Chapter 16
The week passed by at a pace that grated at both Troy and Eliza. Even after she demanded he go, he fought all temptation to ask Eliza how Sweet Baby Lulu was doing.
He was still conflicted. Helen was right. It was no secret that Troy was a family man. He loved the thought of a beautiful wife and a handful of children in his future. But then she was also right on the mark with him needing to give Eliza some room. Though, the idea of not speaking to her was proving to be difficult, Eliza wasn't to be this challenge.
Chasing was a game of the past. He didn't want to win anything; he wanted to earn it.
Being in the same room with her made it difficult for him to concentrate on the subject of any meeting. Normally, Troy would be the first to take a seat at the long table, but for past week he purposefully made sure he was one of the last to enter the conference room. And probability had been on his side all week– any seat next to or near Eliza occupied by other colleagues.
That Thursday Troy was stuck in a minor issue. John and the others wanted to have a large group lunch– Andrew included.
Turning it down would raise too many questions, considering that he had been avoiding outings and extended conversations since Monday. so he forced himself to get up when the clock showed 11:45AM.
"Troy!" John exclaimed before smacking his hand against Troy's shoulder. "Haven't seen much of you this week."
Troy faked a smile, "Well, you know how it gets at Bluestar. Busy busy busy. Plus, with the conference coming up..."
"Yeah," Andrew interrupted and smirked.
Troy quickly shifted his brewing anger from the short man and looked at the ground.
After making it to the nearby restaurant, the gaggle of gentlemen were established at their reserved seating. Troy felt like the odd ball out. He didn't have anything to say or add to any of the conversations. He was stuck in two places: how Eliza was doing and how he would finish his tasks for the day.
"That ass," he heard a fellow member croon.
Troy lifted up his head from the dessert menu and saw Kent rubbernecking a cute waitress that wasn't busing a distant table.
"Talk about it," Andrew added in an equally sinister tone, looking after her with a little more tact. "Nice handful."
Troy's nostrils flared while he flipped through the booklet. Apparently, ignoring Andrew was going to be much harder than he assumed. Especially, when Andrew turned his attention back to Troy daring to ask his next question.
"What do you think Daniels? How do you like your women?" Andrew smirked.
Troy's silence caught the attention of his colleagues causing a mutual discomfort among the group.
"I can totally guess what you're into," Andrew bravely persisted.
"C'mon Andrew, cut it out," John uncomfortably chuckled.
But one coworker's poor attempt at alleviating the tension only gave more air to the fire-starter.
A toothy grin was on Andrew's face when he prompted, "I have a feeling that you are giving us a hint right now. What is it that you're always looking for in the dessert menus?"
Another trip to the restroom was calling to Eliza, but she was stopped as soon as she stepped foot outside her doors. The awkward air between her and Troy was obvious, but there was something else that was wrong once she noticed him storming by and down the hall to his office.
From her trip there and back to the bathroom, her mind was clouded with the strangeness that has lingered around them. He was distant from her at the meetings– especially physically. His eyes were more friendly to the top of a desk or floor whenever she was present, and she had to admit guilt from dismissing him from her office the way she did.
Eliza couldn't help the way that she felt, but now she had more sense about Troy Daniels and knew that shunning him could result with an emotional absence of some sort.
With her purse on her shoulder and briefcase in hand, she thought she was ready to leave for the day. However, her grip around her door handle was speaking volumes to her. She gave up fighting the urge and simply went with her instinct– ask him if he is okay.
Yet, by the third knock, and call for his name, she was sure that he was ignoring her. Now, she wasn't sure what was happening, but to make sure she frantically pulled out her phone and shot him an email.
"Kelly! Whatchya doin'?" John happily yelped from down the hall.
Startled, she shoved her phone back into her purse and answered with a thumb to the door, "Is Daniels in his office?"
"Nope! He went home early. Said he was feeling sick," John informed before twisting his lips with disappointment. "Know what's wrong with him? He's been pretty off for about the whole week so far."
"I'm... I'm not sure," Eliza grumbled while examining the ground.
"It's sort of weird for him to be around and not smiling, laughing or just talking. Must be ill or something with family." John shoved his hands in his pockets and added, "I could have guessed that he might leave early today, though. Us guys went out to lunch and he wasn't looking well then either."
"Really?" she asked without hesitation.
"I mean he was just quiet, but then Andrew kept awkwardly picking at him and he got up real fast to go to the bathroom for ten minutes before coming back out and dismissing himself back to the building. So he didn't even eat lunch," John shrugged.
"Who was picking at him again?" Eliza softly questioned, disbelieving whom he mentioned.
"Andrew. You know how skeevy that kid can be. He's always thinking he is just playfully picking at us, and today he chose Troy."
