First Impressions: A Contemporary Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

by Debra White Smith

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” Linda said.

  “Good!” His hand moved to her thigh. “I’m sorry about earlier,” he purred. “I guess I was a little grouchy, that’s all.” Rick reached to pull her closer, but Linda placed a flattened hand against his chest.

  “No!” she asserted. “I—I need to tell you something.”

  He backed away. “Okay, what is it?” he asked as if her words were of no consequence.

  Linda looked down and struggled with how to break the news. The air-conditioner’s steady hum took on the dark roar of dread. She gnawed on her lower lip and didn’t dare look at Rick.

  “I’m pregnant,” she finally blurted.

  “What?” Rick sat up.

  She looked at him, only to have her worst fears confirmed. His derisive glare sent a chill through her soul. “Why did you let that happen?” he demanded. “I thought you were on the pill. I’ve seen you take them!”

  “I have been on the pill,” Linda claimed. “But I forgot to take it some days, so . . .” Linda shrugged.

  “Oh, for crying out loud!” Rick spit out. He stood up, walked to the end of the bed, and placed his hands on his hips.

  “It’s not like I did this on purpose,” Linda squeaked.

  He paced to the window and tugged on the curtain rods. The Pacific sunshine danced into the room as if life were perfect. Linda braced herself for a full-blown explosion.

  “Are you sure you’re pregnant?” Rick asked, his voice now void of irritation.

  Linda picked at the comforter and relaxed. “Yes. I went down to the drugstore while you were eating and bought a pregnancy test. It showed positive.”

  “Are you sure the baby’s mine?” He toyed with the balcony door’s latch.

  “Yes,” she answered and was too distraught to contemplate the insult.

  “Oh well.” Rick turned to face her and shrugged. “We’ll just arrange for you to have an abortion. It’s not that big a deal,” he said as if this wouldn’t be his first time.

  “Not that big a deal?” she panted. “It might not be for you! But we’re talking about my body here!” Linda tugged at a clump of her hair and considered the logistics of such a procedure. She had never even experienced an operation. After a desperate hiccough, she teetered on the brink of uncontrollable emotions.

  “Look,” Rick crooned as he knelt beside her. He gazed into her eyes, held her hand, and Linda was reminded of the first days of their relationship. Rick had been unbelievably charming—miles removed from the rogue who left for breakfast an hour ago.

  “It’s really not all that bad,” he said. “You’ll be fine, and we won’t have to deal with having a baby. It’s the easiest solution to the whole problem.”

  “But I don’t have the money for an abortion,” she despaired. “And I know my father won’t fund it. No way am I even telling him!” Linda adamantly shook her head as if she were a toddler.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Rick offered and kissed the back of her hand.

  “But you didn’t have the money for this trip even. How can you—”

  He broke eye contact. “I do have an account I can access. I’ll have to pay a penalty to get the money out, but I’ll do it . . . for you.” He stroked the length of her nose and brushed her cheek with a kiss.

  “Okay,” Linda haltingly agreed. “But I thought we might also discuss maybe, uh . . .”

  “Oh, honey,” he said over a laugh, “I hope you’re not going to mention the ‘m’ word. You’re not ready to get married any more than I am. Let’s just deal with this little problem and move on. We’ll finish our vacation and then when we get back to Houston, we’ll take care of it all. You can even stay at my place a night or two if you don’t want your parents to suspect anything. Just tell them you’re with Hallie, all right?”

  Linda nodded and clung to Rick’s hand as if she were being tugged into the great dark unknown with only him as her guide.

  Twenty-Seven

  Eddi pulled into the church parking lot and cruised until she found a place to park. Normally, she arrived at church on Sunday morning in time for Sunday school. Then she met for prayer with the choir and was in the choir loft by now. But today, Eddi overslept. Actually, she had been so worried about Linda and so distracted over Dave, she had barely slept all week. Even after oversleeping this morning, Eddi covered a yawn before switching off the ignition.

  All week long, when the phone rang, she thought it might be Dave. Every time she checked her email, she wondered if he had sent her a message. By Friday, Eddi was even skimming her mail for some sign of Dave’s distinctive scrawl. All her expectations remained unfulfilled. Dave never even responded to Eddi’s email about Jenny.

