And now it's time for 'Abner, Come Home'! Anyway, enjoy!

By the time I arrived at Arnold's house, Phoebe, Nadine and Gerald were already there, waiting as I joined them at the doorway. "So, you got the news, too?"

They nodded as Phoebe said, "Arnold's pig went missing, from what Arnold called me about."

"Oh dear, I hope the poor thing isn't hurt." Nadine said as Arnold opened the door, and by his body, he looked really concerned.

"Okay, man, just settle down." Gerald said as we came in with Arnold. "We're right here with you!"

"Just tell us what happened." I said as we walked inside.

So, Arnold told us the tale of what happened, that sometimes in the morning, when he didn't have his alarm clock turned on, Abner, being the loyal pet he is, always woke him up. Sometimes, Arnold would keep Abner in his room for company and even though he may be a pig, he acts like a dog most of the time, which is understandable since there are a few dogs in the building. In fact, Arnold's house, his apartment building, allowed pets. His grandfather and his grandmother didn't mind running the place and allowed pets. At first, they didn't allow kids in the building, but after Arnold came along, at least, as far as he remembered, they decided to stop the limit on that, even though they hadn't taken down the sign yet.

"How deep were things between you and Abner?" I asked sitting down with Arnold in his room where Phoebe was investigating the area.

"Well, he's been with me since I was born. I don't know the full details, but all I know was that my parents saved him." Arnold paused as he looked down.

We decided not to press the issue with his parents, as Arnold would always do that whenever his parents were brought up. We never attempted to question it, but all we knew was that maybe Arnold hasn't seen his parents in a long time. Nadine said, "What else can you tell us?"

"Well, I woke up around eight o'clock this morning, which I found odd because Abner always wakes me up at seven, sometimes I wake up at six-thirty when my alarm goes off." Arnold said. "I went downstairs, figuring he was probably in the kitchen, waiting for breakfast, but then I came in and saw that a doggie door that Grandpa barred up long ago because Abner kept getting dirty and coming in through it when Grandpa disapproved of it was broken. I'm worried he may have ran away from home."

Gerald paused as he said, "Well, did you try going down to the dump and yelling 'sooey'?"

We all glared at Gerald as Phoebe said, "Gerald, that is insensitive of you! You know Arnold cares about Abner!"

"Sorry, I'm just wondering." Gerald said, sheepishly.

Phoebe paused. "Hmmm... could I see that broken doggie door?"

We were all in the kitchen downstairs as Phoebe examined the broken in doggie door, with Arnold saying, "I don't know why Abner would be able to break through the barred in doggie door to get out. And even when Abner does go out, it's usually for two to three minutes, usually carrying some trash with him."

Phoebe paused. "You say that Abner usually hangs with the dogs and a couple of cats, am I right?"

"Yeah?" Arnold nodded as we listened in.

"And he was with you, sleeping by your bedside in the night?" Phoebe asked.

"What are you getting at, Phoebe?" I asked.

Phoebe paused. "Now, this is just a theory I'm getting, but what if in the middle of the night, Abner woke up to see a stray cat walking around the windows? Abner, living with the dogs in the building, has been trained and raised to act like a dog, so, some instincts that a pig would never have unless he was raised by another animal would kick in. Abner wanted to chase the cat, like a dog would. So he tried to find an open space to go out and chase the cat. When he came across the barred doggie door, instinct kicked in as he rammed his head through, breaking through the doggie door and proceeded to chase the cat far away up a tree. But by the time Abner was done chasing the cat up a tree, he was a little too far away from home, and is currently looking for home right now."

Nadine, Gerald, Arnold and I looked at Phoebe in surprise as Phoebe said, "Again, this is just a theory."

"We need to find Abner as quickly as we can!" Arnold said, in worry. "He may be a pet pig, but he's still in danger in the town."

"Don't worry, Arnold, I promise you, we'll find him." I assured my friend, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Besides, how hard could it be to find a pig in the middle of the city?"

Nadine, Phoebe, Gerald, Arnold and I then sat around the table as I said, "Here's the plan. Arnold, Gerald, you two go out into the city and see if Abner is in the areas. Go to the City Dog Pound if you have to. I don't know if they capture pigs, but it's worth a shot. As for us, we're going to go see if we can find Abner in the park."

"All right." Arnold said as he and Gerald ran out the kitchen.

