RECIPROCATED LOVE

CHAPTER 52

IT'S THE RIGHT TIME AFTER ALL

SEVEN YEARS LATER

"Hey Arnold!"

Someone called him and he turned around, surprised that even after all those years he still recognized that voice. It was his longtime friend Lorenzo. He was accompanied by a beautiful girl with long, blonde hair. "Hey compa… how have you been?"

"Lorenzo!" he greeted him effusively "Never so well… feeling good to be finally back in town."

Lorenzo nodded, greeting him and patting his back and then, turning to his girl.

"Arnold… I want you to meet my fiancée Nina. Nina, this is Arnold… and…" he turned to his company.

"The Arnold everyone is always talking about?" the blond girl asked "Hillwood's biggest hero?" she smiled at him.

"The very same." Lorenzo answered for him.

Arnold smiled unpretentiously, turning to the dark haired girl at his side who had raised her brows at the blonde words.

"Well, I haven't been a hero since the good old days, that's for sure…" he smiled again. "Nina, Lorenzo….This is my girlfriend, Natalie."

Natalie smiled to them. Then she told them he still was some kind of hero, but now he used his skills with the diplomatic corps. Arnold grunted hoping they don't start talking about their old adventures, but chuckled when Lorenzo started to recount the very old day when they met and how he managed to make him enjoy a happy, normal, childish afternoon.

Shaking his head, he smiled down to Natalie again. He doubted she could remember everybody's name at the end of the day but who cared? It'd be time ahead to keep in mind those who would become important now on that he was back in Hillwood for good.

The blond young man exhaled seeing his girlfriend talking to Nina, another newcomer to the gang. Gerald had already told him that Nina and Lorenzo were planning their wedding to the end of the year. Nina was a girl of a wealthy family who apparently had endured long enough Lorenzo wanderings; she was a keeper.

He sighed.

Natalie was also a keeper. They had being going out several months until they become a couple about a year ago. She was a social worker. They met around three years ago in Brazil where she was sent to work by the humanitarian organization she worked for. Arnold had just been sent to work in there in the diplomatic service. Their respective jobs kept them together for a while and in no long they become close friends. They started to date soon after that but then Arnold was sent to serve at the American Embassy in Santiago, Chile. She had followed him getting a job at the local university.

As most of his girlfriends, Natalie was a nice, easy going girl. He had tried from time to time to date more extroverted, brazen girls but it never worked out. They really weren't his kind. Natalie was different. She could be nice and laidback, but she also had a passionate and intense side.

They also shared a similar background. Her parents were as bold and adventurous as his own. They met and married in the Bolivian Andean and worked in the region until her father died in a guerrilla revolt in South America. Her mother came back to America then to raise their only child who was born back in Colombia. Still, it seemed that the daring blood running through her veins called her back to her roots, the same as him.

They both also spoke fluently Spanish and were admirer of the Latin American culture and folklore. She had rubbed off on him her taste for Colombian music; he had rubbed off on her his love for poetry.

His love for poetry. Who would have thought?

If it was true that he has never been too keen of poetry, he was honest enough to openly recognize he had developed the taste after he'd lost her. His muse. He read all kind of poetry trying to find her in there; trying that the metrical lines connect him with her. With Helga P. … his lips became a thin line to stop himself for mumbling her actual full name.

Tonight, I can write the saddest lines.

Write, for example: 'The night is shattered,
and the blue stars shiver in the distance.'

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight, I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.

She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great, still eyes?

...

"She's still not here?" he heard Natalie's soft voice close to his ear.

"No, she's no here yet" he mumbled back. Turning around and facing her. They have just talked to Iggy and his wife. Then went to look for their table "Are you worried?" he asked to her, frowning.

"No… well… in fact I'm worried about you…. Are you worried, Arnold?" she looked at him in the eye.

"I don't think so" he shrugged; then smiled down to her, reassuringly. "She's past. She's been past for years…" he started but the half smile in her face told him to better shut up.

Arnold own smile grew. It felt good that she knew him that well. It also felt good that she was a smart girl who was capable to realize how he felt and understand it. She could even talk about it; she wasn't like those jealous girls that used to make a fit out of everything; out of his silences and his readings.

She knew about his story with Helga, his friend, his love, his personal bully…. She knew she had been there for him in his worst times since they were children; she knew she had been there for him more recently, when his grandmother and his grandfather had passed away; when he was left completely alone in the world. She was there to help him to deal with what his grandparents left. She helped him out with everything. She was his best comforter; his ray of sunshine but she was there just as a friend. She was a married woman; a happily married woman. She had even been pregnant last time he saw her.

"Are you two having fun?"

Gerald reached them at their table. He was flying solo tonight. It wasn't as if he couldn't get a date. Was it even possible that the brilliant CEO of Pataki Incorporated couldn't get a date? No, of course not. He simply decided he wanted to be free to enjoy whatever the evening would bring.

Rhonda and Thad were hosting their engagement party tonight; it was planned in a rush. It was almost the end of the summer… Arnold shook his head. He never guessed they had had an affair in the past but it seemed that they couldn't forget it and after a few years making mistakes they re-encountered a couple of years ago. Nowadays they lived together in Manhattan and planned marrying next year; June, of course.

Arnold chuckled. He wasn't complaining, right? It felt good to be here just as soon as he disembarked. Congratulating them. Seeing dear old friends and catching up with them and the rest of people in town.

Starting with Gerald… what to say about him? … Well… Gerald was a very successful chief executive. He had leaded the Patakis to a steady growing since the day the company was left in his hands. When he took control, Pataki Inc. was already a much bigger company that it was in the old days but Gerald had it now competing head to head against the electronic leaders companies in the entire country.

It seemed that Helga has a good eye for success because she had chosen him before he was ready; before he even knew what he was going to do with his life. Her trust at such early stage made Gerald focus his efforts in his one and only objective and here he was, triumphant and cocky as never. He exuded confidence and power and was a very suitable bachelor nowadays.

And he was still his best friend in the whole world. They were talking now, catching up about the happenings of last months because they used to keep close contact. Gerald had even spent his last vacation down in Chile, keeping them company.

Gerald was also the one who updated him with the happenings with the old gang members. Starting with Phoebe… Phoebe had stayed in California after ending her career in MD but then moved to Minnesota and worked actually for a company that specialized in medical researching and development. Phoebe was making her name known in that pushful world. She could be seen now in there, talking to Nadine and Helen and at the side of her current boyfriend; a very smart PhD in physics or some of the kind.

Rhonda was publicly known and the successful owner of one of the favorites sites of gossip and celebrities in the country. Thad was working his way amongst the local politic fauna and seemed to know very well what he was doing.

