(Scene 1)
"I told you to talk to him, not scream bloody murder at him." Phoebe stated, sipping her tea as she glared at Helga.
They had gone into New York for the day. Phoebe decided Helga needed a break from Hillwood. That and the small fact that Arnold was coming over to hang out at the house helped.
"I didn't yell at him." Helga said, drinking her Irish cream coffee.
Phoebe continued to glare at her. "I've known you since we were three... you yelled at him."
"Fine!" Helga gave in, not in the mood to deal with it. "I yelled at him. Go figure."
"Ok, say it with me... "Arnold, I love you. Please come live with me in my cabin by the sea"... repeat." Phoebe said.
Helga glared at her.
"I hate him."
"Ha! As much as a fat kid hates ice cream." Phoebe said, purposely throwing in certain words.
"Phoebe!" Helga placed a hand on her forehead.
"I'm sorry." Phoebe said. She sighed. "You can't blame me."
"No, I can't." Helga covered her eyes. "I honestly didn't mean too. Why would I? I just... something was screaming in the back of my head."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. All I could feel was danger. I guess I don't want to get to close too him." Helga looked at Phoebe and shook her head.
"Helga... you might have to get close to him." Phoebe said slowly.
Helga looked at her long time friend and nodded. "I know that."
They sat in silence trying to find the right words for each other. Phoebe was the first to speak up.
"I never really figured out how this all started."
"It all happened so fast. One second I was staring into his eyes, those big green eyes, which were just so confused and so hurt. I really only went up with him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. I was gonna slip out after he fell asleep. I mean... I cared too much for him to let him have a drunken night and spend hundreds of dollars on the mini bar. I was sitting next to him and he was talking to me, I don't even know what he said. And then suddenly I found myself kissing him." Helga had begun gently stirring her tea and had a small smile playing on her lips. "I know it doesn't make much sense or any sense at all, but I felt safe with him. I felt like he really needed me, you know? I knew better, but all I wanted was that moment. God... I was so stupid."
"You weren't stupid. You've liked him since forever." Phoebe said. In some twisted idealistic way it made sense. Arnold was heartbroken enough to have the need to escape; Helga was in love with him enough to let the situation be taken advantage of.
Phoebe shook her head. The webs they weave.
(Scene 2)
"For a psychiatrist she sure needs more mental help then most." Gerald commented as he and Arnold sat on the couch relaxing from taking the kids out all day.
"Shut up man." Arnold said, rubbing his temples.
"It's true." Gerald shrugged.
"Come on, she pops back into my life after ten years. Instead of being a normal person and concentrating on my son, I have to go and try to make his mother fall in love with me." Arnold began massaging his temples. "I would have yelled at me too."
"What do you mean try and fall in love with you?" Gerald asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"I didn't say that." Arnold said quickly.
"Yes you do."
"No I didn't."
"Arnold, I just heard you!" Gerald said. "You fell in love with Helga?"
"No!" Arnold said. He stopped rubbing his temples and looked at his best friend. "I don't think I did at least."
"Dude..." Gerald started. There just weren't any words.
"Look, I don't know, ok. She looks better then she did in high school, if that's at all possible. I love just talking to her and when she laughs, I mean wow." Gerald looked at the man with the cornflower hair. His green eyes were sparkling and his lips were curled in a sweet smile. "I mean, I haven't felt anything like this in a long time."
"So you magically fell in love with Helga in two weeks?" Gerald asked, confused.
"No..." Arnold said. "I don't love her... but I'm starting to definitely like her like her."
"What are you... ten?" Gerald asked, more amused then anything.
"You're a bad friend, ya know that." Arnold said glaring at Gerald.
"I just think maybe you're... I don't know... being slightly dramatic. I mean, ok, like you've been wanting a family since your grandpa had the tiny little stroke four years ago. And after Lila got married... forget it you went off the deep end. And now, by some cosmic miracle you now have a son."
"You're saying that I only like Helga because I want a family?"
"Let's be honest, Helga comes back after like a million years, with a son... your son. Helga was like obsessed with you throughout grade school and high school. It's like perfect instant family." Gerald concluded.
Arnold looked at him and shrugged. "Maybe your right."
"You want me to be wrong." Gerald said after a few minutes. He smirked and gently hit Arnold's shoulder.
"Yeah, well, I like thinking you have no idea what you're talking about."
(Scene 3)
Phoebe smiled as she paid for her purchases and walked out of the store and shot a scolding look at Helga who was currently taking a drag on her cigarette.
"Do you know how bad that is for your health?"
"Shut up Phoebe." Helga said, her mind relaxing. "I am way too stressed out to face this by myself."
"You are not by yourself Helga." Phoebe said.
"Inside I am." Helga said, taking another long, satisfying drag.
"You are WAY too dramatic. Put it out." Phoebe said. Helga sighed and took another quick drag before putting it out in a near by garbage can.
"I liked it better when you were a smoker."
"I was fifteen and if I remember correctly someone, I will not say who, is the reason I started."
"Sure, blame me for all your problems."
"I didn't say who." Phoebe smirked.
They continued to walk the streets of the shopping capital of the eastern states. They each had various amounts of clothes and trinkets. Helga sighed and smiled as they pasted a sports store. Dead center was an overly large football.
"Do you think it would work out?" She whispered softly.
"What?" Phoebe asked suddenly confused.
"If Arnold and I actually did get married." Helga said. Phoebe looked at her strangely.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Helga looked at Phoebe and she shook her head.
