Chapter 3
Round Four-Forman Vs. Hyde
I Can Feel It Coming In The Air Tonight
Eric looked down from the mini terrace that was attached to his and Donna's guest room. Friday afternoon turned into Friday night as the sapphire blue sky held a full moon. The New York City skyline was one of the most beautiful in the United States-The Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center to name a few.-the lights making a matrix-esque pattern. The Empire State Building's top was red, white, and blue. The car horns beeping, the people in a constant state of rush, the air seemingly quiet like an empty sports complex or concert hall. Eric felt a calm before the storm. Jackie was tucking in Tiffany in bed (a teenage girl in the other apartment on the floor was going to babysit) and Jackie had tickets for a little experimental (i.e. sanctimonious and boring) play. Despite the noise from down below it still felt quiet. Something had to give, a branch was breaking by the flagpoles on the third floor and Eric heard the snap, a crunch, it wasn't a massive branch but big enough, even a penny dropped from up here could kill the unfortunate person to be standing on ground level. No one was in the way of the branch as it kept falling and falling until it got caught in another part of the tree- being swallowed by its very own 'self'. There was a slight nice breeze up here, not too cold for a jacket, not one of those warm humid breezes that couldn't cool an ant off, but a nice flowing movement in the still night. How did he get here? It's been quite the journey from Point Place-1960 to New York City-2000. Someday that thirteen year old babysitter will be 39 wondering where in the hell did her life go? It was too quiet and Eric almost prayed for a murder below to wake him up out of subconscious thought. You do become the establishment, Eric thought Hyde was fooling himself if he thought he was the 'so cool, so relevant rock and roll producer' even indie was turning corporate Hyde was just as much of a corporate weasel as he was, even if he didn't wear a suit and tie to work. Eric believed the trick was to just stay honest, don't turn phony. They were only people after all. His mind shifted to Donna he couldn't believe he didn't think about her in all that time. He loved her very much and he believed they were soulmates for a very long time. (He couldn't tell anyone when was younger, Red would have sent him to military school and the guys just would have laughed at him everyday to throw him back into his shell.) He did want children, but he accepted what Donna told him, he just assumed she was on the pill and he never wanted to pressure her about children. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was a pulse to the night. It was like being on the Titanic after the iceberg hit and where would a 39 year old white man be in 1912? Not on the lifeboats. They're only for women and children. You will perish with the others and go down with the ship. You had your chance and you blew it, that's it you will die---
"Eric," enter Donna wearing a blue dress with a matching shawl, "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing,"
"Could have fooled me, you were in deep thought. Are you okay?" Donna asked.
"I'm fine, Donna. You look beautiful in that dress." He was going to kiss her when he heard the sound of huffing and high heels join them on the balcony.
"Oh there you two are! Come on, we're going to be late!" Jackie waved her purse in the air.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Donna whispered to Eric, hoping he wasn't having a late reaction to her news.
"I'm fine." But the truth was he wasn't. He felt off-center. Something was stirring in the air tonight and whatever it was he hoped the volcano wouldn't erupt-that his own self wouldn't swallow him up.
Catalyst #1
Eric folded and refolded his play program-was Donna really interested in this boring uninspiring so called piece of theatre? It was about a guy who was popular in high school-star athlete, honor society, dated the bubbly perky blonde girl who wanted to stay at home and have his all-star children but in his adult life he became an alcoholic and committed suicide in front of his kids. It got great reviews (or so the back of the program said) for being quote unquote "edgy". This wasn't edgy. This was stupid and trite. The end showed his widow-who wasn't bubbly and perky anymore and smoked and drank in front of her children. She took his trophies, plaques, and other awards off the shelves.
'Sharp and pointy'
'How can you be held accountable for your actions when you were high as the proverbial kite?'
The volcano was sending out smoke signals to the brain.
[come on, eric-you know you want to]
(no-you don't)
[yes, he does, you stay out of it, you good conscience]
(hold donna's hand, and smile, and don't listen to him)
Donna felt Eric holding her hand; she looked over to smile back at him.
"What's wrong?" She whispered.
"Nothing," he whispered back, "This play sucks."
