Chapter 34 - The Invitation

Robert woke up, blinking because of the light coming in through the window.  He laid there for a moment, feeling like something wasn’t right, and then it hit him.  Georgie, he thought with alarm, sitting up in bed.  She hadn’t woken him the night before.  He threw off the pink floral quilt and got out of bed, immediately worried something was wrong.

As soon as he had on his jeans, he pulled open the door.  Damn.  She wasn’t on the couch and neither was her bedding.  He immediately went to the kitchen with his heart in his throat.  When he walked in, she looked up from the kitchen table where she was drinking coffee with May and Marianne.

“Good morning, Robert,” she said with a smile.  He searched for signs she was still upset from the day before, but her smile seemed sincere and she looked untroubled.  May and Marianne looked up from their reading, and repeated the greeting.

“Uh, morning,” he said tearing his eyes away from Georgie, not wanting her to know he was concerned about her.

He walked over to the tea kettle, as if that was what he’d come to the kitchen for.  While he filled it at the sink, he couldn’t help wondering what had happened.  It was impossible he would’ve slept through her screaming.  Perhaps she’d still been affected by the test results and hadn’t been able to sleep. When he was settled at the table with his tea and a bowl of cereal, he snuck glances at her, trying to see evidence she’d been up all night, but she seemed perfectly relaxed.  In fact, the dark circles she usually had under her eyes weren’t quite as dark, but then her normally pale face had a little more color this morning.

When she noticed him looking at her, she smiled, asking, “What?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly, dropping his eyes to his bowl.

“I think Robert sees what we all see, honey,” Marianne said as she folded her newspaper and set it next to her coffee mug.

“What do you mean?” Georgie asked.  Marianne got up and went her.

“You look like you got a good night’s sleep,” she said kindly, and bent down to give a her hug.

“Oh, right,” Georgie said quietly with a smile, and Marianne gave her a kiss on the top of her head before leaving the kitchen.

Robert watched Georgie smiling at her mug, looking as if her mind was somewhere else.  There was something about her expression he’d seen before, but he couldn’t quite place it.  Then she looked up at him, her vivid blue eyes meeting his as she continued to smile, and the memories fell into place.

He saw her in the tiny kitchen in the flat where the two of them were cleaning, saying, ‘When they come, I never have nightmares.  So that’s the reason why I didn’t have one last night.’  And then her drinking coffee on Christmas morning, saying, ‘My family came to see me again last night.’  Robert immediately dropped his eyes to his bowl.

She must have dreamt about her family the night before, and he had no doubt she believed they’d really visited her.  It made him sad to know she still clung to the belief her family wasn’t gone forever.

“It’s done you a world of good, Georgie.  I’m glad to see you looking so well,” May said, interrupting his thoughts.  “Especially because you looked so sad yesterday.  I was worried it had something to do with that letter.”

“Oh, no.  That was just a letter from my doctor,” Georgie said quickly.  “It was good news – about some tests they did.”

“Oh, good.  I’m glad to hear it,” May said smiling with relief.  Georgie looked back at her coffee mug smiling to herself and Robert sipped his tea while he looked out the window so he wouldn’t see her.

“Thank God, you still have your inheritance so you can afford health insurance,” May said.  Robert and Georgie both looked at her.

“That was one of my biggest fears, you know,” she said, addressing Robert.  “That he – that man, wanted her for her money.”  He saw Georgie’s body slump out of the corner of his eye but he kept his focus on May, not wanting her to notice Georgie’s reaction.

“Gianni, Georgie’s daddy, worked in finance.  He made sure the whole family was fully insured so when –.  Well, she had a lot of money, enough to last her a good long time.  I thought for sure that man was going to steal it from her.”

“Excuse, me.  I should get dressed,” Georgie said faintly, suddenly standing up and Robert glanced at her.  She looked grim as she walked away from the table.

“I couldn’t believe it when Georgie showed me the paperwork,” May continued and Robert tried not to let on how sick he suddenly felt.  “She has more money now than when she left.  How he managed to do that with the world economy being the way it’s been, I’ll never know,” she finished, shaking her head as she stood up.

As she gathered up dirty dishes from the table, Robert sat, too stunned to move. He’d always assumed Georgie had been taken so she could be sold, and had even considered the possibility the bastard had been part of the plan, but maybe he’d been wrong.  A large amount of money would have been a powerful incentive for someone to claim to be a relative of hers.

