"Been waiting long?"

It was such a simple question, but to Goofy, it meant everything as he got a look at Clarabelle all dressed up in a casual, yet fashionable riffled gold shirt with white pants to match. Her face seemed to shine radiantly; despite all the makeup she had placed on.

He tugged at his collar for the 18th time since he got there, he was feeling all stuffy despite the chilly autumn air breezing through, telling the inhabitants of Spoonersville that summer had moved out and that winter was well on its way.

Yet, there stood Goofy, looking like he was going to sweat a puddle.

"N-No! Not long! I just got here, yep!" He nervously, but eagerly replied as his heart raced.

Clarabelle stood by to wait for Goofy to compliment her on her appearance, but after a few moments of awkward silence from both of them, Goofy closed the car door and motioned towards the establishment with a nervous smile.

"Well, uh... shall we?"

A phase of disappointment flashed through her face, but she quickly shook it off, not willing to let something as simple as not receiving a compliment ruin this.

"Yes. We shall." She answered, doing her best to sound as confident as she could.

Upon entering the establishment, they were greeted with some neon flashing lights and décor that seemed to scream out for attention. As far as Goofy was concerned, this was no longer the same burger place that was open so many years ago.

"Gawrsh... place sure has changed."

Clarabelle said nothing in reply, as she went about her usual routine of dates. Be perfect, be sensible and most of all, be silent unless spoken to.
Do all of it well and it should go okay, she told herself as she began realizing that it's been a while since she needed to do this, but she really wanted Goofy to like her, so she was putting her best foot forward and hoping for the best.

They both sat down at a booth that was relatively in the middle of the establishment, yet still managed to have a window seat so they could see the town in all of its glory as the night life was beginning to make itself comfortable now that the sun was setting.

Goofy sat down slowly, double checking himself and his spot to make sure there wasn't anything to mess up or cause chaos with. He really wanted this date to be perfect, so for a man of his luck and tendencies, he knew he had to be extra careful, even more so than usual.
Keep yerself cool, Goofy, remember what Pete and Max've taught ya, he reminded himself as he tugged his collar again and silently cleared his throat in case something was to disturb his voice.

They both were given menus almost immediately after sitting down. Looking over the menu, Goofy was in awe at all the burgers they had to offer, most of which was stuff he had never heard of before.
As he was looking at the menu, he shot a few glances at Clarabelle, who had her menu on the table as she turned the pages, seemingly wincing as she did.

"Hey, uh... everything' okay, Clarabelle?" He asked politely.

She seemed to snap out of a trance and quickly responded with a "Yes," before returning to the menu without any emotion.
Goofy silently gulped, wondering if he needed to do something to get her attention or to make her feel more at ease with him... though the only thing he could do was try to be more at ease with her because he definitely wouldn't be saying much at this rate.

Breathe, he told himself, just relax, it's only a date, it's not marriage or anything serious. Just that, a date.

... right?

Clarabelle looked over the menu, looking not at the many options that the restaurant had available, but at the calories each one was estimated to have. She fought to keep from looking shocked, but what did she expect from a place like this? She wouldn't have been surprised if they sold a plate full of grease.

Nonetheless, her main concern at this point was to keep looking perfect, sit up straight, stay silent unless spoken to and just be pleasant in general. Especially if she wanted to have a second date with this guy.

There was no way this would fail, it never did.

"Well, welcome to Chad's Cheeseburger Parlor! Can I get you anything to drink?" A cheerful voice chirped out, grabbing both of their attention.

"I'll have a frizzle pop! It's been a while, a-hyuck!" Goofy cheerfully replied, glad that the tension in the air could be cleared.

"Water will be fine." Clarabelle said simply without looking up.

Compared to Goofy's cheerful reflection of the waiter, Clarabelle seemed monotonous, which seemed to bother Goofy, but he quickly shook it off.

"Awesome, now are you ready to order?" The waiter got out his notepad and pen to first jot down their drinks in the time it would take for both of them to make their decisions.

"Gee, I don't know a lot of this stuff. I think I'll just have a cheeseburger with the works!"

"Excellent choice, sir. What would you like, miss?"

Both the waiter and Goofy turned their attention to Clarabelle, who seemed to be in a turmoil within herself. And right as it seemed it was going to boil up and explode, she breathed and replied calmly.

"Salad Special, please."

