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"Mom Theo took my Barbie!"
"You weren't using it!"
"I was going to!"
"Both of you enough!" Their mom came into view from the kitchen. "Theodore. Suzanne. Why don't you go outside and play or see if Mr. Davis will have you two over. If you do go see him be on your best behavior understood." And with that their mother turned back to the kitchen.
"Wanna go to Mr. Davis'?" Theodore turned to his sister.
"It's been a while since we last saw him I think." She stated. They headed to the front hall and pulled on their shoes.
"Dinner is at 6:30! Please be back and washed up before then! And offer for Mr. Davis to come over it's been a while since he's come to visit us!" Their mom called to them.
"Alright mom!" Theodore called back. And with that they shut the door behind them and headed down the street.
"Do you think Mr. Davis will pull out all that drawing stuff for us again? It was really fun to sit and draw, plus he liked all our ideas, unlike my teacher." Suzanne asked.
"I dunno. Mr. Davis got that sad look in his eyes when we went to leave. I don't know why. He grabbed this letter I think that was sitting on his counter and just kinda sighed at it. But I don't wanna make Mr. Davis sad you know."
"Then definitely don't ask about the war again… he looked so sad and sorta worn out, which is real unlike him." Suzanne looked down at her feet as they walked.
"Hey! I only asked what the medal was for, I didn't expect him to talk about it!" Theodore exclaimed highly offended. They crossed the street and continued up the gentle hill seeing the light gray house come into view.
"Hey did Mr. Davis ever tell us what he did before the war?" Theodore asked.
"No. I don't think he's ever said."
"Let's ask him about that!"
"Alright!" And with that the two ran the rest of the way up to the house. It stood solo at the top of the hill, its lawn maintained fairly well with a few colorful flower beds and the large oak tree in front, a set of swings hanging from the branches and moving back and forth due to the gentle breeze.
Well known by the children of the neighborhood for having the best candy on Halloween. Pretty much every kid would visit Mr. Davis sometime during the month. The old man was extremely kind and never turned them away. Plus, as every kid knew, you would get a handful of candy to take home after you went over.
They finally made it to the front door and rang the bell. Suzanne making sure her hair wasn't a complete mess after running.
"Coming!" They heard Mr. Davis call out from somewhere in the house. Then the front door opened.
"Hi Mr. Davis!" They chimed in unison.
"Well if it isn't Theo and Suzy! How are you two doing today!" He smiled at the two of them.
"Good! Oh mom wanted to invite you to dinner if you'd like!" Theo offered the invitation their mom had extended to the man.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to tonight." He chuckled. "I'm assuming your mother wanted the two of you out of her hair for a little while?" He smirked.
"Yeah…" The two shuffled their feet a bit not completely meeting his eyes.
"Well it's a good thing the last time I went to the store I bought some more candy. Come in." He pulled the door open all the way and moved to the side to let them into his house.
"Thank you Mr. Davis!" The two of them entered and pulled their shoes off. Placing them neatly by the door.
"So, school's almost over for the year for you two right?" He asked leading them into the living room.
"We still have three more weeks Mr. Davis." Suzanne replied.
"Well then I'll expect to see more of you then." He chuckled, settling himself down in his armchair. They sat down nearby on the couch facing him.
"Of course Mr. Davis!" Theodore smiled brightly. "Oh Mr. Davis!"
"Yes Theo?" His eyebrow quirked upwards. A light smile on his face.
"What did you do before you were in the war? If you don't mind me asking. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to though!" Theodore had realized after asking that it was sort of rude the way he had posed the question. Mr. Davis got a strange look on his face. A sort of mix of disgust, sadness, and oddly enough fondness.
"Why do you ask?"
"We realized we don't think you ever told us. You really don't have to answer us though." Suzanne answered.
"Well how about I show you instead?" He got up from the chair. "I'll be back down in a moment." He climbed up the staircase. Theodore and Suzanne looked at each other wondering what the man would bring back to show them.
As he returned to the room he placed a large portfolio on the table in the middle of the room. "Why don't you let me sit in between the two of you, that way it's easier for you to see." And with that they moved apart for the man to sit sandwiched between them.
"Mr. Davis what's that?" Suzanne piped up.
"That Suzy is my old portfolio. Or, well, one of them. I don't know where I left the other one." He said as he undid the clasp. "I used to be an animator. Was a cofounder of Sillyvision Inc. which you two probably haven't ever heard of. Some time after I had returned from the war, I had decided against going back to the studio and to animating, just couldn't bring myself to draw for quite some time. My partner, Joey Drew, renamed the studio." He sighed. "He renamed it Joey Drew Studios. And if I recall right they haven't made anything in the last couple of years. I'm not a hundred percent sure what the studio has last put out." He looked to the counter, a letter catching his eyes, and turned back to them. "But anyways, this is a whole bunch of my sketches and such from back then." And with that he began to pull out the papers from within.
"Oh wow Mr. Davis!" Suzy cried out as he showed them some of the artwork. "This angel is gorgeous!"
"Ah Alice!" He smiled gently at the paper. "She was more Joey than me, but we went through a number of designs for her. This version she had solid black gloves as you can see. But in the final version we added white gloves on her hands. It made animating her much easier."
"Who's this?" Theodore pointed to another sheet.
"That's Boris the Wolf. He played the clarinet in the show. Was best pals with Bendy."
"Bendy?" Theodore looked at him.
"Bendy was the main character of the show." Mr. Davis smiled wide. "In fact, it was because of him that the studio was created and the show. I had been drawing him for quite some time and Joey approached me about opening a studio. We hired a couple of other folk and we were in business. Here's one of his model sheets." And with that the man pulled out a sheet of the character.
"Oh he's a demon!" Suzanne exclaimed.
"Why'd you have a demon, a wolf, and an angel, Mr. Davis?" Theodore looked to him. "Didn't "like, the church, get all upset?"
"Oh yes they did, but it didn't make a difference to us. We simply said if you don't like it don't watch it!" He laughed.
"Mr. Davis?"
"Yes Suzy?"
"It sounds like you haven't gone back to the studio since. Don't you have any friends that you wanted to check in on?"
"No I haven't been back. I've been debating going to see them since Joey sent me a letter." He glanced back to the counter. "But I didn't necessarily leave on the best of terms and I don't want to dredge up some of those old arguments." Another sigh from the old man.
"I think you should go!" Suzanne stated. "Obviously since he sent the letter he wants to see you!"
"Yeah Mr. Davis! Surely if he sent the letter he's wanting to see you! Besides what's the worst that could happen?" Theodore chimed in.
"I'll think about it." He smiled at the two of them. It was then that the clock on the mantle chimed six fifteen.
"Oh mom said to be back before six thirty. Sorry Mr. Davis but we should probably head back home!" Suzanne apologized.
"Oh it's no problem! Let me grab some candy for you two and see you out." He stood up and went into his pantry grabbing the two some candy and met them at the front door. "Here you two are! Make sure you two stick together. Have a good night!" He passed them the candy and opened the door for them.
"Thank you Mr. Davis! And if you do go to the studio you'll have to tell us how it went!" They waved back at him as the took off down the street.
"We'll see about that." He sighed to himself as he shut the door. Returning to the kitchen he stared at the letter Joey had sent. Still unsure of whether he would do as the letter asked.
Dear Henry,
It seems like a lifetime since we worked on cartoons together. 30 years really slips away, doesn’t it?
If you’re back in town, come visit the old workshop. There’s something I need to show you.
Your Best Pal,
Joey Drew