Hello my glorious, fine, splendid journal!
Arnold has asked me on a date! Like an official date!
Oh, be still my fast-beating heart, how it throbs for your presence even though we are officially an item and I see you all the time so it isn't like it's a huge deal anymore but OH, how it IS! How I long for another night by your side with just the comfort of your warm embrace and even warmer heart. How I yearn for that moment when our eyes will meet from across the table amid the candlelight and the world stands still around us for the briefest of moments... a perfect second shared between the two of us that I can't wait to experience for real like the real young adults that we are becoming.
This date is gonna be BOMB.
Arnold said to meet him at the boarding house and we'll walk to Garden DeLucci- the new Italian restaurant that just opened up in town -around seven on Saturday and we'll have dinner like real couples do, just the two of us. No double dates, no chaperons, nobody hanging around us to poke and prod at us as we go about our business. Just the two of us and a romantic atmosphere to surround us as we fine dine and discuss even the most trivial of things about our day. Sure, it might sound boring, but I couldn't look more forward to it. I've wanted to go on a real date with Arnold ever since I can remember and a romantic night out with him at Garden DeLucci seems to fit the bill. I just hope it's going to be everything I could expect and more.
I can just picture it now...
There I am, wearing a pink dress from Olga's stash of clothes that my parents have never thrown away and have boxed instead. It fits me perfectly and hugs to my body in all the right places. I look like a princess, like a jewel from the bottom of the sea, like an angel sent down to earth.
Arnold is wearing a suit, and he looks dashing. He looks so professional but classy and elegant as though he were a rich man ready to close a business deal and save all of humanity while doing it. He looks handsome as my Prince Charming would and I can't take my eyes off of him.
And neither can he take his eyes off of me.
He sees me, his eyes locked on myself as I blush slightly and look away in modesty while pulling out the fan I've brought with to fan at my face to hide the reddening cheeks of my countenance. He then approaches me, an arm reaching out to offer himself to me, an offer for me to take his arm as we walk to Garden DeLucci as we've no car to get there which is fine by me- I've worn flats for this very occasion.
Also because Arnold is still shorter than me despite his growing growth spurt. He'll get there, but for now, I'll accommodate.
Anyway, so we get to the restaurant which is dimly lit by that of candles on every table and candles everywhere the eye can see. "Dinner for two?" The hostess asks us and we share a look of adoration towards each other before turning towards the woman and nodding our heads as she gestures for us to follow her through the ornately decorated and adult-oriented restaurant but we don't care- we're in love and that's all that matters in this restaurant. Couples surround us as they hold hands across the small tables and speak sweet nothings to each other before their food arrives. It's exactly the kind of place we wish to be in. The perfect place for our first official date.
We sit at our table, Arnold pulling the chair out for me in true gentlemanly fashion, and I take my seat as he takes his just ahead of me. We sit facing each other, our eyes deep into the others, his a sea of green that I'm lost in and wish never to be found again. Him, floating in the pools of blue that are my irises, a sense of coolness surrounding him at the sight. We stare at each other for a long while, soaking in our love for one another before the waiter comes to our table and asks us what we'd like to drink.
Arnold asks for a tea, his favorite drink at restaurants as they usually infuse it with raspberries. Me? A cool glass of water to go with whatever pasta I'm sure to have. The waiter leaves us alone again to look at our menus but we can't stop looking at each other, Arnold reaching out for my hand from across the way.
"Helga, my pet," he says while stroking my hand with his thumb, "How I've longed for a moment like this with you."
I smile, my heart leaping in my chest as I nod my head and then move to rest my chin on the back of my free hand and stare over at him. "I know. I as well have longed for this, yearned for this very moment. A moment alone with the love of my life."
"And who might that be, my angel?" He asks and I roll my eyes while looking back at him.
"You, doi," I say and he chuckled while squeezing my hand.
"I know, I know, I just wanted to hear you say it again," he says and I swoon at his words as the waiter appears again to ask us what we'll have.
I order lasagna. He orders spaghetti. Traditional, but sure to be good in this fancy of a restaurant.