"Why would he do that? What did he say to him?" Eliza asked firmly.
"I'll be honest Kelly, I don't remember," John sighed with a chuckle. "But it may have had something to do with a gal. I know he used to be engaged, so maybe Andrew hit a soft spot."
Eliza had to hold back asking what John meant by "engaged". Of course, what he said was as clear as day, but her mind had this default habit of complicating simple messages.
John swung up his arm and checked the time, before sighing, "Well, I should probably be heading out soon too. Gotta pick up the baby on-time today. Not trying to pay another damn late fee. By the way how is your baby?"
Eliza smiled, "Lulu is doing well. Was a little sick, but she's better now."
The large, doe-eyed man clearly didn't expect such a detailed response. What most people considered small, passive talk, was sometimes an incredible display of expression for Eliza.
"That's really nice to hear, Kelly. And Lulu is a really nice name. You should consider having a play date with Carol and our son soon, yeah?" John insisted with a big smile.
Stuttering, Eliza insecurely nodded and confirmed, "S...sure. That would be nice."
"Great! Well, I'll see you tomorrow for Blackwell's meeting, Kelly!" he belted before strutting down the hall.
As she made her way to the elevator, Eliza found it difficult to remove the little smile that was on her face. A play date. John actually found her approachable enough for a play date with his child. The reflection from the metal doors was a temptation too great to turn away from, and the new mom took her hand and slowly touched her cheeks as though they were never there before. She wondered if there was a glow about her that everyone claimed mothers had. And she was sure that there had to be one when she walked into her apartment and was greeted with two warm smiles.
"You look great, Eliza baby," Emmy sighed, overseeing Eliza issue her daughter a bath.
Blushing like a schoolgirl, Eliza shook her head before returning her attention to Lulu.
Emmy swatted her hand and shook her little shoulders, "Yes girl, you do! You look slimmer... and happier. I know we can get tired of people– strangers included– to tell us to smile all the damn time, but I'll just say... putting one on your face really can light up a room."
"Really?" Eliza muttered with wandering eyes.
"Mmm hmm, because someone here in the room takes after her mother... she's just got chubby cheeks and thunder thighs," Emmy teased.
As the night went on, Emmy enjoyed embarrassing Eliza bit by bit. Someone was determined to make sure one face always be bright around another– determined to make sure that Lulu saw her mother smile more than anything else.
Yet, Emmy wasn't the only one with an agenda. Eliza couldn't help but paint a picture of her future parenting through Emmy. She was so happy all the time, Eliza had to question if she appeared this way because of a paycheck. However, the answer was clear in her small daughter's bubbly nature whenever she was home.
A significant moment took place, in the evening, when Emmy received a phone call from her son in university, and relentlessly scolded him. It was enjoyable to see a parent in action, though the stage in her child's life was much further along. It had her thinking about Lulu. It was one thing to wonder just what she might be like as a young adult, but then in it was inevitable that she wonder if she would have heated you're-too-young-conversations with Lulu too.
Once the call ended, Emmy closed her eyes and took a deep breath before tilting her head to Eliza.
"I tell you, these kids hit eighteen and they think they are just so grown. Ha! He betta not call me with that mess again," Emmy grumbled on her way to the nursery.
But as soon as she stepped foot into the room, Emmy stuck out her head and smirked, "Just wait until Lulu hits that age."
"I'd rather not," Eliza chuckled.
Emmy playfully looked Eliza up and down and snickered with pity. "Bless your heart."
Eliza eventually followed Emmy into the nursery and carefully began to put a sleeping Lulu into her crib.
"Fever is practically gone," Emmy whispered to Eliza, who was filled with instant relief.
"I don't know what I would do if she still had it while I am away at the conference," Eliza muttered.
Emmy tilted her head to Eliza, simply staring at the worried face. She knew what was probably rushing through Eliza's head, and she was right-on-the-money when the young mother's hand reached back into the crib to adjust the blanket patterned with lambs.
Carefully, Emmy broke the silence, confessing, "This point comes eventually with each mother."
"Am I supposed to feel this guilty already?" Eliza's asked, her question quivering more than she wanted it to.
Emmy put a hand on Eliza's tense shoulder, informing, "It will be longer than a nine to ten hour day. Being gone for even one full day can feel like the end of the world– devastating. No use in worrying about it until the time comes though."
Once again, Eliza knew the little woman was right. However, the feeling of helplessness was inescapable as she thought about what it would be like to be away from Lulu for days for the upcoming annual conference.
Emmy was disappointed with the way a great evening had to end. It was clear that so many emotions were filling the mom's head that would carry over into the morning. All this lead to Emmy knowing that there was probably no chance of getting Eliza to sincerely smile again for a while... especially not after Eliza took a look at her phone and appeared even more disappointed.