Where Your Heart Leads You - A Rowlf Story

[ryhoyarbie]

Excellent story so far.

ryan

 

[redBoobergurl]

Hey everyone, I know I said I'd update it today, but things just keep getting in the way! I hope to spend some quality time working on it this weekend. So, just wanted you all to know I'm not giving up on it, I just haven't had time to get to it. More will be coming soon!

 

[Ernie101]

I haven't read any of your fic yet, but just to let you know I will probally start reading it later tonight when things die down and I can read without being interrupted. It does look really good though, and I promise you I'm really anxious to read it.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Well, to make up for not posting in this for SEVERAL days, this is a very long chapter. I hope to keep up on the story a little better now, it's getting very intense! Anyway, sorry for the wait and away we go!

Chapter Seven:

Kermit nervously looked around the parking lot. They couldn’t give up now, but he just didn’t know what to do next.

“Hey Kermit! I have an idea, we could go around to the different stores around here and see if they’ve seen Rowlf!” exclaimed Fozzie.

“That’s a great idea!” said Kermit breathing a sigh of relief. If they didn’t find Rowlf it would at least give him some time to come up with a plan.

“Hey, get into groups of two, I don’t want anyone going alone. Robin you go with Piggy. I’m going to call home and see if Scooter’s heard from Rowlf,” said Kermit.

Kermit headed over to the grocery store and found a pay phone. He dialed the boarding house and waited for someone to answer.

“Rizzo’s House of Fun, how can I be of service to you?” answered Rizzo.

“Rizzo! It’s Kermit, what are you doing?” asked Kermit.

“Kermit! Um, nothing, nothing at all,” said Rizzo.

“Oh no it’s Kermin! I guess there’s no parties tonight okay, no ladies over,” said Pepe in the background.

“Hey, what’s Pepe doing there?” asked Kermit.

“Oh, he was out late the night before and missed the whole Rowlf is gone announcement in the morning,” said Rizzo.

“Sheesh. Can I talk to Scooter?” said Kermit.

“Yeah, hang on,” said Rizzo.

“Hey Boss! Why did you let the rat and the shrimp stay? All they want to do is party!” said Scooter.

“I’m not a shrimp, I’m a KING PRAWN!” said Pepe in the background.

“I’m sorry Scooter, I thought someone should keep you company and when Rizzo volunteered I thought it was a good idea. I didn’t know Pepe wasn’t home when we took off,” said Kermit.

“It’s all right, I just hope the place is still standing when you guys get back. Any word on Rowlf?” asked Scooter.

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” said Kermit.

“Nope, I haven’t heard anything. If you’d like, I could try and do some research on the internet about Rowlf’s hometown and maybe it’ll help you find him,” said Scooter.

“That would be great! I’ll call and check in with you again later this evening,” said Kermit.

“Ok, talk to you tonight boss,” said Scooter.

“He’s calling again? Man, now there’s definitely no party!” said Rizzo in the background.

“Bye Scooter, keep an eye on those guys,” said Kermit hanging up. He hoped maybe some of the gang was able to find some information after spreading out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rowlf was so excited to see Margaret and so into his conversation with Beth that he forgot he was going to call and check in at the boarding house. They were in the middle of a game of cards when a key turned in the door.

“Grandma!” exclaimed Beth and rushed to meet her grandmother at the door. Rowlf hung back and started attempting to groom himself at the last minute.

“Darn tongue. I wish it was longer,” he thought to himself.

“Beth! What are you doing here? I’m glad to see you though,” said Margaret walking in the door.

“Grandma, I was here watering plants and a very special visitor dropped by,” said Beth leading her grandmother to the kitchen.

“Oh my word! Rowlf!” exclaimed Margaret dropping her bags.

“Hello Margaret,” said Rowlf, “I wasn’t sure if you’d remember me.”

“How could I ever forget? You lived with me and kept me company when my husband was overseas for that one year! You were just a puppy then! Look at you now!” said Margaret walking over and giving him a hug.

“Yeah, I remember living with you too. That’s why I’m here though, I don’t remember much before that. I’m hoping that you might be able to help lead me to my family,” said Rowlf.

