Unexpectedly, Milo - Matthew Dicks [29]
At this point in the film, Milo often found himself screaming at the television, reminding Skywalker that he had no problem with execution when it came to Count Dooku. And part of Milo, the part that demanded that he watch, truly believed that Anakin might listen to him and stand down, allowing Mace Windu to kill Palpatine and prevent all that was to follow. Instead, Skywalker provides Palpatine with the opening he needs to kill Windu (although Milo would also wait with great anticipation to see if Windu would return by the end of the film, since his ultimate demise takes place off-screen) and take control of the galaxy.
When the film finally ends and Darth Vader is born (after Obi Won foolishly leaves Anakin alive by the river of lava for Palpatine to find him), Milo would invariably experience a sense of relief, a release from the demand, though this feeling of fulfillment hardly provided the euphoric sensation that bowling a strike or popping open a jar of Smucker’s would.
Had Windu killed Palpatine or had Obi Wan tossed his apprentice into the river of lava like he should have, Milo imagined that the feeling of fulfillment would be indescribable. And if it actually happened someday, part of him wouldn’t be surprised one bit.
So as he watched the same dozen or so films over and over again, played Dungeons & Dragons with his thirty-year-old buddies, and hung out with what appeared to be a genuine wizard, Christine thought her husband was a little odd, but these oddities were nothing compared to the genuine demands that ruled his life. Opening jars of Smucker’s jelly (which he sometimes did inside the store without ever purchasing the jars, when he and Christine split up in order to expedite the shopping) might not seem simply odd to his wife. It might appear downright insane. So this demand, along with many, many others, was kept secret from her.
Milo opened three more jars of jelly before the demand was satisfied and he was able to head home. But before pulling out of his parking spot, he removed the page from the Highlights magazine that he had acquired earlier that day and read through the poem once again. He hadn’t thought much of it at first, but he found that it was growing on him.
chapter 8
Milo had intended on spending part of the evening conducting research online in hopes of identifying and locating Freckles’s now deceased friend Mira. But a combination of curiosity over the next tape and his desire to immerse his mind in auditory and visual stimuli in order to stop thinking about Christine persuaded him to put the research aside for another day.
Ever since their parting outside Dr. Teagan’s office, Milo had been wondering how he might resume contact with his wife. More than twenty-four hours had passed without communication between the two, and the weekend was nearly upon them. If they were going to squeeze in at least one date this week, it would probably need to take place over the next couple of days. Christine’s caseload, combined with her aerobics and art classes and volunteer work, kept her extremely busy during the week.
Asking his wife on an official date was something that Milo had never imagined having to do again, and he wasn’t sure how to proceed. Should he treat it as if it were a first date, or would a simple dinner be enough? He wasn’t sure. The rules for dating one’s wife had not been explained to him, and he doubted that