A Monday Return

[WebMistressGina]

There is indeed more story, that I've been working on and am hoping to get to you tomorrow. That's the hope anyway.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Ok, so once again, I have half a chapter for you. I know, but it's pretty long and I still have an idea here that I want to flesh out first or maybe it'll just start the next chapter, I haven't gotten that far yet, so for the moment, we'll say this is the next chapter....k?


Chapter IX


Sunday

“It’s the Muppet Show, with special guest star, Mr. Ricky Gervais! Woooo hooooo!”

From the very first opening, viewers of the Muppet Show knew something was different. Normally, the introduction to the show would be done by Kermit the Frog; tonight’s opening was done by the weirdo stuntman, Gonzo the Great. The chorus that came through was normal until they reached the point where Kermit would sing, “Why don’t we get things started?”, instead singing the line was Rowlf, the Muppet pianist.

If that didn’t raise eyebrows, the appearance of Fozzie Bear as the MC did the trick.

“Aaah!” he cried, sliding onto the stage and looking out in to the audience. “Welcome to the Muppet Show! I’m…”

“Where’s the frog?” cried the ever present elderly couple of Statler and Waldorf.

“I’m getting to it,” the bear said, waving the two off. “So I’m the delightful Fozzie Bear and…”

“Did he say delightful?” asked Waldorf.

“More like frightful!” answered Statler, causing the two to guffaw loudly.

“C’mon guys,” Fozzie pleaded. “At least let me get through the introduction.” Turning back to the audience, he started in with a rush, “Thanks for tuning in to the Muppet Show, I’m your host Fozzie Bear. Kermit the Frog, your host with the most, is currently out of town on family business!” Triumphantly looking up at the left forward balcony seat, he asked, “How was that?”

“Well,” Waldorf said. “It was an intro.”

“Now do an outro!” cackled Statler.

“No worries,” Fozzie said, once again addressing the audience. “I figured you’d all miss Kermit and certainly, we all miss him here, so I came up with a great idea.” From behind his back, the comic bear removed a strange, green looking puppet. It had offset eyes, in which the pupils moved when the puppet moved, the felt was a little frayed in color looking more like a molten green than that of a forest green.

The sudden appearance of the thing did cause the audience to gasp, which brought out Scooter from stage right. “Fozzie,” he asked, looking suspiciously at the doll. “What is that?”

“It’s Ker-Mup!” the comic exclaimed, waving it slightly in front of the stage manager’s face. “I figured if we couldn’t have the real Kermit here with us, I’d get a reasonable facsimile. You know? To boost morale.”

“Or lower it,” crooned Statler.

“As if this show could go any lower than it already does,” Waldorf added.

“O…kay,” Scooter began. “We’ll…we will…we’ll discuss that after our first act.”

“Right,” Fozzie said, nodding to the stage and turning again to the audience. “Ladies and gentlemen! For our first act, let’s go back to the golden 30’s and times of jazzy inspiration, dance, and music!”

The bear left the stage, just as the curtains opened to reveal an elegant bar, complete with stage and tables stationed around it. One of the penguins, dressed as a classy blonde, stepped to the mic and began to sing “You Turned the Tables on Me”, while those penguins in the audience began an adventure type tale involving a Maltese chicken sculpture. When the act was over, focused turned towards the backstage antics, which already seemed to be in effect as Link was complaining loudly about his song being cut from the show.

“Link,” Scooter growled. “What part of ‘no’ did you not understand when I said it the first fifteen times?”

“But Scooter,” the pig whined. “It’s not fair. I have a very important and special lady out in the audience, who came especially to see me perform.”

“For the last time, Link,” the stage manager huffed. “Your mother has season tickets, she can come see the show any time she wants, regardless if you’re in it or not. Now, if you’d like me to revoke those for you, in the case that I fire you, right here and right now, then please, let me know.”

The leading swine looked like he was going to protest, but instead he sighed dramatically and said, “Fine! But I’m telling!” He then proceeded to stomp off towards his dressing room. “I’m going to take Kermit to dinner,” Scooter muttered. “That’s what I’m gonna do.” No sooner had the redhead mentioned the captain’s name before he felt the presence of eyes looking at him. Turning slowly to his left, that’s when he saw it.

Ker-Mup was sitting on the little podium that he and Kermit used as a staging desk, propped up against the wall, right under the landline. And it was staring at him.

And Scooter was staring back at it.

And it wasn’t just staring at him that would be one thing; no, this thing seemed to be looking right. Through. Him. As though its weird googly eyes were staring straight into his soul, maybe it was sucking out his soul while it looked at him, or worse! What could possibly be worse, he didn’t know, but now his imagination was running wild with possibilities, which explained why he practically screamed when someone came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Little jumpy, aren’t you?” asked Gonzo, as he gave the manager an odd look. “That’s normally not your style; you channeling the frog or something?”

Scooter gave the weirdo his own look, before glancing at the crudely made puppet. “You know where Fozzie got that thing?”

“No idea,” Gonzo replied, also glancing at the puppet. “It’s hideous though; hoping that he didn’t make it. Hurt his feelings, you know, if we said anything.”

“Right,” Scooter drawled. “I mean, it’s just…it’s…it’s like…”

“What?”

Huffing dramatically, he leaned towards the stuntman and said, “It feels like the thing is watching me, you know? It’s creepy. And unnerving.”

Gonzo nodded in agreement. “I’ll give you that.”

“Hello lads!”

The show’s guest star, Ricky Gervais, appeared behind them, hand rubbing in anticipation for his first time as host of the Muppet Show. Ricky had already appeared in two of their movies, however only one counted as an actual role (on the account that his scene got cut during the theatrical release), so he had been incredibly excited to work with the zany group again.

“Hey Ricky!” Gonzo exclaimed. “You ready for our act later?”

“I am, but I’m a little nervous,” the Brit replied.

“Act?” Scooter asked. “What act?”

“Gonzo wanted me to assist him in…good lord, what is that?”

Nodding to the strange doll puppet that sat on the desk, Scooter replied, “It’s Fozzie’s idea of a morale boost. It’s supposed to be a Kermit clone, but…well, the thing gives him the creeps and please don’t tell Fozzie I said that.”

“Tell Fozzie you said what?” asked said comic, who suddenly appeared at the mention of his name.