Goofy blinked, his concerned expression suddenly returned as he wondered if she really was okay.

"Ah, yes. Good choice, miss. I'll be back soon with your meals." With that, the waiter took their menus and bid his goodbyes, leaving the two alone with each other.

Neither one said anything as they both looked at each other and then looked away whenever their eyes met. Not one to be a stick in the mud, Goofy tried to lighten the mood with conversation.

"I guess this ought to be fun!"

"Yes, I suppose it will."

Silence fell on them again, no effort for a conversation from her end made Goofy even more nervous. He wasn't sure if he needed to try again, but he did.

"So, how was work?"

"Fine."

"... so, did anythin' interesting happen?"

"No, just the usual."

Goofy kept on trying, yet it seemed like every time he did, Clarabelle only responded with simple answers and somehow was keeping herself as minimal as possible.

The date went on like that, Goofy trying hopelessly to get a conversation going, but only once or twice did they manage to exchange anything resembling a banter.

It wasn't doing well for Goofy, who was beginning to feel like Clarabelle wasn't having a good time and would rather be anywhere else, but here.

Clarabelle, on the other hand, kept a close eye on everything Goofy asked and made sure her answers were enough to be sufficient, but keep from revealing anything that could expose her too much. She had to maintain a posture of perfection, and this was it.

She was beginning to feel, deep down, that things weren't going too well, and she knew it was because of her.

She had to fix it, but how?

The food soon arrived, and both just stared at their own plates. Goofy's previously eager and happy emotion wasn't there anymore, having been worn down by the many failed conversation attempts.
He didn't want to end the date, but the realization that Clarabelle didn't seem like she wanted to be here anymore was beginning to grow as a possibility, even to someone as simple minded as him.

If she didn't want to be here, he decided, he wasn't going to make her stay.

"Clarabelle..." He began, with a serious tone.

"Yes?" The serious shift did not go unnoticed by her, suddenly her heart's beating sounded very loud in her ears as she could tell that when Goofy was serious, he meant business. Surely, he wasn't going to leave even though she was doing everything right, right?

"If you don't want to be here, I won't make ya stay. If ya got second thoughts, then tell me and we don't have to do this."

Her worst fears were beginning to be realized, no she had done it all right! Sure, the conversations were pretty bad, but that didn't mean he was going to... but, the pie... what about the... imperfections... no, wait! She blinked a few times, fighting to keep from reacting, but inwardly, her mind was in full-blown panic mode, trying to determine where it seemed to go wrong and a possible solution to this problem, she was Clarabelle Cow, she couldn't fail this, not now!

The fight was happening within Clarabelle. On the outside, she simply looked down and stayed silent like she was deep in thought, which to Goofy looked like it confirmed his own worst fears. She had gotten second thoughts and was going through this just for him.

Trying to push down the lump that was rising in his throat, Goofy started scooting out of the booth.

"I'll... I'll call for a to-go bag and we can-"

"WAIT!"

The outburst happened to suddenly, it surprised even her.

Goofy was on the verge of standing up from his spot, but after her outburst, he slowly sat back down, keeping his gaze on her. She had her arms out, unsure if she was going to reach out to him or as a signal to get his attention.

The noise that was within the establishment grew silent as most eyes were on her.

Upon realizing what she had just done, she slowly sat back down, placed her hands on her lap and looked down, praying that everyone would go back to their dinners and forget this.

"W-Wait..." Clarabelle said again, only more quietly as the fear that was in her previous outburst was now replaced by embarrassment as she realized what she did was not very perfect or ladylike of her.

"Please... don't go... I'm sorry."

Goofy blinked, wondering if something really was wrong.

Now, he was no expert at deciphering emotions, but he had some experiences from having these kinds of talks from Max.

"Clarabelle... what's botherin' you?"

She said nothing, her eyes squinted shut as if she was willing all this to be a dream that she would wake up from any second now. She would be in bed, realizing this whole nightmare was just that... a nightmare. The alarm clock would ring and signal that she needed to get ready to go to work. Any second now.

But it never came.

Clarabelle swallowed the lump in her own throat as she realized this wasn't a dream.

"I... I'm sorry, it's just..."

Silence fell again, Goofy leaned over on his side of the table, pushing his food aside so he could have his full undivided attention on her. Something was eating at her and he would wait with her until they could properly talk this out.

