Arrowheart

Chapter Seven

I end the meeting and everyone starts filing out of the room while Stephanie and Mary follow me to my office.

Elizabeth: “Alright, I have to go meet my father and daughter for lunch. You two just hold down the fort while I’m gone.”

Mary: “Of course ma’am.”

She goes back to her desk.

Stephanie: “I still need to get the invitations for the next fashion show. The models have been fitted with the outfits and a pamphlet sample has been drawn up for you to review.”

Elizabeth: “Alright, leave the sample on my desk and pick up the invitations on your way back from your lunch break.”

As I walk out of the elevator, to leave the building, my phone starts ringing. I pull it out of my purse to see Thea is calling me.

E: Hey Thea.

T: Lizzy, I wish this was a social call, but it’s not. My mom is in the hospital. She was shot at.

E: Oh my god, I’ll be right there.

I hang up with Thea, and run to my car, telling my driver to take me to the hospital, before calling my father.

E: Hey dad, sorry, but I’m going to need a rain check on our lunch. Moira was attacked, and is in the hospital.

M: Alright, no problem. Let me know how she's doing. I’ll watch Hannah for you.

E: Thanks dad.

M: Of course, we can reschedule for a later date.

E: Love you dad.

M: Love you too sweetheart.

I hang up and walk into the hospital. When I get to Moira’s room, Oliver is just about to leave, till he sees me and stops.

Elizabeth: “Oliver, hey, I was just coming to see your mom. How is she?”

Oliver: “Yeah, yeah she’s fine. She has a grade 2 concussion, but the doctor said she can come home today.”

Elizabeth: “Thank goodness. I was so scared she was hurt.”

Oliver: “Well, luckily she’s fine. Thank you for coming by, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth: “Of course.”

He nods before walking past me, but I stop him.

Elizabeth: “Oliver,”

Oliver: “Yes, Liz?”

Elizabeth: “We should really talk soon.”

Oliver: “Sure. I’ll try to stop by your place later tonight.”

He quickly leaves, and I go into Moira’s room to find her sitting in the hospital bed, with Thea in a chair beside her. After checking on Moira, I go home to find my father with my daughter in the living room.

Elizabeth: “Hey, I’m back.”

Hannah: “Mommy!”

She drops her toy and runs to me. I catch her in my arms, picking her up and hugging her.

Elizabeth: “Hey baby. Did you have fun with Papa?”

Hannah: “Yeah, we had a tea party.”

Elizabeth: “Really, that sounds like so much fun. I can’t believe I missed it. Why don’t you get ready so we can go see Mimi.”

Hannah: “Okay.”

She hurries off to her room as my dad walks over to me.

Malcolm: “How is Moira doing?”

Elizabeth: “She has a grade 2 concussion, but they released her from the hospital.”

Malcolm: “I’ll stop by to see her later tonight. I have some business to attend to.”

Elizabeth: “I guess I’ll see you later.”

Malcolm: “Yeah, we’ll have lunch soon.”

He gives me a hug before saying goodbye to Hannah and leaving. I make a call to Stephanie to let her know of the situation and that I won’t be in for the rest of the day. Then Hannah and I go to the Queen mansion.

~Malcolm’s POV~

I return to my office where I receive an email from an old associate of mine.

?: The boy is doing well in his training. It won’t be long before he’s ready to make his first kill.

Malcolm: I’m not surprised. He is my blood after all.

He sends me a photo of my grandson training with a bow and quiver, targeting moving cardboard men.

Malcolm: “That’s my boy.”

~Elizabeth’s POV~

When we arrive at the Queen mansion, Hannah goes up to Moira’s room while Oliver and I go into his room for a private conversation.

Oliver: “What was it you wanted to talk about?”

Elizabeth: “I need to talk to you about Hannah.”

Oliver: “What about her?”

Elizabeth: “She needs to hear some things from you, and we need to decide what to do about our situation, now that you have returned from the dead. She keeps asking me when you are going to move in with us, and I have no idea what to tell her.”

He looks hesitant as he takes a deep breath, and I am honestly nervous about his response.

Oliver: “You’re right, we do need to talk about this, but I can't right now. I have to go take care of some business for my mother. I don’t know when I will be back. I promise we will continue this conversation when I return.”

I sigh, knowing he is just as nervous as I am about it. At least he can escape for now. It’s just frustrating, because I want to get this conversation over with. But of course, he doesn’t have time for it. I walk out of the room with him, going into Moira’s room while he goes downstairs.

Upon entering her room, I hear the Little Mermaid on the TV and spot Hannah sleeping beside Moira while she is reading a magazine. She puts it down as I walk over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Moira: “Let me guess, Oliver had to leave suddenly?”

Elizabeth: “Yup. It’s almost impossible to have a serious conversation with the man.”

She pulls me into a motherly hug.

Moira: “Yes, I have been having the same problem with him. However, seeing Dr. Lamb again, it made me remember the day that Oliver came home. It was Dr. Lamb that told me that the Oliver we’d lost might not be the Oliver that they’d found. I think it’s easy to forget that he lived apart from civilization for five years.”

