Jekyll and Hyde (That '70s Show)

chapter 18 (the good son)

She patted him on the back, laughing a bit, before saying, 'C'mon, Eric. You know Hyde's gonna act like this the first few days and then everything's gonna go back to normal.'

'Right,' he replied. 'Never thought I'd see Hyde be in a housewife phase.'

The rest of the crew came in later, but Ida couldn't hang around too much because she had to go to work. Since Hyde was nowhere to be seen, she left without saying goodbye and then left Eric's house.

On her way to the Pandemonium, she couldn't help but reflect on all of the events that had taken place during the past few months. That day in October when she ditched class because Donna, Eric, Kelso and Hyde found a keg seemed so far away even though it was just couple of months ago. Then getting her first job, meeting Jeremy there and the disco night at Kenosha... the night Hyde and she made a plan to make Donna jealous, Ida being arrested on career day.

But undeniably, the best memory Ida had of last year was Eric's Christmas party. Everything about that evening was surreal, from how drunk she was to that long eye contact she made with Hyde in Eric's bedroom... the start of her feelings for him coming back.

January and February were the most eventful months of Ida's life. Starting with Buddy Morgan and the books on communism, then her first date with Jeremy and the trip to Jackie's cabin when Hyde kissed her on the cheek and then left her outside to sit on the Vista Cruiser in the snow, drinking tequila and questioning her thoughts. Then Valentine's Day after that, getting her first car and the tragic, epic poem that talked about caffeine pills and way too much studying. After that, Jackie got pregnant and Ida realized she actually had some unsuppressed feelings for her best friend, her brother came home for the first time after five years, and on top of that, Hyde kissed her in front of Jeremy... Jeremy.

Ida parked her car on a parking lot near the store and then remembered: Jeremy was working a shift today with her. She hadn't seen him since they broke up which was three weeks ago, but she felt as though they had some unfinished business between them because of that.

'There she is!' Earl said, greeting Ida with a huge grin on his face. 'I was already wondering if you had forgotten that you have to come to work.'

Checking her watch, Ida frowned. 'I'm only a minute late.'

'And you usually come thirty minutes earlier.'

She didn't want to tell him that she sat in her car for fifteen minutes, gathering up the courage to enter the store while listening to some crappy radio station and biting the skin around her nails. 'Ah, sorry. I got caught up in traffic.' Point Place literally had no traffic issues, especially on a work day at three pm.

'No, it's alright,' Earl replied, looking at her a bit suspiciously, but then getting distracted by a woman walking through the front door. She had a bright smile on her face and was literally the coolest person Ida had seen in real life over the age of thirty: wearing a big biker jacket and boots, along with leather pants and a white turtleneck underneath whose sleeves peaked tattoos that extended all the way to her fingers on both hands. Her makeup was impeccable too and she looked as though she just came off the stage of a rock concert.

'Hi, honey,' she told Earl, walking towards him and giving him a kiss.

'Darling,' he replied. 'Ready to go?'

The woman nodded. 'Yes. We'll pick Daisy up from kindergarten first, drop her off at my mom's and then head home to get the suitcases.'

'Yes, that works,' Earl said and then looked at Ida. 'Oh, sorry. Let me introduce you. Jen, this is Ida, my best employee. And Ida, this is my wife Jennifer.'