(Untitled)

[off_the_hookah]

Who: Neil McLaughlin (the Caterpillar); Kilroy Benson (the Mad Hatter)
Where: Neil's apartment, Manhattan
When: After Kilroy and May had their spat and after Neil invited Kilroy over.
Why: A hookah session
Rating: probably R for adult situations

Comments

[priceonyourhead]

Kilroy laid flat on the cushion below him, stretching out with his arms folded under his chin. His fez was pushed down too, in the same way Donald Duck pushed his hat down when he was about to fight someone. It made him laugh. Well. Usually.

"I don't know. She didn't come home for a while. Fred said he saw her at lunch and-" Kilroy rubbed his face. It was clean shaven before, but now there was a faint trace of the beard that was once there. "I don't know. She came home and said she wanted to go to bed. I knew something was up and asked what I did wrong. Pressured her, you know. And then it went downhill from there."

Kilroy sank deeper into the cushion, as if he thought he could disappear. "What I've gathered is that she doesn't want to marry me. And I probably only asked her because I was a recovering addict. She just figured that out before I did."

[off_the_hookah]

One of the last thing Neil wanted to hear was Kilroy moping about the problem instead of giving him facts. It was making his things from his angle more difficult. Neil rolled his eyes and sighed.

"She's a woman and under a lot of stress with the wedding. They're even a term for it - Bridezilla. As far as you proposing goes, you know that's not true. You were in love with her before you went to rehab, and you know it. Next time she comes home tired and crabby, think twice about what you say.

[priceonyourhead]

"It's not that easy. She came in wanting to leave. She saw Fred at lunch. She hasn't spoken to him in a long, long time. Then, then! She didn't come home until about an hour ago." He turned on his back and looked up at Neil. "Don't even try to make me the bad guy here. We've gotten in bad fights and they've always ended up alright. This was different."

He took a hit off the hookah thoughtfully. "No, it was different. Like she already made her decision before she came in. You can't understand the connection we have. I can tell when something is up besides that whole Bridezilla thing."

[off_the_hookah]

This wasn't the first time Neil had heard this sort of story before, so he couldn't be blamed for not taking it too seriously. It was was true that he didn't know anything about their bond, but he did know Kilroy and May habitually exaggerated things and blew them out of proportion. The only concern that Neil had was that one day they'd go so far with their bickering that they'd reach the point of no return. Was this the time?

"You better not cancel the wedding, after all the damn work you've put into it." Neil muttered. He puffed away for a moment or so before continuing, in a softer tone of voice. "So, she left you?"