"It's okay, Clarabelle. I'm just worried you're not havin' a good time and we don't have to do this if you don't want to."

She opened an eye and looked up to see a serious, but sincere Goofy, looking at her with the most intense gaze she had ever seen those eyes give. They were intense, but they also seemed to be pleading with her to tell him what was wrong.

"I am... I am having a good time. I mean, well not right now, but..."

"Then, what's wrong? You can tell me."

She knew he was being sincere, her own heart couldn't help, but trust in those words and believe him with every ounce of her being.

Get up and walk away, her mind seemed to tell her. You don't have to do this, you can just leave, it'll be his fault that the date was ruined.

But she argued back, he hasn't done anything wrong. It was her fault things didn't work out; all he's done was try to help her, even now, that's all he was doing.

What to do, what to do...

Goofy said nothing else as he waited, giving her a chance to speak on her own time. The food smelled delicious, and he was definitely hungry, but even he knew this was more important than that right now.

"I'm... I'm scared..." She finally spoke, her voice was low as she was slowly exposing her vulnerable side to him, oh how she hated this.

Goofy's eyes widened. He wasn't sure what he was expecting her to tell him, but that definitely wasn't one of them.

"Scared...? Scared of what?"

Just walk out now, while you still can, her mind screamed at her, you can still save face if you just go out and pretend you never knew the guy!

Clarabelle ignored it and went against her better judgement.
"I was scared... I didn't want to disappoint."

Goofy stayed silent in return, listening to her every word as much as he could.

"I learned a long time ago. That it was better to just..."

NO! DON'T SAY IT! HE'LL HATE YOU! STOP!

Clarabelle winced and clamped up; it was time to decide what to do next.

"That it was better to just what?" Goofy replied softly, knowing the situation was sensitive and that he had to handle things carefully.

For Clarabelle, time seemed to stop, she had a choice to make. She knew with the way things were going, being perfect wasn't going to cut it, it had never failed before, but with Goofy, nothing she had done would work.

She was terrified from the bottom of her heart, but she was serious about making this work. So, she would try this from a different direction and if that didn't work, she wasn't sure what she would do after. Probably give up and do nothing.

Here goes nothing, Clarabelle thought as she took a deep breath to steady her nerves for what she would do next.

"That it was better... better to just let the other person talk."

"Let 'em talk?"

No turning back now, she decided, she was going to be completely honest with him. In her heart, it was way better than to let him walk away from her and rob herself at a chance at a form of happiness she hadn't felt in such a long time.

She took a deep breath and continued.

"I learned long ago that it was better to let the guy speak. That guys love talking about themselves. If I could just listen and let them talk, that they wouldn't leave because..." Clarabelle trailed off and looked up finally to see Goofy's reaction, unsure of how he would react.

Usually, she would know these things, but in the entire time she had spent with Goofy, she knew the man's reactions and mannerism were very unpredictable and it terrified her like nothing else.

"If ya don't mind me saying so, that's just a bunch'a nonsense."

Hearing this surprised Clarabelle, who silently gasped and was now looking up, meeting his eyes.

"I get whatcha mean and it's nice to let the other talk, but that doesn't mean ya don't hafta keep quiet. If you want to talk too, then talk, Clara. Ya got feelin's and stuff too."

Clarabelle was unable to respond as she processed this information in her mind. Never before had she been told this.

"It's real nice of you, Clarabelle, but you bein' so quiet makes me feel like I'm doin' somethin' wrong." Goofy admitted, looking down as he showed his vulnerable side as well, this didn't go unnoticed by her, as she quickly moved to assure him.

"N-No! You're doing great! It's me who's to blame." Great, now she felt guilty. All she wanted was to have a good time and make sure everything went smoothly, but instead, it went the opposite direction.

Right as she was thinking about calling the date off, Goofy spoke up again, this time in a much lighter tone.

"Whattya say we start over?"

"Huh...?"

"We can start over. No pretending, no nothing. Just be yourself, Clarabelle." Goofy smiled warmly as he finished, and Clarabelle felt her heart soar in both love and fear.

It was true, it would be nice to start over, but could it really be that simple?

Would she be able to go through with it?

In a single moment, she decided, yes, she would.

