Family Tails

A Story of a Mixed Family in the Genetic Age

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Names of actual businesses, their products, etc, are the property of their respective owners.

Story and characters © 2013 Ronald J. Lebeck

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Chapter 6

Beep beep beep BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!!

"Wha...? Uhhhhhh! BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!!

*Smack!* <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

"Frazzenmfln...mmm..."

After the rude awakening by his alarm clock, Ron buried his face back into Lupina's fur, nuzzling her behind her ear. She took a hold of his wrist and pulled his hand back up under her chin, as she lay spooned against his front. Although she was still mostly asleep, she had a smile on her face, content with being where she was. Somewhere in his mind, Ron knew he would have to be getting up soon, though he didn't want to. Last night was like a dream come true, and he knew that he had found the person he had been searching for all of his life. In some ways, they really weren't that different and happily snuggled together under the covers, and it seemed to make what physical differences there were rather trivial.

Beep-beep-beep-BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!!

"Frak...!" Ron was loath to move from where he was. By the time he finally dragged his arm out from around Lupina...

*click* Whirr...thump! BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!! The alarm clock's motor kicked in and off it went, maniacally running around the floor of the bedroom like the demented little robotic creation it was, shouting BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!! As soon as it bumped into something, it backed up a little, turned, and sped off in a random direction. BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!!

"ARGH!" Ron groaned, tossing the covers off. He sprang out of bed and chased the fool thing around the room. It was a quick little tormentor, and as he chased it, Ron wanted to get barbaric with the thing. Lupina sat up and watched the whole scene, trying not to laugh at the sight of a naked human chasing a robotic alarm clock around the room with a look of a predator trying to catch a scared rabbit. The little machine made the unfortunate error of running directly into the sheepskin rug by the bed.

*Pounce!*

"HA!Now I've got you, you infernal little..!" he exclaimed, holding up his catch. *Click!* "There, take that, tail-for-brains!" he said emphatically, switching off the alarm.

By that time, Lupina was giggling, and then she started clapping her hands, prompting Ron to give a courtly bow to his audience.

"When you're finished with your 'catch', come over here so I can tell you 'good morning' properly," Lupina said with a coy grin.

"Ooo, I think I like the sound of that!" Ron said getting a big grin on his face. He put the alarm clock back on the nightstand and slipped back under the covers.

They lay there for a few seconds looking at each other, and then Lupina half closed her eyes and moved her face closer to his, parting her lips a little. He gently touched the side of her muzzle and leaned in, lightly touching his lips to hers.

"Oh, I know you can do better than that," she giggled softly.

After kissing for at least half a minute, Ron snickered and started kissing her down her neck, all the way down her front (after first stopping at a couple of choice locations to give them proper attention), until he reached his intended destination.

"You mean, like this...?" he asked.

"Ooooooh!" she moaned, "Yyyyeeeaaaahhhhh!!!" A short while later, Lupina was gripping the covers firmly with one hand and slapping the bed with the other, "OH...MY...AAAAH!!!" Lupina grabbed his head and made him stop. She rolled over, raised her rump, and said in a near whimper, "Ooo...take me...now."

Eventually they had to get out of bed, as Ron had to work that day. It was Friday, so that meant it was payday for most of the employees, and he had to be there. He slipped on some clothes and headed off to the kitchen to get the coffee going. As soon as the coffee was made, he filled their mugs and fixed them the way they both liked it, and took the mugs back to the master bedroom. Lupina was just coming out of the bathroom when he walked in with the coffee.

"Ooo, for me?" she asked in amazement as he held her mug out to her.

"Just made," he said with a grin as she took the offered coffee mug.

They sat together in the large chair by the fireplace and had their coffee together. It was still early enough so they could take a little time and just enjoy being together. Ron and Lupina talked about getting the rest of her things from the cabin, as well as what she wanted to do today. He would be at the shop until 9:00 p.m. tonight, so she could either hang out all day in town, or stay at his place and do whatever. Lupina thought that she'd rather stay in town with him, so she asked if that would be okay.

"Well, it might get a little boring, so you can bring the slate along with you if you want. I've got a case for it, and one of those roll-up silicone keyboards. I suppose that we could stop by the cabin and pick up the rest of your things on the way into town, that way we won't have to do it in the dark," he said.

