Chapter 04 – Quit Following Me

With her hands on her hips she asked, "Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

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Eric was flummoxed. How was it she was here? In the laundromat? Didn't he run into her yesterday and the day before that and the day she hit his car? She was like a bad penny that kept turning up.

Jackie was almost amused. Eric Forman was speechless and his lips were just flapping. What did he want to say? What could he say? She felt the nastiness leave her mouth before she could censor herself. "What? Couldn't mommy do your laundry for you today?" Damn! She was so mean! Stop it Jackie!

Eric's eyes narrowed at that superficial comment. For a moment he just looked at her pretty face and chuckled. It was bitter and hard, but it was still a chuckle. Jackie obviously didn't know about his mom. Didn't Hyde share this little bit of info with his ex-girlfriend? "Jackie….you have some huge chip on your shoulder so I'm not even going to talk to you about my mother. I'm here to do laundry because the machine at my apartment is not working. Under other circumstances, I would not be here, so excuse me for invading your space."

Jackie Burkhart was almost shocked into silence. Eric Forman was standing up for himself – when did that twig grow up (Jackie be nice!) She respected him for defending his position but why did he have to wash his clothes here? This was her Laundromat! She watched his retreating figure as he went to the washers furthest from the front and began loading clothes. He didn't even give her a second thought.

Jackie stacked her rest of her dry clothes in the extra basket and on impulse, shouted, "Hey Eric! Quit following me!"

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Hyde sat on the plastic chair beside the nightstand. Neither Red nor Eric knew he was here. Steven Hyde preferred to visit his adopted mother under the cloak of darkness where he didn't have to answer questions or get grilled on his personal life.

No, he liked sitting quietly at Kitty's bedside, holding her hand and talking about growing up in the basement. She was sleeping of course (or so he hoped) but once in a while, she would open her eyes and utter, "Steven," then fall back asleep with a small smile.

W.B. understood that it was difficult for his son to see the woman who raised him in such a terrible state. Allowances were made as needed for Hyde to escape the city and all its trappings, which allowed the young man to just sit quietly with the world's best mom.

He took off his shades and wiped his eyes, "…and when you get better and can go home, I'll buy you the biggest Christmas tree in the state of Wisconsin. Maybe you can make some of your sugar cookies and I'll go round up Betsy and Brooke and let them sing Jingle Bells."

He was rewarded with a slight squeeze to his fingers. Heartened, he continued, "Yeah, work's been hectic. I have a promo in Colorado in a couple of days but I'm gonna bring you back a stuffed donkey. You know the kind you ride to go down in the Grand Canyon? I mean, I'm not going in the Grand Canyon….I'll just bring you the souvenir."

One of the night nurses appeared in the doorway tapping the face of her watch and holding up her palm, indicating he had five minutes left to visit. Hyde nodded and sighed. He wished that asshole had lived so he could punch his lights out. "Random accident, my ass." He growled.

Standing up, he pushed the plastic chair against the wall and then leaned over Kitty's hospital bed. "Mom." He spoke in a low voice, "I gotta go but I promise I'll come back as soon as I can. Hang in there okay?"

He kissed the soft crinkled cheek and wiped the mist from his eyes. "I love you too."

The sound of his boots leaving the room was the last thing Kitty heard before she fell back asleep.

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The school week flew by. No more chance encounters with Jackie, no awkward scenes with Cindy Betz and the only disconcerting moment was when Daphne ignored him in the cafeteria. She clipped his tray with hers and walked without comment towards the "cool" teacher's lunch table.

Eric didn't mind actually. He merely sat down with the Librarian and ate his lunch. His head was full of ideas for November's Career Day. Greenspan's idea for a celebrity was solved – Eric would simply find Fez and have him pop in for the day to talk about the entertainment industry. Pastor Dave could be utilized for the funeral director information. Eric toyed with the idea of contacting the state university for using one of their star quarterbacks to speak about football and other sports but there was so much more to do with Career Day.

The end of lunch bell rang and Eric realized he'd spent most of the half hour daydreaming and ended up grabbing his burger and heading back to his office. There were three appointments this afternoon for college admissions with questions. Busy busy Friday.

xXx

Eric sat the bundle of envelopes on his passenger seat and pulled the harness of his seat belt over his shoulder. A small stop to drop these off and then he'd pick up some flowers for his mom's room. Since encountering Jackie at the Laundromat on a Sunday, Eric decided he'd opt for washing and drying on Saturday and move his mom's visit to Friday night.

The Post Office was brimming with customers. Eric counted the people in line ahead of him and there were at least nine and a few in the receive package counter line. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. A short moment of quiet reflection was in order in the peaceful silence of the Government building.

