Liz sat next to Todd, handing him a bottle water. He looked a little pale and tired, but was smiling. "Hey, here you go."
He took it with a grateful sigh and took a long gulp. She touched his forehead lightly and smiled, "Well, no fever. You doing alright?"
He nodded, "Yeah, just a little sore."
She laughed softly, her smile soft and sweet. "I'm sure Mary has some peas."
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Hell no. I thought you angels had mercy."
She giggled and Ben elbowed him in the ribs. "Aw come on man, we don't care. I'll get your pea bag."
That set Mary and Liz both giggling as Todd glared at his best friend. "When I'm better, it's on buddy."
"If the next entertainment's anything like the last one, I'm sure it'll be great." Allen said.
"Why sir, are you flirting with me," Hollie laughed with an affected British accent.
Allen responded in kind. " Of course not. That would be too forward and not befitting of a gentleman."
"Well if anything, you most certainly are that," Hollie replied."But, no, this next show is
much
different. I should probably get it started though. Save me a seat?"
"Of course, miss." Allen said with a smile.
Hollie got up and gathered Mary and Ben. "Excuse me guys, " she said to Liz and Todd. " I have to talk to our hosts for a second."
Liz eyed Hollie curiously, suddenly feeling like both of them were up to something, but Todd shrugged it off. Allen on the other hand was smiling, his eyes looking towards Hollie time and time again. Liz felt for certain now that the big lug just maybe had the beginnings of a crush on her friend, which made her smile.
Although it would complicate things, she pursed her lips and lost herself in thought for a moment. And then suddenly Ben returned and threw his arm around his buddy and Hollie reappeared, leaving Mary to dim the lights. "Movie?" Liz asked and she smiled wickedly. "I swear, Mary, if you put on porn, I'm leaving."
"Porn? Please Liz, why would I want to remind Todd and Allen of work?" Mary asked innocently, "I wouldn't show porn, but remember we're making some Tuesday. Bring the peach preserves."
"Hollie's allergic to peaches, Mary. How about strawberry?" Liz answered with a wink.
"Stop talking business you two," Hollie interrupted. "It's show time."
Ben hit play and he, Mary, and Hollie quietly backed away from Liz and Todd. A screen title shot started playing. "An M & H production, brought to you by the number 2, the letters T & L, and the makers of Lortab," Then the video started and the scene faded into Mary, Ben, Todd & Liz at the lake.
"Oh this is cool," Todd said. "You got that camping trip made into a DVD."
"Shhhhh," Mary said. "Just watch." The camera panned on to Todd and Liz, and "You Belong With Me" began to play. When Todd's and Liz's words began, no one else talked till the film was over and had been over for five minutes.
Liz was having a hard time breathing. She blinked slowly, realizing that she had a tight grip on Todd's knee and quickly releasing it. His words had brought tears to her eyes and she had let them slip down her cheeks untouched. She dared not look at him. Dared not to look at anyone. How was she supposed to react? She already knew her feelings and felt both mortified and absurdly excited that everything was on the table. He knew. He knew and he felt something for her. On numb legs, she stood up and mumbled something that sounded a bit like 'excuse me', but she wasn't entirely sure that's what she had said before she rushed out the door and slammed it behind.
Cold air hit her lungs and sent a shiver down her spine. "Oh god..." She mumbled. Her stomach rolled with nerves, threatening to lose her dinner right there on her shoes. What was she going to do?
Todd was basically numb as he watched Liz run out and slam the door. He turned to the three friends behind him, as Allen casually slipped out to the back porch to give everyone some privacy. The words were difficult to get out and Todd could only voice a few. "How...I never...why?"
Ben, Mary and Hollie looked back and forth at one another. They had known this course of action could be problematic. Ben was the first to respond. "Dude, you're my best friend, and you know we all think the world of Liz. I know it's a shock to both of you, but it was done out of love."
