Mall Trip
Cute little story of a margay mother with her kitten at the mall.
Two nice teenagers held the door for Paisley as she pushed the stroller through. "Thank you," the margay said to each as she passed. Douglas stirred with a slight cry as they entered the mall. "Oh, what's the matter, dear?" Paisley cooed, but Doiglas quickly drifted back asleep. Paisley laughed a little.
She pushed the little guy into the movie store on her right. Immediately the sales clerks were on her. "Oh, he's so cute," the wolf said.
"Adorable," the badger agreed. "How old is he?"
"Two months," Paisley beamed with pride.
"Aww, what's his name?"
"Douglas."
"So cute," the wolf repeated.
"Can we help you find anything?"
"Oh, no, we're just looking, thank you."
"Aw, well let us know if you need anything."
Paisley laughed, "Will do."
She perused the aisles of the video store before heading back out into the mall. "Bye, thanks for stopping in!" "Thank you!" the girls said.
"Thank you!" Paisley returned.
She continued her trip through the mall, checking out all of the stores. She had never went in all of them before but that was her goal for today. All along the way employees and other mall goers stopped to check out Douglas. Her little celebrity seemed immune to the attention as he slept through everyone's cooing, but Paisley was content to ride the coattails of his fame.
She purchased a cute shirt for herself at one store, then a small outfit for Douglas at the next. She had to forsake her goal at the next store, as it sold large quantities of questionable materials and she didn't want to take her cub in there.
Shortly after Donald stirred and cried, "Someone needs to be changed, I bet." Paisley wheeled the stroller into the restroom, changed, and fed him. Soon he was fast asleep again. She mused to herself that she hoped this wouldn't be indicative of his later life!
She finished her tour of the first floor of the mall then made her way to the food court. She purchased a slice of spinach pizza and sat down at one of the tables. A mare with two young foals of her own sat down near her. "How old?" the mare simply asked with a smile.
"Two months, yours?"
"Two years for Peter there," she nodded to her toddler, "and four months for Odilia here," she motioned to the babe in her arms. "Your first?"
"Yep."
"I could tell, you're still smiling." Paisley laughed. The two shared stories in between the Mare trying to get Peter to sit and eat his food. "Aren't I a horrible person?" the mare asked, "Here you are enjoying your day with your newborn and I have to ruin it by coming over here and showing you what he's going to turn into." Paisley laughed again. "Nah, they're all worth it in the end, or so I've been told."
Paisley thanked the mare for her company and headed off for a bathroom break for herself. Then she made her way to the top floor, once again moving from store to store between groups of admirers stopping to ooh and ahh at Douglas.
She spent a good period of time in the bookstore, picking out a few titles that looked good. She had to pass on the next store again due to objetinable content, though she made a note of what the mannequin was wearing. She stopped in the coffee shop to indulge in a sweet beverage before continuing through a few more clothes stores.
As she was passing between stores a kid ran past knocking into the stroller. "Bill slow down," the goat's mother yelled, "Watch where you're going. He's sorry," was all the nannie said to Paisley before chasing ineffectively after her son.
Paisley was more concerned with Douglas's well-being as the cub wailed. She picked him up out of the stroller and whispered sh's to him while bouncing up and down. "It's okay. It's alright," she whispered. She sat down on a bench holding him and tried to calm him down. Passers-by gave her dark looks as they passed. Ten minutes went by and still Douglas wailed, and soon Paisley herself would be joining him.
Then the mare from the food court came to her rescue, "Oh, poor thing, what's wrong?"
"Some kid ran into the stroller and now I can't get him to calm down."
"Poor thing, did you check his diaper?"
Paisley could have kicked herself for missing the obvious. A quick check confirmed the mare was right. "You're right, thank you."
"I'll come with you, I probably need to change Odie, too." The mare introduced herself as Eliza as they made their way to the restroom. When there, the mare herself volunteered to take care of Douglas. Even Peter volunteered his services. "Why don't you get Paisley a tissue from the bag?"
The cat thanked the little foal for the tissue then tried to reach over the mare to dab at Douglas. "That's for you, dearie," the mare chastised.
Paisley put her paw to her cheek, she hadn't realised she'd been crying. "I must look like a complete fool."
"No, you're learning. There, all better. We all make mistakes. Did you see me at lunch? I got a two year old spaghetti. What was I thinking?" Paisley laughed.
"I like sketti," Peter chimed in.
"Do you now?" Paisley asked. "I like sketti, too." Eliza laughed at that one.
Eliza accompanied Paisley on the rest of her trip through the mall. She even volunteered to watch Douglas while Paisley ran back into the store she had passed for the ensemble that had caught her eye. "Bit of a gift for my husband," Paisley explained.
"You little minx, if you're not careful you'll end up in my position," the horse nodded at her two foals while Paisley laughed, embarassed.
They finished up the shopping day, and Paisley said good-bye to the mare. Paisley pushed her stroller back out of the mall. "Well, we'll have to tell daddy all about our adventures today," she told Douglas who was once again fast asleep.