Who else? ... Yes, another couple from the old gang. Sid and Lila had married last year and were a beautiful, envied, very social couple. They remained in Hillwood where she was still a star in the local TV firmament and he was still an independent entrepreneur.

Sheena married and divorced and had a very beautiful and smart little girl. Nadine worked at Parks, Recreation and Historic Preserve and seemed to enjoy her work and her singleness. Patty and Harold had a five year old girl. Peapod Kid had married his college sweetheart, Brenda, the girl he left Nadine for, but seemed that his marriage wasn't a bed of roses.

Well … Sid and Stinky continued working in industrial maintenance and owned now a bigger company. Stinky and Helen had broken up years ago. Stinky had married a girl who was as sweet as Lila. Helen had moved to California and was a math teacher in a private university. She and Brian lived in the same town and had developed a very close friendship and, in fact, they currently came back to town together to assist to this party and could be seen right there, side to side, looking almost like a couple. They said that their thing was only platonic; that they were just friends but seeing the chemistry they shared Arnold could only hope things become romantic at some point.

Arnold sighed seeing most of his friends were working a way or another her way up to success and happiness.

"So, Arnold…"

Gerald told him once Natalie left them alone after excusing herself.

"So… What?"

"So you're still thinking it over?" Gerald began, seeing Natalie as she walked away "You said you were going to propose to her but I have yet to see a ring in her finger"

"No" Arnold sighed "I'm not thinking it over anymore" he took his hand up to his chest.

Maybe it just that isn't the right time...

"Mmm mmm mmm" Gerald shook his head "Do not tell me that you still have hope?" he looked at him with incredulity.

No. The truth was that he had no expectations anymore, but ...

"Is she coming?" he asked nervously, almost against his better will.

Gerald nodded.

"Her plane landed at seven. To this hour Robbie should be already with his grandparents and she's probably in her way here" Arnold nodded, not knowing how to feel. Gerald had never mentioned his pet name before and the child must be almost four to this day. For all he knew, he was almost the spitting image of his father. "Supposedly James is also coming, but as far I know. He had a setback and is delayed"

Arnold took a deep breath. The truth is that although he claimed he didn't want to know a thing about her anymore, of course he had failed in his intentions. He had been attentive to her life and actually knew more things than he'd wished. He knew James was still a very important man. He had led a Republican to the White House five years ago and had gotten him re-elected in the last election. He was still doing some advising for the party but now his main responsibility was to the President. Gerald used to say that Bob boasted in confidence that his son in-law was the power behind the throne.

Helga worked for the federal government too. She had a job of great responsibility in the Department of Energy and she was very discreet about what it was. She traveled a lot too, probably even more than her husband and she seemed to be a very successful and very skilled woman. But apparently the family was suffering it. It seemed that despite their efforts and despite planning their trips very carefully, the perfect couple spent more of their time far away from each other than together. Absence was the only constant in their relation ever since the very day they got married seven years ago.

Arnold must confess that deep down he wished that their relationship wasn't as perfect as it appeared and that they had their differences and fights, but Gerald always told him to not to hold hopes. He used to say that their marriage was strong despite the long absences they both endured. Arnold couldn't help it. Hope was what kept him going for those long years. Especially when he remembered those old days; that last year of college which was the hardest year of his life.

...

After they married, they settled in a big house located in an elegant neighborhood. James became a habitual presence in Boston. In his daily comings and goings, it became customary to see the couple around. Helga used to behave a tad solemn and dry towards him at the beginning but after a while she turned back to her normal self; she just stopped showing the disguised interest she used to put on him whenever he was around and which he used to be very aware of. The fact that Gerald was always around helped to smooth things between them. Arnold eventually felt comfortable enough to relax and why not, he even dared to flirt with her. What could one lose when you flirt with a married woman, huh? But Helga just blinked a couple of times and then ignored blatantly his efforts.

When James was in town they used to stay behind closed doors. It was kinda expected; they were newlyweds and hadn't delighted in a proper honeymoon. Still, it was to certain extent usual to find them out sometimes at dinnertime; occasionally in the mornings at the park or even a couple of times at the movies. James used to be civil to him when they were in the company of Gerald and Helga but he flatly ignored his existence when there was no one around.

Arnold really didn't know what to expect. Of course James had to know what had happened between them. Arnold probably would have prized more those calmed reactions if he had known what would happen the day when he finally found him running in the park, all by himself; a day when Helga most probably decided to stay in bed. That morning it became clear to him that James wasn't a guy who tread carefully around enemies or that needed a bodyguard to be dangerous; that morning Arnold had just realized he was around, and was deciding whether ignoring or greeting him when James took him by his collar, pushed him against a tree and warned him that he'd had no tolerance to the least romantic approach towards his wife. He also said he would never ask him to stay away from her and her life and would never ask her to erase her past; he told him that he was very aware that they were lifelong friends and that his friendship and his welfare would be important to her forever, but that was all.

"Don't ever dare to even dream of something else because you're going to regret it!" He warned, pushing him against the tree once again and finally releasing his collar.

Arnold had snorted derisively as he straightened, wondering inwardly what else he could do, what further action he'll go through to hurt him if he had already stolen what he most wanted in the whole world. Good thing he didn't say it aloud. Maybe it was only coincidence but thereafter he had the impression that he was closely watched over in college. Maybe it was just his imagination or his guilty conscience, because there was never a call, a warning or some of the like, but it was obvious that he was familiar and known to some of the deans now. He chose to leave it there, not out of cowardice as of resignation. To Helga he was no longer a love interest, not anymore.

"Make sure she's happy and I won't get in your way" he had replied showing attitude.

James just looked at him dismissively, walking away and not bothering with an answer, then was closely followed by his bodyguards. Arnold had to admit that the cocky guy had left his guards out of everything. This was a man to man thing after all.

...

Tonight, I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.

To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.

And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.

What does it matter that my love could not keep her?
The night is shattered and she is not with me.

This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.

My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

…

Life went on. Soon a year had come and gone. Helga flew to Washington as soon as school ended and he and Gerald remained behind for another semester, finishing their majoring; then they went back to Hillwood with their beautiful degrees under their arms. Gerald was hired by a commercial company and Arnold got a job for two years in a law firm, both in Manhattan. They become a cliché then; a pair of eligible bachelor enjoying love and life and in the Big Apple.

Then they both went back to town. Gerald went right to the Patakis where he started his training; Arnold started to flirt with NGOs and somehow they paved his path to diplomacy.

On the other side, Helga was also working her way into the federal government in Washington. Probably with the help of her new name and her new family she got a strategically well positioned job. She did it so well that three years after getting her degree she was a renowned negotiator with a good amount of power and expertise who was 24/7 glued to her cellphone and traveled coast-to-coast.

