English Legacy: Strange Currencies (Chapter 29)

the fool might be my middle name
But I'd be foolish not to say
I'm going to make whatever it takes,
ring you up, call you down, sign your name, secret love,
make it rhyme, take you in, and make you mine.

"Note to self: Don't be standing next to the oven when it blows up," Elizabeth remarked to herself, and she headed upstairs to her room. Just another day in the glamorous life of a Line Cook. She'd never known Lobster Thermidor was explosive.

As she scrubbed the singed remnants of her clothes off her body, Elizabeth had a lot of time to reflect on things, including why she'd seemed distracted lately. It was a combination of things, some within her control, and others not. After her bath, she went looking for her sister to take care of one thing she did have a say in.

Dee was at her computer, working on her next book, another Romance novel, this one named "The Caress of Her Curtains". She didn't know how window treatments could caress, but she didn't need to, judging by the royalty checks of Dee's last romance novel.
"Dee? can we talk for a moment?" Elizabeth asked her sister.

"Sure, Liz," Deanna replied. "I could use a bit of a break - got a tiny bit of writer's block... that same spot in chapter fourteen I mentioned the other day."

"Was that the part with the pickle jar, the feather duster, and the missing bottle of hair remover?"

"Yeah. But I'll get past it. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

Elizabeth's face fell slightly, but her jaw was set. "Dee, I've been thinking, and I really think you should be the Heiress, officially, instead of us sharing it."

Deanna's eyebrows rose a bit. "Why, Liz? You've got as much claim to it as I do, and besides, you're the Genius, remember?"

"I know, Dee," Elizabeth replied. "But, we'll be full-fledged adults in a few years, and you've already brought the next generation in, with little Kevin."
"Liz, there's still plenty of time for you to have a baby yourself. Just because Kevin was first doesn't give him first claim."

"I know, Dee, but the fact is, he *is* here, the little charmer. He looks so much like those old pictures of Dad it's scary. As for me, I can't even find my boyfriend."

"Aw Liz, don't talk that way. What happened to Brendan Fair? You and he have been friends since elementary school... I think."
"That's what I mean, Dee. I literally can't *find* the dumbbell. I keep inviting him over, and he says yes, but he never shows up."

"Liz... he lives right next door."
"Oh, I know. That's the first place I looked! I met his mother and brother, but they didn't know where he was either."

Deanna looked at her sister studiously for a moment. "Liz, do you love him? Is he the guy you want?"

Elizabeth thought for a second, then nodded firmly. "Yes, Dee, I think he is."
"Well, take a bit of advice from this Hopeless Romantic - go hunt him down. Do whatever it takes to find and capture this guy. Hit him with a rolled up newspaper until he gets the message if you have to. Make it a story worthy of my next book. You're the Athletic type, Liz, you can outlast him. Show him what happens to those who try to play Hard to Find with an English girl."

Elizabeth thought for a moment, then chuckled, and hugged her sister.
"Thanks, Dee. You're the greatest. I'll give the slob another try."
The next day, Elizabeth called Brendan again, and invited him over, and he said yes. However, two hours later, he still hadn't showed up, so Elizabeth hailed a taxi, and set out on her manhunt with a purpose.

The first place she looked was the place she had met him the most often - the gym on the other side of town. He hadn't been there today, but she did run into her Uncle Christopher.
It was a good thing Christopher was already an old man, after the Training session the frustrated Elizabeth gave him.

After wearing her uncle out, Elizabeth got back in the cab, and headed home. Where, she received a surprise.
"Brendan?" she said with astonishment upon seeing the figure on her front porch. He turned, and seeing her, smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, there you are, Liz? Boy, what a crazy morning I've had..."

"Where the Golgafrincham have you been?" she asked, puzzlement and anger mixing into her voice. "I invited you over over three hours ago!"

"Yeah, I know," he said, embarrassed. "Right after I hung up with you, the sewer line in our house ruptured, and while I was trying to get a plumber on my cell phone, I accidentally dropped it in the water, shorting it out. So, I had to scramble to find another phone, and get someone to fix the sewer line. I tried to call, but I couldn't reach you, your phone must have been out of range."

"Well, I was at the gym," Elizabeth replied, the anger fading from her voice. "That place is death on cell phone reception, it seems. I missed my sister calling when she was in labor that one time we were there."

Brendan nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, I was pretty grubby from the sewage, so I took a shower before coming over here, and just before I could press the doorbell, you showed up."

Elizabeth smiled, then felt her stomach rumble. "Well, you're here, but all this running around town has left me starving. Feel like going to the diner?"

Brendan nodded, slightly puzzled. "Sure, Liz, but you're a Natural Cook, why would you go out to eat at the Diner when you work at the Bistro?"
"Get in the taxi, Brendan."

"Yes, dear."
* Two hours later *

"Well, that was a nice dinner. Nothing a good helping of greasy food to make your heart earn it's keep," Brendan said, as they stepped out of the diner. Elizabeth smiled, and took her boyfriend's hands in her own.

"But, you still think my cooking is better, right, Brendan?" she asked, impishly.

"Oh, of course, Liz," he said, kissing her lightly. "I sometimes wish I could sample your cooking every day of my life," he said, blushing deeply.

At hearing that, Elizabeth's eyes lit up, and she squeezed his hands. "That can be arranged, you know," she said.

"Wait, what?" Brendan said, a confused but hopeful look coming to his face. Elizabeth smiled, let go of his hands, and reached into her pocket. Pulling something out of it, she got down on one knee in front on him.
"Put on this ring sweetheart, and I promise to cook for you every chance I get," she said, revealing the sparkling engagement ring to Brendan. "I couldn't imagine ever cooking for any other man but you. Will you marry me?"
Brendan stuttered for a few seconds, but they were garbled syllables of joy, not rejection, and he nodded, to let Elizabeth place the ring on his finger. "Of course, Liz, I'll marry you. Oh wow, I can't believe this! This is the best day of my life!"

As Brendan stared at his new ring in wonder, his freshly-betrothed fiancee dropped her head in exhaustion mixed with relief and love. Finally, Elizabeth's hunt for love had ended, happily.