Chapter Three
Seven Months and One Week Later
April 30, 1964
Melinda glanced at the small black and white television wedged into a corner of the kitchen as the man on the screen introduced Jim Henson. She carried a slip of paper out of the kitchen and into the restaurant, where a family of four was waiting. She set the paper face down on their table with a smile. “There you go, folks. Can I get you anything else?” she said.
“No thank you,” the father said as he reached for the slip of paper.
She nodded. “All right then. Thanks for coming to Christy’s, and we hope to see you again soon!” She walked off and stopped two tables away, where Kermit was sitting and examining the menu. She pulled it out of his hands and leaned against the table. “Haven’t you memorized it yet?” she teased.
He laughed as she dropped it back on the table. “Hey Melinda,” he said.
“Hey Kermit,” she said with a smile. “How come you’re not on
The Today Show with Jim?”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “And miss the fly burger special?” he said. She laughed, and he reached for her hands. “When do you get off?” he asked.
“As soon as my last table’s done,” she said.
“Who’s your last table?” he asked.
“You.”
“Oh!” he said. “Well in that case- check please.”
She laughed. “You haven’t even gotten your food yet!” she said. “Don’t you wanna run your bill up real high so you can give me a good tip?”
He scrunched his face up. “You’re not the only one who pays rent, you know.”
“I know, I know...” She stood closer to him and put her arms around his neck. “Don’t you wanna take care of me?” she quietly teased.
“I
do take care of you,” he said as he slid his arms around her waist.
She kissed the top of his head. “Hold that thought,” she whispered. “I’ve gotta check on your food.” She pushed herself away from him and walked back into the kitchen.
Half an hour later, they left the restaurant and strolled hand in hand down the street. They slowed down as they passed the old run-down Benny Vandergast Memorial Theater, and Kermit kept his eyes on it as they walked.
Melinda looked at him, then at the theater, and back at him. “What?” she said.
“Hm?” Kermit snapped out of his trance. “Oh. Just thinking.”
They walked to a park and settled themselves beneath a tree. Several yards away, some kids were playing leapfrog. Kermit looked at them and smiled. “We used to play that all the time in the-“ he cut himself off. Melinda was looking very intently at the blade of grass she was playing with. “Melinda?” Kermit said. “Why don’t
you ever talk about the swamp?”
“Because I don’t want to,” she said.
“Why not?”
She didn’t answer at first, just played with the grass. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, and she didn’t look up. “It was a lie, Kermit.”
He stared at her. “Pardon?”
“The swamp,” she said. “It was all a lie. We spent every day being carefree happy little frogs, and then Ma sent us off to sleep saying, ‘Your father and I never meant to have tadpoles. We hate each other, and we don’t care much for you, either.’ She said that to us every night.” She angrily ripped the grass out of the dirt and let it scatter. “That’s why I don’t talk about it.” She set her head on her knees. “It’s just a lie. The whole world is just a lie.”
Kermit was quiet for a moment. “Well not the
whole world,” he said softly. He scooted closer, put a hand on her back, and pointed towards the sky. “That’s not a lie,” he said.
She looked up. He was pointing at a rainbow. She thought about it. “Hey Kermit?” she said. “Ever wonder why there’s so many songs about rainbows?”
He hesitated. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe because a lot of people think a rainbow is... some kind of vision.”
Melinda shook her head. “They’re just illusions.”
“Not really,” Kermit said. “I mean, illusions usually hide things. Rainbows have nothing to hide.”
“But they’re so short,” Melinda said. “See? That one’s already fading, and half the people in this park haven’t even noticed it.”
Kermit hesitated. “Well,” he said, “At least it’s not a lie.”
“You mean like everything else?” She looked at him. “Show me something permanent that isn’t a lie.”
He hugged her close, ran his fingers through her hair, and looked straight into her eyes. “I love you, Melinda,” he said. “And that’s not a lie.”
She held his gaze. “Really?” she whispered.
“Really,” he said.
“But is it permanent?” she asked.
“Well, it’s lasted this long, hasn’t it?” he said.
She nodded and leaned closer, and they kissed. Then she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. “Kermit?” she said softly. “I love you, too.”
They sat together and watched the rainbow fade.
