Chapter 4 has arrived! Kim has gone back to Ingurlandia and it's moving day for Tara! Exciting! Actually, this is more of a filler chapter. Just a day-in-the-life event I'm tossing in because I mentioned it earlier.

Sorry about the delay since chapter 3. Recent college grad trying to find a job and all that. I'll do what I can.

If I mention it in this story, I don't own it.


Chapter 4 – Moving Day

"Guuuurrrnnnngggghhhh...what?" mumbled Ron as his Official GWA Steel Toe 'ringside bell' alarm clock assaulted his ears. What's the deal? I don't have work today...

As Ron slowly came to, he realized that today he was supposed to be at Tara's house at 7, to help her move to her new apartment in Lowerton, just like he'd promised he would. Ron was happy for the diversion. Kim had left for the UK six days ago and all he'd done since then was think about that one evening with Kim and work double-shifts at Smarty Mart to earn some extra green and distract himself until he started school. I really miss Kim already. And not just because of...that...even though 'that' was pretty bon-diggety...

Ron shut down the alarm and hauled himself out of bed so he could shower and get ready. Tara only lived about fifteen minutes away, so he had time to fix himself a decent breakfast and shower before he went anywhere.

As Ron lathered his hair and hummed the 'Naked Mole Rap' in the shower, he realized that today was pretty much the first time he'd thought about Tara since their bowling night. She'd called him a couple days ago to let him know she was going to be moving this weekend and asked him to help, but other than that, they hadn't seen or heard from each other since. I hope she's not too mad at me...friends don't normally ignore each other for a week.

After his shower, a bathrobe-clad Ron grabbed the newspaper from the front porch and then proceeded to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. As he munched his bacon, toast, eggs, and grapefruit (Ron's appetite was not dwindling as he got older) and read the paper, he noted that today was going to be quite hot. Guess I'll just wear shorts and a tee today. Glad I got the Buick's AC recharged last week. He also noticed that the local section of Middleton Times was running another story about his and Kim's retirement from freak-fighting. Jeez, it's been months...are they ever going to let this rest?

Rufus was still out like a light, and Ron didn't think his little buddy would be of much use for moving, so he opted instead to leave a note near his sleeping pet. I wonder where he learned to read English anyway... mused Ron as he scribbled a quick note so Rufus would know where he was and that there was a nice wheel of swiss waiting for him in the fridge. After quickly throwing on a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt, Ron jumped into the mighty blue LeSabre and took off for Tara's house.

Meanwhile, Tara was also up and about early in the morning, as she had some last-minute packing and arranging to do before she could move. All of her clothes and accessories were still in her closet and needing to be boxed up, so she was digging through her closet in nothing but a sports bra and panties, trying to find something suitable to wear for manual labor on a hot day before she packed everything up.

She might've also been looking for something that would appeal to a young man while moving on a hot day, but she wasn't going to say that out loud. She settled on a ragged old pair of (very short) cutoff shorts and an old halter top. After tying up her sneakers and putting her hair up in a ponytail, she set about boxing up all of her clothing and everything else that was in her closet. Ron should be here at 7, I should be able to get this all boxed up by the time he gets here.

Tara was glad that the weekend was here. Normally she worked a Saturday to Wednesday schedule, but since she needed to get moved this weekend, she'd switched hours and as a consequence had worked for seven days straight and was more than ready for a weekend. Since she and Ron had both worked so much in the past week, she was also happy to be seeing him again. I haven't seen him once since we went bowling. I wonder how he's been since Kim left. Tara was jarred from her thoughts by the doorbell ringing at about five past 7. "Coming!"

Tara ran downstairs and looked through the peephole. A smiling Ron with a fisheye effect was the sight that greeted her. She threw the door open with a smile and beckoned him in.


"Hey Ron! Long time no see."

"Same here, Tar. Good to see ya again!" Ron smiled as he walked in. "So, where's your dad? I figured he'd be helping with the move."

"Oh, he will be. He just went to put gas in his van, he should be back any minute."

"Coolio! So, what should I do?" asked Ron.

"How about helping me bring the boxes in my room down here?"

"Sounds good to me, let's go." replied Ron as he started up the stairs.

Tara followed, slightly put out that he hadn't even seemed to notice her rather skimpy (but practical!) attire.

Ron considered the stack of boxes arrayed before him in Tara's room, and then her rather small closet. "I don't know how you got all of this stuff into that closet, but I think there were some serious physics involved."

