Grumbling, Grace replied, “I don’t know how you got so lucky.”
Laughing a bit, and feeling better about things, “I’m sorry, I will try to be more grateful. It’s just all so overwhelming,” Eleanor said.
“I’m sure it is sweetheart,” Carly said. “You’ve only just finally adjusted to living over there and I know there’s still stuff you’re dealing with as far as Michael goes. You don’t get over a relationship like that overnight.”
“Yeah,” Eleanor agreed. “Mostly I just don’t want to make a similar mistake. If I start seeing someone again I want to know that he’s the right guy. I know there are no guarantees but looking back there were clearly red flags with Michael, I just want to make sure I’m not missing any red flags. Mark was pushing things too far, too fast and it freaked me out. Patrick seems willing to get to know me a bit. But who knows, it was just one day. He’ll probably forget all about me.”
“Stop that,” Carly said sternly. “After those cute texts he sent you from the train station I doubt he’s going to just forget about you. And it wasn’t just one day. He sent you champagne for your birthday. And he probably would have asked you to coffee that first time you bumped into him if you hadn’t run off. I think he likes you. I think you should be careful, but I definitely think he likes you. We’ll just have to see how smart he is.”
“Thank you ‘Ms. Voice of Reason,’” Grace said dramatically. To Eleanor she said, “Look, Carly is right about everything. You need to see how things go but don’t shut yourself down to any possibilities. If he’s smart, Patrick will treat you right and he’ll be patient. Besides, bumping into someone three times is kind of, you know Karma, or fate, of destiny, or angel, or something that means it’s meant to be!”
“Thanks Grace,” Eleanor said with a laugh.
“No prob,” Grace replied smugly, then with narrowed eyes, “And when you two get married you have to invite all his hot British actor friends to the wedding and introduce me to them all. No reason Carly and I can’t benefit from you getting with Patrick Reynolds.”
Carly and Eleanor both laughed. Grace was definitely the more boy crazy and celebrity obsessed one between the three of them.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Eleanor called.
Jonathan poked his head around the open door, “You got a minute? Oh, sorry, didn’t realize you were on FaceTime,” he said with a hushed voice when he saw Eleanor’s computer screen.
“We’re just about done, the girls have to go soon. Be right out?”
“Sure thing,” Jonathan said.
Eleanor wrapped things up with the girls and promised to give them regular updates. She walked out to the lounge and joined Jonathan on the sofa. She noticed he’d made two cups of tea and picked up hers from the coffee table.
After taking a sip, “So, what’s up? Miss me yesterday?”
“Yes, desperately,” Jonathan replied sarcastically.
Laughing, “I thought so. Ok, seriously, what’s going on. Since when to you do ‘tea and chat’?”
Jonathan looked uncomfortable and Eleanor’s heart sunk, thinking something was seriously wrong. Finally he said, cautiously, “Mark keeps texting and calling me. He’s really worried about you and feels terrible.”
Now it was Eleanor’s turn to look uncomfortable, “I’m sorry…,” she stammered, not really knowing what else to say.
“No, you have nothing to be sorry about Ellie. I told him I would talk to you but made no promises. I still think he’s an idiot for trying what he did, and I’ve told him so. He agrees. And he’s the one who’s sorry, as he should be.”
“Maybe, but I still feel bad, like I led him on. Our first date was nice and the conversation was good. We’ve known each other for a while now so it’s easy to talk to him. But…,” she trailed off frowning.
“But what Ellie?”
“It started the night he took me home from the birthday party. He walked me upstairs and kissed me goodnight. Like full on, proper kissing. And I kissed him back! I mean, it took me by surprise and I was thrown a bit off guard but I still enjoyed it. Then there was more kissing on the first dinner date, but that’s when I began to feel, I don’t know, rushed? Like too fast. And, I don’t know, there were just other little ways that seemed overly familiar, like calling me ‘sugar.’ I don’t know, by the second date and the extravagance of it then asking me to come to his place, like I owed him. It just felt like things had accelerated faster than I could deal with. I know we’ve known each other socially for a few months now, but hanging out at the pub with the group isn’t the same as dating for months. It felt like he was way ahead of me. He clearly wants so much more than I do right now. I thought I was open to dating again, but it was too much or maybe just too much too soon, but either way, I just can’t. And I feel horrible Jonathan, he’s your friend, and I thought he was my friend too. But now there’s no way that’s going to work out.”
