"When Gerald proposed to me he just went on one knee to do it." Phoebe told the girls. "Not that I didn't mind at all, because the second he went down on one knee it felt like he did this whole deal. I was hoping up and down on my feet as he was doing it."
"That's so sweet. Simple and sweet." Sheena said as she crossed her legs. "When Harold proposed to me he just extended his hand out over his roast beef to ask me with the whole, 'So will ya?' I got pregnant while together with him and to have something like that just thrusted at me was a bit funny. He made up for it later by fixing this romantic meal saying how guilty he felt for not making it romantic."
"It is the thought that counts, right?" Helga hoped.
"It is and I love being married to him. I have a wonderful family because of him." Sheena bragged.
Phoebe turned to Lanie sitting quietly in her seat just taking in their conversation. "What about you? Will you ever get together with, Brainy?"
Lanie was swirling her straw into her drink all this time. "I don't know. If it happens it happens."
"How is he as a kisser? I was always curious." Sheena inquired as she hoped for some dirt.
"I never kiss and tell."
Helga snickered at her. "Well seeing as you two's have been caught in the act several times I dare say that he isn't bad for you to keep repeating it."
Lanie decided to shrug hoping to deter the questions. "So did you tell Arnold about Lorenzo asking you out?"
Phoebe and Sheena turned their attention back to Helga wanting a scoop. "What?" They asked simultaneously.
Shooting an accusing glance over to Lanie's mischievous face, Helga sighed. "I told him and he shook his head at the walking pecker brain."
The girls laughed at her analogy. "Are those your words or his?" Phoebe inquired.
"Arnold's. I'll keep him still as a client for the company, but if he does that again I will put one the guys on his account." Taking a quick sip of her drink, Helga shook her head. "He says he loves Rhonda, but she is nothing more but beauty and a pocketbook. You know I'm not fond of her, but even I think that is way too harsh."
"You are far kinder than she is for you to be sympathetic, but I know you won't be calling her up for drinks." Lanie told her.
"I won't. She still tries to sink herself into our lives one way or another still. It is pretty pathetic."
"In middle school, I thought that she would one day grow out of her need for the shallow, but she never did." Phoebe said. "When one day Arnold showed up with her by his side as a couple, I told Gerald to hit him hard to knock some sense into him. We tried to believe she won't be bad but when she hurt him, he decided to keep to himself. Stay away from unhealthy things." Reaching over she took Helga's hand. "Then he met you. Oh my gosh he was head over heels for you already."
Sheena nodded as she looked to Lanie. "Every day in my office he would talk to me about her. He was gaga over her." Looks back to Helga. "I seriously thought he was going to propose to you early on. Still you weren't having it."
"That is until I met her. The strange girl who walked up to me to talk about opportunities and stuff." Looking between the two girls next to her, Helga brought her focus back on Lanie. "Haven't you notice that she adopts this tone of voice that feels like it hypnotizes you? Makes me wonder why you placed Brainy under a spell. He is probably thinking, 'I must kiss her. Her lips demand me to kiss her.' Is that what it is, Lanie?"
Yawning at her attempt to pry things out of her, Lanie responded. "Yeah, he is so into me that he is out on a date with another woman. I don't mind really, but I might as well put that point across to you ladies."
"You don't mind?" Sheena wondered.
"No. Honestly not. I'm still not ready to date. I like the kissing portion, but while he is with another I won't do that even. I have respect for the person's wife or girlfriend. I might as well put this out there while I sense that as another question unfolding." Lanie pointed out firmly, but not harshly.
Sheena's eyes went wide. "Uh, can you see the future because this isn't the first time you answered questions before they were ever asked."
"Truthfully, it is human nature to ask the same barrel of questions to any given subject. Half the time I don't ask a question since it will be asked by another individual. If I see they don't, I will ask it. I know I'm a bit strange, but I'm perfectly fine with it." Lanie spoke in her rare bit of confidence before going to guard herself all over again.
Phoebe wondered if she'll expect this one. "I don't mean to pry, but when was the first time you've had sex?"
Helga opened her eyes wide. Yes, this is one of the standard questions everyone asks, but Phoebe didn't know her past. "Phoebe." She spoke in a warning tone as she shook her head.
Phoebe's eyes went back to Lanie as she was looking down before focusing her attention back to her. In truth she was a bit afraid now. "There isn't no need to answer that. I'm sorry, I just wanted to..."
"Ask a question out of that barrel of that last subject." Lanie interrupted nicely enough. "I understand. Classic lawyer move."
