First Impressions

"Where's he taking you?" Jane asked Lizzie as she watched her fix her hair in the bathroom mirror. 

"Not sure, but he texted and told me to dress up," she replied, applying mascara carefully on her bottom lashes. Lizzie dressed in a royal blue dress with a patented emerald belt. She wore summery cork wedges with green accents to match, extending her already lengthy legs. 

"Maybe Buonaro's, then?" Jane guessed, handing her sister her lip gloss. 

"Maybe," Lizzie mused. She tried to play calm, but she was bursting with excitement inside. Sure, she'd only known Henry for a week and a half, plus he was leaving soon, but what did that matter? And besides, her love life was hardly something to talk about. Jane on the other hand- "So, did you enjoy fishing today?" Lizzie glanced at her sister in the mirror. "Not that you caught any fish, of course. You were too busy-"

"Remind me how many fish you and Jonathan caught!" Jane exclaimed, blushing.

"That's different, and you know it," Lizzie was suddenly reminded of the morning's events. "Ugh, what a joke," she scoffed, remembering her small argument with the Blackhawks captain.

"Patrick has nothing but nice things to say about Jon," Jane frowned at her sister's exclamation of disgust. "I wish you two would get along."

"I tried, but how can I when Henry-"

"-Did you ask for Jon's side of the story?" 

"Not quite, but he definitely acknowledged the incident."

"That's not a 'yes'."

"That's not a 'no', either."

Downstairs, the tinkering sound of the door chimes signaled an entering guest. 

"Oh, gosh, he's ten minutes early." Lizzie rushed to collect her phone and place it in her clutch, feeling butterflies nearly escape her stomach.

"Have fun," Jane kissed her sister on the cheek as she opened the door to the stairwell. "Say hello to Henry for me."

"I will," Lizzie called, carefully running down the stairs in her heels.

She pushed through the beaded curtain that divided the house from the cafe, and spotted a figure standing in the dark shadows of the closed eatery. 

"Hey! You're early!" she smiled walking towards the person, expecting it to be- "Hold on- Patrick?"

The familiar blonde's face came into view with a visibly pained expression, half-hidden under a worn Yankees cap. And in an instant, Lizzie felt her heart thud in the cavity of her chest. He looked at her with the saddest eyes she'd ever seen on a man, to the point where he looked like a little kid. 

Something had happened. 

"Jane," Lizzie stumbled out her sister's name. "Should I go-"

"No," Patrick said quickly, grabbing her arm as she turned back to the stairs. In that moment, Lizzie noticed what he was carrying in his other hand. A crisp, ivory envelope. He handed it to her, visibly shaking. "Can you give this to her?"

"Alright," Lizzie whispered, suddenly too scared say anything else.

Before she could move, Patrick had pulled her into a tight hug. 

She could feel it; it was a goodbye hug. 

"Please don't think any less of me than you already do," Patrick whispered in her ear.

"I would never," Lizzie whispered back, eyes starting to brim with tears. "And neither would Jane."

"Take care," he mumbled, confirming Lizzie's worst fears.

Patrick released his grip on Lizzie, giving the dark cafe one last glance around. Then he turned on his heel and out the door, climbing into his still-running car and speeding off into the night.