And now we go on to 'Best Man'! Anyway, enjoy!
Pretty soon, Tucker led me, Phoebe and Nadine over to where the Wittenbergs were currently living as Tucker opened the door. "Mom, I'm home!"
We heard a whistle blow as Tucker stood to attention. Inside, we saw Tish Wittenberg smiling as she came in. "A little early for a workout, isn't it?"
"Yes, a little bit, but that's not why I'm here." Tucker said as he bowed his head. "I found Nadine and brought her over. She's with her friends, so they're there too."
Tish smiled. "Ah, the more the merrier, then. Nadine, sweetheart, come in, sit down."
Nadine smiled as she walked in. Phoebe and I were about to walk in, when Tish stopped us.
"Hold it, girls. Need you to do five push-ups before you go in." Tish smirked.
"What?" Me and Phoebe said in shock.
"I just had these nails done!" I said as I was showing off my nails.
Tish laughed. "Nah, just kidding. Come on in."
"Oh..." Me and Phoebe sighed in relief as we walked in.
"I have to say, Tish, you have a delightful sense of humor!" Phoebe said.
"You think that's something? When I went and visited Tucker my first time, I actually DID the push-ups!" Nadine smiled. "They're not really that hard."
Tish laughed a bit as she looked at Nadine. "Nadine, you may be a bit of a hippie that came from hippie parents, but you know what? You and your hippie parents are all right by our books!"
"What did you want to see me for, soon-to-be Mrs. Wittenberg?" Nadine asked. "Uh, if that's okay if I call you that."
"Nadine, you are being a little too polite to me. Show me that rough side! You work better with it!" Tish smiled. "But seriously, as you are no doubt correct, I am indeed getting re-married to my husband."
"What a relief." Tucker muttered to himself.
"The reason I called you here, Nadine, is, well, since I've noted you as a good bowler for the other team, and you have been getting friendly with my son..."
"Mom!" Tucker frowned as Nadine started to blush. Me and Phoebe just giggled. "We just hang out!"
"...AND you've been good at most sports that I've witnessed you seeing, I was wondering one thing." Tish said. "I want you to be the Maid of Honor for my wedding on Saturday."
Nadine looked at Tish in surprise as me and Phoebe were almost about to screech in delight. "Wow, Tish... but why me?"
"I'll be blunt with you, Nadine. My cousin Connie is going to be out of town on that day, and all my other girlfriends are... well, they're pretty busy, so I thought of you and figured you'd be perfect!" Tish explained.
Nadine paused as she put her leg behind her other one and rubbed against it. "I don't know, Tish... I haven't really done weddings before... I'm not as interested in the girly stuff as Rhonda and Phoebe are... I can still do it, but I'm not into it..."
Tish laughed. "I don't blame you, Nadine. I naturally hate wearing the dresses too, but it's a customary wedding thing."
"Wonderful." Nadine said in a deadpan voice.
"Excuse me, Miss Wittenberg?" I coughed as I came over to the two. "Maybe I can help Nadine. In a wedding, you're allowed two maid of honors, right?"
"That's what I hear, yes..." Tish looked over to me. "Rhonda, do you want to be the maid of honor as well?"
"Oh, please, I'd love that very much!" I smiled.
"But Rhonda..." Nadine sighed. "...we don't know anything about being maid of honors!"
"Well, what better way to learn than now?" I smirked. "Besides, I've been to a couple of weddings with my mother and father... mostly to see a couple of my uncles and aunts getting married. I've seen how weddings work, so no need to worry on that!"
Nadine paused. "Well, if Rhonda's going to help me, then... sure Tish, I'll be your maid of honor!"
"Wonderful!" Tish smiled. "Nadine, Rhonda, I can't thank you two enough!"
"It's no trouble!" Nadine and I smiled.
"Wait, what about me?" Phoebe asked.
Tish looked over to Phoebe as she looked down. "Sorry, sweetheart. I don't have room on the maid of honor... but come by and I'll give you something..."
Phoebe's eyes twinkled with joy. "Maybe a tuba solo for your wedding music?"
