It was Malcolm's birthday. It was also the day Ellen and Linda came home. Boy, did we have some 'splainin' to do. They wouldn't be too happy with Angus and Ellen would kill me. The kiss would be the hardest to tell, but Angus should not keep secrets from his wife. And surely she'd understand. We hoped. "I didn't know you danced," Phil said. Angus looked up at him.
"I don't. What are you talking about?"
"Nothin'. Don't worry about it, Twinkle Toes," Brian said patting him on the back. Angus turned to face me and I shrugged.
"Malcolm!"
"Malcolm!" Linda shouted as she ran through the door.
"Missed you too babe," he smiled hugging her. Ellen followed after her carrying both of their suitcases. I helped her carry them so she'd be less mad.
"Thank you. You boys are home early. You said the middle of January." Angus came up and kissed her a welcome home.
"We-I have something I need to tell you," he said taking her to the couch.
"Uh oh," Linda said. "This doesn't sound good."
"Not really, no," Angus said. "Uh, while you were gone, ladies, I was feeling stressed so I drank a little on New Year's Eve. And what started as a little turned out to be a lot."
"Oh no, how much?" Ellen asked.
"I apparently threw up in my sleep." Angus put his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth.
"Bon," Linda whispered. Angus nodded. Ellen stood up and put her hands on his shoulders.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, ya' know, Hannah was there and held me up so I wouldn't..."
"Oh my God!" Ellen pulled Angus into a hug. Then she came over and gave me a hug. "Thank you so much!"
"No problem Ells."
"I called Mal and told him, they came over the next morning," Brian explained.
"Thank God too, that meeting was horrible Mal," Phil said.
"Ah, bugger off."
"There's something else too Ells," Angus said with a guilty look.
"What?"
"Well, uh, the reason I was so stressed is-well, you know how I liked Hannah in the seventies-"
"And still do," she interrupted with a smirk.
"-well, okay, but I kind of-kissed her," he mumbled the last bit. Ellen looked at me.
"When?"
"Day before yesterday," I answered. Ellen looked into the air for a minute then sighed. She grabbed her purse and pulled out her wallet.
"I swear I'm gonna be broke for Valentine's Day," she said pulling out what looked like a lot of money and handing it to Linda.
"You shouldn't have taken the bet then," Linda said happily accepting her reward.
"You made a bet?" Angus asked.
"Linda made it, I challenged it."
"What the hell did you bet on?" Malcolm asked his wife.
"I bet he'd kiss her when we were gone," she explained. "As much as I expected it to happen, I'm still surprised!"
"I'm not too thrilled my husband kissed another girl, but I like Hannah and it's not like they went too far," Ellen said.
"No," everyone said shaking their heads. Especially me.
"Besides. I'd figure it'd happen sooner or later, might as well get it over with." She had a point.
"Well, now I'm rich," said Linda. "Oh! Mal, I have your birthday present..."
"Ooh, where is it?"
"No! Not here..." she said softly.
"Ohhh, okay, um, everyone? We're going on a date...upstairs so, enjoy the cake," Malcolm said as he and Linda ran off.
"Yuck," we all said turning our heads away.
"What cake are we supposed to enjoy?" Brian asked.
"Certainly not theirs," I said disgusted getting a few laughs.
"Well, we should catch up on each other's adventures then," Cliff said. "Ellen you start."