"Hardy har, Ron" retorted Tara, sticking out her tongue. "Chop-chop! Start liftin'!" she said to him as she grabbed a box and started bringing it downstairs.

"Uh oh, looks like I'm working for a slave-driver." chuckled Ron as he also grabbed a box and followed Tara down.

As soon as Ron got to the bottom of the stairs, the front door swung open and Mr. Strong walked in, accompanied by his two youngest children. He smiled as soon as he saw Ron. "Hey there, Ronald! Good to see you're going to be helping us today! Is Tara working you too hard?" he asked with a conspiratorial wink than Ron didn't quite understand.

"Yeah, she's a regular old slave driver." agreed Ron. Tara, who'd chosen that moment to walk into the room, retaliated by dropping a box of clothes on Ron's foot. Tara's dad just laughed.

"Well, it's good to see you again, Ronald. And the help will be appreciated, trust me."

Tara's younger siblings, who had been sitting still for well over a minute now, ran out of patience and went over to Ron like a shot.

"Remember us?" they asked.

"Yes." replied Ron.

"What're you doing here?"

"Helping Tara move."

"Where did you get that t-shirt?"

"France."

"You've been to France?"

"Several times."

"Do you still have a girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"Where is she?"

"England."

"Why?"

"College."

"You should date Tara instead, then."

"That wasn't even a question!"

"So what?"

"That's better."

"Is that your blue car in the driveway?"

"Yes."

"Do you have poor eyesight, or do you just leave it parked near shopping cart returns?"

"Uhm..."

"Are we annoying?"

"Not really. I was the same way once."

Tara's patience snapped long before Ron's would have.

"Alright Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dork, that's enough! Dad, can't you do something about them already?"

Mr. Strong just laughed. "I'm leaving them at Grandma's for the day. Come on, Squirts, let's go!" said Tara's dad as he urged them out the door. The twins, excited at the prospect of spending the day with their grandparents, needed no further persuasion.

"Ronald, Tara." he called on his way out the door.

"Yeah, dad?" asked Tara.

"I backed the van up the driveway and left all the doors open, so you can just start loading it up while I'm gone. I should be back within an hour."

"Okay! Thanks dad!"

"Drive safe, Mister S!" was Ron's reply as Mr. Strong and his kids climbed into an older Honda sedan and took off.

"Ugh, those little jerks are so annoying!" muttered an irritated Tara.

"No worse than Kim's sibs." offered Ron.

"Well, whatever. Let's get the rest of my stuff." said Tara as she went back up the stairs. To his credit, Ron didn't look at her backside once. He was too busy thinking about his girlfriend to stare at anything but the floor.

The next 40 minutes or so were spent hauling down all of Tara's boxes and then dismantling her bed and bringing that down as well. Thankfully, Tara and her father had already removed the mattresses the night before.

"Well, that should be all of it." said Tara as she panted a little from the exertion. "Let me just run up and make sure we got it all."

Ron started "What?! I didn't catch that."

"You're kind of spacey today Ron, what's the deal?" asked a curious Tara.

"Oh, nuthin'. Just thinkin'. Heh-heh." Ron decided not to mention that he was thinking about the girlfriend he missed dearly.

Tara just shrugged and went upstairs. A moment later, she came back down carrying a small box.

"Looks like we missed one, it was behind the door and...EEEEEK!" Tara tripped over a shoelace that had come undone and tossed the box in the air. "Look out!" yelped Tara as she fell down the last couple of stairs.

"Huh? WHUUUUUFF!!" a daydreaming Ron grunted as 110 lbs of runaway blonde crashed into him. Went the dust cleared, Tara was laying on top of Ron, face-to-face.

"Oh Ron! I'm sorry, are you okay?!"

"Don't worry, the Rondo's taken way harder hits than that!" Ron laughed.

"Thank goodness."

"Uh, Tara?"

"Yes, Ron?" Tara's ice-blue eyes were looking a bit too intently into Ron's brown.

"Think you could let me up?"

"Oh!" Tara blushed. At that moment, Mr. Strong made his reappearance, opening the front door and walking in. After a quick glance at the scene at the bottom of the steps, he spoke.

"Come on, kids. At least save it for when you're in private." he chuckled.

Tara leapt off of Ron with such speed that even Kim might've envied her pace. "I just fell, that's all!" she squawked, trying to hide her beet-red face.

"I'm sure you kids were behaving. Ronald, come and help me put these mattresses in the van."

"Yessir!"

