Well here's the last chapter of Saturday Night. Thanks for sticking with it and giving me all the awesome feedback. I had a lot of fun writing this one, and I hope you all liked it as much as I do. Enjoy! Cheers- AG
Chapter 4: The Morning After
Helga woke up sometime just after noon, the grey light from the street slowly seeping into her room. She groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing her face. She threw open the curtain by her bed and looked out the window. The sky was overcast, heavy clouds moving in from the coast obstructing the sun and casting a gloomy grey over the whole city. The thoughts of the previous night flooded over her, each of them battering themselves against her skull. She slowly got up and threw on a different shirt, and walked over to her door. She leaned up against the frame and listened for anything.
Silence.
Helga opened the door and softly crept down the stairs. She peered into the living room and saw a pile of folded blankets on the bed with a scrap of paper on the top.
No Arnold.
She walked the rest of the way down and made her way into the living room. She picked up the note, written on the back of an old newspaper from the kitchen.
Thank you so much for putting up with me last night. Sorry about being a hassle, which I'm sure I was. Call me later today okay? Thanks again.
-Arnold
She sat down on the foldout couch and rolled the note back and forth in her hands, staring at the lump in the hard springy mattress where Arnold had been.
Does he remember it? How could he not. It…it was amazing.
She stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Miriam had come in at some point and was now slumped over the island still holding a Starbucks cup, the edge stained with bright pink lipstick. She was in a cheap looking green sequined dress with a small Ross sticker still attached to the bottom. Helga walked over to the fridge, kicking the stool as she passed the island. Miriam jolted upright, looking around the kitchen through her skewed glasses.
"Wha? Oh, Helga! What time did you get up" Miriam said groggily.
"It's noon Miriam. What time did you get in?" Helga said flatly, grabbing a carton of orange juice and a Chinese take-out box from the fridge.
"About, eleven-thirty?" Miriam said, peering through the hole in her coffee cup.
"And Bob?" Helga said.
She sniffed the contents of the take-out carton, shrugged, and scooped a fork in.
"Oh I think he's still in Denver or Detroit or…"
"Dallas" Helga said.
"Right" Miriam said, tossing her empty cup in the trash can.
Helga broght the coffee pot from the night before over and sat it in front of her mother.
"So lay off the sauce alright? Pretty sure you're good" Helga said.
"Oh, you worry too much honey" Miriam said.
Helga stooped down and looked at Miriam. "Mom I'm serious. Take it easy for tonight"
She grabbed the take-out container and headed for the hallway; she paused before leaving the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniels that had been left on the island. Helga tossed the bottle in the linen closet on her way up the stairs and to her room.
That'll take you a good day or two to find.
She sat on her bed and grabbed her phone, flipping open the screen and absently dialing the number she had had memorized for years.
"Alright Football Head, let's get this over with" She said through a mouthful of chow mein.
The dial tone started as she placed the phone to her ear. Helga tried to ignore her heart beat, which at this point was pounding away like a battalion of drummers. Her stomach had been flipping circles ever since she had read his note. The phone clicked and the dial tone stopped.
"Hello?" Arnold groaned from the cell phone.
"Hey Football Head. How you feeling this morning?" Helga said, smiling at his voice.
"Pretty rough. I'm finding out why people want it quiet when they're hung-over. My head hurts so bad today"
"Yeah it happens. The more you have the worse you get it the next morning. So what can I do you for Arnoldo?" Helga said.
"Well, I was wondering if I could maybe buy you breakfast or something. Or I guess it'd be lunch now huh? I mean you know, just to apologize and thank you for last night. I know taking care of a drunk idiot probably wasn't the way you wanted to spend your Saturday"
"I keep telling you it was really no big deal. But hell if it makes you sleep easier, I guess I could entertain you"
"Okay cool! Um, how about Bigal's in like thirty?"
"You got it Football Head" Helga said. "Seeya then"
She closed the phone. She looked down at the screen for a few moments, trying to let her mind wander.
So does he remember?
Helga pulled up in front of Bigal's at around one-thirty. She parked and glanced at the front of the café. She spotted Arnold sitting at a small wrought iron table by the door. He was wearing a dark green hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses and looking very drowsy. His hair was matted down and tangled which to Helga, made him look even more cute than he was the night before.
She crossed the street and walked up to the table. He looked up at her, smiling.
"Hey. Glad you could make it" Arnold said.
"No problem" She said, sitting across from him.
He looked down at the faded green metal mesh of the table, and then back to Helga. He had taken her make-shift bandage off, revealing the small gash above his eyebrow.
"So…" He said slowly.
"So" She said smirking.
He returned the grin and they both started laughing.
"I, uh, I was pretty messed up. Apparently I'm a lightweight" Arnold said, running a hand through his hair.
"Yeah you are. So…do you remember much about last night?" Helga said warily.
Too Blunt. Way to blunt.
Arnold smiled sheepishly and looked out toward the street. "Bits and pieces? Honestly it's all pretty blurry after we left Rhonda's" he said blushing.
Fucking fantastic. "Ah. Yeah I'd be surprised if you held on to all of that" Helga said.
A waiter came out and placed two menus in front of them. Helga took hers and unfolded it, half staring at the faded print. She was glad to have something else to occupy herself; her heart had been racing since she sat down and it was showing no signs of slowing down.
"So I guess I hurt my head last night?" Arnold said, looking up from his menu.
