The next day, Elaine prepared for dinner with Arnie. She picked the kids up from their friends' places and told them that dinner with Arnie was official. Both were happy, but Jennifer was ecstatic. They helped get the apartment and dinner ready. Elaine still felt very down about her argument with Simka. And she really hoped that Alex would show up. Just seeing him would make her feel better. Then once Arnie was gone and once the kids were asleep, she could talk to him about what happened. She was at a loss as of what to do. Apologize? She wanted too, but at the same time she didn't really feel like she had anything to apologize for. Okay, she could have been more sensitive about Simka's 'gift'; but Simka could have been more sensitive and understanding about Elaine's situation. Eventually she noticed Jason and Jennifer giving her the 'we know something's up' look, so she had to try and push the argument out of her mind. She mustn't have done a great job hiding it though because Jason ended up asking, "Mommy, are you nervous about Arnie coming over?" Elaine shrugged and answered, "I don't know, I guess I am. I mean, are you two going to be alright? I know that you never did get to say goodbye to Arnie—which is something that I really regret." The two assured her that everything would go wonderfully. Arnie arrived and were very warmly greeted by the kids… they clung to him for dear life. Elaine watched as she saw Arnie fight back tears. How did she not realize how much damage she was creating when she left without proper goodbyes? She wanted to cry herself, but she had done enough of that the night before. After a long hello, they all sat down to dinner. Arnie must have noticed Elaine checking the time and glancing at the door all evening because he asked, "So, is Alex joining us?" Elaine stuttered a bit, "I-I, I'm not sure." She glanced at her watch again and sadly sighed, "I-I suppose he isn't…" She was glad that the kids took on the conversation. She wasn't up for talking and just wanted this dinner to be over.

After they ate, Jennifer convinced Arnie to help her and Jason prepare a puppet show for Elaine while she cleaned up. Jennifer looked really happy… as did Jason, but she couldn't tell if there was something else on his mind. If there was it couldn't have been too serious, he was out there laughing and having fun with the other two. They put on the show for Elaine; Arnie even agreed to be in this one. Elaine enjoyed the show, and even ended up laughing for the first time that day, but it didn't feel the same as when they put on the shows before. Of course it didn't, she wasn't with Arnie anymore. The kids wanted Arnie to tuck them in, but he was picking up that Elaine needed him to leave. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he figured he'd ask her during their next job hunt. Elaine had quite a bit of trouble peeling Jennifer away from Arnie, but after a screaming match she finally surrendered and went into her room. Jason followed, even though he wasn't particularly angry.

While Elaine was busy apologizing to Arnie for Jennifer's behavior, Jason scolded Jennifer. "Why did you have to cause a big scene?" Jennifer said through tears, "Shut up, Jason. I missed Arnie, okay?"

"I missed him too but we don't need to cause any problems."

"What kind of problems?" She asked confusedly as she wiped her eyes while Jason rolled his, "Didn't you see how sad Mommy was that Alex didn't show up?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well we don't need to make her sadder by showing her how much we missed Arnie." he frowned as he climbed into his bed.

"I still don't get it, Jason." Jennifer said with a hint of frustration in her voice. "Forget it," Jason surrendered, "you're just too young to understand."

"I hate it when you do that!" Jennifer snapped. "I am not too young to understand, you're just not explaining it right!" To make sure Jennifer didn't draw their mother's attention, he got out of bed, went over to hers' and shushed her. "Okay, okay…" he started. "But I'm only going to try and explain it to you once so you better pay attention." Jennifer nodded and let Jason explain. "Yeah, it was cool we got to see Arnie again, but we probably never will again." Jennifer started to react but Jason shushed her again and went on. "Don't you see that he's not supposed to be here with us anymore?"

"I thought you hated that he wasn't."

"I hated that it happened again. But Alex is supposed to be the one having dinner with us now: not Arnie. Mommy looked sad all through dinner. We- mostly you… begged to see Arnie. I bet she only invited him for us. So we got to see him one last time and now we need to forget about him."

Jennifer cried out of growing frustration, "You aren't explaining why we need to just forget about him."

"Because Mommy and Alex love each other and we can't mess it up!" he accidentally shouted.

"I know they do! I'm not saying that Mommy should date Arnie again, but can't we still see him sometimes? I mean, Mommy sees him, why can't we? What's the big deal anyway?"

Jason gave up. He wasn't even quite sure what he was saying anymore. He just had a bad feeling about Arnie being around. As he walked back to his bed, Elaine came in. "What's going on in here?"

Jason and Jennifer glanced at each other before simultaneously saying, "Nothing."

"It's never 'nothing'." Elaine said as she sat down next to Jennifer. "But before we get into that I'd like to know what got into you young lady. What was with that awful tantrum out there?" Jennifer frowned and climbed onto Elaine's lap and slightly cried, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I won't ask to see Arnie again if it means you won't be with Alex."

