Author Note: …People are returning to Point Place whether they want to or not…..
T7S
Chapter 08 – Coming Home
T7S
Eric waited patiently for Benjamin's plane to taxi in. Even though his son was only gone for a week, it seemed like two. Ben emailed every night, his mom was good and she took him on a whirlwind visit of all the tourist sights. Eric just missed his son. He was glad that Ben saw a different part of the world – it would make him appreciate his own home just that much more…but the selfish part of Eric Forman was glad that Donna didn't try to keep him with her.
"Dad!" Ben's voice broke Eric's reverie. "I brought you back a cool cap and a tee shirt!"
Eric grabbed his boy in a big hug until Ben squirmed. "Dad, jeez….I'm not a baby. Let's go, I need to call Brittany. I wanna go to the movies on Saturday." Eric smiled and picked up the duffel bag. His dad used to call him a dumbass for every little thing he did, but the day Ben was born…Red Forman had a new respect for his son. Benjamin Forman was the most un-dumbass thing Eric had ever done.
Now his dad could barely remember. Hopefully, this Father's Day party would give Red something he could take to the grave. There would be plenty of pictures that would have names written on them, everyone would be wearing name tags…Jackie would think of everything Red needed to be happy for this one special day.
Now Ben was home. Eric could only hope that one day, his own son would be there when he got so old!
T7S
"Thank you for calling Burkhart Professional Resume Service, this is Jackie may I help you?"
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" The familiar voice crooned in her ear. Jackie pushed away from her desk and spun her chair around to look out the window. "No….I was just finishing up some work. You're calling me during the day!"
"I just wanted to make sure my name was going to be on the cake."
"Oh Steven, of course it is. I told Mrs. Forman just as soon as you said yes so you better be there."
"It's been a long time since I set foot in Point Place." He sighed over the phone. Jackie bit her lip and asked the question she had been wondering about for so long. "So…where have you been for the last 15 years or so?"
"Well, WB Productions is headquartered in Green Bay but I also have an estate in Milwaukee. Angie likes to look over the Bay – Walter used to take her boating on weekends."
"Walter was Angie's husband?" Jackie was trying to remember someone she never met. Steven replied, "Yeah…he was a great brother-in-law. We miss him but I'm in Milwaukee this week and I'll be in Kenosha for the party."
Jackie couldn't help the little bump of happiness in her heart. "You know Steven; maybe after the party we could get a drink or something…" He laughed, "I adore Drunk Jackie. Let me bring the bottle of Grey Goose and you and I can have a party."
"Oh….Pam got me drunk on purpose. I'm not usually like that."
"Jackie….hey, I'm not judging you. I just can't imagine that at our age, you'd still be getting toasted."
"Steven! It's because of my age I like getting toasted!" She said with mock indignation. He laughed. "God I miss you."
"I miss you too. Now let me go back to work Mr. Milwaukee and I'll see you next week."
"Wait. Before you hang up, where do you work?" Steven asked quickly. Jackie smiled, "I forgot to tell you didn't I? After my dad got out of prison, I bought the old Burkhart home as a foreclosure and now I own it. Of course, I had to Jackie it up but I don't hate being alone in it anymore."
"How's your dad?"
"Dead." She replied without remorse. "He got shanked a couple of days before his sentence was up and the wound got infected and he passed on surprisingly from a heart attack. We had a couple of good weeks together and my mom even stopped by."
"Pamela Burkhart came back to Point Place?" Hyde asked incredulously. Jackie laughed, "Yes, with her hand out and a return plane ticket in her hand. To this day, I have no idea where she is."
"Doll….you turned out all right. I'm looking forward to the party."
"Me too Steven. Me too."
T7S
The plane taxied down the private airstrip just outside of Milwaukee. Ray Bans and his sad little pair of fugitives exited the Cessna looking like they were going to be put to death. Hyde waited in the cool comfort of the limo watching as they approached the vehicle tentatively – afraid - and for some reason that pleased him. Hunting them down had been extremely taxing.
Casey slid into the back of the sleek silver limo and his wife followed suit while Ray Bans closed the door behind him. "So…where's your boss? What's he expecting from us?"
RB nodded towards the privacy window. "My employer is in the front seat. You'll find out shortly. I recommend you sit and be quiet. He can hear all conversations from the front seat."
"Oh." Casey felt thoroughly chastised. Was this the big casino owner? Was it the knee buster? What was going to happen to Glory? Man, I should have just ran. I could have at least got to Newfoundland….but Glo would have been left behind. Casey merely smiled politely and kept his mouth shut.
Minutes later, the limo was whisked between the large gates of a huge private estate. Casey knew he was a dead man.
T7S
For Jackie, it was the final countdown. Five days until the party was going to happen. By some miracle, Michael had managed to locate Fez, but his homeland was making him an honorary Chief and an island party was being held the same weekend as Father's Day. Fez promised to send a gift and a picture of himself with his three beautiful wives. Nevertheless, Jackie found a rare picture of Fez standing with Red and had it blown up into a life size picture which she could put on an empty seat to signify that the missing friend was still in their life.
She found an old picture of the gang's graduation day – the same day Red had his heart attack. Jackie hoped Red had forgotten about Laurie's and Fez's admission of marriage on that day. Let the Alzheimer's be selective with the bad memories this time!
T7S
Hyde was standing at the window that overlooked the spacious front lawn. WB loved looking at the front drive with the giant gates – a "W" on one and a "B" on the other. For his birth father, the huge Milwaukee estate signified that a black producer could change the music scene in a predominately white city. His chain of record stores had turned in to a studio that produced the music he sold. That venture turned into videos and corporations and made WB wealthy beyond his dreams. Now it was Steven Hyde's blight.
Hyde was a simple man. He didn't want the responsibility that was thrust on him. He felt an obligation to WB but leaned heavily on Leila and his other assistants to help run the business. As a major shareholder, Angie would voice an opinion and Hyde was only too happy to hand over the reins.
There was this big part of him that missed being in that damn basement getting high with his friends. The bigger part missed the adoration of Jackie Burkhart – the only female that had ever wormed her way into his heart. He would finally get to see her again. He was coming home!
T7S