Note: What? Is this really happening? Do any of you still exist? I recently encountered Hey Arnold again, remembered that this story was almost done, and wanted to finish it. Why the delay for years? I'll just leave that for the end to not interrupt any further.
"Well, that was quite the show you put on, wasn't it? The spectacle shouldn't be surprising since it came from my son. And you should be ashamed of yourself."
"Huh?" Louis stared at his mother, mouth agape, as she entered his office.
"You made this already tragic situation far worse because yet again, you need to feel safe."
"Me?" Louis asked mockingly.
"Yes. You have this irritating tendency to assert yourself obnoxiously whenever you think someone you care about is in danger, regardless of whether that's true or not. I didn't want to say this down there to avoid making the situation worse, so I held my tongue, but you need to hear it now."
"Did you come up here just to annoy me? Because you're doing that."
"No. I came up here to avoid embarrassing you in front of Henry. You should be thankful, because I would have said it in front of him if I needed to."
Louis stared into his mother's eyes and sighed. Drooping his head down.
"You weren't there to see the situation I got them out of. This brings back too many painful memories."
"No, but you aren't in that situation anymore, either. This is your home. Maybe you should think more about that and the situation in front of you than the one from the past? Despite your bravado about moving on from it, it sure motivates you a lot. Answer me honestly: do you think that show you just put on helped anything? You completely ignored both your fiancée and Helga when it was their mother in question. You added to all of their stress. They won't say it, and even you might miss it because of your own emotional attachment to this, but it's obvious."
"What do you want from me?" He grunted.
"Louis, you aren't going to lose them by taking your hands off the levers for a little while. They're not in that home anymore. They'll be safe. They'll be fine. On the other hand, you might well lose them if you don't. I wish I didn't have to come here and say this to you on this trip, but you should think about that. You're smart so I know you'll understand quickly if I let you stew on it for a little while."
Louis sighed and put a hand on his forehead, breathing deeply as his mother left.
"Olga, Helga, I owe you both an apology."
The sisters turned to see Louis standing there, at the threshold of the dining room, looking bashful and remorseful. It was a stunning sight.
"What's the deal?" Helga asked.
"You guys know better than anyone that I lost my father as a very young child and constantly have to worry about my brother. As a result, I get overprotective of the people I love, to the point of maybe even being overbearing. Most of the time, I don't even think about it. And I think you guys have gotten a bit too used to it also. I'm thrilled you think you can rely on me, but I suppose we should start changing some of those dynamics when all this commotion subsides after the holidays. I'm sorry." He said at last, taking a chair with a sigh.
Olga went over to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He appreciated the gesture and returned a gentle squeeze.
"Olga, you were right. She's your mother, not mine. I apologize for turning this unfortunate incident into a total circus. Your distress and my family being here didn't help. Helga, Olga, whatever you guys want to do with her, I'll respect your decision."
"Thank you, honey." Olga replied and kissed him lightly before walking a few paces, taking a look outside into the kitchen to check if anyone was there. She soon closed the door.
"So what do you want to do? Tell me truthfully, with no conditions, caveats, or clauses. So what if Henry made you feel guilty? What do you really want to do? Just tell me."
Helga's heart was beating at a million miles an hour. Olga's answer was shocking.
"She can't stay here. Not permanently, anyway."
"Agreed." Louis sighed.
Helga's jaw dropped as Olga continued.
"Penelope was right. Overcoming addiction isn't a straightforward process. It's a lifelong struggle. I was looking at everything on the bright side again, thinking that her staying here would magically change everything. I was just so overwhelmed that day, I didn't know what to do, and I kind of stayed that way, hoping the problem would just go away. But it won't and it's obvious that she needs more help than we can provide. We can't be there to watch her every second. What happens when the holidays end and you're constantly meeting with clients and I'm going out to do concerts or recordings? A month from now, I start the piano recordings for the Weird and Happy score, for example, which means I'll be out more than usual. Meanwhile, Louis, you just closed your new deal, too. I'm also sure you'll only be getting more offers when the holidays end. We can lock up all our liquor but what's stopping her from just going out and buying more? Who's gonna be there to support her when she's feeling stressed? Helga? That's far too big of a burden for her. I took up all the burdens for my family and you know what that did to me. I won't let her be in that position."
"Olga..." Helga sighed.
"Maybe you were right and I was being naive." She smiled sadly.
"But you were right in some ways, too, Olga." Helga insisted. "We can't just send her back to Big Bob, either. Those constant taunts from me were really terrible." She started to tear up, not knowing why, but Olga embraced her, which she returned warmly.
"So what's the plan, then?" Louis asked. "It's about time we made a real one, don't you think? With all the commotion, we've just been doing things ad-hoc. That needs to end now."
"Louis, your mother must have told you her idea." Olga replied.
"Of course she told me. Miriam's very, very lucky that mom likes her, even now."
"But your mom's a really nice person." Helga inputted.
"Most of the time." Louis smiled. "Remember Helga, you might be close to her, but you still haven't known her all that long. You haven't seen her in her element at work. That version of her is extremely demanding and pulls no punches. Even I - even Henry - can get scared of her if we somehow wind up crossing her when her professional life is involved. Olga knows that well enough. Remember how stressed you were when you met her for the first time at the Upfronts?"
