Chapter 10: A New Place Called Home

As the day went on and on,things just seemed to be going very smoothly at the theater when it came to cleaning it up,making new costumes,props and writing songs for the multiple shows they planned to do,not to mention that Rebecca had been using every bit of free time she had on her hands to make the perfect dream house for Ed in a small patch of woods near their neighborhood. Granted it was super annoying for Rebecca to have to constantly go back and forth between the two locations considering how far apart they were,but if it meant she'd be able to give Ed a nice home that would shelter him from the harshness of the winter cold at night,it was well worth it for her.

It was now nearing the end of the day at the theater downtown and like mentioned before,the gang had been doing a pretty phenomenal job with the work they had done. As a result of everyone coming together along with the help of Snoopy's family,James and the rest of the birds,they had effectively and completely remodeled the entire theater from top to bottom in almost a day,and the gang was honestly pretty surprised themselves to think that they had done all this work in just a day.

"Wow,I can't believe we just did all this." Freida deeply sighed and remarked in awe as she and Violet looked around the auditorium and saw just how much work they did to which the latter couldn't help but agree as well "I never thought we'd be able to do this much work in just one day,it's so bizarre to think that WE did this." before Linus suddenly joined in on the conversation and happily retorted "That's the thing with teamwork you two,when you truly put your mind to it,we can practically do anything."

"You said it Linus." The voice of Peppermint Patty suddenly responded in a cheerful tone of voice before she patted the boy on the shoulder and gleefully added "After all it was teamwork that allowed us to beat those bullies at Camp Remote. We got this whole concept in the bag." to which Scheroder overheard the remark and wondered "You know that just gave me the thought of those jerks having to work together,I don't think they'd even get past stage one."

"Unless it involves cheating,those goons would be dead in the water." Patty Swanson added in agreement when she also overheard the conversation before Snoopy and his family suddenly came walking by with a huge mountain of paper in their hands to which Scheroder gasped and questioned in awe when he saw them "Good grief are those really all the lyrics to the songs? Imagine all the music I'm gonna have to play!" only for the beagles to ignore his concerns and plop the music sheets right into the boy's hands.

"Oh I'm gonna have some type of arthritis by the time this all done." Scheroder rolled his eyes and quietly groaned to himself before he decided to look at the songs that Snoopy,his family and the birds had wrote. However as he continued to look at the finished songs that he and the animals had made,his general look of indifference and dread slowly began to morph into a faint smile as he couldn't help but compliment the writers "Snoopy,you guys these…..these are great. The lyrics,the melodies,this are high quality stuff right here." to which the beagles gave off very smug grins in response.

"And some of these are made specifically with some of us in mind." Scheroder happily continued to sing his praises to the songwriters before he handed a few of the music sheets to Freida and cheerfully announced "For example Freida,this one right here is for you and Charlie Brown. It sure looks like a bopper that will do wonders for my piano career." to which the naturally curly haired girl slowly looked through the pages that contained her and Charlie Brown's song with intrigue.

After a few more moments of this,Freida also began to develop an excited and cheerful grin as she handed the sheet music back to Scheroder and happily remarked "Oh you're right Scheroder,this looks like a killer song,especially with the jazz too." before Violet suddenly asked in an anxious sounding voice "D-Do I get any songs of my own?" only for Scheroder to regretfully bid some bad news to her while he looked back through the songs "Unfortunately no Violet,it seems that you,Patty,Peppermint Patty,Sally,Marcie,Pig-Pen,Linus,Lucy,Rerun,Ed,Shermy,Franklin and me will be relegated to chorus and backup singers until further notice."

"What?! Backup singers?!" Violet angrily exclaimed in bewilderment that she would be put into the chorus and backup singer category before she fiercely glared at Snoopy,his family and the rest of the animals who had just now joined them which resulted in all of them nervously smiling at the fuming girl. Peppermint Patty on the other hand was actually okay with being a backup singer as she merely shrugged her arms and tried to cheer Violet up "Hey it ain't no big deal Violet,it's not like we aren't getting to sing at all. Besides I'm sure we'll all still be dancing on stage and all that other kind of stuff." before the animals nervously nodded their heads in agreement to which Violet folded her arms and reluctantly settled with her role "Alright,I guess it ain't THAT bad after all."