What about the money the bastard had given to her as part of the bargain?  Was it possible he’d simply handed over what was already Georgie’s?  But if it was more than what she’d had, it didn’t seem likely.  As all the pieces came together in Robert’s mind, it suddenly became clear.  The man who’d claimed her, wanted her for her money.  Once he had that, he’d sold her to the sick bastard – for even more money, Robert thought bitterly.

“Are you finished with your tea?” May asked.

“Uh, yeah, May.  Cheers,” he said, and then he realized he shouldn’t be sitting there.  He needed to find Georgie and make sure she was alright.

When he walked in the sitting room, Georgie was just coming from the direction of the bedrooms, dressed in her skinny jeans and a t-shirt.  He could tell she’d been crying.

“Georgie –.”

“Robert, I think we should go to the zoo today,” she said emphatically, surprising him.  “It’s perfect weather.  It won’t be too hot.”  He was about say he didn’t care and ask her how she was, but he hesitated.  He could see in her face how hard she was trying to keep it together, her eyes begging him not to say anything.

“Alright, if that’s what you –.”

“Good.  Why don’t you get ready,” she said firmly, and ducked her head, walking past him to the kitchen before he could respond.  He stood there a moment, then sighed deeply as he walked to her bedroom, swallowing against the pain in his throat.

To his surprise, May drove them to Brookfield Zoo since her home was less than twenty minutes away.  They were silent during the ride and when she dropped them off they bought their tickets and walked through the arched entrance saying very little.  While they walked to the first exhibit, it was clear Georgie was still upset, walking with her head down and her hands pushed into her pockets as far as they would go.  After a few minutes of silence, he couldn’t take it.

“I’m sorry – about this morning,” he said.

“It happens,” she muttered without looking at him.  “I just have to deal with it when it does.”

“Georgie, why didn’t ya tell May what happened?” he asked gently, no longer able to avoid asking the question that had been in the back of his mind since he’d arrived in Chicago.  She stopped walking suddenly, staring at the pavement, then she turned to face him.

“How could I, Robert?” she asked plaintively, looking like she was close to tears.  “How could I do that to her?  She already feels guilty because she put me on that plane.  I can’t tell her what happened after that.”  Robert felt awful.  The last thing he’d wanted to do was make her feel worse.

“I’m sorry I brought it up, yeah?” he said quickly.

“It’s okay,” she said quietly with a sigh, then turned to continue down the path.

While Robert walked beside her, he thought about what a terrible sacrifice she’d made.  By keeping the truth from May, she was protecting her, but the cost was moments like he’d witnessed that morning.  May unwittingly bringing up the past, and all the painful memories that came with it.

But he knew she didn’t have any choice.  He remembered how May had practically begged his forgiveness when she’d told him the story of having to let Georgie go when she knew something wasn’t right.  If she found out the truth, he had no doubt she’d take the news hard, and probably never forgive herself.

Georgie didn’t deserve to have her day ruined, he decided suddenly, feeling a firm determination.  Nor did she deserve to have him pitying her.  He was going to do what he could to make her forget what happened that morning.  Thankfully, he didn’t have to work too hard at it.  Once they reached the first enclosure and she saw kangaroos with little joeys peeking out of their mother’s pouches, she was instantly smiling, and he was too.

They had a good day at the zoo and on the ride home with May, Georgie sat beside her, happily recounting all the animals they’d seen.  Her good mood lasted through dinner and Robert could tell May and Marianne were delighted to see her being so cheerful.  When they were finished eating and just getting up from the table, Georgie asked, “Do you want to go for a walk, Robert?”

“Uh, yeah.  Sure, Georgie,” he said, noticing a sudden seriousness in her tone.

“You’ll want to wear a jacket, Georgie,” May suggested.  “It’s gotten chilly out there.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Georgie said quietly, looking even more serious.

Robert decided he’d wear his leather jacket and when returned from Georgie’s bedroom, he was surprised to see Georgie in the sitting room holding his denim jacket with the black hoodie.  At least she had the decency to look guilty.

“I – uh – took your jacket,” she said.

“Really,” he said, and he couldn’t help the note of sarcasm.

“Yeah, I guess – you know that already,” she said, looking even more guilty.  “I was wearing it in the picture I sent you.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” he said dryly.

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask your permission.  I just –.”  She stopped and then sighed.  “Here,” she said simply, holding it out to him without looking at him.  It suddenly seemed stupid that he’d been so angry about it.

