FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The main office at Kivisto Heating and Air Conditioning was filled with all the usual items that adorned such a room. There were file cabinets, a desk with a computer on it. The walls of the office were filled with awards from the community for funds contributed to help out the less fortunate. Blaze Kivisto had made quite a name for himself, especially for being only twenty-four years of age The skunk sat in his office, going through invoices and bills. It had been a very busy summer for his business, with more work than they could handle at the moment. Blaze even hired on a few extra creatures to deal with the increased demand.

The phone in his office rang, Dropping what he was doing, the skunk answered it.

"Kivisto Heating and Air Conditioning," said Blaze in cheerful tone.

"Hi, sweetie! How have you been?"

Blaze rolled his eyes. It was his mother on the other end, calling from Hawaii no doubt. "Hi, Mom," he said. "How have you and Dad been?"

"Just dandy, sweetie. So, anything new going on with you you at the moment?"

"As a matter of fact," said Blaze. "Yes there is. Mia came over a days ago and dropped off Andy. He's staying with me for a while."

"Andy? Oh, we haven't seen him in so long! How's he look? Where was Mia off to anyway?"

"Andy's looking good," assured Blaze. "I don't know where Mia went to, and honestly, I don't want to know either."

"Did you give her money?"

"Against my better judgment," admitted Blaze. "I gave her a hundred bucks."

"It's a shame she isn't a better mother, Blaze. I'm just glad to hear that you're looking after Andy for now. Did your sister say how long she'd be gone?"

"No," said Blaze, shuffling around some papers on his desk. "I didn't ask, and even if I did I'm sure she wouldn't have stuck with that time frame anyway. Really, I don't mind having Andy around at the house with me."

"You left him at your house alone?"

"Yes, Mom," answered Blaze, growing annoyed. "He's a well behaved kid, plus I've got plenty of things to do around the house to keep him amused. He'll be fine, Mom. Please, trust me on this."

"I certainly hope you're right. You think your sister will be back anytime soon?"

"I have no idea, Mom," replied Blaze, now noticeably irritated with his mother. He didn't like getting lengthy personal calls at work, epecially from his parents. "Andy's welcome to stay with me for as long as he wants." he could hear his mother give a long sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Maybe that's for the best. I'll get out of your fur now. You take care of my grandson, okay? Love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, Mom," said Blaze, hanging up the phone. He shook his head, hoping that he wouldn't get any more calls from his mother anytime soon. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was ten minutes to five; almost quitting time. He rounded up all his stuff he needed to take home with him. It had been a busy day, and he was ready to go home to get a little rest and relaxation. Despite what he had told him mother, he had no idea what condition his house would be in when he got home. Andy was a good kid, but he was only ten. Remembering what he was like when he was only ten, Blaze shuddered, thinking that the fire department and police might be at his property upon arriving home.

Blaze walked slowly up to the door of his house. Looking around the yeard, he didn't notice anything out of place or missing. Preparing himself for the worst, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. What he saw almost took his breath away.

There was no mess, no disasters awaiting him; far from it. He looked around the living room. All the furniture had been lint rolled and vacuumed. The shelves to the left and right of his television which showcased his movie and video game collection had been dusted and polished. Getting closer, Blaze could hardly believe what he saw. Not only were the shelves dusted and polished, all of his movies and video games had been put in alphabetical order. He'd always wanted to do that, but felt that such a gargantuan video library as his would take too much time to arrange properly. He sniffed the air, smelling a scented candle and carpet deodorizer. He went in the kitchen, seeing that the table had been cleaned off and all the dishes in the sink had been washed and put away. The counter tops had been scrubbed spotless, and he could even catch a slight smell of bleach. The bathroom looked much like the rest of the house, clean and spotless. The sink, toilet and mirror had been scrubbed to a high shine. Blaze wondered if he was in the right house. He went to Andy's room, knocking on the door.

"Come in," a voice called from within.

Blaze opened the door, seeing Andy lying in bed reading a book. The boy put the book aside, smiling at his uncle.

"How was your day, Uncle Blaze?" he asked.

"Good," said Blaze, sitting down in the chair placed in the corner of the room. "You cleaned the house today?"

"Sure did," answered Andy, sitting up. "Did I do a good job?"

"Good job?" said Blaze. "Andy, you did a spectacular job. Did you get bored or something?"

