Chapter 9
Engaged
(takes place after the end of chapter 7)
By the time Eric came downstairs he saw Megan and Hunter through the backdoor window as Hyde drank a strong black coffee at the kitchen table.
"Where are they off to?" Eric asked, resisting the urge to go outside.
Megan was growing up and he had to let it happen, but he was going to have to talk to her sometime today about what exactly happened between her and her mother. They couldn't be out of each other's lives! That was insane and there was absolutely no reason for it.
"Out for a stroll."
That wasn't entirely true, and Hyde didn't want to lie to his best friend, but after Donna's extreme overreaction of catching his son and their daughter in bed and their engagement, it was for the best. He also wasn't sure if Hunter and Megan were going to accept his offer, so all in all, the right thing to do was not to tell Forman, who might say he'd keep it between them, but he could not be certain of their private, bedroom talk. And he also wanted those kids to have the happy ending.
"I'm sorry, man, for Donna going down your throat earlier this morning." Eric poured himself another cup of coffee.
"It's all right." Hyde replied, well it wasn't, not really. But it wasn't about them anymore; it was about Hunter and Megan.
"I didn't even have time," Oh, no here comes Chatty Forman, "to process the fact that OUR kids are going to get married!"
"Relax, Forman, they're not going to get married tomorrow." Hyde replied, he couldn't wait to go back home and be in Jackie's arms.
'I hope she doesn't freak out about Hunter being engaged.'
"I know," Eric replied exasperated, "I guess, I better clean this mess up."
"You better," Hyde smirked, "I'd hate to answer to your Wife."
"Don't." Eric simply added as he got up to take care of the breakfast dishes.
Hyde knew the 'rules'. A man never talked badly about another man's significant other. No matter how bitchy she might be.
"I'm going out for a walk," Hyde walked past Eric to get his coat that was on the hook in the living room, "See you."
'How lucky for you, you bastard.'
Let Me Count The Ways
Megan missed these strolls with Hunter when he'd push her wheelchair around the block and sometimes they'd stop in the alleyway to feverishly kiss one another. Like either one of their parents many decades earlier.
"Hunter, your father is one cool guy." Megan replied after their first kiss stop.
It's not that Eric wasn't "cool", and she loved her dad very much, but Eric Forman would not have slipped his daughter and future son in law a few bucks for the unofficially approved purpose of making love at one of the local motels.
"Do parents usually give their kids money to fornicate in a motel room?" Hunter asked dryly.
"I think you're missing the point."
Hunter got up from Megan's lap, "Do you want to?"
"Don't you want to?"
"Megan, you know I love you, but your mother—"
"She's NOT here, I think that was the point of your father's offer. Hunter, if we cave, give in to her, then it plays right into my mother's theory of we're just kids who fool around with no substance who have what she thinks of as a so-called engagement."
'I HATE her.'
"Okay. Do you want me to call a taxi from a payphone?"
"Yeah. But before you do, sit on my lap again."
Hunter couldn't help being shy even with his fiancée. He wished he could lose all of his walls for her. Megan put her arms around and him and kissed him on the neck.
"I love you, Hunter and I cannot wait for the day we get to be Husband and Wife."
And although marriage scared most men, it didn't scare Hyde's son one bit. He loved the concept of a together union and what it stood for. His mother and father had a great marriage, yes they weathered storms but they came through them stronger and better. Jackie and Hyde really worked hard to create a wonderful and stable family environment for their children. The only time the foundation crumbled was when Tiffany was in the throes of adolescence not knowing if she loved her adoptive father or not, causing a minor friction in the family.
"Me too, Megan." He replied quietly as he kissed her softly on the lips.
Donna was still upstairs, sitting on their bed reading a dime store paperback when Eric stood in the doorway.
"Hi Donna," Eric said not knowing whether to go into the room or turn around and go back downstairs.
"Hi Eric," Donna replied, as she put the blue ribbon bookmark over the page, "Lie down next to me."
Eric smiled as he took off his shoes and lied down next to his Wife.
"Do you want to go under the covers?" He asked, not out of his own selfish beastly needs, but just to hold her if that's what she needed.
"No, I'm fine. It's quiet down there."
"That's because NO ONE else is here. I hope you aren't going to hide upstairs now because you and Megan---"
"I don't want to talk about Megan anymore." Donna replied coldly.
It hurt her a great deal that their daughter despised her so.
Eric didn't want to get Donna all riled up so he let the subject gracefully drop.
"Did you call---?"
She couldn't help but cut him off.
"Yes, I actually got lucky and have an appointment for tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. AND Eric, NOT A WORD to anyone."
He swallowed hard, because he knew what Donna really meant was: Don't Tell Our Daughter.
