Chapter Three
Richie and Fonzie sat at the kitchen table amid a flurry of bread wrappers and sandwich fixings, finishing up the last of their late supper. The radio played quietly in the background.an old Elvis song.and it put the guys at ease. For the moment, memories of happier days filled their heads.
"It sure was nice of Mom and Dad to bring Danny to the movies," Richie remarked as he began putting the cold cuts and mayonnaise in the refrigerator. "Do you know which film they were going to see?"
"Yeah.Doctor Doolittle I think. The one where the guy goes nutso and starts talking to animals." Fonzie swept his crumbs into a neat little pile and disposed them into the wastebasket.
"But Fonz.you used to talk to Spunky. Does that make you nutso?"
"Of course not. Spunky was cool. He used to talk to me."
"Really? Well then how come I could never hear him?" Richie sat back down at the table.
"Because, Red, it takes cool to understand cool."
At that moment, the kitchen door flew open, and a tear stained Joanie burst through the door. "Where's Mom?" she sobbed, blowing right past the guys and straight into the living room.
"Joanie?" Richie ran after his sister, with Fonzie following. "Mom and Dad took Danny to the movies. What's wrong?"
"Oh great!" Joanie sat down on the couch and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"Joanie," Richie sat next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "What happened? Did you and Chachi have a fight?"
"Yeah.kind of. I.I don't really want to talk about it." Normally talking things out with her brother made Joanie feel better, but in this particular case, she didn't think it would do any good. She knew exactly what her brother's advice would be. Don't worry about me. Go be with your husband. But the problem was, Joanie wasn't sure if wanting to stay behind to help her family was the real reason she didn't want to go with Chachi.
"Oh, well.okay." Richie loosened his grip on Joanie's shoulder, visibly dejected. "You can talk to Mom, then, when they get home."
"Daddy?" A little voice startled the trio in the living room, and they all turned back towards the stairs. Richie Jr. stood at the bottom of the steps, clutching a yellow blanket. "I had a bad dream." He had tears in his eyes.
Richie jumped up from the couch, and ran to scoop up his son. "That's ok, buddy. Why don't we read a story?" They went upstairs.
Joanie sat silently on the couch, keenly aware of Fonzie's presence barely a foot and a half away from her. She knew it was inevitable. Fonzie could drag information out of anyone. So she waited silently for him to begin his probe. She didn't have to wait very long.
"Want to tell me what's going on, Shortcake?" Fonzie didn't even look at Joanie, he just hiked his boots up on the coffee table and continued to look straight ahead.
Joanie didn't speak for a moment, then gave in. "Chachi's going on tour."
"That's great!" Fonzie smiled. "So why are you crying?"
"He wants me to go with him."
"Well, that's not exactly unheard of. After all, you are married."
Joanie sighed. "Fonz, I can't leave my family right now. Richie needs me."
" Joanie." Fonz began, and by his tone it was obvious what was coming next. Joanie beat him to the punch.
"I know what you're going to say. Richie doesn't need me. He has Mom and Dad. And you. I just wouldn't feel right going halfway across the country right now after everything that's happened. I would feel like I'm deserting my family when they need me the most."
"You know, Joanie, when the priest said for better or for worse, he wasn't just whistling Dixie," Fonzie said.
Joanie narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What?"
"The whole idea of marriage is to stick together.in good times and in bad. That doesn't just mean the good and bad times in your relationship. It means the good and bad involving the people around you. Do you think Lori Beth would be happy knowing that this is causing a rift between you and Chachi?"
Joanie stood and walked over to the fireplace. "But it's got nothing to do with that, Fonz!"
Now it was Fonzie's turn to look confused. "Didn't you just say."
"I don't know. That's the thing, I just don't know." Joanie walked back around the coffee table and sat down in her father's armchair.
"You're not making any sense, Joanie."
"I know I'm not. I'm so confused, Fonz. I've just been thinking so much lately.about how short life is, you know? And I think I've come to a conclusion."
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
Joanie took a deep breath. "I don't think I should've married Chachi."
