Getting Swamped

Piggy tried to still the frantic fluttering of her heart. The closer the train got to Kermit’s hometown, the more nervous she became.
“This is silly,” Piggy thought, trying to quell her agitation. “I’ve met Kermit’s family before.” But this time is different, her mind prompted. Before, you were coming from another world—now you’re coming to be a part of theirs. That felt more than daunting—it felt impossible. At that precise moment, Kermit turned from the window and smiled at her, squeezing her gloved hand. Suddenly, everything seemed possible.
“Five minutes,” Kermit said. “I can almost smell the swamp!”
Charming, thought Piggy, but she refrained from comment. Instead, she smiled back at her new husband shyly and returned the pressure of his hand.
Something about her stillness made Kermit pause. He looked at her while she dropped her gaze and played with her handkerchief.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said gently. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
Piggy raised her eyes at last. “But—but what if they don’t like me?”
“Don’t be silly,” said Kermit. “They’re going to love you.” Impulsively, he gave her a sweet little peck on the cheek, and Piggy felt immediately better.
“Yes, Kermie,” she said. “Whatever you say.”
Kermit froze in place and gave her a suspicious look. “Who are you?” he asked. “And what have you done with my real wife?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Piggy snapped, bristling immediately. “Can’t I be nice?”
“Very nice,” Kermit murmured, “but I don’t want you to be anything but yourself while you’re here.”
“But I want them to like me,” Piggy almost wailed, revealing her deep-seated insecurities.
“I like you enough for everybody, Mrs. The Frog. So stop trying to be a Stepford pig and just be the beautiful, talented, cantankerous, high-maintenance woman I married. Got it?”
“High maintenance!” Piggy cried. “I’ll show you high maintenance! Just for that, you’re carrying my luggage.”
“Carry it?” Kermit laughed. “I can’t even lift it!”
Piggy just stared at him, her mouth dropping open in surprise. “Oh!” she said, “You are so—“
Kermit pulled her into his arms and kissed her like he meant to do it right, quashing Piggy’s protest with unilateral action. Unilateral action changed to bilateral action as Piggy but her pique (and her lips) to good use. They broke apart at last.
“Better?” Kermit asked, his expression bemused.
“Yes,” Piggy admitted grudgingly. Darn the man, er, frog, anyway!
“Good,” said the prodigal son, pulling her after him into the aisle of the train. “Cause there’s plenty more where that came from. Just remember I love you, and everything will be okay.”

Despite his bravado, the sight of some 357 frogs all peering at them with undisguised interest as they descended the steps of the train gave Kermit pause. He’d never gotten this kind of reception before. Then again, he’d never brought home a glamorous lady pig who just happened to be his wife before. He scanned the sea of faces, picking out brothers and sisters and several scores of nephews and nieces. There was one face he’d expected to see—hoped to see, at least—but he didn’t. Inwardly, Kermit sighed.
“Um, hi ho everyone!” Kermit called cheerily. “It’s great to be home.” He turned and offered Piggy a hand down the steps. Seven-hundred and sixteen eyes watched her silver and Lucite high heels tink-tink delicately down the steps.
“Wow!” said one of the little boys. “They look like race cars!” He was promptly shushed by several adults and disappeared from view. Piggy looked up, and her blue eyes were wide.
“Um, hello everybodee!” she said. Kermit could almost feel her pulling her performance armor around her, and wished she would just relax. “It was so nice of you to meet us at the station.” Immediately, despite the attempts of the adults to restrain them, the tide of young frogs surged around them carrying them away from each other. Piggy looked to Kermit, momentarily panicked, but watching Kermit’s flustered but gentle reaction to the many small hands and numerous high-pitched voices made her eyes soften. For just a moment, she could see them surrounded by a large brood of bouncing baby—
“Ma’am! Ma’am!” said a small insistent voice somewhere in the vicinity of her kneecap. Piggy looked around for a moment before she identified the speaker. It was a little girl, perhaps four, with a curly fringe of light hair. She was gazing at Miss Piggy with undisguised admiration. Piggy had never been completely comfortable with children, but she knew what to do with fans.
“Yes, dear,” she said, her head cocked attentively and her gaze very direct. “What did you want, sweetie?”
A hush fell over the crowd of little frogs and they cast each other excited looks. The little girl had fallen silent, paralyzed by excitement.
“Go on, CeeCee!” someone hissed.
“Yeah, ask her!”
“C’mon, CeeCee—don’t be such a pollywog!”
The speaker rallied at the insult. “I am NOT a pollywog!” she cried disdainfully. She squared her slim shoulders and looked straight back at Miss Piggy almost defiantly.
“Um, are you really married to Uncle Kermit?”
Piggy blinked and blushed a little. “Um, yes,” she said, looking at Kermit. “We got married about two months ago.”
“You’re very pretty,” said CeeCee shyly. “I like your hair.”
“Well how nice of you to say so, CeeCee.” Always call them by name, Piggy thought automatically. “You have some very nice curls yourself.” CeeCee gawped and stammered “thank you” almost inaudibly.
This is easy, Piggy thought giddily. Girl stuff is easy.
“Um, can I hold your hand while we walk back to the swamp?”
“Of course,” Piggy said, over an absolute chorus of protests from the other little frogs. They were all clamoring to hold onto her. Normally, the press of a crowd made Piggy antsy, strung with nervous energy, but then the crowds she usually found herself in were full of strangers and paparazzi. There were no cameras here, she thought ruefully. And no strangers. Just…family. She looked across at Kermit, who was struggling to hold at least fourteen small webbed hands himself. As if sensing her gaze, Kermit looked up. Their eyes met for a long moment as they smiled at each other. Kermit’s right, Piggy thought simply. Everything’s going to be okay.

