Rob was the first one in the office waiting for his co-workers to arrive. As he was testing the typewriter, Buddy was the first one in after Rob.
" Hey Rob!" he said and Rob looked up.
" Hey Buddy, you're pretty early!" Rob exclaimed.
" Traffic was very smooth today. It hasn't been this smooth since before World War 2!" Buddy replied with exaggeration.
Just then, Sally came in the office, not looking as happy as usual.
" Good morning, fellas," she said.
" Hey there, Sal, you don't seem very happy today! Do you not wanna work?" Buddy asked sarcastically.
Sally gave him an annoyed look in response.
" I have terrible news," she added.
" Did the cat die?" Buddy asked, again with sarcasm.
" No, my cat is fine," Sally replied.
" Well, what happened, Sal?" Rob asked with concern.
" My apartment flooded this morning and because of that, I can't be in there until it gets fixed.
Which that results to a bigger conflict. I don't know where to stay!" Sally exclaimed.
" What about a hotel?" Rob asked.
" Well, that wouldn't be a bad idea if only the cat didn't come along. I had to take him with me because the kennels were full," Sally replied.
" Your cat is with you too?" Buddy asked.
" Yes, he's in the car," Sally told him.
" Why would you leave him in the car?" Buddy asked again.
" Well, where else am I going to put him while I find somewhere to stay? On the streets?" Sally replied in annoyance. She then turned to Rob.
" Hey Rob, can I stay with you?" she asked.
" Well Sal, I wish I could, but I'm allergic to cats," Rob replied with hesitation.
Buddy was offended that Sally didn't ask him to stay.
" Hey, why didn't you ask me if you could stay? My wife and I won't be any trouble. Besides, Rob and Laura are going to ruin your way of living. I couldn't gurgle when I was living with them because they go to bed so early," Buddy said.
" Look Buddy, I have a cat and you have a dog! My cat would not like to be around dogs. Besides, I'm sure it's you who disturbed their way of living," Sally replied.
" What about your aunt or your parents?" Rob asked.
" They live too far! I have to come here everyday!" Sally reminded him.
" I guess I will have you stay with me," Rob said.
" But you just said you're allergic," Sally replied.
" I am, but I can handle it," Rob added.
" This means a lot to me and ," Sally told him.
" You're bringing another one of your dates to stay?" Rob asked.
" No Rob, didn't I tell you? is my cat," Sally told him.
" Oh yeah, I forgot," Rob mumbled.
At the house…..
Laura was dusting the table, waiting for Rob to come home. As Laura was done with dusting, Rob came in.
" Hi honey!" he exclaimed.
" Oh, hi dear!" Laura replied, giving him a kiss.
" Oh honey, can I ask you something?" Rob asked.
" Sure," Laura replied.
" Sally's apartment flooded this morning and she doesn't have anywhere to stay so I asked her to stay with us. Is that okay with you?" Rob explained.
" Well I would like to, but two things! You should've told me this on the phone and she has a cat and you're allergic," Laura told him.
" Well, I told her I can handle it because the poor woman has no place to stay," Rob added.
" Rob, I'm okay with Sally staying with us under one condition. I don't want her to intrude our way of living. Remember when Buddy did that and we almost ended up as enemies!" Laura warned him.
" I know, honey! Don't worry, Sally will be more respectful of our way of living than Buddy was. She doesn't gurgle at night and her cat won't be any trouble," Rob replied.
" I know, I'm sure Sally is less trouble than Buddy," Laura said.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Rob opened it and Sally was at the door.
" Hello, Petrie family!" Sally exclaimed.
" Sally! I'm so glad to see you!" Laura exclaimed, giving her a hug. "I'm so sorry to hear about your apartment."
" It's cool! At least I have somewhere to stay," Sally replied.
" Do you want me to help you with the cat?" Laura asked.
Sally motioned Laura to go ahead and do so.
(Time skip)
" Well Sally, you do have a ton of stuff! Do you know how long you will be staying?" Laura asked.
" I don't know. That depends on how long it will take for my apartment to get done," Sally replied.
" We hope you'll enjoy our company," Rob added.
" Thank you Rob, this means so much to me! Especially at a time like this," Sally said.
