Disclaimer: I own nothing, not Hyde, not Red, not the kitchen, not the song the story was based off from.
Author's Note:Hi there! This is my first That 70's Show Fan Fiction, and i really hope you like it. It's based off of Brad Paisley's Waiting on a Woman. A wonderful country song that if you get the chance you should check it out, the video feature the great Andy Griffin. Anyways enjoy the story and let me know what you think. I really hope you like it, I plan on writting a longer fic in the near future! Enough of that. On with the reading!
Waiting on a Woman
Steven Hyde sat at the Forman kitchen table, wearing not his usual concert t-shirt and jeans but a suit and a watch he was constantly looking at. For the hundredth time in the past hour he looked down at it, then in the direction of the basement, and then down at his tapping fingers. What was taking so long? It only took him ten minutes to get ready!
Hearing footsteps enter the kitchen he quickly turned around only to be disappointed when he saw Red Forman in his Forman and Son uniform.
"Oh it's you." Was Hyde's greeting.
"And hello to you too Steven." Red replied as he took a seat in his usual chair.
Hyde looked over at the direction of the basement door once more, "Sorry Red, it's just…."
"You're waiting on Jackie." Red stated more then questioned.
"Yeah." Hyde said turning away from the basement to Red, "For the past month she'd been riding me on going out somewhere special, to celebrate or engagement. Now I've finally done it and we're gonna loose our reservation because Jackie's taking forever!" Hyde informed him, directing the last three words in the direction of the basement.
Red shook his head and Hyde continued, "You know I read that more guys die before the girl. I finally figured out why. They die from waiting so long on the girl to get ready."
"How long you been waiting?"
"Two hours."
Red snorted, "That's nothing. I've been waiting thirty two years on Kitty." Seeing Hyde's slightly shocked expression, Red went on, "On our first date, I told Kitty I'd pick her up at seven o'clock sharp. Now I kept my word, but Kitty didn't come down the stairs till eight."
"Nah, really?" Hyde asked wondering why there had been a second date after that long wait.
"Yup." Red said with a nod, "And you know that talk the father of the girl,you're on a date with, gives you?" Hyde nodded. "Well multiply that by five and that's the talk Kitty's mother gave me. For forty five minutes."
Hyde let out a laugh and Red smirked some as he recalled the memory, "But Kitty did look pretty swell when she finally came down. In that dark blue dress…" not wanting Hyde to see this side of him Red quickly changed subject. "And you're in for a long wait now that you've given Jackie that ring."
Hyde frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Well, maybe not as long as a wait that I went through, because back then people had morals. Now you've got people going at it in backyards." Red said with a deep frown, and Hyde held back a laugh at the memory of the last Fourth of July when Red caught him and Jackie setting off their own fireworks under the picnic table in the backyard.
"It took one year to plan our wedding."
Hyde looked at his surrogate father skeptically, "Come on Red. You expect me to believe you and Mrs. Forman didn't do anything after you gave her the engagement ring?"
"One year Steven." Red seriously said, "One year on top of the three that I knew her, before proposing."
"Wow." Was all Hyde could say. And he thought he had it bad when Jackie made him wait a few months.
"Now," Red began "I'm not one to talk about this kind of stuff…but I'll say this about the honeymoon, it was worth it."
Hyde cringed and rested his head in his left hand, trying to get rid of the image of his surrogate parents on their honeymoon night. Once the picture erased he looked back up at Red, "This is only gonna get worse isn't it?"
"Damn straight." Red said with a smirk playing on his lips, "It's just a fact of life son, so you might as well and get used to it." He paused before going on with his piece of advice, "You see women like to make us men wait, at any give chance. To them it's like a little piece of payback from the time we made them wait before deciding to marrying them. Now it took me three years before I proposed to Kitty. It took you…"
There was no need for Red to say it, Hyde knew where he stood.
"Crap." Hyde said as his face dropped even lower earning him another chuckle from Red.
"That's right. But you know what Steven?"
"What?"
"In all the 28 years I've been married to Kitty, she may have taken her sweet time every time. But never once have we been late. And I'll bet anything that Jackie's just like that." Red said as he waved his index finger at a confused Hyde.
"Then why do they do it?"
"Because they can." Red answered back. Having another question Hyde opened his mouth but closed it when Red began to speak, he obviously knew what the question was.
"And there's nothing you can do about it." He said sternly, "Because just like you don't mind coming home to her, just like you don't mind waking up to her, just like you don't mind all the little things she does for you everyday, you don't mind waiting on a woman."
Silence filled the room as Hyde realized just how true those words were. Knowing his job was done here Red stood up from his seat and looked over at Hyde as he cleared his throat.
"Now I'm gonna go in there and watch the news while waiting for my wife to come home from the hospital." And with that he disappeared behind the swinging door, leaving Hyde in the same spot he'd found him.
"This whole thing sounds like a lame country song." He said to himself.
"Ok I'm here." Jackie announced as she walked into the kitchen.
Hyde turned around to see her and was impressed with the finished product. Jackie wore a light blue dress that fit perfectly, hugging all the right curves, bringing out her mismatched eyes, and leaving her fiancé speechless.
"Wow you look…wow." He said standing up.
Jackie grinned, "I know! And thank you." She gave him a quick but loving kiss.
"So you ready?"
"Yes I am." She said happily as Hyde helped her into her coat, "Oh shit. I forgot to call Donna to tell her I won't be able to make it to breakfast tomorrow. Ugh and her and "dad"are usually asleep by eleven thirty."
Hyde laugh some, "Yeah." He paused, "Call her."
"Are you sure?" Jackie asked wide eyed.
"Yeah." He replied in full Zen mode.
"Oh thank you Steven I promise I won't take long." She said as she rushed to the yellow telephone.
Hyde watched her and new very well it wouldn't be a long conversation but it wouldn't be a short one either. So he took a seat on the bar stool "It's alright. I don't mind waiting."
The End
Author's Note: Well I hope you liked! This story is dedicated to my dear Daddy who has to wait a hour for each of his four girls to get ready to go to a hockey game. Please review! Thanks for reading and Have a nice day!