Chapter 12: Sunset Arms

Arnold walked out of the Daily Globe's headquarters with a box of his things in his arms, including his laptop and some files. He gave one last forlorn lingering glance at the large glass office tower before stepping out it's revolving doors for the last time. Somebody pinch him, he thought, I can't believe I've just quit.

After months of slaving away as an intern, serving coffee and kissing ass, he'd just thrown away his one opportunity for becoming a journalist. Plus, his only other source of income to cover the rent and the basic necessities of life.

But could he have done it any other way and maintained his integrity?

Arnold suddenly understood why Gerald was such a star reporter. Gerald would do anything for a good story, including selling out old friends and publicly disgrace them with personal details of their life. Arnold could never do the same to an old friend, no matter how much the newspaper payed him. He couldn't stand to see what they were doing to Rhonda's image so soon after she had been brutally murdered. Any way you cut it, it was wrong. You couldn't just sell your soul for a good story.

He put his box of things, the only remnants he had left of his brief stint at the Daily Globe, into his trunk and slammed it shut. As he got into his car, he decided he needed to take a break from home and visit his grandparents at the Sunset Arms. The last thing he wanted was to see Helga right now. He drove the short distance from downtown to his grandparent's boarding house.

~/~

Arnold smiled when he caught sight of his grandma gardening out in the little shrub patch in front of the house. Both his grandparents were in their 70s but somehow they managed to have more energy than many twenty year olds. His grandmother ran to give him a hug as soon as she saw him. She was still carrying the garden spade in her gnarled hands and some of the dirt rubbed off on his white shirt, not that he minded.

"Arnold!" she squeezed him even tighter in her arms, "How nice to see you. Come on in, your pa's fixing the sink in the kitchen."

"Right," he gave her a kiss on her cheek before stepping into the cool house.

He had an unpleasant view of his grandfather's rear end as he got into the kitchen. The old man was crouched beneath the sink in a pair of sagging pants, so he was nearly full mooning Arnold.

"Umm hi Grandpa." And grandpa's butt.

"Oh hey there Shortman!" Phil called from underneath the sink.

Arnold moved closer and surveyed the leaking faucet, "Ah can I help you or anything?" He felt guilty that he hadn't visited his grandparents in more than a week. Usually he stopped by every day or two.

Phil laughed giddily like he'd just told a good joke, "Nonsense, Arnold, since when do you know anything about plumbing?"

"You taught me a little," he shrugged. He knew Phil always wanted to teach Arnold plumbing and apprentice him, because it was a good paying trade. Instead Arnold had opted to follow in his parents footsteps and study journalism. Though 'what use is journalism' Phil would often say.

"I'm just teasing you," Phil said as he finally got up from under the sink, "I know you're no plumber and never will be. How is everything at the Daily Globe or whatever that fancy newspaper's name is?"

"Not so good. I quit my job today."

"What?! I thought you wanted to be a reporter Shortman!"

"I do grandpa but Gerald wanted to publish a morally compromising story about Rhonda. You know Rhonda right, our friend from school who was murdered?"

"Poor dear Rhonda," Phil wiped away a tear, "She was Helga's age wasn't she?"

"Uh, yeah," Arnold replied uncomfortably. He didn't like hearing Helga and Rhonda's murder being brought up in the same sentence. For some reason there was something unsettling about hearing how they were the same age...and how under different circumstances, Helga could've been the one murdered...like if Helga had been the one engaged to Eugene. Though that was impossible. Or was it? It seemed equally impossible a week ago that Helga could be with Sid but that was true. That somehow had become a reality.

Phil read his grandson's worried expression, "Is something wrong between you and Helga?"

Arnold sat down at the kitchen table. He sighed heavily, his features resigned.

"I don't know, Grandpa, Helga and I used to get along but lately she's been acting like a completely different person. I thought she was just grieving Rhonda's death but I don't know anymore."

Phil tried to catch his eye, "You know I don't mean to pry but I always thought it funny that you two became roommates as adults when you used to hate each other as kids."

"We're just friends Grandpa. We just happened to graduate at the same time, in the same city and I answered her ad by accident. It was completely by chance that we even became roommates."

"You keep saying that shortman but somehow I'm not convinced. You say Helga and you are only roommates or friends or whatever you young folks call it these days but I know one thing for certain: you care about this Helga girl."

"Of course, I do. She's my friend. Why wouldn't I?"

Phil smiled tiredly, "Let me put it this way Arnold: do you care about Helga the same way you care about Gerald?"

"Gerald?" Arnold wasn't even sure what he thought about his best friend, or former best friend, right now. Hadn't he just quit because Gerald Johanssen let him down?

