prog2

Getting with
The Program

CHAPTER 4

An hour and a half later William turned the car into a huge roadside service station, remembering to pull up at the LPG pump. He was beginning to feel a little fatigued himself and was relieved at the opportunity to stretch his legs and breath in the cool night air.

On returning to the car after paying for the fuel he found Liz had awakened, though she still looked a little weary around the edges.

"What's the time?" she asked sleepily.

"Seven fifteen," he replied. "We're getting close to half way. Have you given any thought to food? Do you want to eat on the way or would you prefer to stop?"

"Whatever," she replied, stretching herself a little. "How are you going? Do you need a break?"

"I wouldn't mind stopping for a bit but not here, it looks rather sleazy. Why don't we turn off into town and see what we can find."

"Fine by me."

The town was not particularly large but because of its proximity to the main highway it had several eating places. William was about to consult Liz on her preference, but looking at her in her uncommunicative 'still half asleep' state, decided he'd do better to make the choice himself. There was a cheery looking Italian place on a corner, so he parked the car just opposite, and stretched again as he stood up out of the car. He then walked around to open Liz's door, but she was already getting out.

As they went to cross the road William instinctively reached out and took Liz's arm. Liz was awake enough by then to be amused by this protective action.

"Do you think I'm a little too young to cross the road alone?" she queried. "I have done it before you know." But William didn't release her as he guided her across the street and toward the restaurant.

"Too close to sleep is more like it," he replied reasonably.

William took a table and began to peruse the menu as Liz excused herself to look for the Ladies Room. Unfortunately it took only a few minutes for him to have cause to regret his choice of eating place, as a group of rowdy young men was seated at another of the tables, and when Liz re-appeared looking more refreshed she immediately caught their attention, one of them not hesitating to sing out an invitation for her to join them.

Elizabeth gave a slight shake of her head and began to move past them, but the one who'd called to her shot out his arm and actually restrained her. As William rose to his feet to intervene he noticed Liz smiling sweetly and talking to the young man… the rest of the table responding with hoots and hollers. Liz spoke again, giving the man a broad smile, causing her captor to quickly release her as the table erupted in derisive laughter. Liz casually slipped away and walked over to William who was still standing, a look of stupefaction on his face.

Elizabeth went to sit down but this time found herself restrained by William's hand.

"We're not eating here," he said.

"Oh, they're harmless," Elizabeth grimaced. "It's okay… really."

"It's not okay and we're not eating here," William replied. He did not seem to be treating the situation at all lightly.

"But I'm sure they won't bother us, and it's hardly polite to come in, use a restroom and then leave," Elizabeth offered.

"If they want to keep their customers they should learn to restrain their clientele."

Elizabeth was about to argue further, but the look on his face forestalled her and she allowed herself to be led from the restaurant.

"You shouldn't encourage that kind of behaviour," he said shortly.

"ENCOURAGE?" she cried, pulling her hand from his. "In what way did I encourage them?"

"You don't count smiling and chatting as encouragement?" William shot back.

"I wasn't smiling and chatting as you like to put it. I was diffusing an awkward situation - and it worked perfectly. What would you have had me do? Differently… scream and run away?!"

"You could have left it to me," he said. "That might have been smarter."

"And when did you become my keeper? It wasn't your problem! It was mine and I dealt with it fine thank you very much! What would have you done anyway? Taken all five on in hand to hand combat?!"

"Don't be stupid. I would have spoken to them reasonably," he grunted back.

"Which is exactly what I did. What makes you think your words would be better than mine?" she asked before stalking away from him, muttering to herself.

William couldn't hear much of what she said, but he did distinguish the words 'presumptuous' and 'patronising' amongst it all.

Elizabeth, now back at the car, cursed slightly as she realised William had the keys. She looked at him across the street and softened a little. He really did look concerned. He caught her eye and walked slowly across to meet her.

"I'm sorry I said you encouraged them?" he spoke softly. "I was just worried about you."

"And I possibly overreacted to your over protectiveness - but honestly, I don't know what else you'd expect a girl to do in those circumstances. You show fear and it only gives them power, but you'd be amazed what you can get away with using only a smile and a little finesse," she gave him a slight smile.

"Whatever you said it was obviously effective," he admitted, loosening up a little. "What was it anyway?"

"Ah, my secret," Liz laughed. "I might have to use it on you one day."

"Come on, do you want to just grab a pizza and we can eat it in the car? I think that little incident has woken us both up enough to keep driving."

"Okay," she nodded with a reluctant smile.

They wondered down the street in silence and slipped into a pizza parlour, William going to the counter and ordered. On returning to Elizabeth she broke the silence.

