The Coffee Shop
As she drove, Gina reflected on the past five or so hours. She had awoken in her hotel room around two in the morning knowing she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. So she had checked out and hit the road, and the next thing she knew she had seen the Electric Mayhem bus. Thank goodness she had gotten a small enough car after the accident that the bus could tow it. She glanced back at her muppet passengers and decided that they must have had some sort of angel looking after them.
The muppets talked amongst themselves excitedly while keeping half an eye on the scenery out the window. Gone was the endless desert. Now they were in a small town, with little family-owned shops and businesses on every corner. Gina pulled the bus into a place called Sahlin's Garage.
"Alright, guys," she said. "I know the owners here, so I'll take care of this. But since you probably want breakfast, lemme tell ya, Juhl's Coffee Shop next door has the best french toast around."
"Thanks, Gina!" Kermit called as they hurried off the bus.
Gina watched them go and mumbled to herself, "I know the owners there, too." Then she hopped out of the bus and shouted, "Hey, Don! Got some business for ya!"
Don came out and saw Gina's car hitched to the back of the bus. He groaned.
"Did you break down again?" he teased.
She laughed. "Nope, the bus did! I got it here, but I figured you should take a look at it. These guys have been on the road for five weeks."
Don gave her a funny look. "Five weeks? Where the heck are they headed?"
Gina shrugged. "Away."
Don shook his head. "Alright, let's take a look at this bus, shall we?"
Meanwhile in Juhl's Coffee Shop, the muppets had lost their sense of relaxation. They were edgy, watching the door, certain that at any moment Galt's men would walk in.
"Can I get you folks something to drink?" a voice asked.
They jumped, surprised. The man had on an apron that said "Kiss the Cook" and a name tag that said "Jerry." They relaxed, realizing that he worked there, and they each ordered their milk or orange juice or water. Jerry dutifully wrote it down and handed out menus.
"You folks seem pretty jumpy," he said. "Feel free to relax." Then he walked away.
"I didn't think it was that obvious," Floyd said.
"Kermie?" Miss Piggy asked, "Do you think they'll find us here?"
All eyes turned to Kermit. "I hope not, Piggy," he said.
"Well even if they do, they can't see us from the door," Rowlf said.
"But how will we get out?" Fozzie asked.
They started to mentally block out a plan of escape.
"If they do come here," Kermit said, "hopefully it will at least be after Gina's done at the garage."
Jerry was approaching the table with their drinks and heard the end of Kermit's sentence. "Gina?" he said, putting the tray on the table and passing out the glasses. "You don't by any chance mean Gina Brinks, do you?"
"Well... yeah, actually," Kermit said.
"You mean she's in town?" Jerry seemed to be getting excited now.
"Yeah," Kermit said.
"She's helping us out," Fozzie added.
"Oh, I remember now," Jerry said. "She was gonna stay for a bit at that summer home they've got, before the wedding."
"Have you ever been there?" Fozzie asked.
"What, to the summer home? Naw," Jerry said. "I'm told I've driven past it, but I've never seen it. It's really secluded. Now you say Gina's giving you folks a hand?" he asked.
"That's right," Miss Piggy said cautiously.
"Well, then! Any friend of Gina's is a friend of mine," he declared. "Now what can I get you folks to eat?"
They ordered the french toast Gina had reccomended, and Jerry collected the menus and went back to the kitchen. After a few minutes Gina came in and told them the bus would be ready to go in about a half an hour. They sat and enjoyed their food, getting several refills on their drinks, and letting themselves relax once more. Before they knew it, it was time to get the bus. Gina insisted on paying for the food, and so they walked leisurely back to Sahlin's Garage. She caught up with them quickly and they boarded the bus.
As he sat down, Kermit chanced to look out the window. His face fell.
A blue van had pulled into Juhl's Coffee Shop. A man dressed in grey got out. He seemed to be looking at Kermit right in the eye. He got back in the van.
Kermit turned to Gina. She had seen it too. They had all seen it.
"Is that them?" Gina asked.
"Just GO!" Kermit said.
She quickly pulled the bus onto the road and drove off. The van followed close behind.
Soon they were surrounded by trees on a twisting, curving road with the van still on their tail. The muppets were clearly nervous. Rowlf poked his head up over Gina's shoulder.
"Gina?" he asked.
"Hold tight," was all she said, and she swung the bus through an even steeper curve.
The van slowed to a stop. The men all got out. They couldn't believe their eyes.
The bus had disappeared.
They looked around, then at each other. Then they got back in the van and drove past.
The muppets looked around, amazed. They weren't quite sure what had happened. All of a sudden they were on a narrow dirt road, with the trees almost touching the bus, and the van nowhere to be seen. Gina stopped the bus in a small clearing and they all got out. In the middle of the clearing was a large log cabin.
They carried their bags inside. One room made up the entire inside. To their left there was some kind of kitchen area. It had cabinets, a sink, and a stove that looked like it was used both for heat and cooking. Farther back, there was what looked like a closet. Gina explained that this was the bathroom. Several bales of hay were stacked against the right wall.
"This is it!" Gina said.
Miss Piggy made a face. "Where do we sleep? The floor?"
"You don't want to sleep on the floor?" Gina asked.
"Of course not! It's hard!" Piggy said.
Gina smiled. "No sweat." She spread some hay from the bales into a big pile on the floor. "It's more comfortable than it looks," she assured them, and they began to settle in.
Behind the cabin, just back behind the trees, there was a small pond. It had some fish in it, but it was mostly just inhabited by plants. An old log had fallen on the house side of the pond years ago, and it was a very relaxing place to be.
Kermit found himself sitting on this very log as dusk began to fall. He watched as the fireflies floated through the air. The setting sun sent long shadows against the leaves, with occasional shafts of light beaming onto the water. He sighed. It was so peaceful, so calm. He felt like he could have sat there for the entire night.
He sat and listened to all the sounds of the pond. He heard the birds singing softly up in the branches of the trees. He heard a cricket chirping in the distance. He heard a chipmunk scurrying across the ground. He heard a fish splash in the water. He heard footsteps approaching him from behind.
He turned. It was Gina.
"It's a good spot, isn't it?" she smiled, sitting next to him on the log.
He nodded. "Yeah. It's nice." His mind seemed far away.
They sat in silence for a long time, watching the fireflies, and just listening. Their minds wandered down various seperate paths, reflecting on the past, wondering about the future, examining the present. Her thoughts were mostly light hearted, happy, floating above the branches. His thoughts were mostly dark, concerning, sinking below the pond surface. Finally he let out a heavy sigh.
Gina turned to him, suddenly knowing exactly what he was thinking about.
"Kermit?" she said.
He turned his head to look at her. "Yes?"
She took a deep breath. "Kermit, if this guy has you afraid to stay in your own house... I think you need to do something about it."
He nodded, looked away, and sighed again.
"Where'd you say that letter was from?" She asked.
"Pine Springs, Texas."
Gina turned back to the pond, thinking a moment before speaking again.
"Kermit?"
"Hm?"
"We're just a couple of miles away from Pine Springs."
He turned to face her again. He hadn't been quite sure what to do. But now that he knew how close they were to Galt, he knew what had to be done. They had to go and face Lloyd Galt. Now if only he knew what to do when they got to Galt. He had to admit to himself- he was afraid.
Gina could see the shadows of thought passing across the frog's face. "Don't worry about it for now," she said. "Stay here for the week. Relax a little. You'll figure it out."
Her voice was so reassuring. He nodded. She stood up and started to walk away. She stopped and turned to look at him again. Then she returned to the cabin.
Kermit sat out on the log by himself until he could see the stars reflecting in the still pond water.
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