"I know. Jackie seems interested in it."
"Want to wait in the lobby?" Eric needed to get up, feeling restless.
'Not this, again-why?'
"Sure."
[one hit, eric. come on, don't make me pull out the big guns]
(leave him alone)
The lobby was serving free coffee, tea, soda, and water and crustless sandwiches.
"This is so phony, Donna, I can't stand it."
'That's it, I'm going to tune you both out'
"I know." Donna handed Eric a cup of tea as well as one for herself, but those sandwiches looked like they were left out too long.
"Why do you think Jackie would like a play like this?"
"To see how the popular fall," Donna replied, they sat down at one of the small tables by the door. "Eric are you sure you don't want to talk about something?"
"I'm good, Donna." It was partly true, well, it wasn't, but at that moment he convinced himself that it was.
"Do you want to go home early?"
He wanted to blurt out, 'Yeah, there's absolutely no Coke in St. Louis'-he knew exactly where to get it there. He didn't even seek that knowledge it just fell in his lap. There's always a current user in every school and office in the United States of America. Which is why he was what Red would describe as a smart ass in rehab. Sure there were some nice people there, but even the so called alternative approach was nothing but a colossal joke and he even told his doctors and counselors that. Do they even get to the crux why people f***ing use the stuff in the first place? From the glue sniffers. pill poppers, alcoholics, to the heroin shooters it's all about the high to drone out the useless world.
"No. When is this play going to be over?" A part of Eric wanted to leave Jackie there
Donna looked at her watch, "In ten minutes."
"That's nine minutes too long!" Eric finished the tea waiting for this part of the night to be over.
Jackie took a taxi back to her apartment alone as Eric and Donna wanted to go for a walk after the play. She figured this would be the perfect time to call Steven.
"Hi, Steven, pick up, it's me."
She heard him fumble with the buttons on the other end trying to get a live connection.
"Hi, Jackie." Her voice soothed him.
"Are you---?" Hyde didn't know how to word it without it sounding trivial.
"I'm in a taxi on the way back home. Eric and Donna are going for a walk."
Would it matter if they were in her home or in the taxi with her?
"I can't wait to see you again."
'What about Tiffany?' Jackie thought. She knew he loved her daughter, it was just very difficult for Hyde to show his emotions due to the lack of child rearing skills of Bud and Edna Hyde. Even with the fresh baked out of the oven influence of Mrs. Kitty Forman, Hyde still had a tough time of showing his emotions for fear of the rug being pulled out from under him or being bathed in a bucket of pig's blood while the whole world laughs at him.
Eric and Donna got hungry and stopped at a diner a few blocks from Jackie's luxury apartment.
"That's all you're going to eat?" asked Eric as Donna picked at her toast, while he cut his pancakes with a fork.
"It's all I'm hungry for."
"Come on," Eric cut off a piece of pancake and rolled it in the syrup, "This is better than the sugar free stuff you buy." and held the fork to her mouth, Donna must have been hungrier than she thought or she felt the need for sugar because she ate it.
"Hmm, that's all I need, the toast is fine."
"Well, I need to gain five pounds." Donna smiled, she knew it was the truth, but it was still hilarious anyway.
"I need to get back to my buffness."
Donna laughed over that one. "Eric, when were you ever buff? Tell me."
"For my height and ideal weight that was buff."
"Oh was it?" Donna got up she had to use the ladies room, she stroked Eric's hair behind the ear and kissed his cheek. That could only mean one thing-that she was in the mood. As if he were a fifteen year old boy back in Point Place hoping "tonight would be the night" with Donna so he wouldn't be ridiculed by his friends in the basement circular structure he finished his pancakes before Donna returned to the table.
"Wow, that was quick," Donna came back as Eric was paying the check.
"I was hungry." He took a quarter and bought a lollipop for Tiffany out of the vending machine.
"And I have a sneaking suspicion it wasn't for the pancakes." Donna replied as they left the diner to hailed a taxi back to Jackie's apartment.
Later
Donna put the key that Jackie left for the doorman to give them in the door. The house was quiet and dimly lit and Eric tried to ignore the sounds of silence.