“Oh Rowlf. There’s so much you don’t know about yourself isn’t there? I should’ve known that someday you’d want to know more. Let me unpack my bags a little and we’ll have some tea and talk about it,” said Margaret.

“That would be great, if it’s not too much trouble,” said Rowlf.

“It’s no trouble. In fact, I’m sure my granddaughter would be more than happy to start the tea, wouldn’t she?” said Margaret.

“Of course I will Grandma! Come on Rowlf, one lump or two?” asked Beth.

“No lumps for me thanks, I’d rather my head stay smooth!” exclaimed Rowlf.

Beth and Margaret laughed. “You always did know how to make me laugh!” said Margaret.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gonzo and Camilla walked into a dry cleaners and looked around.

“Bock Bock Bac?” asked Camilla.

“I don’t know why Rowlf would come here, except maybe to take a bath,” said Gonzo.

“Bock Bock Ba-gock!” said Camilla and gestured towards a counter where a man was tending a cash register.

“Ah! Maybe he’ll know!” said Gonzo and walked up to him.

“Excuse me but we were wondering if you’d seen a dog,” said Gonzo.

“No I haven’t seen a dog! Didn’t you read the sign on the door? No dogs allowed! That goes for chickens as well unless she wants to become stuffing for a pillow!” the man exclaimed.

“Uh…ok, we gotta run!” said Gonzo grabbing Camilla and running out.

Next door to the cleaners was a pharmacy where Piggy and Robin were talking to a pharmacist. The pharmacist patiently listened to Robin’s detailed description of Rowlf, but said he hadn’t seen him. He gave Robin a lollipop though.

Floyd and Janice checked a flower shop that hadn’t seen Rowlf, but would give them a great deal on flowers for their wedding, if they were looking. Janice smiled, but Floyd just chuckled nervously and said something about why buy the farm if the milk is free.

Dr. Teeth and Animal got kicked out of a pet shop after Animal “accidentally” let a snake out of its cage.

Fozzie and Beauregard walked around the grocery store talking to various people asking if they’d seen Rowlf and didn’t come up with anything either.

Finally the Muppets started heading back to where the bus was parked feeling dejected.

Kermit was waiting for them with Clifford.

“Sorry Kermie, we didn’t come up with anything,” said Piggy.

“Ditto for us,” said Floyd.

“I had to rescue Camilla,” said Gonzo.

“Animal can tell you what happened at the pet store,” said Dr. Teeth.

“SNAKE! SLIMY!” said Animal.

“Kermit, we didn’t find out anything either,” said Fozzie.

“Well, I called home and talked to Scooter,” said Kermit.

“Yeah?” asked Robin excitedly.

“He hasn’t heard anything either,” said Kermit.

“Oh,” said Robin looking crestfallen.

“What if we never find Rowlf?” said Fozzie.

“Excuse me, but did you say you were looking for someone named Rowlf?” said a voice coming up behind them.

“Yeah! He’s a friend of ours,” said Kermit.

“Is he a dog?” asked a man approaching them.

“Yes he is! He has a brown coat, curly fur…” Robin started to give his detailed description.

“Robin wait, I think this man has seen him!” said Kermit.

“Sure have! My name’s Jim. I ran into him yesterday and put him up on the couch last night. I gave him a ride just this morning. I can take you to where I brought him if you’d like,” said Jim.

“Gee that would be swell! You seem like a real nice guy!” said Kermit.
“Thanks! Hey, have you all considered going into show business?” asked Jim.

Kermit just laughed.

“What’s so funny?” asked Jim.

“I’ll tell you about it on the way,” said Kermit.

Kermit climbed into Jim’s car, which the bus and taxi would follow. Kermit couldn’t stop smiling. Soon they’d be reunited with Rowlf and the whole family would be back together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Margaret finally sat down to talk with Rowlf.

“Rowlf, what I have to tell you isn’t easy. It might help you, but it might not,” said Margaret.

“Anything to find my family!” exclaimed Rowlf.

“Well, I found you in a very rough part of town. You were living on the streets. You were just this scraggly sort of thing,” said Margaret.

“Oh I see. I was a stray. I had no family left at that point,” said Rowlf.

