Chapter 2
Two encounters
It had been hours . Hours since Elizabeth left home . The breath-taking night sky was dazzling with millions of stars , which shimmered so bright , that Elizabeth stopped her rapid walking and took a moment to observe them .
She didn´t know why , but looking up to the night sky gave her a certain warmth and comfort . It felt like she was at home .Like the time her father , Martha and she sat around a bonfire and told each other jokes. Like the first time she rode her bicycle . It felt like happiness . She reminisced her beautiful past memories , while the corner of her lips curved into a light smile . But then it faded away again .
Yes , she was free to do whatever she wanted . She was free to proceed a career she had always dreamt of . And just because of that she had left 18 years of her life behind and taken a huge step ahead . All this time , she thought it had been a bold step . The right step. But what if it wasn´t ? What if this was just another one of Elizabeth´s strong feelings about being judged unfairly ,and this time she took it too far ?
Elizabeth drooped her shoulders and looked away from the stars . She spotted an isolated bench not far from where she was standing . She dragged her feet until she reached the rusty wooden bench and flopped down on the seat .
Not a moment sooner , she realized her feet were throbbing with pain. With the pleasure of finally being seated somewhere , regardless of its splinters sticking out , causing Elizabeth´s soft skin to suffer , Elizabeth instantly drowsed off , as she laid her head on the bag she had hidden her money in . And with one last glimpse at the night sky , she closed her eyes and was carried away in the mystical world of dreams .
The sunshine shone directedly on Elizabeth´s eyes , which flinched because of the ray interrupting her short slumber . After a few moments of trying to ignore the change of surroundings , Elizabeth gave up . She sat up straight and rubbed her eyes . She batted them a few times to have clearer vision of what was going on .
She was surprised by what she discovered . She inhaled sharply , but let it go almost immediately , realizing how stupid it was , being afraid of harmless children playing around in the piles of twigs and leaves which were laying on the ground .
Elizabeth sighed . She had spent the whole night sleeping on a bench , in the middle of a street . But what now ? She got up from the bench and started walking towards the city centre with her sore feet .
After about a quarter hour of walking , Elizabeth stopped at a diner . She had lost track of time , her stomach was growling with hunger .
The sign , which hung over the diner was tilted and its lights , which were supposedly given the purpose of making the sign attractive , Elizabeth assumed , were flickering.
But its shabbiness didn’t seem to change Elizabeth´s mind .
She opened the door , which creaked and peeked inside . There weren´t any people . Elizabeth stepped inside , as she eyed everything with suspicion.
As she walked up to a brown seat , she noticed it stained with grease . And it wasn´t the only one . All of them were stained .
An old man from the countertop gave Elizabeth an unpleasant look , for which Elizabeth gave a charming smile in return .
“Ross! ” the man bellowed with his hoarse voice . He looked around twice quite impatiently and then roared again, this time a lot louder : “Ross!”
Suddenly , a youth burst out of a room , which Elizabeth hadn´t noticed. The clumsy boy , staggered towards the countertop and just as he was about to fall, he clutched on to the wooden countertop .
The old man shook his head , signifying uttermost dissatisfaction in his employee.
Then , not even heeding the clumsy boy´s presence , he grunted : “Table 4 ”
The lad , walked up to Elizabeth , as he adjusted his apron , and took out his pen and his notepad . As he noted something down, a thick strand of his golden hair hung down. Elizabeth noticed how tangled and tousled his golden hair was . And when he looked up at Elizabeth , his piercing blue fox eyes reminded her of her father . She hid her astonishment and simply returned a smile , to which the boy smiled back, which revealed his dimples on his freckled cheeks .
“Hello , Welcome to Danny´s café , I´m James Ross, how may I help you today ? ”
“Oh okay . Well , I´ll be having one coffee and , uh , one bowl of tomato soup with a side of cabbage sandwiches ”Elizabeth sighed . Even with a pleasant smile on her face , her mind was set on how different the dining place was . Every dining place Elizabeth had been to before had chandeliers , and here the luxurious chandeliers where replaced by flickering lights. The dining places Elizabeth had visited , had an extravagant range of flowers assorted as a bouquet in the middle of the table , which was covered by a sheet of cream silk . Here it was replaced by , merely a scratched , greased table and ,occasionally, a few napkins on the table.
“Ok, tomato soup , that´s ten cents . Sandwiches , 12 cents and your coffee , that´s 15 cents . So that makes 37 cents . ” calculated James .
“Yes, here you go . ” Elizabeth handed him a 50 dollar note , not thinking about the consequences which were going to occur .
James eyes widened as he jumped back a step , with his hand on his heart , not habituated seeing this much money . “Jeez! Are you - ”
James hesitantly tip-toed a few steps forward . He knelt down and whispered “Are you … are you , like , a robber ? Or something like that ? ”
Elizabeth rose her brows and gaped , which resulted to an extremely insulted look .
