Seven Ball Tango

[Twisted Tails]

The Amanda Whatnot and Scooter Groose would make a really great couple. I cannot wait for more.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Hello back Aimes. *Sorry, I've been reading a Scarecrow fic over in the Batman Begins section of fanfic.net, one of the few good ones, I find it endlessly frustrating that the Page 1 of that section is so full with Joker fics. You'd think the bat's never fought any other villains since. Oh, have I delivered this rant before? Please pardon my minor indulgence.

Ah, a lover of the Bat fam, huh? Yeah, there's a reason why I stopped posting anything on that site anymore. That and I'm never even there unless I get alerted that an author has posted or updated.

at the entire Wednesday morning conversation between both bosses and young snarky assistant. Noticed you subbed Scooter in for what would usually be Kermit's retorts.
"Well, I was going to bake some cookies, but now I won't."
"Good, now I won't suffer food poisoning."
Are you talking about the er, ones mistook as raisin-baked?
Mmm, those were good, got any left around?
Aren't you going to tell him?
Nope, and neither are you.
Me never thought me say this... But that one cookie even me no eat.

I think I was channeling KG on that; there was a great part in which Kermit reflected on the fact that if he and Piggy had children, they couldn't have asked for a better son than Scooter, who took on so much of their personalities. I saw that and have been running with it ever since.

And no, thankfully, it wouldn't be those types of cookies. Sorry, froggies, Gina no likey the buggies and therefore, there be no buggies here.

*Imagines Amanda as a crouppier.
Scooter's got one heckuba girl.
Nice addition of the poker game and how each player fares and how the Muppets have kind of commandeered Cosgrove's Cool Poll Hall as an official unofficial hangout spot.

*Chuckles at the Mayhem's impatience to beat feet, or pedal meddle as the phrase were to be.
*<3 the ending between Scooty G and Mandy C.

More please?

Uh...does croup...crup...that word mean 'dealer'? As in cards? Then yes, she is.

In the next chapter we'll see that Scooter has realized that this might not be a good thing, while Piggy shows she can throw any size party! And the purpose for the aptly named title is revealed.

 

[The Count]

Yes, crouppier = card dealer, that's just the fancy title for it.
I've been a member of FF.Net for two and a half years now under the name Numbervania if you want to scope some of my listed faves. There are some of adult persuasions though, so fair warning.
*Wants to read more, currently writing long-due June entry. Me think you'll like a cameo who could wing her way back for October.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Mornin' y'all! So here's a chapter update for you, however cause I'm still working on it and it's probably gonna be longish (maybe), I'm gonna break it into parts here. And hopefully I'll have more for you either later tonight or later in the week.

Enjoy part I!

Chapter IV​

Saturday

The day of reckoning had arrived. For three separate parties, the second day of the weekend was spent planning, prepping, and panicking.

For Amanda Cosgrove, preparing to meet the friends of her current boyfriend was an easier task in itself. There was only a small amount of nervousness, due to the fact that this was going to be an intimate setting and not the usual crowded setting that she had gotten used to.

Added to that was the fact that she was getting the overwhelming since that this was more than just meeting Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy for dinner; she had been feeling this way ever since Scooter had brought up the idea of having dinner.

She had, of course, only seen a small part of the world that Scooter had literally grown up and it had seemed to her that maybe they were also trying to tone it down a bit, for her benefit. She wasn’t sure what they were worried about; Amanda Cosgrove had fallen fast for one Scooter Grosse.

For that one Scooter Grosse, he was spending his time trying not to think about his impending dinner with his girlfriend, boss, and boss’ longtime girlfriend. Scooter had gone from jovial joking to good humored grousing to full pledge panic attack the closer the time got.

For the first time in his dating life, the stage manager was actually concerned that his involvement with the Muppets would cost him a girlfriend. While he didn’t have that many girlfriends during his high school years, those that had shown any interest in him fell into one of two categories –

Those that liked him for his association with the Muppets and those that either didn’t understand or didn’t like his association with the Muppets.

