The ride home from the airport was eerily silent. It was just the three of them now, Joanie, her mom and dad. She stared out the window, watching the sights of Milwaukee go by in a blur. The faint song on the radio ended and a commercial about toothpaste took its place, reminding her yet again of her big brother. He may have lost the grand prize on the "Big Money" game show, but she admired him for his honesty. Not many people (certainly not Ralph or Potsie) would have risked all of their winnings after they learned that they'd been given the answers in advance; assuring them of a win, therefore going home with a year's supply of toothpaste, but Richie was different. He was honest, trustworthy and the best big brother a girl could ask for.

The commercial ended, followed by a word from the DJ and a new song began. If anyone had asked her what song had been playing a few moments ago, she couldn't have answered. Now she was jolted out of her thoughts.
The opening strands of Chubby Checker's signature voice filled the car. The music grew slightly louder, indicating that her father had turned up the radio, something that he rarely (make that never) did. She closed her eyes, replacing the image of Chubby Checker in her mind with that of her brother. He was standing at the front door with a smile on his face.

"I found my thrill…"

She swallowed hard and hoped that her parents didn't notice the way she was desperately holding back her sobs. But even though she couldn't really see their faces, she had a feeling that they were near tears as well.

By now, Richie and Laurie Beth and Richie Jr were on the plane, headed north to California. It seemed like a million miles away. She knew she shouldn't be crying like the little kid she used to be, but she couldn't help it. Why did it take someone leaving to realize how much you missed them?

"Is anybody hungry?"

Her dad's voice startled her out of her thoughts and she realized that the radio was now playing a different song. For all she knew, three or four songs could have passed since her mind had drifted off.

"I don't think I can eat." Marion said.
"Joanie, what about you?"
"No, I don't really feel like eating." Joanie admitted.
"Well, I'm starving. There's a Howard Johnson's about three exits up. Joanie I know you love their chocolate shakes. What do you say we stop and get lunch?"
"Dad-."
"Howard I really don't think-."
"Well, I do think and I think I want a nice cheeseburger and fries."
"But Howard-."

Ignoring his wife's protests, Howard sped up the car and turned on his blinker, indicating that he was trying to change lanes. And sure enough, he veered onto the exit ramp, headed for the orange and blue Howard Johnson's sign. The orange roof came into view and the car slowed into a parking space. Wordlessly, Joanie followed her parents into the restaurant. Her dad was all smiles as they stood at the host stand, and waited to be seated.

"How many?"
"Um, three, please."

There was no mistaking the subtle shaking of her dad's voice. There had always been five of them. Now there were three.

"All right, follow me." When they came to a stop at a booth near the front, Howard paused. "Um, do you have anything in the back?"
The hostess looked surprised. "Oh, sure. Follow me."
They walked the length of the restaurant until they arrived at a secluded booth in the back.
"Someone will be with you shortly."

"So, what looks good?"

They picked up their slick plastic menus, hiding their faces from view. Joanie's eyes scanned the colorful menu and pretended to study it carefully. But in truth, she knew it by heart. Hamburgers on the front page, dinner entrees on the second, breakfast on the third and on the back were the deserts, including the chocolate shake that she loved so much.

"So what'll it be?" Howard coaxed again.
"I'll just have a cup of coffee." Marion said.
"Coffee, Marion? Really?"
"Well, Howard, that's all I want!"
"But you'll be starving later! At least get something else! We drove all this way!"
"Howard, you know as well as I do that we did not come all this way to stop at Howard Johnson's! We took this trip so that we could drop off-." Marion's voice trailed away, leaving a line of sadness that filled the round booth.

"All right, I'll order your coffee."
"And toast."
"And toast. Joanie, what do you want?"

Joanie sighed. Absolutely nothing on the menu sounded good, but she could hear the echoes of her older brother's voice, coaxing her to eat. "A chocolate shake." Just the thought of drinking rich chocolate through a straw covered in whipped cream made her stomach feel queasy, but somehow she'd manage.
"What about you, Howard? Order anything you want."
"Well, thank you Marion. I think I'll have the number four. That looks really good."
"Pot roast? Are you sure?"
"Well, sure I'm sure! What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, dear. I just thought… Oh never mind."