Donna wrapped her arms around Eric slipping his blazer off his shoulders.
"I love you,"
"I love you, too," He whispered in her ear, "Where's the zipper on this damn thing?" Donna guided Eric's hand to the "hidden" zipper in the back of her dress.
They made a clothes trail stretching from the foyer to the kitchen which wasn't bad considering the substantial size of this apartment.
"On the floor?" Eric asked
"You have a problem with that?" Donna replied as their bodies gently fell to the floor.
"No," he didn't know how he did it, but he was able to pull the pink linen tablecloth off the small kitchen table with a magician's precision.
That's how Jackie found them at four am when she went to get a glass of water. Their bodies pretzeled covered in her favorite tablecloth.
She bent down and tapped Donna on the shoulder "Donna! Do you think you and Eric can somehow find your way back to the guestroom before Tiffany wakes up?"
"W-what," Then she remembered where she was, "Oh. Sure."
"And don't forget to take your clothes with you." Jackie didn't mean to sound like she was going to snap. She missed making love with Steven.
" Yeah. I don't know how we wound up here." Donna replied
"The heat of the moment was that intense?" Jackie asked twisting the cap off her Evian.
"Yeah. It's hard to tell by looking at him, " Donna glanced at Eric sleeping soundly, "But that skinny boy can pack a quite a punch."
Jackie stifled a laugh as she went back to her bedroom before her daughter came in the kitchen and found them like this.
Catalyst #2 (Thy name is Steven)
7:45 am
Eric woke up to the springs in the bed going up and down and Donna wasn't even in the room.
"ERIC! Wake up!" Tiffany took it upon herself to jump on the bed
"Tiffany there you are! Sorry about that, Eric." Donna opened the guest bathroom door and came out in her robe.
"It's okay," he looked down to make sure he was dressed he didn't remember how he got back into the guest room-but he had his St. Louis Rams sweatshirt and gray sweatpants on and he didn't remember how he did that either. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep after an exceptional lovemaking session with his fiancée on the kitchen floor. "Morning, Tiffany."
"Donna! You aren't going to wear that blouse are you?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Um-are you guys going somewhere?" Eric asked
"Yeah! You have to babysit me Eric!"
"I forgot to tell you last night. Remember Gracie Burns from high school, Eric? Well, Jackie kind of suckered me into going to her baby shower."
"I can have ice cream for dinner!" Tiffany put in
"No, you are going to have what's on the list, I put on the refrigerator. It's too casual."
"It's a baby shower, Jackie. Not dinner at the White House."
"I hope you don't mind babysitting Tiffany." Jackie said to Eric as Donna grabbed another blouse that whether not met Jackie's approval she was going to wear it anyway.
"It's no problem," Eric would rather do that, than go to a baby shower. "Did you eat breakfast?" Eric asked Tiffany who was still jumping on the bed.
"No. I want Cheerios! Will you make me some?" She asked Eric
"Sure." He knew where he could take her after breakfast.
Today seemed like a good day, but Eric knew better.
1:00 pm
After Eric and Tiffany had their Cheerios with blueberries they headed out to do some shopping and then stop for lunch so she could finally have her giggle meal which consisted of a small hamburger, small fries, small soda, and a little plastic non US made toy. She wanted the boys toy which was a small car a yellow VW Beetle, the girls was a purple barrette with pink ribbon braided into the barrette.. The volcano was not active today. Eric was happy.
"How was your day so far?" he asked the little girl.
"Great, Eric! You're fun."
"Thanks," he smiled as he drank his Coca~Cola, "You're fun, too."
6:00 pm
"Mommy never lets me have pizza! Steven does, but Mommy says it's not good for me."
"Well, Eric says pizza is a perfectly fine dinner." Screw Jackie's list.
"I take a bath after. You have to put the water on, Mommy won't let me."
It was easier interacting with children than it was adults. Eric wished he could be five years old again. Children were innocence intact, unless you had neglectful parents who made a five year old turn forty.
"Okay. And guess what I got you for dessert?"
"Ice cream?" She had her lollipop earlier when they walking down the streets of Manhattan hand-in-hand.
