"Hello passengers, this is your driver speaking. We will be arriving in Smalltown, Idaho, shortly."
Walter took his headphones out, and looked at the beautiful landscape outside his window. They were just on the outskirts of Smalltown. They passed by a few cornfields, and Farmer Graham's farm. He remembers going there many times as a kid, with his brother and friends.
Soon after, the bus passed the welcome sign to Smalltown. The population meter went up, as it passed. Walter put his headphones away, and began to organize his stuff.
"Hope you had a good drive." The attendant said, as Walter left.
"I did, thank you." He responded, getting off the bus. Walter took a look at the beautiful view around him. The bus stop was right in front of Smalltown Park. A park that Walter remembers all too well, growing up near it. All of it he remembers being a child in. This town was his entire childhood, after all. And now look at him, he was living in Los Angeles. Who could have imagined that happening?
Walter walked down the side walk, already seeing some familiar faces of people he knew around town. Many glancing his way, now recognizing him for his fame. Walter crossed the street to the other side, passing by some familiar shops.
"Well, well! If it isn't Mr. big shot!" A gruff, deep man voice said. Walter turned to see a man with a white moustache and messy apron, standing in the doorway of his shop.
"Hey, Mack! How's the butcher shop business?" Walter said, stopping to chat with the older man.
"Ah, same old. I tell ya, I'm starting to get to old for slaughtering meat. Soon my son will have to take over. But forget about me, how's life in Hollywood?" Mack asked.
"To be honest, it's great! But, I'm still getting use to it. It's a lot different than the suburban life, here."
"Well, no kidding it ain't, boy! What the heck is a star like you coming back 'ere for?"
"I have a while off, so I'm coming to see my brother, and old friends. I gotta go, they're waiting. See ya later, Mack!" Walter said, running off with his suitcase in hand.
"See ya later, boy!" Mack responded, waving. "Those Hollywood kids, always busy."
Walter continued to walk his way to his and Gary's house. Well, now it was Gary and Mary's house. After getting engaged, Mary quickly sold her house and moved in with Gary, now that Walter was away. Their wedding wasn't for a while, but they decided that moving in together right away, worked. Their house was also a lot bigger, which would come in handy if Gary and Mary were to ever start a family.
Walter made his way down his street. It was quiet. After all, it was 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday. People were probably sleeping in. When he got to his old house, he turned onto the path way, and went up to the door. He stood on the new Welcome Home mat and knocked.
Moments later, the door opened up. Gary stood there, in his pjs and night robe, drinking coffee.
"Wow, thanks for dressing up for me." Walter laughed at his older brother.
"Come on, we just got up." Gary said back. He smiled at him. "Welcome home."
"Good to be back." Walter said, coming in. Walter looked at his surroundings, he could already see a few changes. There was bound to be a few, since Mary moved in. To start, the door mat was new. Ever since Walter and Gary had moved out of their parent's house, they have never owned a door mat. The house also included some decorative, pretty things, including the flower pots that were right outside. But, hey. They were going to be married soon, so Walter had nothing to argue about. He's forgotten what its like to be in a relationship. His last serious girlfriend was in college, and he dated on and off a few times afterwards.
Walter and Gary walked to the kitchen, where Mary sat in her pjs and robe, too. She drank her coffee, and read the newspaper. When she saw the boys come in, she put the paper down.
"Walter, you're here! How was the bus ride?" She asked her soon to be brother-in-law.
"It was pretty good. I probably wouldn't know though, I slept most of the time." Walter said, sitting at the kitchen counter.
"Well yeah, it's an overnight trip and you're probably exhausted after all that Europe madness." Gary said, standing by his fiancee.
"Oh yeah, what's gonna happen with the Muppet tour?" Mary asked, giving Walter a mug of coffee.
"We're re-planning it." He responded, taking a sip of coffee. "Besides, since Constantine was tricking us the whole time, we kind of have no choice. Those weren't even real shows that we did."
"When's it gonna happen?"
"Not for a while. Since it was cancelled and we got home, we've been asked to schedule a lot of shows around the U.S., including talk shows and performances. So, the tour won't happen for a while, but we've got a lot to look forward to right now."
"Sorry that the first tour was a bust, buddy." Gary said.
"It's fine, I'm just glad everyone is safe." Walter took another sip of coffee. "Kermit said he wanted to hire security, though."
