Sorry for the wait. As I've said, juggling a few stories isn't as easy as it used to be and I'm trying to alternate posting updates. (And I mention in the chapter Mr. Feeny teaching an anthropology class only because I could never quite figure out what he was supposed to be teaching when they were in college and made my best guess, lol. If it's actually said, please let me know. Anthropology seemed to fit for an upcoming situation.)

As always, thank you for your feedback. :-)

Topanga poked at her homemade face mask. "How much longer am I supposed to let this sit?"

"Ten minutes," Angela responded.

"And why did you get the strawberry mask while I got stuck with avocado?"

"Because I tend to break out in the warmer months and you said you needed to moisturize."

"Fine, but yours' smells good and I'm stuck smelling like guacamole. If anyone walks by with tortilla chips I'm in trouble."

"Topanga, it's only ten more minutes."

"Okay, you're right. Let's get back to you and Eric. Did he really take you on a Ghostbusters themed date?"

She lie back on the floor and propped her legs up on her bed. "He didn't intend for it to be Ghostbusters themed. He was just going to take me to the library. Looking up other movie sights was my idea."

"That doesn't sound romantic."

She frowned. "Eric put a lot of thought into coming up with something I would enjoy and remembered me saying I wanted to see the New York Public Library one day. I think it's very sweet that he remembered and pays attention to detail like that."

"Okay, but-"

"I didn't want the date to be all about me, so we checked out other locations- because I knew he would love it. Maybe it wasn't traditional romance, but it was so much fun, the most fun I have had in a long time." She examined her nails, admiring the way the dark red polish Topanga had chosen for her looked in the light. "We danced by the fountain in the middle of Lincoln Center as music from the orchestra practice filtered outside." She smiled as the afternoon replayed in her mind. Eric was a surprisingly decent dancer. He wouldn't be winning any talent contest trophies, but he could hold his own.

"You did?"

"I wasn't sure about it at first, but as Eric said: who cares if we looked ridiculous in front of a bunch of tourists we were never going to see again? Now they had a story to tell their families about the crazy couple they saw during their vacation in New York." She wrinkled her nose. Why did you always get itchy when you weren't able to scratch? "But please, tell me more about your latest dinner and movie exploits with Cory."

"What's your problem? Why are you getting an attitude?"

"You're being judgmental as hell and crapping all over my date."

"No, I'm not. I'm just trying to understand what made it so special."

"The entire time I was with Shawn- or even the couple times I went out with that guy, Ron- you never felt the need to analyze and understand why it was special to me."

"I went on a coffee run this morning."

"And?"

"Eric was working the counter."

She waited for Topanga to elaborate, but there were no other details forthcoming. "I'm going to need a little more information. He normally works in the Student Union Sunday mornings."

"He was determined to deliver croissants to some students by balancing the plate on his head like some sort of trained seal. Or a supermodel practicing their posture," she added after a beat of silence.

Though she now understood why he acted the way he did, Angela hated when he made himself look a fool. She knew it was insecurities and a deep-seated desire to be liked and accepted, but she wished he would go about it in ways other than making himself the butt of jokes. "Was he successful?"

"It took him two tries, but-"

"Only two?" She grinned. No need to delve deeper into this issue with Topanga. This was Eric's business. "Impressive."

Topanga frowned at her friend. "Seriously?"

"Are you kidding? I'd probably still be trying to balance the plate on my head."

"But he-"

"What happened to the friend who said she'd be supportive of me and my new relationship? Because you've already dissed my boyfriend and our date and we're not even two hours into girl time."

Boyfriend? They were using exclusive terms already? "I also said it would take me some time to get used to the situation. I want to see what you see in Eric. Really, I do. I'm trying to see it." She snapped her fingers. "I've got it. We'll double date. What better way to see what you see in him than to see how Eric is when he's with you?"

"Oh, I don't know."

"Why not? I can see this new and improved Eric and we can hang out again. I don't see any negatives."

"From where I stand there's one big, curly-headed elephant in the room just begging to be mentioned."

"What's wrong with Cory? Eric is his brother and you're his friend. He should be thrilled for you."

"'Should be,' being the operative phrase."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't play dumb. You know why this is a bad idea. Cory has spent every waking moment trying to reunite me with Shawn. Honestly, given the amount of time he has invested I'm shocked he hasn't flunked any classes."