“No, you weren’t a stray Rowlf. You were playing a broken keyboard someone had thrown in a dumpster behind a restaurant I had just ate in. I heard this music and walked around to see where it was coming from. There you were,” said Margaret.

“I don’t remember this,” said Rowlf.

“I looked down at you and said, boy, for a little puppy, you sure can play that thing!” said Margaret.

“Then what happened?” asked Rowlf.

“You said, ‘I’m Rowlf, Rowlf the dog and I’m going to be famous someday if I ever get off the streets’” said Margaret.

“Really?” asked Rowlf.

“I looked around and saw some other dogs down the alley. I asked you who they were and you said they were your family, but they didn’t pay much attention to you . You said your brother picked on you for playing the piano and wanting to be famous,” said Margaret.

“That’s right…” said Rowlf starting to remember.

“Just at that moment, your brother and his friends came down the street to where we were standing and started teasing you for talking to me. They were very mean dogs. That’s the best I could describe them,” said Margaret.

“Was one of them a bulldog?” asked Rowlf.

“Yes, why?” asked Margaret.

“No reason, I think it explains something to me though,” said Rowlf thinking of Crusher and how familiar he looked.

“They were teasing you for being friends with cats, for playing piano, for having dreams. And I thought, this is just horrible, he’s just a puppy. So I asked you to come and live with me and that I’d help you with your piano career,” said Margaret.

“And then what happened? Did I go pack my bags? Did I say goodbye to my mother?” asked Rowlf.

“Well, this is the part that is hard for me to tell,” said Margaret.

“Go ahead,” said Rowlf.

“You jumped into my arms and said ‘take me away from here please,’ you didn’t want to be there anymore. You chose to leave your family Rowlf. You said they didn’t understand you and you needed to be with people who did,” said Margaret with tears in her eyes.

“So that’s it? I went with you and never looked back?” asked Rowlf.

“Yes. You came home with me and I did my best to help you move on. When you said you wanted to go to Hollywood a year later, I let you go. You were a grown dog by then and could handle it. That’s when you went to work in that restaurant. You used to write to me then. Then you met Kermit the Frog and the rest you know,” said Margaret.

“Wow, um, wow,” said Rowlf.

“I’m sorry if this isn’t what you wanted to hear,” said Margaret.

Beth just sat silently with tears falling down her face.

“No, I needed to know. I just don’t know what to do with this right now,” said Rowlf.

“I can take you to the street where I found you if you’re interested in finding them. It’s just on the edge of the city,” said Margaret.

“I…need to think about it,” said Rowlf.

“Of course. We’ll leave you alone for awhile,” said Margaret getting up from the table. Beth got up and followed her and they walked into another room.

“Grandma, how come you never told me that part about Rowlf?” asked Beth.

“Because, it’s very sad dear. I’m not sure what he’s looking for, but I hope he finds it,” said Margaret.

In the other room Rowlf continued to sit and ponder what he had just heard. What should he do now? Is this really what he was looking for? He felt so confused. Then he did something that was rare for him. He laid his head in his hands and started to cry.

 

[luvtosr]

Aaaaw, poor Rowlf! Just when things were looking up.

Again with the comic relief, excellent. Ten gold stars and another ten for the pharmacist giving Robin a lolly.

Can't wait for the next chapter!

 

[TogetherAgain]

<hugs> I... I love it, and the Muppets all looking for Rowlf, that was funny! And Pepe and Rizzo driving Scooter up the wall, that's funny, too! And Yay for Jim coming along, and "have you ever considered going into show business?" and... and Rowlf's reaction to "one lump or two" was great. And Rowlf's family... <hugs>... oh, and since you're there with him, could you pass some hugs along to Rowlf for me? Please?

 

[Xerus]

That was a cool chapter. With the gang searching the city for Rowlf and Animal causing havoc in a pet store. And how Rowlf was reunited with his old friend Margaret. I can't wait to read what happens next.

 

[froggiegirl18]

I have looked forward the time that I am on muppet central to see what you have written. I love the story and think it is great. You wrote it in such a way that you can easily see and hear the characters. Keep going!

 

[RedDragon]

Great chap. But don't wait so long to write the next one.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Thanks guys! I promise I won't wait as long to post again this time. I'm on the edge of my seat with where this is going next!