"I'm sorry... Riley and the whole are "you two getting married?" I guess... I don't know." Helga began mumbling towards the end.
"I don't know Helga." Phoebe shrugged. "It all seems somewhat—"
"Impractical." Helga said dryly.
"No, Helga... it's not impractical. You've been in love with him forever. Riley needs his father; you and Arnold both know that. Arnold's not in love with you... yet." Phoebe looked at Helga who was seconds from walking into a lamppost. Phoebe stopped and sighed. "Arnold does care about Riley and you. Maybe... maybe he's not to far from loving you."
"Why would he love me?" Helga asked, averting her eyes.
"Why wouldn't he?"
Arnold sighed as he sat in English. Helga was avoiding him at all costs. Gerald had been finally allowed to talk to him again. It had been a week and he was trying to figure out how to make everything better. He could have shot himself for being so cruel to Helga. Not that she was giving him a chance to apologize or even tell her how he felt.
Granted he wasn't sure how he exactly felt.
"Alrighty class... I want to take some time and read our poems." Arnold stared at the young teacher in front of the room. They had a week left of school and he was still hung on teaching the class.
A collective groan swept across the classroom. Arnold noticed one hand raised in the air.
"Helga, my favorite poet." The teacher smiled. "Come grace us with the beauty that is your writing.
Arnold watched the blonde girl walk to the front of the classroom. She took great caution not to look at him.
"My poem is called Pink Silk and White linen." She cleared her throat. "Lay me down on linens of whiteWrap pink silk around me tonight
Say your prayers and kiss the dirt
Say it's love and make it hurt
As I dream, I'll dream of you
Say the things you want me too
Pray the lord my soul to keep
Falling hard, to fast to sleep
If I wake before you leave
Emotions always on your sleeves
Say good bye, make it true
Let me think sweet things of you
When the sun rises in the East
Make believe that we're at peace
As the world is kept so hidden
We'll always have of pink silk and white linen."
The class gave an airy applaud. Helga smiled as their teacher clapped the loudest.
"Ms. Patacki, wonderful as usual! Would you like to explain the basis of your poem?"
"It's..." Her blue eyes wandered until finally landing on Arnold. "It's just like telling someone or something to let a person hold on to things that they thought were important to them."
"Very nice imagery. Any questions?"
"Why are you telling the person to kiss dirt?" A kid shouted out.
"It's a metaphor... kissing the ground someone walks on." Her eyes seemed to stay with Arnold's.
"What about the sun rising?" A girl next to Arnold mused.
"It represents next morning, a new morning." Helga moved her eyes and smiled at her teacher. "Thank you."
"Brava Helga! Ok, Jeanie, you're next." Arnold couldn't take his eyes off of Helga who sat and put her head down. She sighed.
Arnold casted his eyes back at his desk. He wanted to say so much, but there was nothing to say.
Helga looked over at him; he was the missing puzzle piece to her entire life. If she only knew what he was thinking.
Jeez, she felt nausea.
Helga sighed and looked at the beautiful pond that laid in the middle of the park. She shook her head and looked over to Phoebe who was re-folding the clothes she bought for Lilith and Tai.
"Did he tell Gerald anything about me?"
"Not really." Phoebe said looking up. "You and him need to talk. Talk. No screaming, no bring up past resentments. Just talk. You only have a few more days."
Helga nodded. "Ok."
Phoebe smiled. "Ok."
(Scene 4)
Helga sat on the couch with Arnold. They were currently locked in the office.
Phoebe had not been joking.
"So..." Arnold started. Helga gently started to rub her temples.
"Let's just concentrate on Riley, ok?" Helga asked.
"Ok." Arnold said.
"How about on holidays we'll come to Hillwood and over the summer he'll come down? It'll save me money." Arnold stared at her and nodded.
"Sounds great."
"Good."
Silence surrounded them again. Helga stood up and began pacing. She often enjoyed pacing when things weighed heavily on her mind. Arnold's eyes followed her movements.
He looked down and sighed.
"I'm so sorry Helga."
This made a confused Helga, freeze and look back at the man.
"For what?" She asked, saying a silent prayer.
"For hurting you." He scratched the top of his head and stood up grabbing her shoulders softly. "I can't tell you that I've been in love with you since we were kids and that I always knew we would be together."
Helga looked away, nodding slightly.
"But I can tell you that I haven't felt this way about someone in a long time." He gently pushed some hair out of her face. "I don't know how it happened, but I know I don't want to go away."
Helga stared at him and began laughing softly. "You sound so corny."
Arnold stared at her and rolled his eyes. It took a few minutes but Helga regained composure and smiled.
"I don't want it to go away either." She said, with an airy tone.
"I think if we just forget about oh, everything... we'll be ok."
"It'll be hard, but you might be right."
"Let's just start over, ok?" Helga nodded as Arnold stuck out his hand. "Hi, my name is Arnold."
"Helga." Helga shook his hand.
They stared at each other and began laughing.
(Outside of the office door)
"They're laughing." Gerald said as he listened closely to the door.
"Why?" Phoebe asked suspiciously.
"I don't know. Maybe she killed him?""
"Is it an evil "mahaha" laugh, or a happy laugh."
"I want to say happy."
"Maybe they finally came to some... solution." Phoebe said, putting her own ear to the door.
"Think they would make it?" Gerald asked.
"Only time can tell, right?"