A Walk in the Park (Sunny)

[SUNNY CRUSOE]

“Say, I'm a bit hungry. What about you? I could have my housekeeper whip up a sandwich and some soup for us and we can have a go at the telly."

Ok, so this was probably the setting of every bad horror movie he’d ever seen. Normally, he wouldn’t hesitate to follow someone home to see what their lives were like. He could get away with it, being an eccentric and all. But when he found people just as screwed up as he was, it wasn’t in his best interest to push the limits.

See? he wanted to crow at his therapist I do have a limit and I stick within it. If only the man were standing in shouting range because this would be rather pointless otherwise to start shouting that out in the middle of the park. Well, maybe Tuesday would take that as the ever loving hint to take him home already, which would be fine in his book. Anything would be better than talking turkey with an ostrich.

"And of course your friend is invited...Do I have to make the food invisible for him to eat it?"

Saints preserve us, as his mother liked to say. Sunny glanced up at the sky, wondering if this was how most people felt when they talked to him. Sure, he was crazy, but so was this. Maybe crazies just brought out the insanity in other crazies...It was an interesting thing to look into some time.

"Are you sure you won't take my offer of lunch and a movie at my place? You can invite a girl if you wish. I could invite my girlfriend too, if I had one."

Sunny held his tongue on commenting about how Danny probably couldn’t get a girl without a Visa card, but then he’d have to defend his choice to remain single and happy. That would mean dredging up his ex-wife and his less than happy divorce. Well, his less than divorce. Someone signing the papers, filing them, and being gone from port when you got off ship was not a high point to share with others. Heck, he’d punched an Admiral over it and ended up on his own private island for eight years...No, he was better off keeping that card close to his chest.

“No, thank you. I think Tuesday – who is very much not a girl – and myself will decline.” He took the moment to glare at his nanny for a moment, listening as he was invited to see some mask. Again, it’s like he was in the middle of some horror movie. He was going to get knifed through the chest at this rate.

“Listen, Bub. I’m not coming to your house. I am not going anywhere with you that isn’t extremely public. Scratch that, I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t know what you think is going on here, but I’m not looking for a BFF,” he sighed, holding in a growl. “Honestly, I sat down beside a guy at a fountain because I was bored and looking for attention. It wasn’t a marriage proposal.”

There. Someone had actually managed to annoy the heck out of him to the point where he was playing the marriage card. He kicked Tuesday’s shoe again, watching as the man shifted, turning the page in his paper, and crossing the kicked foot over his knee. Asshat.

[ERIK DANIEL LENOIR]

"Oh." Danny looked slightly pouty, when the man turned him down for lunch. Danny really liked talking to this fellow; he was a very interesting conversationalist. He had some good comments on some very different subjects, things Danny never would have discussed with anyone else. They might have thought him daft. And Danny did everything he could to make sure no one thought him daft. But with this fellow, it seemed that Danny could be himself. That's why he was so disappointed. He had even invited his invisible friend. He wasn't really sure if this man really had an invisible friend or not. He could be fibbing about that. How was Danny to know? The friend was invisible. But let the fellow have his fun.

Then Danny laughed at what he had said earlier. "I suppose it would be for the best if you don't come for lunch. I don't really know how to make food invisible for your friend." Danny started to have the distinct impression that the man didn't want to speak to him anymore. He couldn't understand why not. Perhaps his invisible friend was pestering him to go home.

The first declination of coming for lunch was quite polite and Danny accepted that. But then Mr Tuesday or whoever he was, said, Listen, Bub. I’m not coming to your house. I am not going anywhere with you that isn’t extremely public. Scratch that, I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t know what you think is going on here, but I’m not looking for a BFF. There he did it again. Called Danny Bub.

Danny made a face. "Please...please....don't call me that. I HATE that name. My name is Daniel or Danny or Erik if you prefer. But please, not ...ugh....Bub. It's so....bloody ugh..." After a moment he calmed down. "BFF?" What is that? I don't believe I've heard the expression. I'm not from here you know...