“You may as well keep it, Georgie,” he said.  “At least until I leave, yeah?”

“Okay,” she said, and to his surprise, put it on.

Seeing her in his oversized jacket with her dark wavy hair framing her pale face, suddenly brought back memories of all the times she’d worn it when she still lived with him.  And just like that, the terrible ache in his chest was back again and he felt awful.  He turned away so she couldn’t see his face, struggling to control his emotions.

Once they were outside, he concentrated on his surroundings to distract himself from what he was feeling.  The sun was below the line of trees and the air was cool, but not so cool he needed to zip his jacket.  He walked beside her with his hands shoved in his jeans pockets, looking at the houses, the sky, the pavement, anywhere but her.

The neighborhood was quiet now that people were settling down for the evening.  There were flickering glows in many of the front windows from televisions, and crickets were beginning to chirp as the birds were settling down.  They reached a cross street and he followed Georgie as she turned right, walking down another street of small one story box-like homes.

They were nearly halfway to the next cross street when Georgie stopped walking.  It took him a second to realize it, and he turned to walk back to her.  She was looking at one of the houses and when he reached her, she said quietly, “That was my house.”  He looked at it.  It was nearly identical to all the others.

“My dad planted that tree,” she said, pointing to a tree near a corner of the house.  “Frankie and I helped him.”  She must’ve been fairly young, he thought.  The tree was quite large, and much taller than the one story roof.

He saw Georgie quickly wipe a tear off her cheek out of the corner of his eye and he suddenly felt a tremendous sadness, thinking of the photos on Georgie’s chest of drawers, imagining the happy family that used to live there.  Georgie continued to wipe away tears as she looked at her house, and then she sniffled.

Without even thinking about it, he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her.  She leaned into him with relief, sliding her arms under his jacket and holding him tight while she cried quietly into his neck.  He was overwhelmed with pain and sadness, not just for everything Georgie had lost, but for everything he'd lost as well.  He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his cheek against her hair, allowing the feel of her warm body pressed against him to soothe him, breathing in her special smell.

After a few minutes, she stopped crying and pulled away from him.  He let go of her right away, feeling better and worse at the same time.

“Thank you, Robert,” she said quietly, wiping her face without looking at him.

“It’s alright, Georgie.”

She started walking again and he joined her, looking at the pavement.  They’d always been good at that, he mused, shoving his hands in his pockets.  Turning to each other for comfort when they needed it, and then pretending it hadn’t happened.  They had that down to an art.

They’d almost reached the next street when Robert heard a shriek.  “Georgie!  Georgie wait!”

The two of them turned and saw a girl slam the door of a car parked on the street.  She began to quickly walk towards them and he heard Georgie mutter, “Shit,” under her breath.  He looked at her with surprise and she returned his gaze, her eyes letting him know she wanted to be anywhere else but there.

As she got closer, Robert could see the girl was slightly stocky and shorter than Georgie.  She was dressed in an orange football jersey and navy blue shorts with the long strap of a duffle bag slung over her shoulder.  She looked like she’d just returned from a match or practice.  Her black knee high socks were still on but her shin guards had been removed and she was wearing slip on sandals.  Her blonde hair was pulled up in a high messy ponytail and she had a hair band, keeping her fringe out of her eyes.

He immediately thought of the picture of Georgie with her dad.  She’d been wearing a nearly identical football uniform, but this girl had a large number ‘14’ on her jersey.  He couldn’t help wondering if she’d been on Georgie’s old football team when they were little.  Then he thought of the picture of all the girls piled on May’s couch, the one she’d turned round, and wondered if this was one of those girls.

The girl had nearly reached them, when she began exclaiming, “Oh, my God!  Oh, my God!  I’m so glad I saw you!”  Then she lunged forward, giving Georgie a tight hug.

“Oh, hi Lauren,” Georgie wheezed out faintly, before she was released.  Lauren’s eyes slid over Robert with mild interest before she focused on Georgie like a laser beam.

“Oh, my God!  I haven’t seen you in months!  I was just going to call you!  Rachel and I are having a party at my house on Friday and you have to come!  Everyone’s going to be there!  It’s gonna be crazy!”  Then she leaned in and said conspiratorially, “My parents are going to be out of town.”  Robert didn’t think the girl had stopped talking long enough to breathe until that moment.

“I’m – not sure,” Georgie said faintly.