"Fudgesicles."
"I like those. Mommy doesn't buy them either. She says the sugar will rot my teeth."
"Baby teeth fall out anyway." Eric replied in childlike wisdom.
6:45pm
"Yeah, he is! Bye Mommy!" Tiffany hung up the phone. Jackie was calling to check in and make sure Eric was doing all right.
She had called from her cell phone while Donna talked to Eric on hers.
"How's the babysitting going?"
"Great. She's a great kid."
"That's because she's smitten with you."
"And who better, Donna? What time are you two coming back?"
"Probably around nine. The traffic is going to be murder and this is the most over the top baby shower I've ever seen in my life."
"Okay. I'll see you then. Love you."
"Love you, Eric." Donna beamed into the phone.
7:00 pm
Eric put out the soda and popcorn on the coffee table as he took out one of the video tapes. He bought Tiffany the complete Star Wars trilogy video set.
"You are going to love Star Wars. This is the best movie ever made!"
"Put it on, Eric."
The day was going better than Eric thought it was going to. Not concerning Tiffany she was an adorable, sweet little girl. He felt great, nothing was bothering him, and there were no signs that the volcano was going to bubble let alone erupt.
Somewhere during The Empire Strikes Back tape both Eric and Tiffany fell asleep on the couch. Eric dreaming of rescuing Princess Leia (Donna) and Tiffany dreaming that Darth Vader was beating up Luke Skywalker.
10:00 pm
Donna and Jackie thought it was so charming that Eric and Tiffany fell asleep watching Star Wars that they had to take a few pictures of them. They were upstairs watching a so-called 'Chick Flick' in Jackie's room when Tiffany came in crying.
"MOMMY!"
"What is it, Tiffany? Do you have a stomach ache?" She saw all the junk food they had eaten.
"Steven came home----"
"Oh------" 'f***' Donna said
"And he started beating up on Eric!"
Donna and Jackie who was carrying Tiffany ran down the living room.
"You son of a bitch! How dare you scare her like that!" Eric punched him in the stomach.
"She's not your kid, Forman. I don't want my daughter exposed to you!"
"She's not your daughter!"
"Enough!" Donna got between them. "Hyde-you are a f***ing ass**** you know that-Eric would never harm Tiffany."
Tiffany started crying again, Jackie kissed her on the cheek and sat her on the sofa.
"I want you out of my house, Steven! I don't care where you are going to sleep tonight, but it isn't going to be here!"
"I need some air," Eric said not really looking anyone in the eye except for the frightened little girl on the sofa, He kneeled down to get on her level "I'm sorry, Tiffany."
The smoke was coming out of the volcano. The volcano was bubbling.
"Eric, you need a band-aid." Tiffany said.
"I'll be fine, sweetie." He kissed her on the cheek-but he needed to get out of here.
"Eric, where are you going?" Donna ran after him ignoring Jackie and Hyde's argument going on around them.
"I need some air."
He went to the guest room to throw his sneakers on.
"Eric-"
He breezed passed Donna as he threw his jacket on and decided to run down the stairs instead of taking the elevators.
"I didn't mean to frighten, Tiffany," Hyde felt terrible about that. "I-"
"Steven if you are not out of this apartment in five minutes, I'm calling security to come up and escort you out!" Jackie's eyes burned with seriousness and disappointment as she held onto her crying daughter. "You can sleep with Mommy tonight, okay, peaches."
"What the f***? No. I don't want to know." Donna snapped at him denying her inner soul of not knowing where Eric was going and what he was doing.
10:30 pm
"All your dreams are made when you are chained to the mirror and the razorblade" /Morning Glory by Oasis/Noel Gallagher
Eric did two lines of coke in the restroom of nightclub Elaine's he put his head back against the bathroom door. Feeling a mixture of relief, ecstasy, guilt, shame, and self-disappointment.
"Come on, man, your time is up." Said another guy banging on the door wanting to do his hit.
Eric took his goody bag and put it in the inside zippered pocket of his jacket.
Eric didn't say a word as he opened the door and headed outside for the long and slow walk back to Jackie's apartment.