" I baked a cake, cookies and made some coffee! Anybody want some cake, cookies and coffee?" Laura asked.
" That sounds great, honey!" Rob replied.
" Just coffee for me. I'm dieting," Sally added.
" Sally, you don't need to diet! You have a nice body! You should treat yourself," Laura said.
Sally gave in.
" Alright, you convinced me!" she exclaimed.
Laura went into the kitchen. Sally was still very hesitant about her stay at the Petrie house.
" Rob, I really don't know if this is a good idea. I don't want to intrude on your way of living and I don't want to make things complicated between the two of you," Sally told him.
" Sal, you'll be just fine! You have respect for other people's space and sleep," Rob replied.
" Ok, just let me know when you want me out," Sally sarcastically added.
Laura came back with the coffee, cake, and cookies.
" Eat up, comedy writers! I know you both had a hard day at work today," Laura said.
" Today overall was a hard day for me," Sally replied somewhat serious.
That night…..
Rob and Laura were in their bedroom getting ready for bed.
" Darling, I just hope we get some sleep tonight," Laura told him.
" Honey, we will! Sally doesn't gurgle at night or play an instrument," Rob replied.
This made Laura smile.
" I'm glad to know that, Rob! Now good night," she said as she was hopping into bed.
" Well, good night, honey," Rob said, turning off the light and also getting into bed.
Rob and Laura were able to get some sleep, or at least that's what they thought. After a while, Laura woke up hearing footsteps.
" Rob, wake up! Is it just me or do I hear footsteps?" Laura asked.
" Honey, I hear them too and footsteps are normal!" Rob exclaimed.
" Well, who could it be?" Laura asked.
" That could be anybody! It could be Sally, the cat, or it could even be Ritchie," Rob told her.
Then, they heard a thump.
" That does not sound normal," Laura said.
" You're right, it's not," Rob added.
They heard Sally screaming "ow" and Rob and Laura rushed out of the bedroom into the living room.
" No one's in here!" Rob cried.
" Then she's in the kitchen!" Laura exclaimed.
They both ran into the kitchen and they saw Sally wincing in pain.
" Sally! Are you alright?" Laura worriedly asked.
" Does it look like it?" Sally snapped.
" What happened?" Rob asked.
" Well, I was coming in here to get some milk for my cat because he kept waking me up. As I was about to get the milk, I stubbed my toe against the fridge," Sally explained.
" Ok, we can check it out right now," Rob said, sitting Sally down on one of the kitchen chairs.
" Rob, I think you two should get some sleep and worry about it in the morning! I'm sorry that I woke you guys," Sally apologized.
" Don't apologize! I'd rather be helping you out than going to sleep at the moment! I won't be able to sleep for the rest of the night if I have the image of you wincing in pain," Rob replied.
" Thanks for the thought Rob, but get some ice so you can be able to sleep for the rest of the night," Sally ordered.
(Time skip)
" Again, I'm sorry for all this chaos. I'm never like this at home and I don't know what got into me tonight," Sally apologized.
" It's okay, Sal! Now, go back to bed and let's hope it's better in the morning," Rob replied, sending her out of the kitchen.
The next morning…
Rob and Laura were in the kitchen and Laura was making breakfast.
" I am so tired from last night! I thought I was going to be able to sleep with Sally living with us!" Laura exclaimed.
" Honey, she got hurt! I'm sure it won't happen again," Rob told her.
" I know Rob, but-," Laura was interrupted by Sally coming in the kitchen.
" Good morning gang!" she said.
" Good morning, Sal," Rob said.
" Good morning, Sally! You're wearing heels," Laura said.
" Yes I am, why do you care?" Sally asked.
" You busted your toe last night and I'm afraid that the heels are going to hurt your toe even more," Laura explained.
" Don't worry Laura, the toe is all better," Sally replied.
Laura smiled.
"I'm glad to hear that," she added.
" Honey, have you made breakfast?" Rob asked.
Laura was in shock. She forgot to make breakfast, which is new for Laura.
" Oh my, I forgot to make breakfast!" Laura cried.
" Don't worry, Laura. Rob and I will get donuts," Sally told her.
Sally and Rob left the kitchen, leaving Laura alone.
" Breakfast! I forgot to make breakfast!" Laura cried.
At the office….