"You're the eldest in your Family aren't you?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"You've got 'big brother' written all over your actions," Liz replied. "Typical older sibling, trying to take responsibility for everyone else."

"I’ll hazard a guess you have an older brother?" William asked.

"No, an older sister and she’d take on the problems of the world if she could. Older children tend to be over achievers you know, very responsible, but with a tendency toward insecurity they say. This fits Jane to a tee. She's the best person in the world but she takes aboard blame for things she has absolutely no control over.”

"And what about second children?" William asked, trying to move the spotlight away from the eldest. He was beginning to find Elizabeth's observations a little close to home.

"Often very different from older siblings. Take me for example - I don't have an insecure bone in my body, and I've been happy for Jane to direct me in many ways. I think it's a little harder for us to grow up as quickly. Were satisfied with leaving a lot of our responsibilities with our older brothers and sisters. It's a bigger fight for us to become independent."

"And you've won that fight?" he queried.

"I'm still trying," she conceded, "but I'm getting closer."

The pizza was soon ready so they collected it and walked slowly back to the car, William sitting it on the roof as he unlocked the passenger door.

"Do you want to drive?" he asked.

"Only if you don't want to." she replied. "Are we still friends?"

William gave her a smile. "If you still want to be."

"How could I pass up on the opportunity of acquiring a big brother”, she laughed and gave him a hug.

William felt reluctant to let her go, and as they stood in such close proximity he wondered whether 'big brother' was the role that he really wanted to be playing here.

CHAPTER 5

By the time William had walked to the drivers seat he had re-gained his senses. Of the fact that Elizabeth was far too young for him he was sure. Despite how lively and attractive she was, a girl her age couldn't have the seriousness of purpose, or the life experiences to make a suitable partner in life for him. If he started anything with Liz it might be fun for a while, but it would end in nothing but dissatisfaction for both.

It had also become clear to William that Liz had a way of getting under his guard. It didn't seem to matter how withdrawn he determined to be, she managed to break through the barrier. He really did enjoy her company… so this 'big brother' thing could actually be a godsend. It would give him the platform of a suitable friendship with Liz, without creating an awkward situation between them.

"If you're happy to accept me as a brother figure," he began, "I hope you don't mind a little advice," he began, still concerned about the scene at the restaurant.

"Ugh! I knew it. You're not going to let what happened with those blokes drop!"

"Well, I can't help but feel you were a little naive in your reaction to them. Something like that can turn nasty you know," he said tentatively.

"And you think I'm not aware of that?" She looked directly at him as if challenging him go on. "I tell you a female doesn't make it to the age of twenty intact, unless she has some ability to read those situations… you develop a sense of what's dangerous and what's not."

Her smile reassured him that she was not really offended by his interference, so he pushed the subject a bit further.

"And a male doesn't make it to the age of twenty eight without an understanding of men and what drives them. I might be able to provide a little more insight into the situation than you think."

"Maybe you'd be more trusting if you didn't impute your own evil motives to others," she grinned back.

"I'm trying to be serious here," he couldn't help smiling. "Don't think you're going to intimidate me with your satirical little tongue. What was it you said to those guys anyway?"

Liz tossed up whether to keep deviating or whether to tell him the truth. She decided it'd probably end the 'advice session' more quickly if she just told.

"I said I was in drag," she confessed.

"What?!" The look of incredulity on his face was priceless.

"I implied the only reason he was interested in me was to explore what it was like on the ‘wild’ side."

"You don't expect me to accept he believed you were male!" he replied, the incredulity still heavy in his voice.

"No. Of course he didn't believe I was male…" she said, looking at him as though he had completely missed point, "…and neither did his friends, but do you think that was going to make any difference to what he’d get from his mates if he continued. As it is, he'll have to spend the rest of the night with them making jokes about his sexual preference. All I did was change the group dynamic so that it was working against him rather than me."

"Didn't it occur to you that questioning his sexuality could make him mad?"

"It has a lot to do with the delivery," she defended herself. "It's hard to explain, but if you show the right confidence and smile sweetly, you can get away with an awful lot."

"And what if it hadn't worked?" he queried.

"I think I was pretty safe. It was early evening in a public place, they weren't drunk, and you were only half way across the room," she answered.

"I thought it was your problem not mine!" he quickly threw back at her.

"Touché. You got me there!” she laughed. “Rest assured, if it had turned nasty it would have quickly become your problem as well."

"And what if you'd been travelling on your own?"

"If I'd been travelling on my own I wouldn't have been there in the first place. I'd have gone to a McDonalds drive-through or something. I'm not foolish enough to wander the streets at night by myself."