Fonzie just sat on the couch, at a loss for words. Conflicting emotions flew around his brain like cars in a demolition derby. He knew he should tell her that she was being ridiculous, that of course marrying Chachi wasn't a mistake. But instead he just sat there, mouth agape.
Just then the front door opened, and Danny bounced through, still carrying a half eaten bag of popcorn. Howard and Marion followed behind him.
"Are you sure you don't want some of my popcorn, Mr. C?" Danny offered the bag, but Marion snatched it out of her husband's grasp.
"Howard, don't you dare. You already ate dinner. What happened to your diet? If you're hungry I'll fix you some nice celery sticks." Marion took off her long coat. She noticed her daughter and smiled. "Joanie, dear, what are you doing here? Where's Chachi?"
Joanie, who was already on the edge of tears again, lost her composure at the mention of Chachi's name. She abruptly stood, hand over her mouth, and ran upstairs.
"What was that all about? Fonzie, what happened?" Howard asked.
"Just a little discord in the otherwise harmonious marriage of Joanie and Chachi." Fonzie swallowed. Hard. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
"Oh, dear. I'd better go talk to her." Marion went up stairs, and Howard, seeing a clear shot at the popcorn, plopped his hand into Danny's bag. Before he could even get the handful to his mouth, Marion shouted down from the second floor. "Howard, you stay out of that popcorn!"
Howard sighed, and released his handful of popcorn, causing Danny to giggle.
Later that night, after Danny was tucked into bed, Fonzie stayed up, sorting through some boxes. It had only been a few months since he'd moved out of his apartment at Kahuna Village, and most of his belongings were still packed away. The small house, only blocks away from the Cunninghams', was perfect to raise his son in, with a spacious yard and a playground just down the hill. Fonzie was actually considering getting a dog for Danny soon. Little Richie had always wanted a dog.maybe they could share it. That was one bright side to this nightmare.at least Fonz had his best friend back. Even though Danny and Richie Jr. were four and a half years apart in age, Fonzie hoped they would be friends eventually.
Fonzie found a box marked "Salvation Army" in handwriting that wasn't his own. It took him a moment to remember where the box had come from. It was filled with books that had belonged to Richie and Joanie many years earlier. Suddenly, something Joanie said earlier flashed through his mind. I wish I had something tangible. Something I could look at, something I could hold in my hands to remind me. Fonzie picked up the familiar blue book with the gold printing on the cover. He settled down on the couch to read. There has to be something in here about Lori Beth, he thought to himself.
Joanie lay on her parents' couch, the flickering glow of the television lighting the otherwise dark room. Chachi hadn't come looking for her in the five hours since she'd stormed out of their apartment, a fact that both surprised and disappointed her. She'd talked briefly to her mother about the situation, glossing over specifics for fear of getting the same lecture as she'd gotten from Fonzie.the same lecture that deep down, she knew she deserved. But the truth was, the more she thought about it, the more she believed that marrying Chachi Arcola had been a huge mistake. He hadn't done anything wrong. There was no reason for her to be feeling this way. It just WAS. And she couldn't shake it.
Joanie stared at the television, not watching anything on the screen. Just a little over a week ago, everything was fine. Joanie had no complaints. She was a teacher at Patton High.she had a loving family, and a great husband. And then Lori Beth died. Suddenly, Joanie was reevaluating her entire life. The fact remained that Joanie had had a crush on Arthur Fonzarelli since she was fifteen, but tried to suppress it because she knew her parents would never approve. That, and she thought Fonzie didn't feel the same. But last year, when Fonzie accidentally read her diary and discovered her true feelings for him, he admitted that he too harbored feelings that were less than platonic. But once again, their relationship was never realized because of how her parents may react. So she went on with her life, and married Chachi.
"How could I be so unfair to Chachi?" Joanie asked herself. "How could I marry someone I wasn't truly in love with?" Amid thoughts of how short life really was, it occurred to Joanie that denying her feelings for Fonzie was keeping her from being happy. Isn't that what life is really about? Joanie wondered. That aside, though, the first thing she needed to do was discuss things with Chachi. That was, if he hadn't left on tour already.