Surprisingly, Buddy was the first one in the office. He was about to nap on the couch, but he heard Rob and Sally talking, meaning that they're almost there.
"Aw man, I don't get an early start," Buddy complained to himself.
Just then, Rob and Sally came in.
" Well, you're early," Rob said to Buddy.
" I don't know what got into me today. I felt like being early," Buddy chuckled.
" Are you sure? Or did you want to run away from Pickles because she was making your least favorite thing to eat?" Sally asked, teasing him.
" My wife wasn't even awake this morning," Buddy replied.
" Okay fellas, let's get to work," Rob ordered.
" That's right, Rob!" Sally exclaimed going to the typewriter.
Just as Sally was about to pull out the typewriter, she winced in pain again because of her toe and she winced loud enough for the boys to hear.
" You okay, Sal? You look like you're about to have a heart attack," Buddy teased.
" Very funny! Last night, I stubbed my toe against the refrigerator," Sally replied in annoyance.
" Why did you stub your toe?" Buddy asked.
" Nevermind that, Buddy, let's get to work and we can ask questions later," Rob told him.
Back at the house….
Laura was in the kitchen talking to her neighbor and friend, Millie.
" I'm sure she's not that bad to live with for a while. She just got hurt," Laura told her.
" Wait, how come she couldn't go to a hotel?" Millie asked.
" She brought her cat with her and they don't allow pets," Laura replied.
" Her cat could go in a kennel," Millie added.
" The kennels are full," Laura told her.
" Well, I'm glad things are going well so far," Millie said.
" Honey, I'm home!" Rob called.
" Hey, I should go, too! I have to make Jerry dinner," Millie told Laura.
Rob came in the kitchen.
" Hello, darling," Laura said kissing him.
" I hope you didn't forget about dinner," Rob joked.
" Well, I was waiting for you and Sally to come home so we can all decide on what to eat," Laura replied.
" Anything is fine with me," Rob said.
Laura was looking out into the living room.
" Hey, isn't Sally supposed to be home too?" Laura asked.
" She had to go to the doctor and check on her apartment," Rob told her.
" Oh, I wonder how fast it takes for apartments to be fixed from a flood," Laura thought.
Just then Sally came into the kitchen.
" I figured you guys would be here because you weren't in the living room," Sally said.
" You finished that quick, Sal?" Rob asked.
" I ended up not going to the doctor because the toe didn't hurt that bad, but I did go up to the apartment," Sally explained.
" How's it doing?" Laura asked.
" Terrible! The workers are not doing their job so I screamed at them to get on it and I think I lost my voice from screaming," Sally added.
" I'm so sorry to hear that," Rob apologized.
" And it usually doesn't take that long to fix an apartment! If they did their job, I could be in here telling you guys that it's ready and I'm moving out!" Sally continued.
" I'm sure this is stressing you out," Laura said.
" It is!" Sally exclaimed.
A few nights later…
Rob and Laura were getting sleep, just like they have been for the past few days. Just then, Laura woke up to the door opening and shook Rob awake.
" Rob! Wake up! I think a prowler is trying to break into our house!" Laura cried.
" A prowler? I'll get that bum right when I catch him!" Rob yelled, leaving the bedroom and going into the living room.
As Rob got into the living room, he saw that there wasn't a prowler at the door and it was just Sally.
" She could totally go out on a sleepwalking date with my brother! What's she doing at the door?" Rob thought.
" Sally, what are you doing?" he asked her. She didn't respond.
Rob walked closer to her, but he was at a safe distance because he knows it's dangerous to be too close to someone sleepwalking.
" Sally, wake up! You're sleepwalking to the door,"Rob whispered.
Just then, Sally woke up, confused and in shock.
" Rob? What are you doing up?" Sally asked.
"What am I doing up?! I heard the door open, thinking it was some burglar instead of you," Rob replied.
" I don't know how I got here. I just remember getting out of my bedroom and I thought I was going into the kitchen," Sally explained.
" Sit down Sal, let's talk," Rob told her as the two sat down on the couch.
" What's been up with you lately?" Rob asked, putting his arm around Sally as she gave him a confused look.
"You're binge eating, you come home late, and you are kind of quiet, and all of that is so unlike you," he explained.
