Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem

 noveldrama

The Murphy clan was utterly flabbergasted at the level of respect Tarquin Bradford showed towards Clayton Hawkins. It was almost too much, they thought. Clayton, of all people!

Elysia Thorne, on the other hand, was quite pleased with Tarquin's demeanor. It warmed her heart.

After all, there's an old saying that you can tell how a man feels about his wife by the way he treats her parents. If he loves his wife, he'll naturally extend that love to her folks as well.

Elysia asked him, "Why didn't you give us a heads-up before dropping by? You mentioned this morning you might not make it today."

"My personal matters wrapped up sooner than expected, and I couldn't wait to see you all," Tarquin replied.

Initially, Tarquin had planned not to visit today. But with the mysterious figure aware of his presence in Oceanopolis, secrecy was no longer necessary.

Turning to Clayton, Tarquin expressed his gratitude, "This morning, when Evan went missing, Mr. Hawkins was incredibly helpful. I can't thank you enough, Mr. Hawkins."

Lowell, eager to boost Tarquin's image in front of his potential father-in-law, stepped forward with gifts, "Mr. Hawkins, our boss handpicked these gifts for you, as a token of respect. Each item was chosen with care. We hope you'll like them."

Roger Murphy craned his neck to get a better look, "There's whiskey, cigars, and even some high-end supplements. Isn't this the classic trifecta for impressing the in-laws? Wait, what kind of whiskey is that... My God, Dad-"

Bobby Murphy jumped, startled, "Will you quit yelling and scare me half to death?"

Roger, shaking with excitement, gestured wildly, "Dad, did you see? That's... That's..."

His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, while Bobby, annoyed, tapped him with his cane.

In times like these, who cared about such trivialities?

But could this fool not see the labels on the whiskey, the brand of the cigars, the supplements produced by the World Health Organization itself, coveted by the world's wealthiest?

Bobby was beside himself with envy. The more he looked at his son, the more irritated he became.

"You and your talk of the classic trifecta for in-laws. Do you see this? This is the gold standard! You think Larry could ever bring something like this? He couldn't even touch these!"

"Well... it's not Larry's fault we can't either," Roger muttered.

Bobby, missing his son's point entirely, smacked him on the head, "What about the bigger picture, son?!"

Rubbing his sore head, Roger speculated, "Dad, with Mr. Bradford being so generous to Clayton, could it be he's really seeing him as a father-in-law? Could they actually be...?"

"Impossible! If the Hawkins had such luck, I'd bite my tongue right now in celebration for them!"

Bobby was green with envy. If Clayton had any close ties with the Bradfords, he'd rather die!

Meanwhile, Clayton, touched by the thoughtful gifts, knew their value all too well. But what moved him most wasn't the lavish presents but Tarquin's respectful manner towards him.

In the midst of his own troubles, aside from his closest allies, respect like this was hard to come by.

Clayton felt a lump in his throat and quickly had his assistant take the gifts, "Mr. Bradford, you've gone above and beyond. I should be the one thanking you. Ms. Thorne and the kids have been a huge help. Thanks to them, my wife found peace again, and I was able to uncover so much going on at home!"

Tarquin, ever humble, nodded in understanding.