Chapter 14 | We Can Work It Out
"Hey Stinky." Harold answered the door with an exaggerated fake grin on his face, "Just a heads up—I invited Arnold tonight. I hope you don't mind."
"I reckon I don't mind. We're all friends here." Stinky responded as he entered the house.
"Okay good." Harold breathed a sigh of relief.
"Gerald. Lorenzo. Arnold." Stinky nodded at the gentlemen standing around the living room, Arnold resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the blatant exaggeration of his name. "Nice digs you got here Harold."
"Yeah, it's pretty sweet having my own bachelor pad." Harold said, taking a seat at the card table, "Now, are we going to chat like ladies at a tea party or are we going to play some poker?"
"Now this is what I'm talking about—no dames—just us men having a good time." Gerald remarked, before belching. "Read 'em and weep boys, full house."
Arnold, Lorenzo, Stinky and Harold let out a collective groan.
"Man, you sure are on fire tonight." Stinky drawled.
"Hey man, I only have a few more opportunities to whoop all of you in some poker before I head off to college." Gerald chuckled.
"I can not wait for college man!" Lorenzo commented, "Only a month and a half to go and I'll be in sunny Stanford, California!"
"Well, do me a favor and keep an eye on Phoebe while you're out there!" Gerald remarked lowly.
"I can't believe she kept that from you," Stinky responded, "but then again, birds of a feather" he mumbled to himself, practically inaudible to the rest of the table except Arnold. Arnold rolled his eyes and clinched his fists under the table, mentally calming himself down.
"Gerald, you're doing a good job of making the best of the time you have left together," Arnold remarked, "besides, the first semester is going to fly by so fast you'll barely have time to miss each other."
"Yeah, I know man, but it's easier said than done." Gerald responded honestly.
"Man, if that's your biggest problem consider yourself lucky." Harold remarked, as he dealt out the cards for the next hand. "I mean, soon I'm going to be a divorced 20 year old dad. How depressing is that?"
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about what happened between you and Patty." Lorenzo remarked, placing his bet in the middle of the table.
"He's a grown man, don't make excuses for him—he made his bed and he needs to lie in it." Stinky remarked.
"That's a good point." Lorenzo murmured and looked at his hand before deciding to fold.
"Oh no—you're not perfect either. You two both messed up good relationships because of the same woman." Gerald remarked, pointing his fingers across the table at Harold and Lorenzo.
"Okay okay. No one here is perfect with relationships." Lorenzo muttered.
"Yeah, that's for dang sure." Stinky remarked, looking across the table at Arnold causing him to shift uncomfortably in his seat.
"Well, what about you Arnold?" Lorenzo perked up and asked, "Any tips from San Lorenzo that might help us?"
"Uh. No." Arnold remarked bluntly.
"Come on this is supposed to be a guy's night." Gerald attempted to switch the subject. "How about that baseball game last night? I didn't think the Black Sox had it in 'em, but they somehow pulled a win!"
"Come on Arnold, share some of your tips with us! I mean, I reckon I would sure find it useful if you gave us an example of how you steal girls from other relationships." Stinky remarked bitterly.
"Hey!" Arnold slammed his fists down on the table and stood up facing Stinky "That is not what happened at all."
"Are you sure Arnold? Cuz the way I see it—Helga and I were doing just fine and then you waltz your way back into the picture." Stinky responded, "Out of all the girls in Hillwood you could have gone after, you had to go and steal mine?"
"Stinky, I'm going to need you to just calm down." Gerald remarked trying to defuse the situation.
"Whoa!" Lorenzo commented.
"Listen, Helga and I have been friends for years. I'm really sorry that things happened the way they did but I wasn't trying to steal your girlfriend." Arnold responded.
"Wait, I didn't even know you and Helga broke up." Lorenzo remarked, trying to piece together the new information that was being thrown around the table. "I mean, on the bright side—regardless of what Arnold did or didn't do—at least she won't be in a relationship for a while. I mean, remember how long it took her to agree to be your girlfriend? "
Arnold and Gerald looked across the table at each other before Gerald redirected his attention towards Harold, his eyes making a plea that he hoped would be accepted.