  She dug through her purse, extracted a mint, and popped it into her mouth. An explosion of peppermint filling her mouth, she gathered her purse and Bible, opened the Mustang’s door, and got out into the mid-August heat. Eddi scanned the parking lot in search of Dave’s truck and thought she spotted it near the road. She hadn’t even noticed him at church last Sunday. He’d also been mysteriously absent from play practice at Huntington House all week. Mrs. DeBloom just vaguely mentioned that he wasn’t feeling well. Eddi wondered if he was purposefully avoiding her.

  Most likely, she thought. After everything I said, he probably can’t stand the sight of me.

  Eddi pressed the Lock button on her keychain at the same time her cell phone began a cheerful tune. With a grimace, she looked at her watch and calculated she had five minutes until church started. She pulled her phone from her purse and noted the caller was Jenny.

  That’s odd, she thought, Jenny’s normally in church at this time. She leaned against the car and pressed the answer button.

  “What’s up?” she asked without a greeting.

  “Eddi,” Jenny’s voice was low and urgent, “I’ve just been on the phone with Linda.”

  “Really?” Eddi’s back straightened. “She and Rick were supposed to be back from Hawaii Friday, weren’t they?” All week, Eddi had fretted over Linda and prayed for her protection. She even called her twice to make sure everything was okay. Both times, Linda sounded a bit distant but insisted she was having a great time in Hawaii.

  “I’ve got some really bad news,” Jenny continued.

  “Oh no.” Eddi gazed toward a clump of clouds hanging over a pine-covered hill. A mockingbird’s cheerful song belied Jenny’s anguished tones.

  “It looks like what Dave told you is right about Rick,” Jenny continued.

  Eddi’s fingers bit into the phone. “What’s happened?”

  “Linda’s pregnant,” Jenny explained, “and she’s decided to get an abortion.”

  Jenny’s words affirmed that Rick was playing her for a fool when he mentioned getting separate rooms for him and Linda on the trip. Eddi speculated that the two had probably been sleeping together for weeks. She felt as if her soul sank to her knees. Thoughts of her niece or nephew discarded like a scrap of garbage made her want to bellow in protest.

  “If she doesn’t want the baby, I’ll take it, for pity’s sake,” Eddi croaked. “Why does she think she’s got to have an abortion?”

  “I have no idea,” Jenny said. “I’ve been on the phone with her this morning. She called me and said she just wanted to talk.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. She’s always been closer to you than me,” Eddi said.

  “I think it’s because Dad favors you, and she resents it,” Jenny said.

  Sighing, Eddi gazed upward. “But Mom favors her.”

  “I know, I know.”

  “So what about the pregnancy?” Eddi asked.

  “When she called, I promise, Eddi, it was almost as if she was telling me about the abortion so I’d tell her not to do it. I’m not kidding.”

  “Is the procedure scheduled yet?” Eddi asked.

  “No. They’re going to a clinic tomorrow to take care of the details.”

  “Who’s paying for it? Surely not Dad—”

>   “No way! He doesn’t know. Linda said Rick is paying.”

  “Rick?” Eddi shrieked and covered her mouth. Guiltily, she peered at the stain-glassed building thirty yards away. “I just paid his way to Hawaii because he said he couldn’t afford it. And now he’s paying for an abortion?”

  “Yep.”

  “Everything Dave said about him is true, Jenny!” Eddi’s face grew hot as she repeated Jenny’s claim. “Everything! I knew it as well the day I forwarded Dave’s email to you as I do now!”

  “That email was nothing but the truth,” Jenny agreed. “You could feel truth just oozing out of the computer screen.”

  “What are we going to do?” Eddi asked and eyed a family of three entering the church. The young mother held a baby girl, dressed in frilly pink. Eddi was almost certain she smelled baby powder. “We’ve got to somehow stop her,” she urged.

  “We can start praying now that she’ll change her mind,” Jenny said.

  “You said she sounded like she wanted you to talk her out of it.”

  “She did. The weird part is that when I started trying to talk her out of it, she started arguing with me.”

