*Comes out of hiding* I am so, so, SO sorry it has been WAY too long since my last update. I really have no excuse other than writer's block and real life getting in the way. If any of you have been reviewing my stories for a while you should know I try to respond to your reviews and I know I missed A LOT this last chapter and I am REALLY sorry for that. Things just got busy and I got side tracker. I really hope that does not happen again.
After this chapter, I promise things will pick up. I'm really excited for the next chapter. There is going to be some Arnold and Helga wonderfulness that I think everyone will enjoy.
As always, if you enjoy please review. I hope this was worth (the really long) wait!
A Twist of Fate Part Four
Later that night Gerald slipped into bed next to his wife. He looked over at Phoebe, who was rubbing vanilla scented lotion onto her arms. "We have any plans tomorrow?" He asked before placing a quick kiss onto her cheek.
"Nope. I think we can just spend the day together." Phoebe told him with smile. She turned off the lamp on the night stand next to her side of the bed. "I guess we could start doing some of the grocery shopping for Helga's welcome home party next week."
"Oh! Speaking of Helga...I forgot to tell you. Arnold called me today. Apparently he ran into Helga and Adam at the park this morning."
"Mhmm…" Phoebe nodded, "I heard. I called Helga earlier and she told me." She bit down lightly on her bottom lip. "What did Arnold say about it?"
"Not much." Gerald told her, "He just said that Adam was cute and he thought that Helga looked really good." He chuckled, "He asked if Helga has dated at all since her divorce." He paused for a short moment, "Arnold wants to ask Helga out."
"Really?" Phoebe asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's…great."
"You don't sound very convinced." Gerald pointed out. "Babe, it would be a good thing if Arnold and Helga got together."
"Would it be?" Phoebe asked.
"Of course it would." He paused, "We both knew this could be a possibility with Helga moving back."
Phoebe nodded, "That's true." She sighed, "Helga and Arnold have always been…" She paused, trying to think of the best word to describe it, "Drawn to one another in some way or another."
"Do you think Helga would say yes if Arnold asked her out?"
"Of course she would say yes." Phoebe quickly answered, a small smile tugged on her lips. "She'd be living out her childhood dream. Obviously she has been married since then, but a girl never forgets her first love. Besides, she told me she thinks he's hot."
"You think she is ready to date?" Gerald asked curiously.
"I don't know." Phoebe told him honestly. "I know she went on a few of dates shortly after she filed for divorce, but after she decided to move back here she stopped trying. She didn't want to start anything when she knew she was leaving." She paused, remembering what else she learned that day. "Helga knows Arnold designed her house, by the way."
"Oh yeah?" Gerald mused, "Is it just me or does it sometimes feel like that the universe really wants those two together?"
"You are most definitely not the only one who feels that way." Phoebe gave Gerald a kiss on the lips, "I guess I need stop worrying about what could happen and just let Arnold and Helga do what they want to do."
Gerald wrapped Phoebe into his arms, "You do need to stop worrying. Helga and Arnold are adults they can do what they want." He yawned, "You'd have to admit, they would make a great couple."
The next week past by quickly and Helga found herself becoming more and more excited for her welcome home party. She couldn't wait to see Arnold again. Unfortunately their schedules hadn't meshed that week and Arnold was unable to show Helga and Adam all the buildings he had designed over the years.
Helga couldn't remember the last time she actually felt butterflies. Things with Jason had really soured that last year or so of their marriage. He stopped giving her those feelings long before they decided to divorce. Somehow after all these years and only seeing Arnold Shortman once he could still give her butterflies and all those other feelings without even trying.
Honestly, she hadn't given Arnold much thought in the past fifteen years. Sure, he would cross her mind once in a while. The most time Helga spent thinking about him in the past decade had actually been on her wedding day. She was alone in the dressing room studying herself in the mirror, she was only minutes away from marrying Jason. She wasn't sure how the memory popped in her head, but it had none the less. It had been Rhonda's marriage predictor that she made back when they were nine that made her think of Arnold. If she recalled correctly (which she knew she was) Arnold had landed on her name one hundred and ten times. Even after ten years Helga could still remember how blissfully happy she had been (even though Arnold had been absolutely horrified). She remembered how convinced her nine year old self had been that she would marry Arnold someday and the tiniest part of her heart that was still that nine year old girl was a little sad that she wasn't.
Helga had been happy with Jason up until that last year or so of marriage, but she wasn't with Jason anymore. She was divorced and now after eighteen years she had seen Arnold again. And now, after only spending forty minutes with him and sharing a few phone calls and text messages, old feelings she had been convinced were completely gone were quickly resurfacing. She wasn't sure if she liked how easily Arnold was able to get under her skin.
"Hey buddy." Helga greeted as she walked into Adam's room. Adam was currently sitting on the floor, his Legos spread out in a large pile in front of him. "Did you need help getting dressed for this afternoon?" Adam was still in his Batman pajamas as he played.
Adam stopped searching for the certain red Lego he had been looking for. "Mom I'm four, of course I don't need help." He told before turning his attention back to his Legos and mumbling, 'criminy' under his breath.
"Well pick up your Legos and get dressed. We are leaving in an hour. I'll be down stairs if you need anything." Helga told him as she turned to leave.