Richie and Fonzie sat at the kitchen table amid a flurry of bread wrappers and sandwich fixings, finishing up the last of their late supper. The radio played quietly in the background.an old Elvis song.and it put the guys at ease. For the moment, memories of happier days filled their heads.
"It sure was nice of Mom and Dad to bring Danny to the movies," Richie remarked as he began putting the cold cuts and mayonnaise in the refrigerator. "Do you know which film they were going to see?"
"Yeah.Doctor Doolittle I think. The one where the guy goes nutso and starts talking to animals." Fonzie swept his crumbs into a neat little pile and disposed them into the wastebasket.
"But Fonz.you used to talk to Spunky. Does that make you nutso?"
"Of course not. Spunky was cool. He used to talk to me."
"Really? Well then how come I could never hear him?" Richie sat back down at the table.
"Because, Red, it takes cool to understand cool."
At that moment, the kitchen door flew open, and a tear stained Joanie burst through the door. "Where's Mom?" she sobbed, blowing right past the guys and straight into the living room.
"Joanie?" Richie ran after his sister, with Fonzie following. "Mom and Dad took Danny to the movies. What's wrong?"
"Oh great!" Joanie sat down on the couch and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"Joanie," Richie sat next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "What happened? Did you and Chachi have a fight?"
"Yeah.kind of. I.I don't really want to talk about it." Normally talking things out with her brother made Joanie feel better, but in this particular case, she didn't think it would do any good. She knew exactly what her brother's advice would be. Don't worry about me. Go be with your husband. But the problem was, Joanie wasn't sure if wanting to stay behind to help her family was the real reason she didn't want to go with Chachi.
"Oh, well.okay." Richie loosened his grip on Joanie's shoulder, visibly dejected. "You can talk to Mom, then, when they get home."
"Daddy?" A little voice startled the trio in the living room, and they all turned back towards the stairs. Richie Jr. stood at the bottom of the steps, clutching a yellow blanket. "I had a bad dream." He had tears in his eyes.
Richie jumped up from the couch, and ran to scoop up his son. "That's ok, buddy. Why don't we read a story?" They went upstairs.
Joanie sat silently on the couch, keenly aware of Fonzie's presence barely a foot and a half away from her. She knew it was inevitable. Fonzie could drag information out of anyone. So she waited silently for him to begin his probe. She didn't have to wait very long.
"Want to tell me what's going on, Shortcake?" Fonzie didn't even look at Joanie, he just hiked his boots up on the coffee table and continued to look straight ahead.
Joanie didn't speak for a moment, then gave in. "Chachi's going on tour."
"That's great!" Fonzie smiled. "So why are you crying?"
"He wants me to go with him."
"Well, that's not exactly unheard of. After all, you are married."
Joanie sighed. "Fonz, I can't leave my family right now. Richie needs me."
" Joanie." Fonz began, and by his tone it was obvious what was coming next. Joanie beat him to the punch.
"I know what you're going to say. Richie doesn't need me. He has Mom and Dad. And you. I just wouldn't feel right going halfway across the country right now after everything that's happened. I would feel like I'm deserting my family when they need me the most."
"You know, Joanie, when the priest said for better or for worse, he wasn't just whistling Dixie," Fonzie said.
Joanie narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What?"
"The whole idea of marriage is to stick together.in good times and in bad. That doesn't just mean the good and bad times in your relationship. It means the good and bad involving the people around you. Do you think Lori Beth would be happy knowing that this is causing a rift between you and Chachi?"
Joanie stood and walked over to the fireplace. "But it's got nothing to do with that, Fonz!"
Now it was Fonzie's turn to look confused. "Didn't you just say."
"I don't know. That's the thing, I just don't know." Joanie walked back around the coffee table and sat down in her father's armchair.
"You're not making any sense, Joanie."
"I know I'm not. I'm so confused, Fonz. I've just been thinking so much lately.about how short life is, you know? And I think I've come to a conclusion."
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
Joanie took a deep breath. "I don't think I should've married Chachi."
