Author's Note: Happy early Valentine's day! This chapter is…bittersweet. I think you will enjoy it. I've seen many people re-drawing the faithful umbrella/rain scene and this chapter pays ode to that scene. In a way. You will see~ Hey, Arnold! and ALL characters (except Miles #2) mentioned belong to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon.
Disclaimer: Some suggestive material that may not be suitable for anyone under the age of 17.
ONWARDS~
Chapter 16: The Scheme, A Proposal, and a Rainy Night
Helga sat lazily on the floor of the living room as Olga sat on the couch braiding her hair. As uncomfortable and annoying the insistence from her sister had once been, these sparse moments had become a common and peaceful occurrence. They've also grown to be one of the few activities between them that they enjoyed in silence.
"What do you guys think of these two new designs I came up with?" Miriam gleamed as she turned her laptop towards her two daughters.
"Wow mom! They're great!" Helga and Olga exclaimed in unison.
"I was thinking that the blue one can have a white stripe going down the side here, and the pink one can have a small bow on the center here." Miriam explained as she pointed to her design ideas for her swimming suit line she'd been tirelessly working at.
"Wow, mom. You really know your stuff!" Helga complemented.
"Of course! I was not a world class swimmer for nothing! I think this can really work, what do you both think?" Miriam stared at her daughters with a hopeful gaze.
"We are so proud of you, mommy! They are all so great!" Olga stood and walked over to embrace the older woman.
The sisters spent the next hour helping Miriam with her design ideas, suggesting names for her boutique and discussing plans for the store's online launch. Helga could hardly believe that she was actually enjoying spending time with her mother and sister, and by the time she realized this, Bob had returned from court and an hour had passed by effortlessly.
"Hey B!" Miriam cheerfully stood up to greet her husband. Sensing his distraught mood right away, the women walked over to him carefully.
"What's wrong, daddy? What was the final decision?" Olga inquired. Today had been the last day of the arduous 9 month-long court case against Vermicelli. Bob had hired a lawyer and had spent every last saving in his bank account to try to get back the money he'd lost from the printer business that Vermicelli had convinced him to invest in.
"We lost." Bob announced as he sat on the couch and placed his hands over his head. The women sat around him and tried their best to comfort him. He'd been so confident that justice would be served at the obvious scam he'd been a victim of. Of course, there had been warning signs and Vermicelli had a history of scamming his business partners. Bob had a rocky history with the man, but desperate times had called for desperate measures. When Bob's Beeper Emporium had fallen, Vermicelli had appeared with a promising new deal.
"I don't understand, the lawyers and everyone was sure we would win!" Helga cried out as she shook her head in confusion, observing her usually strong-willed dad looking defeated on the couch.
"This time it's over, Olga. We have to sell the house to pay for the court fees and all the accrued payments." Bob stated despondently.
"Daddy! Please don't say that! I…I can't imagine…" Olga couldn't finish as her tears started to stream down her face, her voice breaking.
"There's nothing we can do?" Helga asked, standing up and pacing back and forth. Olga's job as a professor nor her job at the diner was enough this time. Not with the accrued court debts and attorney fees.
"Not this time." He shook his head as their family stared despondently at one another.
101 S. Thornwood Penthouse:
"Ha! You should've seen his face! I tell ya', Old Bob Pataki sure had some nerve trying to bring down my business!" Vermicelli shouted as he stood behind the bar and served himself another glass of scotch on the rocks.
"Gee, dad, you sure got what you wanted." Miles stated disgruntledly as he laid on the luxurious grey couch, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"I tell ya son, now that you are taking over the old shop, we are set for life! Your old man can retire in peace now." Vermicelli exclaimed as he gulped down the scotch. By the old shop, he meant his empire of over 50 electronics stores nationwide.
Miles laid in silence, staring at the ceiling in contemplation. After a few moments of silence, he sat up and turned his body towards his father celebrating at the bar.
"I never said I would." Miles stated.
At his words, Vermicelli dropped his glass and shards of glass smashed on the marble floor. "What did you say? Not this again Miles, please!" Vermicelli looked at his one and only son. Miles was the only heir to 'Vs Electronics'. With the empire growing more and more, there was no other person that Vermicelli would allow to take over.
A maid scrambled nervously to sweep up the shards. The angry man walked towards the nearest couch and sat, looking at his only son who was now distractedly playing with a loose thread on the armrest.
"I have a better idea." Miles stated contemplatively. "If you want me to take over your stores, I could, with one condition and you wont hear another complaint from me ever again."
"What's that?" Vermicelli stared wearily at his son, surprised that he was finally starting to take his role seriously. For the last 5 years, his only son had spent the majority of his time travelling the world and living carefree. The young man had barely graduated from business school and scarcely showed interest in the family business. With the business growing steadily and his advancing age, Vermicelli needed his son to step up soon.