  “She probably doesn’t know what she wants!” Eddi stated.

  “You just said a mouthful. But I have a hunch Rick knows exactly what he wants, and it’s not a child-support lawsuit.”

  “So the quicker he can get rid of the baby, the freer he remains.” Eddi narrowed her eyes.

  “Bingo,” Jenny said.

  Eddi’s first impulse was to hop into her vehicle, drive straight to Houston, and convince Linda not to go through with the abortion. A still, small voice insisted her best defense lay in walking through the church doors and laying her petition in the hands of the Father.

  “I’m standing in the church parking lot,” Eddi explained. She pulled on the front of her red suit jacket and wished she’d worn a sleeveless blouse beneath. “The service is going to start in about one minute. They always have open altar time early in the service. I think I need to be there for this one.”

  “You better believe you do,” Jenny said. “I was going to church this morning, too, but Linda’s call ended all that.”

  “And you said Mom and Dad don’t know?”

  “Are you kidding? Linda made me promise not to tell.”

  “I’m surprised she wanted you to tell me.”

  Jenny remained silent.

  “Oh, I see.” Eddi shook her head and chewed the last bit of her mint as if it were the enemy.

  “I didn’t promise her I wouldn’t tell you,” Jenny explained. “But I think she’d rather I kept the whole thing to myself. If she calls, please act like you don’t know.”

  “I seriously doubt she’s going to call,” Eddi said.

  “Honestly, so do I. You need to get into church,” Jenny continued. “I’ll be praying the next hour. Maybe together we can make a difference in this baby’s life.”

  “I hope so,” Eddi said.

  “Oh my goodness,” Jenny exclaimed. “I got so upset over this, I almost forgot to tell you that Calvin emailed me. I got it this morning.”

  “No way!” Eddi exclaimed.

  “Yes! He asked if I minded if he called.”

  “And do you?”

  “Are you kidding? I called information and got his number. I’m thinking about calling him.”

  “Really, Jenny, I don’t think it would hurt at this point.”

  “You sound like you know something I don’t,” Jenny said.

  Eddi debated whether to tell Jenny Dave’s email had been edited. She’d cut the part about Jenny and Calvin before forwarding it to her sister. But if Eddi told Jenny that, she would incriminate herself in breaking her sister’s confidence.

  “I do, uh, know a few things I’m not telling you,” she admitted. “It’s a long story that involves a misunderstanding.” Eddi glanced toward the church and felt the pull of the open altar time. “Would you be okay with my calling you back this afternoon and explaining everything?”

  Jenny hesitated. “So I guess I get to chew my fingernails off with curiosity between now and then, right? And I just got a French manicure. Come on, Eddi!”

  “Oh, okay.” Eddi briefed Jenny on the details of the proposal scene she had discreetly avoided. “I haven’t told you before now because I didn’t want you to know I discussed the breakup with Dave after promising you I wouldn’t. It wasn’t on purpose, Jenny—really. I was just so mad at Dave that the whole thing popped out.”

  “I understand,” Jenny said. “Don’t feel bad. If your telling Dave has cleared up the misunderstanding, then I’m glad you told him.”

  “Well, good,” Eddi said. “You’re probably the most understanding person in the world.”

  “And you’re the best,” Jenny affirmed.

  “Let’s just hope between the two of us we can stop Linda from something she’ll regret the rest of her life,” Eddi said before the sisters ended the call.

  The longer Eddi thought about Linda’s abortion, the more her eyes threatened to sting. But she’d never been the crying sort and was determined not to start now. Her heels tapped against the sidewalk as she hurried toward the church doors. She stepped into the foyer and welcomed the blast of cold air that chilled the sweat along her hairline.

  The sound of an upbeat chorus floated from the sanctuary as the usher handed Eddi a church bulletin. With an absent smile, she looked past the suit-clad gentleman and stepped toward the sanctuary full of worshipers. She noticed an empty pew by the door and slipped into the spot nearest the aisle. The smell of hymnals and a whiff of a woman’s perfume brought back a lifetime of memories, all centered upon her family in church. Eddi marveled that Linda had drifted so far from the principles their parents taught them.

