Change of Heart

[TogetherAgain]

Yes, this does mean I'll have five incomplete stories on MC at one time. You can just start calling me Beau.

But unlike the other four stories, this one is not at all pre-written at the start of posting. I'm about to post chapter one, and I've only written chapter one. Such was not the case when I started posting Flippersteps in the Sand, Say Cheese! Heart of Gold, or Amazon? Moi?

Now, don't think that I've given up on the other four. I have two unposted chapters of Amazon? Moi? left-- granted, one of them is not typed-- and plenty more story after that, but I haven't written any of it since the middle of the summer... So it's simmering, along with Heart of Gold and Flippersteps. I've given all three of those a little stir fairly recently. They're still simmering. Say Cheese! on the other hand, well... I'll get back to it someday. I think.

But this particular story feels... different. It feels like some of my old stories did. In fact... I would venture to say that it's in about the same place right now as Swamp Call was when I started posting that. And besides, there's definitely a change in the wind. I know, because for the first time since I finished writing it about three years ago, I read through all of Summer in the Theater, from beginning to end. ...Okay, so I stopped to sleep in the middle. But still! I really do think that something's different this time, and it bodes well.

So, without further ado... Well, alright, with enough further ado for me to do some copy-and-pasting and italicizing... Here we go again!

 

[TogetherAgain]

Chapter One

Tony grinned as the camera started rolling again. “Hello there, and welcome back to Just Another Talk Show, where we are talking with Kermit the Frog—“ He turned to the frog beside him. “Now Kermit, tell me about Miss Piggy.”

Kermit grinned. “Well, where should I start? The pork chops, or the stage hogging?” he teased.

Host and audience both chuckled. “How ‘bout the ravishing beauty?” Tony asked.

“Uh—I… No comment,” Kermit said.

“The boundless talent?” Tony offered.

“Oh, sure,” Kermit said. “Boundless paycheck, too.”

“The never-a-second-out-of-fashion style?”

Kermit scrunched his face. “You should see the credit card bills.”

“Well, what about her remarkable intelligence?”

“Oh yeah, she’s clever,” Kermit said. “There’s not a trap she can’t lay.”

“Is that why she hasn’t been around much? She finally wised up and left?” Tony asked, mostly teasing.

Kermit laughed. “No, no, she’s just out of town!” he said. “She went to help an old friend of hers for a few months.”

“Just a few months,” Tony said. “She’s coming back?”

“Yup!”

“You’re sure.”

“Of course.”

Tony tilted his head. “Does she… usually just—get up and go… help a friend, for a few months?”

“Well that’s what you left out of your description of her,” Kermit said with a grin. “Ya never know what she’ll do next.”

“Like—go help someone,” Tony said.

“Why not?” Kermit shrugged. Then he added dryly, “It’s not like she’s only got room in her heart for clothes, chocolate, and applause, y’know.”

Tony grinned. “I guess no one would know Miss Piggy’s heart better than you, right Kermit?”

Kermit scrunched his face up. “I plead the fifth,” he moaned. “The point is, she is coming back.”

“And you’re absolutely certain of that,” Tony said, feigning sternness. “I won’t have my viewers lied to, Kermit.”

“Yes! She is coming back!” Kermit said impatiently, and he sat a little straighter. “She’s part of our family,” he said firmly. “Miss Piggy will come back.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

Miss Piggy calmly reached across the sofa arm and picked up the telephone. “Hello, Kermie?” she said to the dial tone, her voice sugary-sweet. “I like it so much here that moi have decided to never come back. Give my love to everyone! Kissy-kissy!” She saucily hung up the phone.

The brunette pig beside her laughed. “You’re going back,” she said knowingly.

Miss Piggy sighed as she sank back into the couch. “I know,” she moaned. “I always go back. Lousy frog…”

“So whack him to Timbuktu when you get back,” the brunette pig said as she scooped a handful of popcorn from the bowl between them. “And demand at least two extra solos in the next show.”

Miss Piggy smiled smugly. “Yes to the second and no to the first,” she said. “He can’t run the show from Timbuktu.”

“Wouldn’t put it past him to try,” her friend said dryly.

“He wouldn’t, if the rest of us were here,” Miss Piggy said. “He trusts us…”

Her friend shrugged. “Trust is a good thing in a man,” she said, and she frowned. “Or—pig, or frog. We really just all need to be human.”

Miss Piggy giggled, and then sighed, her eyes settling on the television screen once more. “He does miss me, though,” she said quietly.

The brunette pig glanced at the frog on the screen and then looked at her friend. “He does?”

“Of course,” Miss Piggy said. “He didn’t deny that moi am beautiful or talented or that he knows my heart. He just refused to comment.”

“He did comment on the talent,” her friend reminded her. “He mentioned the paycheck.”

“Thus implying that moi am worth the price,” Miss Piggy smugly concluded.

