Reconciliations

Rating: PG, for now...

Disclaimer: I don't own, I'm not making money, please don't sue :-) If posting/archiving my fic, please leave the *entire* header in tact (ie: this portion with my disclaimer, etc)

Distribution: Squeaky, FG, Missy, myself, & the L&L site. Anyone else must ask & submit their homepage link so I can *find* the fic when it's posted... I like to know where my stuff ends up

Summary(*shrugs*): L&L romance (eventually), the title pretty much says it all

* * * * *

     The door to Laverne's California apartment opened and she trudged in, slamming the door closed behind her. On her way to the couch, she discarded her coat, her purse, and then, when she sat on the couch, she kicked off her shoes, and rested her feet on the coffee table.
     How Shirley hated it when she did that. Laverne smiled, thinking about it, then about Shirley.
     Somehow, no matter what, every week Laverne got a call from her, even if Shirley only had two minutes to talk, she and Laverne would make the most of those two minutes.
     Of course, after the call, Laverne could always expect Squiggy to sho w up, asking about what they had talked about. She'd tell him in the briefest way possible and then kick him out.
     Then Laverne would call Carmine. He'd come over and then they would talk about Shirley's phone call.
     This was all something she could depend on. Every week. And it made her smile.
     However, despite Shirley's cheerfulness over the phone, Laverne could hear a longing in her best friend's voice. She wasn't exactly sure what the longing was for--because she knew that Shirley was happy, she *had* married her doctor, after all--but she had some very good guesses as to what she missed.
     Laverne's reverie then shifted and her smile faded to a look of wonder. The one problem that really bothered her most, she couldn't believe that she felt so much anguish over.
     She just didn't know what had happened to Lenny.
     It seemed to her as though he had just disappeared. Even Squiggy didn't know where he was.
     Lenny just didn't live with Squiggy anymore, even though everything he owned was still in the apartment.
     Almost everything remained, actually. There were two definite things that Lenny had taked with him: his Lone Wolf jacket and his guitar.

     Suddenly, Laverne's reverie was broken by a pounding at her door. She got up, went over to the door, unlatched it, and opened it.
     "Squig? You're a day early. Shirl ain't gonna call till tomorrow," Laverne said.
     "Don'tcha think I know that?" Squiggy said, annoyed, and invited himself in. "An' this ain't no social visit neither: your mail was in my box again. I'm gonna wring that guy's neck one-a these days." He handed over the small stack of mail.
     Laverne flipped through the stack. "Ewww... how to remove unwanted grease spots. Squig, you can have that one." She handed him the envelope, then continued through the stack. "What the-?" She stopped when she got to a postcard. She flipped it over and read it: "Vernie, make room. You've got three days, Shirl."
     "I don't get it, why does she want ya to make a room in three days?" Squiggy said.
     "Naw, Squig, this means Shirl's comin' ta visit!" Laverne said, happily, then paused a beat. "An' it only took her a year." She frowned.
     "Yeah, well, lemme know when she shows up, heh? I wanna throw her a welcomin' party," Squiggy said.
     Laverne looked at him skeptically. "Why don't ya just admit that ya wanna give her a kiss when she least expects it?"
     Squiggy laughed. "Ya think I wanna wait until she *does* espect it? Naw-way." He paused a beat. "I gotta go, I just hired a flea circus and the dog needs to be feeded." He turned and left, slamming the door behind him.
     Laverne sighed. "I wonder if I got enough time to call an' warn her..." She practically jumped when she heard the knock at the door. "Will ya go away, Squig...!" She opened the door.
     Carmine came in. "An' a good day to you, too, Laverne. Squiggy botherin' ya again?"
     "Nah, not really," Laverne replied, then paused a beat. "Guess what, I got a postcard from Shirl today!"
     "Yeah? That's great! What'd it say?" Carmine said.
     "Said 'make room, you've got three days, Shirl', so I figure she's comin' for a visit," Laverne said.
     "Can I see the card?" Carmine asked.
     "Sure," Laverne said, then handed him the postcard.
     "No mention of Walter..." Carmine commented. "An' the return address only has her name..."
     "Ya think they split up?" Laverne asked.
     "Maybe... hard to believe considerin' she always did wanna marry a doctor," Carmine replied, his expression changing.
     Laverne grinned. "An' what's *that* look for?"
     "What look?" Carmine asked.
     Laverne tapped the postcard. "You still wish it was you, don't ya?"
     "Com'on, Laverne...!" Carmine began, then paused, "yeah, I do."
     "That's all I wanna know. When she gets here, I'll make her tell me everythin', then I'll tell you. Who knows, maybe the two-a you can get back together," Laverne said.
     "Just no breakin' 'em up if they *are* still together, okay?" Carmine said.
     "Fine," Laverne replied, then winked.
     "I'm serious, Laverne," Carmine said.
     "Alright, I promise I won't break 'em up," Laverne agreed.

