Chapter Forty-Five
"Ready, Boss?" Scooter said quietly.
Kermit took a deep breath. "As ready as I'm going to be," he said. "Everyone in position?"
"Awaiting your word," Scooter said.
Kermit nodded. "Well," he said. "Here goes... everything."
He gulped and stepped out in front of the curtain.
"Well folks," he said. "Um- as you know, this is... This is our last show for a little while..."
"Thank goodness!" Waldorf said.
"Yeah, we get to take a break!" Statler said.
Kermit shook his head. "Well- As much as we love putting on random chaos, we wanted to leave you with something... a little more meaningful. So ladies and gentlemen... our closing number." He turned and vanished behind the curtain.
The curtains slowly slid open to a dark stage. As the first notes of the song echoed, a single spotlight revealed the American flag, low on a flagpole.
A second spotlight came on, and there was Kermit, with Robin at his side, slowly raising the flag.
He sang, slow, soft, and heartfelt.
"If tomorrow all the things were gone... I'd worked for all my life... And I had to start again... With just my children, and my wife..."
He smiled at Robin.
"I'd thank my lucky stars... To be living here today... 'Cause the flag still stands for freedom... and they can't take that away!"
The flag reached the top of the pole, still shining in its own spotlight. Kermit admired it, with his hand on Robin's shoulder.
"And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget, the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I gladly stand up, next to you, and defend her still today. 'Cause there ain't no doubt, I love this land... God bless the U.S.A."
The spotlight on the frogs snapped off, but the one on the flag remained. As Kermit vanished, the lights began to come up, slowly revealing an outline of the United States of America on the stage.
In each location mentioned, another Muppet stood, and sang their line.
"From the lakes of Minnesota..."
"To the hills of Tennessee..."
"Across the plains of Texas..."
Every Muppet onstage harmonized, "From sea to shining sea..."
"From New York-"
"Down to Houston..."
"And Detroit-"
"To L.A!"
Sam the American Eagle stood somewhere around Nebraska and took a solo. "Well there's pride in every American heart, and it's time we stand and say..."
Every single Muppet sang.
"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I gladly stand up, next to you, and defend her still today. 'Cause there ain't no doubt, I love this land... God bless the U.S.A."
That's my cue, Kermit thought. He stepped forward into the waiting spotlight, now wearing his uniform, a Purple Heart on his dress blues, with Robin at his side once more. He joined the song.
"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I gladly stand up!"
Cymbals crashed.
"Next to you, and defend her still today... 'Cause there ain't no doubt, I love this land! ...God bless the U. S. A!"
The lights faded, until only two spotlights remained- one on Kermit, and one on the flag.
Then Kermit's spotlight faded, and the last thing they saw was the flag.
The curtain slid shut.
Kermit stood very still, and listened. He listened to the silence on the other side of the curtain.
It was a deafening silence, echoed on this side of the curtain.
One person began to clap.
A second person began to clap.
A third person began to clap.
And then there were four.
And more.
And more.
And more.
And then the audience roared with applause.
There was a thin crack of light where someone peered through the curtain. "Boss?" Scooter said quietly. "They're giving us a standing ovation."
Kermit's mouth felt dry.
"Even Statler and Waldorf," Scooter said quietly.
Kermit took a deep breath. "Then maybe," he whispered, "...Maybe it worked."
They slowly filed off the stage, listening to the steady applause.
Somehow, Miss Piggy was next to Kermit. He slid an arm around her waist and took a deep breath.
He murmured the words again. "If tomorrow all the things were gone, I'd worked for all my life..." He stopped and set his head against her shoulder. "I like that song," he said quietly.
She wrapped her arms around him. "I like it too," she whispered.
"It's got a lot of nice stuff in it, you know?" Kermit said quietly.
"Mm-hm," she said softly.
He stepped back, his hands on her arms, looking at her. "But you know, Piggy," he said quietly, "To start again with a wife... You kind of need one to begin with."
She stared at him.
The other Muppets watched, smiling. Robin hopped up onto Kermit's desk with a grin.
Kermit gulped, took a small box out of his pocket, and knelt down on one knee. "Miss Piggy," he choked on his own voice, "Will you marry me?"
The surrounding Muppets grinned at each other, at Kermit, at Miss Piggy...
She stared at him.
She managed to find her voice. "Kermie," she said calmly, and then her voice slowly slid up a few octaves. "Is that even a QUESTION?"
She fell into his lap and kissed him like he had never been kissed before.
He gripped her tightly, for once not caring that everyone could watch- and everyone was, in fact, watching. Except for Robin, who had the wisdom to cover his eyes.
She pried her lips away from his but did not budge from his lap. "I want to see the ring before I answer," she said with the biggest smile that had ever crossed her face.
He laughed. "I thought you said it wasn't a question!" he said. He held the little box for her to see, and opened it.
She gasped. "Oh..." Her voice was soft, and she kept one arm tight around his shoulder while the other hand lightly touched the box. "Oh Kermie..."
He carefully took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger. "Piggy," he whispered. He held her hand tight, and pressed his lips against her cheek.
"Um, Boss?" Scooter said reluctantly. "Are you gonna do the goodnights?"
"...I guess I should do that," Kermit said, pressing his cheek against Miss Piggy's. He squeezed her. "You come with."
She snuggled against him. "Oui, Mon Capitan," she whispered.
They somehow managed to push themselves out in front of the curtain. Miss Piggy kept her arms tightly wrapped around her frog, who kept both his hands clasped over her wrists. He had very little intention of waving his arms just now.
"Well, that's about all we have time for tonight. We'll see you next time on THE MUPPET SHOW! YAAAAAAAAAY!"
She promptly kissed his cheek. He slid an arm around her waist, and they were suddenly surrounded by their friends, all congratulating them. Kermit freed one arm to scoop Robin up, and smiled at everyone. He had an ecstatic pig on his arm, squeezing up against him, and he couldn't have been happier about it.