“What is going on with you?!” he asked worriedly.
Eleanor grinned, “I’m writing. It finally clicked, I know what I’m writing now! Are we going to write now? Which coffee shop do you want to go to?” she asked, practically hopping from one foot to the other waiting for Jack’s reply.
Picking up on the energy radiating off of Eleanor, Jack raised an eyebrow and said, “Do you even need more coffee? You look like you could power all of London with the energy coming off you right now.”
“Shut up, are you joining me or not? Because I need to get back to writing, if I can keep going at the rate I’m going, I might be able to catch up to where I need to be by the spring term mentor meetings and career workshops.”
“Ok, crazy lady, let’s go. But since I’m pretty sure you’re going to ignore me as soon as we get settled at the coffee shop I’m choosing the location, and I pick the Caffè Nero at the OXO Tower. So you have from here to there to fill me in on what’s happened since last week.”
Eleanor frowned, because she knew even at a quick pace it would still take at least ten minutes to get there, and there were coffee shops much closer, but she reluctantly agreed and pulled on Jack’s arm to get them moving. As they walked across the Millennium Bridge, Eleanor filled him in on her walk through Hyde Park, she didn’t share all of the details about her family memories, but enough to make Jack speechless with shock.
“No offense, Elle darling, but your dad is a proper arsehole of the highest order.”
“You’ll get no argument from me on that,” Eleanor said quickly.
They soon arrived at Caffè Nero and got their coffees and cakes and settled in. Jack couldn’t help but stop and watch Eleanor for a couple minutes, her fingers flying across her keyboard, a series of different expressions flickering across her face, her lips moving slightly as she wrote streams of dialogue between characters. As he worked on his own project, slowly but steadily, he would notice how every now and then Eleanor would pause and take a sip of her latte or bite of her cappuccino cake and look off into the distance before something would spark in her eyes and her fingers would start flying again, as if there was some great energy inside her, desperately trying to get out.
* * * * *
The rest of the week passed in the same way. Halloween came and went, she knew Jonathan went out to a party but she stuck to her routine. Class during the morning and early afternoon, then writing with Jack, though they barely spoke once they got to whichever coffee shop they were writing in for the afternoon. They’d sit there for hours, until Jack would force Eleanor to stop for dinner. But even then, they would talk about their projects and help each other out with places they were getting stuck. She’d stay up late writing and reworking her novel. There was so much work to do but she felt so much more confident about it now. There were days where she’d look back and count how many pages she’d done that day and find it was only four or five, but she knew instinctively they were good pages so she didn’t let herself feel discouraged.
After New Year’s there would be a series of meetings and conversations with their assigned mentors and she was finally feeling like she had some solid material to show for her work so far this year. She just hoped it would be enough to get a fellowship or grant, or to help her get a job at one of the publishing companies the school had connections to. The weekend went by in a blur of coffee and writing and the following week had gone the same as the previous week. October turned into November and Eleanor had about four weeks left to the term before the winter holiday break.
She was vaguely aware that Jonathan was concerned about her. She’d catch him hovering by the front door when she got home and he was constantly offering to bring her tea at night while she was working. There had been texts from Patrick too. To some she replied quickly, others she meant to reply to later and then forgot. He flew to LA after his meetings in New York and was about to start a series of meetings for a couple new roles in some high profile projects. He sounded excited and Eleanor was excited for him. She’d believed him when he said he’d keep in touch, but she was surprised to receive at least one text a day, if not two, from him. By the end of the second week, even Patrick was starting to sound worried about Eleanor.
You ok? You’ve been really quiet the past couple weeks. :/ x
Feeling guilty, Eleanor quickly tapped a reply and then turned back to her writing.
Yeah, everything’s great. Just finally writing. A lot of work to catch up on! Promise all is well. Can’t wait to see you when you’re back in London :) x
She felt awkward adding the kiss at the end, but he’d included one so it felt awkward not including it in her reply. She groaned inwardly thinking about how bad she was with men. Even as friends, she got flustered where Patrick was concerned. Some part of Eleanor thought it was because she wanted to be more than friends with Patrick, but another part told herself to be sensible and that she was just getting confused by her long time crush on him as an actor.