     Three days later...
     Laverne is running around her apartment, making last minute preparations for Shirley's return, when she hears a knock at the door.
     "Comin'!" Laverne called out, running for the door. She jumped up the two steps and nearly slammed into the door. She straightened herself out and opened the door. "Shir- wow!"
     "Vernie!" Shirley exclaimed, then hugged her semi-shocked friend. She held her at arm's length. "Vernie?" Laverne just pointed and Shirley laughed. "Wasn't expecting me to be pregnant?"
     Laverne gawked for another moment, before remembering how her mouth worked. "How far along?"
     "Eight months," Shirley replied.
     "That's great!" Laverne said, then bit her lip. "What about Walter?"
     Shirley's smile faded. "We just finished the divorce. Once he was out of those bandages, he was never around except for dinner and a place to sleep."
     "Too bad," Laverne said, then paused a beat. "Com'on, sit, take a load off... er, ya know what I mean." She closed the door after Shirley and took her suitcase, setting it down in front of the closet. She then went over and sat next to Shirley on the couch. "So... boy or girl?"
     "I don't know, I wanna be surprised," Shirley replied.
     "Ain't it gonna be tough raisin' the kid on your own?" Laverne asked.
     Shirley gave a nervous laugh.
     Laverne's eyes went wide. "Naw?"
     Shirley smiled. "Yeah... I'm here to stay!"
     "Awe, Shirl, this is great!" Laverne exclaimed. "What about the rest of your stuff?"
     "I had them shipped, so they should get here in a few days," Shirley answered.
     There's a knock at the door.
     "I'll think that's your stuff now," Laverne joked. "I'll get it." She got up, went over, and answered the door. "Hiya, Carmine!" She moved out of Shirley's line of sight.
     "Carmine!" Shirley said.
     "Angel Face!" Carmine said, then went around Laverne--leaving her to close the door--and over to the couch. He came to a screeching halt just before sitting. "You're pregnant?"
     "Naw, she's wearin' a pillow, Carmine," Laverne answered, sarcastically. She joined them at the couch, then sat Carmine down where she'd been sitting and took herself a seat on the arm of the couch behind Carmine.
     Shirley laughed. "I've been this way for eight months."
     "Congratulations, Angel Face, but what about-?" Carmine began.
     "Divorce... don't ask," Laverne answered.
     "Thanks, Vernie," Shirley said.
     "So, how long are you stayin'?" Carmine asked.
     "She's here to stay," Laverne answered, again.
     "Great!" Carmine said. "So, is it a boy or a girl?"
     "She don't-" Laverne began, but Shirley promptly clamped her hand over her mouth.
     "I don't know yet," Shirley replied, while Laverne nodded. She rolled her eyes and took her hand away. "Are you done?"
     "I won't answer for ya anymore, I promise," Laverne said.
     "But, Vernie, that's all I've told ya," Shirley said.
     "Well, then... done anythin' excitin'?" Laverne asked, then winked and grinned.
     Carmine laughed.
     "Laverne!" Shirley said, almost laughing herself.
     "Sorry, sorry, I had ta, I couldn't help myself," Laverne said, smirking. She paused a beat. "Well, have ya?" Shirley glared at her and she shrugged.