James instantly realised how wrong it was of him to accuse somebody of being a criminal . He sucked in his chapped lips and stood up “Or are you just very rich ? ”
“That .” Elizabeth sighed .
“Sorry ” said James , as he cleared his throat and took the 50 $ note , which was laying on the table . He took out 9 5$ notes and somehow managed to scrape out the remaining 4 $ and 63 cents . Then he left the handful of money next to Elizabeth , and gently tucked in the 50$ note in his fist .
Meanwhile ,Elizabeth stared out the window . The sunlight had hidden itself behind the many grey clouds . Rain was pouring heavily and all that was visible , were colourful little umbrellas .
A few minutes later , a silent clang of dishes broke off Elizabeth´s stare towards the streets .
Her tomato soup , sandwiches and coffee had been served .
She simply drank one sip of coffee , one spoon of soup and took two bites , one from each sandwich . Then she stood up , tucked in the money in her purse ,and looked back at James .
“Pardon me , do you happen to know any good hotels nearby ?” she asked James .
“Err…there´s a five-star hotel down the street , named Goût du luxe. ”
“Thank you ”Elizabeth whispered .
She was headed towards the door , but she was halted by James´ voice . “Perhaps I could assist you ? It´s getting dark and my shift ended 2 minutes ago anyways . ”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded . As soon as the two of them got out of the diner , they felt strong gushes of , which were the impacts the rain had left behind on the weather .
Elizabeth eyes were caught in a trance by a huge dazzling sign spelling “Goût du luxe” .
The building was enormous . Elizabeth was habituated with a lifestyle similar to this , but for James , this was completely new .
They stepped in the hotel . The lavish adornments and jazz music everywhere made Elizabeth feel a bit more comfortable . On the other hand , James was blown away . Elizabeth walked up to the receptionist , while she dragged her luggage .
“Pardon?” Elizabeth said , hoping to gain attention of the receptionist , who seemed to be busy with a large book .
“Yes ? Can I help you ? ” , the woman smiled , which faded away and was replaced with disgust when she saw Elizabeth´s appearance . Her French accent made her English sound unrecognisable .
“Yes , I would like to have a room . ”Elizabeth answered , with a graceful smile .
The woman flipped through some pages and ran her finger through some lines .
“Name? ”The woman asked ,this time with a rather unpleasant voice , ready with a pen in her hand .
“Elizabeth Banks ” Elizabeth replied .
“So that´s your name .Banks , I´ve heard that before. Banks. Hold on . Banks , as if in , William Banks! ” James murmured , stunned .
Elizabeth pretended as if she hadn´t heard him talking , but she had .
“Room 402 . We wish you a .. a pleasant stay . ” said the blonde woman with a forceful smile , as she handed over a key to Elizabeth .
Elizabeth nodded as a sign of gratitude and climbed up the stairs , dragging half of her luggage . The other half was being dragged by James , who was wheezing already .
Finally , after a few staircases , they made it to the room 402 .
James had noticed how Elizabeth´s poise entirely covered the fact that she was wearing an extremely shabby dress , smeared with greases , full of creases and one or two holes .
Elizabeth turned to James and smiled .“Thanks, again ”
“Anytime . And if you need any help , you know where to find me ” grunted James , as he dragged the last piece of luggage in front of the door .
Then he smiled and sprinted down the stairs , while waving goodbye to Elizabeth .
Elizabeth opened the door , with the key she had been given and peeked in . She grasped the light switch , whose whereabouts she didn´t know since it was dark , and switched it on .
The luxurious sight pleased her eyes view . A chandelier hung right in the middle of the room . A bed , which was her next target , was right in the middle of the room , whose dark wooden sides where encrusted with crystals and lined with golden paint . The curtains which were metallic golden , covered the large windows , offering Elizabeth a splendid view of the city centre . The bathroom was on her right , which was also lavishly adorned . She walked in the room , dragging all her bags and suitcases all at once . Then she closed the door and locked it tightly , flopped all her luggage on the floor and then flopped herself on the bed .
And before she knew it , she was fast asleep .
As a result of not closing the curtains , a ray of light ceased to continue Elizabeth´s slumber , very much like the day before .
She woke up from her long , deep slumber , resulting to a wonderous glow on her face and her hair puffed .
Her scruffy dress was good enough for the streets .
Elizabeth frenzied out of the hotel , with a two 5$ noted tucked underneath her sleeve .
All she needed to do now , was finding a publisher and getting her book published . Shouldn’t be that hard .
Except it was. Elizabeth searched far and wide for a publishing company . But to her dismay , there wasn´t a single publishing house on the streets . She asked several people about the whereabouts of a publishing house , but all the answers she heard were related to “Sorry , no “ .