"But what better way to get Cory over this fixation with you and Shawn than for him to see how good you and Eric are together?" Honestly, Topanga wanted to see them together, too, because try as she might, she still couldn't picture it. She wanted to. Angela's seemed so much happier lately and she knew Eric was the reason, but the image of the two of them didn't compute in her mind. They didn't fit. The term polar opposites may as well have been invented for them. She hoped seeing them interact as a couple would change that.

Angela debated her answer, trying to decide what would be the gentlest approach. She couldn't say what she really thought, that she feared letting Cory into this part of their lives would only make him more insane on Shawn's behalf. This needed to be done in a diplomatic fashion. "Maybe in a few weeks, okay? I need to talk to Eric about it first."

"But-"

"We're still getting used to dating each other and feeling this whole thing out. Besides, no one really knows that we're together yet. I mean, I told you and he told Rachel, but that's it. Well…actually, I think Mr. Feeny knows, too, but he knows everything so that shouldn't be a surprise."

"You are planning to tell people soon though, aren't you? This isn't something that can be kept secret forever."

She sighed in resignation. "Is that your way of saying you already blabbed to Cory but could only buy us limited silence?"

"No," she responded, not bothering to hide her offense that Angela even assumed such a thing. "I promised I wouldn't say anything and I haven't. I'm just reminding you that it's a very small world and things are bound to come out….especially when you consider that we all hang out in the Student Union and you guys aren't subtle about the way you look at each other."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm honestly amazed I never put it together before, but I've been thinking about whenever we've all been together over the past few months whether hanging out, getting coffee, or studying."

"You've got all those times cataloged in your brain?"

"I've got a good memory and, well, hindsight is a remarkable tool."

"And what do you remember?"

"I remember that before you guys even went to your dad you'd be watching Eric or he'd be sneaking looks at you."

"Really?"

"There was one day in particular when we were studying for our economics midterm and I asked to borrow your notes on the Federal Reserve and after the third time and you still didn't hear me I-"

"How do you even remember such a random moment?"

"It stood out because it was so odd. I turned around to see what had you distracted and you were watching Eric behind the counter. You weren't even subtle about it that time. You were practically gawking at him."

"I was?"

"I asked if everything was okay or if he was doing something crazy. You said he had been attempting to juggle coffee mugs again- only he was successful that time."

She didn't remember that. "And even after you caught me "gawking" at him and saw him sneaking glances at me you were still surprised that we started dating?"

"I thought he caught your attention by doing something stupid and Eric-like, not that he-"

Angela sat up. "Watch it," she warned, pointing a finger at her friend. "Don't ever call him stupid. Eric is not stupid."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"He's creative and thinks outside of the box. I, for one, find it refreshing."

"All right, I get it. I'll be more careful with what I say."

"Thank you."

The next several seconds passed silently before Topanga spoke again. "So I guess you're pretty serious, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"You and Eric? If you're this protective of him already-"

"Whether or not we're serious is beside the point. Even if he was some guy I just met on the street and decided to go out with once I'd like to think my friend would have enough respect for me to be nice and not call him stupid. Actually, you should respect Eric enough to not call him stupid. He's supposed to be your friend, too, after all."

"Angela-"

"I'm going to wash this stuff off my face." She grabbed a towel and hurried out of the room.

Topanga sighed and balled up a piece of paper before throwing it towards the garbage can. It danced around the rim before falling to the side. Why not? That pretty much summed up how it seemed her life was going lately. She was itching to be done with her first year of college, which was odd because she normally loved school, but summer couldn't get here fast enough. She hadn't been prepared for how challenging some of the courses would be and how strange living on her own would feel. Her parents were still acting odd. That was a distraction. And if Cory wasn't bugging her about Shawn and Angela he was on her to pick a date for the wedding and she couldn't do that until her parents came to town. Nothing was going right and no one was happy. She thought having a girls' day with her best friend would be the perfect remedy but apparently she couldn't say anything to Angela without putting her foot in her mouth. Topanga didn't mean to knock Eric. She truly wanted to see what her friend saw in him, but he's been acting like an idiot for so long. It would take more than a few days and a few conversations to change her perspective.

