~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  It was a night of celebration.  Just moments ago, Twyla and her band had found out that they were the Warsaw's new house band.  They were sitting now with Drew, Lewis, Oswald, and Kate around the table sharing drinks.  Greg had his arm around Twyla while Lewis looked on with slight contempt, but not so much that anyone would notice.  Despite what he had said about not pushing Twyla, he had only fallen more in love with her as the week went on.
"So," Drew said as he raised a glass, "cheers to...wait a minute.  Twyla, we don't know your band's name."
"Oh, well...," Twyla started, "we don't really have one."  Everyone exchanged shocked looks at this.
"How did you guys manage to get this far without a name?"  Lewis asked.
"Well, no one really asked our name before so we never thought of one."  Pat replied with a shrug.
"Maybe you guys could help us think of a name." Greg suggested.  Everyone took a minute to think, before Oswald pipped up:
"The Hysterical Shoes!"  Drew, Kate, and Lewis looked at Oswald quizzically while Twyla just shook her head.
"The Quackers?"  Drew suggested.  Lewis shook his head at this and said:
"Man Drew, that's a name only you'd think of."  Everyone was silent for a few moments longer before Lewis suggested:
"The Neon Love Chickens."  Everyone eyed Lewis oddly.
"That was just plain random," Twyla replied, "where did that come from?"
"Well," Lewis started, "I had this dream last night.  I was wearing this really bright orange shirt, and when I walked around everyone laughed at me.  Then at one point, this big guy with glasses walked up to me and called me 'the Neon Love Chicken'."  Everyone just stared at Lewis before Drew said:
"Lewis, I think you should watch how much beer you have before you go to bed.  You've been having a lot of dreams lately with big scary men in them."  Lewis just shrugged in reply. 
After a few more minutes of silence, Twyla had an idea:
"Hey Lewis, how tall are you anyway?"
Lewis knitted his eyebrows.   "What kind of a question is that?"
"Just wondering."
"6'5""
"How about we call ourselves that?"  Twyla suggested.
"What, Six Foot Five?" Pat asked.
"Yeah."  Twyla responded with a nod.
"Hmmm..."Greg thought for a second, "well, why the hell not?  It beats the heck out of 'Neon Love Chickens'."  Lewis gave his beer a dirty look before raising it again.
"So, to Six Foot Five!"  Everyone clinked glasses and Greg gave Twyla a deep kiss.
"What was that for?" Twyla asked with a grin.  Greg didn't answer.  Instead he stood up, knelt on one knee,  took a small box out of his pocket, and opened it.  Inside was a diamond ring.  Twyla immediately grinned as Greg began his speech.
"Twy, I've been waiting forever to say this...or at least until we've settled down.  I''ve loved you from the second I laid eyes on you, even though I was too nervous to show it for several years.  Now, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.  Will you marry me?" 
Before Twyla answered, everyone at the table(with the exception of Lewis, who was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold in his jealousy) let out an "awww".
"Oh be quiet!"  Twyla said with a giggle, before turning to Greg and responding:
"Yes"
The couple kissed passionately, unaware that everyone in the bar was clapping and cheering, except Lewis who was quietly trying to muster some happiness for them.           
******************************************************************

The next weekend, Lewis was lounging in the booth in his apartment.  Oswald had gone to Drew's for the day, and normally Lewis would've gone with him.  But today, Lewis felt the need to get out his disappointment and slight anger while in the comfort of his own place.  His wallowing was interrupted by a knock at the door.  As Lewis went to answer it, he pictured in his mind's eye opening the door and having Twyla jump on him, kissing him with wild passion.  This threw him sufficiently, especially when he opened the door and saw Twyla standing there.  He felt his body brace, ready to hold her weight at any second.  Instead of jumping on him though, Twyla just said:
"Hey."
"Hi," Lewis said meekly, trying unsuccessfully to rid his mind of the mental picture, "what's up?"
"Do you feel like going out today?"
"How come?"
"Well, I was going to look at some wedding dresses, you know so I get some ideas, and I wanted you to come with me."
Lewis cocked his head at this.
"Again I say, how come?"
"Well, I wanted some male opinions.  I want to surprise Greg with my wedding dress, so I couldn't bring him.  Pat's busy, so he couldn't come.  As for Drew and Oswald, they're all doing something with Kate this afternoon.  When I asked, they said you weren't coming with them so I figured you'd be a good guy to take."
"In other words, I'm a last resort?" Lewis said cynically.
"Don't knock yourself, you were my only resort.  So do you want to come?"
I've got nothing better to do Lewis thought to himself. "Sure, why not."

