Less than a week after the boys arrived, Mick left the island for places unknown, well his first stop was Savanna, Georgia but he wasn't sure where he was going after that. Moe was down a crew member, but had gained three out of losing him and things seemed to work out fine that way. For one thing, he could keep the bar open on Sunday and Monday, making more money that way and possibly beating Patrick in the cash flow. The boys set up a system on who would be out fishing for the day. Homer and Barney took Monday's, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, Homer and Roger went together on Thursdays, Roger and Barney worked together on Fridays and Saturdays, and on Sundays they rotated around and had Moe join whoever was working that morning.
It was now mid January, the boys had been in Key West for a little over four months, enjoying the warm weather, learning how to make the best drinks, and fishing for hours in the morning. It was a very nice life; all three fell in love with it. The boys started sporting the island life look, wearing swim shorts most of the time, especially when out on the boat along with tank tops and sandals. Work was casual so they wore almost the same ensemble, they would be wearing t-shirts. They also let their hair grow out, sporting the surfer guy kind of look. Homer was letting his hair grow long down the back, but not too long, just enough to make him look like he was a laid back kind of guy. Barney was the same, though for some reason his could not grow as long, and Roger decided that he needed a goatee just so he could stand out among his friends
While out on the boat Barney often mentioned how he was glad he made the decision to move down there yet often wondered how long their life in paradise would last. Homer did not care one way or another, he sometimes wondered what was going on in Springfield and even though he was trying to find ways to court Jenna, he still often wondered what Marge was up to and if she was still with Artie Ziff. He often wondered if she thought about him and if she was alone again, would she wait for him to return to her? It was a question that always bugged him and one that delayed his courting with Jenna. A delay that annoyed Roger to no end.
Many times, Homer had the opportunity to go up and ask Jenna, and many times Roger had the opportunity to sweep Jenna off her feet and take her in his arms. But he remained patient even though it was annoying to wait for Homer night and day and find out if he had any luck. Now that February was fast approaching, he was hoping that he could at least take someone out on a date for Valentine's Day. He hadn't been alone on Valentine's Day in years, and he did not want to make this year an exception. Homer needed to court Jenna; he wanted to see if she would show any interest in him. If not he would take her, and if not her, well there were plenty of others sunning themselves on the beaches out there.
But something had to be done, it was time to talk to him and get him to try and date Jenna. He knew the best opportunity would be on Wednesdays; Jenna came by no matter what to have a cosmopolitan and maybe even play some piano for the patrons that were starting to miss her brother's music. So with any luck, Homer could try to talk to her on Wednesday night, and of course he could help get him in the right direction.
Like many Wednesday nights in January, the bar was quiet and only a few locals were actually there enjoying the evening with their favorite drinks and a good grilled fish. It was only Homer and Roger working together that night and so far not much action had occurred. Jenna was usually there by four but had not shown up yet and Roger noticed Homer's wary eye as he looked around for their female friend.
"I bet she got caught up in things," Roger said while Homer was mixing a drink.
"Huh…what?" Homer asked.
"I know you're looking for Jenna, she'll be here, it's she probably had other things to take care of," Roger said.
"Yeah I hope she's not sick, I really wanted to talk to her tonight," Homer said while he shook the drink back and forth.
"Oh are you finally gonna ask her out?" Roger asked trying his hardest not to sound excited at the prospect of him finally doing it.
"I wanna try, but I'm not sure how, the last time I did that with someone it didn't go over well," Homer said.
"Hmmm…well how would you like it if I helped you out?" Roger asked in a suave sounding voice.
Homer perked up a bit, Roger had helped him once before, it didn't work that time but he was close with those girls to try. So maybe this time he could get lucky, Roger seemed to know what he was doing and how to move things along. He wanted this to work out and he wanted to make sure he could put the right impression on her.
"I would like that yes," Homer said hopefully.
"Good, now if you excuse me, we have some arrivals at table five," Roger said.
