Hey Arnold

A Christmas Short Story

The cool flakes of snow drifted past the window in the early night and taking on various shades of color as they pasted the festive colored lights that adorned the edges of the window. While the melodies of Christmas filled the air in attempted to give those in the room that sense of holiday spirit that often imbued those who listened to their favorite carols. Of which one person had hoped to feel when she started her evening dinner but just as she placed the lid on the lid on the pot a cry from the other room diverted her attention and left the cooking food unattended.

She had not far to walk in this small two bedroom apartment she shared with her husband of three years. Stepping into the room and source of the cries was her ten mouth old boy. Walking in she looked into the crib and saw him crying and picked him up ever so carefully.

"Oh Phillip what is it now?"

She asked not expecting any kind of answer but soon realized what was a miss and carried him off the kitchen to get the bottle of milk she had prepared earlier in the and placed into the bottle warmer she had received from the baby shower. As the device worked to warm up the contents of the bottle she gave a silent thank you to person who gave it to her.

In a matter of moments the bottle was ready and she began to feed her child, she had nearly forgotten everything about the outside world for a single moment as she deep down she couldn't believe this was her life now but at the same time felt like it was all worth it. Though just as her thoughts seemed solely focused on her child the sound of a lid crashing down on the kitchen floor not only startled her but also her child as she pulled the bottle in a reflex action. Turning her gaze to the direction of the sound her food sat there on the burner boiling over the edges of the pot as the pressure had forced the lid off.

At that moment she rushed over as quick as she could and turned off the burner and the smell of over cooked vegetables wafted in the air and made her cough. She had to clean up and placed her son into the high chair near the table and went to clean up the mess in the kitchen. She let out a few swear words under her breath as this had happened more than once in the past few months and was getting weary of it. Once she got done with the floor she looked into the pot and sighed with frustration and almost slammed the pot back ontot he burner but stopped her self.

When a cool draft of air brushed up her back she knew someone had entered and walked into the living room to meet them.

"Thank goodness your here" she said feeling drained. He placed his items down from his workday and walked over to her.

"Helga, what is it?" he asked but when he picked up the smell from the kitchen he knew right away. She just rolled her eyes and felt her fists clench but as soon as he wrapped his arms around her she felt the tension fade away. Why did he have that effect on her she thought to herself. But none the less it she was feeling slightly better.

"Oh Arnold you can calm me down so easily, its like your super power" she said with a smirk and made him smile. "Then I married the right woman in which my super power would be useful"

A light chortle escaped her lips as he made that joke. Then she sighed softly as she thought about the day and many before it. "Look at me Arnold I'm a mess, I can hardly do anything right, I'm a screw up." She pulled away from and looked at the kitchen "Honestly I don't know how I made it this far without making some kind of disaster happen." Hanging her head low she felt like she was on the verge of tears when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You're not a screw up Helga." Gently turning her around to face him and looked into her deep blue eyes. "Your my wife and mother of our child whom I love both of you so much and I wouldn't trade anything in the world for. We both know its not going to be easy and we should know better than anyone that our lives have been farm from easy."

She gave a nod at that statement, especially given her own childhood. "Sad thing is I'm starting to realize why Mariam drank a lot" her voice cracked as she recalled the memories of her mother's drinking problem. She felt her chin lift from his curled finger underneath

"Your better than that Helga, I know you are. Listen I have managed to trade someone at the company to get tomorrow off and I'm not going to let it go to waste." He kissed her cheek gently and walked back and picked up his scarf he had placed on the coat rack moments earlier

"I'll be right back" With that she felt the cool air form outside again for a moment as he left outside. Knowing him he was on his way to get some dinner for the two of them so she went back to attend to Phillip.

The next day the snow had stopped and the blanket of snow now lay draped over road and cars below. Sounds from the snow plow could be heard from their room 4 stories up from the street. Just as Helga was starting her daily routine a knock came to at the door. Feeling a little puzzled she went to the door and looked through the peephole. Right away she could tell who it was and opened the door to welcome in her visitors. In walked Stella and Miles with the former embracing Helga into a warm hug "Oh I've missed you darling, now where is the little one?" she asked wanting to see her grandson.

"Oh he's right this way" She lead the way to his room where he now peeked over the edge of the crib looking curiously at them as they entered. Stella was quick to pick up him and smother him in kisses ending with a hug close to the chest. Speaking of after a moment Helga seemed a little confused.

"I'm a tad surprised your here early, Arnold and I weren't expecting you later today."

"Arnold called us last night and explained what was happening and so we came here early to let you and Arnold have some time together." Helga smiled as she heard this. Almost as if on cue, in walked Arnold and smiled as he saw his parents and after hugging his father and mother he looked at Helga.

"Listen Helga, I realize what you have been going through hasn't been easy and I've busy with my job but what a better time then now to show you what you mean to me" He walked over to her as he spoke and placed his lips against hers gently. "When your ready meet by at the car"

With that said he walked out of the room leaving Helga slightly puzzled at what he had planned but a reassuring smile from Stella told her all she needed to know. So from there Helga went off to get ready leaving her in-laws to take care of her child.

A short while later Helga walked outside and felt the chill of the winter air making her bundle up a little more as she saw Arnold waiting by car not showing in anyway that he was affected by the cold air. In that moment it felt like she was back when they were newly weds who would do anything they liked and when ever they wanted. Walking around the car he opened the door for her to let her inside. She could used to this level of pampering she thought. He wasted no time in getting into the driver seat and in minutes they were on the road.

The drive took a little longer then Arnold anticipated but none the less made it to their destination. Stepping out of the car Helga could finally see what her husband had in store for her. They stood before the new Hillwood Resort that had been built the previous year and Helga kept telling Arnold she would love to check it out when they could. The two of them approached the front door after Arnold passed the keys to the valet.

"Oh Arnold..." she called out but drifted off as the masseuse worked over her sore muscles that haven't had a real time to relax for over a year now. Arnold himself opted out of the massage and instead laid back in a chair letting her be pampered and taken care of. Much the next couple hours went by without a hitch as Helga was treated like the queen she was to Arnold. As the evening came over the city they came to one of the restaurants at the resort. They were given a table near the water fountain that acted as the center piece of the dining room.

"Helga, I know its been a long road and it took awhile for us to finally get into the same lane but I have loved every moment of it, the bad and the good. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

He reached out to take her hand into his and kissed the back of her hand as he stared into her eyes with his emerald eyes. "Oh Arnold, you have such a way with words, and I thought it was my job to come up with the words" she gave a chuckle. A year ago she had made a change in her career when she had her first novel published it became soon after.

"That is true, but I guess I was just inspired after reading your last book." Helga smiled as he said that. She had had lent him the manuscript a couple weeks ago and felt elated that he had not only finished the book but loved it.

"You liked it?" He simply nodded to her "Your not just saying that are you?" she asked and with that he pulled out his phone and showed her a text he got from Gerald a few days ago. "He liked it too?" Now that did surprise her, over the years Gerald had been her toughest critic and it meant a lot to her that he had gained his approval.

When she looked back up there was Arnold holding a glass of wine and she did the same as the waiter poured it into her glass. "To the future, may it bring many more adventures and good times with the woman I love." They tapped their glasses and took a sip of wine. Helga couldn't restrain herself any more and stood up and pulled Arnold from his chair and lowered him into a deep kiss catching him off guard but still loved how passionate she was. Once she pulled away he winked at her and did the same thing to her no doubt to the confusion of the others in the dining room.

"I love you Helga"

"I love you Arnold"