Chapter twenty-eight
An old frog sat on a couch in the hospital waiting room. His elbow was propped up on the armrest with his hand resting heavily on his walking stick. He was very still, listening to the hushed small talk of the smaller groups of frogs that scattered the floor of the room. A few young frogs in front of him were trying to play a game.
“I spy with my little eye, something... green.”
“Is it me?”
“No.”
“Is it you?”
“No.”
“Is it Jack?”
“No.”
“Is it Ann?”
“No.”
“Is it Kelly?”
“No.”
“Is it Tabby?”
“No.”
“Is it Grandpa?”
“Yup!”
“Okay my turn! I spy with my little eye something... green.”
The old frog’s son was sitting next to him, also vaguely listening to the surrounding conversations.
“Well,” the old frog sighed, “You know, Kermit, it’s nice to see everyone together.”
Kermit nodded as he looked around the room. “Yeah,” he said thoughtfully. “The whole family’s here.”
The old frog grunted vaguely. “Not often you see us all, just... sitting around like this.”
“Mm,” Kermit agreed.
“I mean look.” The old frog inched forward and pointed around the room. “We’ve got Abby and Tim over there, with all their lil’ frogs... We’ve got Ya-Ya and Jordan over there, ‘n’ all their lil frogs...”
Kermit nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “We’ve even got Jimmy and Leaper sitting together, with all of their little frogs. We don’t see that too often.”
“Yeah,” the old frog said. He pointed. “We’ve got Maggie over there with Croaker,” he said.
Kermit nodded. “Yeah. It was nice of Croaker to come.”
“He’s a good frog,” the old frog nodded vaguely. “He’s a good frog.” He looked around the room again. “Everyone’s sitting with their significant other and their kids,” he observed. “We’re all in... clumps.”
Kermit smiled. They settled back into their individual quiets for a moment.
The old frog turned to his son. “Kermit?” he said. “Why are you sitting with me?”
Kermit looked at his father, surprised. “Pardon?”
The old frog lifted his walking stick an inch, made a small circle in the air and set it down. “We’re all in clumps,” he said. “So. Where’s your clump?”
“Mm,” Kermit shrugged.
A nurse came into the waiting room. The sight of her pale blue scrubs brought the hushed small talk to a halt. Her brown eyes darted around the room. She took a deep breath. “Is this the family of Mrs. Jane the Frog?” she asked.
The old frog stood up, leaning on his cane. “Yes,” he said as his son also stood. “That’s us.”
The nurse pushed her long light hair back as most of the room’s amphibian occupants got to their feet, or at least sat up. She took a deep breath. “The operation itself seems to be going well,” she began. “What I’m here to tell you is that... the company that provides our anesthetic contacted us about an hour ago, to tell us that the last shipment we received had been contaminated and is very dangerous.” She took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, we had already applied the anesthetic to Mrs. the Frog. We’ve counter-acted the harmful effects as best as we can, but... I have to tell you that it is a major possibility that she may not wake up.”
The old frog lost his grip on his walking stick and stumbled forward. Kermit caught him, guided him back to his seat, and sat down next to him, keeping a hand on his back. The other frogs sat down as well. The old frog looked up and nodded to the nurse for her to leave.
The room was completely silent. No one dared to say a word. Even the younger frogs, who didn’t completely understand, stopped their games and snuggled closer to their parents.
Robin rested his head against his mother’s side and watched his father’s face. He looked around and saw that one of his sisters couldn’t reach the comforting touch of either of their parents. He reached out and held her hand.
Jimmy hugged as many of his young frogs close to him as he could, but he kept his eyes looking straight down at the floor they were seated on. After several long minutes, he lifted his eyes to see that Leaper, who was equally surrounded by their children, was watching him, trying to give him comfort and be comforted by him as well.
Maggie held perfectly still. She was completely numb to the world. She knew that she was sitting on the windowsill. She knew that she was leaning against the cool glass. She knew that Croaker was holding her. But she couldn’t feel any of it. She couldn’t feel at all. She was afraid to feel.
Kermit kept his hand on his father’s back. He looked down at his lap and held back a deep, heavy sigh. His mother’s words echoed in his mind. He could almost hear her singing.
The old frog tried to focus all of his attention on his breathing. It was difficult for him to breathe. It was even more difficult for him to care about it. Air seemed so trivial.
“The... light of... the dawn... will... show you...” Kermit’s broken voice drifted back into silence. His father nodded.
And then the nurse came back.
Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
Jim Henson Idea Man
Back to the Rock Season 2
Bear arrives on Disney+
Sam and Friends Book
