Medical Center
"Ted, how've you been lately?" Adam asked with a grin, glancing at him.
"Uh, well…" Ted met Adam's eyes and started fumbling. "Adam, I was just about to tell you—I broke up with Erica. Sorry…"
"Oh," Adam nodded. "Phone breakup, text, or email?"
"…" Ted's face turned beet red, and he stammered, "No, no, this time it was face-to-face with Erica. A peaceful split—not like you're thinking!"
"You, you little…" Lily shot Ted a look full of 'why can't you get it together?' vibes.
Adam's quick jab had totally called out Ted's past shady moves.
"No biggie," Adam said, chuckling. "Erica's birthday hasn't hit yet, so since you're done, I won't have to deal with you awkwardly calling me from her party. That's good enough for me."
"That's good enough?" Lily gaped at Adam. "Wait, isn't Erica your precious girlfriend Peggy's big sister? You set them up, and this is all you expect from Ted?"
"Of course it's not all I expect," Adam said, shaking his head.
"Phew, that's more like it," Lily sighed, turning her glare back to awkward Ted, ready to team up with Adam and roast him.
In her mind, Erica was gorgeous, decently chill (she'd put up with an abusive artist ex without losing it), and Adam's pick. How could Ted just ditch her like that?
"Is Erica upset?" Adam asked, getting serious as he looked at Ted.
"Nope," Ted said quickly. "Honestly, we're long-distance, and splitting up was a mutual call we talked out."
"Okay," Adam said, staring at Ted for a sec before nodding.
"Okay?" Lily's eyes bugged out at Adam again.
"If it's not okay, what else do you want?" Adam shrugged. "Ted didn't screw up big time, and Erica's not heartbroken. It's just a normal, chill breakup."
Emmm.
Back when Adam introduced Ted to Erica, it was just to distract her so he could deal with her scumbag artist ex.
No kidding—anyone who dared mess with Peggy wasn't getting off easy with Adam around.
That jerk? He'd long been busted for drugs by some "helpful" citizen and was rotting in jail. With that much stash and no connections, he'd be there forever.
Adam figured as long as his people kept an eye out, the world would stay fair enough.
Though, oops—he'd slipped up a bit. To keep it hush-hush and not tip the guy off, he hadn't tossed in a soap-on-a-rope for those prison showers. You know, the kind that doesn't slip?
In TV drama land, that's a jailhouse must-have—users flash a smug grin just owning one.
Anyway, Erica had moved on from that loser, and Ted, the romantic little prince, had nailed his role as the distraction. Now they'd parted on good terms.
What's Adam got to complain about?
"Thanks for understanding, Adam!" Ted said, genuinely grateful for Adam's chill vibe.
If it were him, he'd probably have grumbled a bit, not been this cool about it.
"No problem," Adam said, taking the thanks in stride.
Ring ring!
Ted's phone buzzed.
"Who's that?" Lily snapped, already annoyed. "Don't tell me it's Barney dragging you out to celebrate being single again?"
"Nah," Ted said, staring at the screen in shock. "It's… the Lonely Hearts Club number."
"Lonely Hearts Club?" Lily's eyes widened. "The one that said a few months back you'd never find true love and would die alone?"
"Yup," Ted groaned. "The same one that nearly lost it when I broke their 100% success streak. I had to cheer her up with that cockroach-and-rat love story you guys found, so she'd keep searching for me—for free."
"Did she actually find someone?" Adam perked up, curious.
"Ted, pick it up already!" Lily and Matthew urged.
"Alright," Ted said, taking a deep breath, steadying himself, and answering. "Hello?"
"Hi, I'm looking for Mr. Ted Mosby," a middle-aged man's voice came through.
"That's me," Ted replied.
"Mr. Mosby, hello! How've you been lately?" the man said. "This is Bell Duncan from Lonely Hearts Club…"
"Holy shit!" Adam and Lily blurted out at the same time, hearing the name and that familiar voice.
"Babe, what's up?" Matthew asked, baffled, turning to Lily.
"Nothing!" Lily slapped a hand over her mouth, shaking her head guiltily.
"Wait—Duncan?" Matthew scratched his head, but his focus quickly shifted to Adam.
"Heh," Adam rubbed his forehead with an awkward laugh. "I'll explain in a sec."
"You know him too?" Lily's wild eyes locked onto Adam, sparking a silent convo.
"Of course I do—you do too?" Adam shot back, just as surprised.
"Who is this guy to you two?" Matthew's jealous glare cut in.
Meanwhile…
"…Mr. Mosby, you signed up with Lonely Hearts Club four months ago?"
"Yeah," Ted said with a laugh. "You guys never found what I was looking for."
"That's exactly why I'm calling," Bell Duncan said. "We found her, sir. We found your soulmate."
"What?!" Ted froze, stunned.
"Please come by as soon as you can," Bell urged over the phone.
"Sure," Ted mumbled, hanging up in a daze. "They say they found my soulmate…"
"No way!"
"For real?"
Adam and Lily responded half-heartedly, barely paying attention.
"Enough with that—spill it! What's going on with you two?" Matthew snapped, losing it. "You both know the guy calling Ted?"
"Huh?" Ted couldn't help but glance over.
"Adam, you first!" Matthew demanded, noticing Lily's shifty eyes.
"His last name's Duncan—what do you think?" Adam said with a wry smile.
"He's your relative?" Ted gasped.
"Let's go—I'll head over with you," Adam said, still smirking. "It's been forever since I last saw Uncle Bell. Didn't know he was in New York now."
"Uncle Bell?" Lily, Matthew, and Ted all shouted at once.
"Bell Duncan—my dad Bob Duncan's brother, my real uncle," Adam explained, grinning. "But Lily, how do you know Uncle Bell?"
"Uh…" Lily's face flushed, and she stammered, dodging the question.
"Lily?!" Matthew was getting mad now.
"Don't be upset, babe!" Lily rushed to hug him, finally spilling it. "Remember Scooter?"
"Of course I remember Scooter!" Matthew growled. "What's this got to do with your high school ex?!"
"Remember how we met, and I broke up with Scooter for my dreams?" Lily said with a weak smile. "I told you I didn't want the life he'd custom-planned for me?"
"Uh-huh!" Matthew's face darkened.
"It was literally custom-planned!" Lily admitted, sheepish. "Back at graduation, Scooter was gonna propose. He'd already gotten a ring and a wedding dress—he drove to Chicago with his buddies to get it made by my favorite designer at the time.
"And on that trip, they met Big Bear…"
"Big Bear?" Matthew and Ted turned to Adam.
"My Uncle Bell's nickname," Adam said, his mouth twitching.
"I didn't take Scooter's proposal, even with all that prep, 'cause I didn't love him," Lily said, gazing at Matthew with all the feels. "I only love you, Matthew."
"I love you too, babe," Matthew softened.
"So yeah, I turned Scooter down," Lily shrugged. "But he and his crew ended up tight with Big Bear."
(Chapter End)