It was about that time that his grandparents' health started to go down. It was his grandmother the first to go; then Phil followed soon after. Helga came to pay a visit of condolence the first time. The second time she also came, but now accompanied by her husband. James went off the very next day but Helga remained behind for almost a week. She stayed at his side and didn't leave him alone but only when it was time to go to bed.

She helped him to deal with paperwork and all those legal affairs. She helped him to make easier to go over everything his grandparents left. They spent long hours recalling the good old days, their wanderings in the neighborhood, Grandpa's tales and Grandma's crazy adventures; they reconnected with neighbors and old friends. They made a get together where almost everybody came and served as reverent memorial to his extraordinary grandparents and she was there for him every single day. But she was there just as a friend; that was clear from the beginning. She was a respectful married woman.

James was faithful to his word. He didn't object Helga's decision to remain behind or that did she succor him in those times of great need either. He let her to be at his side. Well, she wasn't all by herself to say the truth. She has bodyguards. Arnold would love to be selfish and get rid of the guys but, what could he do? Helga was already used to the guys' presence and company; she was used to be protected. Besides, it has its good side, after all. Helga was eight months pregnant and the guys knew exactly what to do and how to do it if a situation come up.

She finally went off at the end of the week and Arnold hadn't seen her again since then. It was there when he decided he wanted to know nothing else about her or her family anymore. To know she was lost and far away was a thousand times worst now that he was all alone in the world. It was then when he decided to go abroad hoping finally to get over her, to get over everything. Of course he couldn't do it. Of course he kept an eye on her business.

Helga chose to keep a low profile in the social media because a matter of security. They never announced publicly the birth of their son and Arnold hadn't seen him yet, although 'Uncle Gerald' was the one who keep him informed about the newborn heir.

"So that is the legendary Helga Pataki?"

Arnold nodded at his girlfriend question. Yep, that was Helga. The ex-bully arrived a while ago but she hadn't reached her table yet; the table adjacent to Arnold's. Barely stepping in, she reached Rhonda and Thad and had been talking to them for a long while. Arnold almost couldn't see her amongst the sea of people. When she finally left them and walked a few steps she was caught by Wolfgang and wife. Phoebe could be seen waiting impatiently for her a few feet ahead.

"Jeez!" Natalie whistled quietly "She's beautiful, elegant…" she started, then made a pause. Helga was now visible from their spot. She wore an empire waist yellow dress, V-neck and sleeveless that went to under her knees. "… and very tall!" she let out a nervous laugh. Helga was standing –and laughing- with Wolfgang and his wife, giving them her back. Then she elbowed him and turned around, with a wide movement, following Wolfgang indication. Natalie gasped and Arnold took a sharp intake. "You didn't tell me she was with child again!"

It seemed that Gerald kept some things from him after all; some news. Her expanded waist was concealed by the dress style.

"To be honest I had to admit that I didn't know a thing" he let out.

Natalie nodded. After a while she added.

"Seems that she's very popular. No one wants to let her go without saying hi"

Arnold puffed.

"And look that she was the bully!" he turned to see her "What if she'd be the sweetest thing in the classroom, huh?"

"If she'd been the sweetest thing in the classroom you wouldn't let her go for the life of yours and now the story would've been very different…" she said, turning to her left to see him.

Arnold raised his brows.

"Touché" he admitted dryly. "Nothing escapes from your sight, right?"

She laughed.

"I thought that was the reason why you bring me along." She didn't miss a beat. "Without me you would just half-enjoy the party and would never realize everything that's going on in here!"

"Oh, really?" he asked, amused "And what's going on in here, according to you?"

"For starters, those two are up to something" Natalie pointed towards Peapod and Nadine. Arnold shook his head, incredulous. "The couple over there…" now she signaled Brian and Helen "…They are thinking about giving it a shot but I think he's too shy or maybe it's just that he think he's not worth the shot but he's wrong. She does like him and I can't blame her… Who doesn't like geeks? They are smart and fun."

"How do you know he's a geek?"

She snorted through her nose and looked at him with incredulity.

"Do you really have to ask?" then she shook her head.

Arnold also shook his head while Natalie kept gesturing to his friends and some other guests. Were her assumptions real or it was just that she had a vivid imagination? Natalie remembered him of Helga; there were alike in that sense. They always seemed to know everything about everyone; their appreciation of the world was wider than the one of the common viewer, but Helga was louder and more bellicose.

Natalie was quieter, had a more bearable personality. They could spend hours in mutual company and share pleasant silences that didn't bother them and that was really nice. With Helga there were always discussions. It was as if the blonde had never peace so she has to be pushing and bullying around; mocking the rest of people and criticizing everything. He wondered if she was still the same but then recalled that Gerald used to say that in the privacy of her home she was very quiet; that in there, she took off her mask.

He turned around to look for her and now found her greeting Rhonda and Thad parents. It seemed that she really was going to be in high demand tonight. He craned his neck to look at the entrance and saw in there, leaned against the wall, her current bodyguard. It seemed that they had reduced her guard now. The guy was not attached to her back like they used to do; he let her enjoy the party.

…

My sight searches for her as though to go for her.
My heart looks for her and she is not with me.

...

Arnold talked to his table mates. Then he took Natalie arm and led her to the dance floor; his gaze still looking for the blonde in the crowd. Natalie sight also followed her.

After a while Helga had greeted Phoebe and her friend already, then he saw her around, talking to the some other of the guys of the gang. Right now she was seated next to Gerald and drinking a soda, but his friend didn't monopolize her to himself for a long time because minutes later, Arnold found him on his own.

Gerald had told him about his little crush on the Pataki. It had been some random evening when they both were half drunk; there had been several years after she married. Arnold had to admit that it surprised him; he hadn't expected it at all, but once he knew he scolded himself for not notice it before; it was so obvious. Although he also had to admit that Gerald was the best of friends, no doubt about it. Despite his feelings he did what he could to help him to win her affections.

…

The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, we are no longer the same.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how much I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind as though to reach her hearing

...

Was it why that poem moved him from the first time he heard it? That occasion, a cocktail at the embassy where it was sang as a song. He asked about it and that's when an associate told him that it was not a song but a poem. He understood there why it felt as if Helga were whispering it to his ear.

Arnold had to admit that he was never good for poetry. I used to try to understand it, to measure it, to dissect the words, understand the meaning, but it was only later when he realized that poetry must be felt. So it was all about this poem. He knew there was something she wanted to say; to say to him. Helga wanted to say something to him and she could only make it through this melancholy poem. The answer was that there was no answer. To any question. To any 'what if...?'

What had happened to so much love? How could it be gone so suddenly? Would it have been a different story if he'd reacted just a day sooner? If he had confessed his feelings that night when they came from the old station, that night when he just stole a kiss? What if he had kissed her back on the roof of that building when they were children? Would have been James so significant in her life if they hadn't slept together the night of the Gala? If only Phoebe hadn't taken her keys… if only Gerald hadn't told him what he heard... if only Brian had kept for himself what he guessed...

