Chapter nine
The bear hugged his friend close. “Call us when you get there, okay, Kermit?” he said.
“Sure Fozzie,” Kermit said. “I’ll call you from the train station.”
“And don’t worry about the theater, Boss,” Scooter said. “We’ll have everything under control.”
“I know you will, Scooter,” Kermit said.
“Call us if anything changes,” Rowlf said.
“I’ll try,” Kermit said.
“Tell everyone we say hi,” Gonzo said.
Kermit scrunched his face a little. “Well, I will, but none of them know you personally.”
“Kermie?”
Kermit turned to Miss Piggy. She took his hand and squeezed it lightly.
“Come home soon?”
He sighed. “We’ll see, Piggy.”
Inside the taxi, Maggie leaned forward, reached around the driver, and honked the horn. “COME ON, MIT!” she called. “TRAIN ISN’T GONNA WAIT FOR US!”
Kermit looked around at his friends. “Well... I’ll see ya, guys.” He looked at Miss Piggy. “Don’t worry,” he said. He reluctantly turned, climbed into the cab, and sat next to his sleeping nephew. He looked out at them.
“Bye Kermit,” Fozzie said.
“Yeah, later Kermit,” Gonzo said.
Kermit nodded. “I’ll see you when I get back,” he said.
Fozzie closed the door. Kermit put his seatbelt on. He looked out the window and waved to his friends as the cab pulled away.
They stood in the yard and waved at the taxi as it drove off towards the rising sun. They stayed there for several long minutes after they could no longer see the cab.
“Well,” Scooter said, breaking the silence, “I guess we should go eat breakfast and go to the theater.”
They nodded. After another moment, they turned around and slowly made their way back into the house.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Three frogs sat in the dining car, each with a bowl of soup in front of them.
Kermit noticed something strange in the bottom of his bowl. He took his spoon and scooped out a large plastic spider. He looked at his sister and scrunched up his face. “Maggie...”
She laughed. “Got you!”
He shook his head, put the spider on his napkin, and went back to eating.
“Oh!” she slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “I forgot to tell you! Leslie and Bob are having tadpoles!”
Kermit nearly dropped his spoon. “Really?”
“Yeah!” she said. “The eggs should be hatching any day now. Isn’t it great?”
“Wow,” Kermit said. “Leslie and Bob, huh? You know, I never even expected them to get married.”
Maggie smiled. “Nobody did! But now look at them.”
“Yeah. Tadpoles, wow. That’s really great!” Kermit looked at his nephew. “You ready for some more cousins, Robin?”
“Sure!” Robin said.
Maggie looked at her brother with a devious twinkle in her eye. “So when’s it
your turn, Mit?” she teased. He glared at her. “Mr. Big Brother,” she went on.
“Yeah, what was my other nickname?” he said.
“Oh, when we grew up?” she said. “Ramblin’ Frog?”
He nodded. “Enough said.”
“Aw come on, Mit,” she said. “You’ve gotta think about settling down eventually.”
“Sure,” Kermit said. “When Robin has tadpoles.”
Maggie laughed. Robin scrunched up his face. Kermit smiled at him. “I was kidding, Robin,” he said gently. “Finish your soup.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Scooter, Rowlf, and Clifford were gathered around Kermit’s desk, looking carefully over the schedule for that week’s show.
“So who should do the conversation panel?” Rowlf asked.
“Who’s on the panel?” Scooter asked.
Rowlf looked over the list. “Uh let’s see... we’ve got Miss Piggy, the Guru, Drew Barrymore, and Mildred Hockstadder, MA, BA, PHD, OBE, and RSVP.” Rowlf put the paper down. “I think she needs some more initials.”
“Well, I’m already introducing the acts, so- Clifford, you wanna be the moderator?” Scooter said.
Clifford shook his head. “No way, man,” he said.
“Why not?” Rowlf asked.
“Man, don’t you know what happened last time the public saw me in the frog’s place? I’m not gettin’ into that again. I’ll take the backstage stuff- you guys can talk to the camera.”
“Well this is just temporary, Clifford,” Scooter insisted. “We’re filling in for Kermit, we’re not replacing him.”
“Exactly,” Rowlf said. “We’re each taking something on screen. Scooter’s got the introductions, and you get to choose between the talk spot and the discussion panel. I’ll take whatever’s left.”
“Well, alright,” Clifford said reluctantly. “I guess I’ll take the panel.”
“Good luck,” Scooter said. “The topic is History’s Greatest Female Celebrity.”
“Aw, man!” Clifford said. “Then why is Miss Piggy on the panel?”
Rowlf shrugged. “Ask Kermit.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the empty Muppet Boarding House, the phone rang several times before the answering machine picked up. Kermit’s voice echoed off the walls.
“Hi ho, this is the Muppet Boarding House, home of- well, just about every Muppet known to the public. Uh, and some unknown to the public. Anyway, we can’t get to the phone right now. So if you’re calling for Miss Piggy, please press one. If you’re calling for anyone else, wait for the beep and leave a message. Hopefully, we’ll get back to you while the phone is still attached to the wall. Thank you, and have a nice day.”
There was a momentary pause.
Beep.
“Hi guys, it’s Kermit. I’m at the train station in Leland. We got here safely and on time and in one piece. Wilson’s giving us a ride to the swamp. I’ll call you when I can, and uh, good luck with the show. Bye!”
Beep.