WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? IS A MOVIE BY ROBERT ZEMECKIS (BASED ON THE BOOK BY GARY K. WOLF)

She had had trouble finding the place, but, if the address she had written on a piece of paper was correct, she was there at last. Betty put it inside of her purse, held it tight and climbed the stairs. The truth is she expected to find a place a bit more...a bit less...Anyway, she expected a different kind of place. Or maybe she was just used to the color and vitality of Toon Town and that seemed shocking to her. Nevertheless, when she reached the floor in question and saw the door with the letters "Valiant & Valiant. Private investigators" at the end of the corridor, everything in her head which was not related to the matter that brought her there just flew away. In spite of the effort she had made to forget about it for just a moment, so she wouldn't start bawling in the middle of the street like an idiot.

She took deep breath and knocked twice at the glass. No one answered. Not a single sound from the inside. But Eddie was there. She knew it. He had to be in there.

"Eddie?"

Betty placed the hand on the doorknob but didn't turn it.

"It's me, Betty...Remember me?"

She moved her face a bit closer to the glass. Yes, he was definitely in there. She could see light inside.

"Eddie. Open up, please...I just want to talk. I think that's what you need to do now."

Again, no reaction. Betty waited around a minute but there were still no signs that Eddie was going to answer to her. Betty leaned against the door.

"...Eddie, it's horrible what happened to Teddy...Horrible..." Betty felt tears coming back to her eyes helplessly by just thinking about it. "He was a great guy, he didn't deserve what happened to him. I'm...I'm worried about you, you know? You don't come to Toon Town anymore. And they say you've been drinking too much. I don't want to nag, I know you're having an awful time, he was your brother...But...Oh, come on, Eddie, don't you even want to see me?"

Silence again. She had to take a handkerchief from her purse to wash the tears running down her face. She didn't dare to speak again for a while, when she felt a bit more calm. If Eddie noticed her state, that didn't move him the least, that was clear.

"Eddie...Open, open up, please, Eddie, I want to know how you are. Talk to me, please. I don't want you to be alone."

De nuevo, ninguna reacción. Betty esperó alrededor de un minuto pero seguía sin haber señales de que Eddie fuera a contestarla. Betty se apoyó en la puerta.

Betty waited. Waited. But the door was still closed. Sniffing her nose, the toon sighed and decided this was going nowhere. It was clear that he didn't want to talk.

"Alright..." She repeated, this time clearer. "If you don't want to talk, I won't force you to. But...Well, if...if you need something, anything...you know where to find me...B-Bye, Eddie..."

Betty had to force herself to walk; else, she was sure she'd stay here all day long. She crossed the corridor, often turning around to look at the door. Maybe she kept expecting it to open and Eddie to come out to apologize for his behavior and invite her in. She didn't decide to go back home before she descended the two first steps.

The one who gave him the address had told her she was wasting her time visiting him, Valiant wouldn't come out from his apartment in a long time; but Betty studied the possibility of returning the next week, to give him a little more time. She would talk to someone who knew about those issues, maybe Eddie was just in a shock, maybe that was a natural reaction during the process of mourning. But she wanted to be there. Eddie was a good friend and a great professional. He and his brother. Betty was starting to avoid thinking about him, because, if she did, she would cry until her ink ran. But, poor Teddy!

THE END