[welcome back, eric]
I Can Feel It Coming In The Air Tonight
Eric looked down from the mini terrace that was attached to his and Donna's guest room. Friday afternoon turned into Friday night as the sapphire blue sky held a full moon. The New York City skyline was one of the most beautiful in the United States-The Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center to name a few.-the lights making a matrix-esque pattern. The Empire State Building's top was red, white, and blue. The car horns beeping, the people in a constant state of rush, the air seemingly quiet like an empty sports complex or concert hall. Eric felt a calm before the storm. Jackie was tucking in Tiffany in bed (a teenage girl in the other apartment on the floor was going to babysit) and Jackie had tickets for a little experimental (i.e. sanctimonious and boring) play. Despite the noise from down below it still felt quiet. Something had to give, a branch was breaking by the flagpoles on the third floor and Eric heard the snap, a crunch, it wasn't a massive branch but big enough, even a penny dropped from up here could kill the unfortunate person to be standing on ground level. No one was in the way of the branch as it kept falling and falling until it got caught in another part of the tree- being swallowed by its very own 'self'. There was a slight nice breeze up here, not too cold for a jacket, not one of those warm humid breezes that couldn't cool an ant off, but a nice flowing movement in the still night. How did he get here? It's been quite the journey from Point Place-1960 to New York City-2000. Someday that thirteen year old babysitter will be 39 wondering where in the hell did her life go? It was too quiet and Eric almost prayed for a murder below to wake him up out of subconscious thought. You do become the establishment, Eric thought Hyde was fooling himself if he thought he was the 'so cool, so relevant rock and roll producer' even indie was turning corporate Hyde was just as much of a corporate weasel as he was, even if he didn't wear a suit and tie to work. Eric believed the trick was to just stay honest, don't turn phony. They were only people after all. His mind shifted to Donna he couldn't believe he didn't think about her in all that time. He loved her very much and he believed they were soulmates for a very long time. (He couldn't tell anyone when was younger, Red would have sent him to military school and the guys just would have laughed at him everyday to throw him back into his shell.) He did want children, but he accepted what Donna told him, he just assumed she was on the pill and he never wanted to pressure her about children. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was a pulse to the night. It was like being on the Titanic after the iceberg hit and where would a 39 year old white man be in 1912? Not on the lifeboats. They're only for women and children. You will perish with the others and go down with the ship. You had your chance and you blew it, that's it you will die---
"Eric," enter Donna wearing a blue dress with a matching shawl, "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing,"
"Could have fooled me, you were in deep thought. Are you okay?" Donna asked.
"I'm fine, Donna. You look beautiful in that dress." He was going to kiss her when he heard the sound of huffing and high heels join them on the balcony.
"Oh there you two are! Come on, we're going to be late!" Jackie waved her purse in the air.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Donna whispered to Eric, hoping he wasn't having a late reaction to her news.
"I'm fine." But the truth was he wasn't. He felt off-center. Something was stirring in the air tonight and whatever it was he hoped the volcano wouldn't erupt-that his own self wouldn't swallow him up.
Catalyst #1
Eric folded and refolded his play program-was Donna really interested in this boring uninspiring so called piece of theatre? It was about a guy who was popular in high school-star athlete, honor society, dated the bubbly perky blonde girl who wanted to stay at home and have his all-star children but in his adult life he became an alcoholic and committed suicide in front of his kids. It got great reviews (or so the back of the program said) for being quote unquote "edgy". This wasn't edgy. This was stupid and trite. The end showed his widow-who wasn't bubbly and perky anymore and smoked and drank in front of her children. She took his trophies, plaques, and other awards off the shelves.
'Sharp and pointy'
'How can you be held accountable for your actions when you were high as the proverbial kite?'
The volcano was sending out smoke signals to the brain.
[come on, eric-you know you want to]
(no-you don't)
[yes, he does, you stay out of it, you good conscience]
(hold donna's hand, and smile, and don't listen to him)
Donna felt Eric holding her hand; she looked over to smile back at him.
"What's wrong?" She whispered.
"Nothing," he whispered back, "This play sucks."
