Justin

The first call of the day comes from Eleanor's mother, "Justin, darling, it's Mother," she starts, and Justin realizes right then he's going to be in a state of permanent war with this woman. Helen doesn't wait for him to respond, but just rattles on, "I want to discuss this situation with you, this is quite serious. I can't have my daughter 'shacking up' or whatever it is you are calling it, we just don't do this kind of thing. I'm sure she's still insisting she'll never marry, she such an obstinate child, and she won't listen to me, she never would. But surely she'll listen to you: you must insist more forcefully." Everything about the woman enrages Justin, the way she speaks down at Eleanor, the way she talks to him & tries to take him in confidence. Obviously, Eleanor hasn't told her mother that she did ask Justin to marry her, and that he turned her down. That's a point of pride with him, it took him a year of anonymous courtship via the internet & a well timed revelation, but he got the girl who said she would have no one, and she belongs to him completely`. But none of that is Helen's business, if Eleanor hasn't told her anything, Justin won't be the one to divulge new information. Justin clenches his jaw tight & speaks in mimicry of Helen's tight & haughty tones, "Helen, darling," he says, "You can't expect a woman of Eleanor's quality to just 'marry up' like some commoner. She wouldn't walk down the aisle in a gown that took less than a year to have the pearls sewn into the lace by hand. Your daughter is a princess, her wedding will have to be planned accordingly." Her mother has no idea what to make of that, and as Justin intended, she sputters, "Well, I...of course we're quality," and mumbles on for a bit before letting Justin go. Justin smiles as he hangs up, enjoying his plan, and looking forward to telling Eleanor about it when she gets home.

The second call comes while he's making the dough for pasta: it's Alison, who he exchanged numbers with at the gallery opening. He had thought it was a formality with her, and hadn't expected her to call. She tells him she wants to talk, but she says nothing, waiting expectantly as though he has news for her. "I'm making pasta," he tells her, the only thing on his own mind at the moment. She asks him if he still makes it by hand, as though he could ever go back to using pasta from a box, the dead, cardboard flavor of it...Alison's voice is full of longing, she's clearly been eating too much boxed pasta, and she misses Justin's cooking. So Justin invites her over for dinner, telling her to show up before 7 if she needs to talk. Justin tries calling Eleanor at the office a few times, but her assistant informs him each time that she's out or in a meeting. "Tell her to check her email for an important message," he tells the assistant, and emails Eleanor, telling her about their dinner company. "Your mother called," he adds, but doesn't say anything about his plan: he wants to tell it to her in person, so he can see her face when she hears it.

Alison comes early, while Justin's sauce is simmering. She looks around his kitchen & then points her eyes at him like she used to point her camera, and asks him if his relationship with Eleanor is serious or if it's about money. It's a highly reasonable suspicion: if Justin could have stood the physical intimacy required, he might very well have set out to get himself an heiress like Eleanor, just for the luxury of the lifestyle he currently enjoys. Alison questioned him like she was still shooting her documentary, so Justin gives her the kind of drama that made her turn her lens in his direction in the first place. "This is more serious than you can imagine, Alison," he says gravely, and reaches for a bread knife with a slow movement that makes the metal rasp as he draws it from it's holder, and he feels he eyes moving with him, like her camera. Justin senses her fear, she doesn't know what he means to do with the knife, until he finally relieves her suspense by reaching for his freshly baked bread, which he slices to serve with oil & vinegar, and a ladle full of his simmering sauce. "Sit," he tells her, and she does. Justin sits across from her & asks her if she came here to question him about Eleanor & himself. Something is up with Alison, Justin can see it in her furtive glances around his kitchen, the way she tries to look at him without his noticing her stare. She wants something....an answer to a question she can't ask perhaps. Justin watches her dip the bread into the sauce, watches her put in her mouth, her face lighting as the flavor burst over her tongue, the same little rapture that happens to everyone who eats his food. "Do you really think I could have made it if I stayed in New York?" she asks him then, finally able to ask her question. Why is she asking him? Justin wonders. But since she's asked, Justin tells her what he thinks, what she used to say herself, when she was in school, that it doesn't matter where you are, you always bring yourself with you.

When Eleanor comes home the conversation ends: from this point on, everything is about Eleanor & Alison's role is to enjoy the food & aid Justin's memory while he entertains his love with stories about the time he lived in New York. Alison leaves shortly after dinner, and Eleanor turns to Justin as soon as their guest is out the door, "Justin, did you tell my mother we're engaged?" she asks, pouting. "Not exactly," Justin answers, chiding himself for not anticipating Helen would call her daughter after speaking to him. And lucky her, the bitch got through when he did not. Eleanor frowns, "She set a wedding budget for me, she actually said it would be 'outrageous' for me to expect her to spend more than a million..Justin, what did you say to her? She thinks we're planning some fantastically huge wedding...." Justin takes her hands, kisses her neck, and whispers in her ear, "I told her you deserved a wedding fit for a princess, that's all." Eleanor presses her forehead against his shoulder, "I don't want a 'princess' wedding, Justin, I don't even want to wear dress or have my mother anywhere near us," she moans quietly. "I know," Justin whispers, "I thought we'd string your mother along for a few months, get her to agree to all kinds of ridiculous conditions. Then we'd just elope & not tell anyone until after we'd done it. That would really go up her ass, I bet. It's what I'm counting on, anyway." Eleanor pulls her head off his chest up & look up at him with a frown: maybe he did the wrong thing, he thinks. "You want to go through all that...just to piss off my mother?" she asks. Justin smiles, "Elle, I never in my life imagined I'd have a mother-in-law. It's like having an arch-enemy. I'm just getting warmed up." Eleanor's frown turns up into a pout, "And that's why you've changed your mind about getting married?" she asks, twisting her hair in her fingers. Justin shakes his head, "I haven't changed my mind: I still don't care about your money or legal arrangements about it, I only care about you. What's changed is the situation, I'm acceptable now, to your mother & her kind, and being connected to me won't do you any damage. If you still want to get married, then I will, Eleanor. If you'd rather piss your mother off even more by never getting married, we could do that too," Justin says, and waits for the light to spark in her dark eyes. When it does, he smiles with her smile. "I love you," she says with a happy squeal, and throws her arms around him.

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