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Part 38: Pamper

Sally had a lot of activities planned, but she was willing to tone it down if I was tired. For the most part, Sally just wanted to talk. I liked that idea.

"Sally, why doesn't Barnaby say things nicely to me?" I asked quietly as I colored in a picture with Sally. She looked at me for a moment before going back to coloring.

"He's being mean to you?" Sally questioned quietly. She crossed her arms and hummed as she thought.
"Hmmmmm... Oh! I know why. Even though Barnaby is hollow, he still has some stuffing. He doesn't have as much as he used to, thanks to Wally. In short, you are comprised of a heart and some stuffing."

"Okay..but that is very vague," I reasoned. Sally shrugged.

"I'll tell you some other time. For now, you simply must give me a list of people who have been mean to you," Sally grinned mischievously.

"I'd rather not do so right now," I chuckled nervously. I did not need Sally knocking Julie unconscious. Sally was quite reckless.

"Suit yourself! Now, would you like to try cheering up Wally? When he gets like this, I help him steal apples from Howdy. Should we do that?"

I sighed. Howdy was not particularly  pleased with me at the moment, and stealing apples would certainly worsen that.. but on the other hand, Wally was in desperate need of fun. I thought of an idea Wally would probably enjoy.

"What about a spa day? Wally seems like the type of puppet to enjoy being pampered," I offered my idea. Sally's eyes lit up.

"Positively perfect! You brilliant sunbeam!" Sally held my hands and spun around the room with me for a few minutes. "Yes! Wally would definitely like that!"

We were about to wake up Wally when he began speaking in his sleep.

"Are you.. apple? ...'Cause... you cool," he mumbled. Sally laughed and slapped his hair. The sound was akin to a metal pipe being slapped.

Wally sat up slowly and looked at the both of us as he rubbed his eyes.
"Hmmnnggg?"

"Come on, little friend! You're having a spa day!" Sally grabbed him by the ascot again and pulled him off the couch. She threw him into an armchair as if he were a ragdoll.

"Sally, dear! Be careful with him! He's small and delicate!" I chased after her. Sally giggled.

"You're one to talk, aren't you? That's okay. Look! Wally seems fine. That hair of his is essentially a helmet," she chuckled. Wally grumbled. Sally patted his cheek aggressively. "Oh, quit being so grumpy."

(Just being with his friends helped Wally overcome his current feeling. Wally was glad that he had two people looking out for him. Kind of.)

The pampering session began. It was a lot of fun. Sally and I put a face mask on Wally.

Now, spa days were not Sally's specialty, so she had no supplies. Luckily, Julie loved pampering herself and others, so she was kind enough to give us plenty. We asked her to stay, but she politely declined. She had to scold Frank for some reason.

"Geez, Wally. If you keep staying unhappy, your face is going to be covered in wrinkles," Sally said as she slapped cucumbers onto Wally's eyes. I cringed slightly, imagining the feeling of cold objects hitting my eyes.

"Me? Wrinkles? Every time I walk past a mirror, I can't help but say something like,"Oh, look at me!'" Wally laughed.

"I think you're a bit self-absorbed there, friend," Sally teased him. She handed me a hair mask packet. "That won't do anything for his hair, but it will feel nice. Don't bother with trying to remove the hairgel. Just slather it onto that sculpture atop his head."

"Sculpture? I only have hair--oh."

"Don't worry, Wally. I think you have lovely hair," I said as I patted the hair mask into his hair. Wally's smile brightened. That made me happy. I made a silent promise to myself to stop being so oblivious and try two magical things called critical thinking and common sense.

"Do you think I'm lovely?" Sally poked me as I began placing the press on nails onto Wally's fingers.

"Yes, quite."

Sally cheered. "Haha! Yes! Beat that, Wally," Sally stuck her tongue out at him. Wally did not notice because he still had cucumbers on his eyes.

"I think that blue nails suit you," I hummed as I added the final layer of polish onto the nails. Wally nodded slightly.

"Everything suits me," he laughed. Sally threw a folded towel onto his forehead.

"You're not supposed to compliment yourself!" Sally gasped, feigning surprise.

(Wally was grateful that you two had willingly tried to make him feel better. Your attempt did make him feel better... Much, much better, in fact.

Wally enjoyed the feeling of being cared for. He especially liked the cold feeling of the mask on his face.

Stull, he worried slightly about what would happen past curfew. He assumed that Sally would hide in her attic, but he wasn't sure. He already knew that you didn't know now. You had known about her problem at some point, but that knowledge was gone now.)

"Sally is right, you know," I giggled. How silly of him to compliment himself so much! I knew he was just teasing, though.

We continued gossiping and pampering Wally for the next hour or so. It was almost curfew. All of us were sleepy. We were all wearing our pajamas.

Wally donned a dramatic, flowy robe that dragged on the ground when he walked. It looked so soft! Sally and I both wore long pants and an oversized t-shirt.

"Wally, we're sleeping, not impressing a king," Sally groaned. She wasn't upset, just tired of his flashy behavior. Wally didn't mean any harm with what he did!

"Oh, you are right. I will sleep in these, anyways," Wally chuckled sleepily. He waddled over to one side of the couch and wrapped himself in a blanket. I flopped onto the other side and tucked the blanket around me. Sally patted our heads before skipping over to the ladder leading up to what I assumed was her attic.

"Nighty night, my sleepy friends!" Sally sang softly. She climbed up into her attic.

I snuggled deeper into the blanket. Wally was still awake.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked gently. I knew the answer already, but I needed confirmation. I was going to try my best not to play with others' feelings unknowingly.

"I am. Thank you, my dearest neighbor," Wally yawned. "May yoi dream of apples," he mumbled, now half-asleep.

"You too," I answered quietly. I had received the highest form of Wally's goodnight greeting! I closed my eyes, content with the day.

"I'm sleeping...now dreaming.." droned Wally quietly. I chuckled one last time before falling asleep.