Flippersteps in the Sand

[christyb]

Queen of what? Procrastination?? We do need more story Lisa. Also, hello to you. It seems like forever since we talked. Drop me a line sometime and lemme know how you're doing...besides busy.

 

[The Count]

Or insane... But then again, we wouldn't hexpect anything less from dear Lisa.
*Halo.

And isn't it time you updated yer own yarn there Christy? Hmmm?

 

[TogetherAgain]

Aye, I see and appreciate the bumps, Ed. (Not as much as I appreciate clumps, though a great deal more than I'd appreciate mumps, and...) But it's a very busy time, see? I happen to be leaving town way too early Friday morning for my cousin's wedding, and not getting back until an undetermined time on Tuesday, and thus missing school that must be made up and... oyful. I miss this story. <Hugs it> <And hugs Ed for bumps, etc.> <And hugs migrating logs> Someone stop me before I hug the whole forum...

<backpack lands in lap.>

...I guess I should say "thank you" for that... <sigh.>

 

[theprawncracker]

*runs in* Hey! Have any of you seen a migrating log? It's'a huntin' season! Yeeee-haw!!

 

[christyb]

*takes away backpack*

There you go..now hug away!

And isn't it time you updated yer own yarn there Christy? Hmmm?

Umm..er....umm...ehhem....I'm ...uh...waiting for Beau to catch up...yeah.

 

[Java]

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

 

[The Count]

Well, she said she wouldn't be back until Tuesday... Hope that brings an update... Still have thirty years of Muppet material to go through, and we're anticipating the next installment!

 

[TogetherAgain]

<Dances>

 

[theprawncracker]

<Dances>

Ah, may I have this dance? *dances alongside beloved other half*

 

[TogetherAgain]

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Four Days Later
August 4, 1975

“ROBIN!” Kermit called out as he climbed the stairs. “TIME TO GO!”

“Okay, Uncle Kermit, I’m coming!” Robin’s sweet little voice called from his bedroom.

Kermit smiled. “Come faster,” he teased. He turned to look at his wall of pictures.

“I’m trying,” Robin said. He put a small book back on a small shelf in his room and quietly crept to his door. Kermit’s back was to him. He smiled, took a running hop, and pounced on his uncle’s back.

“Ooft!” Kermit threw his hand out to keep from crashing into the wall. He chuckled. “What happened to warning me when you do that?”

“I forgot,” Robin said. “What were you doing?”

“Oh I was just looking at these pictures,” Kermit said. “I was thinking about getting a separate one for the theater. But we’ll see. Right now, we’ve gotta go.”

“Okay,” Robin said. “Look out below!” He hopped to the floor and hurried to the middle step of the stairs. “Hey Uncle Kermit, look, I’m-“

“Halfway down the stairs?” Kermit finished as he headed down.

“Yeah!”

Kermit smiled and held his nephew’s hand as they reached the bottom step, went outside, and strolled down the street. “So, are you excited to see the theater?” Kermit asked.

“What’s a theater?”

“Robin, I’ve told you what a theater is.”

“I know, but I forgot.”

“Sheesh.”

“I wanna meet everybody!” Robin said excitedly.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll meet everybody,” Kermit teased, “Maybe one or two people…”

Robin frowned, then looked up and saw his uncle’s smile. “UNCLE KERMIT!” he whined.

Kermit laughed.

“So I can meet everyone?” Robin said.

“Of course,” Kermit said.

“Even the monsters?”

Kermit gulped. “Uh- sure, even the monsters,” he said, “But stick close to me then, okay?”

“Is Sweetums gonna be there? Is he? Is he?”

“Um- well he might be,” Kermit said. “When I left he hadn’t decided yet.”

“I like Sweetums,” Robin said. “He’s fun! And he’s really good at hide-and-go-seek. And Jim’s gonna be there too, right? And Jerry?”

“Of course,” Kermit said. He hesitated. “Which Jerry?”

“The one with the beard,” Robin said.

“That’s Jerry Nelson.”

“Is he gonna be there?”

“Yup. Both Jerry’s will be there.”

“And I get to meet Fozzie, right?”

“Yup.”

“And the guy who jumped down the stairs!”

Kermit stopped. “Who?”

“The guy who jumped down the big curvy stairs at the office,” Robin said.

“Oh! Gonzo!” Kermit said. They kept walking. “Yes, you’ll meet him too. And his girlfriend, Camilla.”

“Is she the chicken?”

“Yup.”

“What’s a chicken?”

“Um… You’ll see.”

“When?”

“Well, when we get there. When you meet Camilla.”

“Oh,” Robin said. “Oh! Okay. And I’m gonna meet everybody, right Uncle Kermit?”

“That’s right!” Kermit said.

“How much farther is it?” Robin asked.

“Well we’ve still got a ways to go,” Kermit said.

“How much is a ways?”

“Um- well, it’s farther than we’ve gone.”

“Oh. Okay,” Robin said. “…How much farther than we’ve gone?”

“Well I don’t know exactly, Robin, but it’s a pretty good walk.”

“I like walks,” Robin said. But a few blocks later, it was a different story. “Uncle Kermit? How much longer?”

“We’re about halfway there,” Kermit said.

“I’m tired,” Robin said. “Can I ride on your back?”

“Do your flippers hurt?” Kermit asked.

