Return to Hillwood
Helga looked across the table and caught the glance of Stinky. His hazel eyes shimmered in the soft candlelight that set the ambiance of the meal that they were about to enjoy. Seeing the gold flecks in his eyes brought a smile to Helga's face.
"Have you been here before?" Stinky asked.
"Not since I was a child—it was a disaster the last time that I was here." Helga responded with a giggle.
"There sounds like there's a story to be told there. Don't leave me hanging Helga" Stinky queried.
"Well, I know this was a while ago but do you remember way back in fourth grade when I won that gift certificate for dinner for four to Chez Pierre?" Helga chuckled.
"Yeah, I reckon that sounds familiar." Stinky responded.
"Well, of course at the time my family life wasn't the healthiest so I wasn't going to invite Olga, Bob and Miriam. Naturally I asked Pheebs, Tall Hair Boy, and Football Head. I really wanted everyone to think that I was very sophisticated and I deserved to be in a place like that. Everything was going smoothly until it was time for the check. The gift certificate was for Chez Pierre and we were at Chez Paris." Helga chortled.
"So what did you do?" Stinky inquired.
"Well, Phoebe thought that we should have been honest with management. Obviously, I disagreed. I exacerbated the problem and ordered more food even though we were so stuffed. I even lied and told the waiter that I was someone important's granddaughter. Called myself Helga Van Buran, can you believe that? Then I called Nadine and asked that she bring me some cockroaches from her collection and let them loose in the restaurant. The waiter ended up figuring out who I was and called the police. The police and Nadine arrived at around the same time and the cockroaches went everywhere. They were going to let us off the hook, but on the walk home Arnold kind of convinced me to go back and tell the truth." Helga divulged.
"Wow, that's some story. What did they say when you came back?" Stinky asked.
"We ended up having to wash dishes to pay off our debts." Helga said, her memories going back to that night. She remembered how fast her heart was racing working in such a close proximity to Arnold. She recalled how Arnold made her feel like she was more sophisticated than she ever gave herself credit for. She thought about how close to flirting they were and finally she thought about how much she still missed him. She grabbed her gold locket and rubbed it between her index and thumb fingers.
"Well, I reckon that I'm always learning new things about you Ms. Pataki." Stinky beamed. Helga dropped the locket and let it fall to her chest.
Stop thinking about the past, that was nine years ago. Helga attempted to tell herself. She looked up at Stinky and felt her heart skip a beat. A feeling that she quite literally hadn't experienced since she was in fourth grade.
"Stinky, I-" Helga's voice quivered. Stinky reached his hand across the table and covered her hand with his, softly rubbing his finger along the side of her hand.
"Helga, there's something that I've been wanting to tell you for quite some time, but I reckon I didn't really know how to say it." Stinky said clearing his throat. "Helga, I love you."
Helga smiled and felt her eyes beginning to water slightly.
"Stinky, I love you too." Helga responded.
"I know that we've been on a few dates now. I was hoping that we could make things official and I wanted to ask if-" Stinky trailed off.
"Yes, Stinky?" Helga questioned.
"I wanted to ask, will you would be my girlfriend?" Stinky mustered up the courage to ask.
"Of course!" Helga exclaimed, she couldn't help but let one lone tear of joy slide down her cheek.
"Well, I reckon that this is the best news that I've heard in a long time!" Stinky beamed.
"Do either of you two care for dessert tonight? We have a wonderful selection, could I interest you two in the crème brulee, pralines, or our specialty tonight which is lemon blancmange." The waiter, Anton, offered in his thick French accent.
"Blancmange? I'm not familiar with that." Helga remarked.
"Mademoiselle, lemon blancmange could be likened to a lemon pudding." Anton informed the young American couple.
"This day keeps getting better and better. I reckon we'll take the lemon pudding, on account of it's my favorite type of pudding." Stinky ordered. Helga shook her head and giggled into the palm of her hand.
