Part 122
Glenn was still sitting at the piano at quarter to eleven. He was so lost in his writing, alternating between tapping keys and experimenting with different melodies and writing down the combinations he wanted to keep and lyrics, that he didn't hear the footsteps up the stairs.
"Oh, good morning Glenn," Miss. Crawly said with a bright smile.
The German shepherd looked over. "I'm sorry… I had a song to write but my keyboard is still at home and I can't… I can't bring myself to… but I need to hear the notes to know what I want…"
She patted his hand. "It's quite alright, dear. You are welcome here anytime you like. How are you doing?" She went to the coffee brewer and started to put a pot of coffee together.
"I'm… I'm alright. I miss them but… I still have my sister," he sighed. "What do you think?" He showed the lizard his progress so far to change the subject.
Miss. Crawly read the sheet music. "This is very good." She looked at the title. "Song for Porsha and her sister. That's sweet."
He chuckled. "I thought you guys might be able to use it for your show. And the Greens have all been so helpful?" He explained as the door opened again. "Hey, Mr. Moon and Mr. Moon, I was just showing Miss. Crawly this song that I'm working on."
Gunter gasped with excitement. "Oh, can I see?" He asked. He and Eddie both ran over. "Oh… for the Planet of Love, maybe we could do this. Instead of romantic love, we've done that twice now."
Eddie nodded. "Yeah, the girls could sing this. Darius could do this part here… this is great. I knew hiring you was a good idea. But are you okay?" He asked.
The dog nodded. "Writing helps." He sat back down to work on the piece. "It's how I process."
The guys exchanged a glance. "We understand that better than you know." Eddie said as he hung up his windbreaker. "Why don't you come join us downstairs? The meeting is about to start."
The younger man jumped up. "Oh, yeah. So, you guys have a lot of these meetings."
"Only when we're preparing for a new show," Gunter replied. "We love this theater. And we love what we do. We aren't just a small bunch of coworkers, we're a family."
"A legit family. Not the old "we're a family" B.S. that you hear from jobs that just try to make you work for free," Eddie laughed. "Come on."
Downstairs, everyone was gathered on the stage. Johnny was jumping about. "And we were sword fighting right? Jumping on the sets to instrumental battle music."
Rosita laughed. "That's one fun dream, Johnny."
Johnny nodded. "Well, I was thinking, instead of singing, what if Ryan and I had a sword fight on stage?"
"Yeah! Let's do it! I love that idea!" Ryan shouted exuberantly.
"Oh, so do I. Yes, a sword fight would be just the ticket," Gunter replied, announcing their entrance. They joined the circle with Glenn going to Porsha's side.
Eddie opened his notebook and made a note. "Planet of War - Johnny, Ryan - Swordfight." He nodded. "Great. Since we're on the topic, our newest member actually had an idea. If Meena and Alphonso wouldn't mind trading Love for Joy."
The pair of pachyderms exchanged a glance. Meena laughed. "That would work out. Alphonso and I had an idea for Joy that we wanted to share too. But you first, Glenn. Please."
The dog nodded and offered the unfinished work to Porsha. "For some reason I was inspired to write this song for you and your sister. For the planet of Love. It's not done yet."
Porsha took the folder and opened it. "Wow. Glenn, this is great. Oh, there's even a short rapping section for Darius."
The yak peered over. "Yes, I could do that." Inwardly, he thought, 'I could do more if you'd let me.' Out loud, he said. "It seems like a fun bit."
Gunter chuckled and clapped. "Wunderbar! Porsha, Nooshy with Darius singing backup. Don't worry, Darius, you'll get your chance to shine with us soon enough." He promised.
He nodded. "I'm sure. Hey, Ryan, I met that girl, Chelsea. What's her story? She's cute."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "We were friends in high school and now she's one of us." It wasn't his business to tell the yak. "But she's a great girl and definitely worth getting to know. Just… treat her with respect. She deserves that much."
"Of course, I'll treat her with respect," Darius said. "Why wouldn't I?"
Johnny bit his lip. "No offense, you just can come off a little strong. Remember, last year, twerking at Meena when you were rehearsing?"
"I was ACTING. We were rehearsing a love song," the yak explained. "I'm not some pervert who doesn't know how to behave with a woman." He sighed, sitting back in his spot.
Rosita shook her head. "Okay, let's pull back a little before anyone says anything they'll regret. We have work to do."
Clay held up a folder of his own. "Glenn wasn't the only one to wake up feeling inspired. I wrote this. This would be in addition to the song I sing with Ash. Which still feels most appropriate. There's a part for the children as well." He passed it around, letting everyone take a look.
Eddie took his look last. "So, we'll add an encore number, thank you, Clay. This looks terrific." He looked up when Jerry came in.
"Gunter, your brother is here," he said.
The pig nodded and looked at where the kids were playing. "Sarah, would you like to go to lunchtime with your Onkel Gerhardt?"
The little girl smiled. "Ja, lunchtime with Onkel Gerhardt. Can my friends come too?" She asked the bigger pig.
Gerhardt looked at the many other children. "Oh ja! I can take you all to lunch. I can watch the kids while my brother has his meeting." He smiled.
Rosita shook her head. "Oh no, we can't ask you to do that, Mr. Schweinsteiger."
"Oh, please, Rosita, call me Gerhardt," he insisted. "And please, let me help. I love children."
Jerry stepped up. "I'm going with them, Rosita. Don't worry, I'll help keep an eye on everyone," he promised.
She smiled. "Thank you, Jerry. You know the magic words to say if they start misbehaving. Sorry, Gerhardt. I trust you but my brood can be a bit rambunctious with new sitters. Ask your brother, he knows." She laughed.
