Four and a half months had come and gone, in those four months, Homer learned to become more optimistic about his outlook on life and went about working like he always did at the schools. Occasionally he would apply for a job that would help him in the long run including a job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Apparently they needed someone with just a high school diploma to work in certain areas, so far they hadn't called him back, but he remained hopeful that something would turn up. He learned to also be patient in dealing with the fact that he had no one to love. He would eventually get one, it would just take a little while for it to finally happen.
Marge stayed at home with her new baby, she had another teacher take care of the rest of the semester for her, luckily only three weeks had been left so there was not a lot to give to the substitute without overwhelming her. Marge enjoyed her time with her new daughter, she would spend hours just holding her, feeding her, and singing to her as she sat alone in the house. This seemed to become more frequent as the months went on and Marge began to wonder what was going on with Artie. Artie admitted that he did love Lisa, he was just busy at work, but he hoped that sometime soon, he would be brought up in the company and he wouldn't have to worry about being gone all the time, at least that's what Marge hoped.
When Artie was not working he would be spending time with Olivia as the baby grew inside her. Olivia would not let Artie leave from her sight until at least seven in the evening. It was her way of keeping the secret with Artie. As long as he spent a few hours after work with her, she would not spill the beans. Artie knew though that sooner or later the truth would be found out. He had no idea how upset Marge would be, but he dreaded it and he knew it probably would not end well. Because of his time with Olivia, he started to get more attached to her, Marge was simply someone he loved but had lost interest in long before he realized it. It was a sad concept, and he should have realized that before he proposed to her. What the future was going to hold now was a mystery, no matter how it ended though, it was not going to be good.
It was one afternoon that Marge decided to pay a visit to the school, her friends had all been dying to meet little Lisa. She wanted to get out of the house now that Lisa was a little older, and she hoped she could run into Homer and thank him for helping her out. Hopefully he wouldn't be too afraid to go near her after what Artie did to him. So to make it easy, she bought him a thank you card and a gift certificate to a restaurant chain.
As soon as she entered the school, baby in a newborn stroller, a fellow student saw her and ran right up to her with a smile on her face.
"Hello Mrs. Ziff!" she exclaimed.
"Hello Camilla, how are you today?" Marge asked.
"I'm great! That final you gave us really kicked my butt but somehow I still passed. Will you be coming back to teach at all again? I really liked your classes," Camilla asked.
"Oh I will, next semester, I just need to adjust and take care of my little one here," Marge said as she nodded toward Lisa who was still sound asleep in the buggy.
Camilla looked down at the newborn baby and couldn't help but smile, Lisa looked so precious sleeping in there, nothing was bothering her right now. Hopefully it would stay like that for the rest of the day, of course some of her fellow teachers would want to hold her, but hopefully Lisa would not put up too much of a fuss.
"I thought you were going to have a boy?" Camilla asked.
"I thought so too, but the doctors were wrong. But I'm okay with that, she's beautiful either way," Marge said with a sigh as she looked at her daughter.
"Yeah, she is." Camilla said as she looked back at Lisa for a few more minutes. "Well I better get going, I don't want to be late to class. Can't wait to see you next semester!"
Marge waved goodbye before making her way to the elevator to get to the offices where everyone else was working. Hopefully her surprise visit would make everyone smile.
Homer was busy cleaning in one of the classrooms, enjoying the afternoon as he listened to Billy Joel on the classroom radio. He was so busy with what he was doing, that he did not see Marge walk by with the baby in tow. In a few minutes, he would be done with the classroom and move on to the offices where Marge usually worked. He was going to be in for a very big surprise.
Once he was finally done with the classroom, he put everything away and rolled it down the hall toward the offices, whistling "Still Rock and Roll to Me" as he pulled it along. He instantly stopped though when he saw Marge standing in the hallway with at least five other women standing around her. One lady was bent over and moments later came up with a little bundle of joy in her arms, Marge had brought her daughter to school. It was almost like a show and tell, but for grown ups.