"I know. Jackie seems interested in it."
"Want to wait in the lobby?" Eric needed to get up, feeling restless.
'Not this, again-why?'
"Sure."
[one hit, eric. come on, don't make me pull out the big guns]
(leave him alone)
The lobby was serving free coffee, tea, soda, and water and crustless sandwiches.
"This is so phony, Donna, I can't stand it."
'That's it, I'm going to tune you both out'
"I know." Donna handed Eric a cup of tea as well as one for herself, but those sandwiches looked like they were left out too long.
"Why do you think Jackie would like a play like this?"
"To see how the popular fall," Donna replied, they sat down at one of the small tables by the door. "Eric are you sure you don't want to talk about something?"
"I'm good, Donna." It was partly true, well, it wasn't, but at that moment he convinced himself that it was.
"Do you want to go home early?"
He wanted to blurt out, 'Yeah, there's absolutely no Coke in St. Louis'-he knew exactly where to get it there. He didn't even seek that knowledge it just fell in his lap. There's always a current user in every school and office in the United States of America. Which is why he was what Red would describe as a smart ass in rehab. Sure there were some nice people there, but even the so called alternative approach was nothing but a colossal joke and he even told his doctors and counselors that. Do they even get to the crux why people f***ing use the stuff in the first place? From the glue sniffers. pill poppers, alcoholics, to the heroin shooters it's all about the high to drone out the useless world.
"No. When is this play going to be over?" A part of Eric wanted to leave Jackie there
Donna looked at her watch, "In ten minutes."
"That's nine minutes too long!" Eric finished the tea waiting for this part of the night to be over.
Jackie took a taxi back to her apartment alone as Eric and Donna wanted to go for a walk after the play. She figured this would be the perfect time to call Steven.
"Hi, Steven, pick up, it's me."
She heard him fumble with the buttons on the other end trying to get a live connection.
"Hi, Jackie." Her voice soothed him.
"Are you---?" Hyde didn't know how to word it without it sounding trivial.
"I'm in a taxi on the way back home. Eric and Donna are going for a walk."
Would it matter if they were in her home or in the taxi with her?
"I can't wait to see you again."
'What about Tiffany?' Jackie thought. She knew he loved her daughter, it was just very difficult for Hyde to show his emotions due to the lack of child rearing skills of Bud and Edna Hyde. Even with the fresh baked out of the oven influence of Mrs. Kitty Forman, Hyde still had a tough time of showing his emotions for fear of the rug being pulled out from under him or being bathed in a bucket of pig's blood while the whole world laughs at him.
Eric and Donna got hungry and stopped at a diner a few blocks from Jackie's luxury apartment.
"That's all you're going to eat?" asked Eric as Donna picked at her toast, while he cut his pancakes with a fork.
"It's all I'm hungry for."
"Come on," Eric cut off a piece of pancake and rolled it in the syrup, "This is better than the sugar free stuff you buy." and held the fork to her mouth, Donna must have been hungrier than she thought or she felt the need for sugar because she ate it.
"Hmm, that's all I need, the toast is fine."
"Well, I need to gain five pounds." Donna smiled, she knew it was the truth, but it was still hilarious anyway.
"I need to get back to my buffness."
Donna laughed over that one. "Eric, when were you ever buff? Tell me."
"For my height and ideal weight that was buff."
"Oh was it?" Donna got up she had to use the ladies room, she stroked Eric's hair behind the ear and kissed his cheek. That could only mean one thing-that she was in the mood. As if he were a fifteen year old boy back in Point Place hoping "tonight would be the night" with Donna so he wouldn't be ridiculed by his friends in the basement circular structure he finished his pancakes before Donna returned to the table.
"Wow, that was quick," Donna came back as Eric was paying the check.
"I was hungry." He took a quarter and bought a lollipop for Tiffany out of the vending machine.
"And I have a sneaking suspicion it wasn't for the pancakes." Donna replied as they left the diner to hailed a taxi back to Jackie's apartment.
Later
Donna put the key that Jackie left for the doorman to give them in the door. The house was quiet and dimly lit and Eric tried to ignore the sounds of silence.