"NO!" Me, Tucker and Nadine glared.
Phoebe looked down. Tish put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll find something for you. All three of you meet me after school tomorrow, we'll discuss some more."
I nodded as I said, "Okay. Thank you, Tish."
"Anytime." Tish Wittenberg said as me and Phoebe were starting to depart.
"Bye, Tuck! See you tomorrow at school!" Nadine said as she quickly joined us.
"See you, Butterfly!" We heard Tucker say as we left.
"Well, what an interesting weekend we're going to have." I sighed. "Not only do we have to attend a wedding on Saturday, we have to attend a graduation on Sunday!"
"A graduation on Sunday?" Phoebe asked as we continued walking.
"Oh, didn't I tell you? Olga's graduating early. She no longer has school!" I explained. "She got enough credits to get herself an early graduation!"
"Wow..." Phoebe's eyes twinkled. "Well, you're certainly right in saying we have a busy weekend."
"Yeah... say, Nadine, what do you think?" I asked as I turned towards Nadine... who looked like she had a lovesick expression on her face.
"I do. I do. I do..." I heard Nadine mutter.
"I do what?" I raised an eyebrow, causing Nadine to snap out of her trance.
"What?" Nadine blinked.
"You kept saying I do." I examined her.
"Uh... I do think this is a... good day?" Nadine smiled nervously.
Me and Phoebe both smirked as I said, "You were thinking about a possible wedding between yourself and Tucker, weren't you?"
Nadine's eyes averted to the side. "Noooooo..."
"You wanted him to hold you, to cherish you!" Phoebe smiled.
Nadine's eyes, again, averted to the side. "Nooooo..."
"You totally were!" I laughed.
Nadine frowned. "Fine. You got me! But come on, Rhonda, you're probably doing the same thing as well, thinking about you and Arnold getting married to one another!"
"Oh, Nadine, of course I do! But at least I don't shout my dreams out loud!" I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, we were just talking about Olga. She invited us for her graduation ceremony on Sunday, Sharlene's keeping an eye on us!"
"Oh, cool!" Nadine smiled. "That sounds like a lot of fun. But what's Olga going to do now since she's graduating?"
"I'm not quite sure on that..." I said as we continued walking. "Guess we'll have to wait and see..."
The next day, our first day of school after New Year's break has just started. Me, Phoebe and Nadine were planning on meeting up with Lila inside as we were about to go in. As I reached for the doors, the headache started up again... though I had a sneaking suspicion on what's behind the headaches.
"Do you like, see Olga coming ahead of time or something?" I asked in my thoughts.
"Well, excuse me, princess! I can't help but pace around that mind of yours!" Helga said in my thoughts.
I shook my head as I saw Olga coming out with a smile. "Hi, Olga!"
"Hey, Rhonda, Rhonda's friends!" Olga smiled. "I feel pretty elated today!"
"Why's that?" Phoebe asked.
Olga smiled. "Oh, I can't say anything now... just wait until Monday!"
As Olga started skipping along, causing my headache to stop, Nadine stated the obvious. "Olga does seem excited... but what was she doing over at PS 118?"
"You don't think she has a new job here, do you?" Phoebe asked as we went inside.
"It's plausible." I nodded. "I don't know what occupation Olga was studying for, exactly, but from her face, she seems pretty delighted."
"Hmmmm..." Phoebe and Nadine paused.
"Well, come on! The sooner we get through this school, the sooner we can meet up with Tish." Nadine said as all of us started to get to our lockers.
As soon as we were settled in our desks, I saw Arnold approaching as he sat down next to me. "Hey Arnold! I just heard you're Coach Wittenberg's best man for his second wedding?"
Arnold nodded. "Indeed. I heard from Tucker you and Nadine were going to be Coach Wittenberg's soon-to-be-again wife's maid of honors?"
"Yep." I nodded. "Taking care of the job of inviting our friends to the wedding?"
"Mostly... if you're taking care of the girls. I have a suspicion you already have a few in mind." Arnold asked.
I nodded. "Indeed. Well, I'm excited for this!"