The former, as he had quickly discovered, enjoyed the associate because of their weekly guest stars. It was a ploy that he would use to his advantage when attractive male guests were on the show, like Sylvester Stallone and Christopher Reeve.

The latter, regardless of which camp they fell into, could not understand a basic principle when it came to dating anyone from the Muppets – they were a package deal. You didn’t date just one person from the Muppets, you dated the entire Muppet group.

It was never meant to intrude, but they had all grown up together, had bonded as a family unit and like a family, watched out for each other in every aspect of life. Some girls – and guys – didn’t understand that concept.

Those girlfriends – those who would use him to get what they wanted or who wanted to separate him from the Muppets – were quickly dealt with; Piggy always had an eye out for a girl who wasn’t whom she presented herself to be, while Camilla knew a bad egg when she saw one.

And while the chicken and the pig were taking the unwanted interloper down, Janice – and sometimes Wanda – were there to comfort the teenager when puppy love didn’t turn out the way he thought it should.

Was it any wonder Scooter had found them attractive in his youth?

But that was then and this was now and now, the stage manager found himself concerned and rather cornered. What if Amanda couldn’t handle the insanity?

The Muppets had never been known for their sanity and many celebrities had learned that the hard way when volunteering to work with them. As of late, Scooter had to admit that the group had been rather tame and he only counted that for his benefit. Should they really let loose…

And then there was the most horrorifying of all!

What if Piggy didn’t deem her worthy?

Despite being unable to even list any lasting relationship that had happened outside of the Muppets, there were plenty of strong relationships within the group. The former go-fer was so used to seeing them every day, he hadn’t even realized that he used them as a marker for his own relationships. Floyd and Janice had always been a rock solid duo, incredibly supportive of each other, and always looking to have fun together.

Gonzo and Camilla, who had been off and on as many times as the big bosses, were so devoted to one another and the lovely chicken had proved that even when her beau seemed to cross the line of sane and bat crazy, she was always there for him and could usually make him see reason.

And then there were the frog and pig. With their constant arguments, denials, underhandedness, one would think they would be the last couple a person would hold to anything of a high standard, but Scooter held them in such regard and reverence, he had started wanting what they had.

Not the high class drama the two went on about, but their moments when they were just Kermit and Piggy. Being the stage manager had allowed him a close up to what their relationship was when they weren’t trying to impress or one up each other. When they were on the same page, they were incredible together.

And even when they were in different books in different libraries, neither one was afraid to back down in their conviction and – on a good day – could bring out the very best in each other. Scooter always felt Piggy’s best moments were when Kermit denied one of her diva tendencies, while Piggy’s own demand style had a flair to it that Kermit had never faced before.

For all that mattered to Scooter, Kermit and Piggy’s relationship was the one he wanted to have with someone and the two of them could make or break a pairing he had at their whim. The redhead didn’t know what he would do if he had to choose.

Amanda or the Muppets?

 

[WebMistressGina]

As promised, here's the conclusion of chapter four.



While Amanda Cosgrove was relaxed and picking out an outfit and Scooter Grosse was having a mild episode, Miss Piggy was doing what she did best.

Putting together a party.

Now Piggy wasn’t an amateur at hosting a party; she had been known to put together grand galas, as well as small get togethers. She could organize a party for something as big as thousands of people or as small as four; she could turn an entire house into a grandstand and had even hosted a party in a room the size of a closet.

Oh, Piggy knew how to throw a party.

And that was the reason Kermit let her have at it.

The frog couldn’t plan a party nearly as good as she could and didn’t bother to try. In fact, one year he even had Piggy plan her own surprise birthday party because she was so good at the organization – she of course (thankfully) hadn’t realized she was planning her own party, but even she had to admit that she didn’t think she had ever been to a better one.

In the logical sense, Kermit knew he probably should’ve stopped her when she somehow managed to get Wolfgang Puck as their chef for the evening, but he could easily see the move for what it was. This wasn’t just some ordinary intimate dinner nor was it the normal dinner she may have thrown if their friends were coming over.

