You guys thought that this would be the end of Part One and the beginning of Part Two, huh? Nope!
Chapter 11: Questions Answered
The two Toads stayed like that through most of the night, wrapped in each other's embrace. Then, out of nowhere, the blankets shifted, and a moan of tiredness escaped from Toad. He sat up, causing Toadette's arms to slink down to the pillow which he used to be occupying.
"I can't sleep." he muttered to himself. He thought about the reason for a minute. Then he turned to look at the other side of the bed. Toadette was sleeping soundly, no worries whatsoever. Toad looked at the clock, which read 2:12 A.M, then back at Toadette. She was still, in the calmness of the night. Her eyes were closed, obviously in an expression of sleep. But there was something about her closed eyes that was not so obvious.
Toad could perceive it. There was something about them. Then the word clicked. Love. He stared at her, as if he doubted that the word he was perceiving was the right word to describe her this way. But he knew that wasn't the case. It was the perfect word to describe her like this. She was closing her eyes, in an expression of love. Maybe it was because of the embrace that Toad executed before she went to sleep, or maybe she was dreaming about the events of the previous day. It didn't matter.
All that mattered was that, with this expression, those events became suddenly obsolete in his mind. No, wait, scratch that. They're not obsolete. They're just... He once again struggled with the right word. They're the opposite. They're significant.
"Why are they significant?" he thought out loud. He mused on this matter for a couple minutes. "Wait, I know. It's because... they contributed to... hmmm..." He was having trouble with words right now. He looked at her once again, still sleeping as soundly as before, and, once again, the words clicked in his mind. "They contributed to our relationship together, huh? Yeah." He agreed with himself, and lay back down. "I better tell Toadette about this in the morning. She just looks so peaceful..." He sighed, but then realized that he was laying down on top of Toadette's hands.
Without a word, he sat up again, held her hands up, lay back down, and carefully guided them around him, so that they were in the exact same position as they were before he woke. He could hear a soft, but audible, coo from Toadette. She liked it. Even when she was dreaming, she could still perceive the events in the real world. He liked that about her. He closed her eyes, and attempted to join her in dreamland. He did, and pretty soon, a smile crept up on his face. He was enjoying it, too.
The rest of the night passed without incident. The alarm went off, per usual, at exactly seven in the morning, but both of them didn't notice, as they were too occupied with each other. The alarm rang again ten minutes later. This time, they both noticed. They both went to shut it off, and their hands touched the button at the same time. They looked at each other.
"Good morning, Toad!" Toadette greeted.
"Good morning, Toadette." he replied, as they sat up on the bed. Toad reached for the remote to the television, and pretty soon, a game show was on.
"Good morning, Mushroom Kingdom, and welcome to Love Triangle." the announcer stated.
"God, I hate this show." Toad mumbled.
"Then why are we watching?" Toadette asked.
"Well, scratch that. I hate most of it. The part I like is the Trust Buster. You know, when they hook them up to the lie detector?"
"Oh, that part's funny!"
"Yeah, I know. Their faces are just..." He mimicked a silly face, and they both burst out laughing.
"Yeah, it's all like, 'I love you, Martha!' Buzz buzz!" The 'buzz buzz' was his impression of the buzzer that rang when the person lied. Their laughter grew.
"And then they tell some stupid story, like the time when Martha had a husband and three kids. And then they still try to win her over, and I'm like, 'This isn't going to go anywhere, is it?'"
"Yeah, screw the date, because at this rate, you're less appealing then a crate, young man!" They laughed again.
"Was the rhyming intentional?" Toad asked, because 'date', 'rate', and 'crate' all rhymed.
"Yes, it was."
"Oh, I think they're on the Trust Buster now! Look!" They looked at the TV, and sure enough, two guys were strapped to lie detectors, red and blue Toads, while a third person, a Yellow Toad girl, stood with cards in her hand.
"Okay, Sherri, you can ask them any question you want on these cards."
"Walter..." She pointed to the Red Toad. "Have you drank any alcohol for the past twenty years?"
"No." Walter replied. To his dismay, the buzzer rang. Toad and Toadette burst out laughing.
"Tom..." Sherri pointed to the Blue Toad. "Have you drank any alcohol for the past twenty years?"
"No." he replied. The bell rang, which signified that he was telling the truth. Everyone clapped.
"I mean, my friends keep pressuring me, but all you have to do is say no, and they'll stop." Tom added on.
"Okay, next question." Sherri paused. "Walter, have you ever had any kind of sexual intercourse with anyone?" The Toads that were watching laughed again, the laughter stronger than before.
"What?" Toad asked, in disbelief. "Girl, you should never ask a guy that kind of stuff!"
"Yes." Walter admitted, and the bell rang.
"Oh, wow!" Toad exclaimed. "He's done. He's dead as a door nail in that relationship!"
"Tom, have you had any kind of sexual intercourse with anyone?"
"No." Tom said. Again, the bell rang. Everyone applauded again, including the Toads that were watching.
"Okay. This will be interesting... I like that Walter told the truth on that one, even when he was pressured not to. Last question." Sherri went on. "Walter, and I know this is generic, but... Do you love me?"
"Oh, absolutely." Walter replied. After a silence, the bell rang. Everyone clapped.
"This could be the deciding factor. Tom, do you love me?"
"Yes." Tom said. Another silence. Then came the buzzer.
"Oh, no!" Toad cried out, laughing. "I knew it! He's a poser!"
"All right." The host came out again. Walter and Tom went to their positions, behind their doorways.
"Here's the deal, Sherri. You've listened to questions, and you've got answers. The question now is, 'Who do you want in your life?'. The side of the button that you push will close the door on one of your relationships. You have plenty of time to think." The lights dimmed. Sherri took some time fluctuating over each of the two buttons. One pointed to Walter, the other to Tom. She put her hand over the former's button, and that got Tom's hopes up.
Then, her hand rapidly switched to the other button, and pressed it. The translucent glass door slammed shut. Toad turned off the TV. Toadette looked at him.
"I hate the mushy celebrations." he explained, and chuckled.
"Me too." she agreed. After they got dressed, looking away of course, they walked downstairs. The servants looked at them quizzically. Toadette shot them a wink, and they immediately got the point. Then they started clapping, the applause growing. Eventually, it was so loud that the Princess could hear it from downstairs. She walked up.
"What is going on he-" She stopped when she saw that Toad and Toadette were together, holding hands. She smiled.
"I think this explains everything, huh?" she asked.
"It sure does, Princess." Toad assured. "It sure does."
To be continued...