"Forgive the Pataki debt." Miles leaned close as he uttered those words, staring at his father's face grow ashen.
"What? You expect me to forgive my mortal enemy after I've worked so hard to bring him down my whole life!? Do you think I have no pride?!" Vermicelli shouted angrily.
Miles stood up and walked towards the big open windows displaying Hillwood all around. He stared out for a few moments onto the bustling streets below. After a while, he turned to face his aging father.
"You don't have to worry about your pride. You will give Bob Pataki an offer he would never turn down. You will tell him that you forgive all debt if he gives me his daughter's hand in marriage." Miles explained.
"His daughter? She's like 30 now, isn't she? And isn't she married?" Vermicelli asked confused.
Miles sighed and rubbed at his forehead, "Not the older daughter. They have a younger daughter named Helga." He paused. "You will forgive their debt if and when I marry their daughter. If he accepts, I will gladly take over your business."
"Now that you mention it, I do remember the little brat. Pink bow and mono-brow right? Why are you interested in her hand? Vermicellis can have any girl we want!" Vermicelli scowled.
Miles shook his head, a serious expression settled on his face. "I don't want another girl. I want her. And it would be advantageous for your business to finally see me settled down, wont it?"
For a few moments, Vermicelli stared at his son in silence, then he stood up and walked back to the bar, serving himself another glass of the strong scotch. Twirling his glass around, he started to laugh silently. His laughter grew louder and louder. Confused by his response, Miles lifted and eyebrow and smiled wearily.
"No doubt about it! You are a Vermicelli! Forming an alliance, why didn't I think of that one before!? Albeit he has nothing to offer, but making him marry off one of his daughters? That would be the ultimate defeat!" Vermicelli chugged and slammed down the cup, grinning wide at his son.
"What's up Helga?" Gerald asked as he neared the blonde waiting under the large maple tree on Campus, the group's usual meeting spot. She was sitting on the grass reading, her legs crossed and her eyes were glued on the page. She looked up at her tall friend and lifted her eyebrow as he sat down next to her on the grass.
"Hey, Geraldo. Done early today?" She asked as she put away her poetry book.
"Yup. It seems we are the first ones here, yet again." He stated as he sat next to her on the grass.
She snickered and laughed in response. Arnold and Phoebe's programs were the most demanding out of their group. She laid flat on the grass, observing the leaves above her head swaying in the wind. The spring was in full bloom, and the small green leaves of the maple were starting to take their red coloring.
"Now that we are alone. I wanted to ask you your opinion on something." Gerald rubbed at his short, clean-cut beard pensively. "What do you think of proposing to Phoebe?" He asked, his face focused and serious.
Helga sat up on her elbows and stared at her friend's serious expression.
'Man, he's got it bad'
"Well, geez Geraldo, I mean I like Phoebe but she's not my type, if you catch my drift." She teased.
He rolled his eyes and glared at her, "I mean, ME. What do you think of ME asking for her hand in marriage?" He clarified.
Helga stared pensively at her friend. Phoebe and Gerald. Gerald and Phoebe. It was that simple. They belonged together like the sun belonged to the sky at daylight and the moon belonged to the sky at nightfall. "When?" She asked, her voice reflecting the seriousness of his own.
He tucked on his collar nervously. "I don't know. Soon? I wanted to wait until graduation but now that I am out in the field, I am starting to save money and I'm thinking of moving out of my parent's soon. It just feels…I don't know…right?" He shrugged and stared at the blonde, hoping his words made sense.
She clicked her tongue and playfully added, "You sure got it bad, Hair-boy. And yes, I think Pheebs would be over the moon and absolutely elated at your proposal." She smiled imagining her best friend's face when she received his proposal.
After a few minutes, Phoebe, followed by Arnold joined Helga and Gerald under the tree. The group of four sat around in the grass, their preferred meeting spot and discussed their week's accomplishments and challenges.
"So where do you guys wanna go this spring break?" Gerald asked pensively.
"What about the beach again?" Phoebe suggested.
"Hmm, but Hotels would all be booked by now or would cost and arm and leg." Arnold replied as he rubbed his hand to his chin thoughtfully.
"You guys, I think I'm gonna sit this vacation out." Helga announced while fidgeting with her bag strap. Her troubled expression gave away her thoughts.
"What happened, Helga?" Phoebe inquired and Arnold reached out, grabbing a hold of her hand.
She finally looked up, meeting her friends concerned stares, "Bob lost the court case against Vermicelli. We will need to sell the house."
At her words, the crew stared in silence, their shocked and distraught faces looking into her own worry-filled eyes. One by one, they begun to share their sympathies.