Meanwhile at the back of the stage,Charlie Brown,Sally,Lucy and Linus were taking a look at the costumes and stage props that Lucy,Sally and some of the other girls ended up making,and the two boys were very impressed by what they were able to make. The boys costumes consisted of very fancy black suits along with canes and top hats that were each made with very smooth silk,and the girls ended up having sparkly white silk dresses along with a glittery pink tiara for each of them. The stage props they made were also pretty impressive,with one of them in particular being a very tall piece of cardboard that was painted and cut out to look like city buildings at night.

"Wow,Lucy,Sally,you all did great with these. I'm very impressed." Charlie Brown happily complimented the two girls for their work with the costumes and stage props as Sally merely brushed their impeccable talents aside like they were nothing "Is that really supposed to be a surprise to you big brother? Have you not seen my work from art class at school?" to which her brother got a confused look on his face and replied "No,because you never let me see them because they in your own words,suck."

"Oh." Sally timidly remarked in slightly embarrassment before Lucy rolled her eyes and nonchalantly replied "Well the point still stands that these are simply the finest designs in the history of musical theater,so I ask that you show us the highest level of respect now that we have almost single handedly made this show." to which Linus lightly facepalmed himself and reluctantly obliged "Well just to make sure I can avoid something horrible if I do anything otherwise,sure thing Lucy."

However it was then that their conversation and marveling at the stage props and costumes was suddenly interrupted when Marcie came backstage and asked the four of them "Hey,have any of you seen Rebecca around? I haven't seen her or Ed in a while." only for Sally to shrug her arms out of a sense of not knowing while Lucy and Linus shook their heads in confusion before Charlie Brown added equally as confused himself "No Marcie I can't say I have,in fact I haven't seen them at all for quite a while. I wonder where they went." to which Marcie made a quick guess as to where the two of them were "Do you think they could have gone out to build that house of Ed's? Rebecca has been using every bit of free time she's had today to build that thing."

"It does seem possible Charlie Brown,should we go ahead and get them? It is getting pretty late." Linus couldn't help but agree with Marcie's guess and suggested as he looked at his watch to see that it was almost 6:30 PM before Charlie Brown sighed and agreed "Yeah I guess we should call it a day." to which Sally gave a huge sigh of relief and happily remarked "Oh finally,I am completely exhausted."

"Same here." Lucy nodded her head and agreed with the girl as she stretched out her arms out of exhaustion to which Linus felt himself get a little tired as well and suggested with a yawn "Let's say we round everyone up and head for home. I could use a nap." before the five of them headed back out to the stage where everyone was conveniently gathered and doing their own thing.


After a few more moments Lucy cleared her throat and sternly called out to the others "Alright everyone,group meeting time!" to which everyone instantly stopped what they were doing and gathered round in the middle of the stage before Charlie Brown calmly stated "So it looks like we sure did a good job of redecorating the theater today,it looks just as good as new and like nothing ever happened to it in the first place."

"And we made some of the finest theater props and costumes in the history of stage entertainment." Violet suddenly interrupted Charlie Brown's meeting speech with a smug and egotistical tone of voice as Lucy and Sally nodded their heads and agreed in unison "Yes we did indeed." before Scherofer added much more calmly while he stood by the animals "And Snoopy and the rest of us wrote all of the songs for our shows,you're all gonna love them."

"I sure hope the audience does more so." Shermy sighed and nervously retorted out of fear that the audience might not enjoy their songs before Pig-Pen added equally as nervous himself "I just hope the audience will see my dust cloud as an aesthetic decision on the visual side and not downvote the show as a result." to which Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and brought the attention back to his speech "The crowd is gonna love all of us,I guarantee it. But back to what I was saying,all of our work on the construction side is finally done and tomorrow we will begin rehearsals for our first show the next day. However I may not be here tomorrow,I'm gonna be using some of the extra money left over to pay for Rebecca's party at my place tomorrow night,so when you see her tommorow,tell her I'm sick. But in the meantime however,why don't y'all take some of this money and celebrate our first day of work at Joe's Cafe?"

