Chapter Text
Ann Baxter lay on her couch, annoyed.
For weeks, she’d watched them. For weeks, she had held her tongue as she was forced to witness two of the most intelligent people she knew behaving like complete and total idiots. Idiots who were so ridiculously in love with one another that it had blinded the both of them to the fact that their feelings were actually requited.
Almost since the moment Ann had introduced them, Tom Hayward and Mary Bennet had been circling each other in a minuet of yearning that was both adorably hilarious and incredibly frustrating. Hilarious, because they were both terrible at hiding how they felt. There were too many longing looks sent in one direction or another when they didn’t think the other was looking; too many times Ann had caught Mary sighing to herself every time Tom left the room, or caught Tom pretending he hadn’t caught a whiff of Mary’s shampoo whenever she passed. They were both, in a word, smitten. It reminded Ann a little bit of how she’d felt when she met Powell…how she still felt, if she was honest, even after being together for over a year.
But the whole situation was frustrating, too– perhaps even more frustrating than it was funny or cute. Though Ann understood that there was a delicious pain that came with being in the throes of love, Tom and Mary were taking things a bit too far. They had gone from oblivious to conflicted to absolutely miserable in the span of six months, and it made her furious to discover the reason why.
Ann’s phone pinged on her coffee table. She flung her arm over to grab it, hoping it was Tom, or Mary, texting her to finally put an end to the madness.
It wasn’t. But at least now she had someone to complain to.
Madeline: Any updates after your chat with Tom last night?
Ann: No. But I managed to talk some sense into him (I think)
Ann: I stg if he doesn’t follow through, Imma kill him
Madeline: You’re not going to kill him. If you did that, your MaryTom ship would never set sail.
Ann: I knooooow
Ann: But do you know how HARD it has been to restrain myself?
Madeline: It amuses me that you think you’ve been exhibiting restraint, my dear. But yes, I understand. It is very clear that they are both besotted, so it’s hard to see them pining for each other like this. Just give them a bit of space, they’ll get there.
Madeline Gardiner, ever the voice of reason. Ann had once read that it was a good idea to have friendships with people outside one’s own generation, and having Madeline as her designated mum-friend had undoubtedly been good for her over the years. It didn’t make hearing the truth any less irritating, though.
Ann: They don’t need me giving them space. What they need is to be locked into a room together until they finally start talking to each other!
Madeline: I feel like if you did that, Will would still somehow find a way to interrupt them…
Ann: that man and his magical cockblocking abilities 🤬🤬🤬
Madeline: Behave please, haha
Ann: I was so mad at myself for not chasing him down when he went after Tom on trivia night. SUCH a wasted opportunity 😭😭😭😭
Madeline: At this point you’ve done everything you can. You gave Tom the stern lecture he needed.
Ann: You mean I told him to pull his head out of his arse and do something about Mary?
Madeline: Exactly.
Ann: there’s more to the story though
Ann: DO NOT TELL MARY I KNOW
Ann: but it turns out Tom actually knew Mary before I introduced them
Madeline: How, exactly? I feel like I would have known about this.
Ann: They’ve been email pen pals for more than a year
Ann: Anonymously I mean
Ann: Tom found out it was her. Apparently he already liked her before they met
Ann: BUT HE HASNT SAID ANYTHING TO HER BECAUSE HE PREFERS TO BE SAD AND MISERABLE. HE HASBT EVEN TOLD HER HE IS EMAIL GUY
Ann spotted the three little dots that indicated Madeline was formulating a reply. They disappeared, briefly, then started again before disappearing once more. Ann wondered what kind of essay her friend was typing out. Finally, after two full minutes, her response came through.
Madeline: That makes sense, actually.
Ann: What do you mean, it makes sense?
Ann: NOTHING ABOUT THIS MAKES SENSE
Ann: IS THERE SOMETHING YOURE NOT TELLING ME
The three dots appeared and disappeared. They made Ann want to throw her phone out the window. Luckily for her phone, it was spared such a fate when it began to ring.
Madeline’s face appeared on the screen. “Hello, Ann.”
“Don’t ‘Hello, Ann’ me like that,” she whined. “What are you not saying? I’m literally dying here.”
She could see Madeline sigh on the other end of the line. “Okay, just a minute,” Madeline said. “I need to make sure I’m in a space the children can’t hear me. They’re just as invested in this as we are, you know.”
Ann giggled in spite of herself. “Fine, but hurry up.”
Ann watched the background of Madeline’s video call shift as she made her way from one room to another, down the hall, and finally into what looked like one of their bathrooms. “I didn’t want to say this over text,” Madeline said carefully. “Just in case. But I’m not surprised by what you’ve told me. Not exactly.”
Ann narrowed her eyes. “You knew, didn’t you? About the email thing. For goodness’ sake, am I the last to know about everything?”
“In my defense, I wasn’t aware that it was Tom,” she replied. “She hasn’t talked about him in a while, but Mary has mentioned having an email friend in the past. In confidence, of course, so I haven’t said anything. But since you already know…”
“And what’s your read on Mary and email-Tom?”
Madeline smiled to herself. “My read? I believe that Mary will be both furious and elated to learn that it’s been Tom all along. And I’m sure that with all the questions Mary was asking you last night, she’s probably figured out the truth by now.”
“So what now?”
“We wait,” Madeline said calmly. “And we try not to get too frustrated that it’s taken so long. In the meantime, you should be proud of yourself.”
“Proud?”
“Of course! You might not have been the one to set Mary and Tom up, but you’ve managed to bring them together quite nicely in your own way.”
Ann thought about this. “I guess you’re right. Thanks, Madeline.”
Madeline smiled indulgently at her. “Any time.”
There was a knock at the door. “That must be Powell. He must have forgotten his key again,” she added with an eye roll.
“I’ll talk to you later, then. Have a good evening!”
Ann ended the call, feeling much better. She headed to the entrance of her flat, ready to tell her boyfriend all about the latest developments.
But she opened the door, it wasn’t Powell. It was Mary and Tom.
And they were…they were holding hands?
Ann’s eyes widened, but she remained silent. She just froze, unable to speak for all the thoughts and emotions flooding her system.
It had happened. It had finally, finally happened.
Was she triumphant, or annoyed, or shocked? Though she had hoped and even expected this moment to come, she could hardly say. There was entirely too much to say, and not nearly enough words with which to express it all.
Tom looked at her with an expression that had been her old friend these many years— the one that suggested he knew precisely what was going on in her head, and was dreading the exact moment her brain waves inevitably morphed into something she would say aloud.
Ann watched with interest as he turned to Mary, and they had a silent conversation of their own. Observing this new level of closeness pushed her to the brink. Her hands balled into fists, her teeth clenched. She could practically feel herself vibrating.
Tom, naturally, sensed this. He sighed.
“Okay, Ann. You can say it.”
At last, the words percolated from her brain to her vocal chords. She took a deep breath.
“I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO!”