The Imperfect Man, Part 4
By Missy


SERIES: The Imperfect Man
PART: 4 of ?
RATING: PG-13 (Some dark humor)
PAIRING(s): That's what I haven't decided yet (See notes)
DISTRIBUTION: To LW, Kai and FG (if the very act of reading this doesn't kill her) so far; any other archives are welcome to ask, but disclaimers must be included, my email left intact. send a URL, and provide full disclaimers as well as credit me fully. Please inform me if you are going to submit my work to any sort of search engine. Please do not submit my work to a search engine that picks out random sets of words and uses them as key words, such as "Google"
Please contact me in order for this story to be placed on an archive, or if you want know of a friend who would enjoy my works, please email me their address and I will mail them the stories, expressly for the purpose of link trading. MiSTiers are welcomed! Please do inform me that you'd like to do the MiSTing, however, and send me a copy of the finished product. I'd also love to archive any MiSTings that are made of my work!
CATEGORY: Dark Humor
PAIRING: ??/Laverne/Carmine triangle (There! I settled on one all by myself!; this blank will be filled after this chapter is read)
FEEDBACK: PLEASE?!
SETTING IN TIMELINE: California years, post "The Mummy's Bride".
SPOILLER/SUMMARY: When Laverne is given the impression that she's one week away from being killed, she makes one last, desperate search for love (And yes, this is a black comedy)

****

"Lenny!" She whisper, relief filling her. Even Carmine was surprised by the appearance of their friend; it had been weeks since he had disappeared, even though Squiggy persisted in pretending that he was still around.

He embraced Laverne gently, stroking her back and somewhat surprised by her bedraggled appearance.

"What happened ta you?" He asked, gently; as always, only having eyes for her.

"The put me in here...I was tryin' ta kill myself..."

"Vernie! Why!"

"'Cause a Gypsy said I was gonna die on my trip ta see Shirl." She stared into his eyes, "How did ya get in here?"

"They picked me up on the street." He smiled, "A lil' too much Napoleon Brandy'll do stuff to ya."

Laverne's smile was feeble, "Great ta see ya, Len." They locked hands.

"Guys, this is real touching, but we're gonna get caught..."

"Oh! Ya wanna get out!" Lenny crept carefully across the hallway and then pulled open a door..which lead into an alleyway.

Laverne stared in disbelief at the door. Then Lenny smiled, jiggling a set of keys in his pocket. "You ain't the only one who wants out."

All three rushed for the door, escaping through the darkness to Carmine's car, which sped into the dark.

****

Miles of darkness stretched out before them as Carmine drove: She watched Pasadena go by from the comfort of Lenny's shoulder. She realized that they were headed for Washington and, generally, for Shirley. Peacefully, she smiled; the prophecy was wrong. Laverne drifted into sleep as they rumbled through the darkness.

Throughout the night, her subconscious picked out words Carmine and Lenny spoke; of how far it was to Oregon. When the car stopped, they were outside of California.

****

The following morning, Laverne awoke to a cold drink of soda and a change of clothing (Carmine had thoughtfully brought one).

"Shirl should be able to hide us." Carmine said. "They'll forget all about it eventually." He laughed, "Always wanted a vacation." He crushed an empty Styrofoam cup beneath his heel.

Lenny eyes the road warily. "We have enough gas to get to Portland, I guess."

Carmine nodded, "Better start out, then."

"Yup!" Lenny said, "But first..." He reached out, seizing Laverne and planting a long, steamy kiss on her mouth. Shock and pleasure registered on Laverne's features, before he pulled away. "I miss you!" He said, before ushering her back into the car. Neither of them noticed the expression on Carmine's face.

The jealousy imprinted there would have been noticeable to them both.




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