( canon ) follies

[whys]

I — I don't know what you're expecting to see, here. I've got a lot on my plate and you know it. A whole life to patch up isn't anything to scoff at, you know? [ He attempts a laugh, but ends up just scuffing his feet. ] Sorry. Sorry. I guess I just –

Listen, I —

I gotta take Sally home.

Comments

[hardship]

[ She stares at him for a long moment, expression far too earnest to conceal the mangle of emotions she feels in seeing a man with Francis' face. ]

No— [ Phillipa says eventually and shakes her head. ] It's not something to scoff at, at all.

[whys]

[ Buddy isn't used to being looked at, not for any long periods of time. He's too normal, too under the radar, a nothing and a nobody compared to the people he'd always kept company with. He does his best to smile, now, his hands shoved into his pockets to try to keep from fidgeting. ]

Not something you ever expect to have to do, huh? Don't even know where to start.

[derevko]

Who is Sally?

[whys]

She's my wife. It's been thirty years, now, since we got married.

[derevko]

Congratulations. You must be very much in love.

[whys]

[ Buddy laughs again, at that, although this is less forced cheer than it is bitterness. ] I wouldn't call it that.

But I don't know what I would call it, either.

[derevko]

[ She leans in just a fraction closer and rests her chin in one hand, appearing for all intents and purposes as if she's studying a curious sight rather than having a conversation. ] What would she call it?