Part IV, Chapter 28
Some Advice
Hyde picked up Kelso, and the two of them drove to meet their friends at a nearby club to listen to Randy's band perform. Like Jackie when she was at the movies, Hyde did not pay attention to the evening's entertainment, but had his mind occupied with other things. He thought about the conversation he'd had with her right before he left. It had gone about how he'd expected it to. He also thought about the talk he'd had with W.B. when he'd spent the night in Milwaukee.
Whenever Hyde and his friends stayed over for a night in Milwaukee, they stayed at W.B.'s spacious, contemporary-styled house. That last time Hyde and Eric were in Milwaukee, Hyde was alone with W.B., Eric having slept at his girlfriend Mandy's apartment and W.B.'s live-in girlfriend Deirdre still in Japan on business. Before going to sleep, Hyde and W.B. had coffee in the living room, and talked.
"That month when you disappeared to Vegas we were all really worried." Hyde nodded and looked at the carpet. He still felt bad about this. W.B. went on, "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. That's Kitty Forman's job. I'm just kidding. I'm your father. It's my job too to make you feel guilty. Anyways, you've had a tumultuous year."
Hyde had to agree. "It's been pretty crappy," he said.
W.B. said, "When we were at dinner with Eric, I was only partly joking when I said that thing about your moustache. It's good to see you start looking like, and acting like, yourself again." Hyde looked at W.B., who went on, "You know, son, when people lose something, or someone, important to them, like you lost your girlfriend, it's natural to go through a character change for a while. We all do things that are stupid or that we wouldn't have done normally. Now, I'm not saying you hit rock bottom. You've done a great job at the store. That's one of the reasons I gave it to you." Hyde thanked him. W.B. continued with what he was saying, "But, it's been a year, Steven, and I want you to be happy. As I'm sure you already know, Kitty Forman and I talk about you on the phone."
Hyde grimaced. "Oh my God," he said.
"And Kitty tells me that you've been drinking too much and fighting a lot with Jackie. Well, what I want to tell you is that you don't want to waste any more of your time. You don't get it back. I think it's time to put this behind you. I asked you about Jackie because I think you still love her. We all thought that you two were going to get married, eventually." Hyde stayed silent, listening to W.B., who paused to make sure he got his words right. "Well, if you do still love her, you should be with her."
Hyde started, "I don't . . . It's complicated."
W.B. said, "It always is. But, it's only been a year, a rough year, to be sure, but just a year, and I know a lot of couples who have come through much worse. You're young, and one bad year doesn't have to set the course for the rest of your life."
"Yeah, but . . ." Hyde said.
"What?" W.B. said. "She's with your friend? Now, I like Fez. He's a great guy, but I find it hard to believe that Jackie, or any normal woman, would seriously want to be with him."
Hyde considered W.B.'s advice without commenting. And W.B. said, "Look, maybe it is too complicated, or too much has happened for either of you to want to be together again. If it is, then, maybe it's time to find someone new, and not someone crazy who follows you home from Las Vegas, but someone you could really love."
"Thanks, W.B.," Hyde said. He knew that he was lucky to have people in his life like W.B., and Red, and Mrs. Forman, who cared about him, and took a personal interest in his life.
"Don't worry. You'll know what to do," W.B. said. He couldn't help adding, in his best Obi Wan Kenobi impression, "Trust your feelings, Steven."
Hyde pretended to wince. "Oh, God. Not you too,"
"Sorry. I'm just fooling around. I saw a private screening of "The Empire Strikes Back" the other night. It's coming out next month."
"Well, don't say anything about it to Forman. He'll start frothing at the mouth. He may even have an aneurism." Hyde said.
W.B. chuckled. "Yeah, that Eric's a strange one."
Hyde did think a lot about W.B.'s advice, and believed that it made sense. And, he did start to behave like his old self again, which made him feel good. He decided to follow another part of W.B.'s advice, which was to move out of the Formans' basement and into his own apartment. So, he leased the floor above Grooves, and had it redesigned into an apartment. It was ready enough for him to move into it a week after he had told Jackie that he was sorry.
He saw her in passing a couple of times before he moved. His behavior no longer hostile, Jackie treated him with greater warmth. There had been a détente between the two of them.
"Hey," he said to her on the day he was graduating from the basement. She was seated on the couch, flipping through a magazine. The television was turned on. "I got something for you." He handed her an envelope. "A peace offering." In the envelope were two tickets to the Elton John concert in Chicago. "I thought you and Fez could go. I know how much you guys like him. And, Kiki Dee's going to be there." Fez and Jackie did love Elton John, and had sung along to "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" hundreds of times in the basement, with Jackie as Kiki Dee, and Fez, wearing large sparkly sunglasses, doing Elton.
Jackie said, "Thank you, Steven. I don't know what to say." One thing that she'd always loved about him was that he would give very personal gifts with emotional meaning. She said, "Thank you. That's really sweet of you."
Jackie then noticed his green duffle bag leaning against the backdoor. "Oh," she asked, "are you going on a trip?"
"I thought you knew. I'm moving into my own place," He smiled.
"What?" Jackie said. She looked surprised and a little hurt. "No, no one told me anything." She felt annoyed that Fez, who couldn't keep a secret about anything usually, hadn't told her this. "Does Donna know?" she asked. Donna was home for the weekend. Jackie didn't know why Donna hadn't said anything either.
"I'm not moving that far. Just to Grooves. My place is above the store. And, I'm 99 percent sure that Mrs. Forman is throwing me a surprise house-warming party there next Friday night, after she's done decorating. Not my idea. But, anyways you should have Fez bring you over sometime, or at least come to the party," he said. Jackie was quiet, and felt too confused to know what she thought.
They looked at each other, neither of them saying anything, until it began to feel uncomfortable. "Well," he said with a small smile. "Goodbye." He stepped towards her, and cupped her face in his hands. He then placed a light kiss on her forehead. "Don't break any more hearts," he said as he left the basement quietly.