"I won't," he let his words hang in the air. Like his time with Mark, wanting to say desperately more, but the circumstances around him prevented him from doing so.
"How'd it go with Mark this morning?" Donna asked
Eric couldn't tell if she really was interested or if she was just trying to deflect from the Megan situation. Still, he had to give his Wife the benefit of the doubt.
"All right, could've been better, but—are you sure you want to hear this?" He asked
"Yes, Eric, I do. I'm sorry for what I said to Mark, next time you see him will you tell him that?"
"Donna," Eric sat up in their bed, "I don't know if there'll be a next time."
"I thought you just said it went all right?"
"It did, but our conversation was very strained," Eric jumped out of bed, "I know, where it is!"
"You know where what is?"
"What I was trying to find this morning." Eric said from their closet
"Oh, the photo album?"
"Yes, Donna!" Eric emerged carrying a box that was labeled, "old books".
"Don't put that dirty box on the bed."
Eric dropped it on the floor, turning his head so he wouldn't sneeze from the rising dust cloud that formed.
"I remember now! You were in a hurry when we were cleaning two years ago and you told me to just dump everything in this box."
"If I remember, we were having company over for dinner and I believe my exact words were, Eric, you can temporarily dump everything in this box and fix it later."
"Here's my photo album with my Star Wars stickers on it! And all of our PPH Vikings yearbooks."
"Let me see," Donna grabbed one of their yearbooks.
Eric grabbed his faded blue jean color photo album littered with all kinds of Star Wars stickers from his youth. He opened up to the first picture where Kitty took one of him and Donna dressed up for a school dance in the driveway.
"Donna, were we ever that young?" Eric asked out loud.
'We look SO nervous in these pictures!'
"Yes," Donna looked at herself from the 1977 newspaper staff class picture, all black and white, but she could picture her long red hair, boyish tops (well this one was one of her more fancy feminine ones, the red Oriental styled blouse), and worn clogs. "We were Eric. Hey, look at you!"
"Oh god! No one ever looks good in their yearbook photos! Except for you." He kissed her on the cheek.
'And Jackie'. But he couldn't say that out loud
"Donna," Eric closed his photo album, "Maybe, I shouldn't give this to Mark after all."
"What are you talking about?"
"Our conversation was very strained."
"So? You can't give up on him like that; it's going to take time. So are you thinking showing him some of our old photographs will be a bridge that connects him to you?"
"Somewhat." He replied quietly
"Then let Mark see the pictures. He's probably very confused right now."
"Yeah, but he's not a six year old boy shivering in the corner, he's a young man. A former solider, Donna."
"And he still can't be confused? Eric, you two just met each other, you two aren't going to be bosom buddies overnight."
He sighed, "I suppose you are right." Eric got up from the bed
"Where are you going?" She was in the mood to reminisce with her Husband over all their old pictures.
"Hyde should be back soon and I guess I have to make lunch for the kids?"
"If you don't mind, Eric. I just want to relax and do nothing all day."
He tried to smile, but there were too many burdens on his shoulder's that it was very difficult to manage one coming from his lips.
Hour Later
Hyde saved the day by picking up the phone and dialing for a pizza rather than even think about eat anything cooked by Sara Lee Forman. When Eric was at the door paying for the pizza, Megan and Hunter came in through the back entrance.
"Hi, Hyde." Megan tried not to smile too enthusiastically, but it was his money that made making love in the afternoon with Hunter in an otherwise seemingly forbidden motel room possible.
"Hi, Megan. I thought we could have lunch before we go to the airport, Hunter." Hyde said
"That's f-fine, Dad," Hunter stopped talking when Eric came through the kitchen with two pizza boxes. "Um, Dad---Eric--" Hunter tried to speak in a loud voice.
"DAD—HYDE! That's how you do it, Hunter." Megan spun her plate around.
"What's up?" Hyde and Eric asked in unison as everyone gathered sans Donna who was still upstairs going through the time machine in their bedroom.
"Dad, I'm sure—wait-um, Eric—Megan and I are—um---engaged."
"We know you already know, but we wanted to make an official announcement." Megan said, as she held Hunter's hand.
"That's great," Hyde got up and kissed Megan on the cheek and gently slapped his son on the shoulder, "What do you think, Forman?"
Eric at the moment was not happy but he didn't want his daughter to dispose of him also, but between the awkwardness with Mark, Donna's attitude with their daughter, along with hopefully "non cancerous" lump on her breast, Eric really was not happy for his daughter and his best friend's son. He loved them both, they were wonderful kids who never caused any real trouble, but he could not be really happy over their engagement at the moment. But what could he say as to not upset them?
