Tristan: "Ooooooooo, I am the Ghost of Christmas Past!"
Mary: "Tristan! You're back!"

Mary and James both jumped up and raced to the door. Mary helped Tristan out of his coat and hung it on the rack before closing the door. She grinned at James, but before the door clicked shut, someone outside began pushing in it.

Tristan: "Oh, Mary, wait."

Mary stepped aside and let Tristan open the door.

Tristan: "Everyone, this is Deanna."

Mary looked at James uncertainly, who shrugged, confused as she was as to who this stranger was.

Tristan: "My girlfriend."
Mary: "Your g-what?"
Tristan: "My girlfriend."
Mary: "Since when?"

Tristan: "We met while I was away. Deanna, this is Mary, and James. Over there is Andrew Stone, his girlfriend Emily, and that's Markus and Serge."
Deanna: "Nice to meet everyone."

Mary watched Emily closely. Her face was completely blank, and then suddenly she smiled just as widely as Mary had been smiling moments ago.

Emily: "Hello, Deanna! Please, come in and join us!"

Deanna and Tristan made their way to the rest of the group while Mary and James watched.

Mary: "What the hell?"
James: "I have no idea. I didn't know he'd even met anyone, let alone that he was planning to bring her here. He didn't say a word about it."

Mary: "And you didn't ask?"
James: "What was I supposed to ask? 'So, Tristan, my best friend who hasn't dated anyone in decades, have you met a woman and started a relationship with her in the nearly eight weeks you've been away, even though when you left you were completely hung up over Emily?'"

Mary: "Decades? Stop exaggerating to explain away your mistakes."
James: "I'm not! And I don't believe I made any mistakes."

James breezed past her and joined everyone else, leaving Mary standing alone next to the door.

Mary: "No, I guess I was the one who made the mistake thinking you could actually help me..."

Mary watched the group, seemingly affixed to the space on the floor where she was currently standing. Andrew and Emily were holding hands while Emily talked animatedly to Deanna. Markus, Serge and James seemed happy simply to have Tristan back, if they were a little surprised that he didn't show up alone. Her plan was failing; she was failing. She had been so certain that everything would work out, that, at the very least, she could use Tristan's love for Emily to get her friend to see the light, that she didn't even have a contingency plan. At this point, the best plan seemed to be figuring out how to kill Andrew Stone, the richest and most secure man in town, while making it look like an accident.