Todd whirls on Kara. "I take you out for your birthday, I'd think it was ONE TIME I didn't have to heard about Tucker Frigging Wells!" Conveniently forgetting that he's the one who brought up the T-word in the first place.
And Lawrence is talking over him, "I don't know any Tucker Wells, except the one that my son accused of. . ."
"Maybe I should have forgotten all about the fancy restaurant. . ."
". . .all those awful things and sent the tapes that. . ."
"and taken you to Slushies R' Us or maybe I could have summoned up some plague rats. . ."
". . .were the beginning of all of this insanity. . ."
". . .of course you know that Alan got bitten, he's sick, he might even DIE. . ."
". . .and that was the last normal vacation we ever spent with Connor."
And Kara suddenly doesn't care about the Riley's at all.
"Excuse me? Don't you start in on Tucker! Don't you dare! Not after the way you have behaved! You're dead lucky I am here at all after what you've done! You assualted him! You totally upset him! He's delicate! He has an ARTISTIC TEMPERMENT!"
A little like Kara Keating it would seem.
"I LOVE Tucker Wells. Love him. So don't you dare start in on him! Don't you dare!"
But Tucker wells is gone already. Gone, gone, gone.
"Anyway. You can be happy. Tucker's gone. He went away. Gone. He doesn't love me and her went away and we can all bet he wont be sitting around thinking about me like I am about him. So, happy? He's gone! You WIN!"
And she half hears him saying Alan could die. But... Tucker Wells is GONE!
And just when Kara has stopped caring about the Rileys, Todd stops caring about Tucker.
"You're Lawrence RILEY?" he demands. Kara is saying something, but it just kind of washes over him. "Is your wife here?"
Because the only thing he can think, now, is that Darla is supposed to meet him here, in the bar, after dinner. For all he knows, she's down there now. And Darla in the same room as Connor's adoptive parents can in no way, as far as the Immortal is concerned, add up to a good thing. "Look," he says to Lawrence. "I'll buy you two dinners. Somewhere else. Just. . .leave."
Lawrence straightens himself to his full height, which is greater than the Immortal's by quite a bit. "You don't have a right. . ." Colleen comes up behind him, "What is it, dear?"
Kara's still talking. Todd turns to her. "WHO'S gone? Since when were you so attached to Connor?"
Mrs. Riley looks down at the crying girl with great concern. She looks like someone off the TV, Colleen thinks, she just can't put her finger on who. Some movie Mere likes about cheerleaders. "I'm sorry," says Colleen, "Who are you dear?"
Just as Todd is pulling Lawrence aside. "I can't talk about the why right now, but I will PAY you to get out of this restaurant."
Lawrence straightens even taller and puffs out his chest. "You certainly cannot manipulate people this way. You and your lawyers. . ."
"Forget my lawyers, OK? My lawyer has the plague."
Colleen bends down and pats the sobbing Kara's shoulder. "You know you don't have to be with a man who treats you badly. The world is full of people who love you."
The woman is really nice. At least Tucker's dad has good taste.
"There isn't. It isn't. Not filled with people like that at all." She tells her. "They get sent back in time to close the gap in the order of the universe that was caused when their soul got obliterated by a big blue Godlike monster. And even burning a zillion houses down doesn't change it!"
Colleen doesn't have a chance to respond to this as Kara yells at Todd -
"This was supposed to be my dinner! God. You don't even care. Why did you come and drag me out if you don't care?"
She means drag her out of the coma, not the house.
"You heard her," he tells the waitperson. "Whatever you have in a salmon." He takes his seat, hoping this will cue Kara to do the same, and proceeds to ignore the Rileys, who eventually leave.
Fuming, but they leave. Todd orders appetizers, something in a lobster puff, and Diet Cokes for both of them. When wait-thing leaves, Todd shakes out his napkin and raises an eyebrow at Kara. "Well, that was annoying. Now. . .what were you saying? Who went away?"
"Oh. . .yes." Todd is relieved to have something to do with his hands, so he begins to work at the envelope. He doesn't really know much about Fred Burkle, except that she always seemed pleasant, but he's sure the Tucker story will come out whether he wants it to or not.
He quickly becomes impatient with the envelope and simply tears it open, then looks down at the card.
He reaches over and drinks out of her straw. "Yes it is. What else could taste that disgusting?" Ignoring the fact that he's drinking it too. He looks down at the card, that she seems to have cut out herself. From pink construction paper. He can't help smiling. "Is the tie pink too?" He leans over to her and points. "What does that say?"
"You speak from experience?" He thinks she might have taken his smile as patronizing, and so he tries to keep his expression grave. "You made this yourself, I take it? It's very much you, and I wouldn't want anything from you that wasn't." He opens the tie box. Ralph Lauren dark red silk power tie. Something you give to a father or a boss, maybe an uncle who you expect to leave you some money. "Nice," he approves. He figures it took a decent chunk out of the money she got for the bike, which he hopes she at least had the sense to sell for its full value. "Next year you'll have to tell me what you want so there won't be any mistaking. I would have gotten you a car, but I didn't think you liked them."