"Maybe you're not as naïve as I thought," he conceded. "My little sister could probably do with a few training sessions from you. Georgie is very unsure of herself when it comes to dealing with the male of the species. She had a bad experience last year and since then she has gone from reserved to excruciatingly shy."

"I'm sorry, so <i>this</i> explains your reaction tonight. How old is she by the way?"

"Perceptive aren't you. She's sixteen and a great kid, bright and pretty. I just wish she had a little more confidence in herself."

"Give her time, I'm sure she'll be fine, she has the support and encouragement of a loving family doesn't she?" Liz reassured him. "Any other kids in your family?"

"Yes, I've a twenty two year old brother, Richard."

"Is he cute?" queried Liz.

"A lot of girls seem to think so," he answered, a little disconcerted by her interest in his younger brother. "He seems to have a different girl every second week. How many in your family?"

"Well, there's Jane, she's twenty three and just engaged, and then I have two little sisters… half sisters actually, Mary and Kate who are six and four. My mum died when Jane and I were pretty young, and Dad married Janice about ten years ago."

"Was it hard to adjust?" he asked.

"Not really, Janice is great," Liz smiled. "Dad was working long hours and he employed Janice as a tutor for Jane and me. She was doing her masters at the time. It’s funny, she's almost as close in age to Jane as she is to Dad. She only turned thirty four last month. I really can’t imagine life without her."

"What does your Dad do?" he continued to question.

"He's a lawyer by profession, but he spends most of his time in consultancy work and in his writing these days."

They continued to talk as they drove along, their conversation wide and ranging, William finding himself surprised at the information and interests that Elizabeth seemed to possess. Elizabeth too, was definitely enjoying his company, and they arrived in the city having each learned a great deal about the other, and not quite believing the time had passed so quickly.

"You could drop me at my parents house" he suggested. "It's only 15 minutes away, and if you abandon me there I can borrow one of their cars and save you a significant detour. How much further do you have to go?"

"Oh, my flat is a bit over an hour away," she saw William's look of concern and went on, "but I don't think I'll try to make it that far. I've an aunt & uncle who live close to here, so I'll land myself on them for the night."

They shortly pulled up to a large, handsome home in one of the more exclusive northern suburbs. William wondered why he was so relieved that Richard's car wasn't parked in its normal place, and asked Liz to come in for a few minutes to refresh herself.

"No thanks, I think I'll just keep going. I don't want to land on the relatives too late. I'll just give them a call to make sure they're home.... Oh pigs!..." she said, sounding exasperated. "I forgot to recharge my phone. Do you think your parents would mind if I use theirs."

"It's a big ask, but for you I'm sure it will be okay," he smiled.

As William let himself inside and called out a greeting, a pretty young girl appeared to give her brother an affectionate kiss.

"Georgie, this is Liz," he introduced them. "We just travelled back from training together. Are Mum and Dad here?"

"Hello Liz, it's nice to meet you," she said softly and then turned William. "No they're not home yet."

"I'll just get us a drink, would you like a coffee or something cold?" he asked them. "Liz, there's a phone in the living room, Georgie will show you."
He disappeared to get their orders, leaving Liz to his sister. When he returned he was astonished to find them laughing together. They both looked up a little guiltily and it crossed his mind to wonder if they’d been speaking of him.

"Georgie was just telling me about her piano. I’ve suggested she could volunteer as a tutor at the centre, but she seems to think you’d be dubious about it," Liz smiled a challenge to him, "but I’m sure you'd like to see her extend herself."

"I'd like to do it in some ways," Georgie admitted, "but I don't know if I'd be any good at teaching."

"If you’d like to you could sit in with me for a few sessions and get an idea about it all." Liz offered. "You wouldn't have to take any students if you didn't feel ready."

Unfortunately the conversation ended there, as they were interrupted by a very handsome Richard strolling into the room.

"Hi, everyone... and who have we here?" his eyes took in an appreciative appraisal of Elizabeth and he swung himself down next to her on the couch.

William made the introductions and watched in dissatisfaction as Richard then turned the weight of his considerable charm toward Liz. Elizabeth left soon after, but not before handing a phone number to William’s persuasive brother. Though William was usually amused at Richard's way with women, for some unexplained reason he was feeling far from happy at this development... that is until he happened to glance at the phone number and recognise it as that of a well-advertised Pizza delivery business.

CHAPTER 6

William drove to his parent's house and chided himself as he found he was again thinking of Elizabeth.

"Pull yourself out of it man!" he said aloud.

It was ridiculous. He had spent a few hours with her over a month ago, and now he couldn't get her out of his mind. Elizabeth had attracted him far more than he liked.