Yep--I'm at it again. This one happens after my story Somebody's Getting Married, after the post-production of TMTM. THis is the visit Kermit promised his mother, and their first visit to the swamp as a married couple.
(Thanks to Leyla for title help!)

OH RU!!!! I loooooooooove it!!! It's SO ushy gushy!! Well, this IS you we're talking about...Of course it's ushy gushy! It was all so AWESOME! I love the plot behind it and everything! But especcially this part:

That last line had me on the floor laughing!! I LOVE it!! Now I just have to get back to Kermie's Girl...

Yes--this is the visit that Kermit promised his Mother at the wedding reception. Will everything go well? Will Piggy fit in? Who's going to carry her luggage? Well, we'll see, won't we?

Oh--thanks, Ed. Actually, there's more of that one bubbling around in my brain, too, but it's only about half-written. It involves a certain scene that Kermit was reluctant to film in TMTM....

OHHHH! This story is just so...so CUTE!! The way that you described how all the young frogs wanted to hold Kermit and Piggy's hands- that is exactly what my nieces and nephews are like when I visit in my hometown.. priceless. And oh! Piggy being worried that Kermit's family wouldn't like her..I actually felt nervous for her! This story is wonderful so far- wait, I can say so far, right? There's more, right? If there is, then I can't wait! *holds breath and tries to contain self*

Piggy put on her hat once they cleared the station, and it’s wide brim and trialing ribbons generated considerable awe in the children. Over the tops of many bobbing heads, Kermit introduced her to several brother and sisters. Piggy recited the names in her mind like a mantra…Kendra, Onslo, Marianne, Stewart, Brian, Matthias, Lynette, Denise, Logan, Elizabeth, Edward. Every face was different, but there was no help matching names to clothes. It was not uncommon for Piggy to find herself the best dressed person in a group, but she was unaccustomed to being the only dressed person in a crowd. She felt oddly indecent.
And it was both thrilling and strange to recognize Kermit’s familiar features so plainly stamped on other faces, to hear Kermit’s phrasing and intonation dropping from different lips. Piggy smiled and nodded, her mind whirling as she tried to commit names an faces to memory while dealing simultaneously with dozens of small nephews and nieces as they talked, asked about a billion questions and tugged on her hands and dress. Her gloves were commented on, her shoes re-admired, her pearls oohed and ahhed and murmured over in detail. Under normal circumstances, Piggy would have played shamelessly to this attentive an audience, claiming the admiration that was her just due, but she was constrained by the memory of Kermit’s mother. No matter what the circumstances of their former meetings, Kermit’s mother had been gracious without being showy, gentle without seeming weak, always deferring the majority of the limelight onto her family. Piggy did her best to emulate that, but it was an odd fit and she hoped fervently that she would not disappoint Kermit. Please, she thought fervently. Just let me blend.

Elizabeth, a Chicagan? Pardon? I'm sure some of these are nodds, (wouldn't exactly call this type of thing a refference), but I think most of them are original.
Yaaayyy, this story looks like it will be exciting! I love Kermit's family!

That's what I thaught you meant, but I think her name is just Lisa. Well no, it's Lisa, but you know what I meant.
You know, I just thaught of something; I think Elizabeth is one of Lisa's sisters though!

<Deep calming breath.> Elizabeth is my sister. My name is Lisa. Not Elizabeth, not Liz, not Little Liz, and certainly not Liz's Little Sister! <Deep breath.> Sorry, it's a pet peeve...

BUT! Ruahnna! I read this lovely update this morning and I have to say that I love it! Two things significantly sticking- one, that Piggy felt "oddly indecent" being dressed. Two, that she's trying to emulate Kermit's mother. Of course all of it's wonderful, but those two things especially struck me. MORE PLEASE!

I need help!

With very sincere thanks to Lisa (Together Again) for allowing me to use the character of Maggie, and to borrow from her characterizations of Jane and James, I now present the next installment.

The first unpleasant surprise came when Piggy stepped off the paved road. Lost in polite conversation, Piggy found herself unaccountably rooted to the spot. She looked down in surprise and consternation to find her heels ensnared by the marshy ground. Everyone else was barefoot, including Kermit. She gave a nervous laugh, stepped gingerly out of her shoes and bent to pry them out of the ground.
“Here, Honey,” Kermit said. “You’ll ruin your gloves. Let me.”
At the word “Honey,” about sixty little frogs giggled and made oohing noises. Kermit looked at Piggy apologetically, their cheeks flaming in embarrassment.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “Lots of little, um, ears.” He touched the back of her calf affectionately with one slim hand, and the contact made Piggy feel better. She stepped gingerly back into her shoes.
“How silly of me,” she said with false brightness. She had, in fact, walked out of a shoe before on the red carpet, and this was not—quiet—as bad. Once re-shod, she altered her gait to prevent the heels from sinking. It was awkward, and not very comfortable, but she plunged on determinedly. She would make this work. She would.
Walking near her, Kermit saw her square her shoulders and set her jaw. Torn between pride and exasperation, he smiled. Piggy had her game face on now. It was bound to be interesting.

