A Slice Of Life
Chapter 37
It's early on this cold December morning. Arnold floats in that space somewhere between wakefulness and sleep. In his semiconscious state he is torn between opening his eyes to greet the day, and giving in to the lure of his pillow. How easy it would be to allow himself to sink deep into the cottony comfort that his pillow provides as it caresses his head, lulling him back to sleep. He is about to give in to the temptation when his alarm goes off, chastising him for making the wrong decision. With a groan he rolls over, fumbling with the timepiece until he finally finds the right button, silencing it once and for all.
With his eyes still closed, he rolls onto his back and notices for the first time just how cold their little bedroom is. He throws out an arm as he rolls towards his wife but instead of a warm body, he is greeted with empty sheets. Grumbling, he rolls back towards the other side of the bed and opens his eyes. Looking out the window he discovers that it's going to be another gray day. Last night's weather forecast was threatening a light dusting of snow for the day and if the looks outside right now were any indication, he would bet that to be the case.
"Ugh," he complains as he gets up. "I hate the cold."
"What was that?" Helga questions as she brings Phillip in to greet his daddy.
"Oh, nothing, just commenting on the weather." Arnold says through a yawn.
Seeing Phillip he smiles and reaches out to take him. "Hey my big man, you agree with your daddy, don't you. We hate the snow, yes we do."
Phillip rewards his daddy with a gurgle of bubbles and a wave of his arms.
Kissing the top of Little Phil's head, Arnold follows Helga downstairs to the kitchen. As he sits down at the table Helga brings over two mugs of steaming coffee.
"You know," Arnold says as he stares into Phillip's face, "I think his eyesight is getting clearer. I swear he recognizes faces."
"Well, he is two months old now." Helga smiles as she watches the faces Arnold makes as he plays with their son.
Changing the subject Arnold turns to Helga. "So, they say it might snow today. You still planning on meeting me at the school for lunch?"
"Sure, thanks to Bob I now have a car that can handle a little snow. She hopes her reply will keep Arnold from worrying so much.
When Phillip was born Big Bob did his best to make sure that Helga and Arnold had everything they could possibly need for their child. This included a car that could handle the occasional snow that their part of Washington gets every year. That is why they were now the proud owners of a brand new, fully loaded Subaru Outback. It wasn't big and pretentious like his Hummer, but it was the perfect size for their small family of three.
"Besides," Helga continued, "It's not the snow I'm worried about, its more facing Derek after him getting a gander of that video that went out."
Arnold gives a bit of a sneer. "Heh, don't worry, if he says or does anything to make you uncomfortable, I'll handle him."
Helga throws her hands to her chest and fakes a swoon. "Oh, my hero! Actually, though, I am kind of curious to get an up close gander at Amanda."
"Now Helga," Arnold warns, "Don't you go starting any trouble."
Helga holds her hands up in front of her in surrender. "Don't worry, I won't start anything. I might finish something, but I won't start anything. Gerald did have a talk with her, didn't he?"
"Yeah, he did that last week. He's a little worried that Amanda may be holding a grudge against him, but I doubt she's that childish."
"I don't know," Helga disagrees, "Wronging a man eater, he could find himself paying a pretty high price for that."
Arnold gives Helga an exasperated look. "Helga, I told you, she's not a man eater. She's just a little forward, that's all."
"Hmmpf, whatever you say, Arnoldo."
Arnold gives a nod of his head. "That's right, whatever I say."
Handing Phillip over to Helga, Arnold gets up and heads upstairs to get dressed for work. Helga follows him, sitting on the bed as he changes.
"So Phillip and I will meet you in your office. Is 11:30 okay?"
"Yeah, that should be fine, then we can head over to the teacher's lounge and you can show Little Phil off like a proud mommy."
"It's not so much I want to show him off, but I do feel like I should thank everyone in person for all the gifts and flowers they gave us when he was born."
