Author Note: ... the evening continues...

Chapter 30 – Tomato - Tamatoe

T7S

Jackie sat on the edge of Laurie's bed thinking about the movie and the whole evening and the fact that it didn't turn out like she expected it to be. She was very careful about dressing so everything coordinated with whatever the guys were wearing and of course her soft gray cashmere sweater was a perfect match to her black pumps. Why didn't she just kick Eric for that comment! Her makeup was faultless (of course) and her faux diamond studs twinkled at her ears (why didn't anyone notice?)

Jackie sighed and kicked off her shoes before moving to stand in front of the dresser mirror and looked at her reflection. What went wrong? She had been so excited to go out with the guys and told Kitty so. "….a movie and I haven't been to a movie in a long time!"

Kitty told her it was time for her to move on and find a nice boy her own age and start dating again. Jackie nodded her head and crossed her fingers that she could maybe, possibly, perhaps definitely meet someone at the theatres. Instead she got caught in the middle of a candy war between Fez and Steven and had Good & Plenty's stuck in her hair.

Eric did come to her defense however and offered to change seats so she was out of the battleground and that did help. However, after the battle was ended, the two warriors headed off to check out the "new chick" at the popcorn machine. Well, at least Eric stayed with her!

She touched the mirror with the palm of her hand and it felt warm. Her mind drifted to a memory that made her feel safe. "…. I want you to know that I understand loneliness. …. I want you to know that I appreciate wanting someone to love you. … That one man who has never broke your heart. He may not even have known the truest of love himself….until he meets you."

Jackie smiled a wavering smile. "Really?"

Stevie Nicks nodded. "You will be his soul mate. He's within your reach."

The glass was warm and Jackie could feel a tingling in her body. Something in her life was finally going to be all right.

She needed to talk to Eric.

T7S

Eric didn't like the way that his conversation with Jackie had ended. She was the only other person in this house that was close to his age and they were friends. Were. Was that the operative word still or did he piss her off? He could tell she made an extra effort to look pretty tonight. Of course he couldn't tell her because that would just feed into the huge ego that was Jackie Burkhart…but still…

"Are you back to being a jerk?"

Eric blinked, "What? I was just kidding."

Jackie stood up and walked over to sit in the lawn chair. "That wasn't funny and you don't even know the events that led up to that potential nightmare so it's not amusing for you to even comment on it."

Pacing the basement Eric started some deep thinking into the pre-Africa Point Place situations. Nope, he wasn't around at the time that Jackie decided that Fez was The One. What in the hell was she thinking? So Fez was polite – big whoop. Fez was a gentleman – he was a foreigner!. Fez had a sense of humor. Hey, Eric Forman had all those same qualities and in abundance.

Eric stopped suddenly when he realized that he was just outside of Laurie's bedroom door with his hand raised in the "knock" position. Mentally he slapped himself. "What the hell, Eric? Are you interested in being Jackie Burkhart's boyfriend/slave?" He blinked and looked to the left and then right to make sure his parents couldn't see the dumbass thing he was about to do.

Before he could recover, the door opened and there was his mental midget standing in front of him. "Eric?"

"Uh…er….I'll be back!." Everything he was thinking of blanked out and all he could do was run to his room and slam the door. Eric fell on his bed groaning, "I am an idiot. . The bird is right, my dad is right – dumbassery runs in my genes."

There was a soft knock and quietly his bedroom door opened. Eric rolled over so see Jackie framed in his doorway. "You wanted to say something to me?" She asked.

Eric swallowed hard. She looked so pretty in that soft gray sweater with her dark hair falling around her shoulders. "Uh….no?"

She lifted a brow, "So…. you were standing at my door…to what? Spy on me?"

"What? No! I wouldn't do something creepy like that!"

Jackie tucked a lock of hair behind her hair and shrugged, "Whatever. I just wanted to say thank you for inviting me to go to the show with you and the guys…even though they ditched us for popcorn girl." She walked further into his room and sat on the bed next to him but not touching. He was very aware of the scent of vanilla and honeysuckle. It made his stomach clench a little.