“That…you’re doing a fantastic job!” Scooter ad-libbed. “Don’t want you to get any…aspirations on hosting, you know when Kermit comes back, cause…you know.”

“Aw,” Fozzie sighed, patting the redhead on the back. “Thanks buddy! I’m telling you, that Ker-Mup doll was a great investment. Everyone’s talking about him!”

“I can certainly see why,” Ricky muttered.

“Fozzie,” Scooter said, gently. “Don’t you need to get out there to introduce the next act?”

Saluting, the bear replied, “Right-o boss!” He started to walk out, but then returned in order to grab his little doll. “The audience really likes him, too,” he said, grabbing said doll and continuing out on stage.

“You all didn’t pay the audience, did you?” Ricky asked.

“Not this time,” Gonzo said.

“I don’t think we have enough money between us to pay the audience to like that thing,” Scooter added. “Ricky, you’re up after the Cardelli twins do their thing.”

“Thanks much, Scooter.”

“Perfect,” Gonzo said, taking the star by the arm and leading him away. “That gives us just enough for me to go over some pointers with you…”

“What act, Gonzo!?” Scooter shouted at their retreating backs. Knowing full well the stuntman could hear him, but was ignoring him, Scooter huffed. “Two dinners,” he muttered. “I’m gonna owe Kermit two dinners after this.”


[hr]


Sundays in Leland, MS were regular, light days. People went to their churches in the morning or did whatever chores had to be done; by lunch, many of the little restaurants and stores were filled people wanting to do something on their last day of the weekend. Children played outside until the sun started to go down, while the adults sat on their porches, discussing the world of today and of days gone by.

In the Frog home, most of their Sundays started exactly the same as any other person’s Sunday, however their nights usually went something like this. Once the sun started to go down, the family began to gather at the home of James and Jane, in order to sit down and watch The Muppet Show; the only thing that the two elder folks truly insisted on was having a nice television set in order to watch their eldest boy on TV every week. The other kids had chipped in and gotten them a VCR, which was soon replaced by a DVD player so they could watch all the movies, both Muppet and of recitals, concerts, weddings, and more that had been captured on film.

The parents had wanted something small, like a 19inch screen, but the kids would have none of it and finally bought a 52inch that proudly sat within the living room area of their home.

It was here that most of them gathered, or tried to anyway, to see what kind of antics their eldest brother had to contend with. It had taken the family some time to realize that not everything that happened backstage actually happened and that the cast and crew weren’t completely insane, but once they had understood that and the magic of the Hollywood camera, it made the weekly tantrums, disputes, strikes, riots, and other weirdness that much funnier.

After the long week they had had – with the death of one of their own, the funeral, and the surprise announcement from Jimmy in regards to himself and his son – both James and Jane had quickly agreed, now more than ever, everyone needed to gather at the house in order to watch the show. It was another special treat as Kermit was home with them and not on the show that week, which as much as Kermit tried to downplay that fact, it was very clear he was anxious to see how everyone was getting along without him and that of their leading lady.

It wasn’t the first time that one of them wasn’t in the show, it happened of course, but it was extremely rare – nonexistent really – that Kermit was not around. He never counted the time Beauregard and Piggy had nearly killed him on a flying trapezes nor did he count the time that he and Gonzo got stuck on a train and had to rail back to a show that was being put on at a train station; if you never counted those, Kermit had been a part or at least present at every show.

Until tonight.

And it wasn’t like he didn’t trust Scooter; he absolutely did! In fact, he trusted everyone to put on the best show regardless of whether he or Piggy were there. That was never in question…however, it was always different when you didn’t get input in what was happening, especially when had been so consumed over everything that was happening that he hadn’t even bothered to call Scooter once and had nearly forgotten to call Fozzie if Piggy hadn’t reminded him about it later. But as they all crowded around the set, Kermit couldn’t help but be apprehensive. How were they going to explain his absence? How would the audience take it?

When the familiar opening came on, it was a no brainer that something was amiss that night and it was clear the audience saw it too when Fozzie stepped out on stage. However, the comic bear was great at not only explaining the absence, but getting into his normal show quarrel with Statler and Waldorf, their resident curmudgeons that sat in the balcony. From there, the introduction of ‘Ker-Mup’ took on hilarious proportions, as the doll seemed to turn up in the weirdest places when it shouldn’t, something was comically highlight by Scooter, whom it seemed to be following. And Scooter! If they hadn’t thought he’d grown into his own, this show proved it.

Scooter usually took the role as hapless, helpful hindrance to Kermit’s one sane frog; the redhead was usually trying to put out the fires that he may or may not have been involved with in the first place. Three parts intelligent and one part devious, he and Piggy usually made a formidable team, especially when paired against him; tonight however, Scooter was the acting captain and his performance as the last thread of lunacy left was highly entertaining. If he wasn’t muttering about how he was going to take Kermit out, through him several parties, and beg his forgiveness, he was growing incredibly suspicious of not only Ker-Mup constant appearances and stares and Gonzo’s surprise act that apparently hadn’t been discussed.

And like any straight man, Scooter needed a comic partner and that seemed to be Gonzo. The two had seemingly teamed up to fight against what they perceived as an evil creation that, at first, was thought to be something Fozzie had created until Ricky Gervais – that night’s guest – had asked the bear where he had gotten that doll.

“Oh!” Fozzie exclaimed. “I got it from this little Chinese shop when I was in China Town a few weeks ago.”

“It was a doll shop?” Ricky asked.

“No, just a shop,” the comic said. “It had a whole bunch of neat stuff. What was it called? Oh! Ye Ole Shoppe of Purses! Wait, no…Curses? Verses?”

“Might it have been curses?”

“Maybe…anyway, I went looking just to see what was in there and I found Ker-Mup!”

“Did the proprietor happen to mention if the doll was cursed?”

“Huh?”

“Did the shop owner say anything about your doll?” Ricky asked again.

“Well,” Fozzie began. “He did mention that the items he sold were from forbidden and dangerous places that men feared to thread, but I figured he wasn’t talking about me, cause you know…I’m a bear.”

“Right.”

Five minutes later, Ricky was downstairs and approaching Gonzo and Scooter. “I think your frog there is cursed.”