Lupina agreed, and when they had finished their first mug of coffee, it was time to start getting ready.

"I've gotta take a shower...wanna join me?" he asked with a grin.

"You mean take one together?" she asked a little surprised.

"Sure, nothing like a little good, clean, fun!" he replied with a merry grin.

"Oh, you!" she exclaimed and gave him a little lick on the cheek.

The shower was a large walk-in kind, with a sliding frosted glass door, and a state-of-the-art spray system. Once the hot water started flowing, they both stepped in and slid the door closed. The computerized system kept the water at a constant temperature, and at the push of a touch control, Ron adjusted the spray pattern so that they both would be soaked down quickly. There was a fold-down seat attached to the wall (actually designed for disabled persons, but it had interesting other uses). Once they were both good and wet, Ron adjusted the spray pattern again so that Lupina could lather up without having it rinsed off as fast as she applied the shampoo. He worked the lather into the fur on her back, tail, and legs as she shampooed her front and arms.

"Ooo, that feels good!" she said, squirming a little as he was getting her back. Ron got a wicked grin on his face, and slid his arms around her and pulled her close.

"That_feels even _better!" he chuckled as they rubbed together.

"Mmm, yeah...," she agreed. Lupina eyed the fold-down seat and got an idea. She lowered it until the leg sat firmly on the floor of the shower, and then she bent forward and placed her hands on it, wiggling her hips in the process. It didn't take much encouragement to get the action going again between the two of them. When the shower was over, Ron demonstrated yet another novel feature. Pushing another touch control, little vents opened and warm air blasted out, turning the shower into a large blow dryer.

"Ooo, that's nifty!" Lupina said, amazed at this feature. "It's as if this was made just for us G.E.L.F.s!"

"It's actually my own design. I got the general idea from watching a home improvement show once. There are shower systems similar to this on the market, but I've expanded on the idea and added my own touches," he explained.

"You...you_designed_ this?" she asked in amazement.

"Yeah, you know us engineers...we love to tinker," he replied, sticking the end of his tongue out playfully.

As they were drying off, she asked, "What other things have you designed?"

"Well, I did all of the electrical work on this house, including the lighting and computer network. Oh...heh, there is one other little thing I came up with," he said.

"And what might that be?" she asked with a grin.

"Never got to try it out yet...kind of been lacking for a test subject," he said with a little smirk.

Lupina gave him a dubious look and said, "Okay, out with it. What did you make that's so funny?"

"Um...it's a wearable vibrator that has a Bluetooth link to a smart phone and a little app to control it," he said with a devious grin.

Lupina's eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped.

You can imagine the fun someone could have with that...never knowing just when_or _where the little thing might go off...," he added.

"That...that's just..just...evil!" she cried, crossing her legs at the thought of it, though she couldn't keep herself from grinning. "You're right, you _do_have a twisted sense of humor!"

"Thank you," Ron said with a smile.

He helped Lupina brush her fur out, and then they got dressed and headed for the kitchen. As Ron worked to get breakfast ready, Lupina sat and watched, having another cup of coffee. She thought about how her life had suddenly--and pleasantly--taken quite a different course. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to be with this man.

"Ooo, Rosie's gonna flip when I tell her that Ron and I are mates now! I know it's supposed to be possible, but I wonder if I can have little ones by him. I hope he can handle me when I go into heat! Geez, I hope no other human will be affected by it like I think he might! Maybe not, though. What was that thing Dr. Nemeth said one time? Oh, yeah...something about how only a very rare few humans had a certain genetic mutation that would make them especially compatible with the G.E.L.F.s. I wonder...is it possible that he just might be one of those humans?" she thought to herself. Lupina got to thinking about something else that she had known. "Before they made us, some humans had been getting 'enhancements', kind of like cosmetic surgery, and before that, there were rumors of DARPA funding some sort of 'super soldier' project where they supposedly tried to give warriors certain animal abilities. Oh, GEEZ...he...he's not one of them...is he? Okay, Lu, get a grip on yourself! He was probably long out of the military by then. But then again, who knows what they might have been doing, with the way they keep secrets! Okay, okay, enough of that! He seems like a normal enough guy--smart, and funny, and really caring...and has unusually sensitive hearing and night sight!" She closed her eyes and put her hands to her face for a moment. When she pulled her hands away and opened her eyes, Ron was standing next to her, leaning down and nearly nose-to-nose with her.