That Friday night she returned home, ready to start writing again after eating the sandwich she picked up at Pret but she was stopped at the door by Jonathan.
“This has gone on long enough. I’m glad you’ve got through your writer’s block but you need a break Ellie, you can’t keep writing all day and night, you’ll burn out. I’m going to the pub, you’re coming with me, and I won’t hear any arguments. Now go put your laptop and notebooks away, freshen up if you want, and we leave in five minutes.”
Before she could respond he turned and went to his room, shutting the door behind him, but through the closed door she heard him call out, “The clock is ticking Ellie! Four minutes and forty-five seconds!”
Sighing, she gave in. She knew that when Jonathan got determined about something like this there was no stopping him or arguing. She put her food from Pret in the fridge to eat later, then went into her room and put down her bag. She transferred the essentials into a smaller cross body bag and changed from the dress and tights she’d been wearing into skinny jeans and a sweater, putting her tall black boots back on. With a minute to spare she was back out in the hall just as Jonathan was coming out of his room.
Looking at her, “Good, you’re ready. Let’s go.”
Chapter 14
They walked down the road to their usual pub. As they approached, Jonathan suddenly looked a bit nervous.
“Umm, Mark will probably be here. I wasn’t thinking about that. Will you be ok? I just wanted to get you away from your computer for a while, but I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation. You and I could go out somewhere on our own instead if you want.”
“No, it’s fine Jon, really. I was going to see him again eventually. And we talked, he’s willing to be friends, I am too. May as well get the initial awkwardness over with.”
They went in and soon found Zaf and Malcolm, who told them that Ioan was out for the night, but Henry would be there soon. Which made Eleanor happy, she liked Henry and his stories of growing up in Nigeria. They both liked to talk about the shock of arriving in a new country, with a different culture, and coming from much warmer climates. Before they could take their seats, Eleanor heard a voice behind her.
“Hey Jon. Hi Eleanor,” Mark said quietly.
The whole table seemed to hold their breath, and she could feel Jon’s hand on her back. Not wanting to make things more awkward then they already felt, she turned and smiled brightly at Mark.
“Hi Mark, it’s good to see you again.”
Mark grinned at Eleanor, “Good to see you too.”
Turning to Jonathan, she said, “I’ll have my usual please. You’re paying, since you dragged me away from my writing tonight.”
Jonathan just laughed and as he walked off Mark put the three drinks he’d brought back for himself, Zaf and Malcolm. Eleanor grabbed a seat at the end of the table, next to Malcolm, and Mark sat down across from her.
Before things could get uncomfortable again, Malcolm turned to Eleanor and made her fill them in on sch
ool and all the writing she’d been doing, saying, “Jonathan says you’ve been very busy, I think he’s been worried.”
Eleanor just laughed. “Jonathan worries too much. But there’s only a month left to term at the Harrison and I only just started to solve the problem with my project, so I’m frantically trying to get caught up. Like he’s never spent all day and night working on a project before,” she said stubbornly.
“Aye, very true,” Malcolm said laughing. “Trust me, we all feel your pain.”
Just then she heard a loud voice cut across the pub, “Gorgeous Elle! How are you?!”
Eleanor looked up to see Henry rush across the pub and she jumped up to give him a hug. “Henry! I’m good, how are you?”
“I’m good, I’m good. Exhausted, but I’m sure you feel the same way, right? Jonathan says you’re burning the candle at both ends and writing day and night. You must sleep Elle,” he said, looking worried.
“Oh stop being so dramatic, I’m sleeping, I promise,” she said laughing.
She heard Jonathan laugh behind her, “Yeah, you sleep for like six hours and then you’re back up again. You need more sleep Ellie.”
“He’s right, Elle, you need to sleep. It’s very important.” Henry gave her a very worried look.
“Oh fine. I won’t set my alarm tonight, I’ll sleep in as late as I can tomorrow. Happy?” she said with mock anger.
