Yes, they were shocked! Once again, Mark is caught off guard by useful information provided to him after the fact. Does he realize that it was almost certainly his impulsiveness that precipitated the current debacle? It must run in the family. Poor Mark. He must be having a panicky moment of déjà vu at the mention of “trouble with a roadside zoo.”

We could ponder why Mark didn’t bring Niecy and her laptop along so she could do her research on the way to the sanctuary, where it might have given Happy some just-in-time reasons to rethink proposing. Or Niecy could have given Mark a call to share her findings while he was still at the sanctuary. In either case, such practical considerations might have prematurely wrapped up this story.

But this is the nutty improbability that pervades movies and TV shows. People suddenly trip when fleeing bad guys; the detective leaves the office just before a crucial phone call comes through that would have cracked the case; the leading man shows up for an important dinner date but accidentally brought along a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck to impress the woman. We just gotta have these goofy plot twists!

So Mark got the important information late. Now what? Will Mark call Happy right away and tell him to get the heck out of that place as fast as he can? Or will he find out it’s too late and wind up taking Niecy with him to help pick out a wedding gift for the Happy couple? Perhaps an alligator purse that snaps shut.

Alligators:  Speaking of animals showing up in this strip, it seems like gators have also been showing up in the news a lot recently, with several attacks down in Florida within one week. It is certainly tragic news to hear about.  But my attitude is, why tempt fate? Avoiding rivers, ponds, swamps, glades, and streams where alligators, pythons, and other dangerous creatures are known to exist (or even thought to exist) seems like a no-brainer decision to me. That includes Niecy’s and Happy’s properties, with that always-hungry gator walking the grounds with impunity.