Chapter Eighteen
“Hi Dad!” Robin was on the phone after dinner. “Yeah, today was a
really good day!”
Kermit was standing next to him, waiting his turn and watching his nephew with pride.
“Well some of Uncle Kermit’s friends from his unit came over for a little bit, so he’s in a good mood.”
That was the most Jimmy had heard of Kermit’s difficulty with looking at Robin. The young frog had simply said that sometimes Kermit was in a bad mood. Jimmy had accepted that from Robin, but had asked Kermit to explain. Kermit had just said that it was hard to adjust.
“Okay!” Robin was saying. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Love you too. Bye Dad!” He handed the phone up. “Here y’go, Uncle Kermit!”
“Thanks, Robin,” Kermit smiled at him. He took the phone. “Hi Jimmy!”
“Hey Kermit!” Jimmy said.
“Good day today, huh?”
“Yup. A very good day.”
“So when are you gonna come visit the swamp?”
Kermit tensed. It was the same question every night. “Not yet,” he said.
“Not yet?” Jimmy said. There were faint sounds of a scuffle.
“You’ve got about ten seconds to change your mind before Maggie steals the phone from me.”
Kermit grinned. “Forget the ten seconds and put her on,” he said.
“Aw, you take all the fun out of it...” Jimmy’s voice faded.
There was a pause as the phone changed hands.
“So what’s taking so long?” his sister’s voice demanded.
“And hi-ho to you too!” Kermit said. “I was wondering when you’d start bugging me.”
“Well it’s nice to hear you’re still Mit,” she said.
“Come on, don’t you think you should see Mom?”
“Of course I do,” he said. “I just...” He thought of the torrent of young frogs that would greet him there. “I just need a little time
here,” he said.
“Mit... Please?” Maggie whined teasingly.
“What’ve you been UP to over there?”
Kermit glanced at Miss Piggy and smirked. What
had he been up to? “Well um...” He squirmed. “Just... catching up.”
Maggie hesitated, assessing his tone of voice.
“What KIND of catching up?” she pried.
He scrunched his face. “So how have you been, Maggie?”
“Oh, so THAT kind of catching up!” Maggie giggled triumphantly.
“Well I’ve been waiting for my BROTHER to come home!”
“I’ll come, I’ll come,” he said. “Just not yet.”
“Why not?”
He took a deep breath. “Well I’d kind of like to get the ball rolling on a new show or something...”
“Ah, we’re second to your dream again,” she sighed.
“Hey, Mags-“
“I’m teasing!”
“Oh good.”
“You’ll come home soon?”
He took a deep breath. “As soon as I can,” he said.
“All right. See ya, Mit.”
“See ya, Mags.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The building was still there, the glass doors were still glass, and the big sign still proclaimed it to be the Muppet Theater. Kermit could feel his heart pound as he gazed at it with pride and magic in his eyes. It was a wonder he wasn't twitching with the electric excitement coursing through his limbs.
"Ready Boss?" Scooter grinned as he put the keys into Kermit's hand.
"Ready and waiting," Kermit said. He unlocked and opened the door.
Most of the crowd rushed in ahead of him and vanished from the lobby. He took his time, walking slowly, gazing at every corner and niche and detail like the whole building was a present he had just unwrapped.
"This is great," he said softly in simple amazement. He looked at Fozzie. "This is great."
"Just like you left it!" Scooter said proudly.
Kermit smiled as he gazed at the walls. "It's great."
"Kermit?" Rowlf said. "It's just the lobby."
Kermit grinned at him. "It's a
good lobby!"
Miss Piggy linked her arm with Kermit's good one. "Wait till you see the stage," she whispered to him.
Fozzie opened the next door, eager to reintroduce his friend to their theater. They proceeded into the house, and Kermit's eyes seemed to shine as they stretched across to the stage.
Fozzie grinned at him. "Welcome home, Kermit," he said.
Kermit breathed deeply, taking in everything. "Home," he whispered. After another moment, he slowly strolled down towards the stage, his arm still linked with Miss Piggy's, quietly scatting the theme song.
They stopped at the band pit, where several musicians were all ready setting up. Kermit looked them over with pride and gazed up at the stage.
"Hey Green Stuff," Floyd said as he chained Animal to the drum set. He nodded upwards. "Why not hop your froggy little self on up there?"
"I would," he said quietly. "But I can't balance right with my arm in a sling." He steered off to the left and led the small group away. "We'll save that for last."
They strolled through every room of the theater, including the dressing rooms, cafeteria, and the storage closets, until they finally stood at Kermit's desk. It was only then that Miss Piggy released his arm.
He put his hand on the back of his chair as his eyes danced over the desktop. He pulled the chair back, stood in front of it, and affectionately brushed his fingers along the edge. He smiled at the little white coffee cup with his name on it. Finally he turned his head and looked out at the stage.
"Boss?" Scooter said quietly.
Kermit looked at him.
"It's waiting."
Kermit looked at each of them. Their eyes were shining with encouragement and they nodded to him.
He turned and slowly stepped onto the stage.
They watched him, grinning broadly.
He crossed to center stage and looked out at the empty seats. He looked up at the blinding lights. He looked at the curtains. He looked at the stage he was standing on.
He smiled.
He looked at the box where Statler and Waldorf were not sitting.
He turned towards the wings. "Hey Fozzie?" he said. He nodded towards the box. "Are they still alive?"
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Fun chapter, looking forward to more!