Where are we, now? Mark and Niecy (mostly Niecy) have been uncovering the dodgy, corrupt activities of Gail Getz and her son, Guyler, operators of the Glamor Gorilla Sanctuary. They’ve been conning Happy out a fair chunk of his retirement savings. At the same time, Gail has smitten Happy, who wants to marry her, no matter what. Hence, the ongoing argument. We saw yesterday how Niecy appears to have fallen in line with Happy’s decision.

And we see more of this confirmation today, as Niecy takes it all in stride and tells Mark to let it go, as well (panel 3). Mark appears to be accepting her judgement, at least for the time being. I wonder if he is still concerned about the treatment and care of the gorillas, like he was a short while ago. Or is this an act to put Happy at ease, while Mark and Niecy take the opportunity to confront and expose Gail before Happy signs the “I do” Certificate? Something is bound to blow this relationship up, as Gail is not the kind of character that would fit in the Trail Family.

Futile Fantasy. The worst that could happen is that Happy loses everything to Gail as she flies off with all of Happy’s money, leaving him destitute. No longer able to afford his house, he moves into the Trail cabin. But space is cramped, so Mark gets the idea of Happy moving into an abandoned cabin on the other side of Lost Forest, along with Cherry’s rarely seen dad, Tom “Doc” Davis. But wait! There’s more: They could become a new Odd Couple or Grumpy Old Men with their own spinoff joke-a-day comic strip. Happy and Doc Davis could interact with the eccentrics of Lost Forest so that Jules Rivera could adapt the Mark Trail strip into an actual adventure strip with real drama and danger. What do you think?