Diane McKnight's just gotten back into town. She had an impromptu pre-honeymoon with her fiancee. They went to the Bahamas, where Diane mysteriously failed to acquire a tan. Vivienne was very into rubbing sunblock into her. Very thoroughly. So Diane's still pale as anything. If Vivienne's Sleeping Beauty Diane gets to be Snow White.

It's snowing, actually, gently, light fluffy flakes that melt as they hit the ground.

Diane's sitting in the kitchen. She needs to see her ex, talk some things over. Her bought her this damn house. She loves this house. She'll miss it.

With a soft sigh she picks up the phone and dials Hugh's number.

Hugh's at the other house. Slightly hung over laying on the piano bench, even though he wasn't doing anything with the piano. His phone is on the closed keyboard. It's Diane's ring tone. Since they haven't really been talking with her out of town he probably should answer. He drops the phone twice before he actually manages to do so. Luckily Diane hasn't been sent to voicemail yet, or maybe it's unlucky.

"Uh, hey."

"Hey, it's me," of course it's her. Anyone might use Diane's phone but Diane's Diane. The one he married, fought for, fought with, and ultimately surrendered. Most of the other girls figure that despite Hugh's ultimate resignation, Diane was probably The One. They probably have nasty things to say about it, too.

"I'm back in town," she tells Hugh. Briefly. "And we need to talk."

The other girls would be right. Even Viv knows it, after pulling the pin out of the grenade that was the McKnight marriage herself. It's hard Viv loves them both.

Diane fixes to meet him at Monroe's, where all good drama goes down, in forty-five minutes, which is about how long it takes her to get into the city proper.

He's fifteen minutes away on the other side of the lake but they're going to Monroes. It takes him five minutes less to make the trip.

Diane didn't ask where he was, silly of her, but she has a lot on her mind and she needs to go into town anyway. She probably was thinking, who knows why, that he was at Mickey's. It's not like he couldn't have suggested something else.

But this is Hugh, really, since when does he break from his pattern of often submissive behavior.....well okay he does, but not usually with Diane. It's part of what ruined them. And since it's ruined well really why change?

Diane wanted cheese fries anyway. She shows up, looking much more obviously pregnant than last time she saw her ex-husband, but still wearing his motorcycle jacket, a baggy black sweater, Harley's, and jeans. She's the same old Diane really, good as untouched by the Bahamian sun, skin still pale, hair jet black and getting shaggy. She waves at Hugh and comes over to sit across from him. She smiles, bright red lips. She really is the punk pregnant Snow White today.

"Hey."

Hugh's hair is downright shaggy. He's got six days of beard at the moment, bloodshot eyes, and he smells like lemongrass, bayrum, and tequila. He wasn't drinking the tequila though no worries. He's got on jeans, converse, a black polo shirt that's faded and was probably once business casual. His coat, is laying on the seat beside him.

It's just as well she isn't tan. Hugh's never been able to picture it anyway.

Diane sighs internally. Hot mess that boy is. But she's long since handed care of this particular disaster over to other, better qualified people.

"How are you dear?"

Besides hungover, emo, and still halfway in a closet. Di knows that.

"Uh, er, decent really. I've been meaning to talk to you too." Hugh hasn't dropped the whole Jay back from the grave bomb yet. It didn't seem like the thing to interupt Viv and Di's trip with. Clearly the two of them had nothing to do with it.

"Okay," Diane says. The waitress comes over, someone Diane doesn't know. She misses seeing Mickey and that other sweet girl around. She orders a pot of tea and some cheese fries. "You go first?" Cause he's not going to like her much after she tells him about Antigua.

Hugh looks around, clears his throat and murmurs something that will prevent inadvertand eavesdropping. "Someone brought Jay back from the dead......"

"Oh my," Diane raises her eyebrow. Necromancy isn't usually a very good seen. "Uh..." she'll let Hugh finish that little anecdote. Hopefully no one's brains have been eaten. Poor Hugh. He seems perpetually surrounded by crazy drama. Although Diane doesn't really know about Jay.

"Just thought you should know. No surprises that way. And she's sorry....."

"Poor thing," Diane nods. "Is everything all right? I mean..." she was dead. And killed herself too so Diane's not sure how happy the creature was to have been brought back.

"Yeah. Things are a bit better, lots of transitional stuff though. She's staying on the boat." So no Diane no nookie, not that either of them was anticipating that.

"That's good then," Diane decides. The waitress brings her her tea. "Thank you," she takes it with a smile and starts doctoring it with sugar. "All right. Well, I don't think you're going to like this. At all," she pauses as she stirs the sugar into the mug. "We're moving to Antigua."

Oh that's not a happy look at all.

Diane looks at her hands. She feels bad about this.

Hugh says nothing. Diane always feels bad, but sometimes not bad enough. Not that Hugh wants her miserable, but that's his baby too.

If he demanded an explanation she would give him one, but knowing them he won't and she won't and he'll go drink and be miserable and regretful and awful and she'll feel worse. That's them all over.

"Hugh," she says gently, "I want to redo the custody agreement."

Oh he's scowling now. But she's got his complete attention.

Since the custody agreement currently says that Hugh gets to visit his son but that's about it it's not like Diane can really do much worse.

There's always worse though, and Hugh knows it. Yes he wants to think well of Diane, but fuck she's moving to Antigua.

"What months work for you? I was thinking October through April but that might just be my heat loving self."

"Huh?"

"Well if my dad lived in Canada I think I'd want to spend winter with my mothers," Diane says. "Then again I hate Christmas too so who knows. But it's not like he's going to care for the first few years so really it's up to you..."

Hugh's blinking, and nodding, but Diane knows him well enough she probably knows this is still settling in.

Diane gives him a minute while she sips her tea. The waitress brings her her fries.

And looks at Hugh who waves her off. "I'm not ordering." Three words Hugh has never before uttered in Monroes.

Diane's happy she divorced this guy, really. It's so apparent to her sometimes how little she loved him. Of course she loves him, but she's Diane, she loves practically everyone she runs into and she worries about them all. But Hugh, well she doesn't really love him. It's not world ending, clearly. If it was she wouldn't be doing this too him.

Hugh could never do this to her.

But she would take it so much better if he did.

"Is that all? Pick some months. Call the lawyer. Fuck's sake." What's he supposed to do.

"It's all," Diane agrees. She's resigned to this being a mess. Hugh can hate her if he really wants. It'd be good for him. She's okay with it.

If he hated her it wouldn't matter. He could laugh at all of this and trash talk her to everyone else. But he doesn't and Di probably wishes he would so she could be off the hook for the things they've done to eachother guiltwise.

She knows he doesn't hate, but really. She's stealing his kid. That's fairly dire. If anything could make him hate her she figures that would be it.

Hugh doesn't even hate Maurice and Anais, he's just terribly wounded by them. This feels very similar.