"Yes... Okay. Nothing, but me." She spoke softly, wiping her eyes from any tears that had threatened to fall and almost instinctively excused herself to go to the restroom to fix her makeup. But she fought against that instinct, and she fought hard. Her mind began to worry about her outward appearance, and it was like an itch that wouldn't go away, growing larger and larger...

Then, she lost the battle.

"Excuse me for a moment..." She told Goofy in a defeated tone and left to the restroom, fixing herself up.

He didn't try to stop her.

Once she was there, she couldn't bring herself to look at her reflection, even though that was the whole reason why she was there. She only did so long enough to fix one of her eyelashes and reapply mascara.

Nothing worked, absolutely nothing worked. All that act of perfection finally failed for the first time, and she couldn't believe it.
Then, again, what did she expect? It's Goofy we're talking about, nothing normal ever seems to work when it comes to him.

Still, she couldn't believe that he managed to save the date with that, offering to start over. From her experience, sorry never fixed anything, you had to do things right the first time, and starting over just like that was childish imagination.

Strange feelings began to rise up within her gut, but she brushed it aside as she prepared herself to do something she never thought she would ever do again.

Be herself.

It was going to be difficult; she knew, she was absolutely terrified on the inside. The feelings of ditching him were still present and she fought tooth and nail to keep that at bay. She was going to do this right and that was that. Clarabelle Cow didn't run from anyone, especially not... cute, sensitive dorks like the one she was going out with now.

Oh, now look at yourself, she thought, you're acting like a giddy schoolgirl again.

Well... Maybe it's for the best, she decided, that was the last time she ever truly remembered being happy until she lost the one she thought she'd be with forever. The past was the past and she wasn't ready to face it just yet.

Goofy lightened up at seeing her return again, part of him was worried she was going to try and run off, but she was still here. That alone meant she was willing to try for him.

"Hey, Clarabelle. Doin' okay?"

"Yes, I'm... I'm doing okay." Clarabelle sat down in the booth facing Goofy and mentally reminded herself to not be as quiet this time. But how was she going to keep talking despite fear creeping up on her, even from this very minute? She wasn't acting from a script, what on earth was she even supposed to do?

They began to eat in silence, but a partway through it, Goofy tried striking conversations again and Clarabelle did her best to reply, putting in some more effort.

"Hey, this is pretty good!"

"Yes, I... I haven't had a salad this good since the... well, since I went to the coffee shop down the street."

"No kiddin'! I was there once with my neighbor and best pal, Pete!"

"O-Oh? How was that like?"

"I gotta tell ya, Clarabelle, it was a really peaceful lookin' place. I didn't know they served food too!"

"Yeah... I didn't know either, but... they do." Clarabelle winced a smile, absolutely afraid without her script, but Goofy seemed to be enjoying her company a little better now.

Feeling a little more confident, Goofy tried again.
"So, how was work?"

"Um... Well, nothing too interesting happened. We're just... in between clients."

"Do ya ever meet these clients like I do?"

"Oh, heavens-I mean... Heavens, no, I'm just a clerk, G-Goofy."

Even though the change was small, it was just enough that Goofy began to grow more engaged and expressive with their talk and in turn, made Clarabelle feel more at ease as she began to talk more.

It didn't seem so bad, but things were progressing much better than before.

"Hey, Clarabelle?"

"Hmm? Yes, Goofy? What is it?"

"Why did ya choose a salad?"

This question took her aback, she looked up to see Goofy eating his burger, but looking at her with concerned eyes. Ones she was already a witness to once earlier this evening and it made her feel guilty.

"W-Well, you see... It's important for me to keep my..." She began, but suddenly stopped cold, realizing she began to go back to the script again. She looked down at her half-eaten salad and felt uneven.

Why was she doing this? Was it to keep a good figure as she had always taught herself to say? Or was there something more to it?
Regardless of what it was, Clarabelle realized she didn't entirely like what she was thinking or feeling.

She definitely wasn't ready to talk to Goofy about that, not yet at least.

"Oh, well. I guess I just don't feel so hungry." She lied, eating some more of her salad so she wouldn't have to look Goofy in the eye when she did.

Even though he was a dim bulb and was far from being the sharpest hook in the tacklebox, Goofy caught on to her lie and decided it was better to not challenge Clarabelle on this issue right now as it sounded private.

Maybe she had more problems than she was letting in on, he thought.

All too soon, the date came to an end. They both walked outside together and looked at the few stars that twinkled in the evening sky.