When our meal comes, we dine finely with poise and composure in the most distinguished of ways. Arnold smiles over at me midway through the meal and I glance up from my lasagna with a strange look on my face.
"What?" I ask.
"Would you like to try some?" He asks and I nod my head with a grin as he takes a lone noodle into his mouth and then offers the same noodle to me, lady and the tramp style.
I lean over the table and take the noodle into my mouth as we begin to suck in inward as our mouths become closer and closer until our lips finally touch and we share a longing kiss.
We pull away then, chuckling to ourselves at the moment we just shared. "Sorry, I just wanted to try that once," Arnold said and I shrugged my shoulders, glad that we'd tried it as it ended up being a sweet moment between the two of us.
"I liked it," I stated.
We finish our meal and the waiter asks if we want dessert which of course we say yes to. We order the chocolate-est of cakes and get two spoons with it to share, though Arnold insists on feeding me with a smile on his face.
"My love, let me feed you," he says and I raise my brow.
"Feed me?" I ask and he nods his head.
"So that I might pass this cake through those gorgeous lips of yours," he says and I blush at his words while nodding my head allowing him to surpass the first bite of cake passed my lips.
"Mmm," I hum at the taste of the chocolate delight that enters my mouth and Arnold soon takes a bite himself to taste it's glorious chocolate infused goodness.
"This is some good cake," he compliments and I nod my head in agreement.
"You're telling me," I said but he sets his fork down and looks deep into my eyes.
"But nothing is as good as being here with you tonight, my sunshine, my light, the twinkle of my eye." He says and I place a hand over my heart.
"Oh Arnold..."
We finish our date and Arnold picks up the check like a true gentleman. He then helps me into my coat and takes my hand as we exit the establishment; headed back to the boarding house to wind down from our most romantic of first dates that any 11 and 12 year old have ever had in their life.
Once we reach Sunset Arms, we stand out on the stoop as a fresh set of fluffy snow begins to fall from the sky and I look up as a few snowflakes fall to set on top of my lashes as Arnold reaches out to brush them off of me.
"I love the snow," I say and Arnold's eyes remain on me as he speaks his next words, words he's never said before until now.
"I love you."
"Y-you do?" I stutter out as he nods his head.
"You're perfect, Helga G. Pataki. My perfect match- my soul mate. I'm so happy to be with you. Come here," and with that, he pulls me in to share a passionate kiss with me, one full of love and care like I've always dreamed.
…...And THAT'S how our date will go. I just know it. The prize of fine dining mixed with romance and ambiance all together under one roof only to end under the beauty of the night sky.
I can't WAIT until Saturday.
Helga G. Pataki
I told Phoebe about my upcoming date with Arnold, and she seemed more concerned than excited for me which was honestly a little disappointing.
I sat on her bed while she sat on the floor, papers for various homework assignments spread out among her like the petals of a flower where she was the center. She held in her hand a pencil that she kept tapping her lip with while in deep thought, though I was quick to bring her out of it.
"So Arnold asked me out," I said with a wiggle of my brow. "On a date."
She glanced up at me from her work. "Oh?" She asked slightly surprised. "That took him quite a while to reach such a decision as to ask you on one."
"Cripes, I know, right?" I stated with a small laugh while leaning back on her bed onto the heels of my hands. "I mean we've hung out plenty of times, but this is gonna be our first real DATE."
"And are you sure you are prepared for such a date?" Phoebe asked suddenly and I raised my brow at her odd question.
"Well DOI I'm ready, what kind of question is THAT?" I demanded and Phoebe merely shrugged her shoulders while returning her attention downward at her papers.
"Please don't take my concern for animosity, Helga, I simply want to make sure you are braced for that of your very first date. It will be one that marks an important first in your life." She said with empathy and I nodded my head while narrowing my eyes in her direction.
"I know," I said rather rudely, "that's why I'm EXCITED like you should be for me."
"I'm sorry, Helga. It isn't that I'm not excited for you. First dates are something to be celebrated, indeed." Phoebe said with a fond smile, probably remembering that of HER first date which she went on ages ago back in the summer shortly after we returned from San Lorenzo.