"Absoutely Chuck,I am actually quite famished if I say so myself." Peppermint Patty happily agreed with the idea as Charlie Brown handed her the money after he put the funds for Rebecca's party in his pocket before Linus raised an eyebrow and asked out of slight confusion "You say that like you're not coming with us,are you not?" to which Charlie Brown shook his head and clarified while he put his winter jacket and hat on "Oh I'll catch up with you guys in a little bit,I'm just gonna go check on Rebecca and Ed first."

"Yeah and I better be heading home to my father,he does not like one to be late for supper. Good day everyone."James sighed and also declined to go with the gang to Joe's before he quickly headed outside and made his way for home so he wouldn't be late for dinner,leaving only the Peanuts gang remaining inside.

"Well,be careful out there Charles,it only gets colder and colder from here." Marcie sighed and obliged to let the boy go out and look for Rebecca and Ed before Lucy nodded her head and sternly added "Yeah cause we don't wanna have to drag you all the way back home in the middle of the night. I already have to do it once during Halloween." to which Charlie Brown chuckled and confidently reassured them that he would be safe "Don't worry everyone,I'll be fine,Rebecca said her construction area isn't even too far away from here."

It now seemed that the others were starting to get more comfortable with leaving Charlie Brown out here for a while as Freida cheerfully suggested to the others "Well suit yourself then,come on gang,let's go get ourselves some grub and head on home." before they all exited the now spotless theater and made their way back towards the tour bus with Joe's Cafe as their main destination.

"Here's the world famous musical theater producer and his companions setting out for a nice and refreshing meal after a hard day's work." Snoopy calmly thought to himself as he guided everyone onto the bus and into their seats before he sat down in the driver's seat,started the bus up and quickly made his way towards Joe's Cafe while Spike thought to Olaf,who was sitting right next to him in the seat behind the driver's "I think our brother should write all these alter egos of his down." to which the overweight beagle quietly replied "I think he already has,it's just that he keeps making more and more up."


Meanwhile in the middle of a small patch of woods away from the theater and slightly closer to the neighborhood,both Rebecca and Ed were slowly walking to some unknown destination in the glen,or at least Ed was since he had the task of getting there with a red blindfold covering his eyes while Rebecca merely held his hand and led him to this mystery place they were going to.

"Are you sure you can't just tell me where we're going? I'm worried I'll fall into a porcupine nest again,I still have nightmares about that and they still haven't forgiven me for it you know." Ed anxiously asked in a mixture of paranoia and excitement as he cautiously walked through the huge piles of snow that lay on the forest floor before Rebecca sweetly reassured him that he'd be fine "Don't worry Ed,I won't let you fall into a porcupine nest. Plus we're almost to the surprise."

"Almost there? I distinctly recall you saying that ten minutes ago-"

"Here we are!" Rebecca suddenly exclaimed in pure excitement as she let go of Ed's hand and took off his blindfold in a flash which resulted in the boy struggling to see for a few moments,but when he finally did regain his vision,what he would see would shake him to the core. Standing a few feet away from Rebecca and Ed was a small wooden cabin with a single window on the left and right side of it,a short set of stairs that led up to the front porch where a swing chair was hanging from the ceiling,and all topped off with multiple colored doghouses that each varied in size and shape.

Ed was left absolutely stunned and speechless due to what he was looking at and Rebecca was desperately trying to prevent herself from screaming her head off in excitement before Ed stammered out of shock "R-Rebecca,what is this?" to which the girl couldn't hold it back anymore and screamed out into the heavens while she tightly hugged her friend "Surprise! I made this just for you,it's a cabin for you and the rest of your crew whenever you come over! Isn't this great?!"