"Gah!" Lupina gave a startled gasp.

"Breakfast is ready, dear," he said with a grin.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, wondering how he managed to get so close without her knowing it.

"Oh, about five minutes," he said with a little grin.

"Five minutes?" she asked in disbelief.

"Heh, actually, only a few seconds," he replied, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Oh,you...!" she said, giving him a little slap on the arm.

After they ate and got the dishes cleaned up, Ron went up to the loft so that he could check his e-mail. Lupina went back to the spare bedroom to get the slate PC and headed back into the great room to sit on the couch in front of the fireplace. She logged into her e-mail and checked to see if there was anything. She had a few messages from some of her G.E.L.F. friends, and one from Miki. There was one from Rosie, so she opened that one first and read it.

Hey Lu! Got your mail...geez gal, is there somethin' in the water up there, or what??? Sounds like you got it bad for that guy! :) He sounds like a kind of guy I wish I could meet. ;) What??? HE's the one who wrote the books we like??? Get out! Geez, Lu, here I thought I'd be happy if I got a box of raisins, and you meet THE GUY!!! So he likes skunk gals, too, eh? Wanna share? ;) Teasing! Sorta. :P Ha! Ha!

Seems like we've all been havin' a hard time of it, but maybe you got somethin' going up there finally! Whoa, you say he wants to help get ME up there??? Oooh...hope! <3 <3 <3 I'll try to be on this afternoon if I can. Gotta run.

*Nuzzle*

Rosie

Lupina chuckled to herself at what Rosie said. "Just wait until you find out, 'Miss Fluffy Tail'!" she said under her breath. Lupina wrote a quick reply to Rosie, snickering while she typed.

Hey Rosie!

I'll keep an eye out for you. I'm going into town with Ron this morning, because he has to work today 'til 9 PM. I've decided to live at his place, so we're going to pick up the rest of my stuff and bring it here. Btw, that computer place I told you about? Get this--he owns it! Well, half owner, anyway. :D Oh, and...I got to try out the special shower he built...in his_bathroom! ;) It's like it's made for _us! It's even got a full-body blow-drying system built in!

I think he's done checking his e-mail, so we'll be leaving for town soon. Stay out of trouble! ;)

*Nuzzle!*

Lu

p.s. - we had a wonderful time last night! ;)

Lupina heard Ron get up from his chair so she hurried up and sent the e-mail to Rosie, signed out, and powered down the slate. When he came down the stairs from the loft, he had a padded case in his hand.

"Here's the case for that slate," he said walking up to hand it to her.

Lupina took it from him, slipped the slate into it, and closed it up. She put her arms around him and they hugged, gently swaying a little, and then kissed.

"Ready to go, baby?" he asked with a grin.

Lupina smiled back and teased, "Oh, it's 'baby' now, is it?"

"Yeah, well, I could have said...," and he whispered something in her ear.

Lupina immediately got a bit embarrassed, and quipped, "You dirty ol' man, you!"

"Hey, I took a shower this morning!" he grinned. "And you should know, too...after all, you were in there with me, all wet, and soapy, and..."

"Yeah, I know!" she said giving her hips a bit of a wiggle.

"Heh, well, go grab your coat, and I'll see if J.D.'s around...if he is, I'll give him something to eat, but if he isn't then I guess we'll head on out," Ron said.

"Okay...baby," Lupina said with a sly grin, and she went to fetch her coat and purse.

Ron got another little container out of the refrigerator just in case his overgrown rodent friend was outside. He put on his jacket, hat, and gloves, and stepped out onto the deck. As usual, J.D. was out there waiting for his treat, so Ron sat down on the deck and greeted him.

