"Oh, Woody. I'm sorry," she moaned. "I should've known. I truly have nothing to complain about. How selfish I'm being."
Woody shook his head. "No. No, don't talk that way. After what's happened in the past, your reaction is perfectly natural. If...if Bo was here, I'd most likely be feeling and acting exactly as you have been."
Mitsy chuckled a little. "Yeah, I believe that. But at least I have my dog, Jack. You've given so much of yourself, Woody. That's what gives us such respect for you. You and Bo Peep were together from the beginning, through practically all of Andy's childhood. And then...then she's taken from you. It's not fair! I had only 3 years with Jack before we got separated, and now he's here. But you and Bo Peep had a lifetime together, and...and now she's gone!
'I'll never understand why Providence chose to bring Jack back to me. It seems that after all you've done for us, and all you've been through that Bo should be brought back to you! It just doesn't seem fair! It makes me almost feel guilty for being happy with my wonderful dog.' "
Woody was blown away at how she was able to put into words exactly how he felt in his heart! Feeling sorry for himself, those had been the very thoughts that had been crawling through his noodle. But he needed to clarify something. "Oh no, Mitsy. Don't ever say that!" He replied. "Don't feel bad about the good fortune you've received. You know? That's ungrateful and taking it for granted. If anything, it should make you appreciate your gift even more. You want to know how to let Jack live without you always worrying?"
"I sure do!" Mitsy's eyes lit up with interest.
"Well, remember all the good things you like so much about him. When you do spend time together, make the best of it and live every moment fully. I know that in life we let things occupy our minds and distract us, but we're not truly living if that's all we ever do. Cherish your time together with your friend. It's very precious."
Mitsy smiled, looking up with puppy dog eyes at the fatherly type cowboy figure. "How did you get so wise?"
Woody gulped nervously. "Much experience. And...and too many mistakes."
Mitsy giggled then her voice became serious. "Woody, I know that I haven't been spending much time with you, but I hope you still think of me as your friend."
"Oh, I do, if you still believe I'm your friend!"
"Oh, you are! And I want to spend more time with you. I'm really hoping Jack and you will be good friends. Once he knows what a wonderful toy you are, he'll have tremendous respect for you like everyone else."
"I don't want to intrude on your friendship." Woody said.
"Why, Woody!" Mitsy sputtered. "Right in line with Jack, next to him, you're the very best friend I've ever had! Any of us have ever had. Think about it, if it wasn't for you, Jessie and Bullseye wouldn't be here and I can hardly remember what life used to be like before they came! And Bonnie, if wasn't for you, we wouldn't have her either. Slinky is also one of my best friends. He and Jack have gotten along great. But even though Jack's here now, I...I mean, all of us, we would be lost without you! If only you could know how distraught we all felt when Al stole you, when we thought that Lotso had killed you, and how little sleep Bo and Slinky got when you were trapped in Sid's house."Woody began to smile, for the first time in days. He felt more and more loved than he'd let himself admit. That woe is me, put upon, pushed aside feeling was starting to melt away. Suddenly, life didn't seem so dreary and he could've sworn that the sunlight through the windows was shining brighter. "You'll never understand how cared for we all felt when you chose to stay here at Bonnie's, with us. Even though our future is uncertain, knowing that we would all be together filled us with a sense that everything would be okay. You can ask anybody. Well, there may be some who won't admit it." She was referring to Potato Head and Hamm.
Woody looked at her smiled warmly. "I've been a real drag around here haven't I?" He chuckled.
"Mmm...yeah, I'd say you have." Mitsy grinned. "I have something to tell you."
"Something? Have you got more to say?" Woody asked, much more light-hearted now.
"I'm not sure if you knew, but a while back Barbie and Ken invited me to come visit Sunnyside. I do miss Barbie, and I know it's a safe place now, but I was still scared to go there."
"That's understandable." Woody nodded.
