Red was still hugging Gobo and hadn't realized the song had stopped a moment ago, relieving words that certainly were not lyrics.
"...And I thought you would never come home, so I was tying the fish to Sprockets tail and had almost got under the door when…"
Both fraggles suddenly felt three intently puzzled gazes fixed upon them. Red blushed a partially radish shade and drew away from the hug, while Gobo awkwardly cleared his throat.
"We're back everyone!" Wembley broke into the silence with a yell, darting among the group with a shower of comments:
"Oh, Mokey, you grew out your hair more! It's real pretty."
"Are those new ribbons Red? How's the fraggle pond ? "
"It's really doing great! We just…" Red trailed off as the even more energetic Wembley hopped over to Boober.
"Hiya Boober! You know, Gobo found out the silly creatures use doozer dust for bleach. I brought you some!"
"Why thank you Wembley..I think." Boober replied as most of the loose dry bleach that had been shoved into his hands sifted though his fingers.
"Oh, Gobo, you look so distinguished!" Mokey said, dwarfing him with her own sudden hug. "You know, you look just as I thought you would,"
Mokey rambled as Gobo gasped for breath at the tight embrace "I saw you in a dream once you know, you were climbing a great mountain and.."
She finally noticed her friends lack of oxygen, letting go quickly "..Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"That's okay Mokey," Gobo said rubbing his tender neck. "It's been such a long time. We all missed you."
"I missed you the most." Wembley chimed in.
"That's very sweet Wembley." Mokey replied politely
Red arched a taken aback brow at the start of this odd conversation.
"Yup, I missed you the most, the others didn't even care half as much." Whembly added with a self righteous nod.
At this Red's brow was arched to it's limit and Boobers bottom jaw was hanging in shock, as Mokey stammered for a reply and found none.
Gobo motioned the three into a huddle away from the smaller green fraggle, who seemed to have turned his attention to a pie cooling on the stovetop.
"He's been like this for almost a month off and on," Gobo spoke in a whisper that was partly overshadowed by the sound of a blueberry pie being noisily devoured. " Really crazy and fixed on himself sometimes and well..You girls had better be especially careful what you say to him is all."
"No, Wembley? Of all fraggles?" Boober added in " But its so rare, only one out of ninety of us ever go though it."
"I know, weird isn't it?"
" We just stay who we are, live whatever passes for life, hatch eggs and die! We don't even need it anymore!" Boober said gesturing with his hand wildly.
"Well, I'm just glad it only lasts two months…Poor Wembley.."
"A victim of a most terrible condition." Boober agreed.
Red had all this time been fixing them with a blank puzzled stare, while Mokey simply nodded now and again.
"Um.." Red began "Are you two talking in some weird boy code I should know about?"
"Red, you see sometimes when…" Mokey started, but was cut off by Gobo very quickly
"Oh, no..it's nothing." Gobo said sheepishly, turning is attention to the small pink form that had, as they were talking, been trying with some success to escape his bathtub confinement.
"Aw, who's the little ankle bitter eh?" Gobo said, giving the tiny pink fraggles head a tussle.
"He's Mokey's right? Just like it said in the picture letter.." Whembly added in with his berry shaded face.
"You read the picture letter?" Red said in disbelief.
"Sure we did, didn't everybody?" Gobo laughed.
Somewhere to the side Red's pigtails seemed to wilt.
"I've been waiting especially for him to meet you Gobo, after all a good teacher…" Mokey began, rubbing her dripping offspring with a fluffily towel that in the end made his body fur look like a ball of cotton candy.
"Poppy, these are your uncles Gobo and Wembley." Mokey said, handing the newly dried ball of fluff that was her son to Gobo.
"Uncle eh? Well, welcome to the gang little guy! Here…"
Gobo took off his brown leather bomber hat, putting it on Poppy's head only to have it fall over his eyes.
"If your going to tackle an adventure as big as life, you're gonna need a hat."
Poppy pulled up the hat brim halfway off his head and made a grab for Wembley's long nose.
"Hey, we have the same color hair!" Whembly exclaimed. "You know only the best fraggles have yellow hair."
Red rolled her eyes. It was going to be a very long month…