Sunday, December 17th 5:37 PM
"Holy crap, I hope that was his leg I grabbed. If not, then he's frickin huge!" Helga looked into the mirror thinking to herself. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't his leg," Helga thought to herself as she washed her hands. She had excused herself to the bathroom before sitting down to eat Sunday dinner at the Sunset Arms. She looked in the mirror and breathed heavily trying to slow her heart rate. Which had been beating faster than she had ever experienced, since her and Arnold engaged in their heavy petting. She looked in the mirror, washing her face. "Fuck," she said to herself. "That means those gross rumors are all true. Fucking Rhonda and her big fucking mouth. I'll have a word with her at some point. She's not gonna spread rumors that are so spot on about my boyfriend," Helga thought to herself as she exited the bathroom.
Helga made her way downstairs and heard the commotion coming from the dinning room. "Hey," Arnold said as she approached him. He was leaning against the wall looking into the room, as if he was waiting for her. "Come on, over here," he said. He grabbed her hand and led her over to two empty seats at the far end of the table. Arnold pulled out Helga's chair for her. "Stupid Football Head being a perfect gentleman," Helga thought to herself as she rolled her eyes and sat down.
"Helga, I'm so happy you could join us," Stella said to Helga seeing the two of them take their seats. "Eleanor! So lovely to see you again!" Arnold grandmother announced wrapping Helga in a big hug. Helga, encumbered by Pookie's cowboy outfit and her tight hug, said "Hey there Gertie, how are you?" Gertie let go and went to her seat, being corralled by her husband. Phil noticed Arnold sitting next to Helga. "Oh you're uh….." Phil scratched his head thinking. "Don't tell me, I know this," he said. "Pataki's kid right?" Phil said, snapping his finger. "Her name's Helga, grandpa," Arnold said. "Oh, I know that. I'm just kidding her. So the two of you are spending time together again. Does this mean you're dating again?" Phil asked. The whole table grew silent for a moment and all eight the members of the household looked towards Arnold and Helga. "Grandpa!" Arnold said, putting his palm to his forehead. "Sorry," Arnold said under his breath to Helga. "It's fine, yes we're dating," Helga confidently said, as she leaned over and kissed Arnold on the cheek. Arnold blush deeply at this. Stella across from the table smiled and looked at her husband. "So Helga, it's been quite some time since we've seen you. When did you guys start dating again?" Miles asked with a genial smile. "A couple hours ago," Arnold said smiling at Helga. "Isn't that sweet? Arnold can maintain relationships for longer than an hour. I guess he's not killing girls and wearing their skin," Stella said with a wink to Helga. Arnold looked insulted, while Helga started snickering next to him.
"My wife has a sense an odd sense of humor," Miles said as he began cutting his steak. "I noticed," Helga said, as she started digging in. "So, Arnold you finally took my advice and started bringing women around?" Ernie said from the other end of the table. "I wouldn't really call it advice since you only asked the question of why I never did," Arnold said. "Well, it's sage advice," Ernie said not acknowledging Arnold's response. "She's good looking there kid. Young lady, you got a pretty face," Ernie said. "I think that troll is hitting on me," Helga thought to herself. "Mr Potts! Come on!" Arnold said. "Well Arnold she is a pretty thing. Don't get me wrong, he's a fifty year old man leering at a young girl. I'm just speaking as a cranky old man with no filter," Phil said. Helga laughed a little turning slightly red. "I think we can stop embarrassing Arnold now," Stella said winking at Arnold. "Thank God for Arnold's mom," Helga thought.
"So, are you still pursuing the writing? That's what you always liked right?" Miles asked. "Yeah, good memory," Helga said. "My dad can't even remember my name," Helga thought to herself. "She's actually published, she wrote a few articles for a women's magazine and fiction site. She's really good!" Arnold said smiling at Helga. "Oh wow! That's great Helga. Good for you," Stella said. "What do you write about?" Miles asked. "I used to write a lot of fiction, however these days I focus more on essays surrounding social issues. I was thinking of minoring in journalism in school," Helga said. "That's a valuable career. We know a few journalists, with all the international work we did we ran into a couple," Miles said referring to himself and his wife. "I used to write op-eds about indigenous tribes in South America. I loved it. It's good work," Stella said. "You seem to have most of next year worked out," Miles observed. "Well most of it, it's just narrowing down schools. I have a couple of letters of recommendation so I'm pretty confident," Helga said. "You should have a talk with Arnold about it, kid just can't seem to live here on the ground and focus on his future. He'd rather hang out with Gerald or spend time fooling around," Miles said digging into his dinner. Helga looked over at Arnold. He looked slightly annoyed, but too nice to say anything. "Well, I think has quite a few goals. He doesn't need me to speak for him," Helga said nudging Arnold subtly. Arnold looked at Helga and did not say anything else. Helga looked back at Miles as he was focusing on his food. "Arnold if you don't say something I will," Helga thought to herself. "Arnold works really hard towards what he wants. He broke the schools weight lifting record at the club he formed by himself," Helga said, trying to stick to topics she knows that Arnold's parents also know about.
