Chapter Text
King Peppy is alone on the porch. He sits quietly, enjoying a drink, the quiet, the September afternoon. A notebook nearby, unopened. He closes his eyes, apparently dozing. It is four years earlier than the events in Poppy enters quietly. She stands behind her father for a moment.
King Peppy: Hello.
Poppy: How did you know I was here?
King Peppy: I heard you.
Poppy: I thought you were asleep.
King Peppy: On an afternoon like this? No.
Poppy: Do you need anything?
King Peppy: No.
Poppy: I'm going to the store.
King Peppy: What's for dinner?
Poppy: What do you want?
King Peppy: Not spaghetti.
Poppy: All right.
King Peppy: Disgusting stuff.
Poppy: That's what I was going to make.
King Peppy: I had a feeling. Good thing I spoke up. You make it too much.
Poppy: What do you want?
King Peppy: What do you have a taste for?
Poppy: Nothing.
King Peppy: Nothing at all?
Poppy: I don't care. I thought pasta would be easy.
King Peppy: Pasta, oh God, don't even say the word "pasta." It sounds so hopeless, like surrender: "Pasta would be easy." Yes, yes, it would. Pasta. It doesn't mean anything. It's just a
euphemism people invented when they got sick of eating spaghetti.
Poppy: Dad, what do you want to eat?
King Peppy: I don't know.
Poppy: Well I don't know what to get.
King Peppy: I'll shop.
Poppy: No.
King Peppy: I'll do it.
Poppy: No, Dad, rest.
King Peppy: I wanted to take a walk anyway.
Poppy: Are you sure?
King Peppy: Yes. What about a walk to the lake? You and me.
Poppy: All right.
King Peppy: I would love to go to the lake. Then on the way home we'll stop at the store, see what jumps out at us.
Poppy: It's warm. It would be nice if you're up for it.
King Peppy: You're damn right I'm up for it. We'll work up an appetite. Give me ten seconds, let me put this stuff away and
we're out the door.
Poppy: I'm going to school.
King Peppy: When?
Poppy: I'm gonna start at Trolls University at the end of the month. (Don't know what to call it)
King Peppy: Trolls University ?
Poppy: They were great about my credits. They're taking me in as a sophomore. I wasn't sure when to talk to you
about it.
King Peppy: Trolls University?
Poppy: Yes.
King Peppy: What's wrong with Trolls University?
Poppy: You still teach there. I'm sorry, it's too weird, to take classes in your department.
King Peppy: It's a long drive.
Poppy: Not that long, half an hour.
King Peppy: Still, twice a day . . .
Poppy: Dad, I'd live there.
King Peppy: You'd actually want to live some where else?
Poppy: Yes. I'll still be close. I can come home whenever you want. You've been well—really well—for almost seven months. I don't think you need me here every minute of the day.
King Peppy: This is all a done deal? You're in.
Poppy: Yes.
King Peppy: You're sure.
Poppy: Yes.
King Peppy: Who pays for it?
Poppy: They're giving me a free ride, Dad. They've been great.
King Peppy: On tuition, sure. What about food, books, clothes, gas, meals out—do you plan to have a social life?
Poppy: I don't know.
King Peppy: You gotta pay your own way on dates, at least the early dates, say the first three, otherwise they expect some-
thing.
Poppy: The money will be fine. Viva's gonna help out.
King Peppy: When did you talk to Viva?
Poppy: I don't know, a couple of weeks ago.
King Peppy: You talk to her before you talk to me?
Poppy: There were a lot of details to work out. She was great, she offered to take care of all the expenses.
King Peppy: This is a big step. A different place—
Poppy: It's not even a long-distance phone call.
King Peppy: It's a huge place. They're serious up there. I mean serious. Yeah, the football's a disaster but the math guys don't kid around. You haven't been in school. You sure you're
ready? You can get buried up there.
Poppy: I'll be all right.
King Peppy: You're way behind.
Poppy: I know.
King Peppy: A year, at least.
Poppy: Thank you, I know. Look, I don't know if this is a good idea. I don't know if I can handle the work. I don't know if I can handle any of it.
King Peppy: For Chrissake, Poppy, you should have talked to
me.
Poppy: Dad. Listen. If you ever . . . if for any reason it ever turned out that you needed me here full-time again—
King Peppy: I won't . That's not—
Poppy: I can always take a semester off, or—
King Peppy: No. Stop it. I just—the end of the month? Why didn't you say something before?
Poppy: Dad, come on. It took a while to set this up, and until recently, until very recently, you weren't—
King Peppy: You just said yourself I've been fine.
Poppy: Yes, but I didn't know----/ hoped, but I didn't know, I knew if this would last. I told myself to wait until I
was sure about you. That you were feeling okay again. Con sistently okay.
King Peppy: So I' 'm to take this conversation as a vote of confidence? I'm honored.