  Eddi settled in the pew and focused on the choir dressed in blue-and-white robes. While missing participating with her friends, she caught Calvin Barclay’s eye. He usually sat in the tenor section, far removed from Eddi. She had managed to avoid him every practice since he dropped Jenny. Then she realized two weeks ago that he was avoiding her.

  This morning Calvin didn’t look away. Instead, he smiled as if they were the best of friends. Eddi figured he would have waved if he weren’t in the front of the church. A tight knot unraveled within Eddi. The misunderstanding was truly at an end.

  The minister of music hailed the congregation to stand. Eddi retrieved her hymnal and checked the bulletin for the next song number. As she was rising to her feet, she glanced across the aisle . . . into the eyes of Dave Davidson. Eddi’s eyes widened a fraction as he offered a faint nod. She glanced down and couldn’t remember the song number.

  Mrs. DeBloom had vaguely mentioned Dave wasn’t feeling well when he missed practice last week. For someone who isn’t feeling well, he looks really good, she thought and sneaked a peek at his polished black shoes. He even wore a suit today. Eddi wondered if that was a first around London.

  Wagering that Dave was no longer looking at her, Eddi allowed her gaze to trail up the dark suit. Her heart thudded harder. She was reminded of those early days of summer when she erroneously assumed Dave was nothing more than a backwoods ruffian.

  Oh, how wrong I was, she thought. Her attention settled upon his profile . . . the shaven square jaw . . . the prominent nose . . . the heavy brows. His full hair attested that he had been avoiding the barbershop again. While Eddi enjoyed the appeal of the meticulously groomed gentleman, a side of her missed the daredevil persona that originally attracted her.

  As Dave sang in sequence with congregational worship, Eddi’s initial attraction flamed anew. But this time the magnetic pull involved more than the chemistry between the opposite sex. It included Eddi’s respect for the man’s character. While she would admit that he wasn’t perfect, Eddi couldn’t deny that Dave was a man of integrity . . . a man who extended himself to make the world better for others.

  As she absorbed every angle of his features, Eddi marveled that she could have been the mi
stress of his home—her dream home. If only I hadn’t been so blind, she thought. Fleetingly, she imagined a chorus of single women in the choir singing “Eddi Boswick, the Craziest Woman in the County.” A perverse chuckle wouldn’t be denied.

  Dave slowly turned to appraise Eddi again. She smothered her smile. Her hands flexed against the hymnal. And she didn’t look away this time. Neither did Dave.

  Twenty-Eight

  If ever a woman was issuing the “come closer” look it was Eddi Boswick. Dave nearly collapsed with the impact of her femininity. She was wearing that classy red suit she had on the first time he saw her. Eddi’s cropped hair lent her a sharp professional appearance while emphasizing her wide-set eyes and the angle of her slender face. After Dave got over the disappointment of never seeing her long hair unbound, he decided he liked the short style. At this point Eddi Boswick could shave her head and he would love it.

  Dave wondered if she possessed any idea the effect she had on him. He’d spent all week at his ranch and purposefully stayed out of her path. The fact that he had been nauseated gave him a great excuse to avoid play practice and church. By Thursday Dave realized his queasy stomach had nothing to do with a virus and everything to do with his heart being tied in knots.

  When he got Eddi’s email a week ago, Dave read it thirty times. He hoped to discover some hidden meaning that indicated a change of her heart. Dave finally decided he was looking for something that didn’t exist. There were no hidden meanings whatsoever.

  While Dave had spent the last few years sidestepping women who chased him, he prayed all week that Eddi would make some move to indicate her interest. In the wee hours of the morning, Dave finally decided to stop altering his life to avoid her. While he still held no plans of romantically approaching her, Dave had to live. So he got up this morning, dressed in his best suit, and chose a pew near the back.

  As Dave continued to appraise her, a dozen scenarios cavorted through his mind. The final one involved his slipping across the aisle, placing his arm around Eddi, and tugging her as close as propriety allowed. The longer he looked into her kitten-soft eyes, the more logical the plan became. They were both in the back pews. The standing congregation was focused upon the minister of music. No one would probably even notice.