By the time another couple of hours had passed, everything had been loaded into Mr. Strong's plumbing van and into Ron's Buick.

"Are you going to ride there with Ronald?" Mr. Strong asked Tara.

"Of course."

"Well then, you can tell him how to get there." Mr. Strong looked at his watch. "There's a Cow 'N Chow off exit 124. By the time you get there, it'll be lunchtime. Meet me there and I'll treat you two."

"Sounds good, dad."

"Thanks Mr. S."

With that, Mr. Strong locked the door, hopped into his van, and took off with a wave. Tara and Ron jumped into the Buick and did the same.


On the way to Cow and Chow, Tara and Ron made some idle conversation.

"So, what did you and Kim do while she was here?" asked Tara.

"Oh, you know, just usual BF-GF stuff. Dates, trips, family stuff, all that."

"Anything else?"

"Uhhmmm...not really." Ron was looking a bit uncomfortable, so Tara didn't push it.

"So, how's your week been?"

"Ugh, long and boring." groaned Ron. "I put in 60 hours at Smarty Mart this week! Sixty hours with Barkin! That's like a nightmare! I'm trying to pick up some extra dough before school starts though, so that's how it's got to be, I guess."

"Ech, yeah. I hear that. I've been working as many hours as possible too. And I had to work 7 days straight because of this weekend." Tara paused. "At least I didn't have to work with Mr. Barkin, I can only imagine what that's like. 'Staaaapable! Those lawn chairs are not stacked according to Smarty Mart regulation!'" laughed Tara as she did her best Barkin impersonation.

"Oh sure, mock my pain!" laughed Ron from the driver's seat.

The two pulled off the highway and into the Cow 'N Chow parking lot, where Tara's dad was already waiting. He greeted the two and they all went in.

"Alright guys, what do you want to eat?" asked Tara's dad as he reached for his wallet. Ron and Tara pondered from the counter. They decided simultaneously and looked down to give their order to the cashier, only to stop dead when they got a look at him.

Holy crap, that guy looks just like Ned!

Indeed, the young man working the counter looked just like the long-suffering Bueno Nacho assistant manager. Right down to the haircut, glasses, acne, and pants that were pulled up way too high. He even had a necktie! The only difference was that the Cow and Chow employee had a mustache and thin goattee.

"Uhm...can I take your order?" he asked, after being unnerved by Ron and Tara's staring.

"Oh, right!" Tara looked sheepish. "I'll have a number 2 with a diet coke."

Ron was studying the employee's nametag. Zed? "And for you, sir?" Ron snapped out of it.

"I'll have a number six, Heifer-sized with extra cheese and a red slushie."

Zed punched in their orders. Mr. Strong told Ron and Tara to find a table before giving Zed his order, paying for it, and waiting for it to be completed.

Meanwhile, Ron and Tara had found a table.

"Oh my gosh, did you see that guy?!" asked Tara. "He looked just like Ned!"

"Yeah, except Ned doesn't have a goattee." Suddenly, Ron jumped up in his seat. "Maybe it's Ned's evil twin, from another dimension! He's going to hunt Ned down and then kill us all!"

"Uh, Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"Amp it down a bit."

"Right. Hey, did you see his nametag? He's even got a similar name."

Tara's curiosity was piqued. "Oh really? What was it?"

"Zed."

"Are you serious?" she asked. He was.

Tara paused for a moment. "Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead." They both laughed.

"I wonder if he rides a chopper named Grace." mused Ron.

Tara's dad came back with the food and the trio ate quickly before getting back on the road. They arrived at Tara's new apartment a short while later.


"Well, you won't be having any dance parties up here." said Ron as he took in the tiny studio apartment. Not that there was too much to take in. About 400 square feet contained a sleeping space, living space, and a tiny kitchenette that made Ron almost cringe. Still, it looked clean and well kept.

"Yeah, but it's good enough for a poor student like me." replied Tara. "Well, the sooner we start, the sooner we get done." she said as she clapped her hands together and moved to head back out to the van and start unloading.

"Yes, slavedriver." joked Ron, much to Mr. Strong's amusement.

A couple of hours later, almost everything was in the apartment, save for Tara's mattress and box spring. Tara's dad wanted to bring it up with Ron, but Tara stopped him.

"Dad, think you could just assemble the bed, instead? Ron and I can get the mattresses."

"Are you sure? I mean, Ron and I..." he was cut off.

"Come on, dad. I'm not made of glass. Besides, if I could hold Liz and Marcella's big butts over my head for half a football game, I'm sure I can handle a mattress."