“I knew it!” exclaimed Rizzo.

“You did not,” Gonzo replied, shoving the little rat in the arm.

“You don’t even know what we’re talking about,” Scooter groused. “Where’d you even come from anyways?”

“Well, Scooter my boy,” the rat said, placing a comforting paw on the manager’s arm. “When a male rat and female rat get together…”

“Alright, go on,” the weirdo said, pushing the protesting rat towards the lower stairs. “Go find out if my bowling ball’s finally polished.”

“Yes, dear.”

“What is this about bowling?” asked Scooter.

“I’m an avid bowler,” Gonzo answered.

“You’re not, actually.”

“Guys?” Ricky interrupted. “About your cursed doll…”

From there, the show was half comedic romp and half horror movie, as Scooter and Gonzo tried everything they could to hide away the apparently cursed frog mock-up – they tried putting into a drawer, tried locking in it Kermit’s office, even tried putting it downstairs where Gonzo kept his canons and yet somehow, the doll always managed to return to its place on the backstage desk, something that was becoming highly unnerving and entertaining at the same time.

While that madness went on backstage, on stage the regular show went on without a hitch, well…much of a hitch. The Swedish Chef was able to fight off his dinner entrée, while Rowlf and the Mayhem did separate musical and inspired numbers; having Ricky there meant they had a few different affectionate parodies, which Scooter managed to combine into one segment – Confessions of an Office Manager, which had Ricky being interviewed by Muppet versions of his co-hosts Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington.

The interview went over some of the things that were happening within Ricky’s office, including a romance between coworkers, one coworker who was desperately trying to not only take over said office, but gain Ricky’s respect as the boss (a role Piggy thought was tailor made for Link, who portrayed it), and then as a shout out to their second movie, there was a thief within the office, who of course turned out to be Ricky.

Kermit had to admit, he had never truly laughed that much in his life, which was saying something considering who he hung out with. And it seemed everyone else was enjoying the show too, especially the children who always got a kick out of the mad capped comedy they seemed to deliver on a constant basis. After the long week that seemed to never end, finally something of happiness was occurring, which only seemed to bring the frog down. While watching the show, he did long to be there, there was no way around it.

But how could he leave? Especially now?

It was clear Jimmy needed him and Robin definitely needed him, he couldn’t just leave. Oh, the idea had been to leave in a week or maybe two, just to make sure everything was okay, but Kermit hadn’t expected the climate he walked into when he first arrived. Oh, he had known Jimmy and Leaper were having their own issues, but he had never guessed that father and son were having problems, more than just the typical teenage angst one expected. And he certainly hadn’t expected his little brother to turn over his parental rights to him or to leave his only son in the care of family; Kermit was still unsure of how he felt about that. He couldn’t believe that Jimmy would just give up something and someone so important, but yet his brother had pegged him right earlier in the week –

If it had been Piggy, he would’ve been devastated. Had been devastated after she left and one of the first things he did was run from Hollywood and head back home.

And speaking of Piggy, how wonderful was she? During this whole thing, Kermit didn’t think he’d ever been so in love with her before; it had been one thing when she had arranged for the two of them to get there, who volunteered to be checked out because of his scared delusions of her illness, stood proudly next to him during the funeral, and even helped his mother play hostess…that was one thing. What really sealed the deal for him was the way she had taken Jimmy’s announcement to heart, the way she had stood up to him, shocked and insulted, that he would think she wouldn’t be proud to watch over his son, Kermit’s nephew, for as long as he needed.

He had never been so awed and proud by her.

His heart did sting a bit though, knowing that they would be thrust into the roles of parental guardians and what the implications were on that. In fact, he had been nearly convinced that Piggy would be equally angry that Jimmy would just turn his son over to them, but once again, the diva had managed to throw him for a loop, standing tall and defending the notion that, regardless of whatever happened between them in the future, Robin would also have a place to stay with them. Always.

It was her very touch on his arm that brought him from his musings, turning to face her curious gaze. He had apparently missed the final antic in the Scooter and Gonzo vs. Ker-Mup saga, where the two had literally jumped the doll, tied it up, threw it into a case, locked it, and then had Sweetums take it to the Golden Gate Bridge and throw it off. The large monster had only been gone for five minutes when the two had turned back around and found Ker-Mup sitting on the desk, looking extremely irritated with them.

Kermit, though he had missed bits and pieces of the end, had been quite pleased with how everything had turned out in his absence. He had always had faith in every single person that he worked with, but deeply he knew he always worried that they would either fall apart without him or worse, grow to bigger heights without him standing beside them. It was insecurity, he knew it, and certainly the way they had all drifted apart played a big role in how he saw things now, but he knew they always had his back, even if they were fighting tooth and nail against each other.

The show ended and began to lead into the next offering, while some of his siblings began to haul away sleepy children for their bedtimes. Darla Jean had said her favorite part was Gonzo trying to knock the white pin from Mr. Gervais’ head and Scooter trying to stop him, while Jamie said his favorite was how everyone was scared of Ker-Mup; all in all, everyone seemed to enjoy that night’s show and it seemed to pick everyone’s spirits back up as Jane began to make coffee or snacks for those that planned on staying around.

Right on cue, Kermit’s phone began to rang, startling the frog with its custom ringtone – which he rightly assumed had been changed by his significant other – and it’s close proximity; leave it to Piggy to remember his phone, knowing that Scooter – the very person who was calling him – would call right after the show to get his thoughts. Standing and grabbing said, he nodded to the diva, saying, “Thanks, sweet pea” before heading out in the hot summer night. “Hi ho, Scooter!”

“Hey,” the red head replied, breathlessly. “Did you see it?”

“The show?” the frog asked. “Definitely did, we all did.”

“And?”

Kermit chuckled, half by the eagerness of his stage manager and the other by the question itself. “It was great, Scooter,” he said. “We all loved it, especially the kids; I don’t think of us have ever laughed that hard.”

“Really?”

“Really, really,” the frog nodded. Taking a breath, he whispered, “Thanks, Scooter. Not just for…this – getting us here, minding the inmates, the show – but…for everything you ever do and always do. I really appreciate it; you’re my right hand man, through and through.”

There was a pause on the other end that lasted so long that Kermit was afraid he’d lost the signal. “Scooter, you still there?”

