A new arc starts! This is part one of the first of the individual stories. Each character will have one :)

Thanks for reading!

"Then it's settled, Karen."

"Yes. Are you sure about this, Charleston?"

"Of course I am. This'll be a good thing for us."

"By the way, when you told me about your eye…Well, you told me only by accident when you were telling me one of your daily anecdotes, but-"

"Karen, is my only eye a problem? I mean, you accepted it so easily. I just want to know if it really doesn't bother you."

"No you silly, I don't care that you have only one eye. Men with eye patches are sexy! It gives them this adventurous, daring vibe, almost like pirates. Stop worrying about it, okay? I do not mind at all."

"I'm sorry I kept it from you for so many years. I'm the worst, the absolute worst."

"You're not! Just don't expect me to send you more free glasses. There are better ways for me to spend that money, you know, like in more six packs of these kelp beers!"

"You're so coldhearted, honey. But man, you speak with the wisdom of a sage."

"Anyway, it left me thinking and... Charleston, do you want me to tell you something about how I look? It's just that it seems a bit crummy that I know about your eye, but you know nothing about me."

"I know plenty about you, honey. We've been a long-distance marriage for 25 years, haven't we?"

"You know what I mean. Tell me, do you want to know something about my appearance? Anything."

"No."

"I've never been rejected so quickly in my life, and by my own husband!"

"It's not like that!"

"Easy there, that was joke."

"I think you need to work on your comic timing, babe. I just don't see the point in you telling me how you look by phone when we'll meet in person next week. I know you won't disappoint me."

Karen didn't answer. Yeah, she thought, because that doesn't put more pressure on my shoulders at all, if that's even possible.

Charleston understood his poor choice of words and quickly stuttered an apology.

"I don't, I mean—" Charleston slapped himself in the forehead. "What I wanted to say is that you won't disappoint me at all, no matter how you look! I promise you that, Karen."

You idiot. Karen was glad he couldn't see her. You almost made me cry...or is it the alcohol?

"I... I promise you won't disappoint me at all either, Charleston!"

"Oh Karen!"

"Oh Charleston!"

"OH KAREN!"

"OH CHARL—" Karen was interrupted by an angry neighbor knocking at her door and shouting at her to keep it down before he called the police. "Oh my god, I hadn't noticed it's 4 am. Time flies when you're having a very serious conversation with your spouse."

"It's only midnight here. And who was that fool that screamed at you? I swear I'll find him and—"

"He's just the grumpy old man next door. Never mind him."

"If you say so, honey. I still don't like him."

"Anyway, I should probably go to bed now. I'm going to be a bit busy tomorrow, so I probably won't be able to call on time for our daily attempt at stealing the secret sauce recipe…"

"Don't worry, our scheme is so flawless that there's no way it can fail. I'll get that recipe and give it to you when we meet next week. It'll be my first face-to-face gift!" Charleston caressed his headphones. "Goodnight, sweetie."

"Aren't we especially corny with our pet names tonight." Karen laughed. "Hey, Charleston?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

It was something they told each other frequently, but for some reason, this time it was different. More than a reminder, it felt like a statement.

"I love you too." Charleston laid down on his bed.

"More than crumbs?"

"By far."

"More than the Crumb Basket?"

"Obviously."

"More than the secret sauce recipe?"

"Whoa, easy there."

"Yikes, and I'm the coldhearted one here."

"It's all in good fun, babe."

"With you, everything is."

"You always have to have the last laugh, don't you?"

"It's part of my charm."

They laughed together one last time before saying their goodbyes again and ending the call. They both went to sleep without taking their headphones off.

When they awoke the next day, the memory of their agreement was a fuzzy memory that felt more like a dream.

It took a while for reality to catch up with both of them. The realization of what they had agreed on came to Karen while she was taking a pill for her hungover nausea . As for for Charleston, it found him in the middle of a bath of cold water to soothe his horrible headache.

"It wasn't a drunken dream. We actually agreed to meet each other next week." They smiled at the same time.

A moment later, their smiles vanished as their faces became distorted by overwhelming stress.

"Dammit," they exclaimed in unison so loudly that Karen woke up her old neighbor and Charleston scared the living heck out of Mr. Slabs as he was about to open the Trusty Slab. "Curse you, kelp beers! Curse you!"