"I am, too." Arnold said. "It's pretty rare we have something big like this... and you know, maybe this'll be a good shot for Coach Wittenberg and his wife to make amends..."
"I don't know, Arnold." Tucker said as he passed by our desks. "My parents may be big-hearted, and they have well-meaning intentions, but you're forgetting one thing... they are VERY competitive."
"How so, Tucker?" Arnold asked as Tucker took his seat behind Arnold.
"Have you ever wondered how my parents met?" Tucker asked.
Me and Arnold shook our heads.
Tucker took a deep breath. "I'll explain at recess. Our classes have just begun."
We nodded as we turned to Mr. Simmons, who just came in with his usual happy-go-lucky smile on his face.
Later, over at lunch, me, Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Stinky, Nadine, Phoebe, Curly (why he was here is beyond me), Eugene, Sheena, Harold, Lorenzo and Lila were sitting around Tucker at recess as I said, "Okay, spill. How did your parents meet with each other?"
Tucker took a deep breath. "Well, my mom always had this thing for my dad ever since they were the same young age. They mostly saw themselves as... competitors, you see. They competed in everything, baseball, basketball, football, even the foosball tables and air hockey tables! My mom always had a bit of a crush on my dad at the time, and truthfully, I think my dad had a crush on her too, but they were either too shy or too stubborn to admit it. I'm leaning towards stubborn."
We all chuckled. Tucker coughed. "Anyway, my dad always hated to lose, even at the most sporting events... it wasn't until one day when my dad and my mom were at a carnival together, and they were playing a game of Whack-A-Mole... and my dad actually let my mom win. My dad always told me he did it to finally admit his crush, but I think my mom actually suspected that he let my mom win, but she actually didn't care. They were together for a few years, they had me, they divorced when I was five... again, long story."
"Don't want to get too deep on the deep stuff, huh?" Curly asked.
"I guess you can say that." Tucker said. "Anyway, the reason they divorced was mainly because they got... 'TOO' competitive. But now, everything's going fine, and they're getting married again! I actually did kind of miss the family dynamic... we may not be the perfect family, but we still love each other. My dad at least cares to take care of me, and my mom shares the same feelings as well."
"Well, I'm glad you're getting everything sorted out!" Lila smiled. "I just hope everything... goes well."
"I hope it does." Tucker sighed. "I don't want my mom and dad to get separated over something silly again!"
We all applauded as I looked up at the clock. "Well, only twenty-five minutes left. Anybody have ideas on what to do to pass the time until we go in?"
"Dodgeball!" Harold said in an excited voice, with most of the others talking in excitement.
I nodded. "Okay, dodgeball it is, then!"
Pretty soon, it was after school, and me, Nadine, Phoebe, Sheena and Lila were over at the bridal shop, where Tish took us over, and we were busy getting fitted into dresses.
"This isn't too bad." I smiled, looking at a nice, cute red dress I was wearing.
"I concur." Phoebe smiled, looking at her blue dress.
"Lila, you are so adorable!" Sheena giggled as she looked over at Lila's forest green dress.
"You're not so bad yourself, Sheena!" Lila smiled as she looked over at Sheena's purple dress.
"I look stupid in this!" Nadine complained, looking over her dark green dress.
"Aw, Nadine, you don't look too bad in it." I smiled. "We know you like it!"
"Come on, Nadine, don't deny it." Lila gave a small smile.
"Come on, Nadine. It's only for the wedding." Tish said as she came over to Nadine, wearing her wedding dress. "Trust me, as much as I'd rather a sport wedding event... we have to do traditional."
"I know..." Nadine groaned.
"Besides..." Tish smiled as she sat down. "With Tucker's little gift of your butterfly clips, the dress fits you... like a charm."
Nadine paused as she looked at the mirror, examining her dress, and then her hair as she felt the small butterfly clips on them. "You really think so?"
"I know so!" Tish smiled. "I'm sure Tucker will love you in that dress!"
"You think he will?" Nadine asked as she looked over at Tish.
