Chachi stepped out of the bathroom drying his hair. The towel covering Joanie from his view, it wasn't until she cleared her throat to get his attention that he finally noticed her.
"Joanie" he jumped back in surprise, dropping the towel on the floor. "Hello" she said in a strong confident voice.
"You're back honey" he moved forward his arms outstretch, ready to embrace her.
"No, don't" the warning look in her eyes making him stop dead in his track.
"I'm not going to hurt you, I would never do that again". The folder she threw on the kitchen table cut off his pleading. Chachi looked down a puzzled look on his face. "I want a divorce Chachi," she said coolly meeting his hurt eyes.
"Come on Joanie, you don't want to do this! Don't I even get a second chance!" the hurt and confusion he had been experiencing now gone, anger having replaced it.
"No, I don't. I just want to get this over with", she let out an exasperated breath, "Look Chachi, I don't hate you, I could never, but I can't be with you either. The past two weeks I've done a lot of thinking and I realized that I'm not in love with you" she finished tears starting to form.
"This isn't fair Joanie! You drop off the face of the earth for two weeks and now you come back and tell me you're not in love with me anymore. That you want a divorce!" he was now screaming, his rage getting the better of him. Joanie noticed that this was the same way he had been acting the night that he hit her. She took a step back ready to leave.
"I'm sorry that our marriage didn't work, truly, I am. But I'm not going to stand here while you berate me. It's not my fault and you're not the victim!" She began to make her way toward the door, but stopped when she heard his next comment.
"Are you in love with Fonzie?" he asked in a bitter voice.
Joanie stiffen, she could easily lie and leave, and it wasn't any of his business. Instead she turned around and told him the truth, she had nothing to be ashamed of. "Yes, I am" her simple answer spoke volumes. Chachi, expecting her to deny it, was surprised by her honesty. He looked to the side, not wanting to look at her any longer. Joanie took his hint and left quietly.
Marion finished drying the dishes, staking them in the cabinet. She still couldn't everything that happened in the past couple of weeks.
Joanie had revealed that Chachi had been hitting her, then she left for two weeks, and when she finally came back she was in love with Arthur! Naturally, both she and Howard were taken aback, but after spending almost the entire night talking with both of them they finally understood the uniqueness of the situation, to put in better terms.
That specific moment of understanding dawn upon them when they realized that she was no longer scare of Chachi. She now possessed an endearing strength and self-confidence that she had been lacking for a while. They also realized that being with Arthur was the reason for this wonderful change in their daughter. Perhaps it was best to not question all of the recent happenings in their lives, but to instead embrace them since they seemed to be for the best.
Fonzie stepped out of Arnold's balancing two orders of burgers and fries and two chocolate malts, practically running into Chachi.
"Hey, watch it" Chachi said in a cold voice
Words such as those would of cause Fonzie to gone wild on any other person, but instead he gave him a warning look and moved passed him. But Chachi was far from done; he grabbed Fonzie by the jacket and whirled him around to face him. He didn't care what Fonzie would say or do to him.
"Listen you son of a bitch, I know about you and Joanie! How could you of taken advantage of her like that?" he demanded in an angry voice.
Fonzie was shocked by the younger man's colorful language; he had never in his life heard him talk like that.
"I didn't take advantage of no one, I love her and she loves me! Now, don't be an idiot and cool down Chach, if not you're gonna end up driving everyone that ever gave a fuck about you away. Starting with me!" Fonzie fought fire with fire and left a stunned Chachi behind.
Joanie noticed that something was wrong the moment Fonzie got in the car. There was a murderous glare in his eyes and a scowl on his face.
"What's wrong?" she inquired as she took the food out of his hands.
Fonzie looked over at her, his facial expression softening. "I ran into Chachi on my way out. He looked so miserable" he said as he put his arm around Joanie. She nestled into his side, "I know, I can't stand it either".
He sighed and looked into her eyes, "no regrets?" he asked carefully. She sat up but his arm still around her.
"Never", the one word flooding him with a feeling of bliss. He gave her a toe-curling kiss before they drove away.
Chachi was fuming as he watched Fonzie and Joanie. Just a couple of weeks ago that had been him and her, and now it was her and Fonzie! He felt as though his world had been turned upside down and inside out. It wouldn't surprise him one bit if she married Fonzie immediately after their divorce was final.
"But If I don't give her divorce" Chachi thought but then stopped with a scowl, he realized that there was no way he could deny her a divorce. Either way she would get her divorce and there was nothing he could do about it.
Perhaps it was best for him to give her the divorce and leave town for good. He did receive an offer to go on tour with a small band in Europe for a year. Maybe by the time he came back she realized the mistake she committed and would beg him to take her back. The more he thought about it, the more appealing the idea became to him. What Joanie needed was time to realize a couple of truths. Besides he doubted that Fonzie could stay a one-woman-man for long, it just wasn't in his nature. Joanie would surely take him back once he returned from Europe, or at least he hoped so.
With his mind made up Chachi made his way home, intent on signing the divorce papers, calling the manager of the band, and getting on the first plane to N.Y. He just hoped that his instinct wasn't wrong about Fonzie; surely he couldn't be fateful if his life depended on it!
TO BE CONTINUED