I nodded as I turned to Nadine and Phoebe, Nadine saying, "What's the plan, Rhonda?"

"What else?" I shrugged. "If I can find Arnold's pet, though, this can get me one step closer for sure!"

"But how are you going to do that?" Phoebe asked.

"Nadine?" I smiled, turning to my friend. "You're an animal expert, right?"

"Bugs, mostly, but I love every creature." Nadine smiled. Then her eyes glistened in the light. "Oh, I get it. You want my natural born ability to track animals to track Abner down?"

"Yep!" I said. "And I know you, Nadine. You can't go anywhere without helping a sick, hurt or lost animal."

"Yeah." Phoebe nodded as she turned to Nadine. "I seem to remember that every time we go to the park, whenever you saw a small fly being trapped in a web, you'd help it out, just to release it."

"And I remember the time you tended that kitten's paw." I smiled, making Nadine smile. "That little girl that had the kitten was really appreciative you helped."

"Aw, well, I know it's not a whole lot, but..." Nadine paused. "I'm happy to help out an animal in need."

"So if we can use your animal instincts, we're sure to find Abner in no time!" I smiled.

"I'll give it a try!" Nadine nodded.

"You go, girl!" Phoebe smiled as Nadine closed her eyes and put a hand on her head.

Nadine nodded as she got up. "Follow me, girls. I think I may have Abner in my senses."

Without a word, Nadine ran out the door, and Phoebe and I followed soon after.

We soon arrived at the park as Phoebe and I kept following Nadine. "Are you sure it's this way?"

"For sure." Nadine said, licking one of her fingers and putting up to the sky. "Yep... for sure... Abner is positively... this way."

We kept following Nadine until we reached an intersection... and there were two billboards with some signs. One sign pointed towards Arnold's place (how Arnold's grandfather and grandmother could pay for advertising for billboards, that was amazing... maybe Arnold's grandparents were more loaded than I thought), and there was a billboard with the words 'Wrong Way! Danger!' and the picture on it was a... roasted pig dinner?

My eyes paled in horror as I told Nadine, "Please tell me that sign isn't legal to put up."

"It is, unfortunately." Nadine said, about to barf. "We better find Abner and quick. If my animal senses are right, Abner should have went this way."

Phoebe groaned. "Who puts up a sign with a roasted pig dinner then says 'Wrong Way! Danger!'? What type of business are they trying to promote?"

I just shrugged as we continued following Nadine.

Pretty soon, we located Abner. He seemed to be sniffing around the dumpster areas as Nadine said, "There he is."

"Good..." I sighed in relief as I noticed a company selling footballs called 'Pigskins 'R' Us'. I gasped. "We better get Abner quick before the company there turns Abner into a football!"

"Rhonda, footballs are made out of leather! They are not made out of pig's skins!" Nadine pointed out.

"Actually, leather is a form of animal rawhide, or skin, so Rhonda is not that far off." Phoebe said.

"A brilliant plan." I turned to Nadine and Phoebe.

"What's that?" Nadine asked.

"That's what we need, a brilliant plan!" I explained, trying to think up a plan as Phoebe paused. "Maybe you two can go on opposite ends and block the door, or maybe I could..."

Phoebe then sniffed me. "What perfume are you wearing today, Rhonda?"

"Uh, maybe a little Floral Bouquet..." I said. "Why?"

"No reason." Phoebe said as she pulled out a small miniature fan and started to wave it in front of me. I blinked. "What are you doing?"

"Remember when you lost your pink book and you had to get it from Arnold?" Phoebe asked.

I paused as I recalled that incident...

"That'll take all day!" Gerald complained.

"Not with Abner." Arnold smiled as he whistled for his pet pig.

I always wondered why Arnold had a pet pig. Well, Abner was loyal, to say the least. Gerald chuckled a bit as Arnold took the book and put it in front of Abner. "Here boy, smell this."

Abner proceeded to sniff the book, then acted as if he had a scent. I worried a bit. I was wearing a little perfume, it might have got in the book. Suppose it lead to the roof? I quickly licked my hand and started rubbing the saliva. Phoebe and Nadine just stared at me with confused looks. I frowned. "What? You can't be too careful."

"Yeah...?" I asked, not sure where Phoebe was going with this.

"Turn around..." Phoebe said.