“Oh, no!  You have to come!” Lauren pleaded loudly.  “Hardly anyone’s seen you since you’ve been back!”

“We might have plans that night,” Georgie said even more faintly.  Now Lauren focused on Robert, looking him over curiously for a second before she looked back at Georgie expectantly.

“Oh, sorry,” Georgie said quietly.  “Lauren, this is Robert,” she said to the pavement, motioning in his general direction.  Lauren turned towards him and stuck her hand out.

“Nice meeting you,” she said, using a normal voice for the first time.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lauren,” he replied, taking her hand.  Her eyes suddenly got wide and her grip on his hand became much tighter.

“Oh, my gawd!” she shrieked, looking like she might be swooning as she leaned closer to him.  “You’re British!  I love your accent!”  Before he’d recovered enough to respond, she exclaimed, “You have to come to the party!  Georgie, you have to bring him!” she begged, practically jumping up and down, not taking her eyes off him, or letting go of his hand.

Robert had heard American girls went mad for blokes with English accents, but he’d never experienced it firsthand before.  The casual interest she’d eyed him with before was gone.  Now she was looking at him like he was a rock star, practically drooling on him.  He’d never gotten that reaction from a girl he’d only just met before.  It usually took weeks for girls even to notice he was hanging about.  He was both embarrassed, and a little flattered.

“I can’t believe it!  All the girls will be dying to meet you!”  Then she suddenly dropped his hand and stepped from him before turning to Georgie.

“Oh, Georgie.  I’m sorry.  Are you two –,” she trailed off, her hand waving in the air between them vaguely.

“Um, well,” Georgie said hesitantly, and then she looked at him with desperate eyes.  He couldn’t believe it.  She actually seemed like she was begging him to tell her what to say.  He immediately looked away, feeling angry.

“Um, well, Robert’s – visiting me and we might –.”  Lauren suddenly turned to Robert with an eager expression.

“If you’re visiting here then have to come!” she exclaimed loudly, cutting off Georgie.  “Have you been to any parties yet?”

“No.”

“Well, that settles it!  You might not get another chance!”  She suddenly turned back to Georgie.

“You have to come now, Georgie!  Please say you’ll come?  Please?”  She was begging dramatically with her hands clasped in front of her chest.

“Um, well.”  She looked at him again as if she was begging for him to say something.  He shrugged his shoulders and looked away, still angry.

“I guess – if Robert wants to –,” she trailed off faintly.

Lauren turned towards him, her hands still clasped in front of her chest.  “You have to come!  Please say you’ll come.”

“Alright,” he replied, with a smile.  It would be interesting to see what a party with American teenagers was like.

“Yeah!” Lauren yelled excitedly, clapping her hands.  “Wait till I tell Rachel we have a real British boy coming!  She’s going to just die!”

She turned towards Georgie, saying hurriedly, “It starts at seven, so come any time after that.  I’m telling everyone B.Y.O.B. but I’ll make an exception for you.  Think of it as your welcome back party, ‘kay?  Oh my God!  I’m so glad I saw you!” and she lunged at Georgie for another tight hug.

Then she turned to Robert, leaning toward him and lowered her voice, sounding almost suggestive when she said, “I’m glad you’re coming, Robert.  I hope you like to dance.”  He could swear she was batting her eyelashes at him.

“I’ve been known to dance a fair bit – and please, call me Robbie, yeah?” he said, smiling at her.

“Oh my gawd!” she shrieked, looking like she was swooning again.  It was a much better reaction than he’d hoped for.

“I can’t believe it!  I gotta call Rachel and get started on my homework!  I’ll see you two on Friday, ‘kay?  Bye!”

And with a wave, she bounded up the walk to one of the houses.  Once her front door was closed, it suddenly seemed very quiet.

Without a word, Georgie shoved her hands in the pockets of the hoodie and started walking, her eyes on the pavement.  Robert followed just half step behind her, trying not to smile.

****

Dedicated to @Bittersweet_Rose.  She writes fantastic mature Dr. Who fan fiction, meaning it's meant for adults.  If you're a fan of Dr. Who, you should definitely check them out.  Even if you're not a fan, I guaruntee you'll enjoy them because the characters are so well written.  I think if you're enjoying this story, you'll enjoy hers.  ;)

It was a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it!  If you did, please consider giving it a vote!  What do you think about the fact that Georgie is keeping what happpened to her a secret?  And what do you think will happen at the party?  Thank you so much for reading!