Arnold shook his head, "It's different with Gerald, he's not a girl. I don't have to worry about him in the same way. Helga's all alone, barely speaks to her family, and has an attitude problem. Helga makes enemies wherever she goes, it's like she thinks she has to take on the whole world by herself!"

Phil laughed.

"What's so funny?" Arnold frowned.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you're little blonde friend still has the unibrow?"

"No she doesn't. She got rid of it years ago." He almost missed it.

"Well then I suppose she must look quite nice nowadays?" Phil suggested.

He crossed his arms, "So she's changed over the years, what does Helga's appearance have to do with anything?"

"Well I don't know, shortman, you tell me. Your roommate, who you see everyday, is a pretty young blonde maybe your feelings have changed...Is that such a crazy suggestion?"

"Trust me, it's crazy grandpa. And even if it weren't, it doesn't matter anyways. Helga's dating Sid."

"Sid?! That skinny kid that used to whine about everything? She chose him over you?!"

Arnold felt his temper rising and stood up. "She didn't choose him over me, we were never a couple to begin with!"

"If you say so Arnold, there's no need to get touchy!"

"I'm not getting touchy," Arnold said with folded arms in a defensive tone, "Anyways, I'm dating Lila."

"Lila?" Phil made a face of disgust, "Isn't she that good for nothing who broke your heart in high school?"

"She didn't break my heart," Arnold narrowed his eyes, "Things aren't so simple, people make mistakes, they change-"

Phil was about to say something less than endearing about Lila but was interrupted.

At that moment, before the situation could any more tense, Grandma burst in with a pie dish in her hands. The smell of fresh raspberry wafted through the air.

"I made your favourite Arnold why don't you take a seat and I'll cut you a slice with ice cream."

"Oh goody Pooky!" Phil rubbed his hands together, "I thought I smelt pie earlier but I couldn't find it."

"That's because I was hiding it, I didn't want you eating the whole thing before Arnold arrived!"

"It's alright grandma, I'm not that hungry."

"Don't be silly, Arnold. I'll serve it with ice cream on top."

"Now that sounds good!" Phil said and eagerly took a seat beside Arnold.

Grandpa's smile faded when he saw his wife give a larger slice to Arnold and only a tiny scoop of ice cream on his own slice.

"What's this about?" he scowled as he poked his fork at the tiny slice.

"Quit scowling Phil, you know Doctor Mahabi told you to cut down on sweets!"

Phil crossed his arms, "Doctor Mahabi wouldn't no up from down, let alone healthy from unhealthy. I didn't get to my age by eating vegetables!"

Arnold chuckled and tucked in another mouthful of the delicious raspberry pie and melted ice cream.

Half an hour later, Arnold looked down at his watch and saw it was 5 o'clock.

"I'd better go."

He kissed his grandmother goodbye and Phil followed him out to his car.

"Listen, shortman, I'd like to give you one more piece of advice before you slip off."

Arnold scratched tiredly at his neck. He had a feeling what Phil would try to lecture him on and he wasn't looking forward to hearing more of his Grandpa's opinions of Helga or Lila.

"What is it, grandpa?" he asked warily.

Phil smiled, "You're a good kid, Arnold, you've always done the right thing morally. Like today when you quit because you didn't want to betray Rhonda's memory to sell a story. But as good as you are morally, I think you're absolutely rubbish when it comes to your love life."

Arnold cringed at hearing his grandfather talk about his love life.

"Please grandpa-"

"No listen what I've got to say, shortman, I'm only fifty years older than you so I've been around the block a few times."

"What?"

"Listen very carefully: Stop being an idiot."

"Gee, thanks grandpa. That's really helpful advice."

"It's only helpful if you use it. Now start using that big noggin of yours," he tapped at Arnold's head and Arnold rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, I'll try. Goodbye grandpa."

Grandpa laughed his high pitched nasally laugh as Arnold drove off.

Arnold wasn't sure whether his grandfather meant what he said. It was true that he usually did the moral thing and went to far ends to help others, while his own life was less than perfect. But that didn't make him stupid. Whose life was perfect? And so what if Lila wasn't perfect. She was human, she made mistakes. Arnold could see that now so he didn't worship her like he did back in high school. He wasn't stupid for taking her back. If anything, their relationship could be deeper and more meaningful now because they both saw each other as faulted human beings. There was no fantasy anymore, it was pure visceral reality.

As for Helga, he didn't know what to think. Helga had been a mystery from day one and she only had become more complicated as she got older. He had tried many times to understand Helga but clearly it wasn't working. Right now he didn't even know who Helga Pataki was.