"I simply cant comprehend how this happened." Phoebe stated, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Helga, we are here for you. Whatever you may need." Gerald offered.
Arnold looked the most distraught as he reached over and embraced the blonde, holding her head close to his chest. Helga reciprocated his warm embrace by wrapping her hands around his waist the best she could, given that they were sitting on the grass. When he pulled away, he took her face between his hands and pressed his forehead against hers, whispering, "Don't worry Helga. We will get through this together."
"Thank you, my football-head." She thanked him and then turned to face the other couple.
"Don't worry about me too much, it's Bob and Miriam I'm most worried about. They aren't very good at coping with these sorts of things." She explained thoughtfully.
5 Days Later:
Arnold watched as his girlfriend walked ahead of him and skipped excitedly. Her hair was tied into two loose pigtails and she wore a black mini pleated skirt with high knee stockings and a white-collar shirt.
"That was the BEST match ever! What an amazing comeback from Manzano! I can't wait for next season's match!" Helga exclaimed as she twirled around a light pole, her face gleaming and staring back at the blonde man.
He stopped to observe her from a few feet away. He placed his hands in his jean pockets and stared at Helga pensively. His pining stare and gentle smile made her freeze in place.
"What?" She asked feeling her face heat up. She knew that stare. Every time he was about to say something nice or embarrassing, he'd stare at her like that. She was the queen of deflecting, of course. At least, that's what she'd done all her life. Her boyfriend, unfortunately, was the king of making sure she saw the beauty in herself. He'd shown it; over and over in the way he treated her, the words he spoke to her, and his unending devotion to her. It had taken her a lot of effort to see what he saw in her. Sometimes, she would still struggle with that part.
"Nothing. I wasn't going to say anything." He shook his head and reached out his hand, taking pity on her.
She stared at his outreached hand skeptically for a moment before walking back and placing her hand in his.
As the couple walked hand-in-hand in the silence of the night, Helga began thinking about the events of the past week. She'd kept busy with school and work. Back home, her family was learning to cope to big changes. Bob had placed the house on the market and they'd begun to look for apartments and smaller homes in the area. Arnold had been her only saving grace amongst all the calamity in her life.
As if reading her thoughts, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze and asked her, "How are things back home?"
She breathed out loud and then stared up at the greying sky. "To be honest, if all that was happening at home had taken place last year or any time before now, I don't think we would've survived. Miriam is more motivated than ever and she's trying to keep it together for her and Bob. Olga too! She's determined to prove to her ex-husband that she can make it on her own."
"Her ex-husband? He's back?" Arnold asked. He'd met the man, Jim, once or twice in San Lorenzo. He was an acclaimed archaeologist who was stationed in San Lorenzo and who occasionally worked along his father and mother. Arnold's impression of the man was that he was an overconfident, arrogant man. Still, he felt he had no right to judge a relationship that he knew nothing about.
"Yes, he wants her back but I think Olga is giving him a hell of a time. It feels good to see her standing her ground!" Helga smiled wide thinking about the progress her sister had made in a year. Olga had been a mess and had almost given up her life altogether after her divorce, going out every night and serial dating recklessly. Ever since the blonde woman got the job as a professor of Anthropology, she had begun to see her life through a different lens and Helga felt for the first time that she could look up to her sister and admire her resilience.
The couple continued their walk in the darkening night while talking enthusiastically about their date at WrestleMania that evening, which Arnold had gifted tickets for on her birthday. As Helga continued an excited description of her predictions for the next season, heavy and sudden drops of rainfall started to fall frantically from the sky. The couple had anticipated rain, but not this early in the night. Before their date, they had collectively taken the decision to travel via bus for the sake of spending more time together. The bus stop, unfortunately, was still about a half a mile away. The sudden rainfall persuaded them to start running down the street, hand-in-hand. The adrenaline from running and the heavy rainfall produced them to laugh joyfully as they continued their pursuit to the bus stop.
Arnold observed as the rain continued worsening and begun to assess their surroundings. He caught sight of a closed store with an awning and pulled the blonde under the awning. The pair laughed and breathed heavily as they came down from their running high. Under the awning, Arnold looked besides him at the blonde smoothing her soaked bangs away from her face. Her white blouse was now translucent and clung tightly to her figure. Feeling his face heat up from the provocative sight of his girlfriend, he cleared his throat and looked away nervously.
'She will be the death of me one day.' He thought before slipping off his sweater placing it around her shoulders.
"I don't want you to catch a cold." He murmured as he aided her zipping up the green sweater.
"Look who's talking! Remember last winter how sick you were in bed?" She snickered and looked into his green eyes; a playful glimmer reflected in them.
