Chapter XXX: Things Do Work Out
"You went out of your way to look nice tonight. Were you planning to pick up anybody?" Will smiled after a comfortable silence in the car.
"I was thinking about it, but now that you're here, I can't help but think 'How much alcohol are they willing to serve to me before they put me into a rehab?'" I said as the car droved up next to the hotel.
We all laughed and Charlie left the keys with the valet. We walked into the hotel building, Jane and Charlie with their arms linked, and Will and I walking closely behind them. Before going into the ballroom, we stopped by the welcoming table to pick up our place cards. My card was right above Jane's; I bent over the table, reaching for the card when my eyes caught sight of another name. Two names to be exact. "Bingley" and "Bourgh". Caroline Bingley and Catherine de Bourgh to be specific.
I took my card and looked at Charlie. "Charlie, I didn't know your sister was coming."
"Did I not tell you? So is Will's aunt." Charlie smiled, obviously oblivious of everything that was going on. Jane, why in the world are you in love with the guy?!
I looked at Will while Jane also gave Charlie a look, shaking her blond head.
"Did you know about this?" I asked him as we took our seats at the table.
"Yes, but listen," Will replied. "My aunt is really okay with all this."
"Like I would seriously believe that, Will."
"You're right, but think about it, you're here for Jane and my aunt would not act out in public."
"I suppose so, but Caroline…will."
Charlie apologized for not realizing sooner about the thing with his sister. Apparently, the host of this function was friends with Will's aunt (big contributor to the company) and the Bingley family. Everybody got invited. Wow, this was going to be one hell of a night.
After a couple of minutes of me panicking, everything calm itself down and quieted a bit. I was happily enjoying my champagne when through the doors, walked in Caroline Bingley and Catherine de Bourgh. It seemed as if they've been friends forever, chatting and smiling and yet they were still able to keep up that reserve demeanor that has made them the snobbish and condescending rich people they were born to become.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Charlie." Caroline smiled at her brother, giving him a peck on the cheek.
She looked around the table and suddenly her fake smile vanished as her eyes fell on me and Will sitting next to each other. She decided to ignore it and turned to Jane, exclaiming that it had been far too long since she has seen her.
Will's aunt looked at me in disgust as Will got up to greet her (I tried not to notice but I saw her whispering something into Will's ear, eyeing me while she was at it) and the two women sat themselves down. They ordered their drinks and proceeded to talk amongst themselves.
"What did your aunt say about me?" I said softly, making it seemed as if I was just staring off into space.
"She didn't say anything about you, don't worry too much." He said softly back.
"Fine, I'll try not to over-think things."
The dinner started once the ballroom filled up with people and the host came out to greet us. It was nonsense that nobody should really pay attention to accept for the host's family.
Anyways, the food came out after that and it was extremely good. You can never go wrong with soup and pasta especially when they were good soup and pasta. (Not like I paid enough attention to care…) The room filled with conversation but our table was quiet which consequently made everything feel quiet. It was like how you're in a high school lunch room and everything is extremely loud but you tend to tune everything out. It was kind of like that.
Eventually, Charlie and Jane started having their own private conversation but that was about it because the whole time, Mrs. De Bourgh and Caroline were staring at Will and me. It was uncomfortable to say the least.
Before the desserts were served, I excused myself to go to the "ladies' room" because I just needed to escape the stuffy atmosphere. I was in the restroom for barely a minute when the door swung opened and in came Caroline.
"What are you trying to do?" she asked cryptically.
"What are you talking about?"
"Are you purposely trying to take Will away from me? I mean, I'd thought you'd never do such a thing.You were always such the sensible person."
"Will left you for reasons other than wanting to be with me, you fully know that. You're mistaken if you think that you could just take him back after what you did…despicable."
""I didn't think that you felt this way when you left him five years ago."
"Things change, Caroline. People change. Time apparently stood still for you though." I concluded.
"You think you're so great but face it, Lizzy. Will will never be happy with a girl of such a low status."
"And yet he would be happy with a liar?" I asked. A couple of women came out of the stalls, washed up and quickly got out, glancing at the two women who were obviously arguing about one man.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm just saying, I don't think Will will be coming back to you anytime soon, considering you lied about the pregnancy."
Caroline seemed shock to know that I knew about this whole ordeal, because she asked, "How did you know?"
"Haven't you figured out by now that I know a lot of things? Maybe a little too much for my own good."
"Either way," Caroline mustered up the confidence again to talk to me. (Has this girl no shame?) "Will will never be happy with you."
"Ditto, it's a shame that my niece and nephew have you as an aunt, Caroline." I walked out of the restroom, leaving Caroline with a look shock and confusion on her face.
I walked back to the table and saw that a piece of cheesecake was waiting for me. I grinned happily and sliced a piece with my fork. It was divine!
Caroline returned to the table a few moments after that, obviously upset, and sat down and stabbed her piece of cake.
"What was that all about?" Jane leaned sideways to ask me. I told her that it was nothing. She didn't seem to have believed me, seeing as how Caroline has taken to finish her glass of champagne in one gulp with an angry glare still on her face.
The music started up after that and Charlie got up to ask Jane to dance. Jane happily accepted, took his hand and they both walked toward the dance floor.
The table was yet again silent while we all watched Jane and Charlie happily sway to the music.
I was gazing at them when somebody came up to me and asked me to dance. I accepted just out of politeness. We danced and talked a little, introducing ourselves. He was the host's son and was being bombarded with girls wanting to dance with him and he just needed to escape. I laughed at this and told him a little about myself.
