CHAPTER THREE
It felt good to be in water again. Most of the time, Kermit enjoyed the comfort of a bed, but being a frog, once in a while it was good to spend a night in the water to keep his amphibian body moist, just like he had done back home in the swamp. And tonight, he needed it more than ever.
He settled down in the round, pond shaped tub, relaxing himself on the backrest wall. He let the warm water around him soak his skin, feeling like he was able collect himself for the first time in weeks. No one was here to bombard him or bring more grief on his shoulders, and he could finally relax. He lightly splashed the water, and then looked up at the lily pad wallpaper in the dim light.
He smiled and shook his head. He had always appreciated that Piggy had gone through the trouble of making the house not just to her liking but also to his. Not only did all the bathrooms suit the habitat of a frog, but there was also a natural pond in the park across the street where he had spent a lot of his time. That and the Stone Canyon Reservoir was just up the street a ways, so she had built the house close by where he could always be close to water.
There were also the many shades of green that decorated the house, the spacious rooms that he could study or write in. Or even hop, if he wanted. The paintings, posters and pictures that had been created by both and his and her memories...
He heard the sound of pipes squeaking and then water running. Piggy must have decided to take a shower in the connected bathroom of the master bedroom. He didn’t blame her. Warm water seemed to be the best cure for any exhausted body right now.
He shifted uncomfortably and tried to shake the thought of her out of his head. He knew if he kept her on his mind that there was no way he would get any sleep tonight. He had spent many sleepless nights by himself with her on his mind, and this was not going to become one of those nights. He deserved to rest, and not even she was going to stop him from getting it.
Sometime later in the master bedroom, the door to the bathroom opened with a large cloud of steam, followed by the porcine diva. She had wrapped her body in a sky blue bathrobe, and her wet hair up in a pink towel. She finally didn’t feel so filthy after all the traveling and performing.
She walked over to her open suitcase and grabbed something to change into, when she then noticed the white door just left of the bed. Her heart jumped when she looked at it. She knew what was behind that door, and she hadn’t thought about it in years. She quickly dropped what she was holding and quickly walked over to it.
She opened the door without hesitation and turned the light on inside. As the space in front of her lit up, she leaned against the doorway with a sigh of relief and a hand on her heart. He hadn’t changed this, either.
It was the walk-in closet that she had installed for them. And in it, every single piece of clothing she had owned before she had moved to Paris. She had moved everything to this house right before the... day that will not be mentioned. After the... horrible incident, she had decided it would be best to start over, including a new wardrobe. She had left everything behind, clearing the condo and moving only the essentials to the other side of the world in order to relocate as quickly as possible.
She always thought that he would have cleared and changed this closet of all things, erasing her from his life just as she had done. But no. He had kept this too... Storing her away in a closet where he couldn’t see her.
But because of this, she was still undeniably present in his life, wan’t she?
As the night drew on, both the pig as well as the frog were surprised that they still had the energy to be awake as they did right now. After a long day of rehearsals, chaos and putting on a show, one would think that they’d be exhausted. However, the thoughts they were both having had kept them awake.
In the master bedroom, Piggy turned the light off and rested her head on an inviting pillow, pulling the covers up to her chin. Her hair was now down and straight, having been previously dried. Piggy tried to close her eyes and sleep, but the feeling of the empty bed kept her wishing that Kermit could have been with her tonight. If only she hadn’t opened her mouth and pushed him even further away. He had been so quiet that evening, and she knew it was probably all her fault. He was troubled. She clenched the sheets in frustration. She wanted to hold her frog close and take care of him, and let him know that she needed him, too. She forced her eyes to close, preying above all else to have Kermit-less dreams tonight.
On the other side of the house, Kermit still found himself unable to sleep. The more he thought about Piggy, the more frustrated he became with himself. He tried to think of something, anything besides her. Kermit thought about the gang, now sleeping in the theater. He suddenly felt a rush of guilt. Here he was staying in a nice house with privacy and warmth, while everyone else was sleeping in the cold, empty theater in their hand-made beds. One would think that after what they’d been through, he could have at least found better lodging for them. Then again, they didn’t seem to mind too much when he had left.
And then he thought of Piggy once again. He sighed, also feeling guilty for leaving her alone like that in her room. He could have at least been a little more hospitable to her. A part of him didn’t know why he had stopped himself from letting her kiss him earlier.
He wanted to be with her. He did want to kiss her. He wanted more than kissing, in fact. He wanted to hold her tight and tell her how sorry he was for everything he had done to hurt her in the past. It somehow didn’t feel right until he’d get the chance to do just that. He was becoming restless. Even the soothing feeling of the warm water wasn’t enough to calm his nerves.
“Good grief,” he muttered to himself.
He sighed a heavy sigh, and eventually he found it pointless to stay in the tub. We dried himself off, wrapped himself in his dark red bathrobe, and quietly made his way down the hall to the stairs. He thought of knocking on the bedroom door to see if Piggy was still awake, but as he stopped in front the bedroom, he noticed the lights appeared to be off from the other side of the door and assumed she had already fallen asleep. He continued on his way, leaving her to rest.
But unbeknownst to him, she was very much awake in the darkness and had heard his every move. She heard him stop in front of the door and her heart had skipped a beat. Was he going to open the door? Was he going to come to her? But then she heard him continue to walk away and go downstairs, and suddenly her heart sank.
Then after a few more minutes of pondering, she began to find it pointless to stay in bed as well.
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