Homer panicked and looked around for a place to work without Marge noticing. Finally he ran into a nearby office just before Marge could see him. He then began to clean and wondered how long he would be in there before Marge left for the day. Apparently he wasn't quiet enough about it because moments later, a familiar face peeked into the room.
"Homer!" Marge said with a smile.
"Oh hi Marge! I uh...oh dear...sorry I didn't know you would be here today. I'll get out of your way as soon as I am done dusting this desk," Homer said nervously, trying not to meet her eyes.
Marge let out a short laugh before moving closer to Homer. "It's okay Homer, I don't mind you being here at all. Artie's not here to stop you, so when you can, come on over and meet Lisa. I don't think you've been properly introduced."
Marge walked out of the room, leaving Homer standing where he was with a very surprised look on his face. She was right about one thing, Artie wasn't around, he could see the child if he wanted to. Marge was never against that, after all, he helped her get to the hospital in time. Quickly he finished dusting a few things here and there in the office before finally heading over to where everyone was standing around to see the brand new miracle that Marge had.
Homer was still very cautious though and simply slipped between two ladies who were discussing why it was not a good idea to give a child chocolate in the first few months of life. He ignored both of them though and looked down at little Lisa. She was awake, but her eyes said she was ready to doze off once again. She kicked with her tiny little feet and then made a short cooing sound. Homer could not help but smile, she looked just like her mother save for the dark curly hair that was beginning to grow more on her tiny little head. He wanted to hold her, but knew it was better to ask Marge first, plus he probably needed to wash his hands after using all the chemicals to clean with.
"Thank you so much Homer," Marge said from behind.
Homer turned around startled. He stared back at Marge, worry still etched in his face. He simply was not prepared to see her today and was so nervous about Artie being nearby. But Marge said he was not there, but what if he suddenly showed up, what then? He tried not to think about it and instead gave Marge a goofy grin.
"I try," he said.
Marge could not help but laugh before handing him an envelope. "Go ahead and take this, it's my thank you card."
Homer quickly took it out of her hands and opened it up to find a nice little card inside along with the gift certificate.
"Oh Marge you didn't have to do that," Homer said.
"Well I felt you deserved it. Also are you doing anything after work?" Marge asked.
"Just hanging out at the bar with the boys for a few hours, why?" Homer asked.
"Well, I think we need to talk about what happened. You wouldn't mind meeting up for coffee would you?" Marge asked.
Ummm...Is Artie okay with that?" Homer asked.
"Artie probably won't be home until very late, and if he was coming home, he doesn't need to know," Marge said with a smirk.
Homer thought about it for a moment. He was really not expecting to see Marge today or even going out for coffee with her for that matter. He knew it was taboo for him to do so, especially if Artie was around. But Marge seemed confident that Artie would not care and that things would be okay. If that was the case, then he might as well go for it.
"Well I get off in about two hours, would you be willing to wait for me then?" Homer asked.
"Sure I can, I've been cooped up in the house for far too long, I can walk around the shops until you come by," Marge said.
"Sounds like a plan then," Homer said.
Marge only smiled while little Lisa let out a soft coo that Homer could not help but smile at before realizing he needed to get back to work. He could watch little Lisa again later.
The two hours passed and Homer put on whatever he had lying around in the janitors locker. He knew he didn't have to be too fancy, he was only going to a coffee shop. It was just a nice place to mingle and enjoy as much coffee as your heart desired. He really could not wait to see her and finally talk again after so many years. He hoped he would stay calm and not suddenly get upset about anything. And most of all, he hoped Marge would not get into any trouble for talking to him.
She was waiting for him at the front entrance when he arrived, Lisa was in a little baby carrier sound asleep after that long day of meeting so many new faces. Together, Homer and Marge wasted no time in going into the shop. Marge wanted to talk and Homer was willing to listen and answer any questions Marge had. He opened the door for her and were greeted by the wonderful smell of brewing coffee. Marge ended up ordering for a Chai while Homer bought himself a caramel mocha with extra caramel. Once they had their order, they both sat down and began to talk.