"Hey buddy, look what I've got for ya! Got your favorite munchies, chopped apple and baby spinach leaves," he said, giving J.D. a little rub under the chin. Ron pulled the top off and set the container down on the deck for J.D. to eat, but J.D. didn't eat right away. He started sniffing Ron's clothes. "What's the matter, buddy, you smell somebody else's scent on me? Yeah, that's Lupina's scent. You'll have to get used to her, because she's gonna be around for a while...a long while, I hope." He saw the quills on J.D.'s back raise a little, as he continued to sniff. "Oh, come on, dude, she's a real sweet gal...and no, she doesn't eat porcupines, so chill, okay? I don't need to be picking your quills out of my jacket again, so take it easy, and eat your apple and spinach. Come on, right here," he said, waving the container under the rodent's nose. "Yeah, that's it, buddy, chow time." When J.D. was finished, Ron leaned down and J.D. looked at him for a moment, and then put his front paws on Ron's legs and lifted his nose. As soon as they touched noses, Ron gave J.D. another little rub under his chin, and then he ambled off down the stairs. It was kind of funny to watch the porcupine go up and down the stairs. Ron got up and brushed off his backside and took the container back inside.

Lupina had been watching from the front windows.

"I take it that he smelled me on you," she said as soon as Ron got inside.

"Yeah. It'll take him a while to get used to your scent. We'll have to work on getting him to not to be afraid of you. Well, I'm going to put this in the sink and wash it out tonight. If you're ready, let's head on out," Ron said.

Ron grabbed his briefcase and they went out the door. It wasn't long before they got to the road and headed towards town. They eventually made it to the little cabin where Lupina had been staying. She got the door opened and they went in to gather up what she still had there. It didn't take but fifteen minutes to get her stuff packed up and the place put in good order. When she closed up the cabin and locked the door, she gave the place a quick little pat.

"Well, you might not be much, but at least you were home for a little while when nobody else wanted to give me one," she said quietly.

Ron hugged her from behind, and they stood there for a moment, looking at the little cabin.

"There's something sad about an empty house, with no personal stuff in it, no lights, no sign that anybody lives there anymore," Ron said somberly.

"Yeah," Lupina agreed quietly. After a moment, she asked, "Can we leave now?"

Ron gave her a kiss behind her ear and said in a deep voice, "Come. We go."

She turned around looked up at him with a little grin and said, "You sound just like that barbarian guy in the movies."

"Yeah?" he asked

"Yeah," she replied.

Ron got a wicked grin on his face...and before Lupina could figure out what for, he picked her up, slung her over her shoulder, and took off around to the front of the SUV.

"AHHHHHH!!! What...are...you...DOING???" she yelled in surprise.

Ron bellowed out in his best barbarian voice, "I...HAVE...THE WENCH!!!"

"You...I'm a WOLF, not a WENCH! PUT ME DOWN!!!" she demanded.

"Only if you'll have your way with me!" he teased.

"WHAT???"

"Well...not_now_, of course!" he said, setting her down by the front door of the SUV. "After we get home this evening, luv."

"Ron! You're NUTS!" she exclaimed.

"About you...absolutely!" he grinned...and then he kissed her.

At first Lupina was stunned, but then she returned his kiss just as passionately.

"You're crazy, you know that?" she said when she eventually came up for air.

"Heh, I get told that a lot," Ron said with a chuckle.

"What am I going to do with you?" Lupina asked, holding her arms around his neck.

"Oh...I'm sure you'll think of something eventually," he smirked.

Ron drove into the employee parking area at the back of the shop, and parked in his reserved spot not far from the door. He waved his left wrist near a little box on a post by the door, and when he heard the lock unlatch, he opened the door and let Lupina in first. He greeted the employees as he walked through the back to his office--the same one where Lupina's interview had been held. His first order of business was to get some coffee and then sign the paychecks of everyone who didn't already have direct deposit into their bank accounts. For those individuals, they would get in the envelope only a printout of their pay information. Once Ron finished that task, he locked the envelopes into a desk drawer to hand out just before noon so that those who would be receiving an actual check could make a run to their bank and deposit it. He then went out to check to see how many computers there were waiting to be worked on, what was currently being worked on, and how many had been completed. Lupina watched him through the windows of the office and could see that even though he was easy going and relaxed, he worked efficiently and quickly. For a time he disappeared up front for a while, though when he came back, he had two large cups in one hand, something wrapped up in some sort of paper, and some mail tucked under an arm. His friend Rob was right behind him as Ron returned to his office and carefully set the items down on his desk.

"Hi, Lupina, how are you this morning?" Rob asked cheerfully, also carrying a large cup and something wrapped up in his hand.

"Hello," she replied, giving a little wave, "I'm fine, thank you. And you?"

"Oh, the usual--same ol', same ol'," he said with a grin.