She hung her head , as she turned to return at the hotel . She was walking at a very slow pace , as she investigated every single corner of the road she was walking on . She noticed as a couple of people gathered around a radio , heeding every word a robust , resonant voice stated .
“ We have been informed about another moon an Neptune , the Nereid , exists . Thanks to Gerard P. Kuiper, we have made this wonderful discovery , which is surely going to change a few scientific matters .”
Another moon ? Doesn’t Triton suffice ? Elizabeth scoffed . Her bad mood was influenced by her unsuccessful attempt of not finding what she was looking for soon enough . This mission could take her days , weeks , months , years !
She buried her emotions and tried to hide her facial expressions , since some people on the road were giving her weird glances .
She paced up and reached her hotel . Her grouchy frame of mind caused her to walk up the stairs , quickly , not even noticing a woman , she had helped earlier , waving towards her and her toothy smile .
She searched for her key , which she had safely hidden , alongside the money , in one of her sleeves .
She pressed the door , to insert the key in its rightful lock , but the door swayed open and Elizabeth staggered in the room .
The door was open , which meant somebody must have come in here , searching for something , Elizabeth thought.
She hurried in and had a look at two of her most prized possessions she had , her bag of cash and her pile of papers , the reason she was in this state .
The bag was quite heavy, so she didn’t mind looking into it . Elizabeth wheezed . As she rummaged through her luggage , she saw that the piles of papers in her suitcase , remained in its rightful place , untouched . So nothing had been taken .
She flopped herself on the bed .
She was tired sick of this .
First a big argument with her father , who had clearly brought in the topic of Elizabeths skin colour .
Then having to eat that disgusting food , oh , how she missed Martha´s homecooked meals .
And one top of it all , someone breaking in her room , trying to steal something .
But what ? What could one want to steal from Elizabeth except her money and her papers ?
Later that evening , Elizabeth descended the stairs , as she grunted and wheezed and clearly struggled a lot with her getting her suitcase down the stairs , with a bag on one hand . She clutched to the hotel key with a finger .
Finally , she reached the bottom of the stairs , and walked up to the reception .
She had , at last, got rid of that stain and grease smeared pink dress . Instead , she wore a lace embroidered, collared pastel blue dress , whose sleeves where puffed and also embroidered with white laces .
Elizabeth beamed at the receptionist , who didn’t smiled back. “I would like to check out , please . Here´s the key“
“Yes . That would be 10 $ “
Elizabeth opened the zip of her bag and rummaged for a 10$ . But all she could feel , were millions of little rocks . Elizabeth´s eyes widened .
Her money had been stolen .
She instantly looked at the receptionist , who was impatiently waiting for the 10$ .
“Ma´am , I´d like to report a theft , a very big one .“
The receptionist flinched and took out a maroon diary .
“What is your stolen property ? “ she asked , she peered as she scanned Elizabeth from head to toe thoroughly with her eyes .
“About 5000$ “ Elizabeth replied .
The brunette receptionist put her hand on her heart , and her eyes widened .
“So you think somebody has stolen your 5000$ ?“ asked the woman , as her voice quivered .
“I don’t think , I know . Somebody broke in my room , my door was unlocked . And believe me , I locked the door before leaving the hotel . Whoever did this should be severely punished. Do you know how much money 5000$ are ? “ Elizabeth snarled , as she gritted through her pearl white teeth .
The receptionist batted her lashes and nodded vigorously . “I am very much aware how much money 5000$ are , madam . But I lack information in order to help you further . I´m very sorry , madam . I will still need the 10$ though , madam . “
Elizabeth scoffed . Didn´t the receptionist understand what she had said ? She had been robbed ! That meant she had no money . Or at least not more than exactly 10$ . Elizabeth remembered about the few notes of money she had carried earlier that day to find a publisher .
She put one hand inside of the sleeve of the other hand. Then she tried to grasp the money .
Elizabeth pulled out the money , on which a few creases had formed , because of the constant pulling .
“There you go .“, Elizabeth whispered , with a forceful smile , which looked almost painful .
She frenzied out of the hotel . She had no money , no proper place to eat , nothing to cheer herself up .
She spotted a library with a corner of her eye and started walking towards it . As soon as she was halfway there , pearls of water fell on her hair .
Elizabeth looked up . Grey clouds were forming and the first drops of rain were already falling .
She ran towards the library , holding on the her luggage tightly .
She walked up to the librarian and approached him with a friendly smile .
But before she could even say anything at all , the man screeched .
“No Blacks in my library ! Read the sign ! You disgusting people ! Out ! I swear , one more step and I´m calling the police !“
Elizabeth´s smile drooped. She hurriedly ran out of the library .
The rain , which had become worse , soaked Elizabeth in an instant .
And there she stood , soaked in the rain, with no one she could rely on and no shelter .
All alone .