Homer nodded and stood there alone at the bar wiping off the countertop a few times even though it was clean. He could not help that his mind was somewhere else; he had wanted to ask Jenna out for a while but never had the nerve to bother and ask. He did not want it to end badly like it did with Marge, that just ruined him and he was still not over it even though he should be. Luckily for him though, his moment finally arrived when Jenna walked through the doors. Homer watched as she quickly made her way over to the usual place she sat at the bar and let out a big sigh.
"You know what I like Homer," she replied with a sort of angry voice.
"It'll be right there Jenna," Homer said nervously as he noticed the different tone she was carrying.
Homer was in the middle of making the cosmopolitan when Roger arrived with the written orders and noticed who had finally shown up. He looked at Homer with curiosity in his eyes while Homer looked back nervously.
"She seems upset, maybe I should try another day," Homer said.
Roger's eyes went wide, he was not about to let this perfect moment slip. "No, no, no! Chicks love it when you try to cheer them up, they love it more when you ask them what happened and you listen, that helps with the relationship even more."
"Oh I don't know Roger," Homer said while putting a cherry into the drink.
"Don't make me take her from you, because I will," Roger threatened.
Homer gulped, he did want to talk to her, he just wasn't sure how to do it. Roger had just given him a small piece of advice, but would it even work? Carefully he made his way toward Jenna who was busy reading through a magazine and looking more worn than usual. The cosmopolitan would help calm things down just a little Homer knew and he even wondered if she would want more than one tonight. He set down the drink next to her and Jenna stared at it with eager eyes before grabbing it and taking a sip.
"Will that be all for you tonight, Jenna?" Homer asked.
"So far yes," Jenna said with a sigh.
Homer stared back at her trying to think of something to say that could get a good conversation going. He looked back at Roger who was grilling fish, not even watching him, but that was a good reason, those fish could easily burn if not grilled properly. He was on his own for this one. Jenna didn't seem to notice he was still there and let out a big sigh before putting her hand on her chin as she read. She didn't cry but for some reason Homer could tell she wanted to.
"Rough day huh?" He finally asked.
Jenna looked up from her reading and saw Homer standing over her with a concerned look in his eyes. One that seemed to tell her he was willing to listen to any sob story she could bring out.
"Heh, you can say that again," Jenna said with a stare that was all too familiar to Homer, he usually gave that one when he was upset.
"Wanna talk about it?" Homer asked.
Jenna stared back, still surprised that a guy was willing to listen and wondered how long how long he would take her nonsense. But Homer did seem like the kind of guy who would do such a thing, she had admired him ever since he arrived, she just wasn't sure if he was right for her or if he was even interested.
"You don't mind?" she asked.
"No not at all, I don't have anyone else to worry about right now."
Jenna put her hand on her chin thinking about the day she had, it wasn't that bad, but it was one for the record books that was for sure. Hopefully she would not have to deal with it again but it was nice having someone listen to her about her day, no one seemed to want to do that around here since they were all stuck in Key West time.
"Well I did my usual morning surfing at seven this morning, sadly it didn't last long, it was low tide and I forgot how close I was to the reef. I wiped out, and nearly landed right on a rock. I was lucky not to get hurt, my board wasn't so lucky."
"Oh what happened?" Homer asked hanging onto every word.
"It got wedged between two rocks, I tried to break it free but it just would not loosen and the waves were starting to get rough. Well after a while I started tugging harder, but instead of getting it out, it snapped clean in half. So now I only have half a board, the rest is still in the reef somewhere. That was my favorite board of all time too, it's gonna be hard to find another one like it.
"Oh I'll be you will find one though, it won't replace it, but it will still help you do the thing you love."
Jenna gave Homer a smile, he was being very sweet right now and she kind of liked it, it made her wonder if he was always like this? "But that wasn't all, I had to go to work and apparently the guys competing in the sailboat tournament stayed there. You could tell which rooms the victors stayed in because they trashed seven of the rooms, and I was the only one who had to clean them up. It took me an hour longer to do and it was just awful, made me so mad and made me feel so dirty. Once I was finally done I just went home and took a shower and took a nice long nap, that's why I am a little late tonight."