“Yes,” said all the men at the table at once.
“Oh god, it’s like I have five brothers now instead of one,” Eleanor said mournfully.
Henry pulled up a chair next to hers and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, “Elle, if you were my sister I’d have hidden your laptop and notebooks by now and forced you to relax. You deserve at least one day off each week. Even God rested on the seventh day, and He was creating the world. Your book will survive your absence for one day.”
“Oh now you’re really being dramatic Henry, stop it,” she said laughing. “And you lot,” she said, her gaze sweeping the faces around the table, “are hardly in a position to give me any lectures. Jonathan, you’ve been working nearly as hard as I am. Every time I come home you’re hard at work at your own computer. When you’re not hovering outside my door with a cup of tea, that is. And I know the rest of you are working just as hard with the end of term coming up. This is crunch time for all of us.”
“Yes, Ellie,” Jonathan agreed. “But we’ve all still taken at least a couple nights off each week. You didn’t even come out for Halloween with us. And you’re American!”
“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked laughing. “I don’t celebrate Halloween back in the States. I haven’t dressed up and done anything for Halloween since I was eighteen my senior year of high school.”
“Still, you need to give yourself a break every now and then.”
“Ugh, fine,” she said petulantly. “I’m taking a break now and I’ll have a nice lazy lie in tomorrow morning, satisfied?”
“Yes,” the whole table responded again. And then they all laughed.
They all chatted about school and work for a while, and Eleanor felt comfortable sitting between Malcolm and Henry, Henry’s arm was still draped casually across the back of her chair. After a couple hours, Zaf and Malcolm had to leave but the rest of them were willing to stay for one more drink. Henry and Jonathan went to the bar to get the drinks, leaving Mark and Eleanor alone at the table.
“I’m glad to get you alone for a minute. I’ve been wanting to talk to you since we spoke a few weeks ago,” he said hesitantly.
“Oh? What’s up?” Eleanor replied, trying to sound casual.
“I’ve missed hanging out with you. I was wondering if we could get coffee sometime. Maybe tomorrow, while you’re taking a break from your work?”
He looked so hopeful, Eleanor couldn’t bear to turn him down, even though she really wasn’t sure. It was one thing hanging out with him in a group like this, with the others around as a buffer, but just the two of them alone? Even in a busy coffee shop, she just wasn’t sure.
“Yeah, that would be nice," she heard herself saying. “I can’t afford to take the whole day off tomorrow, no matter what you all think. But I could meet for coffee before I start writing. Would one o’clock work?”
“Sure, brilliant,” Mark said with a giant smile. “Just say where and I’ll be there.”
“How about the Caffè Nero across the street from here?”
They agreed, and Jonathan and Henry arrived back at the table with the last round of drinks. An hour later they all left and headed home. Eleanor suddenly felt very tired, and the idea of sleeping in the next morning sounded like the best idea ever. Though she would never admit that to Jonathan she thought, smiling to herself. She was a little nervous about meeting Mark tomorrow, but she figured that would take care of itself. No sense worrying about it now.
* * * * *
The next day, Eleanor woke up to the sun streaming through her window. She knew based on how bright it was when she removed her sleep eye mask, that she had definitely slept in. She reached for her phone and saw that it was past noon. She hadn’t slept that late since she arrived in London with jet lag. She also realized with a start that she had less than an hour to get ready and get to Caffè Nero to meet Mark and then go write.
“Bugger,” she cursed, leaping out of bed. She dashed around her room getting ready. Another quick glance at her phone told her that it was only going to be in the mid-30s Fahrenheit, nearly 0 Celsius, as a high for the weather that day, almost freezing. Sunny days in London tended to be colder than cloudy ones since the clouds kept the city insulated. She put on the same skinny jeans from the night before and her boots again, then pulled on a long sleeve t-shirt and one of her thickest jumpers, a gorgeous sapphire blue chunky cable knit she’d found at Jigsaw. It had cost her a pretty penny but once again she was grateful for her part time job as a writing tutor. It wasn’t a ton of money, and if she had to pay her share of the rent she’d never make it. She and Jonathan were very lucky that Aunt Vickie spoiled them both so much. But what she earned kept her clothed and caffeinated and she was grateful.
