Chapter 2: Let Me Help You

Arnold's Kitchen

"It was very kind of you to walk Arnold home Helga!" Stella said, as she stood by counter, searching through the cabinets for some soup.

"Eh, it was nothing." Helga shrugged her shoulders, not liking the idea of being praised for such a simple gesture. Olga couldn't let the tiniest thing in her life slip without finding a way to be recognized for it. Helga on the other hand, was just happy knowing she had helped the people she cared about.

"Hmm...it looks like we're out." the sweet woman said, not sure of what to do.

Remembering her promise to Arnold, Helga offered "I could run up to the store and grab a few things."

"That's so thoughtful of you!" Stella exclaimed, grabbing her purse to give Helga some money.

"Don't sweat it." she replied, heading for the door.

"Be careful! We don't want you falling too."

"Pttss...don't worry. I'm not the excitable type like your son." Helga scoffed, before exiting the room.

Phoebe's House

Sitting on her bed, working on their latest math assignment, Phoebe was finishing up her last problem when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." she chirped.

"Hey Pheebs. How's it going?" Helga asked.

"Oh, hello Helga. I'm quite well. How are you?"

"Well, football head and I were headed to the store until his giddy self fell and twisted his ankle."

"Oh my!" Phoebe gasped, placing a hand over her mouth.

"You want to run up there with me?"

"That would be delightful." the young Asian girl smiled, following her friend out the door.

Arnold's Room

Laying on his bed, staring at the clouds through his glass plated ceiling, Arnold thought to himself…

What WOULD our parents talk about at dinner? Would they actually be interested in getting to know each other, or would Helga's parents spend the entire night implying how little they care about her?

The Corner Store

Searching the store for the items she would need for Arnold, Helga sneered "Criminy! Maybe I was right about letting Olga take care of things."

"I take it you're not looking forward to dinner?" Phoebe presumed, watching the frown form on her friend's face.

"I don't know Pheebs. I want things to be normal between us, but you know how my family is. If they don't care about what's going on in my life when I talk about it, what makes him think they'd like to participate in it?"

"Well, having relatives become familiar with one another is an important step to take in a serious relationship, despite the other side's opinion of whom they meet."

Letting these words sink in, Helga walked down the aisles, grabbing any items she felt maybe necessary to help her boyfriend.

"I feel like an old lady; pushing around a cart of health and first aid supplies" Helga smirked, seeing her best friend smiling.

"It's very sweet of you to do this for Arnold."

Taking a break from pushing the cart, Helga gulped "Yeah, well...it's not like he could do this himself hehe."

Arnold's Room

While it may have been postponed, Arnold wasn't giving up on the idea of dinner with Helga's parents taking place.

As he sat in his room, waiting for his girlfriend to return, he stared down at the notepad with the sheet of ideas he managed to put together for his and Helga's special family dinner…

Thanks for the meal

Shared interests

Nice gestures

Family memories

The Boarding House

"Thanks for the helps Pheebs." Helga said to her best friend, as the two made their way up the porch steps with the grocery bags.

"I was happy to help Helga."

"Stand back, the circus is in town." Helga scoffed, as her friend gave a troubled look.

Without explained, Helga opened the front door to show her friend the stampede that appeared each time the door opened.

The two then entered the boarding house to find Phil had demanded a rematch with his son at Chinese Checkers.

"Hey guys. How was the store?" Miles asked, hearing the girls entering the room.

"No more exciting than school." Helga derided, setting the bags down on the counter.

"Sounds about right." Phil said, not taking his eyes off the board.

"We haven't seen you in awhile Phoebe. How have you been?" Stella asked, going through the grocery sacks.

"I'm quite well. It's nice to see you both again." she smiled, knowing how happy Arnold must be to have his parents home and safe.

The well mannered girl then turned her attention to her friend and said "I fear I must be leaving Helga. I trust Arnold will recover quickly."

"Thanks Pheebs." Helga smiled softly, patting her friend on the back.

After watching her friend leave the room, Helga turned to see Stella going through the bags, anxiously searching for the soup.

"Would you like to make it for him Helga, while I make him a glass of herbal tea to go with it?"

"Uhhh...sure." Helga gulped, not expecting to be asked that. Had it been her family, she could care less if she dumped a bowl of stale cereal in a dirty dish and called it soup.

These were her boyfriend's parents however. People she actually respected and who she hoped felt the same way about her.

The nervous girl grabbed a bowl the from the caring lady who she hoped she may one day be lucky enough to call her mother-in-law.

Stella watched Helga anxiously staring at the microwave after placing the bowl of soup in there. She could sense Helga's tension, not wanting to do anything to make herself look bad. Was she really that concerned over some microwaved soup? Or was it something else…

"So sweetie, do you cook with your family?"

Although the idea of having her parents meet with Arnold's sent chills through her, the thought of anyone believing they treated her well was enough to turn her tense fearful expression into a hopeless irritated one.

"Pttss...only if you consider watching my parents fawn over my sister gloating about her pastry talents cooking." she smirked, forgetting about Stella's opinion of her.

Noticing the sudden frown forming on the young girl's face, Stella gave a concerned look and asked "Do you not spend a lot of time with them?"

"Not from what I've heard they don't." Phil butted in from across the room.

"Dad…" Miles sighed at the inappropriate remark.

"Are you kidding? Nobody in my house even knows I exist!" the angry girl scowled, as Stella's eyes widened in disbelief.

While Arnold had mentioned the lack of attention Helga faced at home, she hadn't considered the terrible emotional effect it must have had on the poor girl.

BEEP!

As Helga turned to pull the hot soup out of the microwave, she felt a hand placed on her shoulder. "You're always welcome here Helga."