“Yeah…” came the stuttered response. “Yeah, Chief, I’m still here and…you’re welcome. I mean, you know…you know that…”

“Yeah, I know,” Kermit interrupted and they both knew. So many years working together, they could easily finish each other’s sentences and in some cases, even knew what the other was thinking, like in this case. They knew nothing needed to be said, but as Piggy had pointed out to him earlier, sometimes they just do.

“Any idea on when you’re coming back?”

At that, Kermit sighed. “That I’m not sure of,” he said. “Things here…we’ve got a lot to discuss when we get back, you, me, and the queen, that is.”

“She mentioned that.”

“Of course she did,” he chuckled. “Well…Piggy and I will discuss things first and you’ll be the first person we go to when we’ve got everything straightened out. But…check out some prices and times and see what you get for later this week, traveling back I mean.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

“I know you will,” Kermit said. “Which is why I’m ordering you to not do anything tomorrow, you can look that stuff up Tuesday or something. And that goes for everyone else, free day tomorrow for a job well done. And I mean that, Scooter; I don’t want to find out you ended up working on something while I was gone.”

“Whatever the boss says,” Scooter laughed.

Kermit smiled. “That’s right,” he said, sternly. “Take that girlfriend of yours out someplace nice, our treat. I’ll get her royal highness to send you some cash.”

“Kermit, you don’t…”

“I know I don’t, but I want to, so therefore I am,” he interrupted. “Or rather, we are. I’ll include her in this cause I know she’ll say yes and it’s you, so of course she’ll do it.”

“Thanks.”

“Thank you,” Kermit stressed. “I mean it; you did a good job this week. I knew I could count on you.”


“Always.”

 

[The Count]

*Again, rescues fic from the forum backpages so that the author will be prodded into continuing her tale of Robin dealing with his family issues. C'mon, you said if we were good we'd get A Monday update on a Monday. It's Tuesday... And we left reviews and goodies in Great Imposters. So isn't that being good enough for you miss Gina? *Uses polywog eyes to plead for another half-chapter.

 

[The Count]

BTW: You might be interested in KG 161 finally being posted.

Oh, and Aunt Ru beat you to the debauchery.
Read the chapter, you'll understand.

 

[WebMistressGina]

BTW: You might be interested in KG 161 finally being posted.

Oh, and Aunt Ru beat you to the debauchery.
Read the chapter, you'll understand.

First, you're the best!

Second, lies! I saw no debauchery. Well, the ******** kind. Which...I guess counts, so I remove my previous comment.

And yes, I know. I missed the Monday that I wanted, but this weekend, it will be up. Totally, totally promise! It's been a week, I can't even began to tell you, so this will be the best kind of relaxation for sure.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Finally! And a day early too, sorta. So here is the end of our previous chapter and I will hopefully have another for you tomorrow. *fingers crossed* Oh and video of song previewed in chapter to follow post.

[hr]


Evenings in Leland were just as low key as the days. For the Frog home, Sunday evenings – after the designated and traditional watching of elder son Kermit’s television show - the group headed outside to a little cozy swamp area, various instruments in hand, and held themselves a nice little hoedown, for lack of a better word. It was the perfect combination of spending time with each other, utilizing the various musical talents that cropped up within the group, and ending an evening with good fun, good music, and some good laughs.

Jane and James discussed whether they wanted to continue the tradition, in light of the recent tragedy with Robin and Jimmy, but ultimately the two elder frogs felt it necessary to continue it, as a testament that they needed to be together to overcome this and that they needed to stick together. The mood in the house had been under a pall since the first initial discovery of Leaper’s death and continued until her funeral.

They both knew that in times of turmoil, it was better to try and keep one’s head up instead of letting it droop whenever anything got you down. And if there was one thing that the Frogs were good at, it was some sort of artistic endeavors. Music was one of their more enthusiastic ventures, with a good majority of the family having some musical talent. Several of the boys had taken up some form of guitar like their father, while some of the other children had taken up other instruments, like drums and piano. The family was very much a believer in the concept that music soothed the soul and this night was definitely a good time to put that idea into practice.

Jane always enjoyed these nights, just surrounded by family – and sometimes friends when they stopped by – and by good music. She wouldn’t call herself a musician by any means, but she could carry a tune in a bucket, as they say, and she always did love sharing a song with James in their younger days. Many of the children would recall little lullabies she had sung when tucking them in at night or her soft humming when they woke up for breakfast in the morning; but it was these little get-togethers that made her feel even more harmonious.

As they headed towards their regular gathering spot, Jane couldn’t help but think about the past week and even earlier times, when she could clearly see the turmoil that was happening with her youngest son. Unbeknownst to Jimmy or even the others, the matriarch had often wondered what it was they had done to make Leaper feel as though they hated her or that they didn’t want her around. Granted, some of the boys could get a little rowdy sometimes, but that was boys being boys, she thought. Once she and Jimmy had broken up for good, Leaper stopped attending any family function, even though she always had an open invitation.

Jane knew that, even in the best situations, sometimes couples in love just can’t be together, but she had never expected the kind of viciousness that Leaper seemed to display whenever the thought of Robin spending any time with them came up. She had tried her best to get the younger frog to be a part of their little group, tried to be the mother that Jane was sure Leaper didn’t get to see much of, but she outright refused; didn’t even thank Jane for the gesture. And while Jane’s other daughters-in-law had been very thankful for the warm welcome that Jane and James had extended them, Leaper was not in that group.

On the other side of that coin was Piggy, a person Jane soon hoped would become a permanent member of the family. She had seen had the diva looked at her son and how she looked after him when he needed, but it was this week that truly showed just how much the pig loved her boy. They of course got the rag mags out in the boonies and until she had seen it with her own eyes, Jane wasn’t going to let Hollywood tell her who her eldest boy had set his eyes on and like any man whose heart was captured, Piggy had been the first person Kermit introduced them too when they had first come to visit.

Jane had always worried about Kermit the most, not because he was irresponsible or a danger – to himself or to others – but because he took things to heart very deeply. His hopes and dreams were lofty enough to be out of reach and she always worried that he’d get stars in his eyes and not be able to achieve what he wanted so very much. And while he took to responsibility the way any first born child would, he often felt inferior as a leader, as though he was leading his troops down the hall to a pit of lava or worse. After decades of being ‘in the business’, her eldest still felt that, especially after his group had broken up, taking his best friends and the love of his life away from him.

