Green Eggs and Ham: Extra Bit(e)s - Looka

The Dookess of Yookia

Looka lied on his bed, holding a plushie in his arms, legs swinging behind himself as he anxiously watched the phone on his nightstand. The summer days dragged on in Ookia, which he could tell you from experience. He felt like he should be outside, making new Zookian friends. But there was a certain someone he was waiting for a call from: E.B. Weebie Am-I.

It shouldn't have taken so long. She and her family departed only a few days ago. Looka tried to rationalize it as 'maybe she was still settling back in' or 'she's preoccupied with her baby brother'. Either way, he hoped that there was a spot with his name on it in her schedule.

But now, he had something else to take care of today. His mother was coming back home.

"Mr. Looka?", his butler Hank asked, knocking on the door. "Your mother's here."

"I'll be right out." Looka gets up and walks out the door.

——

Coming in through the front door of the palace was his beloved mother. Her husband was happily embracing her, looking pretty unprofessional in front of his inferiors. A smile crossed Looka's face.

He says, "Hi, Mom", as he reaches the foyer.

"Oh, Looka!" She kneels down and hugs her son. For a brief moment, Looka felt like he was a toddler again. The same way he felt after his grandfather died (his father went into comatose for days and, in his own grief, Looka only wanted his mother's comfort). Obviously, of course, this was a happy moment. Looka was thankful to see his mom again.

"I really missed you", he says, his voice cracking.

"I missed you too, Looka." She loosens her hold on him and rests her hands on his shoulders. "Now, you, me and your father have a lot of catching up to do."

——

Over dinner, Looka and his dad took turns telling their halves of the story, which they affectionately dubbed How the Outsiders Saved Ookia. The Dookess listened intently.

Looka didn't want to be straightforward about her, but just couldn't speak in code. He was so excited about E.B. that he wanted the whole wide world to know. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but you'd know if you felt that way towards someone.

His mom took special note of that. Looka noticed her smug smile. He subsequently blushed.

"You like her, don't you, son?", the Dookess asked.

If his face could turn redder, it probably did. "Yeeeeaaahh." He really dragged out that 'yeah'.

His parents exchanged glances. "You know about this?"

"Yes", the Dooka answered.

No one said anything for a solid minute. The silence was broken when the Dookess started laughing.

"Would you look at that? Our boy's in love!"

"Mom, please." He was pretty sure his face looked like watermelon flesh.

"You're not in trouble, Looka. I'm proud of you!"

He couldn't answer. He couldn't even look her in the eye.

"And you helped end the war? That's incredible too!"

Then it dawned on Looka that he hadn't brought up that he was in jail for a short while. Probably best not to ruin the good momentum they had going so far.

——

After the meal, Looka returned to his bedroom, still waiting for the phone to ring. Then his mom came in.

"Hey, sweetie."

"Oh, hi, Mom." He barely turned his head to look at her.

She walked over and sat next to him. "That girl means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

Looka blushed again. "You have no idea, Mom."

"Oh, I actually do. Your father and I would talk every night when we were teens. One night, he even snuck out and came to my window and sang to me."

"No way", Looka said with disbelief and a laugh. "Dad sang to you?"

"Yep. Despite being of royalty, he was really modest, never liked talking about himself unless I asked a direct question."

"It's funny. I never told E.B. that I was of royalty until I brought her back here. Luckily, she liked me before I told her."

His mother did a closed-mouth chuckle. "Sounds like a keeper to me."

Finally, the phone rang.

Looka wasted no time and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Looka", said E.B. on the other end.

"E.B.!", he cried out.

"I'll leave you two to it", his mother said.