A/N: I'm going to go on vacation for a while. I was really hoping to get this story and "No where Else" done before I left, but I couldn't. So I'm going to publish what I've got and finish them when I get back. Hope you guys can wait until then.
Robbie looked over the table, glancing over things. He looked from place setting to place setting, making sure everything was ready for the upcoming dinner. By every chair was a plate, a fork, a knife, a spoon, a napkin, and a glass. With Rex in hand, he finished his inspection. "Looks like everything's ready for tonight's dinner."
"Nuh uh," said Rex. "You're one place setting short."
"No," said Robbie. "I counted twice. There's a place for everybody to sit."
"So where am I sitting?" said Rex.
"Rex, we've talked about this," said Robbie.
"Come on man," said Rex. "Why can't I come to your fancy dinner?"
"Hey, if it were up to me, you'd be eating with us," said Robbie. "But you know how my parents get."
"Oh yeah," said Rex. "It's your parents who have the problem."
"What are you implying?" said Robbie.
"What you're too afraid to admit," said Rex. "That you have a problem with me."
"I do not!" said Robbie.
"Admit it," said Rex. "You agree with your parents. You don't want me at the dinner either, do you?"
"No!" said Robbie. "I fought to have you eat with us."
"You could've fought harder," said Rex.
As the two argued, Robbie's dad walked into the dining room. "Robbie, what are you doing with Rex?"
"Oh uh, he's just helping me set the table," said Robbie.
Robbie's dad walked over to Robbie. "Robbie, we talked about this. No puppets at the dinner table. Your Mom doesn't like it."
"I know, I know," said Robbie. "I was going to put him away once we were done."
"Well it looks like you're done." Robbie's father walked up to Robbie and took Rex out of Robbie's hands. "Here I'll put Rex away."
"Oh okay," said Robbie. "Just take care of him."
"Don't worry," said Robbie's Dad. "I won't break it."
"Make sure he's somewhere where he can move," said Robbie. "You know he's claustrophobic."
"I will," said Robbie's dad. As he left the dining room, he turned around to Robbie. "If you want, we'll let you bring Rex out after dinner."
"Really?" said Robbie. "And Mom would be okay with that?"
"I'll talk to her about it," said Robbie's dad. "I'm sure she'll let you."
Robbie's dad left the dining room, leaving his son alone. Robbie turned back to the table and recounted the place settings again. It didn't hurt to check a third time, especially without Rex. Without Rex, Robbie was always unsure. He was now starting to doubt whether or not he'd set out the right number of plates and forks. He went around the table and did his third rundown of the table. At the back of his mind, he knew he'd made some mistake. He'd forgotten to set out a plate for Cat's brother, he was sure of it. And yet, even without Rex, everything they needed was set out on the table. Nothing was missing and no one was without. With everything in place, he decided to go to the kitchen to see if his mother needed anything. As he left the dining room and was about to enter the kitchen, he heard his mother yelling. "Howard! Can I get you in the kitchen?"
"I can help you, Mom," said Robbie as he entered the kitchen. Robbie's mother was standing by the stove, stirring a big pot of broth. Next to the pot of broth was a pot of boiling water. She turned to Robbie as he entered the kitchen. "So mom, what do you need me to do?"
"I just need you to stir the broth while I cook the kreplachs," said Robbie's mom.
"I can do that." Robbie took the spoon from his mom and started stirring the pot of broth. His mom went over to the table and picked up a plate of dumplings that she'd prepared earlier that day. She took the plate over to the stove and dropped the dumplings into the pot of water. As Robbie continued to stir the pot of broth, he sniffed the contents of the pot. "The broth smells good. I'm sure they'll love it."
"Thank you," said Robbie's mom.
Robbie continued to stir the broth. "This will be the first time they've had kreplachs."
"They haven't had kreplachs?" said Robbie's mom.
"Um yeah, they've had kreplachs before," said Robbie. He hadn't told his parent that Cat's family wasn't Jewish and wasn't looking forward to the conversation that would inevitably arise from such a revelation. "I meant that this will be the first time they've had your kreplachs."
"Well they're not that different than anybody else's," said Robbie mom.
"I wouldn't say that," said Robbie. "One time I ate dinner and Billy Goldstein's house, and his mom's kreplachs tasted totally different."
"Well, Billy Goldstein's mom isn't the best cook," said Robbie's mom. "Let's just say, I'm surprised those kreplachs were even cooked at all."
Robbie shrugged. "They were a little bit al dente."
"Right, right," said Robbie's Mom as she stirred the dumplings. After a while, they heard the doorbell ring. "That must be them."
"Here, I'll get that," said Robbie before his mother had a chance to leave the kitchen.
"Okay," said his mother, who continued tending to the stove.
Robbie rushed out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards the front door. He stopped only to regain his composure before opening the door. Once he'd done that, he opened the door. He was met by Cat, he jumped out and hugged him. "Robbie!"
"Cat!" Robbie embraced Cat. Once she got off of him, he turned to her family, who were standing in the doorway. He first saw her parents. Both were roughly in their forties. They also both had dark hair, though Cat's father had green eyes, while her mother had dark eyes. Robbie then saw Cat's sister, who was standing beside he parents. She took after her father, having his eyes. Robbie knew she was called Heather. Once he'd looked them over once he extended his hand to them. "It's nice to finally meet you guys. I'm glad you guys could make it. I see Cat's brother couldn't make it."
"No, he's right..." Cat's Dad looked over his shoulder and froze. "He ran away!"
"You shouldn't have let go of his hand, Newman!" Cat's mother ran out onto Robbie's lawn, her husband following close on her heels. "Jake! Jake! Where are you sweetie?"
Robbie and Cat watched as her parents searched for her brother. Cat's father looked around the family car, while her mother looked in the Shapiro's bushes. Cat turned to Robbie. "He does this a lot. Don't worry, they'll find him."
"Should we help them?" said Robbie.
"No," said Cat. "They've got this covered."
"Alright," said Robbie, motioning towards his house. "Well while they look for your brother, how about you guys come in?"
"Sure." Cat grabbed her sister's hand and lead her in the house. Cat's sister made a brief gesture to shake her sister off, but followed her into Robbie's house. Once inside, she looked around taking in everything. She seemed particularly interested in the staircase. This seemed to worry Cat, who looked at her sister with a nervous look. "Heather, why don't you take off your shoes."
"Why should I?" said Heather.
Before either Cat or Robbie could respond, Robbie's mom walked into the room. "Oh hi, is this the great Cat Valentine we've been hearing about?"
"It is." Cat extended her hand for Robbie's mom to shake.
After Robbie's mom shook Cat's hand, she turned to Heather. "And you brought your sister. What's your name?"
"Heather," said Cat's sister.
"Nice to meet you Heather," said Robbie's mom. "Um, where are your parents?"
"Looking for my brother," said Cat.
"Okay," said Robbie's mom. "Well, I've got dinner ready. When they come in we can eat."
"Sounds great," said Robbie.
"Hey, Mrs. Shapiro," said Heather.
"Yes," said Robbie's mother.
"Your staircase is pretty big," said Heather.
"Yes, I guess it is," said Robbie's mother. "I haven't measured or anything."
"Has anyone fallen down it?" said Heather.
Robbie's mother's eyes bulged. "Maybe, I have no idea."
Heather turned to the stairs. "Do you think they survived?"