"Don't remind me." Olga sighed with a giggle. "I was so stressed of failing her that I thought my heart was gonna explode, but that little recording warmed her up to me a lot at the end of the day. I really think that might have wound up saving our relationship."
"Is there a point to this story?" Helga grunted.
"The point is that because of her offer, Cecily is by far the most important person she has in her corner right now." Olga answered. "More important than me. More important than you. If there's anyone that can help her finally get started on the road to recovery, it's Cecily."
"And if mom thinks that Miriam can do the job she offered, Miriam can. End of discussion." Louis seconded.
"Do you want me to...?" Helga volunteered.
"Nah, I'll go get her. I've ordered you around for long enough." Louis smiled and left the room.
"Olga..."
"Everything will be fine." She insisted. "For the first time, I'm not confused."
The door opened. Louis came in with an awkward Cecily, closing the door behind them.
"It looks like you're all in the middle of a conclave or something, so why am I here?"
"Mom." Louis smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks."
"For what?" She looked up at him skeptically.
"For kicking my ass." He hugged her.
"Get off of me." She muttered with an amused smile. "Get!"
Louis chuckled as he sat beside her. "Olga has a plan."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Cecily, you can get my mom that job you talked about at the local station, right?"
"Honey, I'm one of the network's top showrunners. If I say so and show them those tapes, it's a done deal. The question is if she'll want it? She was hesitant before and this experience can't have made it any better."
"She needs to take it." Olga insisted. "It's the first real, durable step to her actually getting better. If she doesn't, she can go back to daddy or wherever else."
Helga, Louis, and Cecily all gasped.
"OK, I did NOT see that one coming." Louis blurted.
"She needs to change and I was being too lenient with her. Mommy is capable if she wants to be. She just needs to be shocked into remembering. She needs to start working right away. She needs something else on her mind other than those smoothies of hers. Plus, I'll be there to support her in the early going since I'll be at the network's studio to record the piano tracks for Weird and Happy anyway, so she'll have a bridge into it."
"Oh, that's right!" Cecily smiled. "Truth be told though, dear, I'm not too optimistic that show will succeed."
"Huh?" Olga gasped.
"But if I'm right, it won't be because of your piano recordings, so don't worry! Your piano recordings might well be the best thing about the show, dear!" She insisted. "Automatic reflex. Probably not the right time. I'm sorry."
"Muscle memory, huh?" Helga asked with a smirk. "Man, these two must be right about you being a shark in your waters."
"I suppose so, honey." Cecily smiled back.
"Alright, so that's part one." Louis said, returning everyone back to reality. "What's next?"
"After mommy starts working, we can rent her an apartment and support her until she's more capable of supporting herself. Between the two of us, it won't be that much money."
"I'll chip in as well. I'll pay for most of it, in fact." Cecily said, to their surprise. "You two are just starting your lives together. You should be saving and investing. Between my job and our family estate, I have far more money than I need. I can spare some of it."
"Hey mom, you remember how you told me a long time ago that you didn't care what I did as long as I wasn't doing anything illegal or costing you money? Does this count?" Louis teased.
"Well you aren't quite the rogue you once were, thank God. Consider it your reward."
"I love you too, mom." He smiled and chuckled cheekily.
"Mhmm." She noised.
"But actually, Olga, if you don't mind my input..."
"Go on, my love." She smiled warmly.
He smirked at her mischievously before starting. "I think there's one thing you might be missing. She should take out a restraining order on Bob, at least temporarily." His face turned serious. "Remember, it was because of him that she started drinking in the first place and fell off the wagon here. I'll guide her through the process. It isn't that hard."
"Absolutely." Cecily agreed. "Not to intrude, but my son hit the nail on the head there. You should take no chances."
Olga smiled. "This is why I love you."
"Oh, and a few more things."
"Hmm?" The three of them responded, looking surprised.
Helga nervously smiled and rubbed her head, but continued. "We need to make sure she signs up for an alcoholic support group. I mean, we'll check in on her frequently, but she needs more than just us. And remember, Cecily won't be here for long. I can also ask Dr. Bliss to refer her to a therapist that specializes in addiction. I'm sure she knows people." Helga added.
"You're one smart kid." Louis chuckled, much to Helga's delight.
"I'll go get Miriam." Cecily smiled and left the room.
Helga sighed and nervously tapped her fingers on the table. Even though she felt better, this plan they all made was still just a theory. Would Miriam even want it to work?
Yes, so here's my lengthy note.
This looooong delay came for a few reasons. First, I think you all know what happened in the world shortly after I published the last chapter of this story. Second, real work and other, higher priority personal work. More on that in a little bit.
Third, Kryten, if you're still around, you were completely right in your review. I didn't notice what I was doing until I saw it. I wanted to correct the error but didn't quite know how. This, I hope, has at least taken a few steps forward in that process. I'm not sure how successful I was, but that's what this test was for.
If I think I succeeded in getting the story back on track, I will try to keep one update coming a week since there's only a few chapters left, but February is when my workload starts to pick up so I can't guarantee that.
And another note: I also updated the prequel story Fortune for the first time in nine years. You can check that out as well. I will generally release updates to the two in pairs. We'll see how well that one works out.