THESE DAYS ARE OURS
October, 1974
Well, there it was. Except for the name change, Arnold's looked almost exactly the same. Richard and Lori Cunningham held hands as they walked into the restaurant, their eyes momentarily lost on memories.
The place was still doing well. The waitress, who didn't recognize them and who was far too young to have been working at the original Arnold's, gave them a table. Nobody was dancing like they used to in the old days; this was a "Grownup's place" now, part of a national chain. It still had a jukebox, though-playing John Denver instead of Buddy Holly.
"Do you think the others will come?" Lori asked, hopefully. "I know Ralph has his practice in Illinois, but I was really looking forward to seeing Potsie, and Joanie and Chachi again."
Richie stroked his moustache. "Joanie and Chachi are in L.A. recording a new album. They said they'd try to make it if they could." He leaned back in his seat. "Man, there are times when I wish we could just turn back the clock. So much has happened over the last ten years…we really were part of a more innocent time, weren't we?"
"Well, we all had to move on. I know how much you wanted to come back to Milwaukee after you got back from Vietnam…"
"I was a different person then. I was still trying to make sense of things. It seems kind of silly now, I know."
"No, Richie; you wanted safety and normality again. Everybody did at that point. Especially after what happened with Fonzie…"
Richie suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Maybe we should pay him a visit after we leave. I think he'd like that. His last letter sounded like he needed a familiar face."
"I'm sorry, honey," Lori said. "I didn't mean to…"
"No, it's OK. It's just…sometimes I still can't believe what happened. I mean, he was always the toughest, coolest guy I ever knew."
"I know." Lori looked down. "But even he had his breaking point."
Ritchie looked over at the jukebox, wondering what Fonzie would have made of the disco music coming out of it now. Would he have simply rapped it to change the tune? But he didn't see the Fonz of old standing there-only the one with the lost look on his face, the man who'd been taken away in handcuffs exactly five years ago today. The man he still thought of as his best friend, even though he couldn't deny that his former hero had lost his mind and now spent his days in an institution.
Why couldn't I have seen it coming? Richie thought to himself. He of all people should have seen the stress building up in the Fonz, but Arthur Fonzarelli had always managed to hide it so well with a shrug and an "Aaaaay!" Then his cousin Roger had tried to lift his spirits by getting him a date with a woman who was much like Ashley right before Richie went to Vietnam as a lieutenant…and then…
Ritchie had gotten the news during his second tour in Vietnam. After the shock had worn off came the questions. Were they sure it was him? They had to have made some kind of a mistake. It wasn't possible. But the evidence in Fonzie's apartment was there in all its horrific detail. Fonzie, the man who had once been the king of cool, had always had a hard time adapting to change. Even becoming a teacher at Jefferson High couldn't keep him from doing the old thumbs-up or wearing his familiar leather jacket, which by 1969 was as out of style as ducktail haircuts. In the years following Joanie and Chachi's wedding the world had turned upside down. The Fonz had struggled to stay right side up, but had seen it all slipping away from him. That was what had done it-that was what had driven him over the edge and lash out at the nearest targets-Roger and his would-be girlfriend. Roger had survived that devastating encounter. The girl who had reminded everybody of Ashley-and reminded Fonzie of her too much-didn't.
Ritchie's darkening thoughts were interrupted by a cheerful, "Look who's back!" Ritchie and Lori stood up and exchanged hugs and handshakes with two of the next most important people in their lives. Ralph Malph, looking distinguished with his beard and Warren "Potsie" Webber still with boyish looks, cracked jokes and told stories about the old days while they ate. Finally, the subject turned back to the Fonz.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about that, too." Ralph nodded. "The hospital's not too far from here; maybe we should pay him a visit."
"Is that really such a good idea-I mean, all of us at once? We all testified for the prosecution at his trial."
"I'll see him first." Ritchie had finished eating and got out his checkbook. "I owe him that much. In spite of what happened, before he…snapped, he really did teach me everything about life, girls, being cool…"
"He taught all of us," Potsie added. "Nobody can take that away from him."
Ralph stood up, holding a glass. "To Fonzie…the one we knew."
They all raised their glasses. "To the Fonz," they said in unison.
THE END