"And my girlfriend brought me back to life with her chicken noodle soup." He grinned as he remembered her careful attentions all week and her excessive worry.
"Doi! It's about time you start to realize how lucky you are, Arnold-o." She teased.
He laughed and placed his forehead against hers, their soaked bodies holding onto each other in the gloomy night. Under the small awning, they observed as the rain continued to fall all around them, the sounds of thunder and pitter-patter over the awning retained their silent attention as they observed their surroundings. The streets were now drenched, and the few passersby scattered to find shelter or reach their destinations.
After a few minutes of observing the rain in silent admiration, Arnold looked down at her worryingly, "Are you cold?"
"I should be the one asking you." Helga paused, looking up at him. "Are you cold? I'm okay, really. I should give this back-."
"No!... I'm fine." Arnold reached to stop her from unzipping the sweater, blushing slightly as he remembered the provocative sight of her chest under the thin, wet material of her shirt.
"Suit yourself." She teased and reached to wrap her arms around his waist, sighing as she inhaled his familiar scent.
Arnold returned her embrace and once again, they stared out at the rain pouring. He lowered his head and begun to hum a soft melody. She smiled against his chest as she instantly recognized the song, one of their favorites they often played in his bedroom:
"Heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek…"
Under the small awning, Arnold pulled back and held out his hand to her in an overly dramatic gesture. She laughed and placed her hand on top of his. He abruptly pulled her body flush against his and smirked down at her. She gasped slightly as her body came flushed against his and then stared up at her handsome boyfriend as his charming smile enchanted her senses. He begun to lead her in a lazy waltz, murmuring the song once again. She started singing the lyrics, and soon their voices sang together in a soft duet. Their bodies moved in a slow waltz as their eyes gleamed and searched one another. He twirled her around and laughed as she tried to do the same thing to him, but his height proved challenging as he tried to move his body under her arm.
"You still dance very well." Helga laughed.
"Still? I'm flattered that you would think I'm a good dancer at all."
She rolled her eyes, "Did you forget the April Fool's dance? I'm still shaken by your Tango skills."
"Ah, how can I forget that night. I have a feeling if we were older, it would've ended very differently." He smirked once more, giving her another twirl.
"What do you mean?"
"Your clothes. They wouldn't have been the only thing wet that night." He smiled.
Heat rose to her face as she realized the meaning of his words. 'Holy shit, can this man be any more charming?' She froze in place and lightly punched him in the arm. "Y-You! Dirty…you! Stick to the sappy love song, will you?!" She scowled and let herself once again fall prey to his loving embrace, his laughter carrying her away into a blissful state.
Arnold and Helga arrived at her stoop a few minutes past midnight. The rain had halted and the sky had cleared for the most part. As the couple said their goodbyes and kissed, Bob opened the door and crossed his arms, a scowl dominated his face as he stared down at the couple. For the past year, Bob had reluctantly accepted the couple and for the most part pretended his daughter was not spending the majority of her free time at Arnold's house. It was a bit shocking for Bob to be waiting up past midnight at this point, and the couple let go of their held hands and looked wearily at Bob.
The older man scoffed and opened the door wide, "Get your butt inside, Missy. We've been waiting for you all night!"
Helga stood for a second and then looked apologetically over at Arnold, who nodded silently and gave her a knowing smile before proceeding to walk away.
Helga made her way to the living room and sat on the couch grumpily, crossing her arms and observing as Bob paced back and forth.
"What's this about, Bob? I've never seen you staying up this late."
Bob stopped pacing at looked over at his daughter, a faint glimmer in his eyes and a slow smile began to settle. He ran his hands through his hair and then held out his hands in defense. "Listen, girl. We have a solution to get out of this mess." He paused and she raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Hear me out, okay? Vermicelli came to our doorstep this afternoon while you were on your little date with the orphan boy. He told us he would forgive our debt and pay for our lawyer! Isnt it great!?" Bob exclaimed excitedly.
"What do you mean, Bob? Why would that phony Vermicelli do that for us?" Helga shook her head in disbelief.
"I know it's hard to believe! I couldn't believe it myself at first! But we started negotiating, you know, like businessmen do-."
"Okay, Bob. Stop talking in circles! What's the catch?" Helga asked.
"He will forgive our debt if I marry you off to his son." He stated excitedly.
Author's Note: Gaaahh~ I hate to end it on that note! But alas, the story is moving forward. Please tell me, what do you think about all this? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let's root for our favorite couple!
Song Dueted by Arnold and Helga: 'Cheek to Cheek' by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald. This story has me going on a roll looking for jazz music for these two. Thank you, Thank you Hey, Arnold! For making me appreciate jazz.
Please REVIEW, FOLLOW, FAVORITE and SHARE so I know you are liking this. Thank you so much!