     That evening...
     "I guess not much has changed in the past year, huh," Shirley commented, poking at her pizza. "Including your cooking." She smirked.
     "Real funny, Shirl," Laverne said, then sat across from Shirley. "Naw, nothin's really changed... well..." She picked up a slice of pizza from the box and folded it in half.
     "Vernie, don't. You'll make a mess," Shirley said. "Has something changed? What is it?"
     Laverne flipped the end of the pizza into her mouth. She didn't reply and continued concentrating on her pizza.
     "You're going to make me guess... okay, I'll play along," Shirley said. "Let's see..." She looked around the room. Amazingly enough, she remembered everything being the same in the room. She turned back to Laverne. "Can I have a hint?"
     "I'm givin' you a hint," Laverne said, then flipped the pizza slice again.
     Shirley's eyes narrowed in confusion as she studied her friend. Suddenly, it came to her: "Where's Lenny?"
     Laverne shrugged. "Dunno. No one does, not even Squig. Just disappeared." She took a sip of Pepsi.
     "That doesn't sound like Lenny," Shirley commented, then focused on Laverne eating her pizza. "There's something else you're not telling me. What is it, Vernie?"
     "It's my fault," Laverne answered.
     "What!?" Shirley asked, loudly.
     Laverne glared at her. "Do ya hafta be so loud, Shirl?"
     "Answer me. Why is it your fault?" Shirley prodded.
     "Fine," Laverne said, then got up, went over to the coffee table, and grabbed her purse. She pulled out a piece of paper. She went back over to the table and handed it to Shirley.
     Shirley unfolded the paper and looked at it. Her brow went up in surprise, then came down in confusion. "This is a proposal!"
     "Uh huh," Laverne said, then sighed.
     "And you said no?" Shirley assumed.
     Laverne nodded. "An' the next day, he was gone, the poor guy. I feel so guilty."
     "But, Vernie, if you meant no, then it was his choice," Shirley said, then caught Laverne's glare. "You didn't mean no?"
     "I thought he'd try again the next day, ya know, in person. I waited here all day. Finally, I went over and Squig told me he'd disappeared. Squig didn't even see 'im leave," Laverne explained, then shook her head. "I haven't been on a date since then, I've felt so bad." She gave a nervous laugh. "I've been so worried someone would find out it was my fault an' here I just told ya."
     "You had to tell someone so you could feel better," Shirley said.
     "A guilty conscience'll do that," Laverne said.
     Shirley reached her hand across the table and rested it on Laverne's. "He'll be okay."

     That night...
     "Shirl, I'm goin' for a walk, I'll be back later on," Laverne called out.
     Shirley poked her head around the upstairs door frame. "Okay, Vernie. Want me to wait up?"
     "If ya wanna, I'll be maybe an hour," Laverne said. She put her key in her pocket and left, locking the door behind her.
     Laverne went down the front steps of the building. She stopped at the bottom and glanced up at the moon and the stars. She smiled and continued walking. She went to the end of the block and made a right, heading towards the La Brea Tar Pit.
     She had told Shirley that this was just something she had to do and had done for several months. Of course, Shirley wanted the details, but Laverne just told her it was something that made her feel better.
     Laverne entered the park and headed for the bench nearest the tar pit, but stopped about thirty feet away when she saw someone already sitting on the bench. This was a probem she had been hoping to avoid. She very well couldn't ask them to get up and leave, that would be rude. She shrugged and walked over, then sat on the end farther away from the other inhabitant of the bench. Amazingly enough, the other person didn't seem to notice her, but, then, she didn't exactly take note of them either...
     "Com'ere often?"
     "Every night," Laverne answered, shortly. At first, she thought the man's voice was familiar, but ruled it out, thinking she was hearing things.
     A few minute of silence passed, then the man spoke up again: "Vernie?"
     Laverne, then, finally looked at him. "Len?" She tried to say more, but suddenly found her feelings were mixing.
     "Yeah," he answered, trying to smile. He paused. "Maybe I oughtta go..."
     "Naw, don't, it's alright," Laverne said. "What're ya doin' here?"
     "Well, even though it hurt, I did alotta thinkin'..." Lenny began.
     "Ya know thinkin' makes your brain hurt," Laverne scolded.
     Lenny shook his head. "I didn't mean that."
     "Oh," Laverne said, blushing. "Sorry."
     "S'alright," Lenny said, shrugging. "Anyway, I shouldn'ta left like I did, but... well..."
     "Stop, I know what ya mean, definitely," Laverne said, then sighed. "I'm sorry 'bout makin' ya leave."
     "Wasn't your fault, Vernie, I just kinda wanted ta leave," Lenny said.
     Laverne moved closer. "Where'd ya go?"
     "Since all I had was my guitar an' my sock money, I couldn't get too far, so I got a gig playin' at a coffee house. Paid pretty good, too," he explained. "I needed ta try som'en different an' I kinda enjoyed it.. but I missed you an' Squig."
     She smiled. "Thanks." She paused, then added, "This is good timin'."
     "Why?" he asked.
     "Shirl came back today," she replied.
     "Yeah? Came ta visit, huh?" he said.
     "Well, here ta stay, really," she said.
     "Her an' Walter separated?" Lenny asked.
     "Divorced, actually," Laverne corrected.
     "That's too bad," Lenny said.
     "So... ya wanna come back an' hear her tell it?" she asked.
     "I dunno if that's a good idea..." he said.
     "Why not?" she asked.
     "I can't just go back an' stay wit' Squig like nothin' happened," Lenny said.
     "Then stay with me an' Shirl," Laverne said. He looked at her like she was crazy. "I mean it."
     "Well..." he said, unsure.
     "Please?" she said.

Part Two