"Sometimes, when you fancy a boy that's into sports and you're into the same thing... well, sometimes you'll have to... dress up... occasionally." Tish smirked.
"If you really think so... I guess I can get used to this..." Nadine smiled.
"There you go!" Tish smiled as she turned to me and the other girls. "You girls are doing okay as well. Digging the red dress, Rhonda!"
"Thank you!" I giggled a bit. "Say, Tucker told us about how you and the coach met."
"Ah, yes." Tish smiled. "Those were some good times..."
Tish sighed. "I guess Tucker told you a bit about the divorce when he was five?"
"Only a bit of it..." Lila said.
Tish sighed. "You've got to understand, girls, I was a little dangerous in that time, and me and Jack went through some silly argument... I think it was something about air hockey. Anyway, long story short, I got mad at him and we divorced... unfortunately, it affected our son at five. He does show that he is tough, but..."
"But?" Phoebe asked.
"But on the inside, I think he's a little hurt by the fact that we're not... seeing each other as much... but after seeing Jack caring for his bowling team and accepting that we won... thank you for losing the game, by the way..." Tish smirked.
I groaned, suddenly remembering that time...
I sighed in relief. Another chance to impress Arnold! "Don't worry guys, I won't blow it."
"Uh, Rhonda? No offense, but why don't we just let somebody else bowl?" Arnold said in concern. "I'm not sure you're ready for this?"
"Actually, Rhonda, my ankle isn't as bad as I thought. I can probably bowl." Nadine said.
I sighed as I said, "Guys, look, I know I can do this. What happened was a bit of bad luck. Besides, I need to be the one to do this! For my team... and to redeem myself."
"Are you sure?" Nadine asked.
"You really think you can do this?" Arnold asked me in concern.
"It's only two pins! I usually hit about five to seven pins!" I said.
"Then go out there, Rhonda, and hit five to seven pins!" Arnold smiled. "Or at least two."
"You go, girl!" Nadine smiled.
"Good luck, Rhonda." Phoebe said as Gerald just watched.
I nodded as I took the bowling ball in my hand and put my fingers in the hole. No more messing around. This time, I was truly ready.
Once again, I ran up to the bowling area. I wound up the ball... I threw it... I let go of the ball... and it rolled down...
...right into a gutterball... again? Wha-what?
My eyes just went wide as I just stared in horror. We... lost? I... lost? Arnold saw the whole thing, didn't he? I still stood in that position, just horrified. How can I live with myself after this...
"Looks like I still win after all, Coach!" I heard Tish say.
I heard Coach Wittenberg sighed. "Fine... okay... Tish, you did win this one... and to be honest, I don't really care who wins and loses this time."
"Huh?" I heard Tish utter in shock.
"Because I've trained my team really hard. As somebody once told me, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game." I heard the coach say.
A little moment of silence as I heard Tish say, "Wow... a little deep..."
Tish then gave a soft giggle. "I like it. And even if I don't like to admit it, you actually did put up a fight. That's good for me."
"Aw, thanks, Tish." I heard Coach Wittenberg say.
"Thanks for reminding me..." I groaned, remembering that time.
"No trouble!" Tish smirked. "Actually, if it hadn't been for your loss, I never would have considered dating Jack all over again."
"At least I made somebody happy..." I sighed.
"Well, all of you look good in your dresses..." Tish smiled as Lila giggled.
"Thank you." Lila smiled as Phoebe twirled around.
"Nadine, thank you for having the patience to do this." Tish smiled as we all turned to Nadine. "I know it was probably tough."
We all then noticed Nadine was wearing a lovesick expression on her face.
"I do. I do. I do..." Nadine sighed.
"I do what?" Tish asked in confusion, bring Nadine back to reality.
"Huh?" Nadine blinked, turning to Tish.
"You were just saying, 'I do, I do'." Tish blinked.
"Uh..." Nadine smiled nervously. "I... do like... the green dress?"
Tish gave a smirk. "You were thinking of my son, weren't you?"
Nadine's eyes widened, then started to avert to the side. "Nooooo..."
"She's doing it again!" Phoebe giggled as me, Sheena and Lila laughed a bit.