Todd whirls on Kara. "I take you out for your birthday, I'd think it was ONE TIME I didn't have to heard about Tucker Frigging Wells!" Conveniently forgetting that he's the one who brought up the T-word in the first place.
And Lawrence is talking over him, "I don't know any Tucker Wells, except the one that my son accused of. . ."
"Maybe I should have forgotten all about the fancy restaurant. . ."
". . .all those awful things and sent the tapes that. . ."
"and taken you to Slushies R' Us or maybe I could have summoned up some plague rats. . ."
". . .were the beginning of all of this insanity. . ."
". . .of course you know that Alan got bitten, he's sick, he might even DIE. . ."
". . .and that was the last normal vacation we ever spent with Connor."
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And Kara suddenly doesn't care about the Riley's at all.
"Excuse me? Don't you start in on Tucker! Don't you dare! Not after the way you have behaved! You're dead lucky I am here at all after what you've done! You assualted him! You totally upset him! He's delicate! He has an ARTISTIC TEMPERMENT!"
A little like Kara Keating it would seem.
"I LOVE Tucker Wells. Love him. So don't you dare start in on him! Don't you dare!"
But Tucker wells is gone already. Gone, gone, gone.
"Anyway. You can be happy. Tucker's gone. He went away. Gone. He doesn't love me and her went away and we can all bet he wont be sitting around thinking about me like I am about him. So, happy? He's gone! You WIN!"
And she half hears him saying Alan could die. But... Tucker Wells is GONE!
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"You're Lawrence RILEY?" he demands. Kara is saying something, but it just kind of washes over him. "Is your wife here?"
Because the only thing he can think, now, is that Darla is supposed to meet him here, in the bar, after dinner. For all he knows, she's down there now. And Darla in the same room as Connor's adoptive parents can in no way, as far as the Immortal is concerned, add up to a good thing. "Look," he says to Lawrence. "I'll buy you two dinners. Somewhere else. Just. . .leave."
Lawrence straightens himself to his full height, which is greater than the Immortal's by quite a bit. "You don't have a right. . ." Colleen comes up behind him, "What is it, dear?"
Kara's still talking. Todd turns to her. "WHO'S gone? Since when were you so attached to Connor?"
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Kara sits back down and starts to cry. Very earnest and sincere tears.
"No one listens to me. You never listen to me."
Then she turns to the Rileys and says tearfully -
"I tell him important things and he ignores me."
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Just as Todd is pulling Lawrence aside. "I can't talk about the why right now, but I will PAY you to get out of this restaurant."
Lawrence straightens even taller and puffs out his chest. "You certainly cannot manipulate people this way. You and your lawyers. . ."
"Forget my lawyers, OK? My lawyer has the plague."
Colleen bends down and pats the sobbing Kara's shoulder. "You know you don't have to be with a man who treats you badly. The world is full of people who love you."
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The woman is really nice. At least Tucker's dad has good taste.
"There isn't. It isn't. Not filled with people like that at all." She tells her. "They get sent back in time to close the gap in the order of the universe that was caused when their soul got obliterated by a big blue Godlike monster. And even burning a zillion houses down doesn't change it!"
Colleen doesn't have a chance to respond to this as Kara yells at Todd -
"This was supposed to be my dinner! God. You don't even care. Why did you come and drag me out if you don't care?"
She means drag her out of the coma, not the house.
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He turns to Kara. "You're the one who was complaining. . .oh, never mind. Do you want to go somewhere else?"
He's afraid she's really going to start wailing now. There he goes, making a girl cry again, and he thinks it might even be his fault.
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"I want salmon." She tells him. And she might even eat it. "And sorbet. I want sorbet for dessert. Lemon."
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Fuming, but they leave. Todd orders appetizers, something in a lobster puff, and Diet Cokes for both of them. When wait-thing leaves, Todd shakes out his napkin and raises an eyebrow at Kara. "Well, that was annoying. Now. . .what were you saying? Who went away?"
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"Fred Burkle and Tucker Wells. Within the space of a week."
She's looking less tomato like and more pinkish now. Still sniffling. She'll get back to saying I don't care soon enough.
"You didn't even look at your card."
Todd can be really rude sometimes.
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He quickly becomes impatient with the envelope and simply tears it open, then looks down at the card.
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Kara has nothing to say about either of them. Not really.
"I don't think this is diet coke." She tells him. This could cause a second spasm.
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"I like the taste. Real coke tastes like blood. Like you have blood in your mouth."
And he shouldn't be smiling at her card. Her card isn't stupid. Next year he just gets a tie. No card.
"The tie isn't pink. And throw it all out if you don't like it. I don't care."
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"I'm getting a car. A Volvo. I haven't chosen it yet."
And she doesn't sound too excited.
"But cars are good. You can sell them for more on eBay."
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