Arnold gives his wife and son a quick kiss before heading off to work leaving Helga to her thoughts. She's anxious to meet Amanda and make up her own mind about the woman. She wonders what one wears when meeting someone like her. Technically, she doesn't really know the woman, and she really hasn't done anything personally to her, or Arnold - yet. Even so, subconsciously, she considers her competition, and not wanting to be outdone, she rummages through her pre-pregnancy jeans. She finds a stretchy pair that she just barely fits into and is pleased at the way they hug her curves without causing too much of a muffin top. With the threat of snow she decides on a warm, long-sleeved top. The neckline is modest, but because of the fact that she is still nursing Phillip, her breasts are much fuller and rounder than normal, causing the top to cling tightly to her body. She likes what she sees in the mirror, and with just a splash of make-up, and a curl to her hair, she's ready for whatever competition Amanda tries to dish out.
xxxxx
She arrives at the school a few minutes early and takes her time as she strolls the halls of her old alma mater. She carries Phillip in his carrier where he lays fast asleep. The first thing she does is stop by her old locker. Running her fingers down the cool metal she can see the faint outline of old, painted over words that she carved into the metal all those years ago. It's a heart with an arrow going through it, the words Helga Loves Arnold engraved in its middle. She smiles at the memories the hidden message brings up. Memories of stolen kisses and the occasional fight, always mended with a session of heated lovemaking back in his bedroom that night.
Her next stop is the trophy case. She sees the basketball trophy from when Arnold and Gerald played, along with various other trophies from football to tennis. Each team includes at least one member of their little group of friends. On the other side of the shelf were the women's trophies representing more than a few teams that Helga herself played on over the years.
She continues on to Arnold's office. A couple of senior boys walk in the opposite direction, their heads turn as they pass her, their eyes following her curves as closely as the jeans she wears. They ignore the baby carrier that hangs from her arm as they whisper to each other that they'd, most definitely, tap that.
Coming to Arnold's office, she stands back and reads what's written on the frosted glass window, "Arnold P. Shortman", and under that in smaller letters, "School Guidance Counselor". She gives a small tap on the door as she lets herself in. Arnold looks up from an open folder that sits in front of him and gives his wife a wide smile.
She's watched by a small group of girls that happen to be walking from Principal Dunn's office as she enters Arnold's. They wonder who the woman is that dares enter "their" guidance counselor's office, and gather from the baby carrier that it must be his wife. They immediately converge on Arnold's office and, under the guise of meeting Little Phillip, hope to get a closer look at the woman that's won their precious Mr. Shortman's heart.
The bravest of the three girls is the first to speak. "Mr. Shortman! Is this your baby?"
The girls crowd around Arnold's desk where Phillip still sleeps in his carrier. They make the appropriate comments about how precious Phillip is, and how lucky Arnold is to have such a cute baby. After a quick introduction to Helga the girls turn their attention once again to Arnold. Helga chuckles to herself as she watches the expression on Arnold's face as he looks to her for help.
Instead of rescuing him, she quietly excuses herself and heads to the girl's bathroom. The bathroom is empty when she enters it and she chooses a stall at the far end by the wall. As she sits she scans the back of the door for a particular X-rated limerick she wrote more than six years prior. Finding it she reads it and as she chuckles to herself she hears the three girls from Arnold's office enter the bathroom. She sits quietly as she listens to what they have to say as they check their reflections in the mirror that hangs over the sinks.
Girl 1: "Did you get a load of his wife?"
Girl 2 "Yeah, she's not so special. I wonder what he sees in her."
Girl 1: "She must be good in bed."
The comment brings on a chorus of giggles.
Girl 3: "Oh, I don't know, she looked kind of pretty to me."
Girl 1: "Geeze, Denise, you got a thing for Mr. Shortman's wife?"
Girl 3: "NO! I'm just saying, she seemed nice."
Girl 2: "My older cousin went to school with her when they were kids. She says she was a bully."
Girl 1: "Ohhh, Mr. Shortman must like it rough then."
Another chorus of giggles.
Girl 3: "Tonya, you're too much."
Girl 1: "Oh yeah? But you have to admit, it does make you wonder. I bet he likes it rough."
Unable to take it anymore, Helga flushes the toilet, letting the girls know they're not alone. She comes out of the stall and silently walks up to the sink. The girls stand in embarrassment as Helga washes her hands.
When she's finished she passes the girls by and as she opens the door to leave she says, "Take my advice, the rougher the better."
She can hear the three girls erupt with shouts of laughter as she heads back to Arnold's office. She's still chuckling to herself as she enters the room.
"What's so funny?" Arnold asks.