Tish smirked even more. "You were thinking of marrying him someday, weren't you?"
Nadine's eyes, again, averted to the side. "Noooooo..."
"She totally is, soon-to-be-again, Mrs. Wittenberg." I smiled.
Nadine groaned as Tish smiled. Nadine sighed. "What gave it away?"
"Since you hang around my son, I figure he would be the only option you cared for." Tish smiled. "It's okay, sweetheart. Nothing wrong with making some small steps towards my son... just make sure when you grow up, those hormones don't activate!"
"Wha- I'm NINE!" Nadine blushed.
"Soon to be ten!" Phoebe smiled as me, Phoebe, Lila and Sheena giggled.
"You're not helping my case!" Nadine glared.
Pretty soon, we were getting out of our dresses, Tish, Nadine and I already got out of ours as Tish looked out the window. "Oh look... here comes my soon-to-be husband, along with my son and his friend, Arnold!"
Nadine and I turned towards the window as I said, "You got my attention."
Indeed, we saw Arnold and Tucker walking with Coach Wittenberg as we listened in.
"I still can't believe you bought a plastic ring!" Tucker groaned. "How will Mom react?"
"She'll understand, she knows I'm not exactly the richest guy... she still loves me anyway." Coach Wittenberg smiled. "You know, Tucker, your mother means an awful lot to me, and Arnie, you should listen to this as well. There are two things of utmost importance to me. Your mother... and winning."
"But Tish is the most important, right?" Arnold asked.
"No, Arnie, winning is most important!" Coach Wittenberg laughed.
I looked up at Tish and... uh-oh, she seemed pretty steamed. She looked like she was about to go out and berate him...
"What?" Tucker shouted before glaring at his dad.
"Well, come on, Tuck, at least your mom is a close second!" Coach Wittenberg smiled.
"Dad, stop right there, just... STOP TALKING!" Tucker frowned. "What the heck, Dad? If Mom heard that from you, she would be furious! Winning isn't everything!"
Coach Wittenberg and Arnold turned to Tucker with shocked looks as I looked up at Tish. Tish stopped being ticked and was now curious.
"S-son..." Coach Wittenberg started.
"You listen to me, Dad! I have been born from both of you, out of the love you two shared! I know of the air hockey incident that got you divorced in the first place, Dad! I know you mocked my mother... nay, your DIVORCED wife that you are about to REMARRY soon! She couldn't take the insults! Oh, and I know what you're going to say, 'I didn't mean to do that, she just overreacted'! Well, if she did, maybe she had a right to overreact! How would you feel if she won and she mocked YOU, took things too far... and shared a kiss with another man!"
Coach Wittenberg's eyes widened as Tish gasped a bit. Me and Nadine stared in shock, with Arnold just looking between Coach Wittenberg and Tucker in confusion.
"Yeah! She told me about it! I just didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to lose you!" Tucker frowned. "Now... now you and my mom have a chance to remarry... and you still think that winning is most important? I'm sorry, Dad, but if that's what you always think... then you never really learned your lesson..."
We watched as Tucker angrily stomped off. Coach Wittenberg just looked in shock as Arnold sighed. "I'll go talk with him, Coach."
As we watched Arnold go off, Coach Wittenberg sighed as he sat down. Me, Nadine and Tish opened the door as we peeked out, Coach Wittenberg looking at the plastic ring he bought.
"What am I doing?" Coach Wittenberg groaned, talking to himself. "Oh, you're doing it again, that's what you're doing! I'm putting winning ahead of my own wife!"
Coach Wittenberg looked up at the sky. "Maybe my son is right... maybe I have been a bit... okay, I HAVE been a jerk! I just want everything to work again... I want to make amends with my wife! I love my wife! I love Tish! Winning may be important... but losing your wife isn't. Oh, Tish, I'm not making that same mistake again!"
Tish smiled as she slowly started clapping her hands. The coach yelped in surprise as he turned to see Tish, Nadine and I walking out of the door. "Tish! Ho- you overheard everything?"
"Yep." Tish nodded.
