Nine Years Later

"Please, I don't understand why you won't just spend this one night here. Didn't you have a great time tonight?" Rhonda asked, rolling onto her side, flipping her long, messy black hair over her shoulder.

"Rhonda, you know I would love to spend the night, but you know that I can't do that." Harold responded as he picked his brown khaki pants up from the floor and began to get redressed.

Rhonda climbed out of bed and quickly put on a short silk nightgown. She quickly grabbed Harold's white button down and red tie and shoved his items into his arms.

"Rhonda, please don't do this now." Harold pleaded.

"You know, sometimes I don't even know why I give you the time of day. Honestly, it should be me who is hiding you. I-"

"Rhonda stop." Harold interrupted her rant and pulled her into his arms. She buried her face into his chest instinctively. He pulled her head up by the chin, pushed her blunt bangs out of her face and looked into her hazel eyes. "I'm really sorry that things have to be like this, but we'll find a way to work things out okay?"

Rhonda nodded her head softly and kissed Harold on the lips.

"Promise me you'll stop by tomorrow?" Rhonda asked as Harold was halfway down the steps of her townhouse.

"We'll see." Harold responded.

Harold started walking southbound to the subway station. He felt his cellphone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled out his cellphone and saw that he already had 3 missed phone calls, and was currently working on a fourth.

"Hello?" Harold spoke into the phone.

"Hey honey, how did your meeting go?"

"Well, we're still working out the small monetary details but my lawyer is drawing up the paperwork for me to become the official owner of Mr. Green's meats." Harold responded.

"Oh my gosh babe that's so amazing! Not a moment too soon either because the doctor said we are officially considered full-term now and we can go into labor at any minute now. So I'm going to need to be able to reach you when that does happen."

"Wow, we're going to be welcoming a baby Berman any day now! It's time to narrow down these names. Calling our child 'Baby Berman' isn't going to work past the age of 2." Harold laughed.

"Well, actually a baby Smith-Berman and I have a strong feeling that we're going to be welcoming a baby girl."

"Well, Patty, I'm about to go below ground and you know I lose reception in the tunnel. So I love you, and I'll see you when I get home."

"I can't wait to see you! Be safe and call me as soon as you're above ground again!" Patty spoke into the phone, as she rubbed her pregnant stomach and placed her cellphone next to her.


"Phoebe, you know that I'm not good at these things. Please help me!" Helga pleaded with her best friend, cellphone in one hand, and multiple outfit options in the other.

"Well, Helga, we need to think about these things logically. Where does Stinky plan on taking you tonight?" Phoebe inquired.

"I don't know Phoebe. I don't ask Stink-o everything. I just want to look amazing. I want him to take one look at me and his knees become weak, then his lips begin to tremble as he pulls me close to whisper the words that he has been longing for so long to say but couldn't find the courage to say for so long." Helga said as she twirled around her room and threw herself onto the bed with a sigh. "But, I won't be able to do that if I can't find the right outfit."

"Helga, I think that the chances of your outfit having any effect on how much he loves you are zero." Phoebe responded.

"Okay, okay, okay—you've made your point Pheebs. I'm going to try on this one outfit that I've been saving for a while and you let me know what you think." Helga said grabbing some clothes from her closet and heading into the bathroom.

Phoebe's phone vibrated, notifying her of a text message from Gerald. "Can't wait to see you tonight baby."

Although she was in the room alone, she blushed as she quickly typed a response to her boyfriend's message.

"Okay, what do you think Pheebs? Be honest!" Helga asked as she stepped out of the bathroom. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a messy, yet chic top bun. She wore a white, lace peplum tank top, pink skinnies and a pair of simple black heels. Her makeup was very soft and accentuated her long eyelashes, bright blue eyes and full pink lips. Topping off her outfit was a simple gold heart shaped locket.

"Helga, you look amazing. However-" Phoebe started to speak.

"What's wrong?" Helga questioned with an eye roll."

"It's just do you think that you should be wearing that locket? I mean, being as it's such an important night." Phoebe asked.

