11- A Tale of Two Lamps
Robbie pulled into the parking lot of his Mother's repair shop. In the passenger seat was a take-out container.
Lampy swallowed. "I don't want to go in the back room. It's not the same anymore with Igor gone."
Radio paused. "Well, his replacement might be nice."
Lampy, Radio and Kirby were carried into the repair shop, while Robbie helped his mother clean up.
Once the two left the back room, Lampy looked up.
"Oh, did you come to see me?" A familiar voice said. The lamp descended. "I do love the company."
"Igor, but we thought you were dead?"
The lamp chuckled. "I did too, but my replacement was... not up to standards. Something about... not all her parts were included. Mrs. McGroarty got a full refund on her though."
"So, instead of being replaced..."
"I was repaired and put back in my spot."
Kirby glared at his two companions. "There you go, jumping to conclusions! I knew we should've stayed to listen to the full talk."
"You're one to talk," Radio retorted.
Igor chuckled. "I just had a frayed wire, that's all. Nothing electrical tape can't fix." He paused. "You think I was going to let that kill me? I've been up here for decades."
Doc unplugged himself and hopped to the office. A single pearl white lamp hung from the ceiling.
"Still thinking about it?" Doc asked. Nancy scuttled over.
The lamp gave a sigh. "I would've been active sooner, if some idiot at the factory didn't pack the wrong parts. I almost got placed at a small repair shop.
"So, how'd you..."
"They sent me back, put the right parts in and I was brought here."
"I'm sorry, Celeste," Doc said.
"That's all past," Celeste assured him.