/

/

"Thanks for coming in! Don't forget our big sale on camping and fishing gear that kicks off Memorial Day weekend!" Alan cringed as soon as the customer was out of sight. He hated having to get those little shameless promotions in, essentially beg people to come back. But in all his years working retail he'd found that it often paid a lot to kiss a little ass. The bells above the door jingled again, but instead of a customer it was Eric. "Hi, son, what brings you in? Or should I say, how much?"

Eric rolled his eyes. "I'm not here because of money, dad. Or…not just because of money."

"What's going on?" The door jingled again, this time alerting him to the presence of his wife and infant son. "Is it family hour at the wilderness store?"

"Joshua actually napped this morning and was in a good mood so I thought we would get out of the house and bring you some lunch." Amy held up the bag with her free hand. "We got a little of everything from the deli around the corner." She looked to eldest. "Hi, Eric, this is a nice surprise. There's enough food for you, too, if you're hungry."

"No, thanks, mom, I'm just stopping by during the break between my morning and afternoon classes."

"How is school lately? You haven't said anything about grades. Didn't you turn in an English paper a couple weeks ago? I know Angela said she was sure it was an A even if you were thinking B."

"I got an A-. So it was an A…barely."

"That's fantastic! I'm so proud of you. I always knew if you settled down and focused that you could get-"

"I'm kind of pressed for time, mom, remember?"

"Right, so what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, since you're both here, I'll start with this: I'm dating Angela."

Alan took out his wallet and handed Amy a ten dollar bill. "You win."

She smiled. "Was there ever any doubt?"

Eric looked back and forth between his parents, confused. "You bet on us?"

"It's more like we wondered how long it would take you to start dating. We're not surprised it's happened."

He wasn't sure how to react to that. "Huh."

"Give us some credit. We noticed the way you two were acting when you dropped off dad's car a couple weeks ago. You were practically sitting on top of each other and constantly sneaking little looks and finding reasons to touch. Those are the telltale signs of a blossoming romance."

"Oh. I didn't even notice we were sending out signals to other people."

"You usually can't see it when you're in the middle of it. The other tipoff was that Angela was wearing your sweatshirt. I remember the fights that would break out between you and Cory when he would borrow something from your side of the closet without asking. Eventually you started making him sign a contract guaranteeing the safe return of your clothes." Amy shook her head at the memory.

"I got tired of getting my stuff back with chili dog stains or tire tracks from his bike. That's if they didn't get ripped playing sports."

"Still, I can't believe you wrote up a contract."

"It kept Cory's grubby hands off my stuff, didn't it?"

"After that you never let people borrow your things- outside of Morgan when she was little."

"So when Angela was wearing my hoodie…"

"That was unusual and my motherly instincts told me that something was going on."

"I told her she could keep it. What do your motherly instincts say about that?"

"They say that Angela must be very special to you."

He nodded. "She is."

"And you've considered everything?"

"What do you mean, dad?"

"Don't get me wrong, if you and Angela are happy then I am happy for you, but you have to know that this is going to cause drama with Shawn and Cory and maybe with your other friends, too."

He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I know. Trust me. I've already heard Cory whine all about it."

"Is he giving you a hard time? Because if he is we can talk to him and-"

"It's nothing I can't handle. If he starts bothering Angela he's going to be the one with the problem, though."

"Still, a relationship with Angela is worth risking friendships and causing Cory to be on your case?"

"We already talked about that. For us the bigger risk is never finding out where this could go because we were too afraid of what other people would think. Are we taking a chance? Yeah, but we're going after what we want instead of worrying about what other people think. We're putting ourselves first for once." Eric checked his watch. "Can I get to why I came over? I've only got an hour left before geology."

Alan glanced at his wife. Their son was being uncharacteristically serious today. "What's up?"

"I want some more hours around here, not just you calling whenever it's busy with twenty minutes notice and wanting me to show up. I need more money, but I want to earn it. I'm not asking for a handout. If you can't give me a more regular schedule, fine, but I need to know so I can try to beat the summer break job search rush." He ran his hands through his hair and chose to focus on the canoes displayed on the wall past his father instead of looking at him. He'd practiced the speech the entire drive over, but now it was a jumbled mess in his brain. The worst part was Eric didn't understand why talking to his parents like this made him so nervous now. Had he gotten so lost in his façade of craziness that being normal around anyone but Angela was beyond him now? "Working at the Student Union pays, but part of that goes towards tuition. I've got rent, insurance, gas, and I think it's time I start looking for a car you can actually start with a key and has airbags." Angela hadn't said anything, but he could tell she was a little nervous whenever she was a passenger in his car.