"No," answered Andy, shaking his head. "I just figured that it would be the right thing to do since you're letting me stay here."

"That was very mature of you," said Blaze, sitting down on the bed next to his nephew. ""Grandma called me just before I left work. I told her that you've been staying with me."

"How's Grandma and Grandpa?" inquired Andy.

"They're good--enjoying Hawaii right now for their thirty-fifth anniversary."

"Sound kinda cool," observed Andy. "But I'm liking it here."

"I like having you around, Andy. You're a good nephew and um, well, you're pretty fun to do things with, if you know what I mean."

Andy giggled. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Hey," said Blaze. "Sorry to leave you here tonight, but I've got a date with Sasha tonight."

"That's okay," said Andy, getting off the bed. "I didn't get a chance to play any X-Box today since I was cleaning."

"By all means, go nuts with it," said Blaze. "I should be back in a couple of hours. Gotta take a shower then I'm off to see Sasha."

"Alright," said Andy, leaving the room and heading off to the living room to play video games. Blaze sighed, rising to his feet. There was something he hadn't told his mother or his nephew. Mia had given him her cell number, telling him that she would call or text everyday, letting Andy know how she was doing. So far, she hadn't sent a single message via text or voice. Blaze had made several calls while in his office today; all them went unanswered. Knowing what kind of person his sister was, he feared that something had happened to her. Before he went to the bathroom, he took a long look at his nephew, sitting on the floor, enjoying a video game. He smiled, happy to have the boy as his guest.

Only the night before, Blaze had asked Sasha to have dinner with him on Monday night. The female skunk agreed, wondering if there was something on his mind. Not caring too much for fancy establishments, Sasha asked if they could meet at the same buffet that Blaze had taken Andy to only a couple days ago. Blaze was fine with that.

"Hey," he said, seeing her just inside the restaurant in the waiting area. "How was your day?"

"Fine," answered Sasha, walking with Blaze to a table. "Yours?"

"Can't complain," answered Blaze. "Business has been good; got lots of work to do."

"That's good," said Sasha as they sat down together, waiting for a server to come and take their drink orders.

"You know what Andy did today when I was at work?" Blaze asked Sasha.

"He burn the place to the ground?" laughed the female skunk.

"No," said Blaze with a scowl. "He cleaned the place up."

"He did?"

"I mean he really cleaned the place up. You should have seen the linoleum on the kitchen floor. It was clean enough I bet I could have eaten off of it."

"Well, I'm glad we're not eating at your place then," muttered Sasha. "Sound like an uncomfortable way to have dinner."

"It's just an expression," growled Blaze, but keeping himself under control as he saw the waitress approach them.

"Water with lemon," he told her.

"I'll have the same,"

The waitress wrote down two ice waters with lemon, telling them they were free to go up and help themselves to the buffet. Filling up their plates wit their favorite foods, they returned to their table, resuming their conversation.

"I had a good time yesterday with you boys," said Sasha, giving Blaze a wink.

"We did too," responded the male skunk. "Andy asked me when you were going to pay us a visit again."

"What a virile boy," joked Sasha.

"Can't blame him, can you?" asked Blaze.

"Not in the least," Sasha said. "Besides, it's not everyday you find a girl like me, is it?"

"No, it isn't," said Blaze, picking up some nachos and cheese that he had collected at the buffet. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"You're sounding pretty serious," observed Sasha, stealing a cheese soaked nacho from his plate. "You're not usually like that around me."

"Maybe you're just seeing a side of me you've never encountered before?"

"It's possible," said Sasha, shrugging.

"Do you think that . . . that you'd want something more serious than just some casual encounters, Sasha? I mean, do you want this to turn into a serious relationship?"

The female skunk was about ready to take another nacho from his plate when she heard those words. "Maybe. I'm not sure yet."

"That's fair," said Blaze. "I just want you to know that you're more to me than just some . . . you know."

"Slut?"

"I'm glad there's no one near us to hear that," giggled Blaze. "You've got a bad mouth."

"Not really," said Sasha. "I'm just being honest about myself."

"What a noble attribute," said Blaze.

"Why are you bringing all this stuff up anyway?" asked Sasha. "You wanting to start a family now or something?"

Blaze looked around, seeing that indeed no one was too close to them. "If I told you something, would you keep it in confidence?"

"Sure," answered Sasha.