The waitress came, took their orders, and then gathered the slick menus. When she was gone, the table fell silent. But Joanie knew that they were all thinking about Richie.

"Howard, don't you like your pot roast?"

Howard moved the pot roast around the plate with his fork. "Sure I like it, Marion. It's just… a little dry."

"You're not hungry either, are you, Dad?"

"Now Joanie, don't start with me, okay? I'm perfectly fine! I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought I was."

"Well, then I say that we should go." Marion said. "It's a shame for this food to go to waste. There are starving people in China, you know."

"Who wants dessert?" The perky waitress appeared at their table without warning, causing them to jump.

"None for me." Joanie said. "I can barely finish this chocolate shake."

"Well, you'd better finish it, missy!"

"Howard! Enough! Joanie, if you don't want your shake, it's fine."

Joanie tried to take another sip. The smooth, rich chocolate always tasted so good, but not today-and perhaps not ever again.

"Marion? Did you want anything else?"

"No, I'm fine."

"I guess the check then." Howard said. "Can you get a takeout box? Maybe Marion can reheat this and I'll have it later. Oh, and a cup for the milkshake."

"Certainly."

Marion smiled. "Well, Howard that was very nice. Richie would be-."

Howard smiled sadly and patted Marion's hand. "You're right. We shouldn't let good food go to waste."

The waitress returned with the box, a cup and a bag and Howard in turn handed her his Diner's Club card.

"Is everyone ready?" Howard asked as he signed the bill.

"I certainly am." Marion replied, taking the bag from him. "Howard, if you get hungry later, I'll heat this up for you in the oven."

"Thanks for the cup, Dad." Joanie said. "I'm sorry I couldn't finish this." Carefully she scraped the chocolate shake from her glass with a spoon and then started on the tin container.

"That's perfect, Joanie. I'll put this in the ice box and it'll be nice and cold for you whenever you want it."

"Thanks, Mom."

"All right, come on. Let's go home."

Joanie sighed. Home… A place would never be the same again.

When they arrived back at 565 N Clinton, the mood changed yet again. No one said a word as they climbed out of the car and walked to the front door. Joanie's heart caught in her throat. She walked into the living room, realizing immediately that something was different.

"Well, it's been a long day. Maybe we should get ready for bed."
"Now? But Dad, it's only-."

"Joanie, do as your father asks, all right?"

"Yes, Mom. Sorry, Dad. Goodnight." She kissed their cheeks and trotted up the stairs to her bedroom, doing her best not to look at the empty room down the hall.

Later, after her bath, she changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed, surprised at how tired she was. Her dad was right. It really had been a long day. And maybe if she really tried, she could actually get some sleep.
But sleep, it seemed was not in the cards.

She lay there in the darkness, painfully aware of how quiet the house seemed. Usually (if she listened intently) she could hear footsteps and rattling around from Richie's room next door. She could hear even more when she pressed a drinking glass to the door, eager to find out details of her older brother's life, like the girls he dated and things that she had been much too young to understand. She was older now and only on occasion did she use her drinking glass trick. But she'd never abandoned it completely. Why monkey with tradition?

With a sigh, she tried and tried to sleep, but it was impossible. Every time she closed her eyes, she heard his voice, telling her to sit on it, or to knock it off. But mostly she heard the words she'd never thought she'd hear from her older brother;

"You've grown up, so pretty."

A sob escaped and she put her hand over her mouth. The last thing she wanted was for her parents to overhear. She loved them and knew they meant well, but she couldn't talk to them about this. They wouldn't understand. Sure, Richie was their son, but it was different. Chuck had left and although it was difficult on them all, it brought them closer together. Richie's leaving felt like it was going to tear them apart.

She climbed out of bed and wrapped herself in her pink robe, cinching the belt tightly around her waist. She crept into the hallway ever so quietly and tiptoed into the room next door. The door creaked a little, making her wince and she carefully slipped inside, leaving the door slightly ajar.

