~AIN'T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD?~



Part 9:









"AR-Nold and HEL-Ga...SIT-Tin' IN a TREE........KAY--Eye--ESS--ESS--Eye--In--GEEEEE!....."







The thought came unbidden to her mind. If the old Harold Berman could see them now...

They'd never hear the end of it.



Well, they were sitting in a tree...that much was true, even if the rest of the childish song didn't exactly apply.

It wasn't a large tree--somewhat short and squatty, with a few thick branches hanging low to the ground and curving off into dark leaves at the ends. They sat there on the lowest branch, side by side, suspended about three feet above earth. People, mostly couples or small groups of friends, were spread out all across every inch of grass in front of them on blankets or in lawn chairs. The huge screen sat several yards away, showing the evening's entertainment.



Arnold leaned over slightly to whisper. "Sorry this tree was the only place we could find to sit. I didn't know we were supposed to bring our own chairs..."

"Nah, that's okay. We can see and hear just fine from here," she replied. "Besides, it's different--kinda fun." It really was. The bark of the tree wasn't too rough, and the branch was wide enough so that they could sit comfortably, and the extra height allowed them to see over everyone's heads. They were practically alone in the 'back row', you might say--but all in all, they had pretty good seats.

And considering who was with her,

Helga couldn't complain.

...Although, she also wouldn't have minded seeing a different movie. The one playing at the moment was an extremely melodramatic 'film noir' type...meaning it was black and white and, in this case, cheeeeeesy all over. But fortunately, they had both seen it a few times, and could laugh at most of the corny dialogue.

"This thing gets stupider every time I see it," Arnold commented about halfway through. "Just listen to them...Who talks like that?!" He watched thoughtfully for a moment. "This part isn't too bad, but that girl says something I never can understand.....I always wondered what."





(The brunette on the screen was clasping her hands, muttering partly to herself and partly to her co-star standing nearby.

--"Je ne sais pas pourquoi, ...mais je...je vous aime. ...Oui, c'est vrai. Je t'aime. En fait, je T'ADORE. Là, je l'admets!" she said almost inaudibly.)





Arnold felt a light nudge on his arm. He turned to face Helga, sitting a short distance away. There was a very frank, nonchalant look on her face...one that suggested she wanted to tell him something.

"I love you," she said.

He blinked, taken aback. His throat tightened...surely he hadn't heard that. His hearing was playing tricks--yes, that must be it. "Ex--excuse me?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.

She sighed, and began to repeat herself carefully as if addressing a small, ignorant child. "Are you deaf? I...Love...You!"







*************************

A/N: Yes, this is horribly short, but it was the only way to end with any kind of cliffhanger (if you can call it that). Just to make it up to you, the next chapter is muuuuuuuuch longer, and the question of "Where'd That Title Come From?" will finally be answered. Hooray!

And my deepest, most sincere apologies to anyone from Milwaukee. No offense was meant; I've never actually been to Wisconsin and for all I know, Milwaukee is a thrill-a-minute land of excitement.



To PhebgaMFM: Maybe you're right. Then again, it was a very casual, friendly bet and they're college students. And five extra bucks is a lot of money to every poor, destitute college student I've ever met. :)

And Beady: I can't believe you called me a booger, ya' little snot!