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Part 46: Couple

"Hm.... What if we made the dessert? Eddie and Frank are currently making the main dishes."

"Oh, that's a great idea!" I cheered. Wally's face lit up.

He hopped off the chair and dashed into the kitchen to tell Eddie and Frank his idea. I heard excited talking before Wally returned to the living room.

"They like it! Eddie suggested that we rate each other's dishes, too! It should be plenty of fun," Wally sang. He clasped his hands together and looked down at me, for I was still leaning against the back of the armchair quietly.
"This will be a fun day! I think we could paint pottery, too. I have many spare teapots and mugs perfect for glazing."

"Wonderful, Wally! They will enjoy that a lot, I bet!" I clapped quietly. Wally's smile widened a bit. He looked down at his shiny shoes before putting his hands in the pockets of his hands absently. He looked around.

(Wally was beginning to feel a little better about the whole situation now.

He still felt bad for Eddie, though. He could probably locate a spare finger for Eddie if it really came down to it..)

An hour later, we were having dinner. Wally and I had made the same apple poke cake from before. Eddie and Frank had prepared a simple but tasty dish. [*The dish is whatever you want it to be.]

"This is delicious! I rate it a ten out of ten!" I exclaimed. Eddie chuckled. Frank's cheeks turned pink.

(Frank had not expected anyone to like his cooking. He was happy that his neighbors thought so highly of it.)

"Awe, shucks. Frank did most of the cooking. Only thing I did was stare at his gorgeous face, haha," Eddie laughed. He patted Frank's back.

"Thank you for the high rating and praise," Frank mumbled. Wally nodded happily.

"I give at a ten out of ten, too! Apples might improve the rating a little bit more," Wally stated. I poked his arm.

"Wally, a ten is the highest possible rating already!" I laughed. Wally sat up straighter and cleared his throat.

"Ahem, yes. I knew that. Totally."

"It's okay, Wally," Eddie chuckled heartily. He looked over at Frank and nodded.

"Your dessert was enjoyable," Frank declared. His tone was still flat, but he was happy and pleased.

"Frank also meant to say that we both loved it! It looked gorgeous and tasted even better," Eddie said merrily. Frank fidgeted with his ring, probably out of nervousness. Frank did not seem to be very good at accepting compliments, but that was okay.

"So, Wally had an idea for our next activity... How about we glaze some of Wally's bisqueware? We could make custom pieces for our homes," I suggested. Wally nodded eagerly. He liked all things art-related, so this project was something he desperately wanted to do.

Frank crossed his arms and looked over at Eddie. Eddie smiled at Frank. Frank sighed and looked over at Wally and me.

"Yes, we may do that," he answered. Wally excitedly threw his hands up into the air.

"I'll go grab the supplies!"

"I'll help you, Wally. You don't have enough arms to carry everything," I said as I stood up.
"We'll be right back!"

Wally and I returned shortly after the initial suggestion of painting pottery. We set everything down on the tarp on the floor, and we all sat down on the tarp.

(Each pair had two mugs and a teapot.

Eddie was very excited. He already knew what he was going to paint: Frank! Even though his art skills were not as refined as Wally's, he could still manage to glaze on a cute, simplified portrait of Frank and himself next to each other.

Frank was planning on glazing a butterfly with Eddie's colors on it. The butterfly was going to wear Eddie's hat even though butterflies did not wear hats.

Wally's plan was to paint something that complemented whatever you decided to paint. If you painted your entire mug black, he'd do white. If you did a dog eating an apple, he'd do a cat eating an apple.
He was rather fond of his brilliant idea.)

We all began painting. I struck up an interesting conversation with Eddie. Wally and Frank talked, though their topic options were sparce.

I painted a record player onto my mug. I used a variation of blue glazed and brown glazes for it.

As I talked with Eddie, I looked over at what Wally was painting. He was painting a record next to its sleeve. He used the same colors as me. I liked how our mugs matched.

"Yep! One time, I had my entire arm covered in yarn! Tying a strand of yarn around a finger is Frank's favorite memory device. It doesn't work too well for me, but I go along with it because he seems so proud when I manage to remember something," Eddie whispered to me. He laughed and continued glazing his mug.

Some more time passed, and we fired everything in Wally's kiln again. As we waited, we watched a movie.

(Eddie and Frank's teapot was a mix of muted orange and gray. It was quite nice.

The teapot you and Wally had was white. It was striped with shades of blue and brown.)

The pieces were done firing. Frank shyly showed Eddie his mug. Eddie grinned and showed Frank's his mug. They both glowed with a certain kind of joy upon seeing the other's reaction.

I showed Wally my mug. He gave me a thumbs up. He showed me his mug. I acted surprised, for I didn't want to ruin his plan. He seemed content with my reaction.

"They match! What a coincidence," Wally gasped as he held up our mugs. I hummed quietly.

"It's certainly awesome!" I agreed with him.

Our little showing of our mugs was interrupted by Eddie. He did not know we were showing off our mugs, so it was fine.

"Sorry that you two got here so late! Well, don't worry. We'll have plenty more fun tomorrow. The guest room is at the end of the hallway on the right, okay? If either of you need something, just come get me or Frank," Eddie explained. Wally and I nodded to show our understanding.

"Good night!" Eddie waved to us all. He gave Frank a kiss on the cheek and left to go sleep.

"Eddie likes to sleep as early as possible," Frank said. He straightened his bowtie.

"Oh, that's nice. It's healthy to get a good amount of sleep," I nodded. Frank seemed pleased with my comment.

"Goodbye," he turned around and left. Wally and I were left standing in the living room by ourselves.

"Today was enjoyable," Wally spun in his bunny slippers. He tied his hair into a messy bun. I knew he hated having his hair down, but he'd have to deal with it until Howdy's next shipment.

"I agree. It wasn't so bad, was it?" I chuckled.
"I'm going to sleep. What about you?"

"I'm going to stay up for a bit longer. I'll be sitting at the dining room table if you need me, my dear," Wally blew me a kiss. As he walked over to the table, his slippers squeaked quietly.

"Don't stay up too late, alright? Goodnight, Wally, dear," I hummed as I left the room. I walked into the guest room, snuggled underneath the covers, and fell asleep.

(Once Wally was sure you had left, he began to think. He waited because he didn't need you to see him looking so perplexed.

..Why had Howdy commented on the moon? Yes, it was a secret, pitiful confession, but it was something else, and Wally knew that Howdy knew it, too.

The sky wasn't visible usually. The neighborhood's sky was made out of unknown materials. Something was terribly wrong. Wally needed to begin making calls as soon as possible.

He groaned and massaged his temples. What on earth did he have to do, now?

Wally leaned back in the chair and stared blankly at the ceiling. He probably wasn't going to fall asleep for a very long time.)