No, this was an informal formal dinner with Scooter and his girlfriend.

As Scooter had done previously, Kermit was also reminded about the fact that many outsiders to their group usually didn’t last long. You had to have a special affinity in the universe to completely understand and survive an encounter of the Muppet kind and sadly, not many people did.

It was always so much easier when people started dating or became interested in someone internally – they already knew the people involved, had worked with them in most cases – so the only thing left was to ensure that each party knew the consequences of hurting the other.

Kermit absentmindedly rubbed his jaw, remembering a time not so long ago when Gonzo, of all people, had informed him that the frog had a steady line of people who were all ready to deck him should he mess things up with Piggy again. To say that was surprising was an understatement and to his credit, Kermit had felt horrible in thinking that everyone would side with him should another falling out happen.

He had not only severely underestimated the amount of loyalty that Piggy garnered, but had also underestimated the others in thinking they wouldn’t side with her in one of their historic domestic disputes.

It was extremely rare for Kermit to let his friends down so hard, but when it happened it made him realize all the more how great they were.

And the Muppets weren’t just friends; they were family and that’s why Piggy was going all out. Oh, she may have said that this routine was the same as any, but Kermit could tell.

Piggy always went out of her way to do special events for those she called friends, even when she would outwardly deny it every step of the way.

One year, for Robin’s birthday, she had invited Bernadette Peters to show up; once in honor of Fozzie’s one hundredth comedic sketch, she had brought in Dan Ackroyd to personally hand over the plaque she had made specifically to highlight the occasion.

She had of course stunned Kermit several times in the last few years by arranging for family and friends to come out and celebrate birthdays or special event days. So it went without saying that she would take the extra mile in making sure this dinner for Scooter went off without a hitch.

And imagine, he couldn’t help but think. This wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago.

A few years ago, Kermit had been living in the cozy mansion like house by himself. Oh, the first few days were highly defiant, thanking the heavens that he had finally rid himself of the pig who couldn’t take no for answer. When a week of that had gotten out of his system, he was presented with the fact that he was now living in a house that she had also lived in.

There really was nowhere for him to turn without seeing some evidence of his previous life. It also didn’t help that the group seemed to be going in different directions, leaving him feeling adrift in a big sea of doubt.

They were okay now – well, as okay as you could be with a former flame living in the same house – but Kermit could see they were slowly moving back to a place that they had both wanted and were too stubborn (okay, he was too stubborn) to admit to.

Planning this party had reminded Kermit just how much Piggy took her responsibilities as the unofficial co-head honcho and just how much he had missed her. He must have missed her, because he hardly batted an eye when she had sent him to his room to change into ‘respectable dining clothes’.

By the time he had changed – into that of a nice blue turtleneck and slacks – Piggy was apparently putting out fires via text. “I swear,” she huffed, directing their chef for the night towards one of the kitchen cabinets. “You think Scooter had never taken a girl to dinner before.”

“Not here, he hasn’t,” the frog mentioned. “Something wrong?”

“He’s apparently in the midst of having an episode,” the pig replied. “Begging me not to be so hard on Amanda and asking me if I plan on poisoning her.”

“That’s…out of character for him.”

“I know!”

“He knows you don’t poison people,” Kermit continued, looking thoughtful. “Not when you can just chop them into next week.”

“Not helping, Frog.”

“You have to admit,” Kermit replied, snagging one of the hors d’oeuvres from the counter. “This is kinda a big thing. When was the last time you invited one of Scooter’s girlfriends to dinner? At the house?”

Piggy thought about it for a moment before saying, “I actually don’t recall.”

“That’s because you’ve never done it,” he stated.

“It’s not Moi’s fault that his other girlfriends have never made it past round one.”

“They should be lucky to have even gotten through round one.”

“I hope you’re not implying that Moi has somehow sabotaged Scooter’s relationships…”

“I’m not saying that all,” Kermit interrupted. “In fact, they all got what they deserved. Well, maybe except that one girl.”

“Which?”

“The one whose eye you blackened.”