"So what do you want to talk about?" Homer asked.
"Well first of all, thank you so much for helping me that afternoon. I actually felt very relieved to have someone I know take me to the hospital. I felt secure and safe with you and my parents are very grateful too. My Dad likes you a lot now, he things you are very noble and a good guy," Marge said.
"And what about Artie?" Homer asked before taking a sip of his coffee and then letting out a surprised gasp because of how hot it was.
"That's what I was about to talk about. I just want to say how sorry I am for not interfering when he hurt you like that. I think I was so hopped up on the drugs that I wasn't thinking straight, that and the fact that I now had a daughter instead of a son," Marge said.
"It's alright, I was more surprised that he had it in him to punch me like that. And I was upset that I had to leave but I got over it eventually thanks to my Dad," Homer said with a sigh.
"Yeah I know he probably hurt you in a more mental sense, which is easy to tell since you are a little nervous around me. But don't worry, I won't let Artie do that to you again, you don't deserve that. He's still not grateful that you took me to the hospital. He just acts like nothing bad happened. He says he's okay with Lisa being a girl instead of a boy, but someday I do wonder," Marge replied.
"How so?" Homer asked.
"Well he's never around much any more. He doesn't come home until at least eight, he says it's because he has a lot of work to do, especially since he says he has an intern to teach as well," Marge replied.
Homer raised and eyebrow and thought about what Marge said for a moment. Something didn't seem right. It sounded suspiciously like a recent movie he watched about a husband who was never home because he had a horrible secret that Homer was very disgusted by. The signs seemed about right, the absences, the anger that he displayed for no reason. Homer looked down at Lisa and felt very sorry for her at that point, if he was correct, her father was not keeping his vows like he should have.
"Marge, aren't you a little suspicious about it?" Homer asked.
"What do you mean?" Marge asked.
"I saw a movie with this exact same concept about a month ago. The husband went behind her back and cheated on her, I wanted to punch him in the face because he was such a sleazeball," Homer said.
Marge stared at Homer worriedly for a minute and then thought a little more about it. Was it true? Was Artie doing something he was not supposed to do? She had no idea, he said he loved her very much and was very affectionate. But in the past few months he had been acting distant and nervous. But it was probably because of other issues, mainly his job and working hard to make ends meet. At least she hoped any way. She wasn't ready to pass judgment just yet on her husband. "I hope not Homer, Artie cares very much about me. I appreciate your concern but I really don't think that's what it is," Marge said as she took a heavy sip of her chai.
"I hope it's not either, you don't deserve that," Homer said.
"No..." Marge said with a sigh. For a long moment there was silence as both acquaintances sat there drinking their beverages while Marge thought for a moment. Sure what Homer thought was taboo and Marge knew she had to get out of it, she did not want to upset Homer especially after inviting him to say she was sorry. "And I never asked, since you're back in Springfield, did your girlfriend from Key West come back with you?"
Homer stared at Marge for a long time, she was the reason for Jenna and him separating, but how could he tell her that without making her run away? Maybe he could just leave that reason out. "No, she wanted to have a better career and wanted to go to college. I didn't have any interest and apparently she got fed up with that and just decided to move on without me."
"Oh Homer I'm sorry, that must had been hard," Marge said.
"Yeah it sort of was," Homer replied, wishing the conversation did not turn into what they were talking about now.
"Don't worry though, someone will come to you, just wait patiently," Marge said.
"I am, just taking one day at a time," Homer said with a smile hoping that Marge would understand that he was staying optimistic through this.
"And I think Artie won't be so bombarded with work soon, I remembered he trained with a professional while in college, and he would work nonstop. I felt so bad for him," Marge said.
"I really hope that's the case for you too," Homer said worriedly.
Marge was about to reply when Lisa suddenly let out a heavy cry. Marge looked down at her tiny little infant and let out a small smile even though she was crying very loudly.