Ed on the other hand merely kept completely silent and continued to stare up ahead at the cabin in bewilderment,and Rebecca was quick to notice that he didn't look too excited for it and grew a look of weary as she let go of him and asked "Huh? Is….is something wrong?" to which Ed timidly asked in a soft tone of voice "Did you…...do all this for me?" before Rebecca developed a faint smile and clarified things for him "Yeah..I...I did. Granted I needed to get a few of the birds to help me but…...I spent every minute of free time I had today making this for you."

"But why…..why me?" Ed stammered in awe that Rebecca would even consider doing this for him at all to which the girl sighed and finally let out all her feeling for him "It's because I like you Ed. I really like you. When you I first met you at that orphanage,I felt something small awaken inside me,it was small granted,but it was still there. And the more time I spent with you during that trip and with you coming to get me out of that horrible and all,that feeling inside me just kept growing and growing,but when you had to leave after the carnival….that was when I felt a desire to be with you,and thus I started writing those letters just to talk to you. And when you came back after all that time and ended up having to sleep in the freezing cold every night in Monte Woods,it just made me want to give you a place where you,Herman and the rest of your crew can unwind,relax and…..be happy. I don't even mean it in the sense that you need to stay here for the rest of your life,but just whenever you come over. I….like you Ed."

Once again the forest was left in nothing but an eerie silence and Ed even more so since not even the sounds of his breathing could be heard,and Rebecca started to get the feeling that this was all for naught as she sighed and somberly whimpered while she begun to walk away from the boy and the cabin "Never mind Ed-"

"I've….wanted to hear those words for so long." Ed suddenly interrupted Rebecca's sulking in a happy yet shaky tone of voice as Rebecca's eyes widened out of shock and disbelief before she slowly turned around to see Ed looking at her with tear filled eyes and a huge grin on his face while he continued "To find out that a girl has these kind of feelings for me aside from my mum,I always thought I'd never get to experience that but…...thanks to you…..I finally can."

Ed then suddenly sprinted right towards Rebecca and gave her a nearly crushing hug as he gleefully remarked while he cried tears of joy "I love it Rebecca,I absolutely love it and….I love you too!" to which Rebecca grew the largest smile she could have possibly grown and cheerfully asked while she joined in on the hug "Really?! Oh I knew you'd love it!" before Ed happily cried out "Even when I have to leave one day Rebecca,I'll always be glad to call this place and Sparkyville my home! Thanks to you,and everyone else!"

Afterwards Ed and Rebecca began to happily laugh and cry at the same time as they both swung each other around amidst their hug for a few moments before they finally sat each other down and stared up ahead at the cabin while Rebecca asked "So,you want a tour of the place?" to which Ed nodded his head and cheerfully agreed "It would be an honor."

Rebecca: There's a place called home,I can practically see,with a red front door,and a roaring fire,and a Christmas tree.

Yes a place called home,full of love and family,and I'm there at the door watching you come home to me.

Ed: Through the years,I'll recall this day.

Both: In your arms,when I finally found my way-

Rebecca: to a place called home,and a life for two.

Ed: You'll have everything you could ever want.

Rebecca: All I want is you.

Both: And a place called home. You and I will always be.

Rebecca: In the dark of the night,let your heart come home to me.

Unbeknownst to Ed and Rebecca however,while they were inside and looking around the cabin to see what it was like on the inside,Charlie Brown was watching their whole proposal carry out from a bush nearby and he was happily crying to himself at the sight of their coupleage,in fact it almost reminded him of him and a certain someone from a long time ago.

Charlie Brown: Through the years,I've recalled this day.

Rebecca And Ed: In your arms.

Charlie Brown: In your arms.

Everyone: When I finally found my way to a place called home.

Rebecca And Ed: And a life with you.

Rebecca: Where the days are long.

Ed: And the love is strong.

Rebecca And Ed: And the dreams are true.

Charlie Brown: And the dreams are true.

Rebecca And Ed: Just a place called home. You and I will always(always be)be.

Rebecca: In the dark of the night,let you heart come home to me.

Everyone: To the place in my heart,where you'll always come with me.

"A Place Called Home" Copyright Of JAY Productions. Music By Alan Menken And Lynn Ahrens.