Eight years later
Chapter 1
December, 2012.
The front door to the Sunset Arms turned on its rusted hinges producing a loud creaking noise. It's been years since anyone has set foot in this place, Pookie passed away four years ago and Phil not long after leaving the Packard and the boarding house to his only grandson.
Arnold decided he'd visit his grandparents graves before heading to San Lorenzo to spend the holidays with his parents there but his visit to his grandparents filled his heart with guilt. Guilt over how in the years he's gone to college they've been seeing less and less of him until their time to leave came.
As he stepped into the abandoned house memories from his childhood seemed to flood in creating in his mind pictures brighter than the reality in front of him at that moment. He remembered the constant bickering between grandpa and the other boarders when they played chess, the parties, the conversations over dinner. There rarely has been a silent moment in this place.
He half-expected his grandmother to step out with some costume on impersonating whatever that outfit represented when he walked by the kitchen. As he climbed up the still stable stairs and passed by what used to be Suzie and Oskar's room he remembered one morning fourteen years ago waking up to find that Suzie has kicked her sorry excuse for a husband out and wanted a divorce; for the first time in his life he wasn't bothered to help sort things out for someone in need.
Suzie was doing what everyone wished she would do, throw out the trash in her life.
Arnold finally reached the part of the house he wanted to see the most. His room. He carefully walked up the makeshift stairs being careful not to put too much of his weight in each step for fear it might break down.
The room seemed spacious from the lack of furniture and a faint light from outside seeped in through the very dirty skylight roof. The same skylight roof he'd spent his younger years looking out of and daydreaming. That skylight roof where he watched the skies change from dusk to dawn throughout the seasons, that skylight where he spent hours staring at with his girlfriend lying beside him.
Ex-girlfriend…
Arnold stepped out of the house and decided he'd walk around the neighborhood and see what's changed and what's remained.
The spot where Mrs. Vitello's flower shop used to be was now some shop selling organic products. There was a young lady standing behind the counter wrapping up some parcels. She looked up from the box and sees Arnold through the glass door making him look away embarrassed, he hadn't meant to stare. He just thought she looked familiar but he couldn't really recognize her.
"Arnold?" he heard the young lady call out as she stepped out from the shop and he turned to face her finally recognizing her tall, lean figure and sandy brown hair.
"Sheena! I couldn't recognize you the first time. How have you been?" He asked.
"I'm good Arnold, you haven't changed much." She smiled scanning him up and down with her eyes.
Arnold returned a smile, "So, you're working here now?" he nodded at the shop behind her.
"Yes, my parents bought this place from Mrs. Vitello after she retired and decided to open a shop where they can sell their products."
"How's business?"
"It wasn't going well the first time we started since nobody really comes here. So I decided to do a little advertising, you know, start up a blog and scoring interviews in magazines. The biggest breakthrough was when we decided to provide delivery services."
"That's great Sheena, really. I'm really happy things worked out in the end."
Sheena smiled at him fondly and was about to say something when the phone rang in her shop.
She hurriedly took out a card from her jeans pocket and handed it to Arnold.
"This card has my number and email on it."
"I'll be sure to call." Arnold promised as he placed the card in his coat pocket.
Sheena smiled, gave him a quick hug and ran back to her store to get the call. He waved goodbye at her before walking away to see who else he'd run into.
He came to the butcher shop where Mr. Green worked in, the butcher with the ironic name.
Arnold entered the place and a man stepped out the walk-in fridge, instead of the red-haired, heavily tanned butcher he's always known came out a gray haired old man with tiny circle lens glasses.
"Arnold? My God it's really you!"
"Hey Mr. Green, how have you been?" Arnold took a seat next where Mr. Green beckoned him to.
"It's been the same, only thing that changes are the people. Old ones go, new ones come and take their place. Life goes on. What's going on in your life kid? You married? What's your job?"
Arnold gave a light chuckle, "I'm not married. I was engaged once... just things didn't work out."
"You're young Arnold, your life's just getting started."
Arnold just smiled at him, at twenty-five he felt like time was slipping away from his hands.
At that moment, a group of kids passed by the butcher shop. A little boy came up from behind a girl in the group and pulled her ponytail before running off with her running after him.
"Those kids pass by the shop every day, they sorta remind me of you kids before." Mr. Green said.
Arnold turned to him and smiled, "Well I better get going Mr. Green. Happy holidays."
"You too Arnold. Hey, the next time you come visit I wanna see little versions of ya walkin' around here alright?"
Arnold chuckled "I'll do my best." He said. "You take care."
He thought he'd pass by the corner store to see if he could find any of the snacks he loved as a kid to take with him on the plane.
A box of instant mashed potatoes dropped from a lady's shopping bag as she was leaving the store and Arnold, always a gentleman, rushed to pick it up for her seeing how she struggled between trying to balance two shopping bangs in her hands and kneeling down to pick up the box.
"It's ok I got it." Arnold told her putting the fallen box back into the paper bag it fell from.
The lady who looked in her fifties with short blonde hair paused as she looked at his face and Arnold immediately recognized who she was,
"Mrs. Pataki! Hi!" He greeted.
"Arnold! Oh it's so good to see you! What are you doing back in Hillwood?"
"Thought I'd drop by and say a few hellos, I'm heading to San Lorenzo with my parents to spend the holidays. Here let me help you with this." He took one of the bags from her.
"Thanks Arnold, always a sweetheart." Miriam said as she lightly placed a hand over his arm. "You know, I think it's a good idea to spend Christmas in the tropics. I'm sure it'll be much more pleasant than the cold that's setting in here."
"It kinda is actually." He told her. "You should try it someday."
"I guess I should." She agreed and after a short moment of walking in silence she said, "Helga's coming over tomorrow."
Miriam has always liked him, after all. He was the only person in this world who's given her younger daughter's life more meaning than anyone else, nothing broke her heart more than when she found out that they've broken up before going their separate ways for college.
"Unfortunately I don' think I'll be able to catch up to her. But tell her I said hi." Arnold tried to sound as casual as he could.
"I will." She promised when they finally reached her house.
Arnold helped put the groceries in the kitchen before saying goodbye and headed to the airport to catch his flight.
Author's Note: I originally planned on making another high school sequel to one of my fics Hillwood High but as much as how diverse high school can be especially with all of the HA! kids in it I figured it would be much better to imagine how their lives would be like as adults since that's the age many of us who grew up watching the show are in.