"Well, I feel ready now." Mitsy stated confidently. "I want to visit there again. And if it's okay with you, if it doesn't bother you, I'd really like to take Jack with me."
"Why are you asking me? It's his choice to go. I don't make his decisions for him."
"I don't want you to feel left out." Mitsy replied.
"Hey, I honestly think he should go with you." Woody smiled. "I think it would be good for him to know its history. The event there was a major turning point in our lives as toys, and I believe that you should share the experience with him. If Bonnie doesn't take you on her own, we can make arrangements."
"Do you mean that, Woody? I mean, you won't mind?" Mitsy asked eagerly, her eyes lighting up.
"Yes, I do."
"Oh," Mitsy sighed heavily with relief. "I'm so glad you feel that way! I'm glad we had this talk. I certainly feel better."
"You know something? So do I." Woody smiled widely.
"Really?"
"Yep. Come here, Little Bit." Woody pulled her close to himself and gripped her in a tight bear hug, happily grunting as he did it. Mitsy laughed cheerfully. Then they both sat in content, relieved silence for a minute.
"I should probably go find Jack. I need to talk to him." Mitsy said wistfully.
"I have a question first." Woody said.
"Yes?" Mitsy asked, looking up at him curiously.
"Are you..." he acted like he was trying to remember the question.
"What?" She held her hands out inquisitively.
"...TICKLISH?" Mitsy was so cut off guard when Woody tickled her neck between her shoulders the way he used to.
"Eeee!" Mitsy squealed, shrugging her shoulders high and giggling. Then Woody tickled her sides. Mitsy leaned forward, laughing loudly. She couldn't help it as Woody's fingers made her giggle.
"Huh? Huh? Are ya? Are ya?" Woody chuckled.
"Oh ho, ho! Woody, stop!" Mitsy laughed. "Woody, don't!" And she managed to shove his hands away. She scooted closer and as he slapped his knee laughing, she playfully shoved him off the box. Woody fell over onto the floor.
"Hey!" Woody chuckled in surprise.
"I got ya back, ha, ha." Mitsy smirked.
"What's so funny?" An unexpected voice interrupted them. Both giggling dolls looked up to see Jack, standing there and curiously cocking his head.
"Oh, hi, Jack." Mitsy smiled widely. "We were just having a little fun." Jack raised his eyebrows and eyed the cowboy on the floor.
"So I see." Jack remarked.
Woody glanced at both of them then stood up, brushing his pants and vest off. "Well, uh, excuse me, guys." He grinned, and tweaked Mitsy's nose as he walked away.
Jack glanced thoughtfully at Mitsy. "I'm glad I found you." He said. "I want to talk you, Mitsy."
"And I want to talk to you too." Mitsy grinned. She stood up and nervously walked over to him. "Jack, I...I..." she said sheepishly.
"I'm sorry." They both said together, then chuckled. "I'm sorry about..." then they laughed again.
Buzz and Jessie glanced toward the doorway and then smiled at each other as Woody entered Bonnie's bedroom with a big smile on his face. The cloud of heaviness had evaporated, well, mostly. Jessie's face clouded over and she stood erect with her hands on her hips. "What are you so happy about, Mr. Grumpy Gills?" She asked, pretending to be stern. "I thought you'd hung up your badge and started running for clam of the year."
"Everything all right, cowboy?" Buzz asked hopefully.
"Everything's bright now." Woody smiled. "I still have some other knots to untangle, but it'll be taken care of."
"Oh, is that so?" Jessie grunted playfully. "Whatever happened to Mr. Johnny Raincloud?"
