CHAPTER 4: COLD SHOULDER
It had been days since Pig Pen found Frieda straddling that guy at the Bronze Beagle the previous weekend, and he only came out of his place to work. After her got done with work, he drive back home, but not before buying some beer at the nearby party store. Numerous phone calls littered his cell phone with text messages and voice mails. Half was from his friends and family, and the other half from Frieda. He figured he'd get back to his friends when he was up to it, but he didn't know if he'd ever answer Frieda's calls. All he did was wake up, get ready for work, go to work, come back home, drown his sorrows in beer and booze, crash for the night, repeat.
Frieda wasn't faring any better. She was a wreck after the fallout with Pig Pen. She had been trying to reach him, to no avail. Even their friends tried to get in touch with him, but he hadn't answer his phone. So it was decided that the guys go to his place directly and check up on him. Led by Charlie, they all went to his pad. Charlie immediately knocked on the door.
"PIG PEN!" he yelled from outside, turning on his drill instructor persona. "OPEN UP THE DOOR NOW! THAT'S AN ORDER, SOLDIER!"
Pig Pen reluctantly opened his door, shocked to see the guys all there.
"All of you came by?!" he asked, bewildered.
"We were kind of worried, man," said Schroeder. "Ever since what happened with you and Frieda, we-"
"DON'T mention her!" Pig Pen interrupted. "Not now!"
"Okay, so we won't talk about 'you know who'," said Charlie. "Why don't we talk about YOU instead?"
"How are you feeling?" asked a concerned Linus.
"Awful!" groaned Pig Pen. "And not just because of 'you know who', but maybe due to the massive hangover I have."
"Downing your troubles in alcohol will do that to you," shrugged Franklin.
"Please say you have coffee being made," said Shermy.
"Before you assholes showed up I was just brewing some," said Pig Pen, half smiling. "Come on in, I have plenty." And all the guys went in. Pig Pen's place was pretty cleaned, save for some beer cans and liquor bottles spread around. But other than that, the place was immaculate.
"How do you guys like your coffee?" asked Pig Pen.
"Black," said Charlie.
"A little sugar," Linus responded.
"Cream and sugar with mine," said Franklin.
"Black with honey," said Schroeder.
"Cream and sweetener," Shermy replied.
"Got it," said Pig Pen. And he made all of their cups for them. They all sat and talked the morning away.
Meanwhile, the ladies were trying to cheer up Frieda. She was crying all week and was sorry for her actions. All were at Mary and Monica's place for brunch. They figured they try to cheer up the curly-haired woman.
"Why won't he even try to talk to me?!" wept Frieda. "Not even an 'I don't want to see you again' or ANYTHING! Just talk to me!"
"Maybe he's not ready quite yet," suggested Pat.
"Sometimes guys need time like women," added Lucy.
"You're just going to have to give Pig Pen some space until he's ready to talk to you," said Mary.
"I guess I have no choice," sniffed Frieda, wiping tears away.
"Nope," said Sally. "Just wait until he's ready. He may never be ready, so you need to be prepared for that, as well."
"In the meantime, the food is ready," announced Monica. And the ladies all went to eat brunch.
NEXT CHAPTER: THE FATE OF A SNOB