" I've been checking out my apartment every day, which is why I've been coming home late and the workers are not doing their job and they keep messing up because they are kind of new to this stuff which stresses me out!" Sally replied.
" Why can't you fire them and hire new ones?" Rob asked.
" I will! And I would like to add that my cat has been very uncomfortable here and it's not because you, Laura, or Ritchie. It's because he's not used to being in a house. I'm stressing out because of him, which is another reason why I'm stressing out," Sally continued. At this point, she almost started crying.
" I'm so sorry to hear about this, Sal! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Rob asked.
" Well, I-I," Sally stuttered.
" Do you want to take off work tomorrow? I can talk to Mel and tell him you're not feeling well," Rob suggested.
" I think it's for the best if I just stay here tomorrow," Sally told him.
" Go back to bed, okay? I'll see you in the morning," Rob told her, giving her a bro-hug and he got up and went to his bedroom.
" What happened?" Laura asked.
" Oh, it was just Sally sleepwalking," Rob told her.
" Sleepwalking? Did you wake her up?" Laura asked again.
" Yes, I did! In fact, I talked to her," Rob replied.
" About what?" Laura was now full of questions.
" I asked her what was going on and all. She said that she was stressing out about everything that has been happening to her. In result, I let her stay here tomorrow if that's okay with you," Rob explained.
" That's fine by me," Laura said.
" I'm glad you understand, honey. Now, good night," Rob said, getting into bed.
The next morning…
Rob has already gone to work early to talk to Mel and Laura was in the living room cleaning and getting Ritchie ready for school. Sally was sitting on the couch eating goldfish crackers and watching TV. She was on her second bag!
Laura went into the kitchen to pack Ritchie's lunch. Ritchie was curious to why Sally was eating so much.
" Aunt Sally, why are you eating so much?" he asked.
" Listen kid, when you become my age you eat what you eat," Sally replied.
" What's that supposed to mean?" Ritchie asked.
As Sally was about to explain, Laura called for Ritchie, telling him it was time for school.
" It was nice talking to you! Have fun getting an education!" Sally exclaimed.
" Say thank you and tell her to have a nice day," Laura ordered Ritchie.
Ritchie did what Laura told him to do and he left for school.
" Isn't he adorable?" Laura chuckled.
" Yep! You did an amazing job raising him!" Sally exclaimed, grabbing the popcorn and another bag of goldfish.
" So, Rob told me everything about last night," Laura said.
" Yup! A lot is happening right now and I feel like I can't do anything about it," Sally told her.
" I'm so sorry, Sally. Do you want me to bake you something?" Laura asked.
" No, but thank you! Don't go through all that trouble just for me. You have other things to take care of, don't you?" Sally replied.
" That's very sweet of you, but I insist!" Laura exclaimed.
" Go ahead if you insist," Sally said.
At the office…..
" Rob, is she really not feeling well?" Buddy asked.
" Well, that's what I had to tell Mel! She's not going to be here because she's stressing about life," Rob explained.
" I'm coming over after work to see if I really believe her! You know how she can be! First she makes up names for her dates, and now she's making up excuses for not coming to work!" Buddy exclaimed.
" Buddy, she would not make that up! I'm sure you stress out about life, too," Rob told him.
" At least I come to work whether I'm stressed or not. This is called commitment," Buddy added.
Just then Mel came in the office.
" I overheard your conversation! So, Sally is not coming to work because she's stressed?" Mel asked.
" About personal things," Rob added.
" Why did you have to lie, Rob?" Mel asked.
" I didn't think that you would accept that as an excuse," Rob replied.
" Are you kidding me? I think that's okay! Sometimes people need to take off work because of something they're going through," Mel said.
" Not me! I come here whether I'm going through something or not!" Buddy exclaimed.
" Yeah, because you have no feelings, you trained ape!" Mel replied.
" Calling me an ape, huh? Call me that again and I'll tell Alan on you!" Buddy threatened.
Mel got scared and ran out of the office.
" Yeah, that's what I thought, you big baby!" Buddy yelled.
" Buddy, I think you went too far," Rob chuckled.
" He needs to know there are consequences," Buddy told him.
Back at the house….
" Sally, are you sure you would rather sit there and mope than go somewhere to keep your mind off of things?" Laura asked.