"What do you mean you're sold out of the North American Wildlife Commemorative Stamps? The other 22 cent stamps are ugly! Where's the Postmaster? I want to talk to someone in charge." Eric opened his eyes at the shrill voice and could instantly feel his stomach clenching in fear. The hairs on the back of his neck rose just a little bit. Jackie Burkhart was stalking him! No, wait, she was ahead of him in line so how could she know he was here? Eric weighed his options. If he tried to sneak out, he would have to pass by her because the exit door was right by the counters. However, if he used this plastic palm as camouflage…he could advance the line virtually unnoticed. That sounded like his best route.

The line inched forward much faster than he would have liked. With Jackie's outburst, another window was opened and it would only be a matter of time before she saw him. Oh please don't let her see me! He prayed silently and crossed his fingers.

The Postmaster managed to find Jackie some stamps that were similar to the North American Commemorative, but there were no bears in this set. Her dad really liked the bears. He said seeing the stamps reminded him of his favorite football team, the Chicago Bears. Jackie smiled, apologized for her outburst and turned around only to come face to face with the face she had been trying to avoid all week! "You ARE following me!" Jackie said in a low threatening voice.

Eric was prepared for this attack with one of his own. "Since when do you write letters? Don't you have a maid that does it for you? " Oooh….that had to hurt!

Jackie's eyes flashed. "Since my dad's in prison, it's not like I can go visit him every day. Who the hell do you have to write to? Can't you just videotape it and send it UPS?"

Eric wasn't expecting such a perfectly aimed burn. Seriously, did he look like a guy that worked at a Hollywood Video or the like? Eric replied, "I have some paperwork that needs the Return Receipt Requested – it's not like I can just stick some 22 cent stamp on it and put it in the drop box."

She crossed her arms, "I'm warning, you Eric. If you ARE following me, I will go to the police and file one of those reports."

Eric lifted a brow, "…and if YOU are following me, I will go to the police and file one too…so…there!"

Jackie huffed and stomped her foot before doing an about face and leaving the Post Office. Eric almost collapsed against the counter. The mail clerk clucked her tongue and commented, "She's a feisty one…you better tread carefully."

Blowing out a breath of relief, he replied, "You got that right!"

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Lydia was sitting on the floor in the Lotus position and replied, "Well, it does seem odd that you keep running into Walter all the time."

Jackie pulled off her boot and rolled her eyes, "His name is Eric. Not Walter and I swear, he's following me – what else could it be?"

Lydia shrugged, "Maybe it's not as random as you think. Look at this way. Obviously you both live and work in Kenosha. You probably go to the same stores and restaurants, but while you are in Jackie orbit, his planet was in a different orbit. Something happened that made both your orbits collide. You know like when two trains are on the same track and they are coming from different directions? WHAM! Honey, you gotta figure out what you did that ruined your orbit."

For all of Lydia's ramblings, it did make sense. She lived a great life here in Kenosha and not once, ever in all these years, did she ever run into Eric Forman. What was different? Well, Jackie Burkhart wasn't going to dwell on it for too long, she had a date with a hot shower and some new scented shampoo to be followed by a long hot bath and a glass of wine. That was a nice way to end a bad Friday night.

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Eric put the yellow carnations into a small pink vase that sat on his mother's bedside table. He sat down in the plastic chair and clicked on the remote control for the television. Maybe somewhere inside her injured brain, she was aware that her favorite program, Webster, was on.

Red hated this show with the misplaced little boy and the adult parents – it probably reminded him of all the "orphans" the Forman's had adopted along the way. Still, Kitty thought little Webster was adorable. "Mom." Eric said in a soft voice hoping she was asleep so he could just talk. This was as near to a confessional he was ever going to get and it felt comfortable. "Mom, I heard the doctor's talk and they said there's a chance that this is as good as it gets."

He felt his throat choke up a little. "But mom, I want you to know that if you never get better or if something happens to dad…I'm here. I'll take care of you. I mean NOT that something is wrong with dad but, I'm here – your son, and I just wanted you to know that."

His fingers were rewarded with a small squeeze. Kitty's eyes slowly fluttered open, "Honey." She said in a soft voice. "I love you, but you can't take care of an old lady. You need to get out there and start your own family."

A lucid moment – this was more than Eric could have hoped for. "Mom, I just don't want you to think that for one moment I would leave you in this place."

Kitty smiled, "Then take me home."

Eric snuffled back a sob. "Because…I can't mom. You need help that I can't give you right now." A tear ran down Kitty's cheek and onto the pillow, "Eric. I just want to go home."

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Author wipes eyes with Kleenex - thank you dear readers - until next week!