"Well that's great son, I didn't know that," Miles said smiling at his son. "Thanks Dad," Arnold said quietly. "Who's record did he beat?" Ernie Potts asked from the other side of the table. "This kid Harold's record. He's always been the biggest strongest kid, other than myself, in our class," Helga said smiling at Arnold. "And he creamed him!" Helga finished. "Well son, if life was as easy as lifting things up and putting them down all day then you'd be set for life," Miles chuckled. "Plenty of contractors do that all day, and most of them seem content," Helga said. The table looked up, as if sensing an impending disaster. "That's true there Miles," Ernie chimed in. "Been in construction my whole life and look at me. Happy as a clown," Ernie said. "I think describing yourself as a clown may be a bit redundant," Phil piped up. The table started to laugh. "What are you getting at old man!" Ernie yelled. "I'm getting at the fact that you act like a clown, so there's no need to describe yourself as one, Potts!" Phil yelled back. "I'm a clown? Aren't you the clown who owns this place? When are you going to fix the wiring in my room?" Ernie yelled again. "When you learn to use electricity properly. I still can't use the toaster oven you know!" Phil yelled. "I've been working on building my whole adult life. I know electricity," Ernie said crossing his arms. "You get paid to knock the building down, after they pulled all the pipes and electricity, you moron!" Phil said. Ernie seemingly tired of yelling, waived his hand dismissing Phil.
Helga leaned over to Arnold and whispered in his ear. "Is dinner always like this?" Helga asked. "Pretty much," Arnold whispered back. The dinner continued like that for sometime. A subject would be brought up, and a small spat would ensue, and Phil would usually punctuate by making an off color joke or remark. Helga found Phil to be great. She always had. He was funny, never gave an inch and was genuinely a good person. Helga loved the chaotic warmth in the Shortman house. She felt home.
Helga and Arnold had volunteered to clean up. Helga gathered everything, and Arnold loaded the dishwasher and washed out the pans. Every few minutes Helga would happen by and stand on her toes to kiss Arnold. "How did I end up playing house with him?" Helga asked herself.
After the dinner was cleared and everyone adjourned to their evening activities. Arnold walked Helga back to her car. Helga deciding that it was late and she should get home. She had a lot to talk about with her sister. Arnold stopped at Helga's driver door. Standing right behind her Helga got the feeling of where his eyes were wondering. "Eyes up here bucko!" Helga said turning and smiling at Arnold. Arnold smiled back. He moved forward and wrapped his large arms around her. He kissed her gently. Helga kissed him back passionately. Arnold rested his forehead against hers. " This was a perfect day," Helga said. "I just don't want it to end," Arnold said. "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to kiss and feel each other up," Helga said. "I liked dinner, that was different than a silent table where Merriam is almost passed out and Bob ignores me," Helga said. "Well you should come over again," Arnold said. "Oh I'm sure I'll be spending a lot more time over here," Helga smiled. "It's just, what's with your dad and you?" Helga asked, unable to let it go without saying anything. "Well he says stuff like that sometimes," Arnold said. "Well why didn't you say anything? You can't just let him sit there and think you're a dummy. You're a moron, but you're also smart, driven and passionate," Helga said. "I know, it's just a fight he and I have been having for a while now. I just didn't want to bring it up tonight," Arnold said rubbing the back of his head. Helga grabbed that hand and held it in her own. She reached up and put her hand on his cheek while they locked eyes. Helga stood on her toes and kissed him. Arnold kissed her back, still holding onto her hands. "Stand up for yourself. I'll text you later. Got it?" Helga asked. "Yeah, I can't wait," Arnold said smiling at her. They kissed once more and Helga got into her car and drove towards her house.