But with Piggy back in the picture, Jane didn’t worry too much about him anymore. She was a mother and she would always worry, but with Kermit, she knew that he not only had friends that would look out for him, but that he had a good woman by his side that would not only standup to his perfectionist and sometimes controlling attitudes, but would catch him when the weight on his shoulders made him topple over and fall.

Upon reaching their destination, Jane couldn’t help but look over at the couples who had managed to gather there – weekends and the summer months were usually better suited for these types of gatherings, as most of the children were able to stay up and the majority of the family didn’t have to worry about early morning work or school. As was her habit, Jane’s eyes naturally drifted over to Kermit and Piggy, sitting next to each other on a log, playfully – she hoped – teasing each other while Kermit tried to tune up the banjo that his parents kept for him whenever he came home.

“Alright, alright,” James boomed, trying to get everyone’s attention. Jane found them a nice log that wasn’t too far from where Piggy and Kermit were sitting, young Robin finding a dry part of ground in front of them; the teen had been learning guitar off and on since he was a boy, but tonight was the first time he elected to bring it to their sing-a-long. A good sign, Jane hoped.

“Let’s settle down,” James continued, watching as a few people were still scrambling to get instruments tuned and fine the perfect singing and/or listening spot. “I don’t want a repeat of that Sunday two weeks ago…”

“Daddy, that was all Wade’s fault,” complained RJ from behind a mock drum set they kept, keeping in mind they were still far enough in town to be bothering people with very loud music.

“Was not!” countered Wade, who stood next to his twin and held a bass guitar in his flippers.

“Sounds about right,” Kermit chuckled, catching the ire of his younger sibling.

“Shut up, Mit!”

“Wadell,” James chastised. “I expect you boys - ” He then gave each boy assembled a look that clearly said not to mess him on this night. “All of you boys to behave. Got it?”

“Yes’sir.”

“James,” Jane asked, tapping her still standing husband on the leg. “Why don’t y’all play something happy to start?”

“Janey, you always have the best ideas,” James replied, taking the seat next to his wife and pulling his old six-string across his lap. “Kermit, you thing you got the chops to play through a few songs?”

Kermit knew the good naturedly jab for what it was, his father joking with him like any other musician in a band, the same sort of thing he had gotten used to from listening to Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, and Floyd Pepper. “I can play anything you can, old man,” he quipped. “You just name it.”

“Sounds like a challenge to me, Daddy,” boasted Bobby Lee, as he played a quick scale on his on guitar.

“Oh, play Love Lifted Me,” requested Pearl, wife of Neil, who sat on the other side of her husband. “I always love how you all sing that.”

“We can do that,” James nodded. “Wade, you take lead tenor.”

“Awwww!”

“Boy, are you gonna complain all night?”

Wade huffed and said, “No.” To Bobby Lee, he muttered, “I always sing lead tenor.”

“Wade, if you’re gonna complain…” the older frog muttered.

“I’m not complaining!”

The group started in on the classic hymn, harmonizing as only a barbershop quartet could perhaps hope to beat. It was a nice start to finish off the evening, as Jane closed her eyes and enjoyed the music that surrounded her and gave her more peace than the week had brought.

 

[WebMistressGina]

And said video for Love Lifted Me - this version is by The Florida Boys and was featured in the movie Bernie starring Jack Black and Shirley McLaine. If you have time, it wasn't a bad movie and it features a good non-comedy performance from Jack Black (who we all know has nice teeth).

 

[The Count]

Yes, we also know it's okay to kidnap Jack Black because he's a celebrity, and celebrities are not considered people.
Ho-down! ! ! Noooooooooooo! ! ! *Runs out like Luke dashing from Emperor Palpatine.

Sorry, you said "ho-down" and I automatically associate that with Whose Line. Those guys make me laugh, but they're not afraid of saying or doing "anything" on that show.

So Jane's tiring out her puzzler puzzling out the logic problem that is/was Leaper. Good luck with that one.

Nice to see Robin's got his guitar too, maybe this'll help him brake through the teenish anx pain he's got in him.

BTW: You've got a double reference to The Muppets (2011) what with that song. You provided the Jack Black connection... But did you know it was also performed in the Kenny Rogers TMS episode from Season 4? That's probably where Tex Richman got the notion there was oil beneath the Benny Vanderghast Memorial Theater, since J.P. rented it out to a group of Arab Muppets who struck black gold during the song's performance.

Thanks for the story update. *Leaves choc chip brownie squares.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Ok, firstly, I is sorry for the lateness, though I managed to get this up on a Monday. Second, as I was reading over this again, I realized I mentioned that Robin was in school, but then later stated it was the summer, so I'm rectifying that right now in this chapter.

And now for the chapter - it's a half, cause I has work tomorrow, but hopefully I'll get the other half up for you tomorrow.

Here, Jimmy and Robin have a long awaited talk...



Chapter X

Monday


Monday morning saw Robin up and ready for school, until he realized that he was off due to his mother’s death. The idea to take summer school had been a joint compromise between him and his mother, with Leaper insisting that he think about getting further ahead in preparation for his last two years of high school and his eventual path to college.

Robin had other ideas, one which included sharing a class with one Debbie Rougefort for two months of summer school, but ultimately, he did have the idea of just getting some of his educational classes out of the way so he’d have more time for his theater class.

He had been looking forward to the upcoming school year, as the class wanted to put on several different shows, including popular musicals The Music Man, My Fair Lady, and the Sound of Music, pretty impressive for a down home Southern high school group. That was one of the reasons Robin had wanted to go to this particular high school – it had been a family school, with his grandfather, father, and several of his aunts and uncles going to the school.

It was just one of the very small victories he had gotten over his mother; she had seen the reasons for his decision – family tradition notwithstanding – and she hadn’t been happy that he had wanted to go to a school known more for performances than that of education.

Now however, Robin wasn’t sure if he’d be able to participate in the shows that he had wanted.