The thought of this pizza at the moment also sickened his stomach, so he pushed his plate away before going up to his daughter and his future son-in-law.
"I love you, Megan." He kissed her on the cheek and gave her a hug. He didn't want to lie and demean any of the people including himself in this room. "You too, Hunter."
Eric knew Hunter didn't like PDA's except when they came from his daughter, so he extended his hand for him to shake. Which suited the reserved Hunter Hyde, just fine.
'Daddy—you aren't—crying on the inside.'
"I love you, too, Dad," Megan paused, "Can Hunter and I eat in the living room?"
"Sure." Eric said
"And we have to be at the airport in an hour." Hyde gently reminded.
"I know, Dad." Hunter replied.
"Real smooth, Forman."
Hyde ate his slice of pizza, Jackie would have killed him to see him eating this P.H.A (post heart attack) but that was years ago, and even his doctor said anything as long as it was in moderation was fine.
"I just can't be happy for them right now," he whispered, "It's not that I don't support their engagement, Hyde."
"You don't have to explain anything to me."
"Yeah, I do. I don't want you think I don't care for Hunter---"
"Forman, you just told my son that you loved him five minutes ago, I get it. Is this what being married to Donna has turned you into?"
Hyde thought they never should have remarried, but then it made adopting Megan possible that fell in love with his son, so he wasn't about to question the hands of fate.
"How many times are you going to put my Wife down today?!"
Eric tried not to raise his voice, he really did NOT want to have this argument, but he was on his last nerve today. And if Hyde was in the way of his aggravated mood than so be it.
"We were all friends longer than she's been your Wife and that's counting both of your marriages to her, so don't throw that in my face, Forman."
"I don't know what THAT has to do with anything, Hyde. But Donna is just going through a lot right now, and people do grow up and change you know. I know you've made it your life's mission to stay cool and Zen after all these years, but your son's severe shyness should explain a whole lot to you."
'Uh-Oh'.
"Are you judging me for how I'm raising my son?"
Hyde couldn't help but think of the hysterics Eric would be going through if he knew where the kids went this morning with his money and his blessing.
"No—and I don't want to have this argument. But, Hunter shouldn't be shy like he is."
"And this is my fault? Jackie's?"
"No—I'm just saying---your kids needed a father not a friend."
Hyde refrained from pounding his fists in the table or worse yet Eric's face. He didn't want to ruin Hunter and Megan's goodbye moment.
"This is SO hysterical coming from you, you coddled Megan from the day you first saw her, and I'm not saying she didn't warrant all that affection in the beginning, it probably helped her in her recovery, but she's a young woman now—and you're going to say Hunter is severely shy because I am his friend? What planet are you on, Forman? I've grounded him several times but I've also known when to let go. A lesson you and Donna 'your Wife' could learn."
"What am I doing?" Eric stood up and went to the refrigerator to get some leftover-boxed pie (from the grocery store!) out.
"I don't know you tell me." Hyde figured he'd be good and have one slice of pizza.
"I'm taking it all out on you, Hyde and that's not right. Not that I appreciate your digs on Donna, she really is going though a lot."
"Fine," Hyde washed down his pizza with a can of soda, "Now cut the pie, Betty Crocker."
'You always have to be Zen don't you? When are you going to grow up, Hyde?!'
He remembered that he left Mark's phone number in his car, and would have to get it later. Eric sighed as he did his best to handle another forced upon him silence.
Hunter circled an ad in the newspaper with a red pen and handed it to Megan after they finished their pizza and snuck in a few kisses.
"How's this?" he asked
"Part time, office assistant. Perfect for students? They probably mean college students." Megan sighed
"Well, you won't know unless you call them."
"Yeah, I found this one in my section of the paper. Part time, data entry processor—that doesn't scream handicapped does it?"
Megan wasn't insecure much, but there were times when that's all that other people saw was her wheelchair.
"No, honey, it doesn't. Try that one, too. I'll IM you as soon as I get home. --providing Jackie doesn't take my computer away."
Megan put down the paper and motioned for Hunter to snuggle closer to her on the sofa. Being in his arms was the best feeling in the world for Megan. She'd marry him now if she could.
"Your Mother won't. She might cry a little—well maybe a lot, but she won't call our engagement so-called."
"I suppose. I wish you and Donna could work things out."
"It's not happening, Hunter. I have no real feelings for my mother at all, she could die for all I care."
Megan whispered as she didn't want her father or Hyde to hear from the kitchen, but Donna was on the stairs and heard the remark, and as soon as Megan and Hunter locked their lips in a young passion the way her and Eric USED TO DO she quietly turned around and walked back up the stairs.
And who was to blame?