“Oh no,” Piggy stated, with confidence. “Trust me; she deserved that. And if I hadn’t done it, Camilla would have. So there.”

“The point…being…” the frog continued. “Is that it’s a very rare thing for you to invite anyone relationship wise, to the house, for dinner.”

“I just thought the setting would be much more intimate than say…a crowded restaurant.”

“And that’s the reason you’re going with?” he asked, knowingly. “You’re going with that.”

Piggy opened her mouth to respond when the front door opened and their guests had arrived.

 

[newsmanfan]

------------
Playing catch-up...

Ch 2: LOL at the whole buildup to the things Muppets CANNOT do, and the consequences of even trying. But -- where the heck was Kazagger? He's gonna regret missing THAT epic prizefight, even though it only went one round...or one pole. Poor Scooter...hormones are such cruel things. Glad Amanda is too smitten to think the boy an idiot!

Ch 3: I like the end comment the best: "Floyd won't be at dinner." Hah! But he will no doubt take every single possible opportunity henceforth to bring up the dangers of rabid hoop poles. Your dialogue between one still-scarred Muppet and his *ahem* friends is wonderful.

Ch 4: I like the idea that Piggy and Camilla have vetted the gofer's previous one-offs...and it should say a lot to the panicked boy that Piggy has planned a swanky dinner party for Amanda, since none of the others reached anything like that pinnacle! Huh...Batali, now Wolfgang? Can Piggy get Gordon Ramsey to play nice with Muppets too? What happens when she runs through the whole Food Network cast? Will the Swedish Chef be offered his own cooking show as recompense for Animal being kept away from a buffet? Tune in next week... Piggy planning her own suprise party is funny and perfectly in character; in fact, I could see her doing it purposely and then trying to get Kermit to somehow take responsibility for it so she could praise his attention...that would be very old-school Piggy.

This is a lot of fun; my only grouses are: I'm seeing a few instances of skipped words. For instance: "The next [round? game? next what?] continued with friendly banter and card playing before the table was whittled down to that of Rowlf and Ted Malone." Also, you have a tendency to overuse the words "that of" -- they're completely unnecessary; cut them.
Grammatical griping finished. Am enjoying; please continue!
-------------------

 

[The Count]

Gordon Ramsey who?
Always heard but seldom seen.
New home, ABC's The Chew.

Ah, Iron Chef America, how I am addicted to your show.
But when will anyone have the merit to make a true grouch dessert like sardine chocolate ice cream sundaes for their true grouch of a judge, namely Dean Jeffrey Steingarden.

*Hopes we don't have to have to call Chef Robert Irvine over to either Charlie's or any of our HV eateries.
*Misses Dinner Impossible, that was the better show versus Restaurant Impossible.

*Waits for the party Piggy's planned, try saying that five times fast.
More please.

 

[WebMistressGina]

------------
Playing catch-up...

Ch 2: LOL at the whole buildup to the things Muppets CANNOT do, and the consequences of even trying. But -- where the heck was Kazagger? He's gonna regret missing THAT epic prizefight, even though it only went one round...or one pole. Poor Scooter...hormones are such cruel things. Glad Amanda is too smitten to think the boy an idiot!

This idea actually occurred to me while on a bike ride, probably because I was passing by a basketball game. Then the whole thing snowballed from there and I knew I had to somehow get this in here.

I wasn't sure if anyone would buy the fact that adult Scooter would get so hormonal, but I couldn't get it out of my head.

Ch 3: I like the end comment the best: "Floyd won't be at dinner." Hah! But he will no doubt take every single possible opportunity henceforth to bring up the dangers of rabid hoop poles. Your dialogue between one still-scarred Muppet and his *ahem* friends is wonderful.

I think I've been saving my best lines for Floyd. He really is the older brother/uncle that is just out to embarrass Scooter the best way he can.

Ch 4: I like the idea that Piggy and Camilla have vetted the gofer's previous one-offs...and it should say a lot to the panicked boy that Piggy has planned a swanky dinner party for Amanda, since none of the others reached anything like that pinnacle!

