"Mr. Bob, sir?" Stefan asked as someone picked up the phone.

"It's just Bob, Mr. Bob is my father." there was a pause, "And he's dead."

Stefan wasn't sure how to respond to that. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Anyways, what can I do for ya?" Bob asked gruffly.

"This is Stefan at the Furever Homes shelter. I had called a few days ago about..."

Bob cut him off before he could finish his sentence, "About that little green thing, yea I remember. I'm getting geared up to come out there and take care of it. Been researching, goblins and ghouls and the like. I guarantee thoroughness, so I am being thorough."

"Yea, so about that. Uh, it was adopted. And we no longer need your services."

"It was what now?"

"Adopted."

"Adopted," Bob repeated.

"Yes, adopted."

There was another period of silence and Stefan considered hanging up the phone.

"You let someone adopt that thing." Bob didn't phrase that as a question. Stefan's cheeks burned,

"Well, I didn't but, uh..."

"Now who on God's green earth would wanna adopt that varmint anyhow?"

Stefan paused. I should have made Jackie call this man, he thought.

"It was some old lady..."

"An old lady?"

"Yes."

"You let a grandma adopt that thing?"

Stefan sighed,

"Maybe, I don't know if she has grandkids."

"That settles it, I'll be there in the morning. Have the address ready for me."

"No, we don't...."

The phone line went dead as Bob hung up. Stefan placed the phone down in the receiver and shook his head,

"Jackie!" he yelled from his office. She poked her head around the doorframe,

"What's up?" she asked.

"Bob will be paying us a visit. Make copies of that goblin thing's adoption papers, please."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Len, you know there's no changing her mind," Davis said, following his wife through the hall as she walked towards the bathroom, sliding one of her earrings through her ear lobe.

"So you let her get a, what did you call it?"

"A goblin."

Lenora turned and looked at her husband, one hand on her hip.

"I want you to repeat that and realize how ridiculous you sound." She said.

"She adopted a goblin."

Lenora rolled her eyes and walked into the bathroom, grabbing a canister of shea butter and rubbing it on her arms and hands.

"What's daddy talking about?" Andrea, their daughter, asked as she came down the hallway, dragging the stuffed rabbit that was more than half her size across the wood floor.

"He said Grandma got a goblin, baby," Lenora said, her face close to the mirror as she applied a dark liquid eyeliner.

"What's a goblin?" Andrea asked, staring up at her dad. Davis picked her up,

"You know, like that green thing from the Barbie movie. The one with the fairies," he said.

"Daddy's just being silly, Drea." Lenora said, finishing her makeup and turning to look at her husband.

"I'm really not." Davis said, setting Andrea back down. She stared up at the two. Lenora raised an eyebrow and shook her head,

"You really are something," she said, kissing her husband on the lips.

"Blech" Andrea made a noise of disgust and Lenora and Davis laughed.

"Where's Reggie?" Lenora asked.

"He's in the living room on his iPad." Davis responded, "Don't worry, he's ready to go. Got his shoes on and everything."

"He's got his shoes on while he's on the couch?" Lenora asked. Davis rubbed the back of his head nervously,

"They're the new ones," he insisted.

"Better be. Now come on, let's go see this goblin thing your mom has."

After the seemingly endless struggle of buckling their toddlers into their car seats and a brief drive, the Bell family pulled into the driveway of Antoinette's house. She opened the door and waved at them as Lenora and Davis undid their kids' seat buckles and helped them out of the car. The kids ran to Antoinette and hugged her tightly, one hanging on each side of her as she wrapped an arm around each one and smiled warmly.

"Davis, what is that?" Lenora asked. There was a mix of fear and amazement in her voice. Davis looked past his mother to see her new pet, Gumby, amble out onto the porch. Davis hadn't realized the size of the creature until it was standing near the toddlers, just slightly taller than the oldest one.

"I told you," he said.

"Grandma's got a goblin..." Lenora muttered. She watched, dumbfounded, as Antoinette started to introduce Reggie and Andrea to her new pet. Andrea seemed repulsed while Reggie was immediately taken with the strange green creature.

"Is it safe?" Lenora whispered to Davis, keeping her eyes on the kids.

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"Well it hasn't killed mom," Davis replied. "Or me."

"I swear to God, Davis, if that thing hurts Reggie or Drea, I'm strangling it and then you." Lenora hissed before smiling as she approached Antoinette. "That's a neat, uh..." her words trailed off.