Smiling as she held the steamy dish in her hands, Helga said softly "Thanks."

Arnold's Room

Still sitting on his bed with his notepad, Arnold stared at the conversation topics he had chosen. Tapping his pencil against the bed, he turned his head towards the door as he heard…

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Come in."

Arnold watched to see Helga walking in with a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

"Here you go football head." Helga smiled, handing the bowl of soup to her beloved.

"Thanks Helga." he said, anxiously reaching for the soup. Helga took a seat on the bed, watching him blow on the hot meal.

As the two of them sat listening to the sound of him slowly slurping his broth, Helga moved back an inch to feel herself sitting on top of something.

Cocking her brow at the list her boyfriend had made, she asked "What's this?"

"Oh, I thought those would be some good things for our parents to discuss at dinner together."

Tossing the notepad aside, Helga insisted "Arnold, the only person my dad would ever thank for a meal is Olga."

Shrugging his shoulders, knowing there was a good chance she was right, he replied "Well, they don't have to thank anyone. It could just lead to a conversation about the types of meals they enjoy."

"Whatever floats your boat." she scoffed, not getting her hopes up.

After sitting silently for a few minutes, Helga watched her boyfriend reach the bottom of his bowl. "Thanks for the soup Helga."

Doing her best not to blush, Helga reached for the bowl to take downstairs and said "Don't sweat it."

Arnold's Kitchen

"Ha! King me!"

Helga entered the kitchen to see Miles had eased off messing with his father and was now playing a game of regular checkers with him.

"Hey Helga. How's Arnold doing?" Miles asked, turning around in his seat.

"Oh fine. Just fine." she said, placing the bowl in the sink.

"It's nice of you to take care of him. I remember all the times Stella took care of me when we were in the jungle together." he said, forgetting about the game.

"Really?"

Nodding his head, Miles went on with his story. "The first time we met, I fell off a cliff I was eyeing her from. She was looking at all the different shapes the clouds were forming that day."

Shaking her head at the story, Helga smirked "That explains why your son always has his head stuck in the clouds."

"Yet, he's still more down to earth than Pookey!" Phil exclaimed, waiting for Miles to make his next move.

Rather than giving her opinion of the elderly woman, Helga went to the freezer to grab the ice pack Helga had placed in there before bringing Arnold his soup.

As she was headed upstairs with it, Miles said "Let us know if you need anything!"

Helga had always taken care of herself. No one ever cared to know if she needed anything at her house, unless it in some way affected them. "Uhh thanks."

Arnold's Room

"OUCH!"

"Aww suck it up ya big baby." Helga scoffed, as she placed the cold pack against her boyfriend's ankle, that he was unable to reach.

"Is that how you plan on speaking to your kids when they have an injury?" Arnold smiled, leaning against his pillow, as he watched her hold the ice bag against him.

Cocking her brow at the question, she replied "If they're anything like me, they'll know how to handle themselves."

No longer caring about his ankle, Arnold sat up towards his girlfriend and said "If you're as sweet as I think you are, they won't have to."

A heavy swoon released from her as she watched him place his hand on her face. Stoking her cheek with his thumb, he said "I'm sorry about the way you're treated at home, but you're always welcome here Helga."

Helga tittered at the familiar offer and said "You and your mom both need to get your heads out of the clouds."

"I don't think so. They wouldn't have noticed each other if they hadn't been looking at the shapes in the clouds. Just like you and I wouldn't have noticed each other if we hadn't be trying to avoid the rain falling from the clouds." he smiled, with his signature look that made her eyes fall half lidded.

Her heart fluttered not just at the memory of the day, but the idea of him treasuring the moment as much as she did.

The two stared lovingly into each other's eyes until Helga realized how far gone her mind was. Looking over at the time on Arnold's potato clock, she said "It's getting late, I better get going."

A frown formed on Arnold's face, not just because she was leaving, but because he wasn't able to walk her home. "Oh, okay then."

"Cheer up football head. I'll be back tomorrow." she assured him, leaning in to give him a short but sweet kiss.

Grabbing the ice pack to take back to the freezer, Helga said "Last chance to request my services before I leave."

The only request in his mind was that she didn't leave. Knowing that wasn't possible however, he simply said "I think I'll be okay. Good night Helga."

"Sweet dreams football head."

Arnold's Kitchen

Helga entered the kitchen to see Miles and Phil had at last finished their evening of competitive board games. The only person in the kitchen was Stella.

As Helga approached the freezer to place the ice pack back into, Stella turned to ask "How's Arnold doing?"

"Fine. Then again, I think everyone in your family has proven themselves to be a survivor." Helga said in a sarcastic tone that made the sweet woman giggle.

"Well, it wouldn't have been possible without you. You mean the world to our son, and we're very grateful for your help. I'm looking forward to dinner with your parents." Stella assured her, while Helga began to look away.

After telling her family that morning dinner with the Shortmans would be that evening, she didn't have to bother telling them it was cancelled after Arnold hurt himself. She already knew they wouldn't show up.

"Uhh thanks. See ya tomorrow I guess."

Helga's House

Once Helga had completed her lonely walk home, she entered the house to see her family in the living room watching Wheel of Fortune together. While a tiny part of her was tempted to walk in on them and bring up dinner, she wasn't in the mood to be reminded of how little her concerns mattered to her family.

After making it to her room, Helga threw herself onto of her bed, already missing her beloved. She pulled out her locket, running a finger across his sweet face as she said to him…

Oh Arnold! How can I force your loved ones to face the horrors of dealing with my disgraceful excuse for a family? To have them bear the burden of spending their free hours listening to why THEY are seen as unworthy in the treacherous eyes of my deplorable caregivers!"