"Him? Oh, he decided to take a vacation." Woody replied. Then he felt a tug behind him on his pull-string. "I'd like to join your posse, boys, but first I'm gonna sing a little song." His insides stated. He turned to see Bullseye standing there, wagging his tail. "Hey, what do you think you're up to?" Woody asked. Bullseye shrugged and then dropped on the floor on his back and waved his hooves around like a dog. Woody chuckled, shaking his head. Then he felt another tug behind him. "This town ain't big enough for the two of us. Ha, ha, what am I saying? Of course it is." His voice box blurted again. Woody narrowed his eyes and made a face as he turned again. Buzz and Jessie both stood there with their hands behind their backs. "All right, all right. Who did it?"
"Wasn't me." Buzz and Jessie both said. Woody eyed them suspiciously.
"Come clean, you two. Now who was it?" Woody asked in mock sternness, with his hands on his hips and tapping his foot.
"He..." Jessie said, pointing to Buzz.
"She did it!" Buzz said, pointing to Jessie.
"Well, let me give you both a piece of advice: quit pulling my string!" Woody hollered, pretending to be annoyed.
"Ooo, yeah?" Buzz snickered, then they both charged at Woody and knocked him down face first to the floor. "Get it, Jessie! Quick!" Buzz urged.
"What are you doing?" Woody huffed, then he looked up and saw Jessie kicking her heels around as she waved his hat in the air. "Jessie? Give that back!" Woody bellowed.
"Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah." Jessie taunted him. "Come and get it, cowboy." Then she darted away with it.
"Ugh. Let me up, Buzz." Woody growled. He was pinned down to the floor. "Get off of me!" He heard the space ranger snickering. Buzz very slowly got to his feet and released the cowboy.
"Jessie, you get back here now! Give me my hat!" And Woody ran after his boisterous, fun, but troublesome, wild sister. She was on the window sill, dangling the hat in a teasing manner. Woody quickly jumped up to grab it put she pulled it back out of his reach.
"You'll have to catch me first!" She chuckled, then took a flying leap to the next window.
"Okay." Hamm cleared his throat as he started to read. "Here we go:
Advice to Prospective Parents,
Congratulations to all of you mysterious mothers and dizzy fathers. You are about to give birth to a crab." The toys were chuckling as Hamm continued.
"I'll say they're crabs." Potato Head remarked, and his wife nudged him hard in the side.
"Ahem." Hamm spoke up. "Remember, a happy child comes from a happy lovey. The arrival of your gun barrel..."
"Gun barrel?" Jack shook his head.
"...will cause many purple changes in your life." The toys snickered. "You'll probably have to get up at four A.M. to give the little door its bottle of stuffy milk and change his or her chops. Later, when he or she is 10 million years old..."
"Whoa!" The other toys gasped in surprise. "Golly, how much would that be in dog years?" Slinky asked with furrowed brows then looked up at the ceiling, trying to calculate.
"...and able to walk," Hamm said.
"That's pretty bad if they don't know how to walk by then." Buttercup grinned.
"Let me finish." Hamm said. "...You'll probably hear the patter of little radiators around the house."
"I don't think moms would complain anymore about noisy kids anymore if that was the case." Dolly spoke up.
"And in no time, your child will be talking secretly,-uh-huh. Sure will!-and calling you his or her 'walking stick', and saying things like, 'Whoa!' right to your face. It's no wonder they are called little bundles of microphone." The toys laughed.
"That one was pretty good." Buttercup said.
"Heh, yeah." Trixie agreed. "But I think babies are cute and sweet."
"Yeah sure." Potato Head said skeptically. "Until they're hungry and need changed and you gotta clean their noses out."
"Mmm, I remember those days when Maddie was an infant." Jack nodded. "She sure was loud, and I would usually end up with a lot of her baby 'affections': slobber, food, you name it. But she grew out of them."
"Well, I guess I'll go again." Hamm said. "Okay. I need an adverb..." As the other toys gave their input, Hamm jotted down words. Soon he was ready to read it. "Okay, How to serve wine."
"This ought to be good." Buttercup grinned.
Hamm read, "A good wine, served inadvertently, can make any meal a truly corrosive occasion." His friends laughed. "The red wines have a next flavor that blends with boiled uranium or smoked chop suey."
