyes had taken on a frosty edge.

  “She was the most beautiful woman in her whole college freshman class and was the life of the party on top of that,” he admitted. “I became infatuated with her. I convinced myself I had to have her—even though my parents told me I was making a mistake.” He rubbed his leathery face and moved to the desk. Edward picked up a pen and began tapping the back of his desk chair.

  “Now the infatuation is over, and I’m stuck with a wife who throws tomatoes at me.” He tossed the pen across the desk. It slammed into the phone and spun across the desk calendar.

  “I probably shouldn’t be telling you all this,” he admitted.

  “It’s okay,” Eddi said, but she didn’t quite know how to handle such brutal honesty. She would far rather hear that her dad was still madly in love with her mother, even though she was difficult at times.

  “Of course, your mother gave me three beautiful daughters,” Edward said. “Especially you,” he added. “I don’t ever want you to think I regretted having you, Eddi. It’s all so ironic, isn’t it? I wouldn’t trade having you for the option of rolling back the years and marrying someone else, but that still doesn’t end the struggle.”

  “It’s okay,” she repeated for lack of anything else to say.

  “All I can tell you, dear, is to marry for love. Don’t let surface attraction make you settle for anything less.”

  “I fully intend to.” Eddi shook her head. “I’d rather not get married ever than live in misery.”

  “That’s my girl.” Edward patted her on the back. “Would that we could hope the same for Linda and Jenny.”

  “Jenny maybe,” Eddi acknowledged.

  “All we can do is pray that Linda marries a man who will be committed to her no matter what.”

  Eddi thought of Rick and hoped he was the one. “Linda said she wants to go to
Hawaii with some of her friends.”

  “Oh, yes.” Edward nodded. “Just what every fickle girl needs—a trip across the planet on her own. She’ll probably come back with her hair dyed green or something.”

  “So you’re going to let her go?” Eddi asked. Her father still seemed clueless about the serious nature of Linda’s antics.

  “What else can I do? She’s twenty and has money of her own. It’s not like she’s thirteen anymore. Your mother is dying for her to go. I’ve about decided that Linda won’t be happy until she’s traveled the world.” He looked down. “Maybe she’ll find some man out there who’ll take care of her.”

  “But, Dad—” Eddi began.

  Edward held up his hand. “Please, Eddi,” he said. “I know you don’t approve, but there’s nothing to be done. The way I feel tonight, I think I’d take one of your mother’s anxiety pills if she had any left. Let’s just drop it, shall we?”

  Eddi tried to flip her braid over her shoulder. She stroked the nape of her neck instead. “Okay,” she agreed and wondered if there were any way to ensure Linda’s safety to Hawaii and back.

  “I’m going back downstairs, I guess,” she said and moved toward the door. “If it weren’t for Jenny needing moral support, I’d probably just leave right now.”

  “Oh? And what’s up with her?” Edward settled back into his chair.

  “To put it bluntly, she dumped Hal and the vet dumped her.” Eddi opened the study’s door.

  “Bummer,” Edward said. “Your mother won’t get over that one for weeks. After our trip to your place last weekend, she was already shopping for a mother-of-the-bride dress for Jenny’s wedding.”

  “Well, let her down easy, will ya?” Eddi asked.

  “She’ll take heart in still being able to shop for the darts.” Edward’s derisive smile did little to indicate his meaning.

  “Darts?” Eddi asked.

  “Yes. She was wanting to throw some at that Dave what’s-his-face.”

  “Ah, yes, Dave Davidson aka William Fitzgerald Davidson, former owner of USA Online, billionaire, and chief rude person around London, Texas. Is that who you’re talking about?”

  “I didn’t know he was such a bigwig,” Edward said, “but yeah.”

  “He thinks he is, anyway,” Eddi groused.

  “He seems to like you—if waltzing you across the stage in the middle of practice is anything to go by.”

  “Humph!” Eddi denied the memory of that pleasurable moment. “If he acts like he likes me, it’s just bait to better insult me. Last weekend he accused me of being after him for his money.”

  “No way! You?”

  “Yes, me.”

  “In that case, you could have Conner.” Edward grimaced.

  “I’ll pass,” Eddi said. “Speaking of him, are you going to join us for a burger? I need all the protection I can get.”

  “No,” he said bluntly. “I’m going to steal a snack from the kitchen and read awhile. I’ve had all the party I can stand.” He settled into his chair, propped his head against the back, closed his eyes, and stroked the side of his nose where the tomato had burst. “Hang on to Jenny. She’s a good guard.”

  Eddi started to protest but stopped. She would find another time this weekend to be with her father. For now, she would hang out with Jenny and give her father his space.

  She stepped toward him, brushed a light kiss atop his balding head, exited the office, and trotted down the stairs. As she neared the kitchen, Eddi rehearsed half a dozen tactics for keeping Conner at bay. The most effective one involved inhaling her hamburger and immediately taking Jenny to Baskin Robbins for dessert.

  When she heard the patio door sliding open, she half expected Conner to round the corner. Eddi hovered by the kitchen counter and prepared to dash back upstairs. But the person who stepped into the kitchen was Rick Wallace.

  “Oh, good,” Eddi breathed. “It’s you. I was expecting Conner.”

  “Who’s Conner?” Rick mimicked Conner’s high-pitched voice.

