"What is it this time Ned?" Reverend Lovejoy's monotone voice exclaimed as he answered the phone.
"Sorry to bother you Reverend but I'm in quite a tight tizzy right now," said Ned as he played with the phone cord.
"Let me guess, you found a passage that contradicts another passage?" asked Lovejoy not even caring about anything at the moment; he just wanted to get some things at work done without Ned Flanders interfering.
"Reverend please, I really need your help!" Ned exclaimed in a voice that showed he was desperate for some sort of advice.
Lovejoy could sense that this was question out of the ordinary even for Ned, maybe this time it was interesting enough for him to help out. "I'm listening," he finally replied.
"Let's just say a friend asked me to help them in a situation, I did help them but now I feel that I have done too much, but I don't really know for sure," said Ned his voice going really fast even for Lovejoy to catch up to.
"Ned slow down and get to the point," said Lovejoy.
"How do you know if you've helped out too much?" asked Ned when he finally took a deep enough breath to ask the right question.
"……That is a tough one there Ned, I guess it's up to the person wanting your help," said Lovejoy, never changing the sound of his voice.
"But what if this certain person is no longer with us?" asked Ned.
"Then how are you even helping this person?" asked Lovejoy now sounding extremely confused.
"By helping his family," said Ned.
Lovejoy's eyes grew wide now realizing what Ned was saying. Ned did not mention any names but he sensed it had to do with Homer Simpson. He knew that Ned was letting Marge work for him and they were often seen together, his gossipy wife even said so. But what else was he doing with her that even Helen did not know about?
"I know God said to love your neighbor but how much should we love them?" asked Ned.
Lovejoy's eyes widened again when he heard what Ned had just exclaimed. Gossip was common among his household but this was something that no gossiping ears should hear and he was glad he was the only one listening.
"Ned I really can't see you disobeying one of the Ten Commandments," said Lovejoy.
"But loving your neighbor is in Matthew 19:19," said Ned in a confused voice, why bring the Ten Commandments up?
"Ned to love your neighbor means you love them as yourself, you know that and I know that. But if you love them more than life itself then you have a problem, you can break two commandments this way and God forbid if you disobey one of those," said Lovejoy in a sarcastic tone that even Ned knew it.
"Reverend I know I can get carried away over the littlest things, but that's who I am, I want to be the good person that others can look up to," said Ned in a serious enough voice that threw Lovejoy off for just a moment.
"………Then is it what I am thinking?" asked Lovejoy this was a very different conversation.
"I don't know Reverend, that's why I am asking for your help!" Ned replied in a voice that Lovejoy was not used to, one that sounded frustrated and upset.
This sudden change in Ned's voice caused Lovejoy to back up a bit, startled that Ned could carry a pitch like that. What could he say to the biggest Christian he knew and would the answer be right. Then again, the problem Ned was facing was not an easy one and Lovejoy now knew that it could not be answered by any random person. This one really did need an answer from an almighty source.
"What does your heart tell you?" Lovejoy finally answered.
Ned was about to respond when he thought about the question again. What did his heart tell him? So many emotions had gone through his mind when Marge pressed her lips to his that he was in shock for a whole day. He barely even remembered what had gone on at work the next day as he replayed what had happened over and over again in his mind. He was about to visualize Marge when Lovejoy interrupted him.
"Do you think you can handle this on your own now?" asked Lovejoy.
"Would I be crazy to ask who I am thinking about what they think of this?" asked Ned a bit sheepishly.
"It's up to you Ned, you can always wait until that person comes to you," said Lovejoy.
"I guess I'll have to find out," said Ned who then said a quick goodbye to Lovejoy and hung up the phone.
The room was eerily silent now as Ned leaned against the counter in the kitchen. He stared down at the marble coloring, thinking hard and not sure what to do. Slowly he lifted up his head and looked at a picture hanging on a corkboard; it was one of Maude smiling back at him like there was not a problem in the world.
"At least you're in a place that isn't complicated," sighed Ned as he took the picture off the wall and looked at it for a long moment.
It was one of Ned's favorite pictures of Maude, taken two years ago at a special church social. What he loved about the picture was how she seemed to glow in the picture like she was already an angel serving God. That's what he loved about Maude, she always had a certain glow about her, everything was perfect on her and she never got angry when something terrible happened. She always knew that God was in control and could take care of them in the worst situations.
He just wished that she was there with him right now, helping him figure out what was going on. Was the feeling love or just concern? He was not sure and of course Reverend Lovejoy did not help him any.
Ned set the picture back on its original position before taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. Life could get so complicated sometimes but that was life and that's what it did to you when you weren't looking. Finally Ned knew that he needed to get this sorted out and he knew the only way he could figure it out was to visit Marge.