"I can always use the help around here. And hell, I miss hanging out with you."

"I was hoping to be on more of a partner level than employee. Let's face it you can hire a couple high school kids over the summer to work the register and do the crap work. I don't want to be just another person you're bossing around."

Alan's eyebrows were raised so high he was surprised they were still attached to his face. It was a relief to hear his son talking like this again, to be ambitious and taking things seriously instead of treating life like a game. "Sure."

"Great, because I'd hate to bring up that you and mom took more than half of my college fund to buy this place and use that to get my way. I know it was during the time when I didn't know what I was doing with my life, but..."

Amy glanced at her husband, unable to tell if his expression was one of pride, amusement, annoyance, or a combination of the three. "Wow, I thought we'd be picking a retirement home before you chose to hold that over our heads."

"Retirement home? Amy, please, I'm sure we'll be moving in with Eric."

"I don't know, dad. I'm not sure how much room I'll have once I take in Mr. Feeny."

The elder Matthews shook his head and smiled, wondering if his neighbor had any clue of the retirement plans that had apparently been made for him. "I'm sure we can work something out with the schedule and figuring out what your duties and salary will be. What's so funny," he asked when he heard Eric chuckle.

"You said duties," he responded, still laughing quietly.

Okay, maybe he wasn't completely grown up yet. "Like I said, we'll figure it out."

"And leave you with plenty of time for your schoolwork," Amy added. No need for his newly improved grades to suffer. "And you'll work with his schedule in the coffee house at the college, right, Alan?"

"Sure."

"Great. Thanks." This had gone better than Eric expected. "There's just one more thing."

"Oh?"

"No Fridays, at least not right away."

"Why not? I didn't think you had classes that day?"

"I don't. But Angela doesn't either and that's my regular day off from working the coffee counter. So even if the rest of the week is crazy busy and giving us hell, we have Fridays. Even before we started officially dating, Friday was our hangout day. Now it's date day."

"All right, no Fridays. Why don't you come over for dinner some night this week and we'll work on setting up a schedule for you."

"You can even bring Angela if you want," Amy interjected. "I'd love to get to know her better."

"I'll check with her and let you know." He looked at the time again. "I have to go. It's actually a fun lab today. We're studying out objects that were hit by lightning and seeing the damage it caused; like rocks and trees that were split open."

"That actually sounds interesting."

"Yeah, and if I don't get there early I'll get stuck in the back of the lab room with the crappy equipment, so bye."

They stared at each other for a few moments after Eric left, still trying to process the change in his attitude. "Wow."

"I'll say."

/

/

"…and we saw pieces of trees that exploded because the sap cooked inside after the lightning hit and it had to get out somewhere."

Angela smiled at him from her spot on the couch, watching as he went about the nightly clean up routine. She found that she joined him more often than not on the nights he closed the student union. It was more time to spend together. "That sounds pretty cool."

"And I though rocks would just be destroyed because you'd think if a tree snaps, what chance does a rock have, right?" She nodded. "Most of them just had a few burn marks."

"I think you've just convinced me to take a geology course next fall. You certainly talk about the class enough."

"Definitely do it. It's one of the best classes I've ever had. I wish they started covering geology stuff earlier. It would've made science classes in grade school and high school more fun." He hit a few buttons on the dishwasher. All that was left was the drying cycle. "I hate that I wasted so much time before."

"What do you mean?"

He came out from behind the counter and sat next to her on the couch. "It almost feels like a repeat of high school. I spent so much time goofing off and slacking on the work and now I'm playing catch up. But now that I'm taking things seriously I'm seeing how fun some subjects can be. I thought I learned my lesson when I barely graduated high school, but I didn't. I started goofing off the same way again."

"You got scared. You caught it in time. And look, you still have a whole year of college left to prove to yourself just how much you've got a handle on things."

"What's going to happen when I'm out there in the real world with a job? I can't play around and not do the work. I'll get fired, not given second, third, and fourth chances to get my shit together."

Angela draped her legs across his lap and held his hands. "I think your problem before was that you didn't know what was wrong and why you were acting the way you were. Now you know the signs and actually appreciate what happens when you put in the effort."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I won't get scared again."

"Everyone gets scared sometimes. You just have to make sure you have someone in your life you feel comfortable talking out those fears with before you spin out."

