34 Isaac Williams

~ New York ~

Saturday

8:53 PM EST, in New York

(5:53 PM PST, in Seattle)

Elizabeth is in the large dining room, digging into pancakes drenched in chocolate syrup and whipped cream while doing her best to avoid the keen gaze of her father.

Isaac Williams a renown surgeon, currently in his late fifties, single. He has a full head of silvery-gray hair and his grayish-blue eyes are focused on his daughter.

He loves that Liz is here, but at the same time, he is troubled.

Last time she came home unannounced and ate pancakes with chocolate syrup until she was nauseated was when a boy copied her answers during a test in high school. Only two of them got perfect scores, and Isaac still remembers how wronged Liz felt. She didn't mind that he copied from her, but she was upset that he cheated. He got a perfect score and didn't work for it. She never liked slackers who cheat their way through life. Isaac believes that with years, Liz is more tolerant. She does not judge others because they made different choices, but she draws the line when someone is trying to take advantage of her.

Many people look at Liz and her achievements and think that she has it easy because she accomplished so much at such a young age. But Isaac knows that she is very hard working, and that she earned her success in academics at the cost of her social life.

He sighed and smiled when she cleaned the chocolate syrup from the plate with the last piece of the pancake.

"Will you tell me what happened?", Isaac asked.

Liz's eyes shifted. "Why do you think that something happened?"

Isaac gave her a 'are-you-kidding-me' look.

Liz took a deep breath and sipped water while thinking how to tell her father what is bothering her in an appropriate way. She can't tell him everything… if he knows that a man slept in her bed, he will flip. In his mind, men are gentlemen who are courting a woman for ages before they dare to think about kissing.

She thought about the situation with Max and no matter if he is gay or not, it all leads to an outcome that she saw herself classified as his one night stand. She knows that it's not true, and that nothing happened, but thousands of people think otherwise. It's not so much about the fact that so many people saw her photo and even put disgusting comments below it, but it is about Max allowing it to happen. Is it possible that Max didn't know about the site? Or how others will see her because she went out with him? She does not think so… Liz is confident that he is aware of his reputation, he even bragged about girls throwing panties at him for a kiss, and he allowed her name to be dragged into the mud. Would any friend do that? She thought that they are friends, but what if he does not see her as such? What if he sees her as one more easy-to-manipulate woman who will be used for the purpose of boosting his image before he discards her?

"What do you do when you are facing few possibilities, but none of them are good for you?", Liz asked after a long silence.

"Is this related to Dr. Snow?", her father assumed.

Liz's eyebrows shoot up. "Dr. Snow?"

Isaac nodded knowingly before explaining: "In last two years I met Christian few times, and he was interested in your progress, especially after I showed him your photo."

Liz frowned and felt panic consume her. "Why would you show him my photo?"

"I am proud of you. I show your photo to everyone.", Isaac does not see a problem with this.

"Dad…", Liz whined. "It was cute when I was five years old. But now you look like a matchmaker. Please stop showing my photo to everyone."

Isaac shrugged. "What is wrong with being proud of my favorite girl?"

Liz shook her head in disapproval. "Nothing is wrong. But stop showing my photo. OK?" Liz paused before asking: "What about Dr. Snow?"

Isaac's eyes lit up. "I see you are interested… Well, he is interested in you as well. He wanted to know about my daughter who became a neurosurgeon at the age of 26. Last time we spoke about two months ago. I told him that you are going to move to West Coast, and now I hear that you are working together. Mmm…", Isaac ended his talk with a hum while smiling mysteriously.

"Dad! Are you matchmaking me?", Liz was outraged.

"I would never do that!", Isaac denied it. "But you could use few young and bright people in your circle. You should have fun, enjoy life. I didn't tell Christian to follow you to the West Coast, if that is what you are thinking. However, that does not change the fact that I'm glad that the two of you are working together."

"So… you ARE matchmaking me! Dad! What happened to the man who said that no boy is good enough for his favorite girl?"

"Sweetie, you were a teenager then. Now you are a young woman, and I would like to see you… happy."

"A man will not make me happy.", Liz sternly declared.

"I didn't say that you should get married. I only hope that you enjoy your life… and if during that process you are attracted to a fine young man with a promising future who is interested in you and treats you well…" Isaac stifled a laugh at Elizabeth's outraged expression.

Isaac saw that Liz relaxed. "So, your non-good possibilities are unrelated to Christian?"

"No, this is not related to him. It's nothing romantic it's just… I made a friend. Or at least I think I did. We spent some time together, and he is a great guy, he makes me laugh and I am having a good time with him. But now I'm not sure if he sees me like a friend or as someone whom he can take advantage of."

"You care about him.", Isaac observed.

"What? No.", Liz denied.

"You care about his opinion. You care how he sees you. How is that different than you care about him?"

"It's not about that… it's about sincerity and not lying and… I don't know how to explain."

Isaac shrugged and half-teased his daughter: "It will be easier to explain if you admit that you care about him."

Liz narrowed her eyes at her father. "Since when are you encouraging any romantic thoughts? Is this because you are hoping I will get distracted and fail to secure an invitation for the conference next June?"

Isaac laughed.

"Think of it any way you want. But to answer your first question, if the Elizabeth I know is facing ten choices and none of them are good for her, she will create the eleventh one which works perfectly not just for her but for everyone involved. The righteous ones will be rewarded, and the wicked ones will be punished. That is how my Elizabeth lives her life.", he said while proudly thumping his chest with a fist.

Elizabeth smiled while thinking that the man in front of her is the only one who will always find a way to encourage her and on whose support she can count anytime. And she is lucky to have him. "Thanks dad… you are the best."

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