It took a while for her to realize it after waking up, but when she did, ominous air flooded into her lungs, quickening her heartbeat.
Olga's girly, bubbly, annoying Christmas music wasn't playing downstairs. Suddenly, she was longing for it. That it wasn't filling the air could only mean that things were serious.
"Criminy..." Helga groaned and went to the bathroom to get ready. School didn't seem so bad now.
She moped downstairs and to the kitchen. Olga had made French toast, but suddenly it didn't seem appetizing. The two sisters stared at one another tensely, their same pale blue eyes probing and gouging at one another. There was nothing and everything to say. The tension was finally broken by a powerful voice that both sisters were relieved to hear.
"Helga, I know you might not have the best appetite now, but you better eat. Don't get distracted at school because you're hungry."
Louis walked into the room, dressed in his custom black suit, a dark red tie, a matching pocket square, Zegna shoes, and his usual belt buckle.
"Why are you dressed like that?!" Helga blurted out.
"Uh...this is how you usually dress when you go meet with clients." He lightly taunted as he sat and began to eat.
Olga giggled, but Helga only growled before looking back at him.
"You mean you're not working from home today?!"
"Uh...no?" The light sarcasm was still rippling in his voice. "After I close a deal, I go meet with the clients to see what their operations on the ground are like, and go through their data on their customers. You know how this works."
Helga groaned. Olga wanted to say something, but Louis signaled for her to stand down, and she relented.
"Helga...?" Arnold trailed.
She was sitting at a lunch table, frowning into space, seemingly ready to explode the moment she came back to consciousness. He knew to tread lightly.
"What?" Helga finally growled. Only the solitary word had escaped her mouth. She still glowered, not looking at him.
Arnold only took his seat with great caution. "It's just that...when I saw you in math class today, you didn't call me Football Head or Hair Boy once, and you sat hunched over and glaring into space, and you're doing the same thing here. I just...don't get it. You were so happy on the phone last night. If I recall, you said you had 'family coming, and 12 rounds of boxing to top it all off.' So what happened? Did those guys...Hawk and Takamura...right? Was the fight called off?"
"No Arnoldo, the fight was not called off."
"Then...what's the problem?"
"Oh, I don't know, how about trying this one on for size? Oh no...I think I must have left my purse on the roof of the car! Or how about this one? Oh no...almost got it...another little inch! Honey...could you help me get the Tabasco? Oh...oopsie woopsie! And the entire cabinet comes tumbling out!"
"...I don't get it..."
Helga grimaced and stared into space again. "Alright Arnoldo, it's like this. Miriam had one too many drinks yesterday and got sent to the hospital, and because Big Bob is such a jerk, the nurses wound up calling Olga, and...Olga invited her stay with us in our house! Oh, you know, so Miriam 'can get help.' Yeah, sure."
Arnold's eyes darted about as she moved her hands frantically, her voice quickening with each word.
"Well, no big deal, right? Olga's so sweet and bubbly that she sometimes does stupid things, right? Louis usually nips that crapola in the bud right and quick and keeps her silliness under control. But, not this time...he actually agreed with her!"
Arnold noted that her voice had morphed from anger to distress. "Your mom got sent to the hospital? That sounds serious!" He interjected.
"Yeah, so?" Helga said with a nonchalant look as she held her cheek in her hand.
"I mean, it sounds like your sister and Louis just want to help her. That can't be so bad."
"Earth to Football Head - are you forgetting that this is Miriam? The same Miriam that would rather fall asleep in front of the stove than go a day without a smoothie?"
"Helga, you trust them, don't you? Well, maybe they can help your mother, and maybe you should try to have a little more faith in her, too."
Helga glowered and stared into space again as Phoebe and Gerald approached the table.
"Oh Olga, you know, this is such a nice home you have..." Miriam said, sitting across from her daughter on a chair in the living room. "And you've decorated it so well!"
"Thank you, mommy. I hope you'll find the den in the basement comfortable. I should warn you that when Louis works out in the gym down there, he turns the music up very loud, and with Henry coming in a couple of days, you can expect it to get even louder and wilder."
"Oh, it's fine, honey. I should be up by the time you tell me he likes to start..." She trailed. "I'm sorry, honey...for being a burden."
"Mommy...the important thing is that you get better..." Olga tried to hold back tears. "I suddenly feel like I abandoned you when you needed help just as much as Helga did, maybe even more..."
"After looking at these pictures on the table over here...I can't say that you were wrong..."
"Oh mommy..."
"You and Helga both look so much happier than you ever were at home..."
"Mommy, I'll pull a page from Louis' book and say that you have to stop living in the past. You have to act in the here and now with an eye to the future. Your past doesn't define your future!"
Miriam adjusted her glasses to stare up at her cheerful daughter. She was bewildered by the sudden surge of energy. "He says that, huh...?" She could barely respond.
"Yes! You know...he always has a way of bringing out the best in you. That's a huge reason why I love him so much..." She gushed.
Miriam tried to smile, but it just wasn't coming out. "You were lucky to meet him. Not everyone gets so lucky..."
Silence descended on mother and daughter. Olga sensed that the tension in the room was blowing up like a balloon. It could either deflate gently or it could pop on both of them. Nevertheless, she had to ask and risk the latter.
"Mommy...what did you say to daddy about this...arrangement...?"
"I didn't really know what to say...so I just told him the truth..."
Olga stiffened. Her heartbeat quickened and her arms suddenly grew heavy. She breathed hard to try and relieve herself.
"I'm sorry, honey. I understand what you were dealing with all those years now, and know I shouldn't have done that. Are you...afraid...?"
"No..." Olga finally exhaled and sighed. "Not with Louis here, anyway, and Henry's coming soon too, so that's double the reason to not be afraid!"