"You don't remember that? Oh man, you straight tumbled into my bookshelf. I thought you'd knocked yourself out for a minute" Helga said.
"Yeah it definitely felt like it this morning." Arnold said, rubbing his temple lightly.
"What time did you leave? I thought you'd still be down there" Helga said, putting down the menu.
"Nine I guess. I had to go pick up Gerald and Phoebe from Rhonda's. I was supposedly staying with him last night, remember?" Arnold said.
"Ah yes, the morning switcheroo. Been there" Helga said.
The waiter came back and they ordered: Helga got a bagel and a chocolate shake and Arnold a B.L.T. and a coffee. Once the waiter left, Helga turned her attention back to Arnold.
"So how were the dynamic duo this morning?" She said.
She was determined to keep him talking about everything but what happened the night before, until he either forgot or dropped it altogether. She didn't know why she was so apprehensive about it, but at this moment in time, brining that up sounded like the worst thing in the world.
Arnold rolled his eyes at her mention of Gerald and Phoebe. "Well it could have been worse, they were mostly still passed out for the ride back. We just made up some story about getting breakfast or something to his parents. At least I didn't have to sit through another make out fest"
"Yeah you were pretty pissed last night. I never knew you had that kind of mouth on you. I'd better warn any sailors around to bring their earplugs" Helga said, smirking.
Arnold looked down at the table. "Yeah listen, I'm sorry about all that stuff. She's your friend and I should have respected that. It's really not her fault at all, I was just still a little mad you know?"
She smiled. "It's no skin off my nose Football Head. Gerald screwed you over and you had a right to be mad. There's a reason they call booze truth juice"
"Well still, I should have kept that to myself. Although I guess you're in the loop now huh?" Arnold said.
"Guess so. Honestly though, I've been getting pretty tired of hearing about Gerald this and Gerald that, so I know where you're coming from" Helga said.
"Well at least she still spends time with you. We were gonna go to the record store today, but I got another famous 'yeah sure sure, I'll call you later'" Arnold said dropping his voice down to mimic Gerald.
"Well, maybe he will?" Hegla said
"Oh yeah of course. Not even I am that optimistic" Arnold said chuckling.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Ah well, it happens. I don't actually know if I'm bitter about spending less time with Gerald or the fact that he has a girlfriend. Guess I haven't really found anyone yet" Arnold said.
Helga coughed and looked down at her feet through the mesh table. "Well you never know. You're a capable guy, I'm sure you'll manage"
"Yeah, I…" Arnold started.
Helga was so focused on the leather etching of her Nikes that she missed Arnold blushing deeply.
Before he had a chance to continue, the waiter came back with their food. Helga grabbed her shake and swirled around the whip cream on top.
Arnold took a big swig of his mocha. "Oh man I'm starving. Feels like I haven't eaten in days"
"Welcome to the morning-after breakfast. Your initiation to the big boy world is now complete" Helga said laughing.
"Oh shut up. I'm entitled to do a few out of character things here and there, thank you very much" Arnold said, ripping into his sandwich.
They ate and talked about school and Rhonda's after party and the state of their friend's relationships. The rest of the meal went on relatively uneventfully, and Helga finally started to relax. She started to forget about the worry she felt earlier and just really enjoy the moment. They finished up and stood from the table. Helga moved out from the canvas awning and into the sun. Arnold tucked a twenty dollar bill under his plate and walked up next to her. They both stood for a moment, soaking up the warm heat which had managed to make its way through the early afternoon cloud cover. A few cars drove down the street, but for the most part it was a relatively calm Sunday afternoon. Arnold kicked at a piece of gravel on the sidewalk and coughed slightly.
"So listen Helga, I don't really remember much about last night, but I do remember how it ended, and…well, I'm really..." He started, his eyes still fixed to where the piece of gravel had been.
"Don't worry about it. You were drunk, it's all cool" She said quickly, cutting him off.
"Well, I know but.." He started.
Arnold looked slowly back up to Helga.
"Like I said, no worries. Heat of the moment right?" Helga said, smiling slightly.
"Yeah. Yeah I guess so" Arnold said.
She nodded and started walking toward the street. "Well thanks for lunch. Seeya around"
"Yeah, seeya" Arnold said.
He started walking down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Helga had made it to her car and shoved the keys into the lock.
"Hey Helga!"
She turned around to see Arnold had walked back to Bigal's and was jogging across the street. She leaned against the driver's side door.
"You know, Gerald's not going to call me back, and well, I've still got a Fandango voucher for Evil Twin" Arnold said.
"That so?" She said.
"So if you're not doing anything, you wanna maybe… go?" He said in his most confident voice.
"Yeah, yeah I'd like that. But only because my house still reeks of your vodka sweat" Helga said.
"Awesome. We'll just need to swing by my place first to get the tickets" He said grinning.
He went around to the other side of her car and opened the door. He leaned up against the hood before he got in.
"Oh Helga? Do you think we could keep my drunken stupidness just to ourselves? I'm not sure I want everyone knowing I crashed into your coat rack" Arnold said blushing.
Helga laughed. "Ah so you do remember. And not a chance Football Head, not a chance"
She swung into the driver's seat and slammed the door. Arnold groaned and followed Helga into the car. The engine started and the Corolla zoomed down 4th street. The clouds had completely cleared and it was shaping up to be a fine Sunday afternoon.