Goofy looked at his date and thought again to himself just how beautiful and strong she was, he definitely felt lucky to have her.
Clarabelle looked over to him and met his eyes briefly before looking away, blushing.

Both of them stood at a distance to each other, neither one comfortable enough yet to do embraces or even holding hands.

"I had a great time, Clarabelle." Goofy said, having meant every word.

"I... I did too, Goofy." Clarabelle still kept her gaze elsewhere, not wanting to faint by looking at him in the eyes again, how did he have this much of a hold over her own heart?

"Can I say somethin', Clara?"

"Umm, yes? What is it?"

Goofy turned until he was facing her completely and sighed.
"I kinda like the real you better."

This caught Clarabelle by surprise, she met his gaze, and her muzzle broke into a rosy pink.

"H-Huh?"

"I like the real you better. I appreciate you tryin' to make me feel special, but I asked you out to get to know ya, Clara, not to feel special."

She didn't know how to reply as she looked down at her heels, pretending to be cleaning off a patch of dirt on it.

"Th-Thank you. I hope to get to know you better too." She replied, also meaning every single word.

"Well, I guess this is good night. Wanna do this again sometime?" Goofy held out his hand to shake hers, which was the only thing that felt appropriate to him at the time, they were still getting used to this.

Clarabelle looked at Goofy's outstretched hand, then to his face. She had wondered if he was going to pull a move on her like a kiss or something like that. However, this gesture surprised her, leaving her both relieved and disappointed that Goofy wasn't going to do anything of the sort.

"Yes... I'd love that." Clarabelle gingerly shook his hand and they both bashfully bid each other farewell and got into their respective cars before driving back to each of their own places.

Goofy was ecstatic on his way back, his heart was fluttering like a bird, he felt so good that he felt he could dance the night away. These sorts of feelings he hadn't felt in such a long time that it was more than a welcome feeling for him.

That was, until he realized he would need to tell Max about this new development, surely his own son would want to know, wouldn't he?

He shook off that thought, mainly because this development with Clarabelle was still new and while it looked promising, there was no telling if it was meant to last or not. Why bother telling him if they don't hit it off in the end run?

Goofy decided he would tell Max about her once he was sure they could be more than what they were now.

Sometime after Clarabelle got back to her apartment, she stretched and began to change into something more comfortable as she prepared to put the exhaustion of the day's events to rest.

She was absolutely happy about how well the date went despite her mishaps, that Goofy was willing to forgive her and try again.

He really was one of a kind, she thought, it made her wonder what made him tick.

As she began removing the makeup from her face, she paused to look at her disheveled self in the mirror. The words that Goofy had said earlier rang through her head.

I like the real you better... he had said.

No, it's only to trick you, get your guard down! He can't possibly like you as you are!

That couldn't be true, she argued back, if he really wanted to get her guard down, wouldn't he have tried something at the end?

Then, it means he didn't like you that much-

Clarabelle shoved her inner thoughts away, remembering how Goofy seemed more interested after she decided to just be herself. It was definitely an improvement compared to his earlier composure when he seemed concerned.

Alright, then he was just trying to change you! He didn't like your perfect self so he-

Another shove as she argued back that if her "perfect" self was so perfect, why didn't it work the first time? It was only after she was herself that he really seemed to enjoy spending time with her and if he was trying to make any change...

It was to help her real and genuine part of herself come forth.

Everything went quiet as Clarabelle stared at the mirror a little longer.

As she replayed the evening's events, especially when he asked her about the salad choice and she hesitated to answer, Clarabelle wondered just where did her façade end and her true self began...

Deciding she wasn't going to get anywhere staring at her half naked self in the mirror, she dug into her purse to find another pack of makeup remover. But that was when she felt something else in her purse.

Curious, she pulled it out to reveal a hamburger from the diner they went to with a small note taped to it.

"Clarabelle,

I don't know what's going on, but I know a hungry pecker when I see one. I also know it's not my place, but it worries me that you're not taking care of yourself.

Have one on me,

Goofy"

Clarabelle blinked and wondered for a second when Goofy had time to do this before her hungry stomach growled, making her realize that she didn't care... any doubt she had about him just vanished as tears welled in her eyes. No one had ever done this for her before.

How much had she really changed?

Without thinking further, she took off the wrapper and ate hungrily.