Cardinal sin (2) : A laugh in Vain

16 - Just kiss already

About one and a half weeks earlier...

"I will not believe it!" Phil was shouting, angrily pacing the length of the barn. Frederick, on the other hand, raged quietly; he stormed out of the barn, only to return a moment later, not cooled down in the least. Willa had quietly taken a seat on an overturned milk crate and watched them.

Phil stomped up to Willa. "He's just left?"

"You got it. About twenty minutes ago."

"And he only told you?"

"Just me."

The young man threw his hands into the air. "He's done it again! Going off and doing things without telling us a thing. The last time this happened, we found him dead. Did you know that? Well, probably, since he seems to trust you more than he does us." Phil kicked the wall, but the weak wood only crumpled since it was rotting.

"There's no need to take your rage out on me... or the barn, for that matter. The two of you aren't very useful in a fight, so he decided to go alone so you wouldn't be at risk of getting hurt. He said it would be very dangerous." Willa may have twisted the truth a little, but she felt it would be easier to deal with these little tantrums that way. She decided to change the subject as she was tired of all their whining. "We gave you lots of time while we were outside talking. Did you kiss?"

This stopped Philemon short.

"Kiss?"

"No, shake hands and do a little dance," Willa said sarcastically. "Of course, kiss, you dumb little boy."

"Kiss who?"

Again, Willa couldn't hold back her sarcasm. "The floor."

"Why would I kiss the floor? It's nasty."

"Dear god, I don't understand how your generation can be so stupid. Did you or did you not kiss Frederick?"

Phil raised his eyebrows. "Fred? No, of course not. We're both boys."

"Oh, don't give me that BS. The two of you have so much chemistry it makes me want to just force you to get married on the spot. I wonder how it would turn out if I did..." Willa shook her head quickly. The woman went on to mutter to herself, "No, no, that's illegal. Can't go back to jail. But I can make them admit their feelings for each other and encourage them to get married at once."

"What on earth are you talking about, Dronsken?"

He was too focused on the curious escaped convict in front of him, so Phil did not catch a glimpse of Frederick's face and see that it was just as red as a tomato. The words "did you kiss Frederick" made his heart start to beat so quickly, the young man almost thought the organ would decide to simply up and die. The fact that Willa would even suggest such a thing was preposterous!

... Right?

In the meantime, Willa quit her muttering and said in a normal tone, "I'll get nowhere with you, stupid little boy. The other one seems smarter. We're heading for Central right now. No arguing. I'm the boss so do as I say. Frederick, boy, come here. You and I have to have a serious discussion about where you'll take Phil for your first date once you admit your love for him. While we're at it, we might as well start planning your wedding."

***

Present day...

Willa smiled sadly as placed her letter on the table. For a moment, she lingered, hesitated, and watched her fingers on the paper. It wasn't too late to turn back...

But she would keep marching until she came to the cliff—the end.

"Get married for me, alright?" she whispered even if no one was listenning.

Then, she set off at a determined march, leaving the hotel room. Willa made her way rapidly out onto the streets and walked around until she got to the hospital. At the front desk, she signed her name on the sheet handed to her by the clerk. A nurse came to see her a few minutes after that and led her through the busy corridors of the hospital.

"He better be awake."

"Don't worry, mam', he is," the nurse said. "The burns he got were already treated by another doctor, so we're mostly just helping him recover. Ah, here we are. This is his room."

The nurse knocked on the door once before opening. She invited Willa in, and to the patient, she said, "You've got a visitor, Mister Elric."