Laura was tired of seeing Sally sit there on the couch and non-stop eating. She was also napping a lot, too.
" Laura! I've already told you, I need some time alone," Sally replied.
" Well, I really don't believe you! Rob told me you're stressed!" Laura exclaimed.
" Do you have any cupcakes?" Sally asked.
" Well, I have only three chocolate and the rest are vanilla. I saved the chocolate ones for Ritchie because I know he likes it," Laura replied.
" You can bring all of the vanilla ones," Sally told her.
Laura served the vanilla cupcakes with a concerned look on her face.
" You know Sally, I really want you to do something to keep your mind off of things! Ever since this morning, you've been eating up our kitchen and other than eating you've been sleeping! I'll bring another bag of goldfish crackers," Laura said.
" What do you want me to do?" Sally asked.
" Go on a date!" Laura replied.
" Who am I gonna call at the last minute?" Sally asked.
" You can do it tomorrow," Laura told her.
" That's fine by me as long as I'm not going tonight," Sally said.
" I called Rob earlier today and he will be home and he said Buddy is coming over so they will give you some comfort. Just don't get to comfortable because they are both married," Laura added.
" I know that! I've been around them for years!" Sally exclaimed.
Just a while later, Rob and Buddy arrived.
" Hello, ladies!" Rob exclaimed, giving Laura a kiss.
" You were right, Rob! Sally is stressed!" Buddy exclaimed, pointing out that Sally is on the couch.
" Hello, how do you do!" Sally replied dully.
" Rob, I have to get going! Millie and I are going to have dinner tonight! Have fun! Love you!" Laura said leaving the house.
Buddy walked closer to the couch.
" Sal, how come you're eating all that junk? I thought you were on a diet," Buddy said.
" Listen Buddy, I diet so then I can eat," Sally replied, munching on her probably millionth goldfish cracker from today.
" Anything on the apartment yet?" Buddy asked grabbing some goldfish.
" First of all, I haven't gone to see it today and second of all, get your hands out of my bag! If you want some, ask!" Sally told Buddy, slapping his hand out, making him drop the goldfish.
" Can I have some goldfish?" Buddy asked.
" No!" Sally replied in an annoyed manner, munching on more goldfish.
" Have you been eating the entire day, Sal?" Rob asked.
"No, I took naps in between and I didn't think it was any of your business to ask," Sally told him.
" What do you mean? I care about you! You're my friend!" Rob exclaimed.
" Thank you, Rob. I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've been causing for you and Laura," Sally apologized.
" This wasn't any trouble for us! We really understand what you're going through!" Rob told her.
Buddy grabbed a cupcake and was about to eat it, but Sally caught him.
" Buddy! Put that down! I'm eating it!" Sally yelled as Buddy sharply put the cupcake down and Sally took the cupcake.
" What are you trying to do? Starve me to death?" Buddy asked sarcastically.
Sally ignored that question, responding to Rob.
" I'm glad that you understand, Rob," Sally nibbled on the frosting and then started to get emotional. "It's been so hard having nowhere to stay and if it weren't for you, me and the cat would be living in a car. You know I was about to go through that."
She completely burst into tears and was now sobbing. Rob embraced her and rubbed her back. It felt weird for him to do this to another woman, but it would've felt more weird if Laura was there.
" And you didn't! You've been strong throughout all this! You're acting like you're just going to leave and not live with him anymore! Is that what you want?" Buddy asked.
" Buddy, she's not going to leave! I'm making her stay until her apartment is ready," Rob told him.
" And the only thing that has been keeping my mind off of this was all this food, sleep and not being in the office. I don't even eat this much and I think I need to iron my pants," Sally continued sobbing.
" I have an idea! To cheer you up, why don't we go to the apartment and fire those who aren't doing their job and hire some new workers," Buddy suggested.
" It's the best thing we can do at this point," Sally replied.
" Okay! Let's go and fire those lazy people!" Buddy urged.
As the writers were about to leave, the phone rang.
" I'll get it," Rob volunteered, heading to the phone.
" Hello? Oh, hi Mel! Want me to tell her? Okay, bye Mel," Rob said hanging up the phone.
" What's Curly calling about?" Buddy asked.