"I'm sorry."
Lanie waved her hand in the air to stop her. "No need. You are a good person so I hold no ill will over it. I will answer though. At 15 I was at school when I was attacked in the school bathroom by a guy that I knew. The school believed him. I was hauled off a bus in front of my peers. I was suspended. My mom got angry at me before I explained. My dad accused me of horrible things. Then I explained to him and stood by my side. That school didn't believe me. They sent me to shrinks thinking that I was suicidal, but I wasn't. They tried to separate me from my family by this drugged out social worker. I went to another school. Finally met my best friend slash sister in this other high school. I'm still friends with her. I'm an aunt to her son. After years of still feeling like crap because of this guy, I found him here. He accused me of lying and stuff. I decked him out. I humiliated him. His relationship died with another girl when she believed me over him. I had my redemption there. That is what happened to me in a huge nutshell."
Sheena and Phoebe were silent, as Helga smiled at her. "I do admire how you are able to say that without feeling bad about it."
"I agree with Helga. You went through a lot and are able to share." Sheena told her with a bright smile. "Thank you."
"Have you ever thought about pressing charges against him?" Phoebe wondered as she went through her teachings.
"No one believed me at that school. Even the school psychiatrists didn't either. They thought I was crazy. Depressed. When I was in that board meeting I was attacked on all sides at the same time. You know no one will believe me in court after finding the documentation. I'm just one of the lost ones in that aspect. Right now I just help people the only way I know how to. That is how I cope." Lanie fell into a tired stupor at all that as memories flashed through her head.
Helga didn't want to look bad for doing this, but even Lanie needed the distraction. "I'm curious if you girls would like to be my bridesmaids. Arnold and I agreed that it won't be fancy since we want it to be intimate. No ugly dresses, just something in the same color scheme and you girls can pick your style on what you think flatters you. What do you guys say?"
Sheena beamed again. "I would love that."
Lanie simply nodded her head as Phoebe did the same too. "When do you guys plan on doing it?" Phoebe inquired.
"It seems rushed, but 6 months. I'm really confident about Arnold." Helga started to bounce. "I'm sorry, but I can't wait. No I'm not pregnant, and even I have to admit that I thought he was going to ask a lot sooner then this. Anything he acted a bit strange I thought that it was going to be it, but when it didn't come I thought that soon it will come."
"She knows the barrel questions too, Phoebe." Lanie smirked as a bit of laughter bloomed up from the other two's.
"Undoubtedly." Phoebe agreed.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Curly found Arnold in his office looking unhappy. After hearing about the latest patient that was brought in by the ambulance, Curly knew he would transfer it immediately to another doctor.
"You alright?" Curly asked siting on the chair across from him.
"I would of taken care of her if she never pulled any of those stunts to try to either break Helga and I up, or do something else uncalled for. If I did take care of her, she will claim something happened to her and I would either be fired or a lawsuit will happen." Sighing, Arnold glanced to the picture of Helga on his desk. "I just got engaged to a wonderful woman. I'm all happy and then she enters the hospital after a car accident."
"Look, you had to do what you had to do. Rhonda would of done something against you. She wants to make you both miserable too."
Placing his hands on his lap, he groaned. "She opened her eyes up to take one look at me to accuse me of destroying her. Accused Helga too. I had to do it. I had to transfer to another doctor."
"Will you tell, Helga about this?"
"I will. I know she told me about Lorenzo hitting on her. I'm not too surprised that he did. Hell, you still hit on her." Arnold narrowed his gaze at him in silent sarcasm.
Throws his hands in the air. "What can I say? I appreciate valuable beautiful women."
Arnold trusted him. "In 6 months I'll be married to her so find your own."
"I'm trying. After June decided it was best to end it because of her daughter, I just haven't gotten back to the swing of things."
"There is always Lanie." He suggested.
"As cute as she is, we see each another's as siblings more than that. I'll let Brainy have her."
He loved having the change of subject from Rhonda to this now. "Eventually it may happen between them both. For now I have Gerald, Brainy, and now I need a third groomsman. Will you be it?"
Curly smirked. "I will on one condition; I get to kiss the bride."
"Hug her. Don't kiss her. I'll be the one doing all the kissing." They should have a wedding announcement of him kissing her in the paper with a caption of, 'Hands off men, she's mines.' Yeah so he was a tiny bit possessive, but not overly so.
He isn't that possessive. I couldn't take it if he was.