But Arnold clearly wanted to take things slow. We spent most of the summer just hanging out and getting used to the idea of transferring from bully to victim to boyfriend and girlfriend. It was a lot to take in and dates were sort of the last thing on our minds. Well, his, I suppose. I of course had been thinking about it the whole time.
But I wasn't some jerk. I respected his wishes and knew it wasn't my place to ask him out on a date if he wasn't ready yet to go on one. And besides, I kind of wanted HIM to be the one to ask ME because we both knew that I was ready to go on a date with him, but the matter of him was always up in the air. Waiting for him to make that first move proved to make the moment even THAT more special.
I just wished Phoebe saw it that way and saw how important this moment truly was for me.
"So when is your big date, Helga?" Phoebe asked then, pulling me from my thoughts and I turned to face her and answered her question.
"Tomorrow, Saturday at 7. We're going to that new Garden DeLucci place on Elm." I said with a smile though Phoebe just nodded her head.
"A family restaurant. That's... different. I would have suspected you two would have chosen something more romantic like Chez Pierre or Chez Paris."
My eyes widened at her statement as I took in her words. "FAMILY restaurant? Like... kids and teens and... and FAMILIES? No candles and romance up the butt?" I asked and Phoebe shrugged her shoulders.
"Honestly I'm not exactly sure. I haven't had the opportunity to go to Garden DeLucci as of yet." She said and I let my arms buckle so I could fall back onto the bed and lay down while my head began to spin.
"We just wanted to try someplace different," I mumbled while pulling one of her pillows to lay on my face and continued speaking into it. "The name sounded like a true Italian restaurant."
"I'm not sure what you said, Helga." Phoebe stated and I pulled the pillow away from my face and leaned upward.
"What?"
"Could you repeat that? The pillow was blocking your words from projecting to my ears."
I frowned and projected to her loud and clear. "I THOUGHT that it would be a nice ITALIAN RESTAURANT." I sighed and rolled over to lay on my stomach, my hands moving up to rest under my chin as I lay. "Italians are supposed to be really romantic with their love of wine and all that stuff, aren't they? I thought it'd be a good fit...And something DIFFERENT than Chez Paris for once in a blue moon."
Phoebe nodded her head, taking this in before responding. "It still might be, you have yet to experience the place so if I were you, I'd go forth with the date and give it a chance. After all, it isn't about where you eat, it's about whom you're eating with."
She had a point. It wasn't about all that atmosphere and ambiance and music and candlelight and fancy waiters who only spoke the language of their restaurant and all that... it was about being with Arnold and only Arnold. I had to focus on that and not the fact that we'd be eating at some a-typical restaurant that probably served less-than-original cuisine while children screamed bloody murder all around us. At the very least, they might have some pretty cheap deals.
Either way, I was just lucky to be finally going on my date with Arnold and I had to look at it like that or I'd just be disappointed. Maybe the date WASN'T going to turn out like I'd written before with everything going exactly as planned and perfect to the nine the way I'd imagined, but it would be perfect for US and that was what was important. Like Phoebe said, this was my first date and an important first in my life. I had to take that at face value and know it wouldn't be perfect but it would be memorable because for the rest of my life there would never be anything like it- this was the first.
And I was with my first love. It would be an evening of firsts.
What could be more perfect than that?
Helga G. Pataki
So I just got back from my date with Arnold.
And before I go ruining anything with my sarcasm or impeccable wit, I'll just start at the beginning and work my way through the date so you can get a gist of it and judge it for yourself.
But needless to say, my heart is so full I can hardly take it.
The night started with me digging through Olga's box of dresses trying to find the pink dress I had imagined wearing on my perfect date night- one that she wore in middle school when I was just a tot. Once I found it and put it on, I realized that the chest part was too big for me and I frowned as I knew that I couldn't wear it. It was too big!
Darn Olga and her stupid body and MY stupid body and stupid puberty altogether.