He laughed with her. "Oh ja, I understand. Don't you be worrying. I will take good care of all of them. Sarah tells me there's this place called Pizza Planet. We will go there. They can eat pizza and play."
Rosita nodded. "Thank you, they love that place." After the children and the two men had left, she got back into work mode. "Norman and I have been looking into options for the school. We can buy a whole new property and build it ourselves or we can buy a building that needs some good, old fashioned TLC. There are several abandoned school buildings in Calatonia. Including these three in Santa Francesca." She passed around some print-outs of the buildings. "I wanted your opinions."
"Wow, these places are huge," Meena exclaimed. "And it would be not just performing arts but a full school as well?" She asked.
Rosita nodded. "Well, it gives our kids a safe place to learn. And we could find and welcome others with a love for the arts. Everyone deserves a safe place to learn."
"That's right. I don't want to worry about Neo being bullied because of Johnny and I," Ryan said. "Nooshy was already bullied over it. He'll have to start school in September but we're already talking about homeschooling. But homeschooling takes away the social interaction that's so important."
"Well, this'll take some time. I don't expect it to be up and running for at least a year but we could all do a homeschool group together in the interim," Rosita suggested. "I'll look into what we'll need to do that and what we'll need for the school itself."
Eddie nodded. "I think we should visit these local locations and if those don't pan out, we can look at a few in the Greater Santa Francesca area." He said logically.
"I second that," Johnny agreed. Round the circle, everyone agreed. "Let's save building our own as a last resort."
"Great, we are moving right along," the sheep wrote down the important points of the discussion. "Any other new business?"
Ryan raised his hand. "Klaus told me that René would like to take ballet lessons with him and he would like to add a full class for children."
The mother pig bit her lip. "I don't know… With his history, I don't know that I trust him with a class of children." She admitted. Ryan looked hurt. "Ryan, the way he treated Johnny last year…"
"He's nicer with kids. It's grown-ups that he's a little harder on," he argued. "He was a good teacher when I was in high school. Chelsea trusts him with René."
She sighed. "Well, that's her prerogative, René is her daughter. However, I would feel more comfortable another teacher to at least help Mr. Kickenklober. Children are a whole new world compared to adult students. He'll need at least two helpers. I know Nooshy can help." She laughed at the street dancer's excited hand. "But Nooshy will have her own studies to focus on so we'll need extra help for when she can't." They all laughed.
Ryan wanted to defend his teacher but he also knew that Klaus had formed a reputation with the group. They were graciously allowing him one last chance to prove himself but trust would not come easy. "Alright, that makes sense."
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Gerhardt and Jerry sat at their table, eating slices of pizza. The hog wasn't shy about buying a hundred dollars worth of pizza, breadsticks and salad. He even splurged on the Never-Ending Games Package for all of the kids.
"I know it's a lot," he admitted. "But I don't know how long my brother will let me spend time with her."
Jerry shook his head. "Well, he's already said that he doesn't want to deny Sarah. He'd never be able to explain why. How long do you plan to stay?"
He shrugged. "I have nothing for me at my home. Nothing but Father's bank but I can manage that from anywhere. So I guess I will stay until I have to give up. I just… I have to try to get my brother back." He looked at the playing children. "Sarah looks so much like her mother did at that age. She was so sad when Gunter left."
The cat listened to the depressed hog's lamentations. "Just keep trying. Gunter is one of the nicest guys I know. You have no idea what I did and he still… he still likes me. Why don't you just tell him what you told me?"
He shook his head. "I told you, Father made me swear that I wouldn't. I couldn't tell anyone. Not even Gertrude because she would have told him."
"And how'd that work out for you?" Jerry asked. He knew it might be mean to say but he was too used to the tough love that Nana gave.
The hog turned his eyes away. "I cannot tell. Father made me promise on his deathbed. I cannot betray that."
The cat sighed. "I get it… I know what that means but… he babies Gunter. Gunter isn't a baby. He's stronger than your father thinks he is. Look, just think about it. " He said softly. "I don't know what else to tell you. Other than if you're unwilling to tell him… maybe just try… being a big brother. Do what big brothers do. Support him. In a couple of weeks, we're going to Redshore City to put on a show. You should come with us. Or follow us, at any rate. Stay at Crystal Towers, tell them you're a friend of mine and give you my employee discount and my personal suite. I'll send an email to the receptionist. It's one of the finest hotels in the city. Get a ticket to the show. He may not want to talk now but be ready if he ever does. Show him that you are on his side."
Gerhardt nodded. "Won't you need your suite?" He asked.
"No, I'll be bunking with Gunter and Eddie. I am their assistant," he said. "I make sure they have everything they need at all times."
"Thank you for that. At least I know someone is looking after my baby brother," he sighed. "Thank you. And thank you for giving me a chance. For listening and letting me share my burden with you."
The cat looked at the children while they played. Sarah was playing a racing video game with Neo. "Gunter has become a good friend to me. He and Eddie have been there for me. Eddie saved my life. So… looking after them is a privilege that I don't take lightly. And… I will try my best to help you reconcile with your brother. I promise." He offered his hand to the hog.
Gerhardt accepted the outstretched hand. "Any help you can give, without compromising what you have with them, will be much appreciated…"
The two men returned to their task of keeping a close eye on the kids. Every now and then, one would run back and eat some pizza and get a drink but then they'd be playing again. Gerhardt watched them. Gunter had such a big family now. Gerhardt just wanted to be part of it again. He'd buy his tickets to Redshore and to the show as soon as he returned to his hotel. He would not rest until he had his brother back.
AN: Sorry. I was hit by Helene and lost cellular network for days! Thankful we're all okay but I couldn't write! Please review.