"Could this night get any worse!?" Gerald whispered to himself, shaking his head into the palm of his hand.
"Shows how much you know Lorenzo. She's already dating Ar-nold." Harold sang. Gerald face palmed himself and Stinky's mouth fell into a gasp and he looked over at a blushing Arnold.
"You two are together?" Stinky asked, trying not to stumble over his words.
"Seriously Harold!? You kept it a secret that you were banging Rhonda for months, scratch that, years. You couldn't keep this secret for one night!?" Gerald exclaimed, his voice booming over the table in Harold's direction.
"Well, I didn't know it was a secret!" Harold's voiced boomed.
"I can't believe this. I'm just going to excuse myself before I do something I regret." Stinky said, finally breaking the glaze between the two angry men.
"Stinky, wait!" Arnold called out but Stinky quickly made his way to the door, slamming it behind him as he left. Arnold shook his head in frustration and Lorenzo placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry man. I didn't know." Lorenzo remarked.
"Wow, I'm really an asshole, aren't I?" Arnold questioned.
"Alright, so your halo is a little scuffed right now, everyone can't be perfect all the time." Gerald commented and Arnold glared at him. "I mean that in a good way, you had a pretty good run—welcome to the real world."
"Wow, I didn't expect to see you here!" Helga remarked as she walked out of the doors and saw Arnold standing in the lobby that housed her office building. She grabbed Arnold's shoulder and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
"I hope you don't mind. When I talked to you earlier you sounded like you were having a bad day so I figured we could go get some coffee, or ice cream, or both." Arnold smirked, the smile was contagious because one soon took over Helga's face as well.
"Sounds like a date. Lead the way football head." Helga beamed, Arnold did a playful roll of his eyes and gave his girlfriend a small grin at her use of his nickname. Growing up the name was a slight annoyance—now for some reason when she said it, it gave him butterflies, it was endearing. He reached down and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers and heading down the road in the direction of their favorite café downtown.
Helga and Arnold ordered their coffees with the barista and took their seats on the leather couch next to the back window of the café, it was their favorite place to sit.
"So, Phoebe told me that had quite the poker night." Helga said, taking a sip of her coffee and looking at her boyfriend over the edge of her cup. Arnold let out a giant sigh. "So what happened?"
"Stinky just had a few things to say about us—apparently I stole you away from him." Arnold responded honestly, anger and bitterness lacing the few words that he spoke.
"He said that you stole me from him!?" Helga said in an outraged voice.
"Pretty much."
"Criminy."
"Well-"
"I'm not a piece of property and I decide who I want to date or not!" Helga exclaimed.
"I know that Helga but I still feel a little responsible for your breakup." Arnold admitted, "Looking back on it—I wasn't very respectful of the boundaries of our friendship."
"Listen, when I saw you all of these old feelings just came rushing back. Feelings that I tried to push down and forget about for a while. Stinky and I had a good thing going but this—" Helga said gesturing her fingers between herself and Arnold, "This is something that doesn't happen often."
Arnold smiled and gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks. I needed that." Arnold remarked.
"I didn't know you were coming back." Helga stated out of the blue, looking down at her half full coffee cup.
"What?" Arnold asked, his eyebrows wrinkled with confusion.
"I stopped writing you out of the blue because I didn't know you were coming back and missing you was becoming too painful." Helga admitted, her eyes wide with emotion, "It wasn't because of Stinky or anything else. I just—really missed you."
Arnold leaned over and wrapped his arm around Helga's shoulders.
"Well, I'm here now and you'll never have to miss me again." Arnold smiled.
"Okay, Lana, I need my bangs trimmed and I'm thinking about getting layers? What do you think about layers?" Rhonda asked, sitting in the salon chair looking at herself in the mirror.
Lana fluffed her hair around and toyed with it.
"I think the blunt cut suits you Miss Rhonda." Lana said, standing back in an attempt to look at her hair objectively.
