Opening Night
The sun was slowly setting, much to Gizmo's relief. The colors of the majestic sky changed from warm gold to chianti red to rich blackberry..slowly the studs in the velvet black dress of night emerged, waiting for Gizmo to come out into safety...
He peered out ecstatically from the greenery with a smile. "Billy!" he rejoiced, his delicious voice echoing into the night. He rushed out to the home he once knew, the home so long ago, filled with warmth and wonder and human fascination beyond anything he'd ever imagined. He hurried down the streets, with his memory as his navigator. "Billy!" he exclaimed joyously. He hurried to the abode he cherished so long ago...to find it dark....unilluminated..cold....immobile...
An eager, restless tappity-tappity on the bottom of the colossal wooden door. "Billy? Billy?" No answer. He frowned. "Billy?" He hurried to the nearby window. "Billy?" Darkness inside, a few cobwebs, no furniture according to the moonlight, not a single inch of light or lamp or television, nor any wondrous, whimsical, curious invention of Billy's fathers... surely Billy must still be there...? He was the only hope Gizmo had. "Billy?" He hurried to each window on the bottom floor, but saw only the same emptiness with the moonlight's lament accompanying. "Billy?" he frowned, tears beginning to well. He climbed up the drainpipe and slowly, cautiously made his way around. "Billy?" he asked as he gazed longingly into each room. He only saw the same moon-illuminated emptiness. The laughter of a teenage boy was bounding gaily off in the distance, with a strange perverseness that made Gizmo's skin crawl, for a reason he couldn't make out.
The woof-woof wasn't their either. Where was the eager, warm woof-woof? He had managed to head for the balcony atop the backyard. Alas, it too was empty.
Billy was cruising along in his patrol car, making his evening rounds. He passed by his parent's house where he lived before he and Kate wed two years later, making their own home in a small house that was made for rent by an old couple who were moving into Miami Beach. He had wonderful memories there...suddenly, images flew through his mind, images he never wanted too see again...images of assault..images of death and near death...scaly, reptillion images. A friend of his, Pete, now working for a science lab in Wisconsin, accidentally tossing water on Gizmo two years before...Gizmo wailing in pain as he writhed about in the same home..the tiny droplets on his torso heaving forth as five round little balls of fur that swelled...swelled..grew..into five reproductions of Gizmo, but only in the physical sense.... mayhem that proceeded shortly afterwards, a vulgar, preadolescent sort of mayhem...
He tried not to remember....he tried to make forgetfulness a treasure from the Lord himself in his mind.
He couldn't help but notice a strange yet familiar treasure clinging to the balcony out front. He looked closer....could it be? No, it couldn't possibly...could it? He heard it sobbing and his heart instinctively broke. But he couldn't put his finger on how it could happen...then he drove further, looked closer...it couldn't be! It was!
"Gizmo!"
He honked the horn.
"Hey, Gizmo!" he called out as he rolled down the window. "It's me, Billy!"
Gizmo turned and saw. His face illuminated. "Billy!"
He plummeted to the bottom in the midst of his rapture and playfully thumped into the bushes, planted in front a year after he had first departed from Billy.
"Oh, Gizmo!" Billy laughed, emerging from the car to greet him.
A warm embrace as he recued him from the bushes. "Gizmo? How in the world did you get all the way back here?"
"Billy!" he hugged Billy warmly.
"Oh, Gizmo! I missed you so much!"
Gizmo looked at the abandoned house. He was shocked.
Billy laughed "Oh, don't worry, Gizmo. I just moved into a house of my own. Mom and Dad moved."
His mother and father had eventually made a fortune off of his once easily- faulty inventions. They had decided to retire and move to Miami after Billy and Kate got married.
They had also taken the dog, Barney, with them.
"Come with me, Gizmo. You'll like my new house."
Gizmo eyed Billy's new apparel, along with his pistol. "Ooooooh, bang- bang."
"Yeah, Billy's got a bang-bang now! Cool, huh?"
Gizmo reached for the pistol..
"No touchie the bang-bang!" Billy laughed.
He headed for he and Kate's house thirteen blocks away. Kate and he had manged to revamp the Victorian look and feel to a modern yet lived in look of the decade.
"Ooooh! House!"
Billy pulled a pair of his shades out for Gizmo to put on. "Watch out for bright light!" he laughed.
"Oooooooh...bright light.." Gizmo slipped on the shades.
They entered the home. Billy took him on a brief tour...then sat him down in the kitchen on a countertop with a glass of milk and Oreos. He deicded to phone Kate.
"Kate, you'll never guess who's here!"
"Who?"
"Listen..."
He pointed the phone towrd Gizmo..."Hey Gizmo, want to say hi to Kate?"
"Oooooooh, talk-talk, Kate listen..oooooh Kate not home? Where are you, Kate? Kate come home!"
Kate giggled. "Gizmo?"
"Yeah, Gizmo came back, Kate! Isn't it wonderful?"
"Oh, I'm so excited! I missed him so badly! Oh, I can't wait to see him again!" she hopped into her patrol car, eager to see Gizmo once more.