The sight of Richie's empty room was jarring. Gone were the posters of cool guys like James Dean, Richie's books, his clothes, all of his belongings. The room suddenly a skeleton of someone who had lived there long ago. But if she shut her eyes, she could remember exactly the way it was before. The posters and varsity flags on the walls, the beds in the middle of the room with the blue bedspreads. She'd been in this room a hundred times before (at least), but she wasn't prepared for the emptiness.

Another sob escaped but she let it transpire as she sank to the floor in a puddle of sadness.

Sometime later, she opened her eyes, noticing that it was still dark outside. She should go back to her room, but somehow she felt safe here, surrounded by memories of her brother. But she didn't want her parents to find her here, sobbing over Richie. She was a woman now and women simply didn't behave this way.

Unless they missed their older brother terribly.

As she lifted herself up, she took one last look around the room and decided to go back to bed. But when she passed as she reached her door. She couldn't go back in there; back to the loneliness. In a split decision, she crept down the stairs and out the back door.

The sign on the house that led up the stairs to the garage apartment read "The Fonz" and it made her smile. It was terribly late and he was bound to be asleep, but as crazy as it sounded, she just wanted to make sure he was still there. Richie was gone; perhaps Fonzie was, too.

Heart pounding, she made her way up the stairs until she came to the door. She stood for a moment, wondering if she should intrude. Fonzie wouldn't be too happy with someone interrupting his sleep; even Joanie. For the first time since she could remember, she was actually afraid of him.
But before she knew what had happened, she had pushed the door open. Through the small space, she could see him, sitting on his bed. He was wearing his red plaid robe and was holding an envelope and a letter in his hand, reading the letter intently. And there was something else. He was crying. She turned back. She couldn't disturb him, not now.

But she'd barely gotten to the step when she heard her name.
"Shortcake? Is that you?"
Ready for a lecture about bothering him, she turned around. "I'm sorry, Fonz. I can see that you're busy and I know it's late, but-."
"Hey, I am never too busy nor is it ever too late for you, you dig?"
She tried to smile, but it was impossible. "Thanks."
He folded the letter and returned it to the envelope. "Now what can I do for you?"
"Nothing, actually. I just… Fonzie? What were you reading?"
"Well, actually-."
"I know, it's none of my business. I'm sorry. I'll just go back to bed. If Mom and Dad know I sneaked out of the house, they'll have a fit."

"Here."
Her eyes widened as he handed her the envelope. "Really? Fonzie, I don't want to read your mail. This is personal."
"You're darn right, it's personal and you're the one I want to share it with."

She sat down on his bed and began to read. Tears filled her eyes, blurring the words and she gasped when she realized what she'd done. "Oh, I'm sorry, I got your letter wet."
"It's all right. Your tears make it better."
When she got to the end, the words that said I love you, the letter fluttered from her hand and fell to the floor.

"Oh Fonzie, I miss him so much! I know he's not going to be gone forever, but California is so far away and I just can't imagine him not being here to talk to and-."
"Hey, come here."
She was in Fonzie's arms, sobbing against his robe. She cried for everything then; the way she felt when Richie told her he was leaving, the last glance between them as they dropped him off at the airport; how much she loved her brother; all of it. But as she held Fonzie closer than ever, she noticed something. He was crying too.
He'd never admit it to anyone; the Fonz was way too cool, but he had a heart; one that was bigger than most.

"I love him so much." She sobbed, increasing her hold on her friend.
"So do I." Fonzie whispered.
"I love you too, Fonzie. I hope you know that."
Fonzie drew back and kissed her softly on the lips. "I love you too, Shortcake. And don't worry. Richie will be back before you know it. I'm real proud of him."
"So am I, Fonzie. So am I."

"Now, don't you think you ought to go back to bed?"
"Yeah, I guess I should. It is late."
"I'll see you in a few hours, okay? And don't worry about Richie. He's going to be a huge success in tinseltown. I can just feel it."

"So can I."
He kissed her forehead. "Now get some sleep, all right?"
"I will. I'm sorry I disturbed you, Fonzie."

"You could never disturb me, Shortcake."

Joanie turned to leave and brushed the tears from her cheeks. She crept down the stairs and back into the house. When she was upstairs, she peered into Richie's room once more.
"I love you, Richie. And someday, the world is going to know what an amazing person you are. I've known it my whole life."

~Fin~