"Even the part where I stupidly said winning was..." Coach Wittenberg started.
"Especially that." Tish smiled. "Look, Jack, I know you're not perfect... hell, I'm not perfect either. But does it really matter in the long run? We've found each other, we're together, and we have a good son to boot. What happened with the divorce... was something we needed time with..."
"Well..." Coach Wittenberg looked up. "Do you... still love me?"
Tish smiled as she hugged him. "Stronger than before!"
Coach Wittenberg were about to go for a kiss... when all of a sudden, they did a hi-five.
It was around this time, Phoebe, Lila and Sheena, in their regular clothes, joined us. Lila sighed. "Sorry we didn't get out of the dressing rooms. I had a little trouble with a knot."
"What did we miss?" Sheena asked as the three of them turned to see Coach Wittenberg and Tish talking.
"You missed a lot." I said.
Pretty soon, Coach Wittenberg and Tish smiled as Arnold and Tucker were coming back. Arnold smiled as he pointed over to them. "See, Tucker? They do love each other... they just have a very unusual way of showing it."
Tucker looked over and smiled. "Dad... Mom... dad, did you..."
"He did..." Tish smiled.
"Son, I'm sorry, you're right. Even if winning can be important, family's even more important." Coach Wittenberg smiled as the three of them went in a group hug.
"I forgive you..." Tucker smiled. "Just don't make those stupid mistakes again."
"Deal." Coach Wittenberg and Tish smiled.
"So... since we're all one big happy family again... want to do a round of air hockey?" Tucker smiled.
"Let's." Coach Wittenberg and Tish smiled.
Tish then turned to us. "Bye, kids! We'll see you at the rehearsal dinner on Friday!"
We nodded as we waved good-bye.
Arnold smiled a bit as he said, "Once again, another day completed."
"Yeah... maybe a disaster was averted as well..." I chuckled. "What do you think, Nadine?"
We all blinked as we saw Nadine wearing a lovesick expression. Arnold blinked. "Nadine?"
Nadine sighed. "I do. I do. I do..."
Nadine then suddenly realized we, including Arnold, were next to her as she nervously covered it up. "I do... think this is a... happy reunion amongst... families?"
"You're thinking of marrying Tucker someday, aren't you?" Arnold smiled.
"Am I REALLY that obvious?" Nadine asked.
"Yes." Me, Phoebe, Lila, Sheena and Arnold said.
Nadine groaned. "I don't know HOW you guys know..."
Saturday came around, and the wedding went without a hitch. It was pretty enjoyable, and an interesting experience. Arnold complimented my dress, and I thanked him for it, telling him he didn't look that bad himself in a tuxedo.
Pretty soon, after the I dos, it was a good time as we waved good-bye to the married couple as they were going on their honeymoon.
As soon as that was done, Nadine turned to Tucker as she blushed a bit. "So... staying with me and my parents for the weekend? Sounds like fun!"
"With you, I'm sure there's more fun to be had!" Tucker said.
Nadine giggled as the two held hands. I smiled a bit. Those two definitely made a great couple...
I heard my cell ringing as I picked it up, and looked at the number. I answered it. "Hi, Olga!"
"Hey, Rhonda! How's everything?" Olga asked.
"Going fine!" I said as everyone was departing.
"Okay, good. Just a reminder, my graduation ceremony is tomorrow. Sharlene will be picking you girls up at ten, the ceremony starts at eleven-thirty! I really hope to see you there!" Olga said.
"It's no trouble, Olga. Really." I smiled. "Well, got to go now. Bye, Olga!"
"Bye, Rhonda!" Olga said as we hung up the phones.
Phoebe looked over at me as she asked, "Was that Olga?"
I nodded. "Just reminding us about the graduation ceremony. Sharlene's picking us up at my house at ten."
"This could be interesting..." Phoebe smiled. "I always wanted to witness a graduation ceremony!"
"You're going to be pleasantly surprised!" I laughed as we looked up at the sky, preparing ourselves for a new day.
And there's episode one hundred and five! How was it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks! And don't forget to check out/add to the TVTropes page!