It had been a long time since Eddie and Dan had talked one-on-one, and he was surprised when Dan showed up at his house one day, especially considering Walter was at work and he was sure that Dan knew that. But when he told Dan this, the other man only said, "I know," before letting himself in. That was when Eddie realized that Dan seemed a little bit upset, and wondered what the hell was going on.
"What's goin' on?" he asked. "You're actin' weird, is something wrong?" For a moment, he worried that it was something to do with Laurie, but he couldn't imagine what.
"I don't know," replied Dan. "I honestly don't know what to think, but if something is wrong, you're the one to know about it."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Eddie was more than a little confused, and Dan wasn't making a bit of sense. He looked almost angry now, and if there was something Eddie had done to cause that, he was not aware of it.
"I know you've been seeing Laurie's mother," Dan said at last. "And I swear, if there's something going on that-"
"Dan, slow the fuck down for a minute, okay? What the fuck are you talkin' about? How did you know about Sally?" Had Sally told Laurie that she was visiting with him? Did Laurie already know? If so, then why didn't Dan? None of this made a bit of sense to him.
"Walter told me," he said, glaring. "What, did you think you could just flaunt it in his face and it wouldn't bother him? Honestly, I thought you were better than something like that. I just can't believe you would hurt him like this!"
"Wait, wait, I really have absolutely no idea what the fuck you're tryin' to say!" snapped Eddie, starting to get angry. "What did Walter tell you? Does he think something's going on between me an' Sal?"
"Walter only told me that the two of you have been 'talking' a lot lately. He said you had a good reason for it, but he wouldn't tell me what, and he also said he didn't have reason to suspect anything, but that it still made him jealous," he said. "I was already a little concerned from that, but I hoped he was just worrying for nothing, like he thought he was. I didn't want to think something like that about you, not when you hadn't ever given me any reason to."
"He told you he was jealous?" It didn't seem like Walter to be jealous, but it also didn't seem like him to have such a touchy-feely conversation with Dan either, which meant that, if he was jealous, it was serious, and Eddie hadn't even noticed. He felt terrible, but if Walter had said there was no reason to suspect anything, why did Dan still not seem convinced?
"He did. And now I see why he would be."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Laurie told me some things about her mother that made me a little more concerned," he said. "The other day, Sally said something to her that made her think she was seeing you in secret." He repeated what Laurie had told him, shaking his head in disappointment. "Really, Eddie, how could you? Ignore the fact that it's Sally, of all people, and that the wedding is coming up and everyone has to spend so much time together. How could you do something like that to Walter? I really thought you cared about him, and I just can't believe you would do something like that to him."
He was stunned by what Sally had apparently said, and he wondered if she had really been talking about him when she said it. It seemed unlikely, all things considered, but what if she had? It wouldn't change anything, and he knew it. They had had something special in the past, but it was the past, and he wouldn't want to be with her again, or anyone but Walter. He had to tell her the truth about the relationship before he could talk to her about anything else.
"I'm not doing anything to him," he said. "Listen, Dan...I don't know why Sally said that, but I don't think she meant it about me, and even if she did, she's never said anythin' like that to me. We have been talking, and I haven't kept it a secret from Walter cos there was no reason to. It's not an affair, or we're not seein' each other. I wouldn't ever do something like that, I swear."
He must have sounded sincere, because Dan's expression faltered. "You're really not?" he asked. "I want to believe that you're not, but things...look pretty bad."
"From your perspective, yeah, I can see how they might," replied Eddie. "But I swear to Christ, there is nothing going on between me an' Sally. Ya gotta believe me, I wouldn't do that to Walter."
Dan paused, looking conflicted. "I want to believe you. I never wanted to even suspect you of this. You've always been a good friend, so...I'll trust you, but if I hear anything, or see anything, that makes me think you were lying, you'll regret it. I won't let you hurt my best friend."
"Ya got my full permission to kick my ass if I ever do anything like that," he said. "I don't ever wanna do something to hurt him."
"I'm going to hold you to that promise," said Dan, offering him a smile. "Listen, I...I told Laurie she didn't have anything to worry about and that I didn't think there was anything going on, so...I've done what I can to keep her from worrying about it. She doesn't even know you've been talking with Sally. Just so you know."
"I really appreciate that." He wondered if Dan was ever going to know the reason he even needed to talk to Sally so much.
~X~
When Sally called him next, he knew that this was it, and he had to tell her the truth about Walter once and for all. But he also thought it was something better dealt with in person, and though that meant he would be putting it off a little longer, he wouldn't put it off anymore after the next time he saw her.
"I'm ready to tell Laurie," she said, completely taking his mind off of his own problem.
"What?" he asked. "R-really? You're serious?"
"I am," she replied. "I've done a lot of thinking, and I know that it's not something we can just keep from her anymore. Are you sure you're ready to tell her?"
"I've been ready to tell her since the day I met her," he said. "Thank you so much, Sal. Thank you really takin' it into consideration."
"When do you want to go tell her?"
Before he let himself get carried away, he reminded himself of what he wanted to talk to her about. "Before we do that, there's somethin' else I need to talk to ya about. In person, though. We need to meet up before we tell her, alright?"