Almost by instinct, the morning had seemed like a normal summer day that would see him heading for class, but it was only the realization as he began to rummage through the kitchen that he wasn’t in his home and that triggered the events that had led him to his grandparents’ and what would eventually lead to his staying with them. It had been four days since he had heard about his father’s decision to leave and four days since he had spoken to him, though technically they hadn’t actually spoken at all on the topic.

For the first few days, Robin had been reluctant to discuss anything with his father; the pain that Jimmy would just leave his only child behind, especially after that child had just lost his mother didn’t sit well with Robin, not at all. But he also he didn’t know the reasons and if he figured that was something he would need to do in order to even agree to this whole thing.

And that’s what stung the most. His father obviously didn’t trust him or didn’t think him worthy of knowing what was going on. Maybe the divide between them was just that great and too wide. That only seemed to depress him more than when he walked into the kitchen.

Determined to get through the day and the rest of the week, Robin scouted around the kitchen, pulling out a bowl and a box of decent looking cereal. He had just placed everything on the table and had turned to grab the milk when he heard someone else enter. Figuring it was one of his grandparents or even his uncle, the teenager was surprised to find his father standing by the table, seemingly watching and waiting for him.

“Mornin’,” Jimmy whispered.

“Mornin’.”

The two stood in awkward silence, each trying to decide what to do next. For Jimmy, this was heart sickening; he and Robin had never had awkward silences before, always being able to discuss anything they needed to. Oh, he knew there were things his son would only tell his favorite uncle, but ultimately the two had been close at one point and that seemed to have evaporated.

And now, he was about to leave for who knew how long and that gap would only get bigger, if he let it.

“Dad…”

“We need to talk,” the elder interrupted. “We should’ve done this earlier, but…we need to talk Robbie Jay and there’s no time like the present.”

Robin nodded, slowly, taking his time and putting away the breakfast items he had taken out in the first place. “You’re right,” he whispered. Turning to face his father, Jimmy was struck at how much his son resembled his mother and just how much he was growing into a grown frog. “We need to get things square between us.”

Jimmy nodded. Robin led the way, walking past his old man and heading for the front door, with his father right behind him.

The swamps of Leland were many, which allowed for Robin to choose any secluded spot that wasn’t necessarily his favorite. Jimmy knew the area well, spending his own time down here amongst the wild growing grass, the deep puddles, and the sounds of nature. The sun was rising up in the sky and the sounds of people coming to life were just starting to surround the city as the two made their way down to the swamps.

Jimmy let his son lead, knowing Robin wouldn’t lead him somewhere dangerous – or at least he hoped.

The area they stopped in wasn’t as deep as some of the marshes that were around the area, but it was out of the way enough for privacy, especially for the type of talk that was going to happen. Again, silence seemed to prevail between the two before Jimmy took a deep breath and began. “I’m sure you have questions…”

“Yeah,” Robin huffed. “I’m just full of questions.”

“Let’s not start this off wrong,” Jimmy stressed. “I know you’re mad, Robin, and you probably have every right to be, but…but can I at least explain?”

The teen waved for him to go ahead with his story.

Taking another deep breath, Jimmy tried to gather his thoughts and make sense of his own plans. “I know you think it’s wrong that I’m leaving,” he whispered. “And believe me, I’ve debated about this for a long time, even before…before your mother’s death. I haven’t been around for you and that I admit and I’m ashamed of; I should’ve tried harder with your mother, put my foot down on wanting to see my only son, but I didn’t and…that’s on me.

“But you have to believe me, Robbie, that I do love you. You’re my boy and I’ll always love you. And no matter what happened between us, I will always love your mother, even though I know she probably stopped loving me. I’ve been feeling…” Jimmy stopped himself, before sighing deeply.

“I haven’t been myself for a long time,” he continued. “And I haven’t been feeling right about the way my life has been going or the way your life has been going. I know you wanna be back in Hollywood with Kermit and Piggy and the others; I know that you’ve been working hard in that theater class of yours.”

That revelation was actually surprising to Robin. He hadn’t told his mother he was in theater, actually he had told her he had joined the debate team, an activity that had made Leaper incredibly proud because of the paths that could be derived from such a class.

He of course hadn’t bothered to mention any of the practices that he had after school or even the performances he was putting on; oh, some of his cousins who were his age knew and sometimes he got his grandparents and some of his aunts and uncles to come to the shows he was in, but he had never known his father had been there or even knew that he was taking theater.

“I’ve always wanted the best for you,” Jimmy stated. “Your mother wanted the best for you, too, just in different ways. But she’s not around anymore and now, you and me, we have to decide what to do now. And that’s what I’m trying to do; you’ve got a life ahead of you, Robbie, and I want you to choose what you think is best.”

“Do you?” asked the teen. “Cause it seems to me that you’ve made this decision without even talking to me.” He stopped his father before he could interrupt. “I get it, Dad,” he said. “I get that you’re trying to do your best and you’re thinking about me, but what about asking me? How do you know that leaving me here or letting me go to Hollywood is the best thing for me? Why can’t we figure things out together?”

Jimmy couldn’t fault him for the thought, as it was something he had absolutely considered, but ultimately dismissed. Taking the few steps that brought him closer to his son, Jimmy placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders – he was getting taller, that Jimmy could see clearly and he knew his son was probably just hitting a growth spurt.

The male height in their family could fluctuate, with some of his brothers – like Wade, Neil, and Billy Todd – being rather tall, while others – like himself and Kermit – were either normal or slightly shorter than their siblings and other family members.

“I have thought about it,” Jimmy whispered. “I totally thought about taking you with me, of the two of us making up lost time, but I can’t do that to you, Robbie. I don’t know where I’m going or what I’m gonna do and I can’t let you just travel around with me trying to figure that out. I will agree with your mother on this – you are getting an education, boy. Don’t think because I want you to enjoy performing that I want you to just do that and not going to class.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Robin insisted. “I know…I know school is important, I just…”

“Look,” Jimmy said. “I know you know what to do. I’m not taking off like tomorrow, so if you…if you wanna stay with me, you can. You’re not a little tadpole anymore, so I’m giving you the choice, Robbie. What do you want to do?”

It was on the tip on his tongue to say that he wanted to stay with his father, but Robin’s brain stopped whatever thoughts he wanted to voice. He knew his father was right; he couldn’t just pick up and leave whenever the wind took them. Even if he wanted to work with the Muppets again, he knew his uncle would never schedule a tour while he was in school and regardless of where he stayed – either in Mississippi or California – his guardians would ensure he kept up with school.