Mary continued. "We saw what was going on, and you two were just too close to it. Neither of you would want to face things, and that wasn't fair to anybody. There needed to be a resolution, so that you could both move forward. Whatever that means for you...." She broke into tears.
Hollie picked up the conversation as Mary's voice tailed off. "It was my idea. Mary helped and Ben knew, but it was mostly me who set it up. You know I care about you Todd, and I'm getting closer to Liz every day. God knows that if you're available I'd like to see where we could go together, but if there was a "might have been" at all with Liz, y'all needed to address it. I was there for both of you. I was talking to you as Liz and to Liz as you. I heard every word, could
feel
them. You both needed to be honest with each other and this was the best way I could think of. I hope you can forgive me."
Todd lowered his head so that his hands covered his eyes. "I don't know what to say...to think..I just need to..to..."
"Go on..." Hollie's sniffled, mascara making tracks down her soft cheeks. "She needs you."
Ben stepped up and put his hand on Todd's shoulder. "And you need her. Go. Talk. Things will work out like they're supposed to." Todd got up hugged each of his friends in turn, gave a thank you nod to Allen out on the porch, and walked out the door. Just to what, he didn't know.
***
Liz had found a hard seat on the steps of the apartments, trying to calm her nerves. She heard the apartment door shut and stiffened, sucking in a deep breath and blowing it out slowly. Brushing away her tears, she swallowed and tried to calm her racing heart. When he finally moved, she wanted to bolt, but hugged her knees instead and kept her gaze focused at her feet.
He shuffled to where she sat and slowly, carefully sat next to her. His body brushed close to hers and she squashed the shudder. He blew out his own deep breath and they sat for a few terrible moments, not speaking until he gently nudged his knee against hers. She sniffled softly and lifted her a head to gaze ahead.
"I don't know about you..." She said softly, her voice wavering, "But I want my money back for that movie."
"I don't know. The lead actor was pretty good and I thought you liked the sad stuff," Todd said with a smile. "And no one died in this one..."
Liz gave him a half hearted punch. "You know what I mean."
"Not so much these days, I don't," he answered. "That's why they did what they did. They explained it to me, and they were right. I haven't known what the hell was up between us for a while. Things kept staying in flux and circumstances getting in the way. Hollie, Kevin, Allen, peas, Vogue..."
"Vogue?"
"I read the quiz you filled out that said we weren't compatible romantically. I thought things would go back to normal then, even if my quiz results weren't the same."
Liz smiled a little, picturing Todd as he filled out a Vogue Quiz. Why did he have to be so cute and goofy? "Those quizzes aren't very good anyway. But what is normal? That's what I want to know. I don't think we've ever been normal. No one else thinks so. We've been together longer than most married couples, and we actually like each other." She blew out another breath and turned slightly to look at him, her pretty blue eyes still a bit watery and her make-up smudged. When she spoke again, her voice cracked and wavered. "I don't want to screw up what we have. I don't want to lose you."
Todd thought for a moment. "Stay here," he said. "I need to go to the car for a bit."
"OK," Liz sniffed, as Todd walked over to the car in the lot. She could see him get in and sit there for a few minutes, but she didn't know what he was doing. Maybe he was upset and trying to cool off. He didn't seem to be talking to anyone on the phone. Finally, he got out and walked back to where she was sitting.
"OK, if you're worried about losing me, then take my Rogue quiz. It's like Vogue, but manly." Todd said with a smile He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. Here are the questions. I'll go back inside. You finish the quiz. Bring it back to me when you're done and I'll grade it." He handed the paper to her, hugged her and went back inside.
***
Liz found herself smiling at his silly questions. "Rogue" magazine? She shook her head and sighed. He was a dork to top it all off. But she dutifully filled out the questionnaire, not really wanting to return to the party. But after several long calming breaths, she stood and went back inside. Everyone was quiet and as she closed the door, Hollie all but launched herself into her arms.
