Chapter 64: Violet's Dilemma

Dissertation: DONE! That's right, ladies and gents. If all goes well, by this time a week from now, you can call me Dr. Fuzzy Octopus. (note: Please do. It'll make the last 8 years seem somehow worth it.)

Well then ... this calls for a celebration ... and I know just the thing: a 100% Angel-free chapter! Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Enjoy!:


Chapter 64: Violet’s Dilemma

Chris and Angel had split. Angel seemed relatively miserable for a while there, which was, of course, fabulous, but seemed to have bounced back, and that was rather distressing. On top of all of that, Chris had shown little interest in Violet herself, which left Marie feeling bored and slightly offended. There had to be something else she could do. But Chris was not particularly interesting anymore. So instead she decided to go a different route.

And when you really came down to it, she reasoned, why the hell was she interested in Angel’s leftovers? [uhm, because that’s your M.O.?] But … it would be dangerous to keep her too far away. No—best to stay informed. But being Violet wasn’t doing anything for her anymore. Time to go back—if she could.

She laughed at that thought. Of course she could. She was Marie, Nightshade, Violet. Three in one. And she knew who to call.

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Scott sat in the diner finishing his second cup of coffee. She was late. Of course she was late. What had even possessed him to agree to meet her in the first place? This was completely ridiculous. He signaled to the waitress for the check.

And then she slid into the booth across from him.

“Hey,” she said. “Sorry I’m late. I hit some traffic on the way. Scott … you look good.”

“Thanks. You too.” This was an understatement. She had a new haircut—soft layers that framed her face, [ah, the Rachel] and wore a low-cut black top that made it difficult for Scott to keep his eyes on her face.

“Thanks for meeting me here, Scott. I’m sure your gut told you not to.”

“Hey, when have I ever listened to that? What’s up, Marie?”

“How have you been?”

“Good and bad. You know. You?”

“Same.” The waitress approached with a menu. “I’ll have an earl grey tea and a grilled cheese sandwich,” [mmm, grilled cheese sandwich.] she said, waving the menu away. “Scott, I’m just going to be blunt with you, here. I miss you. I know we had issues, and they were mostly my fault—I know I had a jealous streak—but how could I not be jealous? You are an amazing man, and I was so incredibly lucky to be yours. And I was happier with you than I’ve ever been—and I haven’t been happy since we split. I don’t expect you to just drop everything and be with me now. I just wanted to tell you.”

Scott exhaled and leaned back. “Marie. Wow. That’s … that’s a lot to process. I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything right now, Scott. I just wanted to tell you how I felt.”

“Ok. I appreciate that, Marie.”

The waitress brought her food. She stirred sugar into her tea.

“I dated this one guy a couple months ago. He seemed like a gem, you know? Kind, smart, friendly. Too friendly, turns out.”

“He … cheated on you?”

“Yep,” Marie said, sipping her tea. “Caught him red-handed. Had his tongue down his secretary’s throat.” [how cliché.]

“Yikes. Sorry, Marie.”

“Yeah, thanks.” She dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a napkin. “Guess it happens.”

“You don’t have to tell me that,” Scott said. He folded and unfolded a corner of the placemat. [don’t you love diner placemats? They always have the best local ads on them. This one in my hometown had an ad for laser hair removal that featured the vilest “before” picture ever. It was very appetizing.]

“Scott,” Marie said, reaching for his hand. A bold move, she thought, but what do you know? It worked. He let her hand cover his. “What happened?”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. [Contain the rage, Scott. Contain the rage.] “Same old story. Boy meets girl, falls for girl, girl runs into her ex-boyfriend and screws him.” [LOL. Not.]

“Ouch. Sorry, Scott. You don’t deserve that.”

Scott shrugged and picked up half of Marie’s sandwich. She grinned at him.

“Can I?”

“Scott, would I have ordered your favorite food and not expected you to snatch half of it?” [grilled cheese sandwiches are his favorite food? What about Angel’s cookies?]

He responded by taking a bite. “So what did you to? To your ex?”

“Nothing.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“He had a $200 bottle of scotch that I might have poured down the drain and replaced with apple juice.”

“That’s pretty tame for you.”

“I know. I definitely considered going the Molotov cocktail route with the scotch, but I’ve matured.” She sipped her tea.

“Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve still got an edge.”

“I’m sure you do.” He ate the rest of her sandwich.

“Hey! You’re paying for that!” she said playfully.

“Maybe I was planning on it anyway, M.” [when did he start calling her that? Or was I suddenly too lazy to write out her whole name?]

Marie smiled.

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NOTES:

1) What, exactly, was Violet's titular dilemma? She's bored? I guess that's a dilemma. Look, Vi, I don't know if you've read any of the other chapters, but hanging out with Scott is pretty much the opposite of a cure for boredom.

2) How many of you think that Rick was hiding in the booth right behind them, perhaps wearing some sort of inconspicuous disguise, such as a fedora, trenchcoat, and Groucho Marx glasses-nose-eyebrows ensemble?

3) Earl grey tea is what Captain Picard favors. I know this because my brother is quite a fan of Star Trek and any time we are out at a restaurant, he orders "Earl Grey. Hot." in a Captain Picard voice. I guess nerdiness runs in my family. To the best of my knowledge, however, he has never written Star Trek fan fiction.


COMING UP NEXT:

Oh boy! More Chris/Justina/Barry hotel shenanigans. No, not like that.

Chapter 65: Discovery