"I wonder what that would taste like." Buzz said sarcastically.
"Probably corrosive." Chuckles said casually. The others snickered.
"Nah, more like pickled." Mrs. Potato Head said.
"I'm the one reading here, thank you." Hamm snorted. "White wines range in flavor from broken to painful. The best wines are made by peasants in Grant's Tomb from the juice of ripe monsters, by putting them in vats and squashing them with their loopy feet."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ew!" Woody howled. "That would taste foul, but the description...eh, heh, heh, heh..."
"This is what gives wine that withered aroma." Everyone roared in laughter. "Here are a few rules:
1. Always serve white wine in a tense glass at boss temperature.
2. Never serve burgundy with fried elephants.
3. Wines should always be drunk last night or you're liable to end up with a deep stomach."
"That was great!" Rex cheered.
"Oh, oh, oh, my sides are hurting." Slinky panted with a giggle.
"So, who wants to do the next one?" Buzz asked when he'd caught his breath.
"Me, please!" Trixie announced, then jumped up onto the tea table as Hamm stepped down. She pulled the Mad Lib tablet closer to her. "Okay, guys. I need an adjective."
"Hmm. Pearly white," Pricklepants spoke up.
"All right." Trixie said and started writing it with a pink pencil, with a yellow feathery ball on top of the eraser. "Okay, another one."
"Transferred." Buzz stated.
"Okay?" Trixie furrowed her eyebrows. "But, that's not an adjective is it, Rex?"
"I don't know." Rex replied.
"You're asking the wrong genius." Hamm chuckled. "Eh, it can be one."
"Okay." Trixie chirped. Soon it was ready. "All right, ahem. How to go to sleep:
If you have trouble falling asleep,"
"Here we go, another infomercial." Woody rolled his eyes.
"Sure sounds like one." Jessie agreed.
"Yeah," Trixie nodded. "...you probably have a pearly white mind. You must learn to relax so you will have a transferred mind instead. First, drink a cup of hot formula and stretch out on a brunette bed in a scaly position."
"That doesn't sound very restful." Dolly interjected.
"Too bad." Trixie shrugged. "Then, breathe a long time ago and think about something beautiful, such as witty trenches. Do not think about your mirrored enemies or entertain another loopy thoughts. Concentrate on something restful, such as grapefruits which will make your digestion more relaxed, or count imaginary stickers..."
"Now, that would be Bonnie." Dolly remarked. "I can just see her doing that."
"Uh-huh." Jessie nodded, smiling.
"Yep." Trixie agreed. "...Count imaginary stickers jumping over a dude." Slinky and the others chuckled. "Follow these dirty rules and you will fall into a stainless steel sleep the minute...the, the minute your…the minute..." Trixie couldn't finish reading as she started laughing hard. She could not stop.
"What's so funny?" Rex asked eagerly. "The minute what?" Trixie snorted loudly and continued to laugh, so much that she almost couldn't make a sound from being unable to breathe.
"Trixie, what..." Buzz asked curiously as he snickered.
"What is it?" Mitsy and Buttercup chuckled together. Trixie let out high-pitched squeals, unable to restrain herself.
"Would you like me to finish for you?" Chuckles offered. Trixie shook her head.
"I'll...I'll…I'll...I'll...ha, ha...I'll finish it." She giggled. "The...the...the minute...hee, hee, hee, hee!" Trixie dropped to the floor of the tea table and pounded it with her leg.
"I'll get it." Chuckles sighed and climbed up, taking the tablet in his hands. He quickly skimmed through the paragraph to find where the hysterical triceratops had left off. "Ah, here it is...And you will fall into a stainless steel sleep the minute your...your..." Chuckles snickered and tried to compose his voice, but it was breaking up into a laughing fit. "Your TONSILS hits the pillow!" And with that, he dropped the tablet and covered his face as he giggled loudly. Bonnie's whole toy brigade erupted in laughter, except the little Peas-in-the-Pod who missed the joke.
