Chapter Thirty-Eight
"I- I'm really not all that good, ma'am. I- I never played against a big celebrity before..."
"Well, there's a first time for everything. Moi have never played against anyone
but big celebrities!"
"Oh... well, gee, this is new for us both, then."
"Mm-hm. Would vous like to serve?"
"Sure. ...Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Love-love!"
Whack.
Kermit watched Miss Piggy from behind the iron fence.
She looks good in white, he thought to himself. He wondered how she always managed to have the perfect outfit with her. Then again, he did too, but that didn't take much effort on his part. He considered that it was getting to the time of year to keep a Santa hat close at hand. Then again, he still had a couple of weeks. He turned his attention to Craig.
"We come almost every day this week," Craig said. "I ain't got the heart to tell her we're just gettin' away from Pa this time."
"What happened?" Bob asked.
Craig tightly gripped the fence. "He got drunk," he whispered, his face grim. "He took the money we was gonna give fer the troops at tomorrow's fund raiser... and he, got, drunk." He watched Betty Sue and sighed. "He ain't the daddy he was a'fore Ma got sick," he whispered. "But Betty Sue don't 'member that. She don't harly 'member Ma."
"Lucky she can do that," Bob said softly. "I never even met Pop."
Kermit swallowed hard.
Craig sighed heavily. "That was a lot of money Pa took," he said. "That money was gunna
do somethin'. I git to feelin' I can't do hardly nothin' fer this war from back home."
"Yeah," Kermit said, "It's like this haunting feeling, y'know? Like you should be doing something-"
"But ya jest can't," Craig said.
"Right. And all the fundraisers in the world can't fix it," Kermit said. He added lamely, "Believe me, I've tried."
"I'm sick a feelin' useless," Craig sighed.
"Me too," Bob whispered. "That's why I'm going back."
Craig looked at him. "When ya ship out?" he asked.
"First of the year," Bob said softly.
"Same unit?"
Bob nodded.
"Well, tell Major D. that Frog here ain't stole a thing," Craig said, jerking his head towards Kermit.
"Will do," Bob said with a light smile.
Craig watched Betty Sue and let it sink in. "Goin' back," he whispered. "...Gee. I almost wish I could. But they wouldn't take me, 'cuz of why I came home.” He turned to Kermit. "
You goin' back, sir?"
Kermit looked at his left hand. "I've thought about it," he said quietly. "But I can't fight any more. Maybe I could've if I'd stayed, but I can't go back to fight more." He looked up and watched Miss Piggy play. "Besides... I don't want to leave." He smiled a little.
"Of course not." Bob leaned on the fence and grinned at him. "Frog's got a
question to ask."
"You ain't asked her yet?" Craig grinned.
"I-" Kermit shifted his weight.
Craig shook his head. "Stall-er," he taunted.
"I haven't heard anything about you and Sally yet," Kermit said defensively.
Craig toes at the ground. "Touché, sir," he mumbled.
"Fifteen-love!" Betty Sue called from the court.
Whack.
They watched the ball whiz across court a few times.
"Sure is hard to sit idle," Craig said. "Especially standin' between you two. I mean Bob, yer goin' back, an' Frog, you got Robin an' the show an' yer lady pig, an' then me? I got..." He thought. "I got..."
"You got Betty Sue," Kermit said quietly.
"Yeah." Bob looked at him. "No job in the world pays the way a kid sister does."
"Especially when she looks up to you so much," Kermit said. He looked at Craig. "You take care of your sister, Rivers. That's more than you might think."
An electronic ring sounded from Craig's pocket. He excused himself, pulled his cell phone out, and answered. "Rivers. ...Hey doll. ...Tennis courts. ...Hang on." He covered the phone with his hand. "You boys mind if Sally joins us?"
"Well I think it's about time we met her, don't you, Frog?" Bob said.
"Absolutely," Kermit said.
Craig uncovered the phone. "Swing on by, doll," he said into it. He winked. "And wear somethin' purty; I got some pals I want ya to meet." He grinned. "Well of course I know yer always purty, but the boys don't need to know that." He chuckled. "All right, Sally. See ya soon." He hung up and shook his head as he slid the phone back into his pocket.
