CHAPTER 2: PRE-TRIP TALK

Charlie Brown was getting clothes packed for his trip to France to see Violette. He was also looking forward to seeing Marcie again and getting reacquainted with Pierre. Also going with him and Linus was Spot, his new beagle and the last surviving descendant of Snoopy. Spot looked a lot like Snoopy, save for a black spot on his right eye, hence his name. He also acted human like his relatives, though he was much more mellow and respectful. And he wasn't greedy about food like Snoopy, either. While he still begged for food when it was time to eat, he didn't make Charlie Brown apologize to his stomach or say 'Bon Appetite" before eating; in other words, he wasn't petty about the food he ate. Though one trait did carry over to Spot; a love for cookies.

Linus was also packing his things. He, in particular, could use the trip to escape the family drama going on in his household. Aside from Lucy's alcoholism, Rerun had also joined up with a bad crowd. He was committing petty crimes like larceny, vandalism, and doing drugs, though thankfully not selling them. He was also doing some underage drinking of his own, though he wasn't a full-blown alcoholic like his sister, but he was doing his fair share of partying. Their parents were at their wits end, and if it wasn't for Linus being the only seemingly sane kid in the family, their lives would be totally a wreck. On the plus side, Lucy had entered rehab with plans to join Alcoholics Anonymous soon afterwards. At the very least, she saw where her life was headed and agreed to get help. Rerun, on the other hand, was a bit harder to pin down. He had cursed out his parents, gotten in trouble with the law, expelled from public schools all over the Sparkyville area, thus having to go to charter schools to finish his high schooling, and the Van Pelts had lost count of how many fights Rerun had gotten in. Linus wanted a break from the drama, and going to France for a few months with Charlie Brown was the answer to his prayers.

If there was one person Charlie Brown DIDN'T want knowing about his trip, it was Peppermint Patty. In the years since he told her he only liked her as a friend, she still held out hope that he would change his mind and see that she was the one for him. And Charlie knew she was still carrying a torch for him. The only way he would accept Patty coming on the trip with him, Linus, and Spot would be if Marcie herself had invited her to come, seeing how they were best friends. Plus with Charlie trying to reconnect with Violette, Patty would have been playing third wheel to them, monopolizing their time together. Even at 21, she was still a person in denial, wanting to hear what she WANTED to hear, rather than what she NEEDED to hear. Charlie Brown had since realized, as bad as he was with his anxieties and depression as a kid, Patty was much more sensitive and vulnerable, and probably even more thin-skinned than how tough she made herself out to be.

Charlie Brown walked out to where Spot was at. Spot had taken over Snoopy's old doghouse and made it his own. Another trait inherited from Snoopy was that Spot also slept on top of the house rather than inside.

"Hey Spot," Charlie Brown began, "would you like to go to France with me?" Spot rolled over and nodded eagerly.

"Well get ready, boy. We have a big trip ahead of us in a few days." And Spot got off the house and went inside. Another thing that was different about Spot from Snoopy was that, while Snoopy would pack a ton of stuff for a trip, even if it was only for a few days, Spot only carried what he needed. He may have acted human himself, but he wasn't a prima donna like his relative was.

A 19 year old Sally walked up to her brother and dog. She said, "So you're going back out to France for the summer, huh?"

"Yep," said Charlie Brown. "Linus, Spot, and I are going out there. Not only to reunite with Violette, but to catch up with Marcie and Pierre, as well."

"Well I do hope things work out for you and her."

"Thanks, sis. And thanks for taking care of Spot while I was at UCLA."

"No problem. Spot is easier to handle than Snoopy was, and they're related!"

"I know. It is scary, isn't it?"

"Does Peppermint Patty know you're going to visit Marcie?"

"If she does, I'm not the one telling her. I don't want anything to interfere with my reuniting with Violette. And Patty is still holding out hope that we'll be together, even after I told her that I just wanted to be friends. I told Linus if Marcie wanted to invite her and she came out with us, that was fine, but I wasn't going to tell her myself, because she would invite herself to come on our trip. Remember what happened that Thanksgiving?"

"Don't remind me! She pretty much bogarted her way into our Thanksgiving dinner, inviting Marcie and Franklin in the process."

"Exactly! And she'd do the same on our trip. But that's not the only reason. As I said, she still hopes that we will end up together. And I'm afraid she would try to come between me and Violette. I want to find out if the two of us have a future together, and if Patty was there, I wouldn't even get the chance to find out."

"Well, as I said, I'm rooting for you. And if I see her, I won't tell her about the trip, unless Marcie invites her."

"Thanks. Right now I need to continue to get ready for the trip." And Charlie Brown went back inside to finish packing his things.

NEXT CHAPTER: FRANCE, HERE WE COME!