" Sal, Mel wanted me to tell you that he got a message that your apartment is ready and tomorrow you can move back in," Rob told Sally.
" That's wonderful! Well, that my apartment is ready and I don't have to go over there to fire the workers," Sally said.
" Let's still look! I wanna know if they actually got the job done!" Buddy exclaimed, leaving the house.
(Time skip)
" So, they really did do their jobs! I was this close to firing them!" Sally exclaimed.
" They said they asked a professional to fix it, they didn't do it themselves," Rob told her.
" Eh, I don't care. As long as my apartment is ready," Sally replied.
" Your life will be back to normal again! Also, I gotta get going! My wife will be cooking me liver and bananas and I'm excited to have them! " Buddy added, leaving the house.
Sally started stretching her arms.
" I guess I should start packing! Wanna help me, Rob?" Sally asked.
" Sure, I have to do something real quick and I'll be right there" Rob replied, smiling.
Sally went to her room, which is the guest room to get a head start.
" Buddy is right, her life will be back to normal! And I don't have to sneeze every time I see her cat," Rob thought, starting to head to the guest room.
The next morning…..
Everyone was in the kitchen and Laura was cooking breakfast.
" I'm so happy that those workers decided to do their job," Laura told Sally.
" Funny story, they asked a professional to do it!" Sally exclaimed.
" That's very interesting! What do you two want for breakfast?" Laura asked.
" Scrambled eggs are fine, honey," Rob replied.
" Sally, how about you?" Laura asked.
" I'm not hungry Laura, but thank you," Sally replied.
" Are you sure, Sal? You should eat something! We have a ton of work to do!" Rob exclaimed.
Sally gave in.
" Alright, Rob! You win!" Sally exclaimed.
" So, what would you like to eat?" Laura asked her.
" Uh, I guess I'll have some scrambled eggs," Sally told her.
" Two scrambled eggs coming right up!" Laura exclaimed, making the eggs.
It was silent until Rob gave Sally a weird look and she noticed.
" Whoa Rob, don't check me out in front of your wife," Sally whispered.
" Sal, I'm not checking you out! I feel like I was expecting a word out of you," Rob whispered back.
" What word?" Sally asked.
" When Buddy was over, we had eggs one day. Laura was asking Buddy what kind of eggs he wanted and he would list a kind of egg. Just then, he would say something about the egg and end up changing his mind about it as she was about to start making it," Rob explained.
" Typical Buddy! He did something like this when he spent the night at my apartment once! This was like about a month before you started working with us and I don't know how long it was after our old head writer left. This was when we first did Alan's yearly magic act and Mel wanted us to make it look good. Let me tell you Rob, it took hours in the office to get it done, so we had to work over time. I invited him at my place so we could work on the script and we couldn't get it done, so he ended up spending the night. Then the next morning we had breakfast and I was asking him what he wanted and when I was about to cook what he wanted, he kept making comments and changing his mind! My kitchen was a mess!" Sally told him.
" At night did he gurgle?" Rob asked.
" Yes, he did! I couldn't sleep and Mr. Henderson was loud too, so I had two noisy animals that night," Sally replied.
" Here are your eggs," Laura said giving the eggs to Rob and Sally.
" So Sally, I heard that your moving back in after work," Laura said.
" Yeah, I'm gonna miss living here," Sally replied.
" I was planning on dinner for more than two people!" Laura exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I'll still come over tonight! Is it okay if I bring my date?" Sally asked.
" You have a date tonight? With who?" Laura asked.
" With the professional who fixed my apartment! I can't thank him enough!" Sally replied.
" You're welcome to come tonight!" Laura exclaimed.
That night after the dinner party…
" That dinner was delicious, honey!" Rob exclaimed.
" Rob, you keep telling me that ever since everybody left," Laura said with a smile.
" Well honey, I'm being honest," Rob told her.
" I'm glad you're being honest, darling! But look at the time! We should get some sleep," Laura said.
" That's a good idea," Rob replied.
The two got into bed and they were about to go to sleep until they heard meowing.
" Rob, did a stray cat come into our house?" Laura asked.
Rob was confused about what Laura was asking, so Rob went to go see and he sees that Sally's cat was still there.
" Honey, Sally left her cat here," Rob said.