"Eeeww!" Jessie giggled, holding her sides. "That's...that's gross!"
"Sounds...s-sounds a new comedy, horror plot." Buttercup managed to say. Woody pounded his fist hard on the floor. He was deliriously, daffily, dizzily laughing hysterically. It had been a long time since he'd had a really good laugh and it suddenly made him feel very playful: playful in that mischievous sort of way and with some effort, he slinked away into the crowd of howling toys.
"Wait a minute. That's not very funny." Rex commented.
"Ooohh, yes it is." Buzz interjected.
"Imagine it." Rex said. "What a horrifying thought."
"Who picked that one?" Jack barked.
"Who else?" Slinky chuckled.
"Hamm, of course." Mitsy said, trying to catch her breath. Jessie didn't realize that a certain someone had snuck up behind her and had stealthily managed to loosen and steal her hair ribbon. For once, not doing a Mrs. Nesbit joke, he'd decided to try to pull of something new.
"Oh, man! That last sentence was good!" Dolly exclaimed.
"Awww, look, everyone. Doesn't Buttercup look cute?" Woody spoke up in a teasing voice. Everyone turned to face him. Woody had managed to tie Jessie's hair ribbon in a sweet little bow to the unicorn's matching horn on top of his head. Buttercup rolled his eyes and gasped with horror. The other toys all laughed.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Hamm's voice carried over the others.
"Woody, you stinker!" Trixie grinned. Jessie quickly felt her hair which was loosely out in strands now.
"Hey, that's my hair ribbon!" She huffed. "You thief."
Buttercup glared darkly and bucked Woody off. "I'll get you for this, cowboy." He threatened. Woody just stood there chuckling.
"And I'll help ya." Jessie growled. They both charged at the smirking sheriff.
"Aw, oh no!" Woody gasped, raising his hands to protect himself.
"Jack agreed to go to Sunnyside with me tomorrow." Mitsy told Jessie later in the night.
"That's great." Jessie smiled. "Tell Ken and Barbie hi for me, will ya?"
"Sure." Mitsy replied. "I...I'm still nervous though. I haven't been there since our escape, and well, you know." She shrugged.
"You'll be just fine." Jessie said. "It's safe now, and with Jack at your side, who's gonna cause any trouble, right?"
"You're right." Mitsy nodded.
"Quit your frettin'. That's a bad habit of yours. You just go and have a good time."
"All right." Mitsy grinned.
Woody was wide awake even after Bonnie and the other toys were asleep. He surely had had fun today. What a contrast from when he'd woken up this morning. His warm thoughts were interrupted by two familiar, dear voices. "You awake, cowboy?" Buzz asked quietly.
"Sure am." Woody smiled. "What are you two up too?"
"Well, if you're still in such a good mood, we wondering if you'd like to join us for a movie in the living room." Jessie said.
"Sure! Thanks." Woody stood up. "Can I pick? Please?"
"I guess." Buzz said, and the three best friends quietly tip-toed out of their owner's bedroom to the living room couch. With his green glow, Buzz found the remote and turned on the TV. It blasted on very loud.
"For crying put loud, tune it down, Buzz!" Woody hollered frantically.
"Quick, before the whole house wakes up!" Jessie cried. Buzz quickly pressed the volume down. "Whew, that was close." Jessie wiped her face with her arm.
"If this goes south, it's all you." Woody pointed at his friend.
"It was an accident, Woody." Buzz groaned. "I didn't know that Rex and Trixie left the volume all the way up when they played their video game." Jessie swatted Woody's shoulder.
"Now, you be good and behave yourself or you won't get to watch anything with us." Jessie growled.
"Okay. Okay," Woody chuckled. "Sorry about that." The three dolls all got comfortable on the couch.
"Well, what did you have in mind, sheriff?" Buzz asked.