The idea of the three of them (Piggy, Janice, and Camilla) being this unstoppable team has grown on me. I think it's a combination of my own idea of Piggy and Janice being close to Scooter and Aunt Ru's Fozzie's Angels idea, but the thought that regardless of the person, the Muppets can be extremely protective of each other.

Huh...Batali, now Wolfgang? Can Piggy get Gordon Ramsey to play nice with Muppets too? What happens when she runs through the whole Food Network cast? Will the Swedish Chef be offered his own cooking show as recompense for Animal being kept away from a buffet? Tune in next week... Piggy planning her own suprise party is funny and perfectly in character; in fact, I could see her doing it purposely and then trying to get Kermit to somehow take responsibility for it so she could praise his attention...that would be very old-school Piggy.

I'm actually not sure if Chef Ramsey could take Piggy; not that I wouldn't want to see it, but I don't think it could happen.

The Swedish Chef with his own show? I'll buy that for a dollar!

This is a lot of fun; my only grouses are: I'm seeing a few instances of skipped words. For instance: "The next [round? game? next what?] continued with friendly banter and card playing before the table was whittled down to that of Rowlf and Ted Malone." Also, you have a tendency to overuse the words "that of" -- they're completely unnecessary; cut them.
Grammatical griping finished. Am enjoying; please continue!
-------------------

AGH! I've got a couple of those as I've re-read and posted, but obviously I haven't caught them all. I apparently use 'that of' a lot; why? I don't know. It apparently makes sense to me. Why? I don't know.

But I'm glad you're enjoying it!

 

[The Count]

*Petitions for more of der Tango fic. Oh please, don't leave this monster deprived of good fic! Post more!

 

[WebMistressGina]

*Petitions for more of der Tango fic. Oh please, don't leave this monster deprived of good fic! Post more!

Working on it! In fact, I might just post what I have. Actually, I think I could finish this here and then start on a new chap. The zany get going!

Chapter V​

Thirty minutes earlier

Scooter was nervous and by his account, rightly so.

For most of the day, he had been obsessed with going over all the things that could possibly go wrong with this night. Not normally prone to worrying so much, the redhead had actually built up a full steam engine train of thought that had quickly gotten away from him.

In his panicked state, he very nearly called the whole thing off, sending text message after text message to Piggy, begging her to not let them go through with this. He had begged her to think of his happiness and that whatever she thought of Amanda, she needed to keep to herself and – dear heavens – not to do anything harmful to the girl.

The reply text was a simple and utterly sweet demand that he ‘get a grip!’ and calm down, stating that he was the one who would find himself in trouble if he didn’t leave her alone and let her plan this dinner that he had proudly agreed to when they set it up just one week ago. Scooter wisely chose to back off after that.

Now, with about forty-five minutes to go, the stage manager had no choice but to carry out their planned dinner extravaganza. Checking himself over before getting out of the car, Scooter made his way to the door of Amanda’s apartment building.

Knocking twice, he patiently waited either for the door to open or to be invited in. Amanda chose for the former, opening the door to reveal a vision of loveliness that Scooter had yet to see. Dressed in a red patterned sun dress, the Whatnot had elected to let her hang down about her shoulders. “Hi.”

Scooter had to resist the urge to turn around; was this gorgeous creature talking to him?
“You’re a little underdressed, aren’t you?”

“It’s…it’s…” he stammered. “Just…dinner at Piggy and Kermit’s.” He didn’t think he needed to get very dressed; he thought he looked very nice in a black polo and khaki shorts. It was just dinner at Kermit and Piggy’s! But now as he had seen what she was wearing, maybe he was a little too casually dressed.

“I like it though,” she was saying, doing that thing she did that made him forget what it was they were talking about. Amanda was very much a touchy-feely person, who always seemed to be touching him ever so discretely. Not that he minded, of course! Because he didn’t, not at all.

“You know,” he whispered, pulling her closer until they were mere inches from each other. “We don’t…we don’t have to go. We could…just stay here.”