Ned slowly made his way over to the Simpson's house. Snow was falling around him but it did not bother him, he was too nervous to make his way to the door with haste. He wanted to take his time on this and think about what he would say to her. But then again Marge would come up with something and lines would be ruined. It would probably be best to just play it by ear and hopefully things would be solved.
Ned soon found himself standing alone on the sidewalk staring at his neighbor's house. It was eerily quiet, almost like the morning Homer died, save for all the snowflakes that were falling around him. Was Marge okay? Were the kids okay? He knew he should have called her first to find out the easy way if she was alright but then again he knew it was best to talk to her face to face. That is, if she was okay. He was now just as worried as he was when he first got the call about his store not opening.
"Please let her be okay," he said quietly as he moved forward toward the door.
Finally Ned stood on the top step waiting for the right moment to knock. Finally he had the courage and was just about to tap on the door. Instead though the door swung open taking Ned by surprise causing him to loose his balance and fall face first on the floor.
"Ned!" Marge's voice exclaimed with surprise. Ned looked up from the floor and saw Marge staring down at him with a worried face. Her hair was back down again, only this time it looked a bit more scraggily and unkempt as if something had gone on during the weekend. She then pulled out her hand to give Ned a boost up.
"I'm okay Marge," said Ned deciding it was best not to grab her hand and help himself up. He then wiped the dirt away from his shirt as he stood up.
He then looked to see why Marge was at the door in the first place, there under her arms was Maude's sweater he had given her on Friday night to keep warm. She must have been on her way to return it.
"I know I was supposed to be at work this morning Ned and I am really sorry, but it's just been a very rough weekend," said Marge as soon as Ned was upright.
"It's okay Marge, I am just glad you are okay, I was getting concerned when the mall manager called. Are you that embarrassed about what you did Friday night?" asked Ned hoping that getting right to the point would make things easier.
"Yeah that's one of the reasons," said Marge as she looked down at the ground, a little too shy to look Ned in the eyes.
"Marge it's all behind us, you had more than your fair share of loopy liquor, and sometimes we do crazy things," said Ned hoping that the wine made her do it and not on some other impulse.
"Yeah I know but what made it worse was that Bart saw it happen," said Marge still looking at the ground.
"Oh dear," was all Ned could say. He remembered seeing a movie where a kid got all upset over seeing his mother with another man and caused a few problems, he wondered if Bart had done the same.
"But why don't you come inside, away from the cold and we can talk about this, maybe you can help me, even though you have done so much already," said Marge as she motioned Ned in. That's when Ned realized that coming to see Marge was a good idea even though she seemed more embarrassed about it than he was, he couldn't blame her though, it was a very passionate kiss. Ned knew though that he had to reassure her that things were okay, one of them had to any way.
"Marge, I have been here for you for the past three months, I am not giving up on you now," said Ned.
Marge only stared at him as she closed the door and brought him into the living room where she sat on one end of the couch and Ned on the other; ready to listen to whatever was going through her mind. Maggie was sitting on the floor playing with a touch and feel book giggling at the crackling sound one of the textures made. When she saw Ned, her face lit up and brought the book over to show him the fascinating pictures.
"Lookie Mr. Ned, it's an al-la-gator and look how shiny his skin is," said Maggie as she pointed to the alligator's crinkly skin and mispronouncing the word.
"Why it sure is," said Ned as he played along and touched the book.
"And if you turn to this page you can feel how soft a baby puppy is," said Maggie as she turned the page for Ned and pointed at the puppy on the page that was eating a bone.
"Oh very soft, just like Santa's Little Helper," said Ned as he touched it for Maggie.
"I don't think Santy is this soft," said Maggie as she continued to touch the fur.
"That's because he is not a puppy any more," said Ned.
"Oh," said Maggie with a puzzled look before taking the book away from Ned and sitting back down in the middle of the floor to touch more animals. She would be preoccupied for a while now and Ned knew that he and Marge needed to get back on topic.
"So what did Bart do?" asked Ned once everything was quiet.
"We got into a big fight, feelings were hurt and emotions ran high, he said things that I never knew he would say," said Marge.
"Do you need me to talk to him?" asked Ned.
"That would be nice Ned but you see, he ran away," said Marge.
"Have you filed a missing child's report?" asked Ned knowing that this was a big problem.
"No I haven't, he's run away before and he always comes back I just don't know when he will do so this time," said Marge in a guilty sounding voice.
"Did you tell him that it was a mistake?" asked Ned hoping that it was.