"Mommy?" Adam's voice stopped just as she reached the door.
Helga stopped, turning back to face her son, "Yeah baby?"
"Did Daddy call back yet?" Adam asked, setting the Legos he had in his hands to the side.
No, he hadn't and wasn't expecting him to anytime soon. Helga did nothing for a long moment. She needed a minute to regain composure. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat as she made her way back to Adam, pushing his Legos to the side she kneeled down in front of him. She shook her head, "No, sweetie…He hasn't." She motioned for him to come closer before pulling him into a tight hug, "I'm so sorry he hasn't." She held back tears as Adam's small arms hugged her return. "I'm sure he has just been really busy with work." That was a lie. Yes, being an investment banker Jason as constantly busy at work, but she knew that wasn't the reason he wasn't returning Adam's phone call. "You okay?" She asked as Adam pulled away.
He nodded, "I'm okay." Adam told her, but the boy was still frowning.
Helga leaned forward, kissing him on the top of the head. "How about we do something special tomorrow? Is there anything you would like to do?"
This made Adam smile, "Can we go to the toy store?" He flashed his mother a smile he knew she had a hard time saying no to, "Maybe I can pick out a new toy?"
Helga sighed, "We can go to the toy store…We'll see about picking out a new toy. I'm not making any promises."
Adam giggled, already knowing he would get a new toy, "Whatever you say Mommy."
"Pick up your Legos and get dressed." She demanded as she stood up. "We are leaving in an hour. I'll be down stairs if you need me." Helga left his room and made her way to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. After her conversation with Adam about Jason she needed a pick me up. She sighed, struggling to push all thoughts about her ex-husband out of her brain. Unfortunately, she failed miserably.
There was a time she was so completely in love with Jason. She met him when she was a freshman in high school. He was a junior, athletic, and so attractive. She was shocked when he actually showed interest in her. They dated throughout time Helga was in high school. She was a junior in high school when he was a freshman at NYU so they didn't have to deal with the hassle of a long distance relationship. It was the night of her high school graduation when Jason proposed. Helga had been ecstatic and of course, she had said yes. In hindsight it was probably a mistake to get married at only nineteen years old.
They did have a few years of happiness in their marriage; more than a few, really. It wasn't until Adam was about a year old before they actually started having problems. Jason was becoming more and more distant from the boy, claiming he didn't have the time. When Jason began to ignore Adam all together and finally admitted he just didn't feel connected to Adam Helga couldn't take it anymore. She spent the majority of her childhood being ignored by her own parents and she refused to put Adam through that. They were divorced a year later. As hard as the last three years had been she didn't regret Jason or marrying him. If she hadn't she never would have had Adam.
The doorbell ringing snapped Helga out of her thoughts. She peered through the window to see who it was before unlocking the door to open it. "Adam! Grandpa and Grandma are her!" She called out behind her shoulder before opening the door. "Hey!" She greeted her parents with a smile. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you guys were heading off to Seattle this morning." She moved aside so Bob and Mariam could come into the house, curiously looking at the box Bob was carrying.
"We're heading to Seattle after we leave here." Bob told her, setting the box in the entryway, "We were going through some storage and found of your old boxes from before we moved to New York. Since you moved back, we thought you'd get a kick out of it."
The three adults looked at the stairs as they heard Adam running down the stairs. As soon as he reached the front door he launched himself in Bob's arms. "Hi Grandpa!"
"Hey Buddy." Bob lifted up the boy, "What are you and your Mom up to today?"
"We are going the park for a party!" Adam squirmed out of Bob's hold and made his way to Mariam and gave her a hug as well.
"What's this party you're going to at the park?" Mariam asked Helga.
"Phoebe and Gerald are throwing me a welcome home party." Helga explained, "A lot of the old gang has kids Adam's age, so it will be really nice for him to meet some kids his age."
"Oh, that's right. I remember you mentioning that." Mariam adjusted her glasses, "You two have fun. She looked down at Adam, "When Grandpa and I get back from our trip you'll have to come spend the night one night. Maybe Grandpa can take you to a baseball game."
Adam's eyes widened, "Will you Grandpa?"
Bob smiled, "Sure we'll find a day we can go." He checked his watch, "We should get going Mariam. We are going to hit rush hour if we don't leave soon." He drew Helga into a quick hug, "Have fun at your party today."
"Thanks. Have fun in Seattle." They said their goodbyes and Bob and Mariam left. She turned to Adam, "You still have your jammies on. You need to go get changed. We're leaving soon…And your Legos better be put away."
"Whatever you say Mommy…" Adam mumbled as he made his way back upstairs.
Helga grabbed the box her parents left her and brought it in the kitchen, setting it on the kitchen island before she opened it up to see what was inside. A smile tugged on her lips when she peered inside. There were about seven pink journals, her fourth grade class photo, and a small jewelry box. She pulled the jewelry out and looked inside and her smile grew wider. There were two items inside; her pink ribbon and her locket.
She took the ribbon, tying it into a bow around her ponytail. She took off the necklace she was currently wearing before picking up her locket. She opened it up and saw Arnold's fourth grade picture was still inside. She moved her pony tail aside and slipped on the locket. She put the jewelry box back into the box and made her way upstairs to see if Adam was ready to go, because she certainly was.