Gene Driscoll: A Green Eggs and Ham Story

Plunderball

Despite the difficulty of the beginning of the mission, all Gene and Pam had to do was return the file to the Dooka for him to take action, or at least his royal law enforcement. For their actions, the two of them were each given a large payment of bruckles.

"Wow! With this much money, I could just retire now!", Gene joked as he and Pam walked out of the palace. She laughs. But even though she had a sizable pay too, she shook her head.

"Still not enough for the base."

"Base?"

"This old mountain base Dad and I are trying to refurbish. Can't say too much about it, I'm afraid."

"I understand. Now I can get Mellie everything she's ever wanted."

"How much could she demand? She's just a baby", Pam said, benignly shaking her head.

"Just getting ready. I know she'll be asking for everything she sees." He smiles. "Thinking about taking her to Papa Tony's again. Wanna come with?"

Pam shrugs. "Sure. Don't really have much else to do tonight."

--

Meanwhile, at the Meepville prison...

Having been ambushed at the airport by the cops after the report was faxed to the chief, Sylvester McMonkey McBean was tossed into a cell. His anger rose and he resorted to whaling against the cell wall, badly bruising his knuckles.

"That's not gonna get you anywhere, bud", the person in the next cell said.

"Oh, I'm sorry . Did all your life's work get flushed down the crapper in one go? All because some idiot didn't use my codename!"

"Sucks. But you're in jail now, so suck it up."

"If I got my hands on who was responsible..." McBean didn't finish that statement.

"You know...it doesn't have to be this way."

McBean peeked up. "What are you saying, old man?"

"I'm saying I think I know a way for you to get back at the one who wronged you."

McBean walked to the edge of his cell to get as close to his neighbor as possible. "Tell me! Please!"

The man didn't say anything. Instead, he reaches as far over as he could with a slip of paper in his hand. "Next time you ask to make a phone call, tell them you need to talk to Twotymer."

--

That evening, Gene and Pam sat together at a booth, with Melanie in a high chair at the end of the table, eating some more pizzas.

On this outing in particular, Pam was evenly splitting her attention between Gene and his daughter. She stopped eating her own food to assist Melanie with hers, even helping to burp her and wipe food remnants off her lower lip. Gene looked on with a smile.

Afterwards, in the parking lot, Pam used the telephone to call up her father. She came back, crying.

"What happened, Pam?", Gene asked.

"It's Daddy, he..." She paused. "He...fell down some stairs and broke his neck. Snalfred picked up the phone when I called." Using a handkerchief, she wipes her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Pam", Gene says in a soft voice. Melanie picks up on Pam's grief and begins crying too. Gene didn't really know what to say or do; he couldn't comfort one without the other feeling envious. Especially not with Melanie in her carrier over his chest.