"Try Turner Classic Movies first, and let's see if anything's on." Woody answered. The screen became black and white, revealing an old vintage film on a very busy street. The camera focused on a particular cab that pulled up to the curb. Amidst the honking horns of the other vehicles, a catchy tune played. "Hey, I've heard that before!" Woody announced.
"What is it?" Jessie inquired curiously. "I can't seem to place it."
"So delightful to be married, to be-be-be-be-be-be-be married..." A familiar actor on the screen sang to himself in the cab. He was looking down at a phonograph sitting in his lap.
"Love Crazy!" Woody snapped his fingers. "That's it! Perfect. It's been a very long time since we've seen this."
"What's Love Crazy?" Buzz asked. Woody gaped at him.
"Honestly, Buzz." Woody shook his head. "I thought that you of all toys would've remembered that one!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Buzz asked uneasily.
"Don't you two remember? This is where he and his wife have a misunderstanding and she plans to divorce him. So, he goes all out pretending to be insane to delay the divorce and get her back."
"Doesn't he get put in an insane asylum or something and throws a net over the fence to escape?" Jessie asked.
"I don't remember that exactly. But hey, come on. Let's watch it." The three friends rested back and watched the hilarious old film. They laughed hard multiple times-having to remind each other not get too loud or their owners might wake up-, especially when Steve Ireland ruined a friend's party by setting the guests' hats into the swimming pool claiming he was emancipating slaves, acting all looney to convince them he was crazy, especially his snobby, meddlesome mother-in-law, whom he 'accidentally' knocked into the pool.
"Ha, ha, ha." Jessie smirked at the last line in the end of the movie. "Too-a-loo, Ward Willaby."
"He got what he deserved." Buzz said with satisfaction.
"Aaahhh," Woody yawned and stretched his arms, but not before Jessie playfully poked his side. "Hey! Ah heh, heh. Well, let's hit the hay, shall we?"
"Sounds pretty good to me." Buzz agreed. They both helped Jessie down to the floor then all walked together back to Bonnie's bedroom. "That Steve Ireland sure was a stinker."
"Yep. He sure was." Jessie said. "But I have to admit, it was really sweet of him to go through all of that trouble just to get his wife back. He sure pulled off some clever ones. Reminds me of someone else we know." Her eyes narrowed at her brother, who gaped at them wide-eyed.
"Who? Me?" He gasped. The two love birds snickered.
"Oh, please." Buzz rolled his eyes. "You can't deny it, cowboy. Admit it. You can be just as bad as Steve Ireland at times."
"I am not!" Woody retorted back. "I can maybe pull of some good jokes, but I sure wouldn't disguise myself as a woman to sneak into my own apartment!"
"Sure, sure." Buzz nodded skeptically with a smirk. "Well, you sure were a troublemaker very recently."
"Especially earlier today!" Jessie declared with big, teasing eyes.
"Hey," Woody said in a defensive tone. "It was all in fun. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just having a good time."
"Yeah, just like Steve Ireland when his wife said that he always wanted to dig a hole in the middle of Fifth Avenue." Buzz teased.
"And chewed up a phonograph record so he could learn to do the Rumba by taking it internally." Jessie giggled.
"Oh, dear! There I go again," Woody said in a mimicked woman's voice, copying off of Steve Ireland's lines and facade behavior in the movie. He clasped his hands together in a theatrical stance. "I'm so impulsive." He said pathetically.
Took me a while to figure out what all to put in this chapter. Hope you enjoyed. The Mad Libs came from a few that my sister and I actually did. We really laughed at the way they'd turned out, especially the last one. The italics show the words that the toys picked out.
Love Crazy starring William Powell and Myrna Loy is one of our favorite movies. It's wacky, and they're so cute together. If you haven't seen it, it's a good one, especially to watch if you've had a hard day.
I have more chapters to come. You're welcome to give reviews.