His logic told him he was being stupid, and once again, he determined to overcome this foolishness. He wasn't a schoolboy with adolescent dreams, he was a man with grown-up ideas and needs. He had determined years ago that which he required in a partner. He wasn't going to waste any time pursuing what could only be a dead-end relationship, with a mere girl.

He turned his mind to less frustrating musings, and thought of his family. He was looking forward to catching up with them all tonight. His busy work schedule, combined with other commitments, had conspired to keep him away from them for longer than usual and he hadn't been over to enjoy a family meal with them for weeks. He pulled up into his parents' driveway, anticipating good company and pleasant distractions for the evening. On entering the house he found his mother alone.

"How's everything going?" he asked, giving his mum a kiss. "Where's the rest of the clan?"

"Richard's out with friends, but your Dad and Georgie should be home soon. He picks her up when he finishes at the office," Mrs. Darcy smiled. "It really works out very well."

"What works out well?" William asked, a little confused. "Where does he pick her up from?"

"It's Thursday," Mrs. Darcy replied, as though it explained everything.

"I'm still not with you Mum. I think you're going to have to give a little more information."

"Oh…? I thought for sure you'd know," his mother replied, looking a little surprised. "Georgie's started teaching piano with 'The Program'. Weren't you the one who introduced her to Liz?"

"Yes, but this is the first I've heard of Georgie teaching. When did this all happen?"

"Well, it just goes to show you should keep in better contact with your family," Mrs. Darcy said pointedly. "This is actually her forth week there. She actually starts with her own students today. It's wonderful to see all the hard work she's invested in her music going to such good purpose."

"I didn't think Georgie would have been brave enough to take something like this on, William answered. "Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great idea; I'm just surprised."

"She was very nervous when Liz first rang her up about it. She didn't think she'd be any good at it. I don't know what Liz said to convince her to try, but I'm glad it worked. Georgie's absolutely loving it."

"Liz seems to have a way with people," William said, thinking to himself that it was a bit of an understatement.

"She certainly does," Anne Darcy agreed whole-heartedly. "She's a delightful girl, and a wonderful role model for Georgie."

"So you've met her?" William asked.

"Yes, Georgie brought her home for dinner last week. If you weren't too busy to make time for your family you'd have been here too. We had a lovely evening."

"Doesn't she live on the south side?" asked William, very much regretting the workload that had kept him away the preceding week. "How did she get home?"

"Oh, Richard drove her. He seemed very eager to volunteer for the job," she answered, giving William a meaningful smile. "A girl like that would do him the world of good. If she could work half the magic on him that she'd worked on Georgie, I'd be a very happy mother."

William was unsure of how to react to his mother's notion, but he was spared from the necessity of reply by the entrance of his dad and Georgie. The latter was more animated than he'd seen her in a long while. She there was a definite spring in her step as she entered the room, a happy smile overspreading her face.

"I assume it went well then?" her mother offered.

"It went wonderfully! The kids are just so cute. They were really excited too… Oh, hi Will," she threw in as an aside. "I've four of them. None of them has ever had lessons before, so I dare say I'll be able to keep ahead of them."

"Well, dinner's ready to be served up. You can fill us in on all the details while we eat," smiled her mum.

That is exactly what Georgie did. She described each if her new students, and what happened in their lessons in detail. William listened to her narration with amusement. He could appreciate why his mother was so thrilled with Georgie's new interest. It occurred to him that it was probably doing her more good than it was doing her students.

"This is a great project for you to be involved in," said William encouragingly. "There are huge waiting lists for most of the services offered, so people who are willing to give up their time and use their talents for the benefit of our kids are truly precious… I'm sure you're a wonderful teacher too. I'd choose you any day over some crabby old spinster witch."

Georgie smiled her thanks, while Mrs. Darcy protested that Miss Cravit, Will's old piano teacher, was not a witch.

"You never had to have lessons with her! She always put on that 'nice old lady' act when you came to pick me up, but I lived in fear during the lesson. I probably have permanent psychological damage," teased Will. " So Georgie, what made you decide to try your hand a teaching?"

"You remember Liz mentioning it the night you came back from training?”

He nodded.

“Well, she rang me up about it a few days later. I don't know exactly why I agreed to it. It was just hard to say no to her… she seemed so confident I'd be perfect for the job, so I suppose I didn't want to disappoint her. I sat in with Liz's lessons the first week, and took on a bit more responsibility over the next two weeks, and this week my reward was my very own students."

"And you weren't nervous when you started to take on more responsibility?"

"A little, but Liz was pretty reassuring… it's hard to be self-conscious in front of her," she tried to explain. "Somehow she makes me feel at ease... do you know what I mean?"

"Yes Georgie, I believe I understand very well indeed."

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