"That's a good plan, especially for travelling stars." Mary advised.
Walter nodded, and kept drinking his coffee.
"Oh by the way, they all say hi." The boy said, remembering Kermit's text from last night.
Gary and Mary smiled, feeling glad to feel partially incorporated in their Muppet family.
"So, I'm not sure if he got in contact with you, but Zach and Parker were hoping to meet up with you later." Gary said.
"Yeah, they told me." Walter said, all of a sudden feeling excited. "We're probably gonna head to the lake. It feels like I haven't been there in ages. Are you guys coming?"
"Well, we have some catering stuff to go over for the wedding, but we were hoping you'd come out to dinner with us and someone else, later." Mary said, giving Walter a funny smile.
Walter arched an eyebrow. "Who's this someone?"
Gary and Mary exchanged a look, smiling. They looked back at Walter.
"Lily." Gary said, still smiling. Walter put his mug down, and looked at the two with surprise.
"Lily?" Walter asked. "As in Lily, our friend from growing up?"
"Of course, who else?" Mary said, still smiling sort of creepily. Walter was suspicious of the two. Why were they acting so weird?
"Wow," said Walter. "I haven't seen her since she left for college in New York. Is she still doing musical theatre?"
"Guess you'll have to find out later, tonight." Gary smirked. Walter looked at him weirdly.
"I don't know what you two are up to, but I'm gonna find out." Walter said, putting his mug in the sink. He then took his suitcase and went to the guest bedroom.
Walter couldn't stop thinking about why Gary and Mary were being weird, on the topic of Lily. Walter and Lily were definitely close friends when they were growing up. Heck, they've known each other since they were five years old, when Lily and her family moved in across the street.
Maybe he needed some outside opinions. Walter was meeting up with two of his other childhood friends, at the lake. They were going to canoe over to the middle, and fish. There was Zach, who had the form of a humanoid puppet like Walter. He had pure blonde, swoopy side fringe, unkept hair. And he was pail. Parker was also like a humanoid puppet, except he had pure black, spiky hair, and tanned skin.
After telling his two friends about his Muppet experience, since they asked and asked, he told them about Gary and Mary's behaviour. How they began to act weird when they brought up Lily. How they kept smiling at him and were anticipating him for seeing her, later that night.
"They're trying to set you up!" Parker said, launching his fishing hook out.
"They're totally trying to set you up!" Zach agreed, reeling his rod in.
"What?" Walter said. "I've barely seen you guys for half an hour, and you're already acting as crazy as you did in high school."
"The only reason we're like that, is because you and Lily so had a thing for each other, growing up!" Zach said, looking at Walter.
Walter's face flushed pure red. That wasn't true, was it? No, it couldn't be.
"I don't know what you guys are talking about..." Walter mumbled, embarrassed.
"Well, we can't speak for Lily, we'd have to ask the girls if she's ever said anything. But, come on! You had a thing for Lily, and if you see her tonight, I'm sure you still will." Zach said, nudging Walter playfully.
Walter thought about, did Lily use to be into him? But more importantly, did he use to be in to Lily? Walter shook his head, trying to get rid of the thought.
"What does it matter?" Walter said, "even if there was something, she lives in New York, and I'm in L.A. That would never work!"
"The last I heard, she's planning to take her career somewhere else in the country." Parker said. "Maybe she'll be closer to where you are."
"And so what if she is?" Walter said, still denying everything. "Even if I did have a thing for her a few years ago, it would have ended as soon as she left for college. I'm not interested, now. End of story."
"Okay, whatever you say bro." Zach laughed.
"Can we talk about something else?" Walter said, "how's life in Atlanta?" He asked Zach.
"Pretty good." Zach responded. "I just got promoted to being Sous Chef in my restaurant. That's one step away from becoming Head Chef, boys!"
"Hey, congrats!" Walter said. "Who would have thought the kid who use to start food fights in our school cafeteria, is now one of the best chefs in Georgia."
"You know sometimes I wonder if you became a chef, because you like to cook, you like to eat, or because you like to meet ladies who hang out at your restaurant bar on Saturday nights." Parker wondered.
"I became a chef for all three of those reasons, my man." Zach laughed.
"Oh, speaking of job opportunities, I'm moving to Boise!" Parker said.
Walter looked towards his other friend. "You're moving up state?"