While the idea of spending a quiet night, alone, with Scooter Grosse was beyond appealing, Amanda was all too aware that a certain diva pig would probably not like the idea. “I’m not sure Miss Piggy would like that,” she whispered, brushing her lips lightly against his.

“Who?”

“Your mother from another brother.”

Whatever romantic mood Scooter had been in, he was quickly out of. Pulling back in surprise, he said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She gave him a shrewd look, but didn’t push the matter. After all, it was only her observations and the last thing she wanted to do was alienate this great guy over something she was perceiving.

“Nothing, baby,” she cooed, delivering a kiss to his cheek. “Ready to go?”

[hr]

Present

If the power couple were surprised to see the door opening, they didn’t show it; another person however was easily heard to be admonishing the one who had opened the door in the first place.

“You can’t do that!”

“I have a key!” retorted the second person. “I do this all the time.”

“Yes,” Piggy replied, as she and Kermit headed towards the younger couple. “But most do not do so when invited for dinner.”

“I have a key,” Scooter stressed, holding up said key and key chain. “That you gave me, I might add.”

“Next time, knock,” the pig huffed, offering her cheek for the go-fer.

“Hello, Piggy.”

“Thanks again for inviting me,” Amanda replied, politely.

“Sure,” Kermit shrugged. “It was the perfect excuse for Piggy to throw a dinner and invite Wolfgang.”

“Wolfgang?”

“You got Wolfgang Puck to cook!?”

“Why are you so surprised?” Piggy asked, slightly annoyed. “Of course I would get one of the world’s greatest chefs to come and cook. Why wouldn’t I do that?”

“Piggy, I’m looking for your spices and can’t find them!”

“Yes Wolfie, dear,” Piggy replied, patting Kermit on the shoulder as she began to head for the kitchen. “Kermie, be a good little host while Moi is straightening things out with Wolfie, okay?”

Thankfully, she missed him giving her a smart salute. “I guess this is where I offer you the little cheesy cracker things and a glass of something to wash it down,” the frog chuckled.

Before Scooter could respond with a well-placed comment, the chime to the Kermit and Piggy home rang. “Are you expecting someone?” the go-far asked, confusion on his face.

“I’m not,” Kermit said, heading for the door. “You never know about the pig.”

Opening the door revealed the one and only funny bear, Fozzie. Seeing his best friend answer, the bear quickly launched in a series of jokes, one-liners, and other comedic quips that were coming a little too fast and a little too furious for Kermit to follow.

“Fozzie!” he cried, grabbing the bear by the arms and shaking him slightly. “Slow down! I have no idea what you’re talking about and I missed everything after ‘Frog of my heart’ something something.”

“Sorry Kermit,” the bear apologized. Nodding to the others, he said, “Sorry guys. Uh…guys? What’re you doing here?”

It was at this time that Fozzie realized that he had intruded on…something. Fozzie had been to this particular house before, many times in fact, and he certainly was familiar with the people in the room; it was all these things that caused him to wonder what was going on. Though comedy ran in his veins, Fozzie was still a bear and it was these instincts that provided him the sense needed to solve this mysterious mystery.

First, there was a lot of cooking going on in the kitchen and from the smell of it, it was something good. Next, was the way everyone was dressed; though Fozzie hadn’t known Amanda for very long, he did know Kermit, Scooter, and Piggy. He anticipated Piggy looking dapper – a nice blue silk blouse with black dress slacks – however Kermit and Scooter were usually low key, but now they were both dressed up.

“Oh no,” he whispered. “I’ve come at a bad time. Oh Kermit, I’m so sorry!”

“Fozzie, it’s okay…”

“No, no,” the bear bemoaned. “I’m a horrible friend!”

“Fozzie…”

“Why is the bear here?”

The quartet turned to see the hostess standing by the rounded booth table that was settled in the kitchen. “Piggy, I’m so sorry!”

“I was just telling Fozzie,” Kermit interrupted. “That there really wasn’t an issue…”

“I bet he hasn’t even eaten yet,” Scooter piped up.