Robin knew his father couldn’t ensure that, especially when it sounded like Jimmy needed to find what he wanted to do with his life. If he made his father stay for him, just like he knew the frog would, it would be the same situation that his mother had put him in, put his father in when she was alive.

Nodding, he replied, “This is what I want. You’re right; it’s not fair to you or me to be…gallivanting around the world with nothing to show for it. So look…I do wanna stay with you. You’re my father, of course I want to live with you and I don’t want you to go, but…you’re letting me do what I want and I should let you do what you want.”

“Leaving you behind isn’t what I want,” Jimmy corrected. “But it’s what I need to do.”

Robin nodded, before patting the arm that still gripped his shoulder. “I know, Dad,” he whispered. “So…what else do we need to do?”


[hr]


While Jimmy and Robin were out and about, having a much needed talk within the swamps, Kermit was lying awake in bed. The eldest son had been awake at his normal time, but had decided to try and catch a little more sleep, to no avail. For the first twenty minutes, he had figured it was because he was normally up and getting ready to head out for the Monday morning meeting, but by the time thirty minutes had come and go, Kermit knew there was more on his mind than just the coming week’s show.

“You still here?”

“Trying to get rid of me?” he asked, sliding a glance towards Piggy. If they had been home, he would’ve been up and probably out the door before she’d gotten out of bed, though he did try to make an exception on Mondays, knowing that she took an active role within these meetings, even if they never went over anything new.

Throwing a still sleepy arm around his middle, Piggy dropped a kiss on his shoulder before yawning. “What’s troublin’ you, Kermie?”

“How long do you think Jimmy will have Robin stay with us?”

Piggy murmured what sounded like, I dunno, before snuggling closer. “Thought you were okay watchin’ him.”

“I am!” Kermit insisted. “It’s just…parental guardianship is a pretty big deal.”

Despite being a bit sleepy, Kermit’s tone of voice did manage to swipe some of that drowsiness from her. “Are we still talking about Robin?” she asked, looking at him knowingly.

Kermit took another glance at her before averting his eyes towards the wall across from them. “Kinda not what I was thinking when I thought about having children,” he murmured.

“You know why we can’t.”

“Yeah,” he whispered. “Doesn’t make it fair.”

“Does it even matter?” Piggy huffed. “I mean, I think we do a pretty good job making sure the crazies don’t kill themselves or kill each other, make sure they all play nice with each other. Besides, I think we did pretty good with Scooter; same situation, really.”

Kermit made a sound of agreement.

“Are you actually worried about watching Robin or are you more worried that Jimmy wouldn’t come back?”

Kermit actually turned and looked at her. “I’m not worried that he’d abandon Robin,” he admitted. “I’m more worried that he’d do something stupid that would leave Robin with us permanently. I’m afraid that my little brother is going to go off and…”

“That would never happen,” Piggy interrupted. “Jimmy’s just having some issues, reasonably and understandably so, but I hardly think he’d…go off the deep end, so to speak. He has too much to lose still.”

Kermit just nodded. “You’re right,” he sighed. “Of course. Still…” Turning again to look at her, he asked, “You don’t mind spending a few more days here? I mean…just in case…”

“When will you ever listen to me?” she sighed, dramatically. “Moi has taken care of it, Mon Cher. The kids back at the ranch know what they’re doing, so we can do what we’re doing; that was evident last night, yes?”

“Yes, yes,” he groaned, sitting himself up with a yawn and a stretch of his arms. “I’m worrying as per usual and if I listened to everything you said, we’d have half of Hollywood and Paris in our house.”

“Oh hilarious.”

 

[WebMistressGina]

*continuation from above*

The topic of conversation was still a bit somber, but the tone had changed to a more playful atmosphere. Kermit got himself out of bed, throwing back a, “Whatcha feelin’ like breakfast, baby?”

“Are you asking what I want for breakfast?” she asked, coyly. “Or if I’m on the menu for breakfast?”

Kermit tried his best to throw her a stern look, but it ultimately managed to morph itself into something that resembled consideration on his part. “I’m going to the kitchen to make breakfast,” he huffed, walking towards the bedroom door before stopping short.

“The topic is open for lunch,” he said, hurriedly.

“Yeah,” the diva smirked. “That’s what I thought you said.”

Witty banter continued quietly as they both made their way to the kitchen, noting that they were the first ones up. Kermit took to the task of getting out pans and a bowl for some eggs and grits, while Piggy took to making the first pot of coffee. It was during this ritual that Jimmy and Robin returned, two bags of bagels in the teen’s hands and one bag in Jimmy’s.

“Hey,” Kermit replied, turning from the stove. “Didn’t realize you guys were up already.”

“We had some stuff to do,” Jimmy said, as both he and Robin dropped off their goods. “We brought bagels if you want any. Figured we’d give Mama and Daddy a break after the fuss we’ve caused.”

“I agree,” Piggy nodded. “The two of you have been causing a fuss.”

“Walked into that one,” Robin chuckled, though this time there was humor in his voice. In fact, it seemed as though both frogs were much lighter than they had been in the previous week.

“Actually,” Jimmy began, clearing his throat and motioning for the others to take a seat. “We were hoping to speak to you both, if you don’t mind.”

The couple looked at each other before moving away from the counters and taking seats at the table, noting that while Robin also sat down, Jimmy continued to stand. “So Robin and I had a talk this morning,” he began. “Which, yeah, I know, was a long time coming, but it got done and we resolved some issues. Mainly about what Robin’s gonna do.”

“And?” Piggy asked, looking at the teen. “What are you going to do?”

Robin took a deep breath. “So here’s the thing,” he said. “No matter how you slice it, Dad’s gotta go. I mean, he’s…he’s gotta do his thing for a bit, but it’s not gonna be today. The plan is that he’s gonna stay here and I’m gonna stay with him, at least until the end of the year.”

“I’ll have to talk to Mama and Daddy about it,” Jimmy proceeded. “But I wanna get an idea of where I wanna go and what I wanna do before I go, but it gives me six months to make up for lost time.”