The answer was that there was no answer.

He turned to see Natalie watching Helga with interest. They were back at their table.

"And what do you deduce about her, huh?" he asked weakly, just with the strength of his breath.

Natalie was so surprised by his sudden question that almost choked on her drink. Then she smiled with uneasiness when she caught her breath. Arnold looked at her. She was so real. He frowned. He loved her smile. He loved a lot of things about her. She was the first girl he went out that brought the word 'marriage' to his mind without causing havoc. He liked her physically; he loved to talk to her; he treasured her ideals and the way she saw life. He liked her silences; liked her in the intimacy. The decision to ask her to be his wife was took consciously after a long deliberation, but he must confess that he still had doubts. What if there was still hope?"

"About Helga?" she asked.

"About Helga" Arnold nodded.

"Well... the truth is that I do not know if I can be objective about her..." she started. That was another thing that Arnold liked about her. Her frankness. Natalie was aware that Helga was her rival... he couldn't help but felt kinda guilty about that, but what could he do? They had been friends and then confidants before moving onto something else. He had told her all about his life at that time. "I can recite by heart everything you've told me about her..." the girl sighed. "But I had also said all what I think about it. That the fact that your love has been truncated the way it was marked you in a way that made you become..."

"Are you going to talk again that it's about time for me to face my fears and to see things from under a new perspective?" He snorted. "That I give too much importance to a memory when she was just a..?"

"The word I used was not importance but power; the power that that memory has on you..." she said in an annoyed whisper but she didn't curse. Natalie never cursed.

Gerald rose from his chair and disappeared into the crowd, leaving them alone.

"Oh, you're right... power... you also said..." he continued with bellicosity when she silenced him, annoyed.

"Arnold..." she breathed out "...I think it isn't wise to keep talking about this right now."

Arnold held back what he was about to say, annoyed. She was right. There wasn't the right time to talk about it. He then breathed deeply several times and remembered all what she thought in that regard.

Natalie used to say that he had a thing because the way things turned out; because Helga was snatched from him that suddenly. Of course, she didn't dismissed the love he professed to the blonde, but she questioned how it was possible that he had kept it at bay for so long before the outcome and how it was so intolerable once he had lost her. He suggested that if James hadn't come up, he'd have kept her waiting for years and years without it being a problem on his side, without any conflict. She asked him what kind of love he felt...

Arnold also had also asked himself the same question, for years; especially when he remembered all what Helga said when she went to face him and tell him flatly that she didn't loved him anymore. She told him that he should to analyze his feelings very well; that maybe he didn't loved her after all; that maybe all what he felt was just passion or a need for possession, a feel that she should belong to him... or maybe... maybe it was just an itch to reciprocate her feelings.

She told him that the mind was a very powerful force...

Arnold sighed. It had been years of thinking over and over the situation; of trying to see it from every side, from every angle. Of course he didn't suffer 24/7 as grandpa would say. Of course he didn't think about her the entire time either. It was just that she was here tonight and he hadn't seen her in years. Besides, there it was Natalie's natural curiosity and all her anticipation. She was just about to meet her. To her, Helga P. was almost a legend.

Well, going back to her feelings for her, he knew it all had started when he knew she loved him; when somewhat he knew it got tattooed in his skull and heart that she was his; that she belonged to him. And then there were years of seeing her almost dancing around him; always giving him her full attention, her unwavering support and her understanding. Instead of treasuring it, he became vain. He got accustomed to see her waiting for him; always alone; never letting any guy get anywhere close…

Then it began that crazy summer when they returned to Hillwood and suddenly all the guys found her prettier and more accessible; almost everyone wanted to try their shots. Then rumor had it that she had had friends... boyfriends... Wolfgang's type... and then James came to the picture...

James, who caught her in his clutches and didn't let go... he, who met her and immediately recognized her value. He, who fell in love with her and made her become his wife...

...

Another's. She will be another's. Like my kisses' before.
Her voice, her bright body. Her infinite eyes.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetfulness so long.

Because through nights like this I held her in my arms,
my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

...

Arnold heard Natalie muttering and moving restlessly in her seat. He turned to her but she was now looking up and smiling. He looked up just in time to see that Helga was standing in front of him and stood up only to be wrapped in her embrace. She hugged him warmly, in high spirits and kissed his cheek. Arnold also embraced her. God! He had forgotten that she always smelled delicious and that her hair shone like gold. And suddenly her firm and expanded abdomen felt strange against his.

She was pregnant again. Another little being was developing inside her again; another little being that would bond her even more to the man who was her husband.

She pulled away to look at him, still smiling. 'Football Head...' she said, sighing. Arnold chortled, 'Football Head' ... nobody had called him that way in years.

She continued talking and looking at him and that warm smile never left her face. She greeted Natalie kindly, almost in excess, taking her in as if they were longtime friends and then sat down beside her to keep talking. Of course she grunted and forced Gerald to take the next seat.

Arnold could not stop staring at her. It seemed as if time hadn't passed at all. It was true that he had seen her four years ago but she looked the same. She was so thin, that he noticed right away. Disregarding her pregnancy and the obvious changes it caused on her body and that were more noticeable in her breasts, in general, she looked thinner. Arnold observed her small shoulders, her graceful neck... Perhaps she had always been like that, now that he came to think. Helga was so tall and willowy, she had the figure of a model. Natalie's height and build were more normal.

Then he saw Natalie reaching out and touching cautiously the blonde's belly.

"…Yeah, she's always up and down" She was saying "She was very restless the entire morning, but then I tripped up when boarding the plane and I think she got scared. She has been pretty quiet since then; I even feel that she's a little tense. But today has been a crazy day, I have had so little time to pamper her, right, little thing? Mommy has been so busy today… Are you still scared?" she spoke tenderly to her abdomen while she guided Natalie's hand to a certain point to the left.

Natalie turned to him, smiling kind of nervously as she seemed focused on trying to feel something. Then she jerked and let out a yelp.

"Oh, my God! She stirred!" she turned to see Helga in amazement. "So that's what you feel? … It feels so… I do not know" she said "... she's so alive!"

Helga smiled understandingly.

"That's nothing. When her dad is around she goes crazy. With James close she rumbles as if a she had bike in there. He just comes up and she goes wild..."

"What time James is coming?" Gerald asked, interrupting them.

Natalie took the opportunity to pull out her hand, she seemed a bit overwhelmed. Arnold smiled. He had given in to the impulse to touch her belly in her previous pregnancy and he already knew the feeling.