The fellow went on, Honestly, I sat down beside a guy at a fountain because I was bored and looking for attention. It wasn’t a marriage proposal. Danny looked a little hurt. "Of course, that's ridiculous. If I want to get married, I shall find myself a fine woman. But I was bored and lonely too and it was very nice of you to speak to me. But I see you've better things to do. So I expect I should be on my way."

Danny didn't want to quit the conversation, but it seemed the other fellow did. So he rose from the bench and said, "It's been lovely meeting you, Mr Tuesday. Tell your friend it was probably lovely to meet him too, but he's a bit like a looking glass with no silvering on the back, you can see straight through him..." Danny smiled and proffered his hand. "Well then, till another day when we are both very bored again. Of course that may be a long while in coming, you have your invisible friend. I have no one but myself. Often I am very good company, in fact almost always, but today, I felt the need for someone with another opinion. And you fit the bill. Well, I'm off then. Good day." Danny put his sunglasses and his hat back on and nodded again to the man and in the direction he thought where the invisible man was standing and took his leave of the fountain. He would come again probably tomorrow and hope that he would be able to speak to someone who was as good a conversationalist as Mr Tuesday.

He had gone a few paces when he thought of something. "Oh Mr Tuesday," he said, turning on his heel. "Here is my business card if you ever want to consult about systems analysis or computer networking. It's my business, EDL Consulting." He handed the man a business card, nodded and walked off again.

[SUNNY CRUSOE]

Sunny resisted the impulse to roll his eyes at Danny’s pouty tone. Pouting now...He hated whining tones like that. They alternately annoyed the crap out of him, or made him guilty. He didn’t like either emotion, especially when it interfered with his favorite things – like making other people feel those emotions.

"I suppose it would be for the best if you don't come for lunch. I don't really know how to make food invisible for your friend."

Sunny glared at Tuesday. He was real. This was a VERY bad joke and if he didn’t smarten up, Sunny was going to do something awful to his 401K. He wasn’t going to let this one go. Now he was dealing with a mental situation that he really didn’t want to be in the middle of, especially when he was being shown up by another crazy. His therapist was going to draw this one out for a long, long, long time. Seriously, he was never going to let him feel normal again. This guy needed to go talk to his therapist. All upset about being called Bub and all. Then he implies they’re not getting married – where did he get the idea that he was gay?

“First off, a BFF is a best friend forever. Not important. Also not important, we’re not getting married and don’t call me a woman.”

No, he was never getting married ever again. It was one of those things that he only ever had to try once to know that it wasn’t for him. Being divorced and left high and dry had been the final straw on that. Oh, and listening to her whine about babies. Babies this, babies that. He didn’t want babies.

He glanced at Erik or Danny or whoever he was, imagining he’d probably be one of those people who wanted babies. It was a VERY good thing that he wasn’t a woman.

"It's been lovely meeting you, Mr Tuesday. Tell your friend it was probably lovely to meet him too, but he's a bit like a looking glass with no silvering on the back, you can see straight through him..."

“C’mon! This is getting old. Tell me you can see him. Tuesday,” he whined, kicking his shoe again. “Validate your existence and say something.”

Oh yes, he was going to do something both childish and terrible when he exacted his revenge for this one. He was R.B. Crusoe. He was not going to stand here and be mocked by his silent assistant. He was barely paying any attention when the other guy started making his goodbyes, going as far as to wander off a bit before saying something again.

"Oh Mr Tuesday, here is my business card if you ever want to consult about systems analysis or computer networking. It's my business, EDL Consulting."

He nodded a bit, taking the card and shoving it into a pocket where it would probably go through the wash later if Tuesday forgot to rescue it.

“And if you want mine, go read a book,” he offered with a bit of a wave.

And of course it was then that Tuesday started snickering from behind his newspaper. Oh yes, so fired.