So instead I put on the nice sweater Rhonda had given me and a red skirt from a while back with a nice pair of shoes, only to look over myself and sigh. "This is NOT what I pictured," I muttered to myself before glancing at the nearby clock and realizing I was late to make my way to Sunset Arms.
"Ahh, Criminy! I'm late!" I told myself before grabbing one of Olga's old purses that I'd thrown a few random things inside, reached for my coat, and headed out of the emporium to make my way to the boarding house, just making it there by 7:05.
"Why hello there, Helga," Miles answered the door and let me inside from the cold air of the outside world. "Come on in, Arnold is just finishing getting ready."
Oh good, I thought, at least he wasn't WAITING for me.
Arnold finally came down from his room wearing khaki pants and a nice shirt with a tie; rubbing the back of his neck as he saw me and my raise of brow at his attire. "I kind of out-grew my suit," Arnold explained and I shrugged my shoulders realizing puberty had screwed him over too.
"It's fine. The dress I was gonna wear didn't fit either," I said and we both chuckled at our lack of luck in the dressing department.
"Are you sure you kids don't want us to give you guys a ride down to Garden DeLucci? It's really no trouble at all..." Miles offered but Arnold and I shook our heads as Arnold gave his reasoning why.
"No, it's just down the street really," he said, "so it isn't that long of a walk."
"Well, if you say so, son," Miles said with a smile while opening the door for us as Arnold put on his coat. "Have fun you two. We'll see you guys soon."
So off we went to Garden DeLucci, the wind blowing my hair all about my face and mixing with the only makeup I'd decided to put on- lip gloss. Soon my hair was covered in the goop and it was spread all across my face and I was more than uncomfortable.
By the time we made it to the restaurant, my hair looked like a rat's nest and I had pink gloss all over my facial features, so I rushed to the bathroom as Arnold found us a table.
"I can't BELIEVE this is happening..." I told my reflection as I used a wet paper towel to wipe off the gloss from the various places on my face. "Just calm down, Helga. The date hasn't even really STARTED yet so you have time to save this," I continued talking as I smoothed out my hair as it cascaded down my shoulders out of their usual pigtails for once in their life. With a deep breath, I nodded to myself before turning around and heading out of the bathroom to find the table Arnold was sitting at towards the back of the restaurant; him already looking at the menu and scratching his head.
"See anything good?" I asked as I sat down in the booth and scooted inside.
"I was looking at the gnocci," he said, pronouncing it oddly correctly and I frowned, wanting him to order the spaghetti.
Over the roar of children screaming and the talking of those around the restaurant, I hollered without much dignity,"How about the spaghetti?" I suggested, " I'm sure it's real good coming out of an Italian place."
"Eh," Arnold said while still looking at the menu, "I'm feeling adventurous tonight." He grinned but I wasn't feeling his feeling.
I wanted SOME part of my stupid imaginary date to come true, and that was the spaghetti, lady and the tramp style. Couldn't I at least have that?
But apparently not, as Arnold ordered the g-no-ck-ee thing and I scrambled to order what I wanted versus what I wanted my perfect date to order.
"And you miss?" The waiter prompted and I thought long and hard before finally ordering.
"Spaghetti. I'll have the spaghetti, please."
So it was settled. I'd have to take the initiative in making this date extra special because we were in a family oriented restaurant wearing church clothes surrounded by screaming children and their disoriented parents and not even a candle in sight. I HAD to have my moment. I had to have SOMETHING.
When dinner finally came, I chose to eat a few bites before finally making my move and offering Arnold some of my spaghetti.
"You wanna bite?" I asked and he shook his head while taking a bite of his own food.
"I think I'll pass." He said and I frowned while spinning a lone noodle around my fork and handing it to him.
"Let me rephrase that, you want a bite." I ordered, though Arnold merely chuckled and shook his head again.
"No Helga, I'm really fine with my own food, but thanks anyway." He politely refused but I wasn't having it. Not this time.
Mustering some courage, I unrolled the noodle from my fork and offered him one side of it as I stuck the other end in my mouth. "See what I'm doing here?" I managed while holding the noodle in between my lips and Arnold raised a brow.