He laced their fingers together. "Are you volunteering for that job?

"No."

His heart sank to his gut and he wanted to throw up. "No?"

"It's not a job. A job makes it sound like a meaningless obligation. I'm going to be there for you because I want to be. I want to help you and see you reach your full potential. That's one of the best parts of being in a relationship. We can grow together and help each other."

"Don't scare me like that. When you said no I thought maybe-"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She held his face in her hands and pulled him close for a kiss. "Better?"

"It's a start."

Angela kissed him once more before settling against his chest with her head resting over his heart. She pulled his arm around her and snuggled close. She felt safe. "I hate that the only times we get to be alone lately is when I hang around while you close up."

"You can always come to the apartment and hang out in my room. And get that look off your face," he continued, not even needing to look at her. "I have a TV in there. We can watch TV or a movie, listen to music…whatever."

"It's definitely more privacy than we'd get in my dorm."

"Especially with Cory sniffing around right across the hall," he added in a sarcastic tone.

"That's something we do need to talk about."

"What? Cory? Why?"

"No, not just Cory, everybody. We have to tell them about us. They already think something might be happening, but the longer we wait the more difficult it's going to be. And that conversation was always going to be…I'll say challenging."

Eric sighed. "I guess."

"What, you don't want to tell people?"

"It's not that, but I don't think I realized how much I enjoyed having our secret little friendship until we got back from your dad's and suddenly everyone was sticking their noses in our business. It was fun hiding in plain sight."

"I know what you mean. I miss it, too."

He held her a little tighter. "Maybe the talk won't be that bad. Rachel and Topanga already know and they're pretty rational."

"And you told Mr. Feeny, right? He can help put anyone in their place if they give us trouble."

"Yeah, they'll listen to him. Ooh, plus my parents know. I told them today when I talked to my dad about getting more hours at the store."

She sat up at looked at him. "And what did they have to say?"

"They seem happy for us. Oh, the next time I go to the house for dinner mom wants me to bring you along."

"Oh."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…it's just that I've never really had to do a meet the parents thing with the person I'm dating."

"What are you talking about? You know my parents already."

"Yeah, but now it's different."

"Why?"

"Trust me, it just is."

He shrugged. "If you say so. Either way, it's still two more people on our side. That leaves telling Jack, Cory, and Shawn. I think Jack will be cool with it. The other two…we may need to go into the Witness Protection Program until things blow over."

"At least we'd have privacy," she joked before turning serious again. "I think I should talk to Shawn first. It seems mean to have him find out with an audience, even if it was an audience of close friends."

"I guess I can understand that. Are you sure you want to talk to him? I can do it."

"No, I will. He's going to take it bad no matter how he finds out, but I think it would be worse coming from you. I wouldn't want him to try and hit you."

"What, don't think I could take him?"

"That's beside the point. I'd like to avoid any physical altercations."

"I'd take a punch for you."

"That's sweet…I think…but completely unnecessary. I will handle it."

"Fine, but I will be nearby in case he takes it bad and you need backup."

"Backup for what?"

"We really need to work on your teamwork and compromising abilities."

Angela leaned up and kissed his cheek. "If it will make you feel better I will talk to him outside in the courtyard, okay?"

"Thank you." The dishwashers buzzed, meaning the last of the mugs were dry. "I should go put that stuff away."

"Need any help?"

"I think I got it." He reluctantly moved Angela's legs off of his lap and got up from the couch, going behind the counter.

She followed closely behind. "Can I watch?"

Eric laughed. "Dorm life so boring that you need to look at coffee cups and dessert plates? Maybe a few forks and spoons tossed in for variety?"

"Who said my eyes would be on the dishes?"

/

/

"Aw, man!"

Shawn stopped walking at the sound of his best friend's pained exclamation. They had just returned from the movies and were walking up to the school. "What's wrong?"

"Rocky road."

"Huh?"

"Rocky road, Shawn! Rocky road."

"I'll take possible titles of my autobiography for six hundred please, Alex," he responded with a smirk. "And make it a true Daily Double."

Cory rolled his eyes. "Do I look like I'm in the mood for Jeopardy humor right now?"

"I give up. What's the deal with rocky road?"

"You know how Topanga's been in a funk lately?"

"Yeah, she hasn't been herself."