"Getting yourself in trouble?" Kermit grinned.
Craig just smiled. "Only the good kind."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Craig checked his watch and looked at Betty Sue.
"Thirty-forty!" the girl called out.
Whack!
"They sure keep at it," Bob said, watching them.
"Yeah," Kermit chuckled. "Piggy's usually beat me three or four times by now."
"Oh, same with Betty Sue an' me!" Craig said. He glanced at his watch again. "Anyone 'member what time Sally called?" he asked.
"About four thirty," a sweet voice twanged behind them.
They turned to see a brown-eyed red head with long legs and perfect posture that made her look taller than she was. Her hair was cropped short, thick and curly, to frame her freckled face.
"Boys," Craig said with a foolish grin, "This here's my Sally."
"Mm-hm," Sally said as she strutted over.
"Sally, this here's Bob Geraldson and Kermit the Frog."
"Howdy-do, Bob. Howdy-do, Kermit." She nodded to each of them, and then to the court. "I see you brung Miss Piggy, Kermit?"
Kermit smiled as he watched Miss Piggy score. "I don't get far without her," he said quietly.
"Just to the other side of the world," Bob said lamely.
Sally turned her attention to Craig. "Sorry it took me a while," she said. "I got held up by a big group of protestors over on Beale Street."
"Aw, geez, they're here too?" Bob shifted against the fence.
"They're everywhere," Kermit sighed.
"Everywhere and
loud," Craig said. "No matter what
we say, they out-voice us."
Bob rolled his eyes. "We don't
have a voice," he said. "Not until election time, and at this rate, we'll have pulled out by then."
"You think so?" Craig said, alarmed.
"Well honey, didn't you see that interview with what's-his-face?" Sally said.
"They're talking about decreasing our troops if support doesn't go up soon," Bob said. He sighed. "Probably mostly in Baghdad. No one wants to fight there."
"Sheesh." Kermit leaned against the fence. "The public is
so uninformed.”
By this time, Betty Sue and Miss Piggy had come out from around the fence. Sally and Miss Piggy each gave the other one glance and put a defensive arm around her man and frog, respectively.
"Well, there ain't a thing we can do to inform 'em if they can't even hear us," Craig sighed. He nodded to the ladies. "Sally, this is Miss Piggy. Miss Piggy, this here's my Sally."
"Howdy-do."
"Nice to meet you."
"But still," Bob said as he smoothed his fingers through his hair, "There's gotta be
some way to raise support."
"We've tried," Craig said, "But they can't hear us over the protesters."
"So be louder," Betty Sue burst.
Bob raised his eyebrows. Sally tilted her head. Miss Piggy turned. Kermit considered.
"How?" Craig said.
Betty Sue's eyes bounced from person to person. "Well-" She shifted her weight. "Well Mr. Kermit and Miss Piggy have a show, right?"
All eyes turned to Kermit.
He shifted his weight, still giving Betty Sue his attention. "I hadn't thought of that," he said softly. "It could work... What do you think we should do?"
Betty Sue toed at the ground. "Well... What would y'all do to raise support, anyway?"
Kermit thought for a moment. "We could do a... a patriotic number, or something..." He turned to Miss Piggy. "Do you think that would work?"
She caught her breath. "Well- it... couldn't hurt, Mon Capitan," she said.
He nodded vaguely. "Maybe as a closing number or something, so it's on their minds when they leave..." He nodded.
"How many shows do you have left?" Bob asked.
"Well we run to the middle of December," Kermit said.
"Not many, then," Bob said.
Kermit nodded. "I wonder if the last show will be too late," he mused to himself. He looked up and smiled at Betty Sue. "It's a good idea, Betty Sue," he said. "It just might work."
Betty Sue smiled, looked at her toes, and blushed. Craig grinned at her. "Well, I guess we should pick a song, then!" he said.
"Well let's discuss it over some food," Sally said. "I don't know 'bout y'all, but I'm famished!"
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