"Jennifer, what on Earth are you talking about?" Elaine interrogated with shock in her voice. Jennifer answered, "Jason said that you only saw Arnie to make us happy and how sad you were that Alex wasn't here. I don't love Arnie more than Alex so you don't have to see Arnie again." Elaine tried to comfort Jennifer as she asked, "Where is all this coming from, Jason?" Before looking away, Jason shot his sister a dirty look. Elaine motioned for Jason as she said, "Come here." Jason obeyed at sat next to her as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Now, would you mind telling me where you got this idea?" After being silent for several seconds, Jason finally answered, "I just don't want you and Alex to break up."

"What made you think that we were?"

"Because, you always break up with guys whenever I really start liking them..."

Elaine's heart sank. Had Jason felt this way all along? Had both of them felt this way? "Jason, why didn't you tell me how you felt sooner?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I didn't want to get in the way."

"You aren't getting in the way, you two are my first priority; you know that. I know it hasn't been easy on you guys—and I should have been more careful when it came to you meeting the men I was dating. I should have waited until I knew absolutely for sure I saw a future with them. I'm so sorry; to the both of you." She hugged them as tightly as she could. "I can't promise that you'll ever see Arnie again, because I'm just helping him get back on his feet; but with Alex, I'm pretty sure he's here to stay."

Jennifer chimed in, "But aren't you mad at him for not showing up tonight?"

"I'm not really mad; disappointed is a more fitting word. And even if I were mad, it doesn't mean I'd stop loving him. You guys don't stop loving me when you get mad, do you?" They shook their heads. Hugging them once more she helped them to bed. As she kissed Jason goodnight he asked, "Are you and Alex going to get married?" Taken aback by the question, Elaine stuttered her answer. "W-Well I-I certainly hope so… but w-we've never talked about it."

"Well he told me that he wanted you to be together forever."

"He did? When?" she asked, a bit confused. He nervously answered, "Well, I kind of, sort of talked to him when you were in Chicago. I told him that I was afraid he was going to leave too so I made him promise that he wouldn't. He said he didn't plan on leaving and that if you tried to leave him he wouldn't let you without fighting. Something like that anyways." Elaine smiled at the thought. Standing up she kissed he son's forehead once more and quietly concluded their conversation by saying, "I wouldn't let him go without a fight either."

There was so much on her mind: her fight with Simka, her situation with Arnie, how the kids are being and have been affected by everything, and she was still feeling hurt that Alex didn't show. I shouldn't have expected or even asked him to come. I shouldn't have even told him about it, I shouldn't have told Simka. I'm really starting to wish I'd never met Arnie. She was determined to hold back her tears; nothing would be solved by crying. She just wished that she could talk to someone about everything. Unfortunately, the two people she always went too weren't an option—especially Simka. She couldn't wait until she and Alex spent some time together; then she could talk to him about everything. Unexpectedly, she then heard a knock at the door, causing her to jump. She looked through the peephole to see Alex standing in the hall. Oh no, why is he showing up now? It wasn't going to take him long to pick up on her mood, but she decided to let him in anyway. "Hi Alex." she softly greeted and walked away before he could notice her sorrowful expression. "Hey, no one's around. Where's that hello kiss I always love?" he knew that she was probably annoyed that he hadn't shown up for dinner, so he was trying to lighten the mood—but clearly he was failing miserably. Elaine didn't answer; she just sat back down on the couch. Alex slowly walked towards her as he apologized, "Look, I know you're mad at me for not coming to dinner. I'm sorry. I tried, I really did. I just couldn't do it. The last time I saw Arnie it was in the middle of the night after you and I had—unintentionally—made out on the couch. Well it was technically on the bed that pulled out from the couch so that makes things even worse. I'm sure he didn't think much of it then but now that he knows that you and I are together it just feels so awkward. I know I've probably been in more awkward situations… But also what about the kids? They wanted to see Arnie. If I had come they would have sensed how awkward it all was and they wouldn't have had a good time. So please, please forgive me Elaine." Hopefully, he waited for Elaine to respond. When she failed to speak, he sat down next to her. "Please, say something. Anything. Go ahead and yell at me if you have too." Elaine stood up and started walking over to the window, "I'm not going to yell at you. I forgive you for not showing up, okay? Now if you don't mind, I'm really not in the mood to talk." She looked out the window, hoping Alex wouldn't make her tell him what was wrong. Following her to the window he, of course, asked, "Elaine, are you alright? I haven't seen you this down in a long time."

"Did I not just say I wasn't in the mood to talk?" she whined.

"Yes you did but I rather force you to talk than to see you so upset."

"Well you can't force me and I won't say another word." she insisted stubbornly.

"Okay then," Alex grinned, "you've left me no choice." He started tickling her and had no intentions of stopping until she surrendered. She tried her hardest not to laugh but she couldn't help the fact that she was ticklish. After a struggle, she broke free. Alex sighed, "Even tickling won't make you speak?" Elaine shook her head as she crossed her arms and let a frown return to her lips. Alex finally asked, "This wouldn't have anything to do with your little argument with Simka, would it?"

Elaine's eyes grew wide, "How did you know about that?"

"Latka called me earlier and told me what happened."

