(Untitled)

[realmrsreynolds]

[OOM: Sallie Abigail Reynolds.Sallie enters Milliways with a plain satchel over one shoulder and a freshly-made pie in her opposite hand. The pie needs to get dropped off first, so Sallie climbs a barstool, dropping the satchel to the floor and letting Bar whisk the pie off to the ether where everything stays when she has to hold something, and

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[52_dropoff]

"Sallie?" It doesn't take a genius to know something is wrong.

[realmrsreynolds]

Charlie.

Into her arm on the bartop: "Made you a pie."

[52_dropoff]

"Er, thanks?" He's touched. No one has ever made him a pie. "It's a good pie, right?"

[realmrsreynolds]

"'Course it is. It's practically my calling."

It's dry and forced, but it feels better than thinking about what's waiting back home.

At least she sits up with this, lightly brushing her hair out of her face. "Wèi."

[52_dropoff]

"I'll try it later." He sits. "Now...what's wrong?"

[realmrsreynolds]

"My ex-husband is back. He came to see me and he wants to talk to Malcolm and I don't know what I'm going to do about it."

Sallie is nothing if not suscinct.

[52_dropoff]

Charlie gives a stare that puts his best faceless glares to shame.

"I thought your husband was dead." Pause. "And I don't see what you have to do about it. Tell Malcolm about this and let him decide."

[realmrsreynolds]

"He's dead to me. Or was. I...I'm a pretty bad liar, huh?" The last is a little broken, a little softer than he's used to hearing from Sallie.

"He can't be up to anything good, Charlie."

[52_dropoff]

He thinks she is a good liar, since she lied well about the man.

"Like father, like son?"

[realmrsreynolds]

"Don't," Sallie snaps angrily, "Don't talk like that about Malcolm, Mister Crimefighter man. You don't know him."

[52_dropoff]

Charlie could beg to differ that his impression of Malcolm comes almost entirely from Sallie. But he is at least smart enough not to go there.

"Um. Sorry." The silence hangs in the air like smog over Gotham.

[realmrsreynolds]

Sallie continues as if the apology didn't even happen.

"He may not be law-abiding, and he's maybe done some things that I wish he hadn't needed to do, but -- this one?" Sallie's voice comes up in pitch a little unnaturally, still feeling overwhelmed with everything. "This one's on me, and he's playing me. I'm -- he's supposed to be gone!"

[52_dropoff]

Charlie? Is at a loss for words. Alert the media.

"So...maybe you don't tell Malcolm?"

[realmrsreynolds]

"Or I do. And believe he'll do what he needs to do."

Which sounds the worst choice of all.

"I can't -- I don't know what I'm doing."

[52_dropoff]

Charlie reaches out to touch Sallie's hand. "You know better than I would. Than anyone else would. And if you don't mind me saying so, I think you know your mind well.

"Also, I suspect you know your ex-husband well, too." Well enough to bury him prematurely, in a sense.

[realmrsreynolds]

Charlie's hand is very warm. It's a mundane thought in Sallie's mind, but it echoes some.

"Sorry for scoldin' you." Mumbled.