"I was going to cheer her up and surprise her with a pint of her favorite ice cream but we walked right by the store and I forgot. How could I be so dumb?"

Shawn gave his best friend an incredulous look. "You know the store's not closed yet, right? Just turn around and walk the whole one block back."

He felt like an idiot. That hadn't even occurred to him. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Probably because of overthink everything."

"Ha-ha. You coming?"

"Nah, it's been a long day. I'm going to try and finish that reading assignment for English then go to bed. I won't complain if a candy bar follows you home for me, though."

Cory nodded. "Got it."

Shawn was only half paying attention as he approached the Student Union, but as he was about to open the door some movement caught his eye. There were two figures standing by the counter and it took him no time at all to realize it was Eric and Angela. He was putting away the coffee mugs and she was just standing there, watching and talking. Something was different about her, but damned if he could put his finger on what it was. Shawn took a few steps back so he could continue to observe them without being seen.

It didn't seem real. He felt like he was caught in a bad dream and, any moment now, the Ghost of Relationship Future would pop up and present this scenario as inevitable if he didn't change his ways and become the man Angela deserved. But there were no ghosts arriving in a mysterious black cloak surrounded by fog to save him. This was happening. The nightmare was real.

Though he couldn't hear what was being said, conversation seemed to come easy to them and was punctuated with frequent smiles and laughter. Angela was a very tactile person and every time she ran a hand down Eric's arm, through his hair, or squeezed his fingers with her own Shawn remembered when it was him in that position. And he could almost feel the hair being brushed out of his face as her hand danced along his cheek.

It suddenly hit him what it was about Angela that seemed so different: she was smiling. She looked happy. He certainly hadn't given her much to smile about these past several months…ever since they started college actually. Shawn was about to open the doors and alert them to his presence, but when Eric pulled her closer in a move that could only lead to a kiss, he turned around and walked away.

/

/

"Feeny!"

George Feeny looked up from his newspaper at the sound of Eric's voice and was not surprised when the young man joined him at his table. "Good morning, Eric."

"Whatcha doin'?"

"I was enjoying the paper and a cup of coffee before my first class. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, but I can help you."

"I may regret asking, but how?"

"Do you want to know what would make that paper and coffee better?"

"What?"

"If the Dean was sitting here sharing it with you! Come on, man," he exclaimed, exasperated. "It's been months. "How have you made no progress?"

"Eric, if I were interested in Dean Bollander, and I'm not saying I am, but if I were, I would need to lay the groundwork."

"Dude, you're old. You don't have time for groundwork."

"Excuse me?!"

"Go get yours!"

"This is a lovely conversation for the girlfriend to walk in on," Angela stated as she approached the table. "Good morning, Mr. Feeny."

"Good morning, Angela. This is quite the project you've taken on."

"Hey!" Eric stood and placed a quick kiss on his girlfriend's lips. "I was just telling Feeny if he likes the Dean to tell her that."

"Oh, in that case I agree with Eric. Why waste time? What's the worst that could happen?"

"George," Dean Bollander called out from across the room, "George, good I'm glad I caught you."

"This is your cue." Eric nudged him with his elbow. "Go get her, tiger."

He took a deep breath and met her halfway. "Yes, how can I assist you?"

"First, if it is an inconvenience, just say so, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to have a guest speaker for one of your classes next week."

"Of course. Who did you have in mind?"

"My ex-husband, Curtis. He's an archeologist and just returned from a dig and has the most fascinating stories to tell and artifacts to share. I thought it would benefit your anthropology students before the final."

'Ex-husband,' Mr. Feeny thought to himself.

Eric, however, didn't keep his thoughts quiet. "You have an ex-husband?!"

"Eric!"

Lila laughed. "It's okay, Angela. Yes, Eric, I do. The marriage didn't work, but Curtis is still the most interesting person I have ever met. His stories are out of this world. Now, I really do need to call him. Thank you again, George."

"You're welcome," he stammered out, not knowing what else to say as he watched her leave. He was snapped out of his trance when Eric slapped his arm. "What are you doing?!"

"There's an ex-husband? Do you know what this means?"

"No, but I bet you'll tell me."

"It means….dun, dun, dunnnn! You have competition. Time to step up your game. For real now."

He looked to Angela. "I don't suppose you can inject a little sanity into the conversation?"

"Sorry, I'm with him: dun, dun, dunnnn!"