"I hope your boyfriend isn't too mad at me." He smiled.
"Boyfriend?"
"The guy you were sitting next to…"
"Oh no, he's not my boyfriend."
"Why isn't he? He looked like he played the part when I came over."
"I don't know why he isn't."
"Well, you better get to him before I do." He smiled mischievously, winking at me.
I laughed and we kept on dancing. I had a marvelous time with Andrew that night. In fact, we decided to have an outing the next day. We've been friends ever since. (But that could always be the start of another story.)
Andrew and I took a break later and I walked around. I became tired and I stopped to lean against a pillar. I was about to walk around the pillar to face the dance floor when I saw Caroline and Will dancing. They were pretty close to the pillar so I had to hide on the other side so that drunken Caroline wouldn't see me. (That would be one scary thought. I mean, to have Caroline yell at you when she was drunk.)
"Come on, Will. You know that we could always start over, right?"
"No, Caroline, I thought I made this very clear that this could never happen."
"But I'm perfect for you." She slurred.
"Maybe for somebody else, but not me." He confirmed.
"And that Lizzy is? But she is not like us, Will. She wasn't brought up like us."
"Exactly, she isn't anyone I've ever met before. She's different and she's someone I need."
"Fine, don't think that I will wait for you, Will." Apparently she turned around (judging from the sound of her heels) and left.
I looked around the pillar and saw that Will was watching Caroline walk off with his hands running through his hair. I slowly walked up behind him and slid my arm around his arm so that we linked.
He looked at me to see that I was smiling. He also smiled and asked me what had happen with the guy that I was dancing with.
I grinned and kissed him on the dance floor, when I had broken off the kiss, he asked me what that was for.
"I decided to get to you before Andrew did." He didn't really get what I was talking about but he didn't press on.
We hugged each other and danced until the night ended (or at least, the function). This was it; Will and I have finally decided to stay together. There was no way that I could've described the feelings that I felt. It was a peace of mind to know that I wanted to be with the one person I love and he also wanted to be with me.
Like people said, "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings". The night didn't end until I had champagne thrown at my face and being called a 'Bitch!" by Caroline. I suppose I deserved it in Mrs. De Bourgh and Caroline's eyes. They just didn't see it the way that everybody else saw it.
It provided closure, I'm sure.
Jane and I went home that night with happy feelings and happy thoughts. The twins were already asleep but Jane thought that they needed to be awake for her to tell them the news. (Because telling them when they're sleeping wouldn't be the brightest thing to do.)
"Christina…Jack…wake up. Mommy wants to tell you something." Jane whispered to them.
They woke up, rubbing their eyes and looked at Jane and me.
I smiled; I had a feeling of what might be happening next.
"What is it, Mommy?" Jack asked as CJ walked over to hug me. I picked her up and walked back to her bed, sitting down (still in my dress).
"I have to ask you something…what do you think about Charlie?" She asked cautiously.
"We think he's very nice, and very spacey." They both grinned at the mention of his name.
"Why?" CJ asked, giving her mother a suspicious look which was her crumbling her face.
"Well, I was thinking about marrying him. What do you guys think of that?" Seriously, Jane shouldn't be so nervous about all this.
"Go ahead." CJ said.
"It would be nice to have a Daddy around. Uncle Richard is great and all but he's not always around." Jack concluded.
"Kids your age don't really talk like that, you know" I said, smiling.
"We know, but they think that way."
"They do?" Jane asked.
"Well, at least we do."
Jane and Charlie got married a year later in New York. Will was the best man and I was the maid of honor. It was a nice simple wedding, with soft white rose petals everywhere. CJ and Jack accepted that Charlie was their dad and Charlie was happy that his kids was so much like their mother. Jane and Charlie decided to move the whole family back to New York. They've lived there ever since.
Caroline married somebody obscenely wealthy (as expected). She didn't have any kids, stating that "kids scare the hell out of me" (accredited to People magazine).
Anne de Bourgh lived with her mother every time she was back in England. She eventually met a lawyer from her mother's firm and fell in love. I was the maid of honor at her wedding too.
Collins and Mary had two sets of twins. This was an astonishment to both the couple and everybody else. They still are very happy in Maine, with Collins calling me occasionally to tell me how happy his life was.
My mother and father still ran the bakery but later retired to travel the world together. Between travels, they lived in the same house in England that Jane and I had shared. Their house in New York was left to me. That was where I lived, once I moved back to New York with Jane.
You might ask what happened to me, especially with me and Will. Well, we didn't marry until several years. This was because we didn't really date for that long when we were at Yale.
Do you remember what I said at the beginning of this love story? I told you that love stinks and that it always comes back to bite you.
Well, what I said was true in many ways. Love really did bite me a couple of times, but it worked itself out. Don't you think so?
So, did Will and I have a happy ending? I guess, it's time to have our quote of the day, huh?
Real love stories never have endings. Richard Bach
How right he would be….
The End?
A/N: Hey, everybody!! This is finally the end! Wow, this story lasted since February, which is very impressive, considering this is my first fan fiction.
So, for your very last review (and I expect for everybody to review), I would like you to tell how you like the chapter, the story, and my writing. I think I should write another modern P&P because I love those so much. They are my absolute favorite. And like this one, it might not be true to the story. I think it adds a lot of spirit to the story, don't you think?
Anyways, I would talk to you soon…remember to review.
Thanks to all my reviewers and the readers who have been with me since the beginning. Thank you, everybody!
Bye!!