Chapter Nine

Fozzie Bear, Christy, and Lisa huddled in the back of the bus whispering amongst themselves. Fozzie gave Dr. Teeth the directions earlier. Now Kermit kept looking over his shoulder every five minutes. Normally he wasn't a paranoid frog. The trio huddled in the backseats made him nervous. Especially since he knew how much mischief two of them could cause. Words like "make it look like an accident" and "intervene when we have too" floated up front. Kermit turned to see Christy and Lisa staring at him. As soon as they made eye contact, the girls were sent into a fit of giggles.

After only two hours of the torture the bus pulled into a large trailer park. RV's and double wide mobile homes sat in a row. Kids ran around playing each with each other. Friends stood around in clusters shooting the breeze. The air was hot and sticky. Somewhere a grill tempted all with the aroma of hamburgers. Everyone was out and about in this small community gathering.

Lisa mumbled in Christy's ear, "Lead the way girl. You're the only one who would remotely know anyone here."

As they walked up the isle of the bus Christy hissed back, "No worries.
Last time I talked to Beebers she was living here. Remember we got an email from her right before we left inviting us to this thing."

"Dios mio! Rizzo ju see that!" Pepe pointed out the window. Outside a teenage girl passed by with a plate of raw hamburgers. Rizzo and Pepe drooled all over the windows.

"Pigs." Christy leaned over and pulled the shade over the window blocking their view.

"You'd think they'd never seen a girl wearing a bikini top and tight tiny shorts before." Lisa rolled her eyes.

By this time a crowd had gathered watching the bus pull in. Most were wondering at who could be coming to the party. Others just went their way assuming the psychedlic bus belonged to a neighbor. Inside the bus Christyb, Lisa, and Fozzie shared a grin.

"Okay guys! Kermit, Lisa, Rizzo, and I received an invite to attend this part. Seeing as we were in the neighborhood and have an afternoon to spare we decided to stop by. So jump on out and join the party. The food is free. Which helps our budget big time. Kermit I hope overriding your authority was okay in this case." Christyb stood up and told the others.

"No problem. I'll enjoy seeing Beebers and her friend Beth. It's been a long time since we all came up with Kevin to visit the dairy farm where they work," Kermit said standing up to stretch his froggy legs.

Christy and Lisa jumped out of the bus. Lisa leaned over and muttered, "That's not all he'll see." Which sent Christy back into snickers.

Within moments the small group had scattered. Dr. Teeth, Steve, Lips, and Zoot met a couple of other musicians and they began playing on the grass. Scooter found his niche in being a go-fer for the ladies setting up the buffet table. Rizzo and Pepe disappeared off to find the bikini girl. Foz and Fozzie took off on a mysterious mission. That left Kermit, Lisa, and Christy craning their necks hoping to spot anyone that looked familiar. Lisa squealed and pointed over the large smoker and grills, "Look the grease brothers! And Cami's with them!"

Kermit shrugged his shoulders as he and Christy ran after Lisa. There working away at the grill were Kevin and B. Regard. Camilla stood a few feet over cooking French fries in a deep fryer. Christy began twisting her hair up and joined Camilla who was struggling with the basket of French fries. Camilla clucked her thanks as the two began working in sync. B. Regard tossed Kermit a spatula and motioned to the spot where the burgers were getting a little more well done than anyone wanted. Lisa grabbed the cheese and began adorning the burgers that were standing on plates in the grill to be warmed.

"You know all the grease in French fries isn't good for you." Kevin shot over at Christyb.

"Oh next year we'll drag a portable oven out here so you can bake them!" Christy shot back giggling as Camilla "accidently" flung a little grease Kevin's way.

Everyone was laughing and talking. All in all the friends were having a good time. Kermit leaned his head back to catch some sun for a moment. It felt good to relax for a few moments. Suddenly as a certain female pig walked up he began to choke.

"Could any of vous help moi carry the burgers over to the table and then we could begin?" Piggy tossed her blond hair back out of her eyes, "You! What are you doing here!"

"I…er…umm….well..you see….there's…..uh…" Kermit began stammering.

Piggy's eyes darted around. Most of these people were strangers. She remotely knew Kevin because his mother was a neighbor. Right now some girl with long dark hair was furiously whispering in his ear. Both her and the other girl looked oddly familiar. Piggy adjusted her white form fitting tank top while she waited.

Kevin turned around and began making introductions, "Piggy these are some good friends of mine. The girl with the long dark hair next to the French fries is Christyb. The one with the cheese is Lisa. Finally, this is Kermit the Frog. Great guy and all around the world's best burger carrier."

"Whatever. Grab a plate and follow me," Piggy grabbed the nearest platter of cooked burgers and huffed off with Kermit following.

"Professional burger carrier?" Christy asked raising an eyebrow.

"What you put me on the spot!" Kevin shrugged.

"I hope this works." Lisa grabbed a platter herself and took off towards the buffet table.

"Bawk, bawk!" Camilla grabbed a basket of French fries and followed Lisa.

"You got a point. We'll stay as long as it takes!" Christy grabbed the remainder of the French fries and took off.

"Kermit is going to kill you if he ever finds out you girls are plotting against him!" B. Regard called after.

Soon all the food was eaten and night began to fall. The air cooled just as someone turned on the outdoor lights. Dr. Teeth and the others assembled their instruments at the end and began playing. A few dancers took the floor as it became obvious that things were not going well.

By no accident Piggy and Kermit wound up sitting together on her porch stoop. Neither were speaking to the other. Christy and Lisa looked together and mouthed "intervention." Everyone knows the best thing about the south is that gossip goes around. By evening fell everyone but Piggy and Kermit also knew about the matchmaking scheme. Lisa looked up at Dr. Teeth and winked. Soon the upbeat music turned into a slow waltz. In moments everyone began pairing off according to plan.

Kermit began to get up and walk over to the girls. His plan was to either ask Christy or Lisa to dance. Before he could even get a word out Beau and Kevin had carted them off to the floor. Frantically he looked around to see every last person taken...except Piggy. Sighing and muttering curses towards his two best friends he walked back over the the lonely looking girl watching the dancers. "I know we hit it off bad. I'm sorry for being such a male pig pardon the term but you seem really wonderful and not to mention your practically gorgeous and I was just awestruck I'm not usually like this and was wondering…"

Piggy stood up and put her hand to Kermit's mouth, "I'd love too."

The crowd parted giving the couple the floor. At first the couple seemed really nervous and awkward with each other. As the ballad played on they relaxed against each other and the magic in the air seemed to do the trick. After a dance or two Christy looked around for Piggy and Kermit. Looking over she caught Lisa's glance. She nodded her head towards a dark corner. Christy motioned for Scooter to dance over that way. Spotting what Lisa was talking about she glanced back over at her and grinned. It looked like the travelers were going nowhere tonight. For some reason not a one of them minded one bit.