Grabbing the bag from last night, she dumped out the contents and organized them back into her trusty navy Longchamp tote bag. It had been a gift from her aunt several years ago. No one in Arizona carried the simple Le Pliage nylon tote, the women in Phoenix all seemed to favor Coach or Gucci or Michael Kors. But since arriving in London Eleanor had been amused to see every fourth or fifth woman carrying the bag, in a range of colors. She never realized how European she’d been all these years.
She laughed at the memory as she double checked that her laptop and notebooks were still in the bag. She grabbed a hairband from her bedside table and scraped her hair up into a messy topknot and then went to the mirror on her dresser and grabbed a tube of Rimmel mascara, quickly putting a few coats on her lashes and then dabbing some cream blusher on each cheek. This was not a date, so she wasn’t going to waste time doing her hair and makeup. Just a quick coffee with Mark and then you need to get back to writing, she thought, wondering just how long a ‘quick’ coffee should be. Was an hour long enough? Too long? She didn’t want Mark to feel like she was ditching him. But she really did need to write. Oh well, I’ll just play it by ear and see what happens. But definitely no longer than an hour.
She threw on her wool coat, scarf, and gloves, and dashed out of the flat. She saw Mark walking up from the opposite direction just as she was racing up to the coffee shop.
“Afraid you were going to be late?” he asked with a smile?
“Well I took everyone’s advice and slept in. I only woke up about forty-five minutes ago. I didn’t think I’d sleep that long!” she said laughing incredulously.
“Clearly you needed it,” Mark replied kindly. “I’m glad. You could have texted me you know, I could have met you later.”
“No, this is good. I need to get back to writing this afternoon anyway. But I definitely need some coffee f
irst. And it’s kind of freezing out here, so maybe we could go inside?” she said with a smile, hopping from one foot to the other trying to keep warm.
Mark laughed and ushered her inside. For a Saturday afternoon the coffee shop was fairly quiet. The tourists had long ago stopped flooding the coffee shops of London. The city seemed to be in a lull between the busy summer season and the holidays. There were still plenty of tourists around, but definitely much less than there had been when she first arrived. They ordered their coffees, paying separately at Eleanor’s insistence.
“But I invited you out today! It’s bad manners to make you pay,” Mark protested.
Still, he gave in and she felt better about paying for herself. They got a table near the window and soon fell into an easy conversation. He told her stories of what he’d been up to lately and gave her the gossip about Jonathan and Celeste. All the guys were on Jon’s case as well to just ask her out. Eleanor found herself enjoying Mark’s company more than ever and was glad she’d agreed to continue their friendship. After spending so much time writing it was nice to be talking to someone and feeling social. She didn’t realize how much she’d missed it.
Feeling like no time at all had passed, Eleanor caught a glimpse of the time on her watch, “Oh! It’s after three! I’m so sorry Mark, this has been lovely but I really do need to write this afternoon,” she cried apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have kept you so long,” he said reassuringly.
“I really have had a wonderful time. Thank you for inviting me, this has been really nice.”
They got up and Mark helped Eleanor back into her coat. “So where do you go from here?”
“Oh, I’ll just wander and think about my writing for a bit, once I’m done thinking I just stop at the nearest coffee shop and start writing,” she said with a laugh.
They got outside the door and were hit with a blast of cold air. Eleanor laughed as she started shaking. Mark turned to her and gave her a big hug, rubbing her shoulders and back briskly to warm her up. Suddenly he stopped and was looking at Eleanor, before she could move he was kissing her, passionately. She was too stunned to do anything at first, but after a couple seconds, as Mark took her inaction for permission and started to kiss her more intensely, she flung her hands up between them and pushed him firmly away from her, taking a couple steps backward at the same time. Her heart was pounding in her ears and for a moment she was back in a different time and place. She felt fight or flight kick in, and like one night several years ago, fight took over and a rage began to build up inside her.
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