******************************************************************

Twyla had never laughed so much in her life.  Never in her life did she think that she could have so much fun with a guy at a bridal shop.  Nevertheless, Lewis was very entertaining.
"I wish I had taken a camera." Twyla said as she and Lewis approached her apartment door.  "I wanted to remember that guy's face when you put the veil on your head."
"Yeah," Lewis said with a grin, "then when I put the top hat on your head.  That guy's probably quitting after this, he looked so scared."
"I know.  Man, I had the best time today.  You are so much fun Lewis."
"Thanks.  I had fun too."
"So, tell me honestly, which dress did you like?"
Lewis racked his brain, going from one beautiful image of Twyla to another. 
"It's hard to choose..." Lewis trailed off.  He meant it too, he wasn't just saying that to spare Twyla's feelings.  "I think the strapless one.  You know, the one with the rose on one side?"
"Oh yeah.  I liked that one too."  Some more silence ensued while Lewis tried to think of something smart-alecky to say about the other dresses.  He never finished that train of thought, because before either one knew what was happening, Twyla stood on her toes, putting her hand on Lewis' shoulder for support, and gave Lewis a peck on the cheek.  Lewis put his hand lightly to his face, surprised that had happened.  Twyla on the other hand was surprised at the rush she felt when her lips met his face.  The silence had turned awkward, and Twyla was the first to break it.
"Well, I'd better go."  With that, she quickly opened the door to hers and Greg's apartment and went in.  She leaned against the closed door and put a hand to her forehead.
"What is wrong with you?" She scolded herself quietly, "You're engaged now, you can't be having these feelings."  A pressure on the door behind her made Twyla jump and turn around.  It was Greg, attempting to get into his place.
"Hey." He said with a grin.
"Hi," Twyla said.  She walked over to Greg and gave him a long kiss.  She felt with relief that the rush was still there.
"What was that for?" Greg asked.
"No reason," Twyla responded, "just for being you."

******************************************************************

The next night, the gang was hanging out at the Warsaw.  Greg had been acting distant all night, but Twyla tried not to notice.  It was getting late, and Greg and Pat were both ready to go home.  Twyla, on the other hand, decided to stay.
"You sure you don't want to go home?"  Greg asked, slightly disappointed.
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna hang out here for a while longer."
"Hey Greg!" Pat yelled, "You don't get your butt over here soon I'm gonna leave without you!"
Greg shrugged and gave Twyla a kiss on the forehead.
"See you later then." He said with a shrug, and left.  Twyla waved back and turned back to her beer.
"Well," Drew started, "I'm happy for you and all, but I wouldn't give up being single for anything."
"Please," Kate said as she rolled her eyes and turned to Twyla and Lewis, "yesterday he couldn't stop crying.  It was pitiful, Oswald and I had to spoon feed him a gallon of ice cream to make him better."
"Well, nice to know I didn't miss anything unusual." Lewis said with a smirk.
"Yeah, ok.  So I was having one of my off days." Drew conceded, "But you guys have to admit it has some perks sometimes."
"Yeah," Oswald agreed, "like leaving your place as messy as you want."
"Go out whenever you feel like it" Drew added.
"Stay in whenever you feel like it"
"Yeah," Drew said with a grin, "it's a good life."
"So then why were you crying about it yesterday?" Twyla asked with concern.
"Well, I kinda forget sometimes."
Twyla looked thoughtful for a minute before deciding with a nod:
"You won't anymore."
"How come?" Drew asked.
"'Cause I'm gonna write a song about being single.  I mean, I've been stuck on a song to write, but this is a good idea."
"Please," Lewis rolled his eyes, "you've got someone.  How can you write about being single if you aren't?"
"Wanna help?"
"Ok." Lewis replied without hesitation.
"Great.  I should still have my car, so we can drive to my place.  I've got my guitar and notebook there already."
"Then let's rock and roll."  With that, the two left the bar.

******************************************************************

"Shhh," Twyla whispered to Lewis as they walked into her apartment, "Greg might be sleeping."  Lewis nodded in reply.  When Twyla had her back turned though, he took in a deep breath as if to scream, then let it out when she turned back around.
"The stuff's in my room, I'll go get it."  With that she entered the bed room she shared with Greg.  Twyla went to the wall and picked up her guitar, still in it's case and leaning against the wall.  Then she took a minute to look at Greg.  He looks so tranquil and happy Twyla thought to herself as she took in his beauty.  Suddenly, she noticed some shifting in the bed.  There was someone else there.  Twyla took in a quick breath as she saw Pat roll over in the bed and lay his lanky arm on Greg's bare shoulder.  She almost dropped her guitar, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.  Inside her, Twyla's heart broke and dropped to her stomach at the same time and so fast that it made her sick.  With shaking hands, she went to the night stand and picked up her notebook.  Just as she turned to leave, Twyla turned back to the night stand, removed the diamond ring that Greg had given her, and put it on the table.  Then, shaken, she walked out.

Lewis was standing in the living room looking at the furniture when Twyla came out.  Upon seeing her with a tear in her eye, Lewis knew immediately that something was very wrong.  He quickly walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" He asked with concern.
"It's...it's nothing." Twyla replied in a shaky voice.
"That's BS, what's wrong?" Lewis asked a little more forcefully.
"I'll tell you later.  Right now, do you think we could do this at your place?" Twyla did everything not to burst into tears in the middle of that sentance.
"Sure," Lewis replied and put his arm around her gently.  As they walked out, Lewis looked back at the dark bedroom and shook his head.
If it's her so-called "fiancé" that's making her cry like this, he thought, I will give him such hell next time I see him.   


Part Three