“No.”

“Keep walking.”

“Aww…”

They walked another block.

“My flippers hurt,” Robin said.

Kermit scrunched up his face. “All right,” he said, “Hop on.”

Robin didn’t need to be told twice. He hopped on Kermit’s back.

Kermit walked on. “You wanna go faster?”

“YEAH!”

He walked very slowly.

“Uncle Kermit!” Robin whined, “That’s slower!”

“It is?” Kermit said.

“Yes,” Robin said firmly.

“Oh I’m sorry,” Kermit said, smiling. He kept walking just as slowly.

“So go faster!” Robin said.

“What do you say?” Kermit reminded him.

“Please?”

“Please what?”

“Please CHARGE!”

Kermit laughed and took to a light jog.

“Yay!” Robin held tight to his uncle’s shoulders. “Faster, faster!”

“Faster? Why faster?” Kermit asked. “Are we racing someone?”

“Yeah!”

“Who?”

“Jim!”

“You wanna get there before Jim?” Kermit chuckled.

“YEAH!”

“Okay…” Kermit said. “Hold on!” He bolted forward as fast as he could.

When they got to the theater, Robin was laughing while Kermit huffed and puffed. He almost tripped on his way through the door.

“Okay Robin,” he gasped, “Down you go.”

Robin hopped off. “Thanks Uncle Kermit!”

“Sure,” Kermit said. He sat down on the floor. “We’re not doing that on the way home.”

“Not doing what?” Jim asked from the ticket booth.

“Oh he beat us!” Kermit said.

Robin groaned.

Jim blinked.

“We were racing you here,” Kermit explained with a grin.

“Hi Jim!” Robin said excitedly.

“Hey Robin,” Jim said, leaning over. “You ready to see the theater?”

“YEAH!”

Jim smiled. “Then let’s go look.”

“We’ve got a meeting today, right?” Kermit said as he stood and Jim emerged from the ticket booth.

“On the stage in… ten minutes,” Jim said, consulting his watch.

“We’d better head over there, then,” Kermit said. “Be careful, Robin, everything’s under construction.”

“Okay!” Robin said enthusiastically. He hesitated. “Uncle Kermit? What’s construction?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

They sat on the stage in a large shape that was supposed to be a circle, but in truth looked more like a deformed peanut. They were on the stage because it was the only place in the theater that wasn’t under construction and could fit all of them. As Kermit reflected, they had grown quite a bit since their trip to Hollywood.

When they finally quieted down- a process that kept taking more and more time- Kermit put his hand on Robin’s back. “Guys, this is my little nephew Robin. He’ll be around sometimes,” he said. “Like now.”

“Hi!” Robin waved.

Fozzie waved back. “Hey Robin, nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too!” Robin said. “Who are you?”

“I’m Fozzie.”

“Oh! Hi Fozzie!”

Kermit looked around the circle as Jim started the official business of the meeting. A lot of the faces were familiar- people they had worked with before who were crazy enough to come back. For example, that blue eagle over there, staring at them all, and probably wondering why on earth he was here. That was Sam the American Eagle, and he had agreed to be their censor. Thank goodness, he still couldn’t work the drop button.

Then there was that man, who wore an apron and a chef’s hat, and spoke some peculiar language that no one could understand. They couldn’t pronounce his name, so they called him The Swedish Chef. He sounded vaguely Swedish, anyway. He would have a cooking segment and, in theory, raise money for the show.

Of course, there was George the Janitor- a grumpy old man with an affinity for mops. He would clean the theater and otherwise be a thorn in the side.

Another returning old man was the Guru. He didn’t have much to say, but when he spoke, Kermit was always sure that he was wise. He didn’t understand the wisdom, but it had to be there somewhere.

Among the newer faces, there was Hilda, a mostly kind woman who would tend to the wardrobe.

And there was Mildred Huxtetter, with a long line of abbreviated titles following her name, most of them coming from too much education, which should have given her enough of a brain to stay away.

There was Wayne and Wanda, a singing duet with plenty of room for improvement. Sam the American Eagle seemed to be their biggest fan. For that matter, he seemed to be their only fan.

There was a newsman who, for some yet-to-be-discovered reason, couldn’t get a job on any news program.

There was also a scientist, a very bald man named Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Like the Swedish Chef, he was theoretically a sponsor. He was actively looking for an assistant, but no one seemed to want the job.

And whether Kermit liked it or not, most every monster they had ever worked with was also there. This had a great deal to do with why they were installing cages in the basement.

Nigel, who had hosted The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, had agreed to come back to conduct the orchestra.

But at the moment, the orchestra was sparse at best.

“We need a band,” Jim was saying. “Kermit, you found that group last time- think they’d be interested?”

Kermit shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt to ask,” he said. “…Unless I’m just talking to Animal…”

“Who’s Animal?” Robin asked.

“I’ll explain later,” Kermit said softly.

They heard a steady thudding, distinctly different from the construction sounds. They turned as it grew louder.

There stood a tall monster. A very, very tall monster. He was a hulking, shaggy beast with big bulgy eyes, tattered clothes, and thick, powerful hands. For that matter, every part of his body was thick and powerful. His head alone looked larger than most of the Muppets. His huge jaw creaked open. “Sorry I’m late,” his voice rolled.

Robin hopped into the air. “SWEETUMS!”