"I tried but he barely let me talk, he kept telling me that I was forgetting about Homer when I saw you and that I was being selfish," said Marge.
"But I am helping you get through this tough time, I tried telling Bart that too but I think his emotions are so bottled up he only sees what he wants to see. You are lucky to have someone like me to talk to, I had no one," said Ned as he looked down at the floor and gave a heavy sigh. None of his friends had ever lost a spouse when Maude died so he was on his own, searching for ways to get over his loss.
Marge looked down at the floor and closed her eyes for a moment, she was still so embarrassed and while she thought these things through over the weekend she kept wondering what would have happened if it was just a nice little dinner with Ned and both Homer and Maude were still alive. What would they think of that mess? She wished she wouldn't think about it any more.
"And I don't know why I even kissed you," said Marge nervously.
"We just had a great night and you had too much wine. Sooner or later we'll both forget it ever happened, just a long forgotten mess of a memory," said Ned trying his hardest to sound confident so Marge would not look so embarrassed.
"But how can I forget a kiss like that? You have very ticklish lips," said Marge with a little bit of a smirk hiding in among her nervousness.
"Ah the old push broom got to you did he?" asked Ned as he rubbed his mustache with his fingers, Marge could hear the little hairs brush up against each other.
"Yeah, so different from Homer, his was a little rough but I liked it that way, it made him feel manly," said Marge with a heavy sigh almost like she was imagining an evening with Homer in the bed and making sweet love.
"Yeah Maude loved it when my mustache was freshly trimmed she got all excited and would want me to blow into her ears and she would laugh like a little school girl, now that was heaven," said Ned who was now doing the same thing Marge was doing.
It wasn't long though before Ned quickly erased those memories and turned to Marge worriedly, she still had Bart to deal with. A lost child was more important than a strange romantic kiss.
"Should we go out and search for Bart?" asked Ned.
"No I think that will upset him further if he sees you with me, you see he also asked me a question that really made me think about the most all weekend," said Marge.
"What was that?" asked Ned with curious eyes wondering what sort of question would make Marge think about all weekend like he had done.
Marge looked back at Ned, how would he react to this question? What would he say? Would he laugh or would he just shrug like he always did? For a moment she had no idea how to start it, it was such a strange thing to say to a neighbor, let alone one that she barely knew until now.
"He asked me if I loved you," Marge finally said.
Ned stared back, eyes wide with surprise. It was almost the same question he had been asking himself and now he wondered if Marge was in the same predicament. Bart had been watching them the whole time and both were so oblivious to what had gone on they were not even noticing their actions. Ned looked back at Marge, her eyes filled with questions as to what was going on in only three months of talking things over. She seemed sad almost and Ned was not sure what to do this time.
"Now this is a dilly of a pickle," said Ned as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"We have been close lately," said Marge with a small shrug.
"But that's only because we share something that most neighbors have never shared," said Ned.
"And that's why I came to you, you went through something that I thought would never happen to me until I became an old woman. You don't realize how heavy a blow it is until you witness it yourself," said Marge.
"I guess fate brought us together," said Ned trying his hardest not to mention that part of it was Homer's idea.
"Yeah I guess we need to look out for each other," said Marge.
"That's what neighbors are for, that's why God invented them," said Ned.
"But is it what Bart thinks?" asked Marge.
Ned stared back at Marge; she was a lovely lady who had been through some of the roughest times a wife should never go through in two years. He felt she needed someone; it was hard enough for him to go through several months without Maude and without any help whatsoever. He had done what Homer asked but was he going too far? What would Homer think about all this, or Maude for that matter? Was he in love with Marge or was his mind playing tricks with him?
"What do you think?" he finally replied.
And Marge answered.
A/N: I am not going to lie to you, I despise this chapter! I had more problems with this chapter than any of them so far, mainly because I wanted to leave you guys wondering if they were in love and everything. I did that since I have seven more chapters to go and I don't want it to be known until closer to the end. So feel free to flame me all you want, I know there has to be some of you out there who want to do so, so here is your chance go right ahead.
Hopefully the next chapter will not be as bad; I plan to have Grampa in it so it might be silly. And I hope to update every week so be on the lookout. Oh and before I forget my last fanfiction on here, I Had a Cat Named Snowball, is just sitting there collecting dust and I seriously doubt I will pick it up again. I am thinking about deleting it but before I do so is anyone willing to take it under their wing and write it themselves, you can do whatever you want with the rest of the story. I never had very good plans any way. So either let me know in the review or send me a message, we'll figure out how to transfer the story and stuff.
Well I hope you all have a nice week and don't forget to review, I like reviews. Hee hee.