These characters are from the sweat-beetled brow of Craig Bartlett... lucky stiff. Rated T cause I felt like it, and some characters might end up nude later. We'll see... Once upon a time, I wrote a little story called "The Strangers In My House" which got me banned from FFN. Don't know why, and no real explanation was ever given other than some vague reference to "Posting Violation". Hmmm... Therefore, I now present this completely other story for your consideration which is in no way related to that other story.
Enjoy.
Part Three - One For The Road
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Arnold had reached to part of his narrative that required motion, and so on his feet, he paced like Jefferson addressing the Continental Congress, broad sweeps of his hands to reenforce some minor point or another that Lila might have missed. For her part, she'd drawn up her legs under her, sitting semi-lotus style as she dutifully absorbed his tale. Your life is like opera, she thought. I know the story and all the players even before the curtain rises, but enjoy the show all the same. And like an opera, this was a story doomed to endless repeats, but as a mere spectator she was helpless to save the tradgic hero.
The momentum that his fury granted him spent, he seemed to wilt a little as he once again looked to Lila, her applause needed to bring the performance to a close. Giving a small sigh, she looked at him with the clearest blue eyes and said, "Arnold... your sister is a bitch."
Flustered, he retorted, "Lila! No she's not. You gotta understand-"
"ARNOLD!" she said emphatically, then dropping her tone, "Your sister... is a BITCH. She's a spoiled little brat, and nothing you will ever do is going to make her happy. Period." She had spoken.
Furrowing his brow, he went back to his pacing, "Lila... you... you just don't understand. San Lorenzo is nothing like America, even in the cities. She grew up in a pyramid for Pete's sake! I mean, how can you expect her to put up with Hillwood after something like that?"
"Then tell me this, "she asked softly, "Why is it she that she only takes out her frustrations out on you? Your sister isn't having any trouble adjusting to life here. Have you actually WATCHED her navigate the mall with her little friends?"
Arnold began to take on a look of panicked doom. He knew the truth of this matter, as did his parents, as did his aunt Mitzi, but none were willing to confront this reality lest it smash the happy facade of a reunited family they'd all worked so hard to erect.
Standing, she walked over and placed her hand gently on his cheek, turning his face fowards hers, "Arnold, she doesn't hate living here, she just hates you."
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Arnold and Gerald standing with Phil after a boat race in the city park.
Arnold and several of his school friends proudly displaying a citation from the Mayor for their work on the adopt a highway program.
Arnold, Gerald, Helga, and Lila posing in costume for the premier of Attack Of The Clones, Jedi knights all. Light sabres feld high, their voguing meant to keep villainy at bay.
Arnold, Phil and the Packard on the day that Arnold got his license.
There ewere another forty pages of the scrapebook, but Miles couldn't bare to look at them. Where he'd left a babe, he was returned a young man, and a proud one at that. I'm proud of how you grew, thought Miles, but you grew up without me.
"I should have been here." he said to no one in perticular, unaware that that he did indeed have an audience.
"Phil did a bang up job raising him," said Mitzi as she stepped fully into his study, "Just like he did you."
Miles countn't think of anything to say, he just sat fanning the pages of the scrapbook through his fingers as if trying to absorb the life of his son in one sitting. Even when there was no one to blame, he blamed himself. Settling herself on his worn sofa, Mitzi considered him for a time before saying, "It's never too late to start being his father, y'know." which earned her a cross look.
"It's not like we were just off on vacation for forteen years." he said defensively, "We would have been here if we could have. That's just the way things worked out."
"We're not talking about then, we're talking about now." she said patiently, "What're you doing NOW to be his father?"
Angered, a dozen sharp retorts filled his head, but he knew his aunt way too well to even think of using any of them.
"Mitzi," he pleaded, "I'm not gonna pretend that this isn't really complicated, it's just... I... I don't really know him, so I don't know where to start with him. He's..." his voice dropped, "He's not the baby picture I carried with me all those years, y'know?"
Mitzi nodded sagely, "And you two weren't the dogeared photo he kept under his pillow either. Y'know, he never gave up on you. Me, Phil, and Gerti... well, we just assumed the worst, but not Arnold. He knew you were out there, somewhere. He always kept hoping."
Miles closed his eyes, trying to imagine the transition of his son from young boy to young man, his own father tending the forge.
"Tell me something, why'd you take the Packard away from Arnold?" she asked like a teacher quizzing an especially dense pupil.