“I know, I told him he was screwing everything up,” Jonathan said bluntly.
“He clearly has no interest in being just friends. He pretty much said as much. He’d rather ‘wait’ until I’m ready. But that’s not fair to either of us, but especially to him.”
“Sod what’s fair to him. You have to do what’s best for you and he can just deal with it. I don’t like the way he pushed. You were right to be put off.”
“I know, but I still don’t want him waiting around, hoping I change my mind. But I really don’t want to make things awkward with you. You and Mark are friends.”
“Look, Mark and I will be fine. It’s you I’m concerned about. You seemed different after you got back from Oxford yesterday. Did something happen? You’ve been holed up in your room all day, I know you were talking to your mom, and then were those your girlfriends back home?”
“Yeah. And yes, something did kind of happen in Oxford. I ran into Patrick Reynolds again and we kind of spent the day together.”
“Wait, the actor guy you bumped into in Covent Garden when you first got here?”
“Yeah,” Eleanor admitted sheepishly. “He’s also the one who sent over the champagne at my party. He was the person I bumped into coming out of the ladies’ room.”
“Wow,” Jonathan said, seeming a bit shocked. “So, are you interested in him?”
Cringing and leaning her head back against the sofa, “I have no idea what I’m interested in or what I want. He was very friendly and showed me around. We had great conversations, he was so easy to talk to. With Mark it was a lot of superficial things, favorite TV shows and music and such, I don’t feel like I really opened up to him, but with Patrick...I don’t know, I just found myself telling him things about me. It just felt easy and natural. But it also wasn’t a date. It just felt like hanging out with a new friend. There was no pressure.”
“I hate thinking that Mark was pressuring you,” Jonathan said sadly.
“He didn’t know he was,” Eleanor said in a rush. “Any other woman would have probably been thrilled. There was no way he could have known that I wasn’t ready. And I hate comparing Mark to Patrick, because it’s not fair.”
“Yeah, Patrick is a movie star,” Jonathan said laughing.
“That’s not what I mean,” Eleanor said frowning slightly. “I just mean, with Mark the interest was clearly there. He wanted more, and for a moment I thought I did too, then it just ran away from me. But with Patrick I’ve been clearer that I’m not rushing into anything. And I’ll continue to be clear about that. But we really just spent the day together as friends, I think he’s interested in me, maybe? But I’m not sure. He said he wanted to meet me for coffee sometime, if he actually remembers that and texts me I’ll make sure he knows it’s just a friendly coffee and not a coffee date. But yeah, I kind of like him. At least, I like hanging out with him, as friends. Beyond that, it’s like I told Mark. I’m just not ready.”
Jonathan placed his hand over Eleanor’s, “Well, like I keep saying, you need to do wh
at feels right for you. If you want to be done with Mark, then fine. If you hit it off better with this Patrick bloke, then good. But be careful, actors and movie stars seem a bit unpredictable. Plus there’s the possibility of paparazzi tabloids, don’t they like to make things up? ”
“Yeah, I thought of that, but he’s really not an A list celebrity, yet anyway. I honestly have no idea what to think about Patrick. But as far as Mark is concerned, I just don’t see that going anywhere. It was too much, too soon, and I don’t know how to come back from that. It feels so awkward now, the thought of seeing him in a social setting. I know he wants more and I really don’t.”
“That’s fine. You don’t have to do anything you won’t want to. And if you don’t want to hang out with Mark and the guys anymore, you don’t have to. You and I can start doing stuff on our own or with your friends.”
“I don’t want to mess up your social group Jonathan,” Eleanor said worriedly.
