Chapter Nine:
As they embraced Wanda remembered Moe and while she wanted the moment to last forever, she knew Rowlf needed to take care of things with his brother.
“Moe,” she whispered.
“Um, it would be helpful if you didn’t mention my brother’s name when you’re kissing me,” said Rowlf.
“No! You have to find Moe!” exclaimed Wanda.
“Oh! That’s right!” said Rowlf pulling away. They stepped out into the hallway just as Robin came running up to find them.
“Your mom is on the phone Rowlf and she sounds mad,” said Robin.
“Oh no,” said Rowlf and looked back at Wanda.
“Go ahead,” she said and smiled. For now their good news would be their little secret.
Rowlf took the stairs two at a time running down to the phone and braced himself for what Felicia was going to say.
“Mom?” said Rowlf picking up the phone.
“Rowlf, I know something is up. I need to talk to your brother RIGHT NOW,” Felicia exclaimed without even a hello.
“Um, small problem with that mom,” said Rowlf.
“Don’t you tell me he’s indisposed! I want to speak to him right now!” she yelled.
“Mom look, Moe’s got some problems. I thought I could handle them but I can’t. We got into a fight and he ran off. But don’t worry. Hensonville isn’t that big and Kermit and the guys are out looking for him right now,” said Rowlf being as honest as he could.
“Why aren’t you with them? That’s your brother!” exclaimed Felicia.
“Well mom I had some things to take care of with Wanda,” said Rowlf.
“Couldn’t your girlfriend wait just a little bit? Moe is your brother, your own flesh and blood!” said Felicia.
“Well mom, Wanda’s going to be family too now. We just got engaged all right? She’s my fiancée now,” said Rowlf getting a little irritated with his mother.
At hearing this, Felicia forgot about Moe for a moment.
“Really? You and that little kitty are engaged! My boy is getting married! Oh this is wonderful!” she gushed.
“Thanks mom,” said Rowlf.
“Oh we’ll have a wonderful huge wedding with all your friends and Rex, Charlie and Moe can be your attendants. Wait, Moe! I almost forgot,” said Felicia.
“Don’t worry mom, I’ve got things under control. But mom, I think Moe needs some counseling. He’s really screwed up right now,” said Rowlf.
“All right dear. You go find him. When you do, you boys call me and we’ll talk about Moe coming home and getting some help,” said Felicia.
Satisfied that Rowlf and his friends could find Moe, Felicia let Rowlf off the phone. He hung up and turned around. Then he panicked. Where would Moe go? Suddenly it came to him and he hurried out of the theatre.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kermit and Fozzie headed up one direction of town, down the main drag by Juhl’s Pizza Place, Beth’s Clock Shop and The Three Candles to name a few. Gonzo, Scooter and Clifford headed back towards the boarding house.
“Kermit, where do you think he went?” asked Fozzie.
“I don’t know but we need to cover all parts of town,” said Kermit.
After checking in with all the local merchants and talking to Beth, Ryan, Ed, Kathy, Lisa, Kim, Sara, Bryan, Melissa and other human friends who hadn’t seen Moe they decided to head back to the theatre.
“I hope he didn’t leave town or something,” said Fozzie thinking of when he’d run away not long ago after facing some of his own problems.
“That’s it!” exclaimed Kermit and took off towards the train station.
He found Moe sitting on a bench staring off into space.
“Moe?” asked Kermit.
“Oh, hi Kermit. I’m just waiting for a train. I’ll be gone soon, tell Rowlf not to worry,” said Moe sadly.
“Where are you going?” asked Kermit.
“I don’t know. I thought I’d go to Texas. The Lone Star state. Since I’ll be a lone dog,” said Moe.
“You know something Moe, I don’t think that you should go there,” said Kermit.
“Well I can’t stay here with Rowlf. I can’t go home,” said Moe.
“What happened?” asked Kermit.
While he talked to Moe, Fozzie came up from behind with Rowlf not far in tow. Fozzie started to say something but Rowlf stopped him. He wanted to sit back and listen to see if his brother would open up to his oldest friend.
“Nothing happened. I finished treatment, went home to Mom, Rex and Charlie like nothing ever was wrong,” said Moe.
“So, what made you run away? What made you come here?” asked Kermit.
“I came here because I needed to be close to Rowlf. I…I’m so afraid of what happened to me. I was really sick. They told me if I didn’t get the transfusion from Rowlf I would’ve died within a few months. The whole time I was really upbeat about everything but the truth was, I was so scared. I’m still scared. What if it comes back? I wanted to come here and be close to Rowlf because he gave me life. By giving me life, he’s given me the courage to live. We’re bonded together. I just needed to be with him,” said Moe starting to shake.
“But there’s more to it, isn’t there? Why don’t you feel like you can be home?” asked Kermit.
“I don’t want to be there because everything reminds me of being sick. Mom’s hovering over me all the time. Rex and Charlie are afraid to come near me like they’ll break me or something. Every day it’s a constant reminder. I just want to forget everything,” said Moe.
Rowlf stepped forward finally and put his paw on Moe’s shoulder from behind.
“They’re just doing it because they love you. And I love you too. Now come on big brother, we need to talk,” said Rowlf.
With that Kermit got and joined Fozzie to go let everyone know that Moe was found.