Welcome Home!

Part 5: The Snow Day

The next few days were rather tame up until what I had calculated was Sunday. For the first time in a long time, a thick blanket of snow enveloped our neighborhood.

I was instantly up and out of my house, making my way over to Home to alert Wally. Everyone else had woken up except doe him, which was very odd considering his love of the cameras.

As I approached Home, its shutter eyelids rolled up. It stared at me with its large, blank eyes. I waved at it before lifting my hand to knock. Just then, Wally opened his door, quickly stepping out and shutting the door behind him. I thought I heard a heart beating inside.

"Wally! I came to get you because it's impolite to not invite a left-out friend to frolick in the snow!" I gestured to the snow. He sneezed, causing himself to launch up into the air for a bit. He sniffed.

"Ohhhh, thank you. I am not feeling well," he said, his voice nasily. I felt bad for him. He was a good neighbor. Still, he was well enough to do his eyeshadow and hair. I said nothing of it. After all, you had to look your best when the cameras were on! I assumed he wanted everyone looking their best because he would review the footage after and pick out still shots from the video of us having fun. That's why there were cameras.

"Oh, Wally, dear. You go right back to bed! I'll fetch the others, and we'll make you some soup," I reassured the sickly fellow.

He sniffed. "Apple," he mumbled, falling face first into the snow in front of his door. I instantly ran to Barnaby. He was strong and reliable, I thought.

"Barnaby! Oh, Barnaby, friend! Wally has fallen ill and is resting in the snow!" I informed him frantically. Barnaby let out a hearty chuckle and trudged through the snow, making a nice path for me to walk on. (Barnaby was very mindful about the condition of others.)

"Sure is cold, hm? Wally didn't wake up early. Must be sick, eh?" Barnaby asked me, trying to confirm his observations. I nodded. He must not have heard me earlier, but I did not mind. I liked Barnaby. I was especially grateful that he had allowed everyone to crash at his house after the party a few days ago, too.

Finally, we made it over to Wally. He was dozing off peacefully, Home watching him. Barnaby came to a stop just a few steps from Wally.

"Oh. What's a dapper guy doin' out ruinin' his pretty face, I wonder? Wally loves 'is hair." Barnaby scooped up the tiny fellow in his arms. "Would ya mind openin' up his lil' house? Home sure is a lively thing, huh?"

I opened the door. The heartbeat sound appeared again, but it was quiet and slow. Barnaby didn't seem to notice. I looked around Wally's house. It was very lovely, but it lacked cameras. I did not understand why. Perhaps Wally didn't just want photos of himself. I cleared my throat.

"He's still dressed for sleeping, so let's plop him back into his little nest," Barnaby suggested as he placed Wally back into bed. I quickly tucked Wally in.

"Oh, I know! I'll call the others and see if they'd like to make him soup!" I gasped. I ran over to Wally's homephone and called up different neighbors. Poppy was busy shoveling snow to create a path with Eddie. Frank and Julie both confirmed that they could help with the soup. Sally did not pick up. Of course, Howdy offered to give us ingredients. I accepted, for it was his way of helping.

A few minutes later, Julie and Frank arrived. They each held a few paperbags filled to the brim with ingredients.

"From Howdy! Isn't that neat? He's soooooo sweeeeeeet!" Julie swung Frank around happily. Frank mumbled something unintelligible.

"Wally 'ere is a tad bit under the weather - he used to be on top of the snow, though," the grand dog laughed. Frank did not find the joke amusing. Julie and I were truly captivated by Barnaby's ability to make witty jokes.

"Hey. Wally is sick and needs soup. Let's go make some in his kitchen," Frank snapped his fingers. He liked staying on track with his plan. We all agreed and followed him into the kitchen.

I passed Frank the apples Barnaby has cut up. He paused, jaw slack.

"What is this?"

"Oh! That is an apple. They are Wally's favorite food," I informed him. I felt very smart knowing something that Frank did not know.

"No, I mean, why dis you hand me an apple? Those don't go in soup," he replied pointedly.

"To be frank, Wally is odd. An odd man deserves odd soup. The odd soup in question will be apple soup," Barnaby decided, resting a paw on Frank's shoulder.

Frank grumbled but complied. He plopped the slices into a pot while Julie stirred in some cinnamon and sugar.

"Ohh, you know what? Apple soup is just applesauce," Barnaby shared his observation with us. He scooped the applesauce up with a ladle and into a cute bowl with a sculpted bow tie.

Julie and I made our way back into Wally's room. He sat up slowly, blinking one eye at a time.

"Apple?" he asked.

"Apple!" Julie whispered excitedly. She handed him the warm bowl and a spoon. Wally refused the spoon, only blinking at the contents within the bowl. After a solid 10 minutes, the applesauce was gone. He smiled shyly. He was very sleepy.

"Apple," he said. It was in a tone that suggested he was trying to thank us. Julie giggled and patted his hair before bouncing away. I followed after her, closing his door. We stopped by the kitchen again and peered inside.

Frank and Barnaby were cleaning up. They seemed to be in a deep conversation.

"You know, I can't do this anymore," Frank muttered to Barnaby. Barnaby shot him a look that told him to be quiet.

Julie turned to me. "Oh, poor Frankie! He doesn't wanna clean up! Maybe we should go help?"

"You're right. It's not polite to leave others to clean up after you."

With that, we entered the kitchen and helped the pair clean. After we were done with it, Wally would go on to report that his kitchen was still sparkling.

"Let's go play in the snow now!" Julie grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. She jumped into a huge pile, dragging me in with her. I laughed and chucked a snowball at Barnaby. Barnaby dropped down and began rolling in the snow. Frank just watched us in either judgment or contentment. I could not tell.

The rest of the day went by quickly. We were all in our respective houses by 6 P.M., as usual. I made a cup of hot chocolate for myself and sat on my bed. Today had been a good day, i reflected. Still, I could not help but grab my phone. I pressed multiple buttons to call Sally. I could hear it ringing.. and ringing....and ringing. There was still no answer. U decided to leave a message.

"Sally, dear. I miss you terribly! You are our shooting star, and without you, there is no one to energize us! Please return my calls," I said. I clicked another button and hoped that the message had gone through. With that in mind, I dozed off, warm, and content once more.