Her friend sighed up at the ceiling. “Vous could justify any man of anything, couldn’t vous?”

“Except he just called me fat!” Miss Piggy snapped. She snatched a fistful of popcorn and flung it at the screen. “Lousy frog!”

Her friend sighed as she stood up. “Don’t whack him to Timbuktu. Whack him to the moon.” She knelt down and started scooping up the popcorn.

“Oh, for goodness sake, Mabel, vous are not a maid,” Miss Piggy said as she stood to help.

Mabel straightened up and pointed at her, brown eyes flashing. “You are not here to clean, Miss Piggy. You sit right back down.”

Miss Piggy put her hands on her hips. “I can pick up popcorn,” she said. “I threw it, anyway.”

“Fitz, honey?” Mabel called into the next room.

“Yes dear?” a male voice answered.

“I don’t think Miss Piggy should be cleaning. Am I right?”

“Whatever you say, dear.”

Mabel gave her friend a smug look. Miss Piggy folded her arms across her chest. “He doesn’t even know what we’re talking about,” she said.

Mabel put her hand over her heart. “Pardon moi for training my husband well,” she said sweetly, smiling, and then her face turned serious. “Sit down,” she said quietly.

Miss Piggy sighed as she sat. “I can pick up popcorn,” she muttered under her breath.

“Nonsense,” Mabel said. She dumped the popcorn from the floor in the garbage, wiped her hands, and pat Miss Piggy on the head. “You’re doing plenty.”

 

[The Count]

No... I shan't call you "Bo". I already call Bo "Bo". Besides, he only has four unfinished/dead? stories. Trust me, I'm compiling everything for the library index. Rather, I'll call you "Sis" instead since my two cyber-sisters are the prolific procrastinating authors who haven't finished multiple stories. But that aside... Nice start... Post more when possible.

 

[Beauregard]

I for one...might already have a crush on Mabel...whoever she may be (l). Good for you for biting the bullet and starting another unfinishable story my dear! Welcome to the benches.

 

[theprawncracker]

Hahahahahaha... Ahahahaha... Hahahaha... Ha.

Lisa started another story... *makes a tally mark on the chalkboard* Heh.

LOVELY stuff! I too really, really like Mabel! AND the name Fritz. And the name Mabel for that matter... I'm not, however, a fan of the snarky frog... but you've written him wonderfully, as always.

MORE PLEASE!

 

[Leyla]

Snarky frog! <smacks him>
Piggy has a friend!
YAY!
Named Mabel!
YAY!
With a well trained husband!
(Can she hook me up?)
Named Fitz!
(<has fits>)

I am liking this so far. So much that it managed to make me smile. Not much of a smile, but a smile, and considering the day I've had, Lisa honey, you know that's all but miraculous.

And you fellas have NOOOO idea how many unfinished fics. not that I can complain, I'm sure my ratio is much, much worse.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Hmm, I'm into this one already, I like Mabel alot. This should be interesting....

 

[Muppetfan44]

Definitely intrigued, though slightly concerned for my other fics of yours that I absolutely love.

I trust you will get to them all when you can, just stir "Heart of Gold" around a little extra for me *wink wink*

Great job at catching your readers' attention as always.

Please post more soon!

 

[TogetherAgain]

Chapter Two

Miss Piggy had told the Muppets that she would be gone for four months. She had not brought her cell phone, and had not left any contact information. Aside from some occasional annoyances, they hadn’t thought much of it. It wasn’t unusual for her to leave them hanging, especially when things were tougher than usual between her and Kermit.

She had been gone for three months before she called the theater just after lunch.

“Hi-ho, backstage, Muppet Theater,” Kermit said as he answered the phone, settling into his chair.

“…Kermie?”

“Piggy!” He grinned, sitting straighter, and then frowned. Her voice was quiet… strained… “Is something wrong?”

“…I… Something’s come up,” she said quietly. “I—…I’ll be staying here—longer than anticipated.”

“…Oh,” he said carefully, trying to hide his disappointment. “I—Do you want any of us to come, Piggy? Is there something we can do to help?”

“…No—I—Not now, anyway.”

He nodded. “Okay,” he said. “But let us know if you think of something we can do. Okay?”

“…I will,” she said softly. “And—I’ll call—when I know when I’m coming home.”

He nodded. “Oh, good,” he said quietly.

“Oh—and Kermie?”

“Yeah, Piggy?”

“…When—When I come home, I… I won’t be alone,” she said softly. “Some—Someone else will be with me.”

Kermit straightened a little in surprise. “Oh!” he said. “Well, sure! There’s always room for more. How long will this ‘other person’ be staying?”

She hesitated. “…I—…I don’t know,” she said quietly, almost wonderingly, “But—probably… About as long as I stay…”

Kermit grinned. “Oh, okay. So—forever, like everyone else,” he said. “Do they need a job? What’s the act?”

