Chapter Twenty-Three
The Frog Scouts were to be picked up from the park at 4:00.
That's 16:00, Kermit prompted himself. He had been home for three weeks now, but he was still very much accustomed to military time.
He walked to the park and decided that he would never tire of seeing so much greenery. He had never been one to take plants and trees for granted, but everything meant more these days.
Ah, yes, there were the Frog Scouts. He knew all of them well, and could recognize them from a considerable distance.
"Kermit?" a voice from behind him said.
He recognized that, too. That was Spencer's dad. He turned and smiled. "Hi-ho."
"I guess you really
are back, then," the frog said. "I didn't believe the rumors at first. Welcome home."
"Thanks, Tim," Kermit said.
"I heard about your shoulder," Tim said. "Did they get the bullet out? Or is it still in there?"
"Oh they got it out," Kermit said. "They tried to send it home with me in a little jar, but I wasn't interested."
"Well that's good," Tim said. "That would've been a pain to go through metal detectors with a bullet inside of you."
"That's for sure," Kermit said. "Although metal detectors are mostly just in airports, really, and I don't intend to do much traveling anytime soon-"
"Kermit!" a third voice called.
That would be Seth's mom, Connie.
"Hi-ho!" Kermit called as he turned to smile at her.
"Hey Connie!" Tim said. "Look who's here! Alive and well in the real flesh and blood, too!"
"I'm glad you're home, Kermit," Connie said as she approached. "It's good to see you again!"
"It's good to see you, too-"
"Kermit?" Yet another frog approached.
This was Brett's dad, Carl.
"Hi-ho," Kermit smiled at him.
Connie and Tim moved on towards the troop. They weren't very fond of Carl, which was a pity. While it was true that he could be incredibly obnoxious most of the time, he did have some interesting things to say. ...Sometimes. ...Occasionally. ...Maybe.
Carl put his hand on Kermit's good shoulder and awkwardly shifted his weight. "Kermit," he said, "I wanted... I wanted to thank you," he said.
Kermit tilted his head. "Pardon?"
"I- I want you to know, that I- I appreciate it," Carl said. "I mean- what you did- for the country." He squirmed slightly. "My dad was in World War II," he explained. "He never talked about it much, but- I know it's rough being a soldier, and… I wanted to thank you."
Kermit stared at him for a moment, wondering how to react. What was he
supposed to do? ...He put his hand on Carl's shoulder. "That means a lot to me," he said quietly.
Carl nodded. There was understanding there. That was enough.
Kermit tilted his head towards the Frog Scouts. "The kids are waiting," he said.
"Yeah, they are," Carl said.
They walked towards the troop, each collected their respective Frog Scout, and they went on with their lives.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sunlight streamed into the room. Kermit pushed the blanket down to his waist.
It was morning. It started like every morning had the past month and a half or so, and like he guessed every morning would for the rest of his life.
The morning started with The Eyes. The Eyes were as clear and as real to him as the collar around his neck, and The Eyes were with him just as constantly.
The Eyes were big and brown and blank. He was learning to push The Eyes away from his mind first thing in the morning, before The Eyes could finish changing.
Changing was the worst thing about The Eyes.
First The Eyes were filled with fear. Then the fear in The Eyes would slowly crystallize into a basic, dreaded understanding.
He had learned to push The Eyes away before the understanding could fully crystallize.
If The Eyes were not pushed away, the crystals of understanding would drop away, one by one, until The Eyes held nothing, and The Eyes were dead, and The Dead Eyes followed him the entire day.
But Kermit had learned to push The Eyes away. He had been home for over a month now, and the early morning was among his favorite times of the day. In fact, it was almost as good as the late morning, afternoon, evening, and night.
He gazed out the window at the morning sunlight, listening to the soft
plink, plink of Rowlf's piano. That was the first good thing of the morning. Every day started with music.
After a few moments, Kermit stood up. He shifted the irritating neck strap of the annoying sling as he walked into the hall. He opened the door next to his and peered into the room.
Robin was still asleep. He stirred slightly. He would wake up soon. Kermit smiled at the young frog and closed the door.
He went back to his own room and touched the soft fabric that was waiting for him on a chair. Red, white, and blue. With his good arm, he pressed it against his chest, and he went downstairs.
"Morning, Rowlf!" he said with a smile as his flipper met the bottom step.
"Morning, Kermit," Rowlf grinned from the piano bench.
Kermit went outside and walked straight to the flagpole. He attached his flag to it and pulled, watching in silence as it rose to the top of the pole.
This was a nice part of the morning, too, but it was more... routine. It was just a part of waking up, sort of like getting out of bed. He supposed some people drank coffee for the same reason.
Raising the flag wasn't really just waking up, though. It was a little bit of extra quiet time, which was a scarce commodity in this house. It was also a chance to smile and nod at a couple neighbors, particularly the guy who ran past every morning and the little old lady who walked her dog in the opposite direction. He sometimes guessed that they liked to see something vaguely normal happening at this house.
Kermit went inside and sat in the family room for his second favorite part of every morning.
He slowly, carefully, took the sling off. He rubbed where the neck strap itched his collar and carefully stretched his arm and shoulder.
"Looks like you're getting a little more flexible," Rowlf observed, still at the piano.
Kermit smiled at him. "Two more weeks of this," he said. He gently rubbed his shoulder.
"Bet you're counting the days," Rowlf said.
"Have you seen the paper chain Robin made me?" Kermit asked.
Rowlf tilted his head at his friend. "Kermit," he said, "Has anyone in this house not seen it?"
Kermit grinned. "Point taken," he said.
"Did you take off today's link yet?" Rowlf asked.
"Not yet," Kermit said. "After breakfast."
Rowlf nodded.
“Groo shfeer, de huulney!” The Swedish Chef greeted as he came downstairs to start making breakfast.
"Yeah, woof woof!" Rowlf replied.
"Morning, Chef," Kermit smiled. He grinned as Chef and Rowlf 'conversed' back and forth in languages completely unintelligible to anyone else, and to each other.
This ritual meant one thing to Kermit- it was time for him to sit back, watch each of his friends come downstairs, and appreciate his absolute favorite part of the morning.
The best part of the morning was the simple nature of it. Morning meant that he had the entire day ahead of him. He had an entire day, just waiting for him. An entire day to pass the time however he pleased. An entire day to spend with each and every one of his friends. An entire day to get a little bit closer to putting on the show. An entire day to work towards making millions of people happy.
Maybe later in the day, he would complain. Maybe later in the day, he would tease about how much time or money or energy had been wasted by this explosion or that distraction or this invention or that burst of drums. But he would only tease, because to him, none of it was a waste of anything. It was annoying, yes, but it sure wasn't a waste.
And yes, there were nagging feelings in the back of his mind about other things he didn't always acknowledge or couldn't always identify. And yes, he knew there would be times when stress would get the better of him. But right now, it was morning, and the entire day lay ahead for him to enjoy.
That was the best part of every morning.
But this morning was a little different, because this day was a little different.
This day would not be spent at the theater, preparing for the show, as so many days had been spent.
This morning would be spent preparing for this afternoon and evening.
This afternoon would be spent watching the parade.
This evening would be spent having a barbecue in the backyard, presuming they could find some sort of food to barbecue that didn't also happen to be a resident of the house.
And the later part of this evening would be spent in the park, on a mass of large blankets, looking up at the fireworks in the sky.
This day was the Fourth of July- Independence Day.
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