Donna wrapped her arms around Eric slipping his blazer off his shoulders.
"I love you,"
"I love you, too," He whispered in her ear, "Where's the zipper on this damn thing?" Donna guided Eric's hand to the "hidden" zipper in the back of her dress.
They made a clothes trail stretching from the foyer to the kitchen which wasn't bad considering the substantial size of this apartment.
"On the floor?" Eric asked
"You have a problem with that?" Donna replied as their bodies gently fell to the floor.
"No," he didn't know how he did it, but he was able to pull the pink linen tablecloth off the small kitchen table with a magician's precision.
That's how Jackie found them at four am when she went to get a glass of water. Their bodies pretzeled covered in her favorite tablecloth.
She bent down and tapped Donna on the shoulder "Donna! Do you think you and Eric can somehow find your way back to the guestroom before Tiffany wakes up?"
"W-what," Then she remembered where she was, "Oh. Sure."
"And don't forget to take your clothes with you." Jackie didn't mean to sound like she was going to snap. She missed making love with Steven.
" Yeah. I don't know how we wound up here." Donna replied
"The heat of the moment was that intense?" Jackie asked twisting the cap off her Evian.
"Yeah. It's hard to tell by looking at him, " Donna glanced at Eric sleeping soundly, "But that skinny boy can pack a quite a punch."
Jackie stifled a laugh as she went back to her bedroom before her daughter came in the kitchen and found them like this.
Catalyst #2 (Thy name is Steven)
7:45 am
Eric woke up to the springs in the bed going up and down and Donna wasn't even in the room.
"ERIC! Wake up!" Tiffany took it upon herself to jump on the bed
"Tiffany there you are! Sorry about that, Eric." Donna opened the guest bathroom door and came out in her robe.
"It's okay," he looked down to make sure he was dressed he didn't remember how he got back into the guest room-but he had his St. Louis Rams sweatshirt and gray sweatpants on and he didn't remember how he did that either. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep after an exceptional lovemaking session with his fiancée on the kitchen floor. "Morning, Tiffany."
"Donna! You aren't going to wear that blouse are you?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Um-are you guys going somewhere?" Eric asked
"Yeah! You have to babysit me Eric!"
"I forgot to tell you last night. Remember Gracie Burns from high school, Eric? Well, Jackie kind of suckered me into going to her baby shower."
"I can have ice cream for dinner!" Tiffany put in
"No, you are going to have what's on the list, I put on the refrigerator. It's too casual."
"It's a baby shower, Jackie. Not dinner at the White House."
"I hope you don't mind babysitting Tiffany." Jackie said to Eric as Donna grabbed another blouse that whether not met Jackie's approval she was going to wear it anyway.
"It's no problem," Eric would rather do that, than go to a baby shower. "Did you eat breakfast?" Eric asked Tiffany who was still jumping on the bed.
"No. I want Cheerios! Will you make me some?" She asked Eric
"Sure." He knew where he could take her after breakfast.
Today seemed like a good day, but Eric knew better.
1:00 pm
After Eric and Tiffany had their Cheerios with blueberries they headed out to do some shopping and then stop for lunch so she could finally have her giggle meal which consisted of a small hamburger, small fries, small soda, and a little plastic non US made toy. She wanted the boys toy which was a small car a yellow VW Beetle, the girls was a purple barrette with pink ribbon braided into the barrette.. The volcano was not active today. Eric was happy.
"How was your day so far?" he asked the little girl.
"Great, Eric! You're fun."
"Thanks," he smiled as he drank his Coca~Cola, "You're fun, too."
6:00 pm
"Mommy never lets me have pizza! Steven does, but Mommy says it's not good for me."
"Well, Eric says pizza is a perfectly fine dinner." Screw Jackie's list.
"I take a bath after. You have to put the water on, Mommy won't let me."
It was easier interacting with children than it was adults. Eric wished he could be five years old again. Children were innocence intact, unless you had neglectful parents who made a five year old turn forty.
"Okay. And guess what I got you for dessert?"
"Ice cream?" She had her lollipop earlier when they walking down the streets of Manhattan hand-in-hand.