She laughed faintly. “No, they won’t need a job. Or—at least—…not for a while, anyway.”

Kermit shrugged.“Okay,” he said. “We’ll probably need another bed, though. Any idea which room they’ll—“

“No, no, Kermie, don’t—Don’t worry about—…sleeping arrangements. We’ll bring everything we—that THEY need.”

“…Oh. Well—okay, then,” Kermit said. This would possibly be their easiest resident yet. No job? No bed?

“I should go, Kermie. I’m sure you’re busy,” she said hastily.

Kermit frowned. “Well—a little…” he confessed.

“Then I should let you go,” she said. “I—You’ll say hello to everyone for me, won’t you?”

“Of course!” he said. “I’m sure everyone says hello right back. It—It feels—different here, without you.”

“…Less injuries?” she asked softly.

“No, not really,” he said thoughtfully, and then he grinned. “I guess we’ve been trying to compensate.”

She sighed. “…Good luck with the show this week, Kermie.”

“Oh thank you!” he said. “We’ll probably need it.”

“I’ll call you when I’m coming home.”

“Oh, good. It’s good to hear from you, Piggy.”

“Right—…Goodbye Kermie.”

“Bye-bye, Piggy. Talk to you soon.”

Click.

“Hmm,” Kermit said as he hung up the phone. So Miss Piggy would not be back in a month. She didn’t seem to know when she would be back. That was a pity. Things really just weren’t the same without her. He wondered what on earth had ‘come up’ to detain her.

But now some ‘other person’ would be coming, too! That intrigued him. Someone who—at least initially—would not be working in the theater, and would be providing their own sleeping arrangements. Who would come under those circumstances with no intention to leave? Someone very aloof, perhaps… And if it was a friend of Miss Piggy’s, there was a possibility that the Muppets would soon have another diva on their hands.

Kermit sat back in his chair and grinned. He loved watching his family grow. He could sense chaos on the horizon… Deciding to take advantage of the calm before the next storm, he sat up and examined the paperwork on his table.

“Hey Kermit! Do you have some time?” Gonzo said as he ran to the frog, dragging a cart covered with various odd items, a trampoline being among them. “I have this great idea for an act that you’ve gotta see!”

Kermit eyed the cart apprehensively. “I suppose—“

“Terrific!” Gonzo pulled the cart out onto the stage. “Oh, it’s fantastic, Kermit. You’ll love it!”

“Doubt that!” Clifford called down from the catwalk, where he was trying to fix a broken spotlight.

“You’ll see!” Gonzo quickly unloaded the cart until the trampoline was up on stilts and he was on a pogo stick with a pineapple in each hand and another under his arm. “It’s all about pushing the heights of juggling,” he explained. “See, I start bouncing with the pogo stick—“ He did so—“For more height! And then I start juggling the pineapples…”

Kermit started to feel a little like a bobble head as he watched the weirdo go up and down and up and down. The pineapples started circling through the air with surprising accuracy.

“And—hopefully—I’ll be—reciting—or singing—something—but I—don’t know—what, yet,” Gonzo said as he bounced and juggled. “But here’s—the best part! I jump—OFF—of the pogo—stick, and—ONTO—the—trampoline! While still—juggling—the pineapples! Ready?”

“Sure.”

“ONE!”

“Yo Kerm, I think the light’s fixed!” Clifford called.

“TWO!”

“Oh GREAT!” Kermit said. “Try it out!”

“THREE!”

Gonzo jumped off the pogo stick and Clifford turned on the spotlight, aimed straight at the weirdo.

“BLINDING!” Gonzo proclaimed as his foot hit the edge, not the center, of the trampoline, which fell from its stilts so that one stilt collided with the pogo stick and shot up to hit the newly-fixed light before plummeting as the light popped, sparked, and went out.

Clifford stared at the light for a moment, his jaw hanging low. “…Yo Kerm!” he called. “Never mind.”

“That was so cool!” Gonzo said as he sat up from his fall. “Perfectly timed disorientation! Ha ha!”

A pineapple dropped onto his head, and he fell back down.

Kermit shook his head at the mess on stage. “Sorry about that, Clifford. Gonzo, I think the act needs polishing. SCOOTER! BEAU! COULD YOU COME HERE?”

“The lens is cracked, too, Kerm,” Clifford said as he examined the light.

“I’ll get right on that,” Kermit sighed. Yup… Just the calm before the storm.

 

[theprawncracker]

PERFECTLY TIMED DISORIENTATION! ! ! ! HAHAHAHA! Yeeeeeees! ! ! And the LIGHT! It's BACK! This is DEFINITELY a Lisa fan-fic! How exciting! And Miss Piggy's bringing a friend... how odd. And she didn't sound very happy on the phone... which is even stranger. I wonder what's going on with that... I'm sure you'll show us soon enough.

MORE PLEASE!