“You won’t,” Jonathan reassured her. “I’m just saying we’ll make adjustments. Not that you seem to need me that much anymore, you’ve got all your school friends and now a movie star to hang out with,” he finished with mock hurt.
Giving him a light shove, “Oh knock it off. You know I’ll always have time for you. Doing stuff on our own and having you join my friends and I could be nice.” Taking another sip of her tea and glancing at him over the top of her mug she added slyly, “Am I going to meet Celeste again sometime?”
Pretending he didn’t understand, “Celeste? From the club? I...I don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh come off it Jonathan, you totally have a thing for her, and she seemed to like you. Just because my own love life is a complete disaster doesn’t mean I’m an idiot. Are you seeing her?”
“I don’t know,” he said, a look of confusion on his face.
“You don’t know? What the hell does that mean? Has she turned you down?”
“I haven’t asked her out,” he replied, realizing as he said it how lame it was.
“Woooooooooow,” came Eleanor's drawn out reply. “You know, a girl can’t say yes if you don’t ask her out on a date.”
“I’m an idiot,” he said putting his head in his hands.
“Yes you are.”
“Thanks,” he said with a frown.
Smiling brightly, “You’re very welcome. Seriously Jon, just ask her out, something simple, lunch or coffee.”
“What’s the hesitation for? I know it’s not because she’s a hostess, not upper class enough, or some such nonsense. We’ve talked about not being snobbish about social standing.
“Naw, it’s not that. She’s actually from an upper class family. Believe it or not.”
“Oh wait, so now we are snobbish the other way?” She poked him in the ribs.
“No, no, it’s well, I guess, I’ve got a little of the same feelings you do.” He paused, “not sure she’d be interested in me?”
“What! You jerk, you couldn’t tell? She practically glows whenever you looked at her!”
“Really?” He asked doubtfully
“Yes, really! And so did you, so ask her out!”
“Yeah, ok, I might do that.”
“You better.”
They smiled at each other and chatted for a bit longer about school and their moms before they went to their separate rooms to work on homework. Before going to sleep that night Eleanor replayed some of the events of the last several days, from her party, to her dates with Mark, to spending the day with Patrick. It all felt so overwhelming, and even with her head against the pillow she felt as if her head was swimming.
* * * * *
Eleanor spent the next couple days working on school stuff and generally trying to distract herself. She hadn’t heard a word from Mark, and was relieved. But she also hadn’t heard anything from Patrick, and she didn’t quite know what she thought of that. She tried to tell herself, that it had just been a nice day in Oxford and that was that. He was a celebrity after all and must have been just spending down time with someone who kept bumping into him, she laughed to her herself, or rather tried to.
After class one day she decided to skip her usual writing session and go for a walk. She couldn’t focus on writing so she thought a walk through a new neighborhood might clear her head. Dropping her school stuff at the flat she switched to her smaller cross body bag and headed to the Tube. After several stops she arrived at Hyde Park Corner and with a quick check of her map, she headed away from the park and towards Belgravia. Her Aunt Vickie had told her about a great French bakery somewhere on Elizabeth Street and Eleanor was determined to find it.
The more she got away from the bustle of Hyde Park Corner and into the more residential area the clouds above started to look a bit ominous. The map didn’t look like the bakery was that far from the Tube but Eleanor began to think she might have to make this a quicker trip than she’d anticipated. As she walked through Belgrave Square and marveled at all the incredible iconic white townhouses that had been turned into embassies, the clouds got darker still, and by the time she walked along Eaton Square the first rain drops started to fall. At first it was just a drizzle, and Eleanor’s umbrella was able to protect her, but once she turned on to Elizabeth Street it was starting to come down a bit more. She was relieved to see the sign for Poilâne Bakery and ducked inside just as the rain started to chuck down.
Eleanor took a deep breath to calm down and process her surroundings. The smell of fresh bread quickly overwhelmed her senses. Looking around the bread was all neatly laid out on display on the shelves and there were little cookies bundled up in plastic bags in front of the window. It was all so incredible! She said a quiet prayer of thanks to her aunt for recommending the place.