I paused as I turned around... as Abner's ears perked. He looked up and saw me. Abner's butt then moved a little bit as he did a strange grunt that sounded like a combination of the sounds 'oink and bark' and came over to me. Abner sniffed me as he rubbed against me. I was a little uncomfortable at first (which is understandable because I've heard farm animals can get pretty dirty), but as Abner didn't originate from a farm, I got a little comfortable as I picked up Abner.

"How did you know?" I asked Phoebe.

Phoebe gave a smile. "Remember what Arnold said earlier? He may not be much of a tracking dog, but he can be very helpful when it comes to his sense of smell."

I nodded as I petted Abner. "Hey, Abner. Come on, we're going to take you back to Arnold, okay?"

Abner grunted as he seemed eager to go.

"Yes, Arnold. Your master, your boy!" I said in a cutesy voice. I turned to the girls as I led Abner to his home. "Thanks, girls. You are a good help."

"Any time." Nadine and Phoebe smiled.

When I got back towards Arnold's place, Arnold and Gerald had just arrived as I asked, "Did you have any luck?"

"I went to the dog pound, but he wasn't there. I got the idea to hang 'Missing' posters, maybe someone has located Abner." Arnold said in worry.

"Like I just did?" I asked as I pointed to Abner, who was rubbing my feet.

Arnold gasped and smiled. "Abner!"

Abner's ears perked as he smiled, jumping Arnold as he licked him. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay, boy! I've missed you so much!"

I gave a small smile as Gerald seemed to notice a small package nearby. But I didn't say anything as I turned to Arnold. "We found him a little outside the park. Amazing where pigs would end up nowadays."

As Abner got off Arnold, Arnold instantly hugged me, the same way he did when I gave him his hat back. "Oh, thank you, Rhonda, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I kinda blushed, but I smiled. "Oh, it's... no big deal, buddy. Just glad we can help."

My eyes wandered to my friends who were giving me a thumbs up, as if indicating this is the perfect moment. I took a deep breath and was about to say something to Arnold, when...

"Hey Arnold!"

All of us girls deflated when Arnold snapped out of his thoughts and let go of me. Arnold turned to Gerald, "What is it, Gerald?"

"It's here, it's here!" Gerald said as he pointed to the package.

"It is?" Arnold said in excitement.

Me, Nadine and Phoebe stared in confusion as I asked in curiosity, "What's here?"

"Remember six weeks ago when we invited all the kids in the boarding house to help us eat a lot of cereal?" Arnold asked.

"Oh yeah, I remember." I nodded. "I remember having a sugar rush after having two boxes."

"Do you have any idea how bad Rhonda is when it comes to eating too much sugar in one sitting?" Nadine asked. "I had to take her home after I finished one box."

"Well, we got the box tops, didn't we?" Gerald said. "Anyway, we can finally watch Sally's Comet for sure!"

"That's great!" Arnold ripped open the package as we went inside, Abner following suit.

"Sally's Comet?" Phoebe asked as we got comfortable.

"Comes every seventy years. And... if I'm right..." Gerald said as he looked at his watch. "Today's the day! We can watch Sally's Comet pass through the horizon!"

"Cool!" We all said.

"Can we watch?" Phoebe asked. "I always wanted to study a comet up close!"

"Sure!" Gerald smiled as Arnold looked at the package. "Least we can do since you found Abner."

I smiled. "That sounds fun! We can totally watch the comet from the roof of the boarding house!"

Arnold paused as he groaned. "Yeah... this may take a while before we can use the telescope though?"

"Why is that?" Gerald asked.

"Some assembly required." Arnold said as he opened the package and pulled out the telescope and parts of a stand for the telescope.

"Oh..." Gerald paused as Phoebe smiled.

"I'm a good technical genius, I'm pretty sure I can help you with the assembly." Phoebe said as we sat down.

"Thanks, Phoebe. That'll be very useful." Arnold smiled. "Rhonda, Nadine do you want anything while you're here?"

"I can take a little water." Nadine said as Phoebe was examining the pieces.

"Diet Yahoo sounds good to me." I smiled as I sat down next to Arnold.

Well, another moment of confessions may have been ruined by Gerald, but he actually hugged me today! And we're on another group get-together! This is going to be sweet!

There's the forty-fourth episode! How do you like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!