"Before Andy's mom left, she said she'd contact me each day, but so far she hasn't. I've even tried calling and texting her, dozens and dozens of times, but there's no response."

"Oh?" was Sasha's reaction. "You thinking something might have happened to her?"

"Wouldn't surprise me," said Blaze, shaking her head. "Being blunt, I'm surprised she didn't turn up dead years ago. The kind of life she lives . . . Andy deserves better than that, way better."

"You're thinking of trying to get custody of him, aren't you?" asked Sasha.

"I am," admitted Blaze. "The longer he lives in that kind of environment, the more likely he's gonna end up just like his mom. He doesn't need that."

"How'd your sister get involved with all this anyway? You seem like your responsible and well adjusted."

"Her friends in college," said Blaze, shaking her head. "Oh, she was just a perfect angle when she was still in high school. You should see the pictures of her. She was very pretty, got perfect grades and everyone loved her and thought the world of her. Once she went to college where my Mom and Dad weren't there to watch her, she just went nuts. Drugs, booze, sleeping with every guy on campus. She didn't even make it a full year before she got kicked out. After that, she's been living here and there, moving all over the country trying to find something, I don't know what. Being honest, I'd be happy if she just left Andy with me and disappeared. I know that must sound awful; me saying that about my own sister."

"No it doesn't," said Sasha.

"You really believe that?" asked Blaze, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah," said Sasha, poking the slice of lemon with the straw in her glass. "If she's really this awful, I don't think she deserves to have Andy. He seems pretty happy with you."

"Wonder why that is?" asked Blaze, his voice drenched with sarcasm.

"Not just that," said Sasha. "Look at what he did for you today, cleaning the house like that? He obviously thinks the world of you, Blaze. It's not just the other stuff that we're not supposed to talk about."

"Maybe you're right," said Blaze. "So, if I was to take Andy in, raise him as my own, would you wanna be a part of that?"

Sasha put a paw on Blaze's paw. "I think I would."

"Really?" he said, cracking a smile.

"Yeah," she said. "Andy could use two responsible adults in his life."

"I suppose you're right," mused Blaze. "Anyway, looks like you and I are done eating. I'll pay. My treat."

"See?" joked Sasha. "You are responsible, buying a classy gal like me a meal."

Blaze escorted Sasha to the door after he paid, ready to go home and see his nephew.

As he drove home, thinking about everything that had transpired in the past few days, Blaze saw himself as being pretty damned lucky in life. He owned his own home, his own business. He had a wonderful ten year old nephew that he was seriously considering adopting or at getting custody of him. With his windows rolled down, feeling the breeze as he drove, he pulled into the driveway at his house, ready to see Andy.

Looking in his rear view mirror, he noticed that a police cruiser was pulling in behind him. In all the time he'd lived here, he never once had a cop show up at his house. Getting out of the car, he made sure not to put his paws in his pockets, fearing that he might get one of those paranoid officers that would start shooting him, fearing that he was armed. Calmly, Blaze went over to the driver's side of the police cruiser. The window rolled down.

"Can I help you, officer?" asked Blaze in a non-threatening tone.

"Are you Blaze Kivisto?" asked the officer, a big wolf.

"I am," said Blaze.

"Is your sister Mia Kivisto?" asked the wolf.

"Yes," said Blaze, inwardly growing angry; not at the officer, but at his sister. She probably pulled some idiotic stunt that landed her in jail and now she would need bail money. "Why do you ask?"

The officer got out of the car, standing in front of the skunk. A sad look hung on his face. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news about your sister, Mr. Kivisto."

Blaze froze, his blood turning to ice as his forehead was drenched with sweat. He felt tears running down his face. He could barely speak. "She's dead, isn't she?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," said the wolf.

The skunk pulled a tissue from his pocket, wiping off his face. "What happened?"

"Looks like she overdosed on something," said the wolf. "There's going to be an inquest, but I need someone from your family to come and identify her remains."

"I'm the only one around. My parents are in Hawaii right now," he said, now crying. "Can, can I wait a while before I do this, please. My nephew, my sister's boy is inside and I need some time to tell him about this."

"Take your time, Mr. Kivisto," said the wolf softly. "Here, this is the number you need to call to set up a time with the coroner to go identify your sister's body. I'm sorry for your loss."

The wolf got back in his police cruiser and back out of the driveway. Blaze stood out in the front law, wondering how he was going to explain to his nephew that he would never get to see his mother again.