“Hello, may I help you?”
Eleanor heard a woman with a soft French accent say from behind her. Eleanor turned around towards the counter and saw a pretty young woman, with blond hair twisted up into a bun. She was wearing an apron with a dusting of flour on it.
“Umm, yeah, I mean, I’m kind of just looking…,” Eleanor hated how American she sounded, she took a deep breath to calm herself down, “My aunt recommended this place, she said you have the best bread in all of London.”
The woman smiled, “You must thank your aunt for us, we are always pleased to hear such lovely compliments from our patrons. What is your aunt’s name?”
Figuring there was no way this woman could know who her aunt was, Eleanor casually replied, “Victoria McNeil.”
The woman’s eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly, “Ahhh, yes! Dearest Vickie. Tell her it has been too long and she must come to see us soon.”
Laughing inwardly, Eleanor thought to herself, of course they know Aunt Vickie, she’s probably best friends with the owner.
“I am Isabelle, your aunt usually comes here every week.”
“That’s what she told me. She’s working on a project in New York at the moment, so she said I should come visit for her sometime. Today was the first day I had a chance,” Eleanor explained smiling at Isabelle.
“Well, we are very happy to see you visit us today. Is there anything in particular you would like Miss…?”
“Oh, well, I just thought I’d pop in and see what you had, I’m certainly open to suggestions. And I’m Eleanor.”
“Well, Eleanor, allow me to show you what we have to tempt you,” Isabelle replied with a smile. “With that rain outside, you can’t be in a hurry to leave us.”
Eleanor smiled in response and spent the next hour being told all about the different breads they make and was able to sample a few, including trying one of the cookies she saw in the window. Crispy and slightly sweet, they were called punitions, French style buttery shortbread cookies. Eleanor couldn’t help but buy some to have with her tea and coffee. When they’d finished, and all the breads and cookies were wrapped in plastic and placed in a carrier bag, it was still pouring out, but Eleanor thought she could make a dash back to the Tube.
Saying a
cheerful goodbye and promising to be back soon, Eleanor clutched the bag to her chest and kept her umbrella low. She made it to Eaton Square when the rain started coming down even harder and she could feel it start to seep through her clothing. She immediately started feeling cold. Between the rain and the late October cold, the temperature felt wintery to Eleanor. Her coat was waterproof but she could feel the rain dripping down inside of her boots and drenching her tights and skirt. She kept looking around but there weren’t any taxis in sight, nor any bus stops. She came up to a large tree that was hanging low over the sidewalk and noticed it was dry underneath so she stopped for a second to catch her breath. She was so cold. The paper carrier bag was starting to get soggy, but thankfully the bread inside was safe.
Just as Eleanor was trying to brace herself to start walking again, a car drove past and then quickly stopped and reversed and stopped right in front of her at the curb. Eleanor was about to start walking again, thinking it must be some creep inside, when she heard a familiar voice call out.
“Eleanor?”
Peering, through a rain and into the back window of the car, Eleanor couldn’t help but exclaim, “Patrick?!”
Looking at the state she was in, Patrick quickly threw the car door open and slid to the other side, saying, “Get in.”
A moment of hesitation, trying to process what was happening, Eleanor rushed to the curb and dove into the car, landing in a wet soggy mess on the seat.
“Oh my goodness, I’m going to ruin the leather!”
“Don’t worry about it. Are you ok?” Patrick looked at her, concern etched all over his face.
“I’m f-fine. J-just cold and w-wet,” Eleanor said through chattering teeth. The cold felt like it was going through to her bones now.
“I can’t believe I found you like this, I just sent you a text.”
“You d-did?” Eleanor said, still not sure what was going on.
“Yes, my schedule is finally clearing up and I wanted to see about that coffee you promised to have with me. But we’ll talk about that later. Right now we need to get you somewhere warm and dry. Where do you live, the driver was taking me home but we can take you to your place first.”
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