"Fudgesicles."
"I like those. Mommy doesn't buy them either. She says the sugar will rot my teeth."
"Baby teeth fall out anyway." Eric replied in childlike wisdom.
6:45pm
"Yeah, he is! Bye Mommy!" Tiffany hung up the phone. Jackie was calling to check in and make sure Eric was doing all right.
She had called from her cell phone while Donna talked to Eric on hers.
"How's the babysitting going?"
"Great. She's a great kid."
"That's because she's smitten with you."
"And who better, Donna? What time are you two coming back?"
"Probably around nine. The traffic is going to be murder and this is the most over the top baby shower I've ever seen in my life."
"Okay. I'll see you then. Love you."
"Love you, Eric." Donna beamed into the phone.
7:00 pm
Eric put out the soda and popcorn on the coffee table as he took out one of the video tapes. He bought Tiffany the complete Star Wars trilogy video set.
"You are going to love Star Wars. This is the best movie ever made!"
"Put it on, Eric."
The day was going better than Eric thought it was going to. Not concerning Tiffany she was an adorable, sweet little girl. He felt great, nothing was bothering him, and there were no signs that the volcano was going to bubble let alone erupt.
Somewhere during The Empire Strikes Back tape both Eric and Tiffany fell asleep on the couch. Eric dreaming of rescuing Princess Leia (Donna) and Tiffany dreaming that Darth Vader was beating up Luke Skywalker.
10:00 pm
Donna and Jackie thought it was so charming that Eric and Tiffany fell asleep watching Star Wars that they had to take a few pictures of them. They were upstairs watching a so-called 'Chick Flick' in Jackie's room when Tiffany came in crying.
"MOMMY!"
"What is it, Tiffany? Do you have a stomach ache?" She saw all the junk food they had eaten.
"Steven came home----"
"Oh------" 'f***' Donna said
"And he started beating up on Eric!"
Donna and Jackie who was carrying Tiffany ran down the living room.
"You son of a bitch! How dare you scare her like that!" Eric punched him in the stomach.
"She's not your kid, Forman. I don't want my daughter exposed to you!"
"She's not your daughter!"
"Enough!" Donna got between them. "Hyde-you are a f***ing ass**** you know that-Eric would never harm Tiffany."
Tiffany started crying again, Jackie kissed her on the cheek and sat her on the sofa.
"I want you out of my house, Steven! I don't care where you are going to sleep tonight, but it isn't going to be here!"
"I need some air," Eric said not really looking anyone in the eye except for the frightened little girl on the sofa, He kneeled down to get on her level "I'm sorry, Tiffany."
The smoke was coming out of the volcano. The volcano was bubbling.
"Eric, you need a band-aid." Tiffany said.
"I'll be fine, sweetie." He kissed her on the cheek-but he needed to get out of here.
"Eric, where are you going?" Donna ran after him ignoring Jackie and Hyde's argument going on around them.
"I need some air."
He went to the guest room to throw his sneakers on.
"Eric-"
He breezed passed Donna as he threw his jacket on and decided to run down the stairs instead of taking the elevators.
"I didn't mean to frighten, Tiffany," Hyde felt terrible about that. "I-"
"Steven if you are not out of this apartment in five minutes, I'm calling security to come up and escort you out!" Jackie's eyes burned with seriousness and disappointment as she held onto her crying daughter. "You can sleep with Mommy tonight, okay, peaches."
"What the f***? No. I don't want to know." Donna snapped at him denying her inner soul of not knowing where Eric was going and what he was doing.
10:30 pm
"All your dreams are made when you are chained to the mirror and the razorblade" /Morning Glory by Oasis/Noel Gallagher
Eric did two lines of coke in the restroom of nightclub Elaine's he put his head back against the bathroom door. Feeling a mixture of relief, ecstasy, guilt, shame, and self-disappointment.
"Come on, man, your time is up." Said another guy banging on the door wanting to do his hit.
Eric took his goody bag and put it in the inside zippered pocket of his jacket.
Eric didn't say a word as he opened the door and headed outside for the long and slow walk back to Jackie's apartment.
[welcome back, eric]