"Okay okay." Tara's dad chuckled. "I'll get the bed together."

Some grunting and sweating (plus a little cursing) later and Ron and Tara had the mattresses up in the apartment. Ron decided there were better ways to grunt and sweat that involved a mattress, but he didn't say it out loud. But, he did have something to say.

"Ugh, that thing weighed a TON! What do you need a bed that big for in this tiny apartment, Tara?" asked Ron as he wiped his brow and looked at the queen mattress he'd just lugged up 3 floors.

Tara decided now was as good a time as any to get back at her dad for his earlier comment following her fall. "What if I decide to let a male suitor spend the night?" Ron didn't have an answer. But, the clangs and clatters that followed as Mr. Strong dropped the nuts, bolts, and wrenches he was using to assemble the bed frame all over the floor let Tara know that the comment had the desired effect on her father. "Just kidding, daddy." she laughed.

After the bed was together, Mr. Strong decided to head home. "Alright, I'm taking off. Have fun kids...but not too much fun." he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Dad!"

"Alright, alright!" Tara's dad laughed before kissing his daughter on the cheek and taking his leave with one final goodbye.

"Ron, thanks again for helping us. That's really nice of you." Tara's gratitude was genuine.

"Huh?" Ron had been caught daydreaming again. A certain red-haired beauty was still the star.

"Jeez, you're still in space-ranger mode! What's got you so distracted today, Ron?"

"Oh, nothin'." Ron decided not to mention that he'd been distracted all week.

"Hmm, it's not that late. Ron, want to try out the new TV and DVD player I bought? I brought all of my DVD's with me."

"Sounds good to me."

"Alright, I'll set up the TV. Why don't you go make us some popcorn? I already plugged in the microwave and the box with the food in it is right in front of the fridge." asked Tara.

"I'm not sure if Chef Ronald can operate in such a kitchen, but he'll try." joked Ron as he walked the 3 feet to the kitchenette.

While Tara set up the little 15" LCD TV and DVD player she'd bought for her apartment on the little TV cart, Ron dug through the box of ramen noodles, mac and cheese, granola bars, and other dry foods Tara had bought from Mart's Club (the Smarty Mart warehouse shopping club) so she could eat until she had time to do some meaningful grocery shopping. In a short while, they were ready to watch. Ron brought a big bowl of microwaved popcorn in and plopped down on the small sofa that made up the sum total of Tara's furniture. "You need a coffee table. And an area rug"

"It would really tie the room together, man..." agreed Tara.

"So, what are we watching?" asked Ron. Tara tossed him a DVD case as she put the disc in the player.

"Throw Momma From the Train? I've never heard of this." said Ron as he looked the case over. "Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito? Can't be too bad."

"It's pretty good." agreed Tara. "Anne Ramsey is such a horrible monsterwoman in this that you won't believe it!"

Tara plopped her scantily clad self down right next to Ron, but unlike last time she didn't get embarrassed and try to scoot away. Unfortunately for her, Ron didn't seem to notice. After about half an hour, he barely seemed to notice the movie either. Tara kept nudging him to see if he was awake.

After the movie's dramatic and hilarious conclusion, Ron decided that he'd better head on home.

"Thanks again for helping me move, Ron. That really means a lot to me." said Tara as they made their way to the door.

"No problem. I'm always happy to help friends out." replied Ron with his trademark lopsided grin.

"Well, thanks again. And make sure you visit!" chided Tara as they reached the door. "One more thing." Tara gave Ron a quick peck on the cheek, not unlike the one at Wannaweep 3 years prior, before gently shoving him out the door so he wouldn't notice her red face.

Ron simply stared at the door for a second, before walking out of the apartment building and jumping into his car to go home. Kim was on his thoughts for pretty much the entire trip, and would remain there until Ron's head hit his pillow.

Back inside, Tara was thinking about the day. What was up with Ron today? He was totally out of it and it felt like he barely noticed me at all. Tara was tired and couldn't figure out why Ron had acted the way he did, though she suspected a certain redhead might've had something to do with it, so she decided to simply shower and go to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be a long day of unpacking, furniture rearranging and possibly grocery shopping.

A certain blonde male suitor might've been welcome. Was her last thought as she drifted off.


Well, that's another one in the books. Much shorter than the last one as well, I think. Reviews are always appreciated, even if you hate my story. And if you've read all 4 chapters, you have no reason not to leave one! I'll try to be regular with the updates, but I make no promises.