"I do not know anymore" Helga made a face "He's been busy and had been delaying his flight, but I knew he finally took off a couple of hours ago. I guess he'd landed by now but I didn't want to know anything else. I left my cellphone to Chris and asked him not to tell me anything unless it was necessary" she shrugged "He's not said a word so I guess he'll be here in no long"

"Where he's coming from?" Arnold asked.

"Pittsburgh"

"And you?" he inquired again.

"Home" she replied with a long sigh. "I arrived home the same day he left so we haven't seen each other for over a week." She smiled sadly.

Natalie showed a sympathetic smile.

"What do you do at work?" Gerald asked, leaning toward her.

"Oh no! That again?" Helga puffed, annoyed.

"Why you never say what you do?" the dark haired boy insisted. "You know I won't say a thing!"

"Because it's private, Geraldo!"

"But you always know what I do. It's not fair!" Gerald puffed with a childish gesture.

Arnold smiled remembering that Gerald used to make that face when they were children.

"Because I hired you precisely to know that" she laughed then, amused.

"Come on, Helga... give me something... anything… just a word"

"I do not know why you're so obsessed, Gerald..." She laughed again. Then she shook her head thoughtfully "Anything, huh?" she looked at him with a mischievous smile "You look more handsome when your hair is short" she uttered. Gerald growled "Right?" She turned to Natalie, who nodded.

"Come on, Helga… I know you're dying for giving me something..."

Helga hesitated, after some thinking she gave in.

"Well, all I can say is that the name written on my passport is 'Mrs. Smith', happy now?"

"Really?" she nodded deadly serious. Gerald became meditative looking up to an undetermined spot. Helga turned to them and shook her head making palpable she was only kidding.

"What is the point of having such an elegant name if you can't use it in a daily basis?" he finally spoke "Your husband doesn't mind that you don't use his last name?"

"Hey! I use his name. He is also Mr. Smith, or what did you think?" she pushed him, jokingly.

"How's James doing? Is he still advising?" Arnold asked now. "Is he ever going to let that aside?"

Helga hesitated a bit before answering. Finally she revealed he probably continue doing it. She shared that although initially they had planned to be working in Washington for only two or three periods, the truth was that they had got to admit that politics had become their careers and their lives and that it was hard to leave it behind; to give up on something that they loved doing and that they were good and successful at. Both of them. So, those old plans about coming back to Hillwood would most probably be postponed.

Gerald then questioned her about how big their family would be. Gerald and the boys used to joke at their meetings about Helga and James probably planning about having a large family. It was good to see that the blonde still retained her good humor. She played along saying that there would be a total of twelve kids, and that they already had everything well planned. They even had the toddlers' names already and then she started naming them and making faces and expressions emulating the kids features.

"Heather, Cody, Dylan, Dermot, Jordan, Taylor, Brittney, Wesley, Rumer, Scott, Cassidy, Zobe, Chlo, Max, Hunter, Kendall, Caitlin, Noah…" she recited by heart without stopping to breathe.

"Hey! Those are more than twelve!" Arnold interrupted.

"Those are Cletus' kids!" Gerald laughed.

Natalie was holding her belly just by seeing her act. Arnold didn't know who was more hilarious; if it was Helga's performance or the uncontrolled laughter coming out from his girlfriend. Finally, after pulling herself together and making fun of how she would look after giving birth to a dozen children, Helga finally said they would probably had only one more kid and then scolded Gerald saying it was not true that they were going very fast. What a dumb! She was just in child with her second baby and she'd been married for over seven years.

Pretending to be very upset with his dark haired friend, Helga excused herself to go check her almost invisible makeup. Since nobody believed her she finally admitted that she needed to take care of her bladder. Arnold perceived she made an almost imperceptible gesture to Phoebe in the next table and then both stood and walked on to reach the hallway.

Natalie then smiled apologetically and followed them. Arnold and Gerald saw the trio disappear into people.

Arnold then turned to his best friend.

"So ... what's up with you and Phoebe?"

"Nothing yet bro, but you just wait and see..." he said as he looked toward the point where they disappeared.

"But ... what about her boyfriend?"

"It's not her boyfriend...!" Gerald sneered "It's just an asshole from work. He means no danger..."

Arnold snorted, staring at him in disbelief.

"Is it real... whatever that's going on between you and her?"

"Well... It's very real..." Gerald spoke with an unequivocal smirk while evading his gaze, pretending to see the dancing couples.

"You know what I mean. I know you've kept seeing each..."

"I cannot deny that we have had some 'encounters'..."

"Encounters? Is that how you call them now?"

"Hey! Her word..." Gerald informed.

"But just because she knows you don't give them the importance they have. I'm sure that if you gave her the option..."

"Arnold, look… you don't know Phoebe, man. You don't know her at all. Don't come up with supposed stuff because you'll be wrong..." Gerald said, in a warning tone.

"Come on. You can say whatever you want, but I'm sure..."

"Look..." he turned to him "... all I will say is that Phoebe is not the kind of girl who dream of finding herself a Prince Charming, marrying in white and having a bunch of children"

"I know not every girl dream of that. For starters I never thought Helga was the type..."

"Helga is something else. Let her out of this."

"Do you still have feelings for her?" he suddenly asked. They had never touched the subject since that time.

Gerald shrugged unresponsively.

"She has nothing to do with it. She did it her way and that's it. Has a beautiful family. Now... Phoebe, she's different. Phoebe is a very smart, very ambitious girl. She is another kind of girl. One that is going to fight hard to become one of the most important people in what she does and to whom having a steady boyfriend and a family just hold her back."

Arnold sat there, just thinking about what his friend said; seeing as he continued looking around and took a sip of his drink. Then he remembered something.

"Wasn't she seeing James' brother?"

Gerald shook his head.

"No, their thing was just platonic. Nothin' ever happ..." suddenly he stood up; his sight fixed in the entrance "What the hell...? ... And why...?"

And before Arnold could react, Gerald was gone. Arnold followed, but was delayed a bit. He thought he saw Brian and Helen on the dance floor, dancing cheek to cheek. He shook his head then. Was Natalie right?

He hurried after Gerald then to make sure everything was okay. He went through the door where a small group of people were coming and going. Arnold went right to the hall and spotted the back of Gerald head. He hurried and reached him before he reached the stairs.

"Gerald... What's going on?" he touched his shoulder.

Gerald turned around, looking relieved.

"Here!" he said "Take him in and don't let go for the life of yours. I'll be there in a minute." Arnold blinked, confused. What was he doing with a small child in his arms? "Keep your head down!" Gerald ordered before disappearing.

"But I want to go!" the child uttered aloud, fidgeting in his arms.

"Head down" Arnold asked. Or the order was for him?

The boy moaned but obeyed nonetheless, if annoyed. He covered his little head with both arms and curled up against his chest, trained like.

"But I want to go with Big Bob." He moaned softly, grunting.