"I fed her not long before we met, so I think it's time for a change," Marge said as she picked up the baby carrier and made her way to a nearby restroom to change her. "I'll only be a minute."
Homer stood by the doorway, thinking about the conversation that had just gone on. It was a little worrisome. Artie was rarely home and Marge was usually taking care of the kid, did he really love Lisa or was he staying away and using heavy work load as an excuse. It sounded like the most plausible reason but Artie had been doing it long before Lisa was born. Hopefully it was just work issues and nothing more.
It wasn't long before Marge returned with a happier baby who was now cooing and looking up at Homer with bright blue eyes. Homer looked down at Lisa and smiled, she really was a lovely little child and the spitting image of her mother.
"Uhhh...can I hold her?" Homer asked.
"Of course!" Marge said as she set the baby carrier down and picked up Lisa gently.
Marge handed her over to Homer, who had not held a baby in a long time, so of course he was a little nervous. But after a few moments, it just came naturally and soon Lisa was cooing happily and grabbing with her tiny hands. Homer put his little finger in front of her and let her grab it for a minute before she let out a cute little yawn. Homer suddenly felt a sense of joy, Lisa was comfortable enough to let him hold her. He never felt this happy before in his life and he wished with all his heart that he could see her more and make her happy. Her father was not the best in the world and he needed to be there for her, but how do you force someone to do that when they refuse. Hopefully Marge, was right, hopefully it was only job issues.
Homer was so caught up in the moment that he decided to hold her up to see if she would giggle and laugh. Of course Lisa was still too young for that, but Homer didn't know better and before Marge could interject, Lisa spilled her recent dinner all over his shirt. For a moment, Homer stood there, not sure what to do as Marge dug around for some baby wipes, laughing the entire time.
"Yeah holding a baby like that can lead to disaster," Marge said as she took Lisa and put her in the carrier and then wiped the barf off of Homer's shirt.
"Sorry about that, I didn't know," Homer said.
"It's alright, your face was priceless," Marge said as she tried to hold her laughter in.
"I hope that doesn't happen again, I feel very dirty right now," Homer said.
"Well you'll be going home soon enough, it should clean up easily." Marge said while she threw away the baby wipes. "Any way, thanks again for helping me, I'll be back next semester and then we can see each other more. Maybe even go out for coffee again,"
"I'd like that," Homer said with a smile.
Marge only smiled back before picking up the carrier and making her way toward the door. Homer held the door for her before they went their separate ways for the evening. As Marge drove home she had a smile on her face as she realized that Homer was a good guy and that she probably should have given him a chance years ago. But that was in the past, she was married now and had a child. You couldn't change that.
It was eight by the time she pulled up the driveway and discovered she was still the only one home. Sometimes Artie would be home by now. Where was he? Would he be home soon? While she pondered these things, she put Lisa to bed before making her way to the kitchen to see if he left any messages in their answering machine. There were three, the first two being from solicitors asking for random things, the third was from Artie.
"Hey Marge, ummm...something's come up and because of that, I won't be home tonight. I'll spill you the details later. Actually, we need to talk more than anything. So yeah...ummm...see you later."
The message ended and Marge stood in front of the answering machine for the longest time, wondering about what Artie said. He sounded nervous and didn't end with his usual "I love you." There was background noise too, what was that? She played it again and listened carefully, she could hear people in the background and was that a baby crying? Something was not right, and it made Marge nervous. It also made her think about what Homer said. Was he right? She hoped not, she did not want anything like that to happen. She wanted her life with Artie to be okay and happy. As she lay down for the night, her fatigue turned into many questions that would not get out of her mind. It rattled her her brain and kept her up for the rest of the night.
A/N: Eh, this chapter, eh. Yeah sorry about this one, I know it doesn't compare to the last few. But hopefully the next one will be more interesting. We will see though. Still I hope you enjoyed it somehow.
Please review when you can and please be my friend on my facebook page Narfy Toon. See you all in a week.