"I'll just have the crème brulee thank you." Helga laughed.
"There's absolutely nothing to watch on Netflix." Gerald commented, lying on Phoebe's bed with a remote pointed towards the television in one hand and Phoebe nestled in his other arm.
"Well, I'm interested in any documentary that you want to pull up. However, I understand that a comedy might be more of what you are looking for and if you want to go that route, I would prefer a romantic comedy to a stoner comedy." Phoebe remarked.
"I miss the simple days of regular television." Gerald said. His iPhone vibrated on the nightstand, it was an unknown number.
"Hello?" Gerald answered.
"Hey, long time no talk!" The voice on the other end of the phone remarked. The sound of the voice caused Gerald to shoot up.
"Who is it?" Phoebe whispered.
"Arnold?" Gerald questioned, "Wow man it's been a while since I've heard from you. I started to think that you had forgotten about us."
"Don't be ridiculous Gerald. I just wanted to call you because I'm back stateside again and I'm actually moving back into Hillwood. I'll be back in the boarding house again, so that's going to take some getting used to." Arnold said nervously into the phone.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" Gerald asked.
"Well, of course part of the reason is that San Lorenzo isn't exactly known for its technological advances so it's not like I could call you. In fact, this cell phone that I got earlier today is ridiculously complicated so I might need your help figuring this one out man. The other part of me didn't want anyone to know that I'm coming back. It just didn't feel real until I was on that plane and heading back, you of all people know that sometimes your plans to come back from the jungle don't always work out." Arnold responded.
"This is amazing news though. I'm excited to have my best friend back." Gerald remarked, "Does anyone else know that you're here?"
"I almost ran into Rhonda at the drugstore earlier, but I don't think she noticed me." Arnold countered. "Is there anything that I should know about before I start wandering around on my own?"
"Well, I assume you're asking about our old friends." Gerald chuckled. "Harold and Patty are married, they're expecting a baby in a few weeks. I'm sure that you already know about me and Phoebe. Sid and Curly are both working on their—um—issues I guess you could say. Nadine has an amazing Instagram following—I'll have to explain exactly what Instagram is to you in person, her and Vincent are going pretty strong." Gerald revealed.
"Vincent?" Arnold questioned.
"Peapod kid." Gerald responded with a chuckle.
"How about-" Arnold started to question but trailed off, he could feel his heart racing and throat tightening. "How about Helga?"
Gerald looked at Phoebe for advice on what to tell him. Phoebe looked over at him and softly shook her head no.
"I have to." Gerald whispered causing Phoebe to roll her eyes.
"Helga is doing great. She has been very vocal about how therapy has truly helped her family. Her and Stinky are-" Gerald started to speak into the phone, Arnold on the other end could feel his heart clenching. "Helga and Stinky are really good friends."
"Ahhh okay." Arnold responded. "I'm looking forward to seeing her. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone."
"Arnold, let me just ask you man, are you still carrying a torch for Helga Pataki?" Gerald questioned. "You haven't seen her since you left right before fifth grade and last time we spoke you hadn't heard from her in months."
"Gerald, I don't know, there was a lot going on when I left. Way too much for a ten year old to be dealing with. Then my family and I were in the middle of the jungle and I was left alone with just my thoughts and for quite some time, those thoughts just kept on leading back to Helga. Then, as time went on, her letters started including poetry and short stories and this is going to sound ridiculous but I fell in love with the way that she put her entire soul into everything that she wrote. I'm not saying that I have feelings for Helga Pataki still, but who knows?" Arnold spilled.
"Alright man. Just—just be careful." Gerald said with a deep breath. He shook his head softly. He knew deep down that he needed to tell Arnold the truth about Helga, but he didn't want to burden his friend on his first day back in the United States. Besides, he knew that was a conversation that he needed to have face-to-face with Arnold, not as voices over a phone line.
"I'm going to go take a walk and try to figure out what has changed about this city since I've left." Arnold stated.