Big Bob?

Arnold felt his knees weaken. Then hugged the child tighter and entered into the room.

"Let me go!" said the boy once inside "I want to go with Grandpa!" he tried to escape from his grasp.

"Wait a little longer and I'll take you to your mom instead." He said, trying to calm him down.

"Mommy's here?" Arnold nodded while trying to keep a child close to his chest.

Then searched, trying to break through people and couples dancing and went to his table. The boy seemed to relax, though if he had to be honest, the little boy was never on edge, they almost didn't attract any attention.

Arnold hadn't dared to look at him yet, just kept him close to his chest. He waited until he sat down and supported him on his knees, then retracted to face him.

Intensely blue eyes looked at him with curiosity.

"Did you say mommy is in he-ere?"

Arnold nodded, swallowing. He knew very well that blue sight... and that bushy eyebrow. But that was all that the child had taken from her. The rest of his features were completely James'. That straight nose, the proud chin, his forehead, his brown hair... It felt strange to be in charge of the little person that meant everything to Helga; who filled her life.

"Your mom had to go to the bathroom..." the little boy nodded understandingly, while still watching him with interest. "Why did your grandfather bring you here?"

The toddler shrugged.

"Nick Ve-mishel-li again" he spoke clearly enough, frowning and shaking his little head. He looked like a miniature version of James. It was not only his physical appearance but his whole style. "But I wanted to go and to help to stop him!"

"To stop who?"

"Everything's okay in here?"

Arnold exhaled, relieved.

"Look, Uncle Gerald is here"

Gerald sat next to him and the little one jumped up, almost running away from the blond.

"What happened?" Arnold asked his best friend as the child is settled comfortably in his best friend's lap and then turned to see him.

"I really don't know" Gerald said, letting out an exhalation. "Bob was very agitated. Said he took the child out to buy some ice cream... and that was all I understood... well, that and..." he turned to him with a strange gleam in his eyes" ... y'are not going to believe it..." she snickered.

"What?" Arnold looked at him, inquisitive

"I only understand some things. Bob was in a rush... but he mentioned the elementary school 119 and... and that Nick Vermicelli had gone mad and was going to destroy it to build an amusement park... and that a group of children refused to leave the building... and ... " Gerald scratched his head, with a mixture of bewilderment and amusement " I trust that Bob..."

"And he has a bull- do-..." the boy stopped to restart "... Nick has a bull- doz…"

"Nick has a bulldozer?!" Gerald and Arnold asked in unison, almost hysterical.

The boy grinned derisively at their reactions. On second thoughts, he looked like Helga a lot more than what one would think at first sight.

"Yep. Nick got a bull… one of those" he pronounced proudly "... and he's in his way to destroy the school"

Gerald froze.

"You think we should go?" asked Arnold.

Gerald hesitated a moment, then shook his head.

"Nah..." he said without much conviction, but after a while he repeated it looking more confident. "No, it is not necessary... Big Bob is not stupid. He doesn't follow Nick tricks anymore. If he's on his way to stop him, he's gonna get it" he shrugged "He wouldn't risk his name…" he added "Deep down Big Bob is a good man" He stated, convinced, then turned to see the boy who looked at him with attention "Right, kiddo?" he joked "Your grandpa is not crazy anymore?"

The boy asked him back without blinking.

"Which one? Big Bob or Prig Bob?"

"Big Bob" Gerald replied, without smiling .

"No..." the boy shook his head as if he knew everything about it "I like Big Bob... he plays with me and buys me stuff..."

'Just like in my old nightmares', Arnold thought to himself.

"Good! I'd love to have a grandfather as affectionate as Big Bob!" Gerald whistled, looking at him intently and then turning to see Arnold as asking him to pay attention "And what about Prig Bob? ... You also like him?"

"Well, kinda. Though he doesn't like to play..." he hesitated but then added with enthusiasm" ... but he teaches me to sail on his yacht"

"He teaches you to sail on his yacht?" Arnold almost choked.

The little one nodded, smiling and then turned to Arnold but then his smile vanished from his face when his eyes locked on his. He leaned against his uncle Gerald then, still looking at the blond with attention.

Arnold watched his friend hugging the kid protectively against his chest. Arnold never thought Gerald would be the patient-to-children kind of guy, but had to admit that he always talked about this particular child with affection. The child outstretched then to mumble something to Gerald's ear without taking off his infinite blue eyes from him, obviously trying not to be heard.

Gerald frowned, and then threw his head back and cracked a laugh.

"Son of your mother!" he exclaimed.

Arnold turned towards him inquiring, not before realizing that the little boy had hidden his face from him, embarrassed.

"What did he say?" Gerald laughed again, shaking his head. "What did he say?" Gerald was still laughing loudly. "Gerald..." he pushed his friend, annoyed. "You realize that you got him ashamed?" she scolded him.

He waited until Gerald stop laughing so he could talk. Arnold smiled seeing that the boy was blushing. He got worried a bit because Gerald laughter attracted the attention over little Robbie and this was a party where children were not welcome.

"What did he say?" Arnold insisted for the umpteenth time, though softer.

"He asked..." Gerald laughed again "He asked me if you've already realized that your head has the shape of a football." He finally answered.

Arnold chortled. He turned to see the boy again.

"Yes…" he whispered to the ashamed little boy "I've already realized... Your mom kept calling me Football Head all day long when we were kids." Robbie drew away from the chest of his friend and turned to him with renewed interest. 'In fact, you don't have idea how close you came to get yourself a football head' he wanted to say as he stroked the soft, little face "You were this close" he finally said, giving him a light kiss on the forehead.

Helga and company finally came to the relief of little Robbie, who ran to her barely seeing her. Helga heard Gerald's explanation quite calmly, which surprised him who remembered how hysterical she used to behave in similar situations. The party continued while some couples, including the newly engaged, danced. Phoebe and her companion now shared their table. Some other guys of the gang came to talk and after a while they left. Gerald asked Helga to the dance floor given that her feet didn't stop moving to the beat of the music, but the blonde refused pointing to the small kid half asleep leaning against her. Although Robbie was being held mainly by Phoebe, he was leaning against his mother and had his finger beautifully entangled in a strand of her long blond hair.

So, this is how the evening was going to end?

Helga answered his question saying that they would remain in town until around noon next day and then they'll fly back to Washington.

So that was it? Arnold thought again. What had he expected? An unexpected confession from her? ... A petition for a shelter that help her to escape from an abusive husband, from an undesirable life?

No, he thought as he watched her kissing her son and then turning to see the couples dancing on the dance floor while still moving to the beat. She already had her life on track. And it was a happy life. It had its ups and downs, possibly, but she looked satisfied. There was no sign, nothing that hinted that she still had interest on him and he even had the impression that she even blessed the fact that Natalie had appeared in his life.