Back at the clearing, there was a considerable flurry of activity. Ladies checked their hair, and little ones were wiped down or hosed off, depending on the severity of the need. The logs were arranged cozily around the central clearing, and there was a big pot of soup bubbling over some embers. Standing serenely in the middle of it all, Jane and James The Frog watched the burst of frantic activity with bemused tolerance.
“You’d think he’d never come home before,” James said, shaking his head. “And if everybody keeps acting like the sky is falling he’ll never come back.”
“Don’t be silly, dear,” Jane said fondly, slipping her hand through the crook of his arm and leaning her head against his side. “Kermit won’t mind the fuss. But we may scare poor Piggy to death.”
James looked down at his wife affectionately. He was pretty sure that there wasn’t much in this world that scared his son’s wife, and a big fuss over her arrival seemed one of the less likelier things to rattle her. Still, Jane had remarkable insight about people, so her husband was too wise to contradict her until he’d seen a little more.
“Anything I can do?” James asked. “Anything left to do?”
Jane looked up at him, and her dark eyes were sad. “You could talk some sense into Maggie,” she said softly.
“No,” he said gently, and heaved a great sigh. “I’m afraid no one can do that.” James patted her hand. “Just give her time,” he said. “Maggie’s a good girl. She’ll come around.”
Jane smiled hopefully but said nothing, and her eyes continued to scan the road for the arrival of her son.

The edge of the woods was chock-full of little frogs on the lookout for any sign of Uncle Kermit or Cousin Kermit and his new, very interesting wife. It was always interesting when Kermit visited, the little frogs agreed. There was no telling who or what sort of creature might come with him, and now he was coming back to see them all and bringing his wife—and she was a pig! In New York and California and even London, where they spent much of their professional lives, Kermit and Piggy had little reason to consider their union odd, but here in the swamp, a frog married to a pig was big news. For all his cosmopolitan ways, Kermit was often overly optimistic and sometimes naive. “I’m sure it will be old news by the time were get there,” he’d assured Piggy. Piggy was never naïve, and she’d wondered differently, which was just as well.
The message was spreading like wildfire.
“They’re here, they’re really here!” Robin cried, hopping up and down in excitement. The vine he stood on bounced and bobbed under his weight, and he gave a great shout of joy and leaped out over the water to land with a huge ker-plop in the middle. Concentric circles spread out around where he had gone under, making a lazy, ever-widening pattern on the water that was abruptly disrupted by his sudden reappearance.
“Oh, gosh,” Robin said. “I better go get dried off!” He scrambled out of the water and onto the embankment. Grabbing a towel, he scrubbed himself dry. Uncle Kermit and Aunt Piggy were coming! He could hardly wait.

“Hey,” Elizabeth said, interrupting her argument with her brother Logan long enough to acknowledge her older sister. Maggie was ostensibly skipping stones across the flat surface of the pool. “Aren’t you coming to meet Kermit’s wife?’
“I’ve had the pleasure,” Maggie snapped. “No thanks.”
Logan and Elizabeth exchanged surprised looks. “Well excuuuuse us,” they said together.
Maggie glared at them. “Get lost,” she said. Laughing, they obliged.
“Sheesh,” Logan said. “Somebody got up on the wrong side of the lily pad today.”
“You’re telling me!” Elizabeth responded, then, realizing she had actually agreed with her brother on something, made a point to start a fresh argument.
After they had left, Maggie threw her remaining rock as hard as she could into the center of the dark water. It was a satisfactory loud splash, throwing out ever-growing circles on the water, but in a moment, all evidence of her anger was spent. It left her feeling dismal, and she flopped down onto the water’s edge and stared sulkily out at nothing.
“Stupid pond,” she muttered, then shouted, “Stupid Kermit!” A sleeping bird startled into flight and Maggie took some grim satisfaction in its panicked departure. That satisfaction, too, faded quickly. Feeling utterly forlorn, Maggie put her head down on her knees. Too proud to cry and to angry to do anything else, Kermit’s sister just sat there and let the party go on without her.

I like the ripples. I know that's a random thing to like, but I like the ripples. I like how the ripples from Robin's splash into the water make us feel different than the ripples from Maggie's rocks do. Funny how ripples can do so much.

I also like that Elizabeth made a point of starting a new argument with Logan after realizing she had agreed with him.

And, there's just no denying that I came out of the ushy-gushy closet, because I just love this part right here:

Mmm! It makes me happy!

And so does this:

Mm-hm! I bet he's proud! (And I'm not all too surprised at the exasperation, either!)

MORE PLEASE!