"His name is Gumby, he's my new bodyguard." Antoinette said proudly, gesturing to the strange green creature with its lanky limbs and what appeared to be oozing sores across its body. Lenora wore a tight lipped smile,

"Mmm, Gumby, great name." She said tersely. The goblin looked up at her and narrowed its eyes. Lenora held as still as she could, feeling her heart beat rapidly in her chest. After a moment, Gumby's eyes widened again and he let out a strange joyful trill, turning away from Lenora and walking back into the house.

"Well look at that, Gumby likes all of y'all." Antoinette said happily, "Come on inside, supper is still cooking."

Lenora grabbed her husband's arm and pulled him close as Antoinette turned and ushered the kids and Gumby back into the house,

"In what world is that a dog, Davis?" She whispered to him through clenched teeth.

"I never said it was a dog." He whispered back.

"No, but you took your mom to adopt a dog. And she came home with that?"

"It's what she wanted, I tried to tell her no. So did the woman at the shelter."

"I cannot believe a shelter had that thing. You should file a complaint."

"They should file a complaint against mom."

Lenora laughed and shook her head. Antoinette appeared in the doorway,

"Y'all coming in or are you going to just keep gossiping?" she asked.

"We're coming, mom." Davis replied.

"Well come on then, I don't pay to cool down the whole neighborhood. Electricity is expensive enough as it is."

Davis and Lenora followed Antoinette into the house and she shut the front door, locking it behind her. The kids were sitting on the floor and Gumby was sitting with them. Andrea was staring at the goblin with a deeply skeptical look while Reggie gently touched the creature's floppy ears.

"Mawmaw," Reggie said, calling Antoinette the name he had since he first learned to talk. She looked to her grandson and smiled,

"Yes dear?" she asked. Reggie pointed to one of the pustules on the goblin with its mucinous ooze,

"He has a boo-boo. Do you have band-aids?" Antoinette laughed,

"I think that's just a part of him, honeybun." she said. A look of determination spread across Reggie's face and he stood up. He waddled down the hallway and came back a few minutes later with the colorful band-aids that Antoinette kept in the bathroom for the kids. The adults looked on as Reggie opened one of them and showed it to Gumby. The small goblin reached out and gingerly grabbed the sticky bandage and promptly put it into his mouth and swallowed. Reggie burst into a bout of giggling and a smile crossed Andrea's face as Antoinette sighed,

"That's not for eating, Gumby."

Lenora gave Davis a look and shook her head disapprovingly. Davis shrugged,

"He ate a coaster when we first let him out of the crate," he said.

Lenora was unamused, letting out a tight-lipped "Hmmph" and saying nothing. A timer went off in the kitchen, prompting Gumby to release a shriek that startled everyone but Antoinette,

"Gumby, that's just the timer. Come on, I'll show you." She said gently, grabbing the goblin's hand and leading him into the kitchen with her to turn off the timer and remove the biscuits she was baking from the oven.

"I like Gumby," Reggie said. Davis smiled at his son,

"That's good! What about you Drea?" He asked his daughter. She shook her head and Lenora laughed,

"Just like her mama," she said. Davis shrugged,

"He's not that bad."

Antoinette emerged from the kitchen with Gumby close behind her, gnawing on a chicken bone.

"Supper's ready," she announced. The family filed into the kitchen and Lenora and Davis began preparing plates for Reggie and Andrea. Antoinette had prepared homemade chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, buttery rolls and corn on the cob. The kitchen smelled heavenly.

Once everyone had their plates filled with food, they took a seat at the dining table. Antoinette had pulled out an extra chair and prepared a plate for Gumby who she helped onto the chair. The scaly green creature's head just barely reached over the table and Davis snorted at the sight of it.

"Don't make fun of Gumby," Antoinette said sternly and Davis smothered his laugh,

"Yes ma'am" he replied.

"Now who wants to say grace?" Antoinette asked, grabbing her son's hand.

"I will," Andrea piped up and Antoinette smiled,

"Go ahead baby."

"Dear God, please make this food good for us and make sure my family is always safe," she paused, opening one eye to look at the goblin seated at the opposite end of the table, "And Gumby too. Amen." she finished.

"Amen. Good job, honey. Let's eat." Antoinette said, affectionately squeezing her granddaughter's arm. They began to eat and Gumby watched them as if he was studying them, his head tilted slightly and the tip of his left ear nearly pressing against the table. The creature hadn't touched his food yet.

