Chapter Four
Kermit snapped awake, staring up at the ceiling, clutching his blanket to his chest.
…Just a nightmare, then. Just another nightmare…
He pulled himself out of bed and went to his window, pushing it open a little further to try to shake the nightmare away. Three nights now, he’d had nightmares, ever since seeing that lousy tabloid article… Every night, seeing Miss Piggy so cozy with… someone…
Why did it bother him so much?
They hadn’t left the house much in the past few days. The reporters outside had pretty much blocked them from going anywhere. They’d been rehearsing in the boarding house instead of the theater, and they were hoping to get to the theater for the actual show. Was that what she had meant when she’d wished them luck in this week’s show? Some more warning than that would have been nice.
But it wasn’t as if she had known the tabloids would find her… wherever she was. No… That wasn’t what was bothering him. That wasn’t what the nightmares were about.
With a heavy sigh, Kermit sat in the window, leaned against the smooth wood, and kicked up his flippers. A little like balancing on a log, but with a backrest. He stared up at the night sky.
Why did she have to be far away now, without her cell phone and with no way for him to reach her? Why didn’t he even have the option to talk to her, to listen, to understand?
Why was this even happening? What had led up to it? True, they hadn’t been on the best of terms before she’d left… They hadn’t been on a date for a while… But they hadn’t really been on the worst of terms, either. They hadn’t even been fighting!
…Well… There had been that one disagreement… They had talked it out over lunch and realized that they had been saying the same thing all along, and they had laughed… That had been just before she’d left…
So what had brought this on? Why was she with someone else now?
…If she was with someone else, why was she coming back? To rub it in his face? That… didn’t seem like her style. Her foes were simply left behind.
…But they were family! Not foes! So of course she was coming back. She was coming home to her family!
…Maybe… That was what was bothering him? That her family had no idea that she was so close with someone… That they couldn’t even guess who that someone was… Maybe that was it.
…But somehow, he doubted it.
With a heavy sigh, he turned and looked at his bed. After three nightmares in three nights, it looked cold, impersonal, and unwelcoming.
He slipped back into the room, went to his nightstand, opened the top drawer, and took out the small framed photograph of Miss Piggy. He set it on the nightstand, where it had been…
…Well now it just felt like a lie, and he felt bitter inside once again. He put the picture back in the drawer and shoved it shut. Then he quietly tugged the picture of himself and Robin closer to the front of the nightstand.
…Now there was something else to think about. School was starting before long, and he would be going to the swamp later this month to get Robin… How on earth would he explain all of this to Robin?
He stretched out on his bed and stared out the open window. The swamp would be nice. He would see his brothers and sisters again… Clear his head… Maybe sort this all out in his mind…
…How would he explain this to Robin? How could he explain what he didn’t—perhaps, didn’t want to—understand? Miss Piggy was having a baby… But she wasn’t married, unless she’d hidden that from them, too…
Kermit sighed heavily. He didn’t have to explain it now. He didn’t have to think about it now…
He rolled onto his back.
What else was there to think about?
…Well, there was the show! He loved the show. It was so great, putting on all those crazy acts, standing on the stage, making people happy. He sure hoped they’d be able to get to the theater and put the show on in spite of all the reporters sitting on the lawn because of Miss Piggy.
…That had gone well. What else could he think about?
…Well, there was always the swamp! He loved the swamp. Home sweet home. It was so calming and relaxing, and it was always the perfect place to unwind and sort out his thoughts about things like Miss Piggy.
…Sheesh. Next train of thought!
Robin! His little nephew, Robin. He sure was growing up well. He was a good kid, and a smart kind, and he would probably have a lot of questions about this news of Miss Piggy.
“Sheesh,” Kermit muttered under his breath. He rolled onto his side and opened the top drawer of this nightstand. He pulled out the little framed picture of Miss Piggy, closed the drawer, and put the picture on his nightstand. “You are impossible!” he muttered. He pulled his blanket up over his head and went back to sleep.