Where Have We Come and Where Shall We End (An Over the Garden Wall story)

Chapter 1

~Wirt~

•••

"Okay, Mom. Mhmm. Yes, we'll be fine. Sure, Greg will like that. Love you, Mom. Bye" I finished up my phone conversation with mom, then hung up the phone and set it back on it's stand.

"Greg!" I called up the stairs, absentmindedly messing with the buttons on my sweater as I waited for my little brother to respond to me.

"Yesss?!" Greg shouted back as he bounded down the stairs, Jason Funderberker in his hand.

"Mom and...your dad...got stuck in traffic up in the cities, and they won't be home tonight. They had to stop at a hotel..." I said looking into Greg's big eyes, surprised to see a spark there. Maybe he had the same plan for tonight as I did

"Oh" Greg said, almost sounding disappointed, but I could hear the joy in his voice. "Well I'm still hungry. Can I help you with supper?" He asked, jumping from one topic to another. "Can we have waffles for supper? Oooh, I know, potatoes and molasses! Or...um...ham!! Yeah, a big ham!!" He kept spurting ideas, but I wasn't listing anymore, I was busy thinking.

"Wirt? Wiiiirttt?" Greg called out my name, breaking my thinking haze.

"Oh, what, Candy Pants?" I said with a smile, calling Greg the nickname that I'd been dying to use for months.

Greg looked at me a little strangely, not used to this, but then shook it off, asking me, "Soooo, what're we gonna have for supper, brother o' mine?"

"Well...." I began, "I was thinking we could have a picnic.."

"A picnic?" Greg asked, scrunching up his nose in confusion "At night?"

"Well, it's still light out...so if we get moving." I looked out the window at the not-yet setting sun, illuminating the dead grass on our small front lawn. It's was that awkward time of year between Winter and Spring, where it feels nice and warm, but nearly everything is still dead from being suffocated by snow.

"Oookkayyy, Kitty." Greg said, returning the nickname and making me feel confident that we had the same plan for the night.