Diana winds up and throws a zinger across the plate, while Cliff gets a bit of wood on it. But if Cliff bought the pancakes, why was Mark carrying them? And why was it Mark who initially offered them to Diana in yesterday’s strip? Did Cliff just suddenly elbow his ol’ buddy aside and move in on Diana? Or did Cliff just improvise when Mark froze in front of Diana, once again? I reckon Mark and Cliff must have also stopped off at Mark’s cabin along the way so he could pick up his vest. Well, no need to be too picky here, because the action is more interesting.

This scenario might actually work out for the best:  If Diana warms to Cliff, good ol’ first-gear Mark will have an assignment once again and get to keep his job. I can’t believe that walking off of an assignment would look good for his future job prospects. Fortunately for Mark, panel 4 suggests that Cliff is making good progress. I’m not sure if those crosses above Diana’s head are Blue Angels flying in a loose formation, or some kind of symbol representing “Okay, I’m interested!” Now if Diana doesn’t invite Cliff inside to go over docking procedures, maybe those three can put together a plan of action. Please, somebody in Lost Forest needs to have an actual plan (which is more than I can say for our current city council. Luckily it’s election day.).