Fonzie just sat on the couch, at a loss for words. Conflicting emotions flew around his brain like cars in a demolition derby. He knew he should tell her that she was being ridiculous, that of course marrying Chachi wasn't a mistake. But instead he just sat there, mouth agape.
Just then the front door opened, and Danny bounced through, still carrying a half eaten bag of popcorn. Howard and Marion followed behind him.
"Are you sure you don't want some of my popcorn, Mr. C?" Danny offered the bag, but Marion snatched it out of her husband's grasp.
"Howard, don't you dare. You already ate dinner. What happened to your diet? If you're hungry I'll fix you some nice celery sticks." Marion took off her long coat. She noticed her daughter and smiled. "Joanie, dear, what are you doing here? Where's Chachi?"
Joanie, who was already on the edge of tears again, lost her composure at the mention of Chachi's name. She abruptly stood, hand over her mouth, and ran upstairs.
"What was that all about? Fonzie, what happened?" Howard asked.
"Just a little discord in the otherwise harmonious marriage of Joanie and Chachi." Fonzie swallowed. Hard. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
"Oh, dear. I'd better go talk to her." Marion went up stairs, and Howard, seeing a clear shot at the popcorn, plopped his hand into Danny's bag. Before he could even get the handful to his mouth, Marion shouted down from the second floor. "Howard, you stay out of that popcorn!"
Howard sighed, and released his handful of popcorn, causing Danny to giggle.
Later that night, after Danny was tucked into bed, Fonzie stayed up, sorting through some boxes. It had only been a few months since he'd moved out of his apartment at Kahuna Village, and most of his belongings were still packed away. The small house, only blocks away from the Cunninghams', was perfect to raise his son in, with a spacious yard and a playground just down the hill. Fonzie was actually considering getting a dog for Danny soon. Little Richie had always wanted a dog.maybe they could share it. That was one bright side to this nightmare.at least Fonz had his best friend back. Even though Danny and Richie Jr. were four and a half years apart in age, Fonzie hoped they would be friends eventually.
Fonzie found a box marked "Salvation Army" in handwriting that wasn't his own. It took him a moment to remember where the box had come from. It was filled with books that had belonged to Richie and Joanie many years earlier. Suddenly, something Joanie said earlier flashed through his mind. I wish I had something tangible. Something I could look at, something I could hold in my hands to remind me. Fonzie picked up the familiar blue book with the gold printing on the cover. He settled down on the couch to read. There has to be something in here about Lori Beth, he thought to himself.
Joanie lay on her parents' couch, the flickering glow of the television lighting the otherwise dark room. Chachi hadn't come looking for her in the five hours since she'd stormed out of their apartment, a fact that both surprised and disappointed her. She'd talked briefly to her mother about the situation, glossing over specifics for fear of getting the same lecture as she'd gotten from Fonzie.the same lecture that deep down, she knew she deserved. But the truth was, the more she thought about it, the more she believed that marrying Chachi Arcola had been a huge mistake. He hadn't done anything wrong. There was no reason for her to be feeling this way. It just WAS. And she couldn't shake it.
Joanie stared at the television, not watching anything on the screen. Just a little over a week ago, everything was fine. Joanie had no complaints. She was a teacher at Patton High.she had a loving family, and a great husband. And then Lori Beth died. Suddenly, Joanie was reevaluating her entire life. The fact remained that Joanie had had a crush on Arthur Fonzarelli since she was fifteen, but tried to suppress it because she knew her parents would never approve. That, and she thought Fonzie didn't feel the same. But last year, when Fonzie accidentally read her diary and discovered her true feelings for him, he admitted that he too harbored feelings that were less than platonic. But once again, their relationship was never realized because of how her parents may react. So she went on with her life, and married Chachi.
"How could I be so unfair to Chachi?" Joanie asked herself. "How could I marry someone I wasn't truly in love with?" Amid thoughts of how short life really was, it occurred to Joanie that denying her feelings for Fonzie was keeping her from being happy. Isn't that what life is really about? Joanie wondered. That aside, though, the first thing she needed to do was discuss things with Chachi. That was, if he hadn't left on tour already.