Elizabeth: “I keep forgetting to think about that when things keep coming up with him. Of course, he’s restless around here. You’re right. We really should try to remember that more before judging him.”

After my father showed up to see Moira, I went home with Hannah. The next morning, I am getting ready for work when I hear a knock at my front door. I open the door to find my brother.

Elizabeth: “Tommy, what are you doing here?”

Tommy: “Can I come in? I need to talk with you.”

Elizabeth: “Of course.”

I let him in, and pour a cup of coffee as he sits at the breakfast bar. He takes a big sip, before nervously looking up at me.

Tommy: “Our father froze all of my accounts, and canceled all of my credit cards. My car got repossessed, and I need to move out of my apartment by the end of the month.”

I look at him, completely stunned. He seems scared, and who could blame him.

Elizabeth: “Oh my god. Did you try to talk to dad about the situation?”

Tommy: “Yeah, he called me a joke, and pretty much wrote me off while doing a fencing lesson. He cut me off completely.”

Elizabeth: “What can I do to help? Do you want to share my trust fund to help you get on your feet?”

Tommy: “No, that’s the easy answer. Believe me, normally I would go straight to that, but I talked to Laurel, and I am going to try to go into business with Oliver. But until then, could I borrow one of your cars, until I can buy my own?”

Elizabeth: “Of course. Whatever I can do to help, just let me know. If you want to stay here till you find a place, that’s fine too.”

Tommy: “Thanks Ellie, but I’m staying with Laurel.”

Elizabeth: “Well, I’ll tell you one thing, there’s no way I can even look at our father right now. If you need me, please feel free to call me at any time, day or night.”

I hug him, and as we separate, Hannah comes running out of her room.

Hannah: “Uncle Tommy! Uncle Tommy! Are you here to play with me?”

Tommy: “Yes I am, you little cookie monster.”

He picks her up, smiling. At least Hannah can help him keep his mind off of it for a while. I kiss Hannah’s cheek, and give them both a hug before leaving for work. Originally, I had planned to bring Hannah to work with me, but I think it will be good for Tommy to watch her right now.

When I reach my office, Stephanie comes in with some files.

Stephanie: “Hey, how is Moira doing?”

Elizabeth: “It wasn’t as severe as I originally thought it was. She had a concussion, but they let her go home. She’s doing just fine now.”

Stephanie: “That’s good news. Oh, here are the invitations you asked for.”

She puts one on my desk for me to look over, along with a pamphlet.

Elizabeth: “Good work. These are perfect. Go ahead with the printing of the pamphlets and send the invitations as soon as possible. Also, I have been thinking about something for a while now. How many of our employees have children that we know of?”

Stephanie: “I don’t know, but I can find out for you. Why do you ask?”

Elizabeth: “For two reasons. I was thinking about starting a line of clothing for children, and also opening a daycare center for our employees’ children. Sometimes it’s hard to find someone to take care of Hannah for me, and it’s not exactly feasible for me to have her in my office all the time. I was lucky my brother showed up today.”

Stephanie: “I see your point. It would make sense to just open a daycare here. The second floor of this building isn’t being used right now, so maybe that floor would work. I’ll look into it for you.”

Elizabeth: “Thank you. Please do that as soon as possible, and I will talk to the board of directors about a children’s clothing line once we have some designs drawn up. Have Mary assign a couple of people for the job.”

Stephanie: “Alright, I’ll let her know.”

I thank her again as she leaves my office. I look at the photos of Hannah, and the only one I have of Luke. Sighing and wiping away a stray tear, I get back to work, before receiving a call from Thea.

T: Hey Lizzy.

E: Hey Thea, did something happen with your mom?

T: Kind of. Walter’s back from his trip.

E: Well, that’s good. Thanks for letting me know.

T: No problem. I’ll see you later.

E: Okay, bye.

After hanging up, I continued my work until Mary comes in.

Mary: “Hey Elizabeth, I have some good news for you.”

Elizabeth: “And what could that be?”

Mary: “Apparently, someone else in my section has been thinking the same thing about a children’s line of clothing since the last time she saw your daughter. She has a few designs for you.”

Elizabeth: “That’s good. Send them to me as soon as you get them.”

Mary: “I have them right here.”

She hands me a file, which I leaf through as she continues.

Mary: “Also, there’s a new restaurant opening tomorrow night called Table Salt and I thought you, me, Stephanie, and Peyton could go check it out. I already made a reservation. We could all use a girls’ night out.”

I chuckle at her comment.

Elizabeth: “Of course we can. I’ll just ask Moira and Walter if they can watch Hannah for me.”

Mary: “Why not ask Oliver? Hannah wants to spend time with him, doesn’t she?”

Elizabeth: “Yeah, but he’s always busy lately. I can’t trust him to show up and stay.”

Mary: “Fair enough. Honestly, it seems as if he doesn’t even want to spend time with anyone at all sometimes.”

Elizabeth: “I’ve had the same thought. But we need to cut him some slack, since he was alone on an island for five years.”

Mary: “True. I almost forgot about that. Well, let me know if you need anything.”

Elizabeth: “Thanks. Also, these sketches are good. Have her create a few more, and send them to me. You can send these to the seamstresses for now.”

Mary: “I’m on it.”