"Okay…so….you're…welcome?" Why did his voice have to go high-pitched at that moment? Damn!

Jackie turned sideways, "I really missed being part of the gang and without Donna and Michael….I felt like the odd man out. I mean, you are the only person I see all the time."

Eric's eyes widened, "I was just thinking the same thing too!"

Jackie continued, " ….and I was thinking that since Donna is gone and I'm without….boyfriend….maybe we can help each other out."

The blood rushed through his head and buzzed in his ears. Was Jackie suggesting….implying…asking…..

She patted his hand, "I know a sweet girl that works in City Hall that you would be interested in. She's sort of tall – not giant tall like Donna, but it works for her and maybe you know someone in the motor pool or whatever they call it, that would like a date with a gorgeous brunette…." She grabbed his cool hand with her warm one. "Eric! We could double date and look out for each other that way! What do you think?" She asked excitedly.

Eric's ears were still buzzing and he could only hear key words like "date" and "gorgeous brunette" and double something, then he felt her small hand on his. "What?"

Jackie squeezed his fingers, "Just say yes."

"Yes."

She squealed happily and gave him a hug. "Thanks Eric, you're the best."

He grinned, "Yeah…I am." After the door closed behind Jackie, Eric had to ask himself what did he just agree to?

T7S

Monday morning was full of sunshine with an early hint of spring growing through the melting snow. Eric looked into his car and found a pink envelope on the driver's seat and decided this was much nicer than the Inter-Company envelopes of last week. He looked around and tucked the letter into his jacket pocket. This could be read when he took his first break.

He was looking forward to it.

oOo

"A perm honey? I don't want to look like Bob Pinciotti." Kitty scoffed.

Jackie smiled, "Just a body perm – it will add bounce and hold your curls longer. Just think, no more sleeping in rollers."

Kitty patted her hair, "Well, I'm sort of fond of those pink foam fingers. Isn't a permanent high maintenance?"

Jackie smiled softly at the older woman, "Mrs. Forman, aren't you worth it? Fez can give you a nice wavy perm and Mr. Forman will just want to run his fingers through your new soft curls….he may want to take you to dinner!"

Kitty looked at her reflection and fluffed her hair. "Well, I do like to stay with the current fashion trends….can you make me an appointment with Fez?"

Jackie set the brush down on the dresser. "I'll call him from work and get you a morning appointment when he's not too busy. You'll look great."

Kitty sighed, "It would be nice not to be treated like a delicate egg. Red is so afraid that I'm going to hurt myself and everyone knows that the whole thing was just an accident and I don't blame you honey." She paused and then launched into, "So Jackie….how was your date?"

Jackie frowned, "It wasn't a date. It was a group…movie…thing….oh Mrs. Forman it was terrible."

Kitty patted the bench seat beside her. "Tell me about it."

Jackie looked into the mirror and touched an errant curl before looking into Kitty's reflection. "I dressed perfectly and my make up was flawless and nobody noticed me! What does it take to get a guy to notice a girl?"

"Well honey, Steven has moved on and I know that you aren't chasing him anymore."

Jackie's chin slumped into her elbow propped hand, "That's for sure."

"…and Fez is…well, I never saw you and Fez as more than friends. So what about Eric?"

"Eric who? Ponch from CHiPs?"

Kitty laughed, "Ahahahaha…no, my son. He's a nice boy and has a good job and he doesn't have a girlfriend."

Jackie scoffed, "Are you suggesting…"

Kitty shrugged, "I'm just putting the idea out there dear."

Jackie tilted her head, "Well thank you for the thought but I already have a plan. Eric and I are going to double date with some people at work."

Kitty smiled, "So you are going on a date!"

Jackie didn't correct Kitty because it seemed like she was just a bit confused but not enough to fuss about it. "Yes, a date. With. Other. People. You say tomato, I say tamatoe….don't worry, I'll give you all the details. I need to get ready for work."

She popped a pink lipstick kiss on Kitty's cheek. "Say hi to Marco for me!"

Kitty watched the young girl leave and marveled that Eric would finally be dating again. Where was he going to take Jackie that didn't remind him of Donna?

T7S

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