A/N: I'm really glad that you guys like this story. Please keep the reviews coming, and I will keep the updates coming.
Helga lifted her eye lids open, awakening for the morning with the sound of heavy purring. She smiled and reached up to scratch her cat's head. Jeffery had gotten into the habit of sleeping on the extra space of her pillow when he was a kitten, snuggling himself up against her head. She played with his ears for a minute, then let her arm fall back down to the bed, as Jeffery got onto his feet, and arched his back to stretch for the morning. She smiled again when she felt him crawl off the pillow, walk across her shoulder, then sit on her chest, tilting his head down to lick her nose.
She giggled and started to sit up, while her cat jumped off of her and onto the floor beside her bed. She swung her legs out and reached for the ceiling, stretching her sleep strained muscles. She looked over to her nightstand, and saw that it was just after seven, and luckily, she was off today. After a trip to the bathroom, Helga made her way downstairs, and started the coffee pot.
Last night was actually the best night sleep she's had in a while, and she couldn't figure out why. She leaned against the counter, and looked down at the two business cards that lay there, facing up. She let out a sigh despite herself, and picked up the first card, and looked at the name of her best friend, letting a small smile form on her lips. Deciding that she would call her after a shower, and after she checked on Bob, she poured herself a cup of coffee, and a small bowl of cereal.
A half an hour later, fresh out of a shower, which lasted a little longer than usual, she changed into a pair of jeans and a light pink t-shirt. She walked down the hall to her father's bedroom door, and stepped in, finding him still asleep, his used dishes still sitting next to him as he snored. She let out another sigh, and picked up his dishes off the bed, and went back downstairs.
Ten minutes later, she stared at Phoebe's business card, her cell phone in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she started to dial, and put the phone to her ear. "Phoebe Heyerdahl." Her small, cheery voice greeted.
"Hey Pheebs,"
"Helga?!"
"One and only," She replied, spinning herself around and leaning against the counter.
"Oh my, Helga, it's so good to hear from you! I heard you were back in town."
Helga was a little taken aback by Phoebe's excitement, she must have really missed her. "You did?"
"Yes, Arnold called me last night and told me."
"He did?"
She heard Phoebe chuckle on the other end of the line. "Yes, he did. He said he ran into you at the bank."
Helga let out a deep breath. "Something like that, yeah."
"We must meet for lunch today, Helga. Are you free?"
"Yeah, I'm off today."
"Excellent, there's a small sandwich shop just down the street from where I work, say... eleven thirty?"
"I'll be there," She said happily.
"Great! I can't wait to see you Helga!"
"Me neither Phoebe," She replied warmly. After Phoebe had given Helga the name of the sandwich shop, and a rough idea of where it was, they said their farewells, and hung up.
Helga spent the morning in her room playing on her laptop, while Jeffery sat purring next to her leg. It was just passing eleven o'clock when she closed her laptop and went to go check on Bob before she left. She walked in and found him staring at the TV, a blank look on his face. "I'm meeting someone for lunch, you need anything before I leave?"
"I'm fine, just bring me back something, would ya?" He said indifferently.
"Sure," She muttered as she made her way downstairs. Her ankle was much better than yesterday, she could walk fully on it, but she was still showing a bit of a limp, and the pain was much duller than it was last night. She grabbed some pain pills on the way out the door, just before she pulled her hair back into a pony tail, with her bangs hanging down slightly in front of her eyes. She brushed them behind her ear, but they simply fell back forward.
Grabbing her keys, she made her way over to her car and started down the street. After a fifteen minute drive, she sat at a small table inside the sandwich shop they had agreed to meet at, with a glass of lemonade in front of her. She continued to tap her fingers against the table top, waiting for Phoebe to arrive.
After a five minute wait, she saw the door open out of the corner of her eye. She peered over, and was taken aback by the sight she saw. Phoebe, standing about a mere five foot two, wearing a grey pencil skirt, white blouse and grey blazer, her black hair falling loosely just above her shoulders, a pair of square, rimless glasses, and a small shoulder bag, she looked she just stepped out of the court room.
Helga smiled as Phoebe caught her eye, and stood up. Phoebe smiled brightly and held out her thin arms to her, wrapping them around her in a tight hug, which Helga returned. "It's so good to see you again, Helga!" Phoebe said, not willing to let her go just yet.
Helga laughed and squeezed her friend one last time, "It's good to see you too, Phoebe!"
Phoebe stepped back, showing Helga her face splitting smile. "You look great, Helga!" She stepped back and gave her a once over, and Helga gave her a shy smile in response.
"So do you, Pheebs! You look so... Law and Order-ish." Phoebe giggled and smoothed down her skirt. After they both went up to the counter to order, they sat back down at their table, and began to eat.
"So, what brings you back to town, Helga?"
"My dad. He suffered a major heart attack about a month and a half ago. Now the only thing he has strength enough to do is walk to the bathroom, which is a good thing because that is something I refuse to do."
Phoebe chuckle over her sandwich, "How's he doing?"
Helga shrugged in response, "As well as can be expected. He only yells at me if he's hungry, other than that, he leaves me alone."
"How are you doing?" She asked, her small voice quickly growing concerned.
"I'm alright, all things considered. Yesterdays little fiasco at the bank did leave me kind of drained though."
"What, meeting Arnold after ten years?" She asked, in a knowing tone.
"Well... not exactly." Helga responded nervously. "Did you see anything on the news about a... hostage stand off last night, by any chance?"