"Well, be careful in your travels—a lot has changed in the past nine years. If you're feeling up to it, call me tomorrow morning and we'll get together over lunch." Gerald remarked before hanging up the telephone.
"You should have told him the truth." Phoebe stated. "I should inform Helga that he's back in town."
"I'm going to tell him the truth. Please don't tell Helga that Arnold's back. He wants to get his feet wet before announcing to the world that he's back and I understand that. He's spent half of his life in a secluded jungle, give him a few days to figure out this concrete jungle that he's living in now." Gerald remarked before pulling Phoebe in for a soft kiss.
"Thanks again for coming to see 'Rats: revamped' with me tonight. I can't think of anyone who enjoys musicals more than the two of us." Eugene remarked as he held the door open for Lila as they exited the Hillwood Center Theater.
"I'm ever-so-certain that the pleasure was all mine." Lila responded, "Besides, I really needed tonight to get my mind off of things."
"Still have Lorenzo on the brain?" Eugene inquired.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Not only did he break my heart when he left me, but then I find out that he's been seeing Rhonda. That hurt ever-so-much." Lila revealed looking down at the sidewalk.
"Hon, if it makes you feel any better, he's not seeing Rhonda anymore. She kicked his butt to the curb. It was rather quick if you ask me." Eugene countered, "I honestly think that Rhonda just wanted to take him to the graduation party and then she dumped him the next day. I think she was just trying to make someone jealous—I just don't know why she would go through all of the trouble."
"That actually makes things a little worse." Lila said through a frowning face.
"I'm sorry. I guess I'm not the greatest at cheering people up." Eugene declared, scratching his head.
"You're better than you think you are." Lila remarked nudging Eugene's arm slightly. "How about you? I never really see you with anyone? What happened to Sheena, she seemed like she was gaga over you for the longest time?"
"Sheena and I are just friends." Eugene stated quickly.
"What? She was really cute. A little taller than you, but what's height have to do with anything?" Lila observed.
"She's not my type at all." Eugene laughed, tripping over a loose brick in the sidewalk falling onto his elbows. "I'm okay!"
"Whoa, that was quite the tumble." Lila uttered, reaching out to help him up. "What exactly is your type anyway? I didn't see you even hook up with anyone while we were in high school. You've never told me about any of your crushes."
"I don't know. I don't really have a type." Eugene responded, brushing the dirt off of his green blazer.
"I could definitely see you with some tall statuesque woman, blonde hair, and tan skin. Gorgeous, but still has substance." Lila envisioned aloud. Eugene tried to conjure a mental image of this person in his mind. He pictured himself in a black tuxedo, standing at the alter ready to get married. Across from him was this beautiful blonde, tan woman who was at least two inches taller than him. Then she pulled another tall figure next to her. He wore a white tuxedo and had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He had a strong muscular build and was a few inches taller than Eugene was. The man reached out and grazed Eugene's face with his hand and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Eugene tried to shake the image out of his mind.
"You know, I don't really want to talk about this whole 'type' thing anymore." Eugene declared.
"This night has been one of the best nights of my life." Helga confessed to Stinky. They held hands as they walked through the park under the romantic ambiance of the moonlight and stars.
"Every day that I get to spend with you and see your beautiful smile, knowing that I'm the one responsible for your happiness, makes me feel like I'm on top of the world." Stinky smiled down at Helga, gazing into her eyes.
"I love you Stinky Peterson, more than I could have ever imagined." Helga remarked softly.
"I love you too Helga Pataki." Stinky smiled. Helga stopped in the middle of the trail and placed her hand at the back of Stinky's neck, pulling him in for a tender kiss. They turned to finish their walk and saw a figure looking over at them directly ahead of them on the trail.
"Erm—um—Hello."
"Arnold!?" Helga stated breathlessly as heart pounded. What was Arnold doing back in Hillwood?