"Well that's inconsiderate of those boaters, they should have at least tried to clean up after themselves, you don't have to take care of every little thing," Homer said.
"Well not everyone is as nice as you are, they think that because they are higher up they can walk all over you. Man I can't wait until I finally make enough money to go to college and earn my degree, then I will show everyone that I can be like them, only much nicer and considerate," Jenna said as she took her last sip of her cosmo before rubbing her tired eyes.
"Want me to get you another one?" Homer asked as he grabbed the glass.
"Please, and just bring it over to the piano, I think it's time I played some music," Jenna said as she got up and walked toward the piano hoping that perhaps she could do something right tonight. Hopefully her music talent wasn't off, that would be embarrassing.
While Homer worked on another Cosmopolitan, Roger returned from delivering a customer's order with a curious look on his face, no doubt wondering how things were going. "Any luck."
"Well I asked her how her day was, it wasn't a very good one, now she is playing the piano, I'm thinking about complimenting her on that, but how else should I ask her to go out with me?" Homer asked.
Roger rubbed his chin as he thought it over for a minute, he seemed to be winning her over, but now he just needed the final touch to ask her out. He had to think of a good one while the sound of the piano radiated throughout the bar. But then again did he really have to? He could always give Homer a bad one to say, she would slap him and then she would be all his, well if he was lucky at least. He stared back at Homer who was waiting eagerly for something to say. He looked like a young child waiting for his favorite ice cream cone. Nah he couldn't be a jerk to his good friend who took him in when things got tough at home.
"You know how to play the piano?" Roger asked.
"No, it looks interesting though," Homer replied.
"Well then, ask if she can teach you, chicks dig guys who can play an instrument," Roger said as he pushed Homer forward so he could get a move on.
Homer made his way toward Jenna, Cosmopolitan in hand along with many thoughts floating in his head. What would be the right thing to say to her? Was she even in the mood right now thanks to her day? It was all so strange to him and he blamed it on actually never having someone of the opposite sex. He finally reached Jenna as she played John Lennon's Imagine. A song he never really paid much attention to until he watched Jenna's fingers carefully press the right notes on the piano. Jenna only nodded as he set the drink down and instead of walking away from her, he stayed put and watched her play the song. Jenna seemed to notice this but did not stop playing; everyone else was probably watching too, it was just a normal routine for her.
Finally Homer grabbed a nearby chair and set it down a few feet from where he could see Jenna perfectly, Jenna noticed his presence and gave a little smirk as she continued to play. Homer only smiled as he admired her; she seemed as artistic as Marge was but more in the musical sense, and just as pretty. Jenna stopped after a few moments and Homer barely noticed she stopped until she looked straight at him wondering if everything was alright.
"Sorry Jenna, I just got caught in the moment," Homer said with a grin.
"You like John Lennon?" asked Jenna.
"Nah I was only a fan of the Beatles during their Sergeant Pepper tour," Homer said.
"Oh so their later work," Jenna said as she began to play around with the keys thinking about what to play next.
"Yeah," Homer replied nervously while he thought of how to continue the conversation, he wanted to ask but the last time he asked someone to teach him something it didn't end well. Of course, Jenna had been around long enough for him to get to know her but then again, he really was interested in the piano, unlike the French language. "So uhh…have you ever taught anyone how to play the piano?"
Jenna stopped practicing for a moment and stared back at Homer with curiosity. "You want to play?"
"That or the guitar,"
"My brother is the one who can do the guitar, I'm just the piano girl," Jenna gave a small chuckle.
"Of course he's not here, looks like I might as well go for the piano," Homer said with a grin.
"Well if you really want to, then come sit over here and I will show you," Jenna said as she got up and motioned for Homer to come sit next to her.
Homer jumped at the opportunity and quickly took a seat beside Jenna as she placed her right hand on the keys ready to show Homer how it was done. "Now watch my fingers closely." Homer watched as Jenna hit different keys with each finger creating a different note that sounded so amazing each time, luckily for him, Jenna only hit about ten keys before stopping. "Now put your hand out in front of the keys, do you remember where I pressed them?"