"You really want me to do that? Here?"
I narrowed my eyes and he knew to take me seriously. "Well, alright then," he muttered, taking the other end of the noodle into his own mouth and I sighed in content knowing what we were about to do.
We were about to Lady and the Tramp our spaghetti, just like in my fantasy.
We slurped away at the noodle, our faces inching closer to one another's though my gaze was more lustful than Arnold's, and once our lips were about to meet, I knew this was going to be the takeaway moment from our date tonight.
If only Arnold's stupid nose hadn't gotten in the way.
With a big SMASH our noses slammed together and we pulled away instantly while rubbing our noses hastily from the altercation they'd just been though with each other. "Criminy! That should have worked!" I exclaimed and Arnold sighed while continuing to rub his nose.
"You know, if you wanted me to kiss you, you could have just asked," he said plainly and I frowned while dropping my hand from my nose.
"I wanted it to be ROMANTIC, not just some simple kiss."
"I think every kiss is romantic," Arnold said simply and I froze, realizing he was right.
This date didn't have to have candles and fancy clothes and ambiance to be special or romantic. All it had to have was the two of us together to be special and important and the best first date we could have, I was just focusing on all the wrong things.
With my new change of attitude, the rest of our night went perfectly. We talked about school, laughed at how ridiculous my vision of our date had been and held hands as we shared our chocolate dessert, though he didn't feed me, criminy, that'd be weird.
As we went back to the boarding house, a soft blanket of snow began to fall from the sky and I chuckled as I held my hands out to catch some of the stray flakes as they fell down to earth. "I love the snow," I mused as Arnold nodded his head.
"I do too. That and the rain." He noted and I grinned looking towards him.
"You really are something else, football-head," I said and he raised his brow in confusion at my comment.
"How so?"
"You just...are." I finalized before looking back up to the sky as the fluffy flakes continued to dance downward upon us. "It's funny, that THIS would be the part of my fantasy that would come true."
"Oh really?" Arnold asked as we stood just outside his front door. "The snow?"
"Yeah," I said, my eyes still focused up on the sky.
"What else did you predict?" He wondered and I shrugged my shoulders.
"Just that you'd say some romantic stuff to me and you'd pull me in for an embrace and it would perfectly end the night. Pretty ridiculous, huh?" I said with a laugh, though Arnold wasn't laughing. I turned to face him from the sky and saw that he was staring at me, his eyes baring through my soul and I swallowed hard as he played with his hands for a moment before he began to speak.
"I had a really nice time tonight," he finally managed to say, "you're so funny and smart and fun to be around and altogether one of the greatest girlfriends a guy could ask for."
I stood aback, completely shocked by his words. "I-I am?"
Arnold nodded his head, fully committed to what he was saying. "You are. And honestly, even though your expectations for tonight were pretty high, I hope that you realized that being together is what makes a night special, not the place we go to."
I smiled a warm smile at him and nodded my head. "I did. I did realize that."
"Good. Because that's what I want you to take away from this date for our next one."
"Our next one?" I questioned and he nodded his head.
"I figured Saturday could be our date night. We could do things on Saturday that will be just the two of us. What do you say?"
I grinned at his idea and nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes, Arnold, I'd love that."
"Good," he said while reaching for my hands and pulling me close to him. "i would too. You know what else I'd like?" He asked and I found my breathing picking up the closer I got to him.
"Wh-what's that?"
"To kiss you," he murmured but before I could come out with a response, his lips were on mine and we shared in a long kiss just under the stars and the snow as it flaked down upon us under the vast moonlight.
Oh journal, it was wonderful. A positively perfect first date, even despite all the craziness that I allowed myself to believe in before.
How could I think anything but? Being with Arnold is...magical. He makes all my problems go away and without him around, I'd surely go crazy.
I already can't wait for next Saturday!
Helga G. Pataki
So what did you all think of Helga's first date? memorable? perfect in it's own way? Let me know in a REVIEW of what you thought of this chapter! Can't wait to see you at the next one!
-Polka