Natalie. Arnold turned to her. The smiling girl was also looking toward the center where Thad and his bride danced, taking over the dance floor. Natalie was so real, he thought, sighing as he saw her again, as under a new light. Maybe the whole thing with Helga was a mirage after all. A fixation created from what could never be. A memory that had gotten too much important and ... - correction - ... too much powerful ... - and that was allowed to become the center of his life. Then he built himself a sad story all around it... he created to himself that melancholic personality of the forsaken guy...

He saw Thad giving such a performance as he finished the piece he danced with Rhonda and then, he publicly announced that his almost wife 'had given him permission' to dance with Helga, his former dance and theater buddy and the person to whom they owed to be together. Helga stood reluctantly after disentangling herself from the grip of her son and after making obvious to everyone that was she was very much pregnant, so they shouldn't expect a great performance. Thad offered to be gentle.

Someone, probably Rhonda, asked to play 'Footloose', the latest staging in which Helga and Thad had been partners in school.

"I'm confused..." Gerald said, mimicking Harold." Is this an engagement party or the anniversary of our class?" Arnold only shrugged as the audience applauded and some people exposed their disagreement with the fact that a pregnant woman tried to dance. Arnold just shook his head. It was obvious they didn't know Helga at all.

It was great to see that they hadn't forgotten the routine. Thad showed off his skills. Helga keeping up but without forcing herself too much, even so, she was managing herself very well given her condition. The rhythmic music attracted other dancers to the stage although they all gave up the central spot to the couple that danced under the spotlight.

Arnold realized that his own feet were moving to the beat. He remembered that he never wanted to be part of the drama club because Helga was there and because somehow they always ended pairing up in school plays ...

Another 'what if...?' he wondered. How many 'what ifs...' had been throughout their lives? The irony of the situation was that Helga gave up on the drama club and ended up being his partner in the baseball team, so they ended up being mates anyway.

He heard Natalie gasping as the last chords of the melody were heard and the dancers moved in sequence to the front. At the last moment, Thad took Helga in his arms and made her spin, but moved to the right instead to the front. It was a smart move, primarily because Thad didn't miss the beat and because Helga and the others followed him without problem. It wasn't the usual finale, but Arnold then understood why. In the last twist, Thad let Helga go, and she went to fell right into the waiting arms of her husband.

Arnold held his breath. Everyone sighed and then a loud applause echoed through the room, although it was the newcomer and not the star dancer the one who was receiving the passionate kiss. The blond felt heaviness in the base of his throat, almost in his esophagus as overwhelming sensation dominated him seeing Helga clinging to James and him holding her close while he kissed her and mumbled something between her kisses; giving her the best of his smiles. What would he be saying? How much he had missed her? How much he needed her? How beautiful she looked?

That was all. That was the truth, the reality. He only nodded when Natalie told him that of course she remembered the politician from that famous night when he offered the interview, when he won the favor of the American people with his good looks and his smile; his intelligent and logical speech and when they 'make him' confess publicly that he had just married.

"You need to be away from your wife for over a week to be welcomed that way, huh?" Gerald said with a hint of envy in his voice.

Arnold smiled.

"I wish one day you welcomed me like her!" Glen, Phoebe's boyfriend said, reproachfully, turning to her. Arnold expressed his support.

"I wish one day you looked like him!" she replied without missing a beat and turned to see Natalie, adding then "But they said 'wife' right?" she raised her eyebrows with emphasis and smiled with camaraderie to the girl "You just wait to be married and then you'll see"

"Well..." Natalie played along " ... but above all, please, don't forget to look like him when you're coming back home"

Phoebe sighed. Arnold, Gerald and Glen snorted, letting out their annoyance. Unless they were movie stars, no person could ever look like James. Arnold was wise enough to accept it. At his forty, the guy looked even better than before. And he had such luck…! Look that arrive really late to a meeting where he was not expected anymore, then, under the spotlight, receiving his beautiful wife right from the arms of the acclaimed dancer right in the moment that the most celebrated musical number of the night was ending. Then taking her in his arms and kissing her passionately before the amazed, expectant public. Then continue dancing with her, entangled, while in the background can be heard the sweet chords of Berlin's 'Take My Breath Away'.

It was all a production! Why they don't realize?

"It is all a production! Don't you realize? You, victims of Hollywood, you buy everything they sell!"

Arnold blinked at Glen's irate words. Gerald stood up and patted his shoulder in solidarity. Phoebe and Natalie just laughed at them. Arnold sighed, looking up to see them again. They were looking to their table. To Phoebe and to the sleeping child in her arms in particular. There was a look of satisfaction on their faces. James then took his hands to his wife abdomen and they both laughed.

"You know...?" Natalie whispered after a while. She was also watching them. "They look really, really..." she hesitated.

"Happy...?" Arnold asked, holding his breath.

"More than happy, I'd say committed" her eyes softened "...interpenetrated…" she sighed "I'm sorry that it may be hard for you but…" she continued without turning to him "... it is great to see that love exists. That is real. Do you know...?" she paused. Arnold did not interrupt her this time. He knew she was going to go on "Did I already mention that my dad's mother has Cherokee blood, right?" The blond whispered a yes "Well, she comes from a big family. Women in there are very close. They call themselves 'she wolves'" she laughed softly at Arnold's reaction and hit him in the shoulder. "Before you get any ideas, I'm not talking about that kind of 'she wolves' you silly boy, alright?" she scolded him "... but the kind of woman who worries about being aware and perceptive of their instinctual nature, their ancestral knowledge ...

"They say that the most important relationship of a woman must be with herself. That her better half is inside herself. That once you are at peace and in wholeness with your own self then you can think about coupling. Then choose him well. But a couple is formed by two entities; it is not true that two become one as the song says, but two remain two, and then, as they mature and interpenetrate, they become more than two. That love make them grow and become more and more; make them wrap… make them encompass everything. Everything, everyone around them. Love doesn't enclose or limit you. It doesn't make you insecure; doesn't crush you or make you selfish..."

"Do you think that way?" Arnold asked, somehow moved by the emotion in her voice.

"I've seen it..." she sighed "… and I think I'm seeing it again" she turned to him. "Another she wolf and her little clan" she said pointing Helga "Seeing this great love that she has and that encompasses it all around her... her husband, her kids… their families, their bodyguards, friends... "She pointed Gerald and smiled absentmindedly.

Arnold nodded. Maybe she was right.

"Your family lives that way?"

Natalie laughed.

"Well, in there is a big clan ... a real clan though they live in a more natural and I guess less opulent surrounding than these ..."