"Yup," Parker said, happily. "My real estate office is being moved their, and they're offering me a better job with some of the heads of our firm!"
"Parker, that's great!" Walter smiled.
"Look at us, guys." Zach said, reeling in his fishing rod. "Who would have thought that three weird boys from a little town, would make it big? I'm the Sous Chef at a four star restaurant, Parker is a successful Real Estate Agent, and Walter is a shinning L.A. Muppet Star! We did it, weirdos!"
The three friends laughed, and continued to chat on the boat. As good of a time as Walter was having with his old friends, his mind was still set on later that night. Mainly on Lily.
Meanwhile in L.A., Kermit was frantic. Him and a few of the muppets were in the studios, organizing a few things. Even though everyone was taking a holiday, some of them couldn't help but not sit still.
Kermit followed Miss Piggy to the back entrance of the studio. "Piggy, are you sure you want to go to The Grove, by yourself? Maybe I, or someone can-"
"Kermie, stop being so jittery." Miss Piggy said, putting the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "What happened in London, won't happen again. And it certainly won't happen here! I'll meet you back at the house."
When Piggy left, Kermit went to his office. He slouched in his chair, and let out a breath. Though he was suppose to be relaxing on break like most of the Muppets were, he couldn't help but think of the whole recent Constantine situation. Not that he was worried about him getting out, but he was worried about any other threats against the Muppets.
Someone then entered his office all of a sudden, and Kermit sat up. Gonzo came in.
"Gonzo, what are you doing here?" The frog asked.
"Sorry to interrupt you Kermit, but I have just one technical question that I needed to ask in person."
"What is it?"
"If I was able to afford the help of moving in a grown lion into the studios, would you allow it?"
"A lion?" Kermit asked, worried. "Do you want to end up in a full body cast, again?"
"Okay, I'll just go with the jet pack and pool." Gonzo concluded. "Thanks, that's all I needed!" He then walked out of the office, and Kermit sat back in his chair.
He took some notes off his desk, and looked at them. He was trying to figure out exactly what kind of security the group needed. Would they need full time, or just someone who can have a run through with people they hire when scheduling things. The frog was stuck. It was such a simple question, but he didn't know if one or the other was too much or too little.
Kermit looked at his phone, and got an idea. Maybe he needed an opinion from someone who agreed with Kermit about being cautious, in the first place. Kermit looked through his contacts, and speed dialled Walter.
Walter put on a black blazer over his white button down shirt. Him, Gary, Mary, and Lily were gonna get dinner at a little bistro, a few blocks over. It was a semi-formal place, so Walter needed to change. He also hadn't seen Lily in a long time, so he wanted to make a good impression.
The boy looked at himself in the mirror, straightening is blazer. He was ready to go. Before he left the guest room, his phone buzzed. He looked at who was calling, it was Kermit.
He picked up. "Kermit?"
"Hey, Walter. Sorry to interrupt you on everyone's holiday, but can I get your opinion on something?"
"Uh...yeah sure, anything."
"For security, do you think we should get full time, or just someone who can do a check-through with anyone we hire?"
Walter thought about it for a moment, but had a clear answer.
"Honestly, I think part-time works best."
"Really?"
"Well, yeah. If you guys were able to last years without any security, I think we still can. That whole Constantine thing only happened as soon as you hired someone we didn't know, which you've never done."
Kermit hesitated for a second, looking at his notes. It was silent, but the frog followed his instincts.
"Yeah, I think you're right. Thanks, Walter."
"No problem..." Walter responded. The young muppet's voice was nervous-like, because his mind was still set on dinner with Lily. Kermit took notice to this.
"Is everything okay, Walter? You sound frazzled." His leader asked, concerned.
"Well, I-"
The guest room then swung open, and Gary entered.
"Come on, bud. We have to go." His brother said, leaving again.
"Walter?" Kermit's voice asked through the phone. Walter turned his attention back to him, changing his mind. This wasn't something he wanted to bring up with anyone, right now.
"Uh, it's nothing!" He quickly said, "I'll see you later."
"Oh, uh...okay. Bye" Kermit said, not really convinced.
Walter hung up the phone, not really happy with how he left Kermit on the other end. He was probably suspicious of him, after that. But Walter didn't really care, now. He had a dinner to get to.
Make sure to come back for part 3!