The sun was slowly setting, much to Gizmo's relief. The colors of the majestic sky changed from warm gold to chianti red to rich blackberry..slowly the studs in the velvet black dress of night emerged, waiting for Gizmo to come out into safety...
He peered out ecstatically from the greenery with a smile. "Billy!" he rejoiced, his delicious voice echoing into the night. He rushed out to the home he once knew, the home so long ago, filled with warmth and wonder and human fascination beyond anything he'd ever imagined. He hurried down the streets, with his memory as his navigator. "Billy!" he exclaimed joyously. He hurried to the abode he cherished so long ago...to find it dark....unilluminated..cold....immobile...
An eager, restless tappity-tappity on the bottom of the colossal wooden door. "Billy? Billy?" No answer. He frowned. "Billy?" He hurried to the nearby window. "Billy?" Darkness inside, a few cobwebs, no furniture according to the moonlight, not a single inch of light or lamp or television, nor any wondrous, whimsical, curious invention of Billy's fathers... surely Billy must still be there...? He was the only hope Gizmo had. "Billy?" He hurried to each window on the bottom floor, but saw only the same emptiness with the moonlight's lament accompanying. "Billy?" he frowned, tears beginning to well. He climbed up the drainpipe and slowly, cautiously made his way around. "Billy?" he asked as he gazed longingly into each room. He only saw the same moon-illuminated emptiness. The laughter of a teenage boy was bounding gaily off in the distance, with a strange perverseness that made Gizmo's skin crawl, for a reason he couldn't make out.
The woof-woof wasn't their either. Where was the eager, warm woof-woof? He had managed to head for the balcony atop the backyard. Alas, it too was empty.
Billy was cruising along in his patrol car, making his evening rounds. He passed by his parent's house where he lived before he and Kate wed two years later, making their own home in a small house that was made for rent by an old couple who were moving into Miami Beach. He had wonderful memories there...suddenly, images flew through his mind, images he never wanted too see again...images of assault..images of death and near death...scaly, reptillion images. A friend of his, Pete, now working for a science lab in Wisconsin, accidentally tossing water on Gizmo two years before...Gizmo wailing in pain as he writhed about in the same home..the tiny droplets on his torso heaving forth as five round little balls of fur that swelled...swelled..grew..into five reproductions of Gizmo, but only in the physical sense.... mayhem that proceeded shortly afterwards, a vulgar, preadolescent sort of mayhem...
He tried not to remember....he tried to make forgetfulness a treasure from the Lord himself in his mind.
He couldn't help but notice a strange yet familiar treasure clinging to the balcony out front. He looked closer....could it be? No, it couldn't possibly...could it? He heard it sobbing and his heart instinctively broke. But he couldn't put his finger on how it could happen...then he drove further, looked closer...it couldn't be! It was!
"Gizmo!"
He honked the horn.
"Hey, Gizmo!" he called out as he rolled down the window. "It's me, Billy!"
Gizmo turned and saw. His face illuminated. "Billy!"
He plummeted to the bottom in the midst of his rapture and playfully thumped into the bushes, planted in front a year after he had first departed from Billy.
"Oh, Gizmo!" Billy laughed, emerging from the car to greet him.
A warm embrace as he recued him from the bushes. "Gizmo? How in the world did you get all the way back here?"
"Billy!" he hugged Billy warmly.
"Oh, Gizmo! I missed you so much!"
Gizmo looked at the abandoned house. He was shocked.
Billy laughed "Oh, don't worry, Gizmo. I just moved into a house of my own. Mom and Dad moved."
His mother and father had eventually made a fortune off of his once easily- faulty inventions. They had decided to retire and move to Miami after Billy and Kate got married.
They had also taken the dog, Barney, with them.
"Come with me, Gizmo. You'll like my new house."
Gizmo eyed Billy's new apparel, along with his pistol. "Ooooooh, bang- bang."
"Yeah, Billy's got a bang-bang now! Cool, huh?"
Gizmo reached for the pistol..
"No touchie the bang-bang!" Billy laughed.
He headed for he and Kate's house thirteen blocks away. Kate and he had manged to revamp the Victorian look and feel to a modern yet lived in look of the decade.
"Ooooh! House!"
Billy pulled a pair of his shades out for Gizmo to put on. "Watch out for bright light!" he laughed.
"Oooooooh...bright light.." Gizmo slipped on the shades.
They entered the home. Billy took him on a brief tour...then sat him down in the kitchen on a countertop with a glass of milk and Oreos. He deicded to phone Kate.
"Kate, you'll never guess who's here!"
"Who?"
"Listen..."
He pointed the phone towrd Gizmo..."Hey Gizmo, want to say hi to Kate?"
"Oooooooh, talk-talk, Kate listen..oooooh Kate not home? Where are you, Kate? Kate come home!"
Kate giggled. "Gizmo?"
"Yeah, Gizmo came back, Kate! Isn't it wonderful?"
"Oh, I'm so excited! I missed him so badly! Oh, I can't wait to see him again!" she hopped into her patrol car, eager to see Gizmo once more.