"It's alright...you don't need to try to convince yourself. I think I made a mistake..."
"Let's just not tell Helga." Olga sighed. "She was very upset last night and this morning. No need to make her more worried..."
"I'm such a screw-up..."
"Mommy, let's just try to handle one thing at a time..."
Arnold looked at the clock. It was getting close to 5. Night had fallen hours ago, and they'd long since finished their homework.
"So Football Head, what are we eating for dinner tonight? What do Stella and Gertie have in the oven?" She asked, her head hanging down from Arnold's bed.
"Helga, you can't avoid seeing your mother forever." He replied.
"But...but...it isn't forever!" She stammered. As usual, he saw right through her.
"Helga..."
"Fine!" She growled and got up. "If you want me gone so badly, just say so!"
She stomped toward the door, but suddenly felt herself in Arnold's embrace. Just as suddenly, that adorable football-shaped head of his bent down and kissed her. Yes, Arnold was slightly taller than her now. She liked that!
"Ohhh!"
Arnold looked at her strangely. Her swoon instantly morphed into a frown.
"Helga, just get it over with. You know you have to go home eventually. You've never been the type not to confront a problem."
"Guess you're right, Arnoldo..."
"I'm with you, Helga. You'll always be welcome here if you need a place to go. Just remember though, you still live with your sister and Louis. This isn't going to change how they feel about you, so you shouldn't change how you feel about them, either."
A storm of thoughts swirled into Helga's head as she grabbed her backpack and went down the steps from his room.
"You know, honey, I'd really love to go see you play!" Miriam gushed as she watched her daughter, who somehow hopped to and fro in five-inch heels and a sparkling black evening gown.
"After the Holidays, mommy." Olga mumbled as she gathered her belongings.
"Mhmm." Miriam mumbled. For the first time in ages, her eyes lit up. "I'm just so proud of you, dear!"
Mother and daughter exchanged a hug when the door opened.
"What's this?!"
They turned around at the sound of an agitated voice and a slamming door. Helga emerged, frowning and throwing her coat and backpack on the floor. Miriam looked at her and gasped, stunned at how different she looked, but Helga consciously avoided eye contact.
"Helga..." Olga trailed and walked over.
"Why are you dressed like that?! You weren't supposed to be doing a show tonight!"
"I wasn't...but they called me in because our other pianist, Imelda, had to go away to her family a little earlier than we thought."
"Oh..." Helga groaned and darted her eyes to the floor. Finally, she looked up to see Olga staring at her with genuine concern and love, and remembered Arnold's words. "Good luck tonight, Olga."
"Thank you, sweetie." Olga smiled and embraced her sister, who returned it warmly. "And just to let you know, Louis should be home within an hour." She declared when the embrace ended. Helga reluctantly smiled back and nodded up to her, appreciative of the reassurance, but clearly still worried. Olga looked at her somberly. For all of her support, Olga knew that Louis was the one that really made her feel safe. She wished she could provide that feeling, but she couldn't. Hopefully, he would be back quickly. "...OK, I have to go. I'll be back later tonight! Just heat up your dinner when he gets home!" Olga reminded both Helga and Miriam as she put on her coat and left, taking heed to make as little noise as possible.
As soon as the door closed, a cloud of tension fell on the room. For a while, the two just stood there. Helga still avoided making eye contact. Her hands were bunched into fists. They trembled.
"Helga...hi honey...! It's so good to see you...!"
"Well, now looks like a good time to get the mail!" Helga blurted at the wall and rushed outside.
Miriam followed Helga with her usual half-awake expression as she came back inside, holding a bundle of mail and closing the door.
"Lets see now..." Helga mused. "Bill, bill, bill." She dismissed, putting the envelopes on the nearby table. "Huh?" She asked and grabbed a magazine wrapped in plastic. "Oh, Vogue. That's Olga's." She dismissed again and put it on the table. "Hm? What's this?" She asked as she came upon a manila envelope addressed to Louis Burbon. Helga cautiously opened it. "OH YES, IT CAME IN!"
Miriam was startled by the sudden excitement. She chanced a peak over Helga's shoulder to see her holding a magazine. Monthly Boxing Fan, it was. On the front cover stood two men - a smirking man in the background and a man with a hawk on his shoulder in the foreground and a determined expression. She adjusted her glasses and read the headline - "The Battle of Hawk - Full Coverage of the WBC Jr. Middleweight Title match!" There were sections on "Hawk's Strategy," "Takamura's Strategy," and other "expert analysis."
"Alright!" Helga grinned, not noticing her mother's nearness. "Takamura's Strategy, by Mari Iimura! I love her stuff! And she went to the Kamogawa Gym where he trains! Awesome!"
Now Miriam smiled. "What do you have there, honey? A big event you're excited about?"
Helga's eyes immediately blew wide open, suddenly remembering where she was. She turned around to see Miriam staring right over her shoulder.
"MIRIAM!" She turned and growled, making her mother backtrack a few steps. "It's none of your business!" She hissed.
"What is it, honey...?" Miriam responded, bewildered.
"Just because Louis and Olga view you as a charity case doesn't mean that we're suddenly going to be all buddy buddy, GOT IT?! You're here to get help. Fine. But I'm warning you, Miriam, I'm watching you. In the extremely unlikely event that you fall off the wagon and Louis misses it, you can rest assured that I'll tell him the first chance I get, and then you'll be out of here faster than you can fall asleep behind the couch! I have a good thing going here, Miriam, and I am not going to let it get messed up just because you're suddenly back in my life thanks to your inability to control your 'smoothie' intake. OK, bucko?!"
"But Helga..."
"JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
Miriam's head drooped as she watched Helga storm upstairs, carrying the magazine.