And how true he was! At the mere mention of food, along with the heavenly smells, reminded the bear’s stomach that in his excitement on getting more choice material, as well as his haste to get to over to show them to his bestest frog friend forever, he had forgotten to eat lunch.

And now he was about to miss dinner.

That was when Fozzie utilized his puppy bear eyes; and then he enacted his telepathic communication powers.

Piggy…

Piggy looked at him. No.

I’m so very hungry.

You should have eaten lunch. This is a private dinner.

Please Piggy! I don’t do good pollywog eyes like Kermit does, but I can make him do them.

Piggy narrowed her eyes. You wouldn’t dare.

I’m a hungry bear. I’ll do anything.

Piggy sighed in such a way that was one part exasperated and one part amused, but she none the less pointed to him and then to a spot on the bench.

“Piggy, you are totally the best person ever!” Fozzie announced, taking his assigned seat.

“I so totally already know that,” came the response.

The banter was friendly and on familiar ground. Scooter slid a look over to Amanda, watching to see if the addition of the bear had dampened her spirits any. Truth be told, Scooter was actually quite happy that Fozzie had stopped by; it meant that the night would hopefully not be as dreadful as he had feared earlier.

But as soon as that thought entered his mind, Scooter was reminded why he had been fretting in the first place; it was fairly typical for various Muppets to just drop by without warning. He had gotten used to that, in fact he had been known to do that from time to time, but some people didn’t take to people just coming by without announcing themselves. Add in the fact that apparently Fozzie had been directing some of his jokes – the really bad ones – towards Amanda…the stage manager couldn’t tell if she was actually enjoying them or if she was just being polite by laughing.

The dread that this was causing only heightened when not even twenty minutes went by before the chime on the door went off again. Piggy answered it this time, leaving the five star chef in capable pots and pans in the kitchen. Opening the door revealed the resident pianist for the Muppets, Rowlf the Dog.

“Rowlfie!”

“Piggy!”

“What’re you doing here?”

“You asked me to come by,” replied the dog. Holding up a folder of sheet music, he continued with, “Remember? You wanted to go some songs for next week’s show?”

The look of realization slowly dawned on the diva before she made a slight face at forgetting. “That…was today?” she asked, uncertain.

“Geez, you’re getting as bad as the frog,” the dog quipped.

“I’m standing right here.”

“To answer your question,” Rowlf continued. “Yes, that was today.” Looking past her to where the others were and hearing the sounds of someone in the kitchen, he asked, “You having a party or something?”

“No,” Piggy replied. “Just dinner…”

“Oh, I love dinner!” the dog chuckled. “I try to eat it every night.”

The diva rolled her eyes before tugging on the brown dog’s arm to lead him inside. “I can’t believe I forgot about tonight,” she was muttering, as the two walked over to the table booth where the others were.

“I’d fire your assistant,” Rowlf replied, sending a playful pat on Scooter’s cheek as he stood next to the stage manager.

“Very funny,” the manager groused.

“Well,” Piggy said, looking the group over. “Looks like it’s going to be six to tango tonight. This table’s not gonna do.”

“What’re you talking about?” Fozzie asked. “We’ve sat six in this before.”

“Yes,” Piggy sighed, in such a manner that conveyed that she thought the bear an idiot in this instance. “For script readings; dinner is a completely different atmosphere.”

“We have that bigger table in the garage I think,” Kermit mentioned.

“That would be perfect,” the pig said. She immediately put on a pouty look before saying, “If only there were four big, strong, handsome men around to help move it in here.”

“No worries, dear.”

“We got it, Princess.”

“We’ll have it in here in no time.”

“Sure! That’s what four handsome Muppet men are for!”

Four easily persuaded Muppet men were quickly heading out to the house’s garage in order to bring in a table that hadn’t been planned on being used.

“You’re good,” Amanda said, sending a look of admiration towards the diva as soon as the others had left.

“It is but a gift,” Piggy replied, holding up six fingers for the chef to see. “Remember, Amanda dear, with great beauty comes great responsibility.”