Phoebe's eyes widened more than Helga had ever seen before, as she leaned back and placed her hand over her agape mouth. "Oh my god, Helga, are you alright?" Phoebe asked, immediately reaching over and placing a hand on her forearm.
"I'm fine, Pheebs. It was just scary, that's all."
"When Arnold called me last night and told me that he saw you at the bank, he failed to mention why he was there in the first place." Phoebe said with a solemn shake of her head.
"I'll tell you, it was something else when he walked through that door." Helga said, leaning back in her chair.
"What happened?"
She let out a sharp sigh before continuing. "I went into the bank yesterday to deposit my paycheck, and since it was Friday, everybody in Hillwood was too. I was half way through the line when two guys crash through the doors, fire up at the ceiling, and start emptying the registers. The cops show up two minutes later, and it turns into a hostage stand off. So, I'm sitting there, and one of the tellers phone rings. One of the guys answers it and tells him that he wants a bus or he starts killing people. The next thing I'm aware of is the door opening, and he strolls in wearing a bullet proof vest." Helga paused as she let a small smile form on her lips. "I'll tell you, Phoebe, it was amazing watching him talk that guy down."
"Well, he is the best."
"He is? He told me he's only been a hostage negotiator for a few years."
"He has, but he is still the best hostage negotiator in the state. He once talked down a guy who was holding some people hostage in a convenient store with a bomb strapped to his chest."
"He never mentioned being the best in the state..." Helga said with a shake of her head.
"Well, Arnold's nothing if not modest, you should know that." There was a pause in the conversation, and Helga could tell that Phoebe was dieing to ask her something.
"It was a little weird when I heard about his divorce though." Helga said through pursed lips.
"I was wondering if he told you about that."
"I always thought if anyone could make a marriage last a life time, it would be him."
"Everyone told him that it was moving too fast, but he wouldn't listen. So, when they decided to get married, they hardly knew each other. He keeps saying that he's going to start dating again, but then there's another bank robbery, or someone walks into an office building with a rifle, or someone's about to jump to jump off a bridge. It would be rather depressing seeing him bury himself in his work if he wasn't doing what he is."
"He seemed pretty happy to me." She said with a shrug. After all, he was always in a chipper mode as far as Helga can remember.
"But what about you Helga. Any guys in you're life?"
"Besides my cat, Jeffery, no. I just moved back a month ago. And even before that, I never had much luck."
"Really?"
"Well... let's just say I have very particulate standards."
Phoebe looked up at her with a sly smile. "After all these years?"
"Believe me, I've tried to get past it. And yes, I've had the occasional boyfriend, but there was never any spark."
"Maybe you should... give him a call."
"Who, Arnold?" Phoebe simply shot her a look that said 'Duh!'. "Come on, Pheebs, you can't really think he likes me or anything."
Phoebe sighed, and pulled out her cell phone. "What I'm about to tell you stays between us, okay?" Helga nodded as Phoebe was playing with her smartphone. After a minute or two, she began. "This is Arnold's ex-wife. Do you notice anything?" She held up her phone, and a picture of a woman was being displayed, she had blonde hair flowing down past her shoulders, with blue eyes, and a toothy smile.
"No, what?" She said honestly, not knowing what her friend was getting at.
"Helga, she looks almost exactly like you. The only difference is you're prettier."
She scoffed in response. "Come on Pheebs, there are a lot of blonde haired, blue eyed girls out there, and just because he found one that bares a passing resemblance to me doesn't mean he has a shrine of me in his closet made out of my old chewing gum. It's just a coincidence."
Phoebe shrugged and shoved her phone back into her purse. "Maybe, and maybe I was grasping when I mentioned his ex wife. But, would you be happier of I was right or if I was wrong?" As much as Helga thought about it, she knew her answer was clear. She sighed and looked away. "Exactly, now, I would suggest that you call him, and arrange plans for a date. In the meantime, I have to get back to the office." Phoebe stood up, and Helga followed suit. "But really Helga, just call him, what's the worst that could happen?"
"You really want me to answer that?" Phoebe simply smirked and held out her arms for another hug.
"It was great seeing you again, Helga."
"You too, Phoebe." Helga stepped back and smiled warmly, as they made their way outside.
"Keep in touch, okay?"
"I will, Pheebs, don't worry."
"And call him."
Helga let out a small sigh, "I will."
Phoebe smiled in response and turned back down the street, while Helga turned to make her way back to her car.
Twenty minutes later, after bring her father her left overs, she was sitting on the couch in the living room, staring at the back of his card, where he had written his cell phone number down, in one hand, and her cell phone in the other. She took in a deep breath to prepare herself, but by the time it was let out, she still didn't have it in her to call him. What was it that was holding her back? He's single, she's single, so what's the problem?
She was brought out of her struggle by the feeling her Jeffery rubbing against her leg. She looked down, and he let out a small 'meow', and jumped up on the couch next to her, then climbed onto her lap. She sat back, and started scratching the cats head. "So what do you think, think I should call him?" She asked the cat.
"Meow,"
"Yeah... that's what I thought." She saw the cat move his head over to her hand that had her cell phone in it, and start to rub against it. "You think so?"
"Meow," The cat said, still rubbing against her hand.
Helga laughed, and pulled her cat over into her side, laying him against her leg, and picked up his card again and started to dial. It rang only once, "Shortman." His firm voice came across the line.
"Hey Arnold, it's Helga."