"Oh come on, Mitzi. You can't be serious! That's not the kind of car that you just let a teenager use as a daily driver, even a responsible one. It's-" but she stopped him dead with a look.
"Miles, what do you see when you look at the Packard? I'll tell you what Arnold sees. He sees the car that took him on just about every adventure he and Phil ever had. He sees the car he learned to drive in, with a SPOTLESS record. He sees the car your father gave him on his deathbed." she let her words hang in the air a little, "... and you took it away from him."
Miles looked flustered, "But... but we gave him a set of keys to Stella's car. He can use it whenever he pleases. He seemed all right with it."
"Was he?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, "You're not likely to get a tantrum out of Arnold like you will out of Carmella." and he stiffened at the reference to the fearsome firebrand that shared their house. His mind flashed back to that moment, as Arnold stood beside him in the garage and handed over the keys. He saw it all so clearly now. Not understanding on his son's part, only acceptance. He was merely doing it to make his father happy and his face showed.
"That's why he never uses her car, isn't it?" but he really wasn't expecting and answer from her. He and Arnold had both grown up with that car, but it represented VERY different things to each of them.
"I, uh... Look, I was gonna keep my nose out of this at first. I figured you'd sort this out on your own. But what with the girl being such a handful and all. Y'know what I'm sayin'..." she said, trying to give some comfort. Miles nodded absently.
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Arnold sat limply on Lila's sofa as she massaged his shoulders. She'd crossed that line and finally come right out and incanted that unspeakable fact that Arnold worked so hard to keep buried within him. His sister Carmella hated him. Not really all that surprising, really. One minute the center of their parent's world, the next the 'other child'. Even now, after all she had done to torment him, he couldn't muster the energy to reciprocate in kind. He just didn't have it in him.
"Maybe..." he whispered, "Maybe if there was something that I could point to... Something wrong I did to her to bring this on myself. Maybe them I could deal with this." and closed his eyes.
Snaking her arms around his neck, Lila hugged him from behind and said softly, "I know what you need. You want some tea? I'll make you some tea." and immeadiately scurried off. Impassive for a bit, he finally stood and walked over to the picture of the four of them. Thinking back on it, that night was probably the happiest they'd all been in a long time, and had come very close to healing the rift between he and Helga. Close, but it was Lila's attempt at the afterlife that had done the trick.
While she'd demostrated the most grief with his passing, in truth they all missed Gerald in ways that words couldn't desribe. Their odd little group was a perfect encapsulation of his life. Gerald, the steady rock to which his life was anchored, his girlfriend Lila, who represented all of those silly childhood obsessions he'd outgrown, and Helga who'd grown into adulthood with him, and represented everything he hoped for this future. Earth, water, fire, air. Winter, spring, summer, fall. And then Gerald was taken from them...
"Arnold!" Lila called from somewhere in the house, "Could you come here a minute, please?" Sighing he began a listless exploration of her where about, another call out to him, and he finally spotted the light from her bedroom through the half opened door. He could just make out the soft strains of some tune she was humming as he entered, no doubt busied with some minor chore. What he saw beyond that door nearly floored him. Grinning wider than any person should, Lila Sawyer stood beside the bright, flat screen of her iMac, which held the image of one Helga G. Pataki, as the webcam's eye mounted on the top of the screen no doubt treated her in kind.
"Hey!" she said breathlessly, as Arnold bolted for the computer table, his hand up and running a longing finger across the webcam image of the love of his life. Despite a dozen to herself, Helga was already tearing up, and Arnold looked close to joining her. Trying to remember to look at the tiny camera's eye as he spoke, Arnold kept stroking the image of her as he spoke, "Oh god, I miss you so much! When are you getting back? Did you get the flowers that I sent? How's Montana?"
"Um, okay I guess. Nana's feeling better, so I think we'll be coming back on Monday. How are you?" as she tried to brush away tears, pretending that hair was in her eyes. His hands continued to trace light circles across her image as he fought to maintain his composure.
Spotting her cue, Lila smiled, "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'll just go check on that tea." and left the young lovers to their solace.
To Be Continued
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Okay, in planning this story out, I thought I'd go with short, tight chapters and get to play around with some experimental narrative. And before anyone freaks out, this isn't an Arnold/Lila story, so no whining. Next chapter, we take a little look inside Mile's head and learn a little more about Carmella (thanks Shinji). Stick with this, I think you'll be surprised.
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