Tragically Yours

| 35 |

After walking into the empty hallway connecting straight to the backstage, there are things I wasn't expecting when Gail and I entered through the door. But before mentioning the surprises we've received, I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for correctly assuming something. It really seems that Lisbeth is enthusiastically speaking with Declan—alongside Ethan, and when I get closer to them, I can clearly hear that they're talking about the novel-to-stage play project. I wonder what will happen if I announce to Lisbeth that the woman standing beside me is the same woman I've been talking about to her. I haven't introduced Lisbeth to Gail yet, but I did point to Gail that the blonde-haired woman is Ethan's twin sister, Lisbeth. Right after pointing Lisbeth to her, Gail's next words were literally, "They're like the Dipper and Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls. But instead of solving mysteries, their passion is writing."

I tried my best not to laugh at her comment, since for some reason that struck me like lightning. For years of hanging out with the twins, never have I ever had a thought about comparing Ethan and Lisbeth to Dipper and Mabel Pines. Holy shit, their last names are Miles —Ethan and Lisbeth Miles. It makes even more sense that they're like Dipper and Mabel Pines of literature. Huh, I should probably mention that to Ethan or Lisbeth someday because that's too good to just hide it between us.

Anyway, the next thing we've noticed are Favian and Stella casually chatting with Jerico and Aileen. When all four of them saw us enter, they only raised the glass of wine as a greeting. There are two questions that entered my mind after that interaction. One is who was the one that pointed the wine storage to these four people? And the second question is, why is Stella the only one not drinking in the group? I would have understood if Favian is the one who isn't drinking, since he'll be the one drinking the two of them home. But why Stella? She usually likes to drink when she's in a relaxing setting. Does this not seem like a relaxing setting to her? Is she worried about something and that's why she's not drinking?

Even Gail raised that concern in a whisper as she leaned closer to me. "Why is Stella the only one who isn't drinking? Also, is there more wine around, I need some to help me relax a bit before socializing with all your friends."

That last part made me do a double take at Gail before concluding to myself to ignore that last part. "I don't know. Stella often drinks when she's in a relaxing setting. Maybe there's something that wouldn't allow her to relax." Right after saying those words, I accidentally made eye contact with Stella. She looks relaxed, but still, why isn't she drinking? The only logical explanation is... Holy shit! "Maybe Stella is pregnant. Perhaps that's why she's not drinking."

I look back at Gail, who'd crossed her arms over her chest as her piercing blue eyes analyze the sight before us. "It's funny how we're both gossiping about your boss' wife while both of them are in the same room as we are." Gossiping is a strong word, perhaps like... Assessing. "But anyway, you could be right about that one. Maybe she is pregnant and she's being a responsible mother." Something in her tone sends skepticism into my mind. I don't understand why that was the case, but she feels she's more on convincing herself that the theory is true than agreeing to me that I'm correct.

Moving on, that was the first thing that surprised us. The next thing was even more surprising than the last one. This one has something to do with Ethan. For a split second, I saw Ethan enter the door to the hallway that connects the backstage to the lobby of the building. It's where we came from before entering the backstage. At first, I wasn't worried about it. Maybe he'd forgotten something in his car and he's trying to get it. But when the door bursts open again, not only I see Ethan entering the room again, but Mel is by his side. At this point of the evening, I kept asking myself what the actual fuck is happening today? Why are there these surprises all of a sudden? Is the universe preparing me for something?