Jimmy glanced at his son and smiled. He still didn’t know what was going to happen and he did feel horrible about leaving, but at least this way he could spend time with his boy. It was clear the decision relieved the power couple, though Kermit wouldn’t admit that he still wasn’t sure what his little brother had in mind and that brought up another question.

“So what happens after Christmas?” he asked.

“Well,” Robin started, looking at both his uncle and honorary aunt. “If you guys still want, I’d come live with you.”

“It’s not about what we want,” Piggy interjected. “Though having you stay would be a joy, don’t misunderstand, but ultimately it comes down to what you want.”

Robin nodded, stating, “I wanna stay with you guys. I miss you, I miss everyone! I wanna come back to the show, if you’ll let me.”

Piggy looked at Kermit. She had already told the teen he would be more than welcomed back into the fold and while she knew Kermit would certainly say the same, it truly would be his decision on the matter.

“Of course you can come back,” Kermit said. “We’d love to have you, Robin, no matter what. It doesn’t mean we’ll let you slack off though; doing the show and doing school can be hard at times and school will always come first, young frog.”

“I know.”

“We’re gonna have to find a school that’s close by…” Kermit murmured, but was quickly interrupted by Piggy.

“Moi has already taken care of it, Mon Cher.”

“You have?”

“Always the tone of surprise with you.”

“I may have narrowed down your search, too,” Robin stated, causing all three to look at him. “I’ve kinda narrowed it down to two schools already – Hollywood High or Beverly Hills High. HHS has been on my radar for a while, but when you mentioned you lived in Beverly Hills now, I thought I’d take a look at that school too. They both have really good performing arts programs, so…” The teen shrugged.

“You’ve certainly put a lot of thought into this,” Piggy replied, giving the teen a knowing look.

Again, Robin shrugged sheepishly. “Kinda been thinking about it for a while,” he whispered.

“Well,” Kermit sighed. “That seems to take care of that, except one thing.”

“Which is?” Robin asked.

Looking up at his brother, Kermit asked, “What about you, Jimmy? What do you want?”

Jimmy’s face registered surprise before he managed a bitter chuckle. “So many things, big brother,” he said, before shrugging. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t…I don’t really have to stay here in Leland anymore, do I? But…I don’t know what I’d do or where I’d go…”

“Why not come with us?” Piggy asked, causing the three frogs to look at her. Robin gasped in surprise, before turning to look at his father.

“Yeah, Dad, why not?” he asked. “You’d come with me after Christmas! Then we wouldn’t need to be apart and I bet Uncle Kermit could find something for you to do, couldn’t you, Uncle Kermit?”

“Well…”

“And Aunt Piggy knows tons of people!”

“Well, Moi does…”

“It be perfect!”

Jimmy put a hand on his son’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze to calm him down. “Settle down, Robin Jay,” he whispered. “I’m not sure if that’s where I’m headed, but I’ll keep it in mind.” He added the last bit quickly, seeing the saddened look on Robin’s face. “I don’t have the performing bug like you and Mit,” he continued. “I mean, I like it, but I don’t think I’m suited for the stage and big screen, you know? But I’ll consider it, especially if the road leads me to there. And even if it doesn’t, if you wanna stay in California, I’ll make the move for you. You’d still be able to do what you want and I’d still be close to family and folks I know, but that’s something down the road for now.

“Anyway, figured as long as you were both up, we’d get everything settled.”

“Well, not everything,” Robin piped up. Looking at the power couple, he asked, “Don’t you guys have a show to run?”

“I’m not leaving,” Kermit said, looking between Robin and Jimmy. “You guys need me!”

“We did,” Jimmy said, patting his brother on the shoulder, amending the statement with, “And we do and always will,” when Kermit gave him a look. “You were there when I needed you the most, you both were, but now…” Looking at Robin, he continued with, “Now I think we’re okay. For the moment, at least. Can’t ask you to give up everything for me.”

“Look,” Piggy said, seeing that Kermit was about to make promises he may not be able to keep. “We have things covered for a month, if we needed to, so no worries about whether or not the show is going to fall apart without us. You saw that just last night, but with that said -” Here, Piggy did look at the director, tapping him on the arm when he didn’t equally turn to look at her.

“Moi is sure you’ll have a lot of moving to do and deciding what to do with the house Leaper was living in.”

She had them there; they hadn’t even thought about what to do with Leaper’s things or Robin’s for that matter past the fact that he and Jimmy would be working on repairing their relationship. With Piggy’s mention, however, there was a lot of things that now needed to be done.

“Jimmy, how big is your house?”

“It’s decent,” the frog responded. “I mean, it’s a little duplex and Robin has his own room…”

“Is it big enough to hold all of his stuff?” the diva asked. “Not to mention Leaper’s things, which I’m sure you aren’t planning on just tossing out for the heck of it.”

“It’s probably not big for all that…”

“And of course there’s the matter of your own house when you leave,” she continued, grabbing a bagel from the bag. “Isn’t Pearl in real estate?”

“You’re thinking Poppy,” Kermit said, offhandedly, however he did turn to look at her. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“If you’re thinking that Jimmy will need to not only sell Leaper’s house, but his as well, then yes.”

“Sell my house?” Jimmy asked, confused.

“Well, are you planning on paying rent or mortgage while finding yourself in six months?” Piggy asked. “I’d like to think you’d want to save money, especially should you move out of state, which is costly, I’ll tell you.”

“Never thought of that…”

“No worries,” the diva replied, standing and grabbing herself a cup of coffee. “I got this. All you have to do is find out where you want to be and what to do, Moi will take care of everything else. Which reminds me, Moi is sure you boys know of some strong, handsome fellows who would be more than happy to help Robbie move this week, yes? Kermit and I don’t mind staying one more week, to ensure everything goes smoothly. Would we, dearest?”

“Uh…”

Piggy walked past him, heading down the hallway for some reason. “Darlin’,” Kermit asked. “Where you going?”

“To grab my phone,” she said in the distance.

The three frogs just watched her go, with Jimmy rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I feel like I just got mowed over by a lawnmower in a tornado.”

“Yeah,” Robin said. “Aunt Piggy usually does that.”

“Mind your manners.”

“No, he’s right,” Kermit said, nodding dazedly. “That’s what you should feel like after talking to Piggy, especially when she’s on the warpath of…I don’t even know what now.”