Elaine sat back down as she timidly said, "I don't know what happened. One minute I was playing with Amanda, the next minute Simka and I were happily chatting, and then all of a sudden I was storming out." Alex sat down next to her and placed his hand on her knee, "You'll feel better if you talk about it."

"No I won't, I'll feel guilty. I know I've been so busy lately and we haven't had much time together. I don't want our time to be me dumping everything on you. Besides, there's more than just my fight with Simka." She took a deep breath; she knew she absolutely couldn't cry because the kids would surely hear her. That was the last thing they needed to hear after what they'd just discussed.

Alex assured, "It's really alright, Elaine. I rather you talk to me than keep it to yourself. I won't enjoy spending time with you if I know you're upset." Giving up, she began, "Okay Alex, but remember you asked for it… I told Simka about Arnie coming over for dinner and she was going on about how I shouldn't have anything to do with him because it'll only bring doom to our relationship. I tried explaining to her that I wasn't seeing him to be seeing him but rather to help him. Then it just got worse from there. I retaliated by saying it was all her fault that I'm in this mess because she set me up with him in the first place. I kept saying how her 'gift' didn't exist and that's when I stormed out. Now the kids feel like by expressing their wish to see Arnie it's going to break us up because they saw how sad I was that you weren't here. I know it was going to be awkward for you and I know I shouldn't have asked, but it wasn't a picnic for me either. I couldn't wait for it to be over. The only thing that got me through was the hope that you'd show up. I know I shouldn't have felt so crushed when you didn't show, but I couldn't help it. And now I know the kids have been going through a really hard time with all of my failed relationships. I feel like a horrible mother. I didn't mean to put them through this, Alex, I really didn't. Now I just don't know what I'm doing. I can't wait for Arnie to get a stupid job so I can be free of at least this stress." Burying her face in Alex's shirt she attempted to muffle her crying; holding back tears became impossible. She was quite happy that Alex didn't say more than how sorry he was that she was so upset. After the past couple nights she'd had the last thing she wanted to hear was one of his lectures. All she wanted was for him to comfort her. Letting everything out felt good, and she felt solaced in Alex's arms. Luckily it didn't take long for her to calm down and she was thankful the kids hadn't seemed to notice. She sat up and said as she rubbed her eyes, "You know," she said weakly, "Jason told me that you said to him that you hoped you and I would be 'together forever'." Shyly, he smiled, "He did?" Elaine nodded, "Yeah… gosh Alex, what have I done to those kids? How will they ever trust anyone—especially me? They're always going to think people are going to leave them. They're probably waiting for the day that I leave them. Before she completely started crying again, Alex held her close once again. "Elaine, you're being too hard on yourself. You're doing the best you can. It isn't easy being a single mother and I'm sure Jason and Jennifer know that. If you ask me, you've been a wonderful parent. You're there for them. They are two very sweet, loving, smart, wonderful children; you've obviously done something right. It's impossible to never make a mistake; especially with children. As far as I'm concerned, you're one of the best mothers around. You work two jobs for them, you're constantly looking at how you can be a better mother, you talk to them, you care what they think… the list goes on and on. The bottom line is that you're doing the best you can; that's what matters most."

Elaine couldn't speak; all she could do was hug him tightly. After a while, she finally murmured, "Thank you."

Once again, Alex wanted to tell Elaine that he was starting to get tired of her spending so much time with Arnie, but he just couldn't. Look at how upset she already was… Did he really need to make it worse? Anyways, she seemed to be aware of the fact that she was spending a lot of time with Arnie, and she didn't really appear to be happy. If there were anything to be worried about she wouldn't bring him up, right?

Elaine spoke once again, "What am I going to do about Simka? I don't like being mad at her." Alex shrugged, "I'm sure an apology would do the trick."

"But I have nothing to apologize for!" she snapped. "Why does she get to say what I should and shouldn't do? It'd be one thing if she was suggesting, or stating her concern, but she was making it into such a big deal—like I had to do as she said or something bad was going to happen for sure. She didn't even try and understand the reason for my actions."

"I know darling… but you have to remember that she can be pretty eccentric. She didn't mean any harm by it. It's her way of trying to help."

Abruptly, Elaine stood up and shouted, "Don't tell me you're siding with her!" Alex stood up as well, "I'm not! I'm just trying to remind you of how she is." She sighed and sat back down, "I know…" Looking up at him she stated, "I hate it when you're right, you know that?" Alex couldn't help but chuckle as he sat back down himself, "I know you do." They were quiet a moment before Alex added, "If it helps, Simka feels really bad about what happened."

"Oh really, then why isn't she here or why hasn't she called?"

"Maybe she's feeling the same way you do; maybe she feels she doesn't have anything to apologize for." Elaine's response surprised not only Alex, but also herself: she just started laughing. "What's so funny?" Alex asked, and Elaine answered, "I guess she and I are both pretty stubborn, huh?"

"Is this a trick question?" he nervously laughed. Continuing to laugh, she hugged Alex. "I'll go over there tomorrow."

"Alright."

"And thank you again for being so understanding about everything, and for listening to me, and for what you said about me being a great mother." She ran her fingers through his hair and smiled.

"Any time…"