"Uhhh…well, I was watching but I can't really remember," Homer replied.
"That's quite alright, I'll do two at a time," Jenna replied.
Homer again watched as she hit a key and then pressed her finger on one of the black keys above it creating a slightly different sound. Seeing what she had done, Homer tried to do the same but instead created an entirely different sound than what he was expecting. He let out a loud d'oh before Jenna laughed.
"It's alright, you just used the wrong set of keys, just move them over one, now try it," Jenna said while Homer tried once again. This time he got them right and Homer let out a big grin. "Good now follow me again."
For the next hour, Homer followed Jenna as she showed him how to play the piano, hitting all kinds of notes and playing all kinds of songs. They were very easy songs to play, mainly "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." Not the kind of songs you would usually hear in a bar, but luckily for them it was a quiet night and most of the patrons were more into their liquor and discussing other things than listening to someone teach another how to play. Roger of course watched from the sidelines when he could, and when Moe arrived to give them their dinner breaks, he almost went over to yell at Homer, but Roger advised him not to. Homer was finally doing something right; Moe did not need to take that away from him. He was a good employee; he could goof off just this once.
After an hour, Jenna sensed that Homer was ready to call it quits; he was starting to talk about other things more and had hit a few sour notes in the process. An hour was good enough any way, there were plenty more opportunities to teach him, and besides she was suddenly in the mood for a nice moonlit walk on the beach, something she liked to do after a long hard day.
"Would you be willing to give me lessons again sometime?" Homer asked as Jenna got up and closed the part of the piano where the keys were.
"You still want to learn more?" asked Jenna.
"Yeah I think it's a fun hobby," Homer replied.
"Then I would be delighted to show you, but for now you probably have to go back," Jenna said.
Homer looked toward the bar where Roger was standing and watching them. Moe was right behind him grilling some snook and caring less about what was going on behind him. He could sense that things were fine the way they were, this sort of thing happened before when Barney wasn't feeling well. And before they even arrived, Moe had only Mick to help, they would be fine without him, it wasn't busy at all tonight.
"It looks like things are going fine, I don't think they really need me," Homer said.
"Oh, well then you want to go for a walk on the beach with me?" Jenna asked in a curious tone.
Homer gave Jenna a huge smile; he did not even have to say yes, that smile was enough for him to say that he was willing to follow her anywhere. Jenna was more than happy to have him come along. Quickly they made their way out of the bar toward the nearby beach that was usually hopping with tourists during the daytime. Tonight though, there was nothing but quiet solitude, the waves were calm and peaceful and a full moon illuminated on the water.
Jenna led the way with Homer close behind her, watching her every move and wondering, just wondering what was on her mind. Was she interested in him or was she just taking pity and letting him come along for the evening? He had no idea, but he did know that sooner or later one of them would start talking. But they continued on down the beach in silence, watching the waves and enjoying the cool night air. After a while, Jenna walked up to an old log and sat down, Homer followed suit.
"Isn't it a beautiful night, the waves are calm, the air is cool, and the stars are out shining brightly. What could be better," Jenna finally said with a sigh.
"Maybe having the one you like sitting beside you," Homer replied without thinking. He quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment.
Jenna stared back at Homer with a smirk on her face. She sort of knew that Homer liked her; she was just waiting for him to open up and tell her. "Oh? And who is this person you like, is she sitting next to you, or is she back in your old home?"
Homer gulped, he knew what she was getting at, the only problem was, the person he really did like was back in Springfield, well Capitol City for a few more years, with another man. He was out of luck with her, but he did have a chance with the one next to him at that moment, and she seemed to be accepting him.
"What would you say if I told you that they were sitting next to me?" Homer asked in a shy voice.
"Well…" Jenna began. "First I would look into his eyes to see if he was telling the truth, then I would tell him that I am glad he finally wanted to spend time with me, you want to know why?"
"Why?" Homer asked this time with a little more curiosity in his voice as he stared back into Jenna's lovely brown eyes.
"Because when we first met, I knew there was something between us, I just had to wait and see if it wasn't just me," Jenna said with a smile.