"Go on and eat, Gumby" Antoinette said, holding up a chicken tender to demonstrate. Gumby watched her take a bite and then promptly shoved his hand into the steaming pile of mashed potatoes on his plate, grabbing a handful before shoving his entire fist into his mouth. Andrea and Reggie burst into laughter as Antoinette shook her head,

"We're working on table manners" she said defeatedly. Davis laughed and looked to his wife, noticing the slight upturn of his wife's life as she held back a smile.

After they ate, Lenora and Davis helped Antoinette with the dishes while Reggie and Andrea played with Gumby in the living room.

"So how has everything been? Davis told me about the break-in." Lenora asked as she ran a plate under the hot water.

"Haven't had any trouble since, provided it has only been a week or two. But I think I'll be okay to stay right here," Antoinette said. "Plus I've got Gumby now."

"You know you are welcome to come stay with us anytime," Lenora said.

"I appreciate that, Len. But I'll be alright. Takes a lot more than that to scare this old woman. Doesn't it son?" Antoinette playfully jabbed Davis in the ribs with her elbow,

"That it does," He replied and the three laughed. After they finished cleaning up the kitchen, Antoinette grabbed a pitcher of sweet tea from the fridge and some plastic cups.

"It's so nice out today, let's go sit out on the patio and let the kids get some fresh air." she said. As they walked into the living room to gather the kids, Antoinette burst into laughter. Sitting on the floor was Gumby, covered in multi-colored band-aids. His eyes remained fixated on Reggie as he stuck the band-aids all over the goblin, covering the oozy pustules as Andrea directed him.

"Look mawmaw, we fixed his boo-boos!" Reggie exclaimed triumphantly. Gumby grabbed a handful of the paper wrapping that the band-aids came in and shoved it into his mouth, chewing slowly. Antoinette continued to laugh. Her laughter was infectious and soon Davis and Lenora were laughing along.

"Alright" Antoinette said, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes, "Let's go outside babies, come on."

Reggie and Andrea raced towards the backdoor and Gumby, the now multi-colored goblin, ran behind them, making a strange sort of excited hissing noise. The adults followed the kids outside and Antoinette put the pitcher of tea on the glass top outdoor table and pulled out chairs for the three of them as Reggie and Andrea chased each other and Gumby around the fenced in backyard.

"How have things with you been, Len? I know you had a big promotion, everything still going good?" Antoinette asked, sipping on her cup of tea. Lenora smiled,

"It is. We just recently landed a new development contract and the company expects that we'll have enough growth to add a second VP within the next two years. Something the first VP says I'd be in line for." Lenora replied.

"You go honey. I always told Davis he married out of his league," Antoinette joked, winking at her son. Davis laughed,

"You were never wrong about that," he replied. Lenora rolled her eyes and playfully swatted her husband's thigh.

"Look at those three playing. The three musketeers," Antoinette remarked, watching Reggie and Andrea as they played with Gumby, trying to teach the goblin how to play catch with a tennis ball.

"So what was the decision on getting Gumby?" Lenora asked. Davis flashed her a warning look but Lenora ignored it.

"You know me, I like a challenge. Plus he's cute, in a strange sort of so ugly he's cute way." Antoinette replied.

"But what is he?" Lenora asked.

"Not the slightest idea," Antoinette answered. Davis snorted and Lenora shot him a look,

"But he's friendly, right?"

"Towards those that are friendly to him, yes."

"Okay."

There was no further discussion and the three of them watched the kids and Gumby. Gumby started to dig in the dirt and Reggie and Andrea crouched down beside him, watching in amazement as the goblin used its hands like spades, rapidly pulling up huge clumps of dirt.

"Don't mess up my yard now, Gumby!" Antoinette yelled. Gumby looked up at her briefly before returning to his digging.

"We'll put it back, mawmaw!" Reggie assured her. Andrea pointed at Gumby and Reggie,

"They will put it back," she clarified. After another moment of digging, Gumby stopped and pulled something from the newly created hole, handing it to Reggie and then handing another to Andrea. Gumby then promptly shoved his hand in his mouth to eat whatever he grabbed from the ground.

"Reggie, Andrea don't..." Lenora called but it was too late as the kids shoved the earthworms they'd been handed by Gumby into their mouths as well, chewing once before spitting them out. Antoinette covered her mouth, snickering behind her hand.

"The three musketeers," Davis remarked.

"The three worm eaters," Lenora countered and they all laughed before Lenora got up to go get the kids and bring them inside to wash their hands, much to Gumby's confusion.