Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 340

"Achoo—"

Tarquin was in the middle of sipping his whiskey when he suddenly sneezed.

Keaton, with a teasing glint in his playful eyes, quipped, "Sounds like someone's talking trash about you."

Tarquin ignored him, didn't even spare him a glance, and continued to drink.

He kept pouring himself drink after drink until he was flat out drunk.

Slumped against the couch, he closed his eyes and yanked at his tie, looking downright miserable.

"Tarquin," Keaton called out to him several times to no response.

Once it was clear he was out cold, Keaton turned to Lowell and asked, "What in the world happened today? Why's he so down in the dumps?"

Keaton chose his words carefully, saying 'down in the dumps,' not 'mad.'

Having been around Tarquin long enough, Keaton knew the difference between when Tarquin was sad and when he was angry.

Tonight, it was sadness, not anger, that overwhelmed him.

Lowell scratched his head, clearly puzzled, "I'm not sure how to even start."

"Just spit it out, anything you remember," Keaton urged.

"It all began with Elijah, no wait, it actually starts with Ms. Thorne…" Lowell recounted the day's events to Keaton in one breath.

He talked about Elijah wanting to call Elysia 'mom,' the argument fueled by Elijah’s split personality with Tarquin, and Tarquin wanting to meet Elysia's kids, which led to Elysia getting so nervous and angry.

He also mentioned Elysia collapsing and being rushed to the hospital, waking up to slap Tarquin, and Tarquin being sedated and stripped by Elysia…

And before coming to the bar, Tarquin cornering Elysia and dragging her to the gazebo for a private chat.

"…That's pretty much it. But what they talked about privately, I have no clue. All I know is after Ms. Thorne left, Tarquin was alone at the gazebo smoking, and he already looked like a wreck."

Keaton continued, "Whose idea was this? Elijah's or Elysia's?"

"Seems like it was Elijah's."

"That means Elijah is moving past his trauma, which should be a good thing."

"But Elijah also wants Tarquin to be Ms. Thorne’s husband."

"What? That too?"

"Yeah! The argument between Tarquin and Ms. Thorne today must have stemmed from this. Tarquin’s heart belongs to Elijah’s mother, and he suspects Ms. Thorne of manipulating Elijah, hence the resentment.

But how they ended up discussing Elijah's mother beats me."

Keaton remarked, "A woman who’s been missing for six years, and we don’t even know if she’s alive! Even if she is, and by some miracle, Tarquin finds her, what if she’s moved on? Is Tarquin supposed to make her leave her new family?!"

Lowell nodded in agreement, "Exactly! If you ask me, Tarquin should just get together with Ms. Thorne. She’s beautiful, kind-hearted, and Elijah adores her. And Tarquin doesn’t mind her. If they got together, it'd be like merging two families into one, double the happiness. Sounds perfect to me."