The Ties That Bind

Epilogue: The Other Side of The Phaya Tale

The Borscht Bowl Club
April 17, 2019 9:30 pm

"We're so late for the party!" Franziska cried in dismay, checking her reflection in the passenger visor of Miles' sports car for the millionth time. "This is beyond terrible, liebling! Bad enough to spring me on them without having given any prior warning I'd be attending, and now we're over half an hour late showing up! It is a severe etiquette breach even if they are more your friends than mine! As if they need yet another reason to dislike me!"

Miles shrugged. While he deplored tardiness as much as his fiancée, it couldn't have been helped in this instance. And he didn't have the heart to tell the woman he loved in her current agitated state that perhaps their friends would like her more and fear her/loathe her less if she stopped talking down to them and whipping them at every drop of a hat!

"You're the one who insisted she needed to change her clothes, meine dame," he reminded her. "I for one, thought the little denim dress you had initially picked would have been the perfect ensemble for the evening!"

"Miles, there was no way I could have worn anything that showed off any skin from neck to chest since my fiancé decided to channel his inner vampire and leave hickeys on all over me!" She grumbled, folding down the turtleneck collar of her turquoise sweater dress to ensure all love bites were properly hidden before finally getting out the vehicle and unenthusiastically following him to the bar entrance.

He flashed her a sexy grin. "I didn't hear you complaining about my overly zealous excitement at seeing you in that seductive dress an hour earlier!"

"You're right," she snickered. "It's as much my fault as yours. It's the excitement of being properly engaged, it still hasn't worn off! Otherwise I'd have found some way to resist your amorous advances, exactly an hour before we were to leave the house, Herr Irresistible!"

The cold blast of Siberian air hit them the minute they walked into the tavern, and Franziska shivered, suddenly thankful she'd changed into more suitably covering clothing as protection from frostbite! She'd have caught her death if she'd worn the strapless denim mini-dress out that night, even if the form-fitting nature of it did happen to drive her fiancé wild with desire!

She wondered what Maya would be wearing that night, and how she looked now. It had been ages since they'd seen her. Miles was fond of the birthday girl, and while she and Franziska had never been close, despite being the same age, she didn't feel any sort of ill-will towards the spirit medium and hoped that the evening wouldn't be completely catastrophic.

Miles was halfway through the bar when Franziska realized she'd forgotten something in the car.

"Liebling, your key please!" She gasped, grabbing his arm. "I left my whip under the seat, and I need to go fetch it!"

He looked at her with amused exasperation. "You promised me you were going to be nice to everyone and that you weren't going to whip anyone tonight, Franziska! I know you think they're all fools, but they're my fools. Our fools. And need I remind you two of those fools got us together?"

"Please Miles," Franziska begged. "I promise I shall try to be on my best behavior, but I feel positively naked without it!"

With a sigh, he reluctantly handed her the keys and she blew him a kiss, telling him to go and find their group and she'd catch up with him.

Besides, as much as you tell me to forsake my trusty sidekick, you never know when it may come in handy, she thought to herself as she hurried out to the car. Better safe than sorry right?