@justcallmebeau "Man, you are so fucked." Eli had waited until he and Beau were alone, finally, retreating outside to the big porch overlooking the lake to have a smoke. Belle and Mal, the kids and the grandmother, were all inside still, cleaning up and playing after the large (and excellent) meal. Mal had outdone himself and had he not already been marrying Belle Eli might have proposed himself; but the food wasn't good enough to make him miss the way Beau looked at them, Belle and Mal both. He knew that look, he knew that feeling, and it only surprised him a little to see them giving him similar attention when they all thought no one was noticing. Before Beau could backpedal, Eli took a drag off his cigarette and dropped into one of the deck chairs, continuing. "Both of them, huh? Fucking complex, man, and that doesn't even count in the kids and the wedding. The wedding. You know, that event where they pledge to only be with each other, eternal love and all that?"
