Moving On, Part IV
Chapter 21 "New Year"
"Are you going to an audition for 'Deep Throat 2?" Eric Forman asked Hyde.
Hyde scowled. "No."
"Seriously, man, what's with the moustache?" Eric asked lightly, "Because that's just too funny."
"I was going for a look that would say, 'Trashy, but also Scummy.'" Hyde joked at his own expense.
"Alright. Mission accomplished." Eric gave him the thumbs up. "So it's like I leave and everything goes to Hell. You go to Chicago to propose to Jackie, you discover her with Kelso in a compromising position. Then, you go to Las Vegas, end up married to a stripper, find out you're not actually married to her, because she has another husband. Jackie falls for Fez. They end up together. And, Kelso gets himself kicked off the police force, and becomes a security guard at the Playboy Mansion." Eric said shaking his head and smiling. "O.K. That last part about Kelso makes sense. It was either that, or him shooting off some fingers. Wow. I thought I saw some messed up shit in Africa, but this is by far worse. And, you quit the circle, and have taken up jogging."
Then, Eric said more seriously, "But, man, I'm really sorry about what happened with Jackie. That must have been horrible."
Hyde shrugged it off. "It's no big deal. Anyways, you were right. Jackie is the Devil, and a real bitch. You know what I think. Jackie and Fez will be good for each other."
"Man," Eric said in his deadpan style, "so you still hate her. Or you're really pissed at Fez."
"No, neither, man," Hyde responded with sincerity. "I thought about it, and I really think she'll be happy with him. And Fez will finally have a girlfriend, so he'll stop abusing the couch."
Hyde had been in his room the other week when he overheard Jackie tell Fez that she wanted to be his girlfriend. He had been getting ready to go out. He was caught off guard, just as he had been when Fez told him how Jackie had told Fez that she had fallen for him and wanted to be with him. Now in the basement, Hyde had to sit down on his bed, and catch his breath. He felt immeasurable sadness, as he had an epiphany. He realized that he had tried every way to keep her apart from Fez. He knew that all the things that he had said and done to her since he'd returned home had been immature and cruel. They had come from a place of bitterness and rage. All at once, his anger towards her disappeared to be replaced by sorrow. He had lost Jackie. She had moved on, and it was time for him to let her go. Had he been soft, he would have cried. As it was, he stayed in his room until Jackie and Fez had left. He later sat on the couch, depressed, listening to music, or watching t.v. He didn't leave the basement until he had gotten enough control over his feelings to mask them. It took several days.
But, it was good having Forman back. Eric was one of the only people Hyde could communicate with in his peculiar style. He was one of the only people who understood him and knew how to talk to him. Hyde had missed Eric.
"But, seriously, man," Eric asked him, "when are you going to shave that thing off."