Chapter Two
Kelso, Donna and Jackie got out of the truck and walked up to the Forman's front door. After a few seconds of hesitation Hyde finally knocked lightly on the door. The three friends all broke into grins when they saw Eric's mother standing in front of them. Five years hadn't changed Kitty Forman much, maybe a few more wrinkles and a few more streaks of gray in her hair. But that was it. She had the same caring eyes, the same bouncy hair and sweet expression.
"Well, Steven, Michael, Donna!" she exclaimed immediately, "It's been such a long time since I've seen any of you." she stepped forward to embrace each person standing outside her home.
"It's good to see you, Mrs. Forman." Hyde told her earnestly as she ushered them inside. Donna felt waves of anxiety roll over her. Once the shock of seeing her wore off Eric's parents, how would they react to her return to Point Place? After all, she had walked out on their son when she was supposed to get married to him. She wondered what they thought of her now.
Mr. Forman was sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper. When he footsteps approaching he set down the paper and looked up at the three people his wife had brought inside his house.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked in surprise. His eyes fell upon Donna and she could see the contempt he felt for her boring into her. She winced and lowered her gaze. She couldn't look at her almost-father-in-law.
"They came back to get Jackie and Eric back." Kelso spoke up, smiling brightly at Mr. Forman, who remained almost stone-faced. Kitty Forman was a different story.
"Oh, dear." she said quietly, shaking her head. She looked at Hyde and Donna with a pained expression.
"What's wrong?" Donna asked, her voice more shrill than usual, "They're both okay right?"
"Oh, they're fine." Kitty Forman assured her, "It's just that they've-"
"It just that they've gotten over the two of you walking out on them." Red finished for her, then gave the group a half smile, "But you can see them tonight. They're going to be at a party at that new club a few blocks away. Your little foreign friend owns it now."
"Fez?" Kelso asked in amazement, "Wow, I didn't see that coming."
"The party starts at seven tonight. I'm sure the two of them will be shocked to see you." Red added.
"But..." Red silenced Kitty with a look and she changed her mind about what she was going to say, "You three really need to come have dinner with us. We have a lot to catch up on. How about six-thirty tomorrow night?"
"Sounds good to me," Kelso spoke up, "I've always loved your cooking, Mrs. Forman."
Kitty Forman flashed Kelso a smile that didn't reach all the way up to her eyes. Donna's journalist's instinct told her that Red and Kitty Forman were holding something back from them. But instead of trying to find out what that something was, she said good-bye to the older couple and got into the truck to drive back to the hotel that Donna, Kelso and Hyde were staying in.
"Red, how could you set them up like that?" Kitty demanded angrily once Hyde, Donna and Kelso had left.
"Aw, come on, Kitty, they deserve to have a rude awakening." Red countered, not looking the least bit guilty, "I mean, god dammit, after everything Donna put Eric through and after what Hyde put Jackie through, it's only fair that they should suffer."
"Oh dear." Kitty whispered, "This is terrible."
Red leaned back in the chair, as calm as his wife was tense, "I'm sure it's just a heat of the moment thing anyway." he tried to convince Kitty, "Donna and Steven have made it very clear that they don't have it in them to stay in one place for long. Given time, everything will go back to normal and it will be like Donna and Steven never came back
Donna admired how attractive both Hyde and Kelso looked in their black dinner jackets. She had decided not to go to the party that night and would stay at the hotel so she could get a portfolio of her best writing together for a job interview at the local Point Place newspaper office. She was really excited that she had only been in Point Place for one day and had managed to get in touch with a new place where she might get to work.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Hyde asked before he and Kelso left the hotel room.
Donna shook her head, "I can't face Eric in front of so many people. I want us to be alone when I see him for the first time." Even Donna's excitement at the prospect of seeing Eric again was suppressed by the idea of seeing him without the privacy the two of them deserved.
"If you're sure." Hyde said uncertainly. After he discovered where Jackie was going to be that night, nothing could stop him from going to see her. A shiver of anticipation crawled up his spine when he thought about seeing his beautiful ex-girlfriend for the first time in so long.
"Come on, Hyde." Kelso said impatiently, "We don't want to miss anything."
Hyde and Kelso said good-bye to Donna and exited the hotel room. Once they were gone, Donna pulled a picture out from underneath the pillow of the bed she was sleeping in at the hotel. It wasn't her own smiling face that caught her eye, but the smiling face of Eric Forman. She closed her eyes and remembered. She remembered the first time Eric had kissed her, the first time he told her he loved her and the first time they had made love. There had never been anyone else in her life like Eric. There may have been other men in her life, but she didn't feel the same way for them that she did for Eric. There were two different men she had met through work she had gone on a few casual dates with, but neither of them meant anything to her. She and Hyde had even tried dating for about two weeks. It hadn't taken them long to realize that there was no romantic chemistry between them. Not like she had had with Eric.
"Eric!" she whispered to herself, staring at Eric's face in the picture, "I've always loved you. And I know there's no way you could have stopped loving me. We're going to be together again." she pushed the slightly wrinkled picture back under the pillow and pictured what her reunion with Eric would be like.
Hyde entered the club that was crowded with men in tuxedos and women in long dresses. He saw a lot of people he recognized from high school and even Fez. He made a mental note to go talk with his old friend later but for now there was only one thing he wanted to do. His eyes scanned the crowd of people until he saw the person he was looking for. The sight of Jackie Berkhart after five years took his breath away. There she was, in an emerald green dress that emphasized every curve. Her hair was a little longer that it had been when he last saw her, but it was still the same long, dark, silky hair that caressed her shoulders in loose waves. Quickly he made his way over to her.
After tapping her on the shoulder and feeling the electric shock of her touching her warm skin, she turned around and looked into her ex-boyfriend's eyes. She just stared at him in shock, her mouth opened slightly in surprise.
Not thinking of anything better to do, Hyde held out his hand, and looked deep into Jackie's eyes, "May I have this dance?" he asked softly and held his breath as he awaited her answer.