The Absence Of Love
Sara clutched the letter she'd gotten in today's mail. It was from Patrick, her love. The vixen didn't care that she cried as she read the letter or that her tears pattered softly on the ends of the paper, making some of the ink run. Her emotions were too intense for that to even matter. As she finished reading and feeling both love and pain rekindled, she sat on her couch and set the paper aside. "I love you so much, Patrick." She said weakly through sobs. "That...will never change."
She recalled what he looked like before he left. Back when they first met. He was a panda. Not too tall and not too short but perfect, in her mind.Then, she recalled why she fell for him in the first place. There was a sort of weird cuteness about him. Whenever he said any of his random phrases, she giggled, despite not knowing some of the references. That was one of his top qualities; making her laugh and enjoy herself. Her favorite was when he picked up a small bit of bamboo and grinned as he held it to his mouth and wiggled his eyebrows. Groucho Marx. One of the few classic references that she got. The first time Sara saw him do this, she was clutching her sides because she was laughing so hard. The beautiful feminine fox chuckled softly as the memory. She then sighed as she recalled their first date.
The round one had been a budgetary man so he brought her to a 50's diner. Jeffy Starships it was called. She didn't mind his frugality. It made him seem like a man of strength to her. Once in the booth, the waitress, a coyote named Charlie, delivered the menus and smiled at them. She'd been a longtime friend of Pat's but said nothing because she knew she'd be interrupting. Pat and Sara looked over their menus and picked out what they wanted. After Charlie made her rounds, she came back to the booth where they were.
"Have you decided on your orders or shall I come back later?" The sandy hound waited patiently for the response which came none too soon. Patrick ordered a chili cheese omelette while Sara chose the avacado burger. They decided to have one chocolate malt and share it. As Charlie was leaving, Pat stopped her. "Man," he said in recognition. "I haven't seen you in ages, C.C. How've you been?"
It was the Desert Valley dog's turn to giggle. "Yea, it's been what, two years?" She said remembering their last hangout time. "I've been working and keeping things stable." She sighed in happiness over meeting an old friend. "I shouldn't stand around too long, the boss'll get mad and you have this lovely lady to attend to." Charlie left to fill the orders and left the two alone. Patrick put his hands on the cherry furred vixen's hands and smiled. "Isn't it great to come to a place with nice people in it?" She smiled at him. "It is."
After they ate their meal, they got up and Patrick paid. Sara sighed and looked over at Charlie talk to Pat. She began to feel awkward a little bit and walked out after they'pad finished. "Old girlfriend, huh?" said the crimson fox with something in her voice aside from her curiosity. "heh, you're not jealous, are you?" Pat said, just funning her. Sara appatently didn't pick up on this because her expression dropped like a stone."Sh-sh-she was? You don't still have feelings for her, do you?" He realized what had transpired and tried to remedy it.
"What? NO! She wasn't a past girlfriend. She's like a sister to me. We grew up with each other since we were pups." "Then why was she making eyes at you?" Shot the now entempered fox. This caused the panda to jump back. "We haven't seen each other in years. She was probably just remembering all the stuff we did and trying to think of something to say." As they walked, Sara became more and more distraught. "I don't like her. There was something about her that she seemed to be hiding."
Patrick's eyes widened at this and he gulped in the "uh oh" sense. You see, folks, there was something Charlie was hiding. The 'yote had something extra. Shi was born a hermaphrodite. Charlie only told Pat because shi could trust him. Pat was now afraid Sara'd find out. Of course, Sara thinks it's something different."She has feelings for you, doesn't she? DOESN'T SHE?!?!" Pat jumped back, startled. "Woah, it's not that, I-" before he finished, she had her mind set. "I knew it! You two are having an affair behind my back, aren't you?"She wasn't letting anything spoil her roll, now. "I hope you're having fun because we're through! Done! Like, splitsville, man! you get no second chances, either, Patrick. This Vixen is officially breaking up with you." She stormed off, leaving him behind. He tried to explain but she wouldn't hear it. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, it began to rain. "Ah, jeez...." he looked skyward. "That's all I need. You making it just a little bit harder on me." The moist panda shoved his hands in his pockets and walked home. Finished with remembering for the time being, Sara stared at a picture of her and Pat having fun. "I'm sorry, Pat. I realize, now, that you were telling the truth and she was like your sister. Please come back...." In the distance, thunder rumbled.