Bart's Friend Diggs

Chapter 8

"Well, Diggs... are YOU for real?"

My question was blunt and straight to the point. Diggs only blinked his eyes twice and answered back confused.

"What do I mean? Of course, I'm for real. BART." He told me, pulling my shirt collar and me up close as if to intimate or to show his extreme seriousness about the topic, "I am the most realist I have EVER been."

"B-but-" I said, tripping over my words as I peered mystified into Diggs's dark eyes, "It's not, it's NOT even legal!"

"So we'll have a seven-year engagement, no worries."

"Yes, worries," I demanded back at him and shoved his clasping hand off me. I stepped back, well more stumbled and I looked at him astonished, "Lisa would not say 'yes' to you."

Diggs sat back silently on his bed. His eyes turned away from me, like all thoughts in his mind had for once gone silent and he didn't know how to respond. I watched him, worried for the both of us but especially him.

He finally cleared his throat, shaking down the wrinkles on his shirt and he looked slowly back up at me as if disappointed.

"Well," He said, gazing at me, but it was more like he was looking through as if I wasn't even there, "I only asked for your blessing, not your permission. So." He continued briskly with a coldness to his voice now and he just stared at me, like I was a stranger, "Do I have your blessing?"

I wanted to say yes, I so really wanted to make him happy and pleased.

But I couldn't. The whole idea was ludicrous. IT WAS STUPID.

I finally glared back up into Diggs cold eyes and responded just as cold, "NO."

"Goodbye, Bart."

He said that so suddenly, I honestly thought I had heard wrong.

"What?"

"Please leave me alone."

I didn't know how to answer him. His eyebrows had lowered and he was not happy anymore.

"I'm sorry, Diggs, but... it's not time... even ask her. She would reject you."

Diggs closed his eyes and tilted his head down in pain at what I said.

"Reject me... because of my illness?"

"Because your only fourteen and she's only ELEVEN."

"Hmm..." He murmured. He finally snapped his head up again, his eyes yanking open and he told me, "Bring her in."

"But-"

He squinted his eyes at me, and my heart beat heavily. I moved towards the door and pulled it opened just the slightest, calling out for her, "Lis...?"

"Yeah, Bart?" She answered and I waved her towards me. Before she entered the room, I suddenly slammed the door closed behind me and pulled her aside to tell her what she needed to know.

"Lisa, Diggs is going to ask you something that you have to reject because he's loopy at the moment."

"What's he going to ask me? I think he's asked me everything by now."

"Not everything..." I said, my words trailing off. Lisa raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, asking back distantly.

"What, Bart-?"

"Lisa, lovely Lisa!"

I froze when I heard Diggs's voice on the other side of the door, as he pulled it opened and looked at her, his eyes twinkling in warmth and expectancy.