  Eddi burst into laughter. “If I weren’t so desperate to avoid him, this might be twice as funny,” she admitted.

  “Your mom’s out there talking about you and him as if the two of you are already engaged,” Rick said.

  “Oh, puuuulllleeezzze.” Eddi moved to the window over the kitchen sink, stood on her tiptoes, and looked onto the patio. She caught a glimpse of her mother and Conner huddled by the potato salad.

  “I only just met him fifteen minutes ago, and Mom’s probably already planning the wedding.”

  “Well, I hope the two of you enjoy a long and prosperous life together,” Rick said as if he were reading a greeting card.

  Eddi rolled her eyes and moved from the window.

  “Linda told me there’s a bathroom somewhere close.” Rick rubbed his hand along the front of his navy shirt that read Houston Police Force.

  “Yes. Just out the kitchen door and to your right.” Eddi moved toward the breakfast bar and pointed out the doorway. “You can’t miss it.”

  “Thanks,” Rick said but didn’t leave. Instead, he eyed Eddi as if there were something he wanted to say but didn’t quite know how to form the words.

  Eddi tilted her head and observed him. For some reason, Dave’s email warning bombarded her, but Eddi dismissed any probability that the admonition was valid. After all, Dave had unfairly insulted Eddi to Calvin and thus proven his opinions weren’t always truth.

  “Did you know Linda wants to go to Hawaii?” Rick finally asked.

  “Yes. Jenny told me.” Eddi picked up a paper napkin lying on the counter and began rolling the corner between her fingers.

  “I’m worried,” Rick said.

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yes.”

  “So am I, actually,” Eddi said.

  “I’m not sure these rich friends of hers are all that, well, respectable.” His kind brown eyes shone with concern.

  “I wish I could get my father to see that,” she said. “He said he hopes she doesn’t come back with her hair dyed green.” Eddi dropped the napkin to the counter. “I wish that was all we had to worry about.”

  “Really,” Rick said.

  A fresh option posed itself as a possible solution to the problem. “Why don’t you go with her?” Eddi asked.

  “Uh . . .” He looked down. “It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but . . .”

  “Don’t tell me she hasn’t invited you.”

  “Oh no, Linda has invited me. It’s just that,” he tugged on his earlobe, “the truth is, I don’t have the money,” Rick admitted. “I live on a policeman’s salary and—”

  “If you’ll agree to go, I’ll pay your way,” Eddi blurted as soon as the idea struck her.

  “What?” He stepped back.

  “No joke,” she said. “It would be worth it for me to know that somebody was looking out for my sister.” As the idea gained credence, Eddi’s concern for Linda began to dissolve. She wondered why she hadn’t considered this option before now.

  “Well, I don’t know,” Rick said. “I’ll have to think about it. I would rather borrow the money from you. And of course, it would have to be enough for me to have a separate room from Linda,” he said with an honorable nuance to every word.

  “Of course,” Eddi acknowledged and decided that a little warm encouragement might be in order. After all, we’re discussing my little sister’s safety! “Just as long as you go. It’s worth it to me to have someone protect my sister. Seriously,” she stepped forward and grasped his arm, “I set aside some money for my move that I never had to use. I’d rather you just take it, Rick. I’ll never miss it.”

  Twenty

  By the time the weekend was over, Eddi wrote Rick a personal check for twenty-five hundred dollars. Ecstatic, Linda actually hugged Eddi—something she hadn’t done in over a year. With the excitement of a six-year-old on Christmas morning, Linda detailed their plans to fly to Hawaii in three weeks. The trip was scheduled to last two week
s.

  Meanwhile, Conner had plagued Eddi until she was certain she would suffocate. Not only did he talk to her all Friday evening, but he also followed her to her vehicle upon her departure. The man seemed convinced that any woman would find him irresistible due to his six-figure income with Boswick Oil, which he mentioned at every turn.

  Mary had given Conner Eddi’s cell phone number. He called her all weekend, requesting a date until Eddi was so exhausted she nearly agreed just to stop the harrassment. By the time Sunday afternoon arrived, she was vowing to change her cell number and move to Botswana. Before leaving Houston, Eddi made her mother promise not to give Conner her home number.

  All this plus her mother’s incessant worrying about her nerves and her strained relationship with her husband confirmed Eddi had made the right choice when she moved four hours away. Never had she been so glad to see her townhouse, nestled in pines among a row of other homes just like it.

  When Eddi walked through the front door Sunday evening, her telephone was ringing. Her pug bulldog greeted her by running in circles, yelping, and licking her legs as if he hadn’t seen a person in months—even though Cheri had fed and walked him in Eddi’s absence. Both her felines huddled on the striped sofa and watched the dog as if they were above such a show of emotions.

  The phone’s constant ringing scrambled her thoughts and demanded an answer.

  “I see you, Roddy,” she cooed and stepped toward the oak end table.

  Eddi looked at the phone and debated whether or not she should answer. She didn’t want to talk to Conner Boswick for the forty-third time. While her mother often kept her promises, there were times when she was swept away by the moment and relayed private information. More than once, Eddi had thought of getting an unlisted number and not giving it to her mom. But no matter how exasperated she became with her mother, Eddi always stopped short of excommunication. After all, Mary was her mother, and Eddi was committed to honoring her, flaws and all.