Chapter Text
It was another average day at Vito’s Pizzeria. Vito was upstairs cooking, and the cats were downstairs in chaos as always.
Then Garfield walked in…
"Buongiorno, Mister Garfield", Vito greeted the tubby tabby, "Will it be the usual today?"
"Make it double", Garfield said, "I have big plans tonight."
"What are they?", Vito asked.
Garfield pulled out a small box.
"Wait, is that what I think it is?", Vito followed up.
"This is a ring box somebody threw away", Garfield explained.
"Does this mean what I think it means?", Vito asked as he began preparing the order.
"Yup", Garfield said, "Tonight, I’m popping the question to Arlene."
Vito immediately ran downstairs, eager to break the news.
"Everyone, guess what?", he excitedly asked.
"What?", Austin asked.
"Garfield is proposing to Arlene tonight!", Vito answered.
The cats were excited to hear the news, except for , of course, Penelope…
Meanwhile, Jon was at home, and he was bored.
"Another day", Jon said to himself, "No friends, no job, and nothing to do."
Jon then glanced at his cell phone, which gave him an idea…
Jon typed 7 random numbers into the keypad, deciding to do a little practical joke on someone he probably didn’t know.
"Let’s see", Jon said as he typed, "8, 6, 7, then 5, 3, 0, and how about a 9?"
On the other side of town, a woman picked up her cell phone.
"Hello?", she said as she answered it.
"Hi", Jon said, "Is your refrigerator running?"
"I think it is", the woman answered.
"Well then you better go catch it!", Jon said before laughing.
The woman on the other end started laughing too.
"That was actually really funny", she said, "What’s your name?"
"Jon", Jon answered, "Jon Arbuckle."
"You’re really funny, Jon", the woman replied.
"Y’know, when guys usually call this number, they ask if Jenny’s here", she added, "Which she is, my name is Jenny, but I got kind of annoyed by that after a while. Thanks for mixing it up."
"You’re welcome, Jenny", Jon said, even though he didn’t really know what he was getting thanked for.
"Before you hang up, can I meet you in person?", Jenny asked.
"That sounds reasonable enough", Jon said, "Ya know where Vito’s is?"
Speaking of Vito’s, Penelope was still in the basement, freaking out over the news that was just announced.
"It’s OK Penelope", she said to herself, "Maybe she’ll say no."
"Doubt it", Austin said, "They’ve been dating for years."
"But I only saw them start 7 months ago", Penelope explained.
"Penelope", Austin said, "I’ve been delivering pizzas to the Garfield Show set long before you catered the wrap party. I saw Garfield and Arlene flirting with each other plenty of times before last May."
"Same here", Calvin said.
Penelope was pensive. She had only a few hours until Garfield would be back for dinner with Arlene, and needed a plan to sabotage the proposal.
"Lonnie", she called out.
"Yeah sis?", Lonnie answered.
"Let’s get to work", Penelope said, "We don’t have much time left."
That night, Jon walked into the restaurant.
"Hey Vito", he said, "Did a girl by the name of Jenny come in here?"
"As a matter of fact, someone did", Vito said, "She’s at Table 18."
"Great, thanks", Jon said as he walked to the table.
When he arrived, he saw an attractive redhead. She was wearing a pink top, gray pants, and black shoes.
"Hi, I’m Jon Arbuckle", Jon said as he sat down, "We spoke on the phone."
"Jennifer Clifton", Jenny said as she introduced herself, "But please call me Jenny."
"I think you’ve already established that part", Jon said.
Garfield and Arlene entered a little bit later.
"Good evening, you two", Vito said, "I have a special table for you to eat at."
"Why’s Vito acting so cordial?", Arlene asked.
"I think you’ll see why soon enough…", Garfield said.
"Okay Lonnie", Penelope said to her twin through a walkie-talkie, "Do you see Garfield and Arlene?"
"I do", Lonnie responded, "They’re at Table 9."
"Do you see anywhere Garfield might be hiding a ring box?", Penelope replied.
"He’s wearing a suit", Lonnie said.
"Then check for bulges in his pockets", Penelope explained.
"Got it", Lonnie said.
"So Jenny", Jon said, "Tell me about yourself."
"I’d rather you go first", Jenny said.
"Okay", Jon said, "I grew up on a farm in southern Indiana, then I came here at the age of 21, and that’s when I met Garfield and started acting on his show."
"You know Garfield?", Jenny asked, "I’ve always wanted to meet him."
"Looks like he and Arlene are actually having dinner over there", Jon said, "But he really doesn’t like to be interrupted while he eats."
Meanwhile, Lonnie approached Garfield and noticed something big in one of his suit pockets.
"I see something, sis", Lonnie said into the walkie-talkie.
"Take it out", Penelope responded.
Lonnie slipped his paw into the pocket and extracted the ring box.
"Well that was easier than I expected", Lonnie said.
"Now bring it downstairs so I can use it to propose to Garfield myself", Penelope ordered.
"Got it sis", Lonnie said.
"Hey, I think they’re done eating", Jenny said, "Can I go say hi now?"
"Sure", Jon said, "I’ll introduce you to them."
Jon and Jenny walked over to Table 9.
"Garfield, Arlene", Jon said, "I’d like you to meet my new friend Jenny."
"Hi guys", Jenny said, "Can I have your autograph?"
"In a minute", Garfield said, "I just have something important to do that couldn’t be done at a better time than having a friend watch."
In the basement, Lonnie gave Penelope the box.
"Yup, there’s a ring in there", Penelope said.
"It’s not a scam", Lonnie said.
"Let’s go!", Penelope said, "Who knows how much time we have until he tries to propose."
Upstairs, Garfield reached into a pocket on the front of his outfit and extracted a shiny ring.
"We’ve known each other for so long", he said, "And I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling. Arlene…"
Arlene was speechless at his action, while Jon and Jenny watched eagerly.
"Will you marry me?", he finished.
"Yes!!!", Arlene eagerly shouted before hugging Garfield extremely tightly.
Jon and Jenny applauded the happy couple, soon joined by Vito and the rest of the customers.
Then Penelope came up.
"Garfield", she said, "I had Lonnie steal your ring box so I could propose to you before you proposed to Arlene. Will you marry me?"
Garfield began laughing.
"I don’t understand", Penelope said, "The box wasn’t empty when I found it."
"Penelope, the ring in that box was a 25 cent ring I got in a toy dispenser outside Walmart", Garfield explained, "Did you really think I’d put a real engagement ring inside a box that can be seen clearly by potential thieves?"
"Plus, he already proposed", Arlene added, "We’re officially engaged."
"And I’m not a friendless loser anymore!", Jon mentioned.
All these new status quo changes shook Penelope all night long. She couldn’t sleep knowing that her celebrity crush of 16 years was marrying another girl.
"I can’t believe that after all I’ve tried to do for him he still falls for Arlene", she said, "Now that they’re engaged, what am I gonna do?"
"You could always try even harder and even stupider ideas to get him to change his mind", Lonnie suggested.
Penelope then got a huge smile on her face.
"Lonnie, my brother", she said, "You are a genius…"
"Actually, I’m fairly certain I’m the only genius here", Levi said.