"Olga!" Helga called when she got home.

No answer. Helga hung up her coat and went upstairs.

"Olga?" Helga asked.

The next thing she heard was the sound of a toilet flushing and Miriam emerging from the bathroom a few moments later.

"Your sister...went out with Louis honey." Miriam slurred slowly.

Helga sighed. "Any word on when she'll get back?"

"Oh! Well...she should be back to cook dinner dear." Miriam said, surprised Helga was even wondering where Olga was.

"Thanks Miriam." Helga answered before heading to her room and then sighing again as she looked over the invitation. She should have been expecting something like this. Olga hadn't really had a true date with Louis in a while, and she couldn't expect to tag along as a third wheel every time they went out. Still, it meant she would have to wait. Helga sat on her bed, again looking at the invitation.

"HELGA! DINNER!"

Helga woke up with a start at the sound of her sister's voice. She gasped and looked at the clock. Looks like she fell asleep. The invitation was still in her hand. Helga put it down on her dresser and got up to go downstairs. She couldn't help but break out into a grin when she saw that Louis was standing on the threshold of the dining room.

"Any idea what we're eating?" Helga asked rather nonchalantly.

"I think Olga had her heart set on Thai food tonight." Louis answered in the same tone. "Were you asleep?"

"Yeah. Guess I just fell asleep when I went to my room." She answered.

"Dinner's ready!" Olga' voice chimed, and the two of them went to their seats.

Helga sat across from her parents, next to Olga. Louis sat on Olga's other side.

"So, did you two have fun?" Miriam asked as they began to eat.

"We did, mommy." Olga answered. "Louis had this idea to go to the aquarium but...you're such a meanie!" She teased him. "You said I looked like one of the fish!"

Helga began to laugh inwardly to herself, covering up her mouth.

"You did." Louis teased back. "It had the same wide-eyed expression, fish face." He continued.

"Stop!" Olga said instinctively, but with a smile.

Louis leaned in to her, breathing slightly in her ear. Olga quivered.

"It also had the same color as your beautiful hair." He growled lowly and ran a hand through her blonde hair, causing her to blush and quiver even more.

Miriam watched the scene with a faint smile on her face. Bob was busy digging into his food. Helga looked up and sighed, poking at her food. She couldn't help but feel jealous. It was nice seeing and interacting with an Olga that was relatively normal, but even now she felt jealous of her. She was very much in love. It was obvious even when Helga was still trapped in her shell. Helga desperately wanted this to happen between her and Arnold, but she was still afraid.

"Ah yeah, that's great." Bob said. "So Louis, you were totally right about the website and the online marketing! I'm on track to see a ten percent increase in sales this month since you got this all set up for me!" He said excitedly.

"Told you." He grinned, snaking an arm around Olga's shoulders. "Everyone in business needs to keep up with the times. Trust me in five years from now it's gonna be much bigger. I wouldn't be surprised if some places sold things exclusively online in the future. Less capital expenses."

"Yeah, that might be true. Anyway Olga, did you get any word from the Philharmonic? It makes me proud that my little girl's gonna be a concert pianist - a real beacon of high culture! Makes me proud to be a Pataki!"

"Well, not quite yet, daddy." Olga shied away. "I'm sure there are other applicants..."

Louis looked down at her curiously, but chuckled and put another bite of food in his mouth.

"Well...actually...speaking of high culture..." Helga trailed shyly, twiddling her thumbs.

The table began to look at her curiously.

"When I went back to school today...I was told that the Playwright Society for Boys and Girls really liked my Presidents' Day play and they want me to write a new one for the annual citywide contest they hold in June. First prize gets five hundred dollars and gets to spend a day with the professional playwrights on Broadway and learn their craft..." She informed, still shyly.

"Oh that's cool!" Olga gushed.

"Oh that's really great, Helga." Louis said at the same time with a smaller smile. "I told you you had a lot of talent!"

She smiled up at him.

"That's nice honey." Miriam also smiled lightly.

"So are you gonna enter, baby sister?" Olga asked.

"I think so..." Helga answered, and her eyes sparkled when she saw Olga and Louis smiling warmly at her.

"Aw that's nothing special."

All eyes turned toward Bob.

"The fact is that Olga's gonna be a professional. She's going to bring great prestige to the Patakis. You're just dabbling in this as a hobby. It's not really high culture or anything, you just got lucky with this. So don't try to compare yourself with your sister. She's been doing this all her life. She deserves the praise."

Helga's eyes constricted and she went silent. She felt like she got hit by a train, and she whimpered. Olga maintained a smile at Bob, but while she ate she darted her eyes to Helga. Louis had a shocked expression with his mouth slightly open, and Miriam took a big gulp of her drink. But Helga didn't notice any of it. She just stared blankly at Bob as he sucked up his noodles audibly.

She was so shocked and hurt that she just couldn't get angry. Involuntarily, tears began to flow down her face, and she hiccuped and quaked. Helga burst out from her chair and ran upstairs.

"Oh geez..." Miriam sighed.

"Anyway Olga. I think you need to keep at it!" Bob grinned. "Maybe you should show up in person again!"

Olga beamed and subtly grabbed Louis' hand, giving it an equally subtle squeeze.

"Maybe I will daddy." Olga gushed. "But they said auditions could last for a few more weeks!"

Louis' expression hardened. He knew what this was. She was not holding his hand to show affection, at least not in her typical way.

She was holding his hand because she was afraid.

She was certainly afraid for Helga, that was unquestionable, but she was equally afraid for herself. So, Louis thought, his deeper suspicions were correct. He was not surprised, but it made him angry all the same. Olga quietly gasped when she saw his expression harden and his other fist clench. In a moment, he took a deep breath, relaxed his fist, and calmed his expression, but it was still a hardened, determined look.

"Olga, will you leave the room please?" He asked with a calm, hardened dignity. Then with a smile, he gently got up and led her up from her seat as well, holding her shoulders. "Go upstairs with your sister and stay there until I call you down, alright?" He smiled sweetly and kissed her for reassurance.

Olga nodded somberly and silently, leaving the room and looking back with a concerned expression.

"Hey Louis...is something wrong?" Bob asked.

Louis didn't turn back yet. He only watched with the same sweet smile as Olga went up the steps.

"Why'd you interrupt our conversation Louis?" Bob asked again, this time a bit more urgently.

Louis slowly turned to face Bob with a regal-looking frown on his face.