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
One Month and One Week Later
June 9, 1964
The small room was comfortably crowded. Jim was sprawled out in his chair, Don and Jerry were at their desks, Rowlf was sitting against the wall, and Kermit was sitting on the windowsill. It was the end of the day, and they were laughing, as usual. Don had tied a few feathers to a rubber band, which he was prepared to fire at the bathroom door the second Frank emerged from it. But the door into the room opened first. The feathers flew across the doorway, and the person entering screamed and jumped backwards. Everyone in the room laughed. They were used to these jokes.
Melinda stepped through the door a second time, shaking her head. She picked the feathered rubber band up and flung it back at Don. He caught it. “One of these days, I’ll get even with you, Don,” she sighed.
“I look forward to it,” Don replied. He shot the rubber band again, this time at the opening bathroom door.
“Whoa!” Frank ducked, the feathers flew over his head, and everyone else laughed. Frank looked at the feathers on the bathroom floor, then at Don, and then back at the feathers. He shook his head. “So how come it’s always me?” he said.
“It’s not always you,” Jerry said. “It was Melinda about five seconds ago.”
Jim smiled at him. “You’re good at walking into these things, Frank,” he said. The phone rang, and he answered it.
“Big prank day today?” Melinda asked as she perched herself on the windowsill next to Kermit.
“About as much as usual,” Kermit said. “So how are you, Melinda?”
“Kermit,” Jim said, holding the phone out to him. “For you.”
“Oh,” Kermit said. He hopped down. “Who is it?”
“Sean Connery,” Jim deadpanned.
Kermit scrunched up his face and took the phone. “Hello?”
Don excused himself to the bathroom.
“I bet he’s setting up another prank,” Rowlf said.
“Probably,” Frank said.
Jim sat up. “We should try something big on him sometime,” he said.
Frank looked at him. “To return the favor?”
“If you call it a favor,” Rowlf said.
“To return the favor,” Jim nodded.
Frank smiled. “You’ve got something in mind?”
“Really?” Kermit said into the phone, suddenly excited. “Yeah, that’s great! Well of course!” He glanced at Melinda with a smile. “We’ll see,” he said. He scrunched his face up. “Maggie...” He shook his head. “I’ll see ya soon, Mags... Bye-bye.” He hung up the phone. “Wow,” he said.
“What?” Melinda said.
“My brother Zachary’s having tadpoles!” Kermit said. “That is, uh, he and his wife are.”
“Well isn’t that nice?” Jerry said.
Jim smiled. “When will they hatch, Kermit?” he said.
“In a little over a week,” Kermit said. He hesitated. “Uh, Jim?” he said. “Could I, uh, take a few days off, um...”
“So you can be there when they hatch?” Jim smiled as he reached over and marked something on the calendar. “Of course.”
“Aw, thanks Jim!” Kermit said.
“Why don’t I ever get time off?” Rowlf said. “I work like a dog around here!”
“But you
are a dog,” Frank said.
Jim chuckled. “Not my decision, Rowlf,” he said. “That’s for Jimmy Dean to decide.”
Jerry nodded. “But if you ever need to go see some hatching tadpoles, I’m sure he would let you.”
“All right,” Rowlf said. “So that would mean never?”
“He’d probably let you off for puppies, too, Rowlf,” Kermit said.
“Oh,” Rowlf said. “Well that’s still never.”
Frank looked at Kermit and Melinda. “Didn’t you two have to be somewhere...”
Melinda nodded. “Yeah we-“
Kermit looked at the clock. “Oh, we’ve gotta go!” he said. He grabbed Melinda’s hand. “See ya, guys!”
“Bye!” Melinda laughed as they walked out. “So, tadpoles, huh?” she said when they got outside. “Does that mean you’re leaving me for a few days?”
Kermit looked at her. “Not necessarily,” he said. He put his arm around her waist. “They want
you to come, too, Melinda.”
“Me?” Melinda said. “I- I don’t know, Kermit, it... It’s really not my place...”
“Oh sure it is,” Kermit said. “And besides, they’d like to meet you.”
“Well-“ Melinda squirmed.
Kermit smiled at her. “You’ve
told me you want to meet them,” he said softly.
“I know, I know...” she smiled. “I’ll see if I can get off work.”
He stopped walking and hugged her close. “Thanks, Melinda,” he said.
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