Well, it was not opulence as far as Arnold knew but it was very spacious and comfortable, well, maybe a little more than just comfortable... She looked ahead to see them again. Now they talked as they danced. James listened intently as she talked and talked her things. He just nodded and sometimes spoke briefly. Were they talking about work? About political affairs? About their families? As aware of the attention, James raised his gaze to meet directly his. Without hesitation he greeted him with a slight nod as he hugged Helga tighter, like more possessively. Then he turned to Natalie and his greeting to her was more formal and included a slight smile.

Arnold smiled turning to see her blushing.

"Did he make you nervous, eh? You too? Even from afar?" he said mockingly.

Natalie had difficulty to speak.

"It makes me nervous that he caught us watching him" she said finally, as an excuse and then giggled.

"Come on ..." Arnold insisted "Confess that his smile disarmed you. His smile disarms everybody, even the occasional guy still in the closet..." he mumbled looking at Gerald, though openly.

"Hey!" Gerald protested, offended.

"You owed me!" Arnold reminded the dark skinned boy, who only shook his head. He owed him from a long time ago, when he and Jaime O had mocked of him in his face while fixing his old Mustang.

They continued watching the couple ignoring the rest of the world while dancing and kissed passionately to the slow rhythm of Shakira's 'Underneath Your Clothes'. Phoebe had joined the dancers and now Patty took care of little Robbie. Gerald snorted again saying that it was all a big production. Natalie sang along the song because she was also fan of that kind of Colombian music, not only the vallenato rhythm kind, like 'The Cold Sweat'.

After that song Helga and James took their seats. James went right to Patty, who was next to Gerald, to take his son in his arms. Natalie and Arnold made fun of Gerald, telling him that the proximity of the handsome politic made him nervous.

Gerald got upset and after a while he got up to go to dance with Nadia, Rhonda's friend who also was visiting town to attend to the party. After a while of pleasant talking, Arnold and Natalie also got up and head to the dance floor when Latin rhythms began and before the party were over.

Natalie now was enjoying herself. Arnold also liked it because he had become accustomed to that cadence after several years of living in South America. Music then calmed down. And somehow the last verses of Neruda's Poem 20 returned to his head when he glanced at the table and saw the small pack of wolves that was there. Robbie had woken up and was playing around with his father.

...

Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer,
and these the last verses that I write for her.

Maybe Natalie was right after all. He needed to witness this. He needed to realize they were fine. It should suffice to see them sitting right there, close to each other to see their love; their tender kisses to feel it. And it sufficed seeing them before, dancing and kissing with barely contained passion to guess what would happen once they were locked behind their bedroom doors.

And then there were the fruits of that love. Robert James Brighton-Lewis the Seventh. That perfect amalgam of Helga and James. Helga's wit and verve, James' handsomeness and correction... and then was also this little being growing up in Helga's womb. Lydia, they said it would be probably her name; Lydia Brighton-Lewis... who would most probably be as blonde as her mother.

Then he had to realize he had to leave everything behind. All the heavy baggage from the past. All the fragments of his broken heart; all those hours spent cursing what never could be... But now that he was seeing to the future he realized there weren't a lot of fragments that were laying there and that his heart wasn't completely broken. It was as if suddenly he saw it under a new light once it was cleaned up and garbage, debris, obsessions, those ideas implanted by his own mind, were set apart…. What wasn't once was never real. That was it. But he was still able to love. He loved Natalie more than he wanted to admit… and he knew she loved him too. He knew it because the twinkle in her hazel eyes. Because that half-smile in her lips when she didn't knew he was watching her.

"You know what?" Natalie called suddenly his attention, he adjusted his arms around her "There's something I want to tell…" she bit her lip "… I'm afraid I'm gonna be brutally honest…"

"Mmmhh…" Arnold hesitated, pretending to think about "Okay…" he finally said.

"There's no way in the world you'd ever beat him…" she said, pointing to the table "I mean… he's gorgeous! He's absolutely perfect…!" She said with her pretty smile and dreamily eyes looking at the dark haired man running after his joyful son.

Arnold chortled taking in her expression

"Damn!" he cursed, then sighed deeply "I know!" he admitted feigning reluctance "…and you know what is worst?" he asked her, stressing his voice. Natalie turned to see him with an amused frown, shaking her head "That deep, deep down I like him; I really like him; I always had." He finally let out, then exhaled long.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed triumphant. "Of course you always had! You love him! You've been in love with him the entire time, just like everybody else!" She cracked loudly.

He shrugged nonchalantly, hiding a smile.

"If God knows …" He mumbled, hugging her tightly and making her spin, inhaling her essence. Then leaned back to search for her face. Her expression was still amused, laughing with delight. Her beautiful face brightened with feat. He sighed deeply, allowing his chest to fill with fresh, renewed air. He felt joyful then; free… he hadn't felt that way in ages.

"I love you" he said without thinking.

Arnold contained his breath then, realizing what had he said. He felt her turning her eyes up to meet his. He smiled with reassurance. He really loved her. Why don't say it? Arnold saw her beautiful eyes looking at him in awe. Then a shy smile crept in her lips.

"I love you too, Arnold" she stated simply.

Her smile grew. Her sparkling eyes locked to his, like making a promise. He felt great. They already knew it but it felt awesome to be free to say it aloud. He pecked her lips, smiling like a fool. 'Maybe it was the right time after all', he thought as he touched the small velvet box nested against his chest; then felt like rising in the air as they went on dancing.

He could see the others down there; involved in their own business while they were in their own bubble; dancing full of joy… kissing… ignoring the rest of people… the rest of the love birds. Helen and Brian… Rhonda and Thad… Helga and James… he was lost in those beautiful hazel eyes.

Maybe it was the right time after all…

FIN

.

.

.

To Q, who gave me ideas, help me to keep focus and spent hours at my side as this story took shape.

To M (Dan), for all his help with the usage and ways amongst boys. And for sharing his knowledge about cars.

I don't own Hey Arnold!

I don't own Footloose, Berlin's Take My Breath Away; Shakira's Underneath Your Clothes or La Gota Fría (The Cold Sweat) a popular Colombian song.

I don't own Mustang, Cletus (from The Simpsons), Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda or any other TM mentioned here or in the rest of the story. Wolves' clan theory comes from "Women Who Run with the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estés; such a beautiful and wise book. I own only my copy.

Thank you all my readers for being here. Thank to my beloved and faithful reviewers.

The Author/Thanks Note that that was in this spot was posted as a review dated on September, 12, 2013. Also will be in my profile for a while.

For those who asked, I'm sure I'll keep writing but I'm afraid it won't be so soon. Have a tall stack of work waiting for me and a lot of reading to do. Still, you'll see me here again, that's for sure.

I don't want to go without saying the biggest thank you to Craig Bartlett. He's the mastermind behind all this. And to Viacom for bringing it to us.

Well...- deep sigh- this is the end.

Hasta luego.

Reviews are still welcome.