"It's just a necklace." Helga responded shortly. Phoebe raised an eyebrow over the frame of her rectangular green glasses.

"If you say so Helga. I'm going to head out, I'm supposed to be meeting Gerald in an hour and a half. Call me the second that you get home from your date!" Phoebe smiled before letting herself out of Helga's bedroom.

Helga threw herself onto the chaise that rested next to her window, rubbing her fingers across the locket as she stared wistfully into the distance.


Phoebe hopped into her blue Prius and frantically headed home. Her father was in Michigan for a business meeting and her mother went along with him to keep him company, so she had the entire townhouse to herself and she was eager to spend some alone time with Gerald.

When she arrived home she drew herself a hot bubble bath and poured herself a glass of Chardonnay from her parent's collection which she knew would go unnoticed. Her phone sat on the edge of the bathtub, which she grabbed to take a photograph of herself to send to Gerald with the accompanying message "There's room for two, come join me."

Phoebe chuckled to herself as she put her phone onto her favorite Pandora station before setting it to the side, taking her glasses off, and allowing herself to succumb to a state of pure relaxation and excitement.

Gerald arrived in less than fifteen minutes after the text was sent, with a box of French chocolates and a dozen white roses.

"I thought you'd never get here." Phoebe stated climbing out of the bathtub, exposing her entire 5'0" petite frame to Gerald.

"I uh—rushed over. How do you manage to do that?" Gerald questioned randomly.

"Do what?" Phoebe asked, confused.

"How do you still manage to take my breath away after all of this time?" Gerald asked before leaning in for a passionate kiss, grabbing Phoebe, picking her up, and carrying her into her bedroom.


Stinky stepped out of his forest green pickup truck and walked up the steep steps to Helga's brownstone townhouse. He knocked on the door and adjusted his red tie while he waited for an answer.

"Hey Peterson, you can come on in." Bob Pataki said after opening the door, gesturing for Stinky to enter his home.

"Good evening Mr. Pataki." Stinky greeted.

"Hey, hey, hey what did I tell you about that? It's Bob, we're all friends here as long as you keep my little girl happy. She's still upstairs, you know how women are!" Bob commented walking into the den and taking a seat in his favorite reclining chair. "Have a seat, take a load off!"

Stinky sat at the corner of the couch.

"You watch the wheel?" Bob asked

"Um—no sir." Stinky responded.

"Hmmm, well maybe you should start." Bob commented as Stinky chuckled nervously.

"Miriam!" Bob shouted at the edge of his seat, "The wheel is about to start, why don't you bring me and my friend Stinky here a couple of Yahoos!?"

Stinky heard the sound of footsteps running down the stairs. Helga turned the corner and entered the den area, she caught a glimpse of Stinky awkwardly sitting on her couch as her dad talked about his favorite television game show, Wheel of Fortune. He quickly rose to his feet when he saw Helga.

"My Helga, you look absolutely amazing!" Stinky said, walking over to Helga to give her a kiss. Helga blushed slightly.

"Aww, put a sock in it Stink-o, you ready to head out?" Helga said with a smile.

"So how long are you kids planning to stay out tonight? Where are you two going anyway?" Bob questioned.

"We're-" Stinky began.

"Dad, we're not kids anymore. I'm eighteen years old, you don't have to question where I am going all the time. I swear, I had more freedom as a ten year old than I do now." Helga sighed.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry. I just want to make sure that my little girl gets home safely," Bob commented, pulling Helga in for a hug and kissing her on the forehead. "Just keep your phone on and have a good time."

"Fine Bob." Helga said with an exasperated tone and grabbed Stinky's hand heading for the door.

"I swear, sometimes I think I liked it better when he called me Olga all the time." Helga said awkwardly. Stinky pulled her close and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I hope you're ready for a fun night tonight Ms. Pataki." Stinky smiled, as he held the door of his pickup open for his date.


A/N: I hope that you enjoy this story. It's my first venture into FanFiction of any sort! Reviews are always welcome and if you use your username, they will also be personally responded to. Thanks & Happy Reading :) - BuzzLightyearr