Darcy in Hollywood

“What’s the writer’s full name again?” William asked.

“Ricky McWilliams, but it’s a pen name,” her father responded. Huh, I didn’t know that. “How’s this for irony?” Tom gestured expansively. “His real name is Richard Fitzwilliam. Isn’t Fitzwilliam your real first name?” he asked Will.

Will couldn’t have been more surprised if someone had run him through with a sword. He made a vaguely affirmative noise.

“Funny coincidence,” her father continued, oblivious to Will’s reaction. “It’s not like Fitzwilliam is that common a name.”

All the blood had drained from Will’s face in a matter of seconds. “No.”

“There he is!” Jane cried. She hurried over to the entrance and pulled Ricky toward their little group. Every time Elizabeth had seen Ricky, he had been laid back and friendly, but today his face was gray, his entire body stiff.

Jane gestured to Will. “Ricky, this is William Darcy.”

Ricky managed an unconvincing smile.

“Regina?” Will said hoarsely.

“Hi, Will.” Ricky extended his hand tentatively. Will took it without hesitation and then pulled the other man into an awkward hug.

Elizabeth exchanged mystified looks with Jane. “I take it you two know each other?” she asked when they had broken apart. It must have been before Ricky transitioned.

Will seemed to have trouble breathing, but Ricky responded, “We’re cousins.”

“Oh my God,” Jane exhaled. Elizabeth’s reality was shifting; she had all the puzzle pieces, but they fit together in a new way.

“I haven’t seen you in…what? Thirteen years?” Will’s gaze was riveted to his cousin’s face.

“Fourteen.”

“Uncle Henry and Aunt Ellen said you ran away from home.”

Ricky’s lips twisted in a parody of a smile. “Is that what they said? They, um, kicked me out.”

Will’s face grew even paler. “Christ.” He ran both hands through his hair as he glanced away from his cousin.

Ricky gave a bitter laugh. “Yeah. They weren’t so happy to discover their daughter was really a son.”

“You should have come to my parents.”

“I did.”

“They turned you away?” Will said in a strangled voice.

Ricky shrugged. “They didn’t want to get involved in a dispute between me and my parents.”

“Oh my—” Will rubbed his hand over his face. “That’s— I didn’t know.”

“Yeah, I guessed.”

“I should have done something. I should have helped you!”

“You were fourteen. There was nothing you could have done.”

“You were homeless. I should have at least searched for you when I became an adult. But I thought…God, Reg—Ricky!”

Ricky put a comforting hand on the other man’s shoulder. “I landed on my feet.”

Elizabeth was torn between believing the men deserved some privacy and thinking that maybe Will could use her support somehow. She sought guidance from her sister, but Jane was mesmerized by the exchange between the two men.