"I don't know. Maybe we should play around a little." Rhonda remarked, placing a finger on her lips in thought. She could see a few ladies in the waiting area snickering and whispering back and forth. Rhonda was used to people talking about her but lately the things that people were saying were definitely not in her favor. She could feel the blood begin to rush to her face.
"You know what Lana, I just remembered—I have a meeting with my mother this afternoon and I just can't miss it. We'll just have to reschedule." Rhonda quipped, ripping the black salon apron off and throwing it onto the salon chair. She fumbled around in her purse and pulled out two twenty dollar bills. "Here is a little something for your trouble, I am terribly sorry."
Rhonda clutched her purse tightly and hurried out of the door. She took a deep breath once outside to regain her composure and headed to her Mercedes-Benz convertible before pulling out her cell phone. She scrolled through the contacts and called the one person she knew would definitely pick up.
"Hello."
"I am having a horrible day." Rhonda yelled into the telephone.
"I know just what you need. I'll swing by your place to pick you up."
"Fine." Rhonda responded before hanging up her telephone and heading in the direction of her house.
"Are you sure you're not still mad at me?" Phoebe questioned, her back propped against the headboard of Gerald's bed.
"Are you going to ask me that every day until you leave?" Gerald responded bluntly. Phoebe raised an eyebrow before her eyes began to lower with sadness. Gerald cupped his girlfriend's face in his hand. "Phoebe, I'm not mad at you, I promise."
"I know. I'm sorry." Phoebe responded, "When do you report for football practice?"
"Two and a half weeks."
Phoebe let out a heavy sigh and placed her hand on Gerald's lap.
"I'll miss you—but I'll be home in the evenings and you know I want to spend as much time with you as possible before you leave."
"I know. I love you."
"I love you too." Gerald responded, giving Phoebe an eager kiss on the lips running his fingers lightly through her dark black hair, "I'm just really nervous about this year."
Rhonda stepped out of her car and walked up the steps of her townhouse. She threw open the door of her apartment and tossed her keys on the console table tossed in a bowl next to her front door.
"How did you get here before me?" Rhonda questioned.
"Well hello to you too sugar bear." Thaddeus quipped, "Now, get changed into something comfortable—I know just where to go."
"I am comfortable." Rhonda remarked. Thaddeus looked her up and down and took in her outfit. She was wearing a red crop top with a black pencil skirt and a pair of black stilettos.
"Don't get me wrong. You look great toots, but you need to get comfortable. Don't you have any sneakers or sweatpants?"
"Sweatpants!?" Rhonda laughed but Thaddeus' face remained serious. "Oh, you're serious—let me see what I can do, wait here."
Rhonda disappeared into the bedroom. She reemerged wearing a black tank top, black lululemon leggings and a pair of sneakers.
"I guess that will have to do." Thaddeus remarked, "Now come on lets go."
"Oh no. I can't do this!" Rhonda exclaimed when they got to their destination.
"Why? Why can't you?" Thaddeus questioned.
"What if I get hurt or something?" Rhonda asked.
"That could happen—you just have to be faster than me." Thaddeus explained. "I mean seriously, haven't you ever just had the urge to shoot me!?"
"You mean, other than right now?"
"Well toots, Here's your chance."
Rhonda and Thaddeus walked up to the front desk and Thaddeus forked over his credit card in exchange for two camouflage fatigues. Rhonda held hers up as though it was going to attack her but Thaddeus placed his fatigues over his outfit quickly so Rhonda followed suit.
"What color?" The woman asked the pair of teenagers.
"Blue." Thaddeus immediately said.
"Uh—Red, I guess." Rhonda responded.
The woman loaded two paintball guns with the paintball colors they selected and handed them over the counter along with two masks before leading them through a small corridor that led outside. Rhonda looked around the area and multiple areas to take cover at.
"You two have forty-five minutes. Have fun." The woman stated in a monotone voice before walking away.
"Why did you bring me here? I have no idea what I'm doing." Rhonda demanded to know.
"I figured you needed to blow off some steam and this is my favorite way to do that. I think you'll enjoy it. Trust me." Thaddeus responded, before placing his paintball mask over his face.