Helga proceeds to tell him of the events that just transpired and he looks at her with wide eyes.
"Helga!" He shouts, "What were you thinking! I see those girls every day! Their stares and giggles were bad enough before, I can only imagine the rumors that are going to be spread now."
"Oh relax, Bucko. All I did was give those girls a little thrill. Something to talk about during homeroom."
"Well you'd better hope Dunn doesn't get wind of the images you put in those girl's heads."
Helga didn't think about Dunn and how this could provide yet another reason for him to go after Arnold.
"Oh, I didn't think of that. I'm sorry. Well, hopefully it won't go past your little circle of fan girls."
"Right. Come on, it's almost time for the first lunch bell. Let's take Phil over to the break room."
They make it to the small room without any further incident and set Phillip up on a round table towards the back. One by one the room fills with Arnold's work mates and they take their turns gathering around the proud parents as they introduce them to their son. Helga is gracious as she thanks them all for their kindness and generosity.
Preoccupied with the people around them, neither Arnold nor Helga notice when Amanda enters the room. She hangs back, sizing Helga up. She has to admit to herself that she and Arnold do make a cute couple, and their baby is pretty adorable. It's too bad they have to be used as collateral damage if she decides to go ahead with her plan to mess with Gerald and his fiancée.
The door behind her opens as Travis, the school's drama teacher enters the room. He's a Hillwood native and is just a few years older than Helga and Arnold. Thinking he'd be a good source of information, Amanda has made it a point to become quite chummy with him. She approaches him now, intercepting him before he can make his way over to the new parents.
"Hey Travis." She says through a sultry gaze.
"Oh, hey there Amanda." He replies with a smile.
"Tell me something, you went to school with Helga, right? What can you tell me about her?"
Travis thinks back to his childhood days.
"Well, I was a few years ahead of her and Arnold so our paths didn't really cross too often. All I really do know is that she was a bit of bully as a kid. She and Arnold weren't really that close until sometime in middle school, or early high school, when they started going out. My little sister knows them better. She said that by the time they hit 12th grade they and their group were pretty popular on campus. You should talk to Gerald, he was in their group."
Amanda's eyes narrow at that last bit of information. "Oh he was, was he?"
She gives Travis's upper arm a squeeze as she leans in close and thanks him for the information. Leaving him to stand alone with a slight blush to his cheeks.
"Uh, sure, Amanda, any time." He says as she makes her way towards where Arnold and Helga stand.
Helga is doing her best not to punch Derek in the face as he goes on and on about the unfortunate Facebook video and how sexy Helga looked when she hears an unfamiliar voice from behind. Turning, she finds herself eye to eye with Ms Amanda Pearson herself. Their eyes meet, each woman trying to read the other. Arnold notices Helga's hard stare and clears his throat.
"Uh, hi, Amanda. Helga, I'd like you to meet Amanda Pearson. She's new this year to Hillwood."
Helga extends her hand in greeting, her eyes never leaving Amanda's. As their hands clasp Helga gives an extra firm squeeze in a show of dominance.
"Hello, Helga." Amanda says through a slight wince. "It's nice to meet you, Arnold's told me so much about you."
"Uh, yeah, I've heard about you, too." Helga says as Arnold gives her an elbow in her side.
"Be nice." He whispers in her ear.
Ignoring Helga, Amanda turns to Phillip. He's no longer sleeping and lays looking at the various faces that smile down at him.
"Oh this must be little Phillip." Amanda says with what Helga processes as a fake smile. "Well isn't he a cutie. I can tell he's going to be a looker just like his daddy." She gives Arnold a blatant wink.
Helga's hands start to ball into fists at her sides. Arnold see this and quickly throws an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him.
"Actually, I think he gets most of his good looks from his mommy." He says as he gives Helga a kiss on her lips in an effort to put out her fuse.
A bit surprised by Arnold's actions Helga blushes as she changes the subject. She grabs Phillip's carrier and starts to say her good-byes to the small crowd.
"Well, it was great seeing you all again. Come on, Arnold, we should be getting to lunch."
He picks up on her que and follows her out the door. Amanda is quick to give his arm a squeeze as he passes.
"See you when you get back." She says to him with a sweet smile.
Helga waits until they are in the Packard before she lets Arnold know just what she thinks of Ms Amanda Pearson.