"It wasn't just you," Homer smiled back as she took her hand and kissed it.
"What took you so long?" Jenna joked.
Homer rubbed the back of his neck nervously, could he tell Jenna he still thought about the girl he liked? No that would only upset her and make her jealous. He would be down here for a long time and he needed someone to be close with, someone who would listen to him when things were not going well, just like he had done for her only an hour before. They needed each other.
"I was waiting for the right moment," Homer replied as he faced Jenna and held her hands staring straight into her eyes.
"You couldn't pick a better moment than this," Jenna said. "Now tell me, have you ever kissed a girl?"
"Umm…years ago, when I was ten at a summer camp, we kissed out by the lake, under a full moon like this. I can't even remember her name, she left early," Homer sighed as he remembered that night almost ten years ago now. Was he really almost twenty and still had not found someone to fall in love with?
"You're telling me you never dated in high school?" Jenna asked surprised.
"Well I almost did, but she left with someone else for prom," Homer replied.
"What a bitch!"
"What a beautiful bitch," Homer thought. "Yeah I know, I just wasn't popular."
"That's hard to believe. Well I think we should fix that, I am going to make sure this will be the most wonderful night of your entire life, come with me," Jenna said as she grabbed Homer by the hand and raced toward a nearby pier.
"Are we going to have sex or something?" Homer asked as Jenna dragged him along.
"We have to kiss first silly," Jenna cried out.
Homer ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the sand, following Jenna toward their destination under the nearby pier. Why Jenna did not want to kiss right then and there was sort of confusing but since Jenna had fallen in love before, she probably knew all the tricks.
Of course Jenna was much faster than Homer and reached the pier moments before him, she stood against a railing waiting patiently for him to arrive and catch his breath. Homer of course had to take a few minutes to do so, even though he had been fishing a lot recently, he still wasn't the best runner.
"I thought you were healthier than that," Jenna said.
"I'm not a runner," Homer replied as he took a deep breath and came closer to Jenna.
"Now I know this is a pier, but whenever I walk under it, I always think of that song by The Drifters," Jenna said.
"I've Got Sand in My Shoes?" Homer asked in a surprised voice.
Jenna laughed. "No, Under the Boardwalk, remember that song?"
"Under the boardwalk down by the sea," Homer sang.
"On a blanket with my baby, where I'll be," Jenna continued.
"Under the boardwalk, out of the sun
under the boardwalk we'll be having some fun
under the boardwalk people walking above
under the boardwalk we'll be falling in…"
Homer turned toward Jenna once he realized what that song really was about, and that he realized how much he cared about the girl he was standing in front of. She really was beautiful; with her brown hair up in a pony tail and a smile that reminded him so much of Marge, yet was still so very different from her. But just like Marge, she was leaving him breathless.
"Love," Jenna finished as she moved closer to Homer.
And before Homer even knew it, he had his arms wrapped around Jenna, eyes meeting hers as both knew what was about to come next. Both stayed transfixed in that one spot for a few more moments realizing that they both had someone and that things were perfect. For the first time, Homer actually felt wanted and happier than he ever had been. The night of the prom was now beginning to fade into a faraway memory, and perhaps he would one day look back and laugh at such a stupid night.
Finally both felt the time was right to stop staring and to just go for it. Seconds later, their lips locked together as both held each other closely in a great feeling of love. A love that was under the closest thing to a boardwalk, beneath a starry sky, next to the ocean, that was illuminated by the moon.
A/N: Holy crap look how long this chapter was! Any way I hope I did this chapter justice, took me a bit to get it right especially the part where she is teaching him how play the piano, but I think I did okay. So now Homer has found love, but will it last? You'll just have to keep reading to find out. For now though, please review when you can and I hope to update again very soon.
Oh and before I forget I would like to welcome 8thweasleykid into this story and thank him for all those reviews you sent. That was definitely a surprise when I opened my mail. Hope you enjoy and stay with us. And thank you to everyone else who has been reviewing, you guys make my day. Oh and The Simpsons Fan, I will try and keep it from being too much like The Wife Aquatic, maybe just a little.