Rhonda rolled her eyes and put her mask over her face and picked up the paintball gun. She spotted Thaddeus walking towards one of the shelters and she fired three shots. The first two missed but the final one splattered red paint on his butt.
"Oh, it's going on now Ms. Lloyd!" Thaddeus chuckled as Rhonda ran to find cover.
"Time's up!" A woman over a loudspeaker said. Rhonda and Thaddeus both emerged, their once clean fatigues now covered with mud and decorated with the colors of their opponent's guns.
Rhonda took off her mask and revealed a small smile.
"See, I told you!" Thaddeus responded.
"I guess you were right." Rhonda admitted. "It was a really fun time."
"Sometimes, I just have a good feeling about things" Thaddeus stated, as he led Rhonda back out to his car with his hand resting at the small of her back.
"Okay, are you ever going to tell me what this surprise of yours is?" Lila asked as her and Eugene walked towards Luna Park.
"You look wonderful." Eugene stated with a smile.
"Stop trying to change the subject!" Lila exclaimed with a small giggle.
"If I told you—it wouldn't be a surprise anymore." Eugene responded.
Lila and Eugene were halfway through the park when two tall men began to approach them. Eugene looked over at Lila and flashed her a smile.
"Hey babe." The tall blonde man stated before leaning in to give Eugene a small kiss on the lips causing Eugene to smile from ear to ear.
"Lila, this is my boyfriend Evan and his cousin Aston." Eugene stated introducing the pair of men to her. Lila looked up at Aston who was easily 6'2" with dark brown, nearly black hair and a fabulously chiseled jawline.
"Wow, I didn't know what to expect when I agreed to be set up on a blind date. I must say I'm pleasantly surprised." Aston smiled, Lila noticed that his smile was nearly perfect. She could feel her cheeks getting warm.
"I know that it's overdone—but I was thinking Chez Paris." Evan remarked, looking at his boyfriend for approval.
"I'm okay with that. Lila, Aston—is that alright with you?" Eugene asked. Aston and Lila simply nodded in agreement, neither one of them taking their eyes off of each other.
"Alright, let's head out." Eugene responded, stumbling over a rock and falling into his boyfriend's hands.
"Has anyone told you, you can be a little clumsy?" Evan chuckled.
"Maybe a few times." Eugene admitted as he blushed slightly.
"It's adorable." Evan commented before grabbing ahold of Eugene's hand.
The two couples took their seats at Chez Paris.
"You're forgiven." Lila leaned in and whispered towards Eugene before turning her attention back to Aston.
"So, where did you say you were from?" Lila questioned.
"I was born in Huntington Beach but we moved to Seattle when I was five. I think I'm more of a brooding artist than a surfer boy, so my parents made the right decision." Aston remarked eliciting a laugh from Lila.
Lila was deep into her conversation with Aston when Eugene grabbed Lila's arm.
"What is wrong with you?" Lila exclaimed, looking at her friend with wide eyes.
"Don't be alarmed but I just saw my parents walk in." Eugene responded.
"What's going on?" Evan asked, his face marked with confusion.
"I haven't told my parents about us yet." Eugene admitted.
"He hasn't even told his parents that he's gay yet." Lila interjected causing Eugene to shoot her a stark look.
"Alright, we'll we're a table of four actors. We can figure something out." Aston stated.
"You're an actor?" Lila swooned.
"Now is not the time." Eugene responded through gritted teeth.
"Good evening son! What a pleasant surprise." Mrs. Horowitz remarked as she approached their table. "Lila, you look wonderful."
"Doesn't she though? I sure know how to pick them." Eugene responded, causing Evan to shoot him a confused look.
"So, you and Lila are dating?" Evan raised his eyebrow and looked at Eugene.
"Yes, we are madly, deeply in love and we couldn't hold in our feelings any longer." Eugene responded dramatically. Lila rolled her eyes and shoved her face into her hands.
"Eugene, your father and I saw your girlfriend and this young man walk in together." Mrs. Horowitz gestured towards Lila and Aston, "So, can you cut the act and just tell us what's going on?" Mrs. Horowitz demanded.
AN: Three more! Three more! Happy Monday & Happy Reading.