Lupina just smiled and wondered if maybe she should sit somewhere else in case they needed to conduct business.

"Got a little something for you to snack on," Ron said, as he handed her one of the cups and wrapped up items he brought in with him. Whatever it was that he handed her, it was warm, and had a strong scent of cinnamon. When she opened up the wrapper, she discovered that it was a large, homemade cinnamon roll.

"Ooo, thank you! That smells good!" Lupina said as she felt her saliva glands starting to kick in.

"Oh, here, you might need these," Ron said with a grin, handing her some napkins.

Lupina quickly glanced over to Rob, before very quickly sticking just the very end of her tongue out at Ron, and taking the offered napkins.

"Oh, they are good," Rob agreed. "Every Friday morning, Miss Matty brings in a batch. They tend to go pretty quick."

"Is that someone who works here?" Lupina asked.

"Miss Matty is an old gal who makes some of the cakes and pastries that we sell over on the coffee shop side," Ron explained.

"She's a real sweetheart," Rob said as he happily enjoyed munching on his cinnamon roll. "By the way, Ron, how did you manage to get these? I thought they were gone already."

Ron grinned and said, "I e-mailed Katie before I left home to snag three of them for me."

"So_that's_ why you always manage to get one every week," Rob said. "Now I see how you are!"

"Heh just gotta plan ahead for these things," Ron shot back with a grin.

When they finished the rolls, Ron and Rob got down to a little business, discussing things that happened during the week, what supplies had been ordered, work schedules, problems they've run into, upcoming training, and other things related to the day-to-day running of the business. By the time they finished their coffees, their little weekly meeting was over. Before Rob headed out to do something else, Ron brought up a couple of non-business related things.

"Hey, that latest batch of mead we made should be ready this weekend. I'll test it tonight when I get home to be sure," Ron said.

"Sounds great! I've looking forward to see how this batch turns out," Rob said with a merry grin.

"Mead? What's that?" Lupina asked.

"Oh, it's a type of wine made from honey. It's been around in one form or another for thousands of years. I've got an already opened bottle at home if you want to try some this evening," Ron explained.

"We've been making our own ever since Ron moved up here," Rob added.

"Hey, are you going to come over some time this weekend, like Saturday evening, maybe?" Ron asked his friend.

"Okay. Want me to give you a yell before I come over?" Rob asked.

"Yeah, probably a good idea," Ron replied with a grin.

Ron looked at the clock in his office--it was about time for the weekly staff meeting. Getting his notebook, cup, and the stack of paychecks and paystubs from his locked desk drawer, he got up and motioned for Lupina to follow him.

"Hey, would you mind sitting up front for a little while? We're going to have our weekly staff meeting--shouldn't take too long, half an hour at the most. If you want anything to munch on or to drink, I'll have the gal working the counter get you whatever you want. Oh, and we have Wi-Fi here, so you can use the tablet to connect to the Internet. It's already set up for it," Ron asked.

"Sure. Um, is there a restroom here?" she asked, dipping her ears in mild embarrassment.

"Certainly, come on, I'll show you," Ron replied and he took her over to where they were. While she was doing what she needed to do, he told the young gal working the coffee shop side to give Lupina whatever she wanted as far as food or drink, and give him the bill for it. When she came out of the restroom, he got her situated in a booth along the wall and showed how to switch the network connection to the shop's Wi-Fi system.

"All set?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I think so, thanks," she replied.

He held her hand and made a quick little kissing gesture before heading back to the shop's break area for the meeting. She watched him walk away until he was out of sight, and then giving a little sigh, she logged in on the messaging system to see if Rosie was online. Lupina got a notice that she had a new e-mail waiting, so she went to that to see what it was. There was a new message from Rosie, so she opened it right away.

Hey Lu! Geez, girl, movin' in with him now, huh? ;) The dude owns the place, too??? :O Whoa, must be a "Mr. Moneybags" or something! And just what were you doing in HIS shower??? Tell me you weren't getting frisky in there! It's got an air-dry thing built in? Get out! I gotta get one of those! Okay, now I KNOW you're up to something, if you were havin' a hot time last night! ;) You're gonna tell me all about it when I can catch you online! I should be on in a little bit.

*Nuzzle*

Rosie

Lupina couldn't keep from snickering at what her friend said. She closed out the mail application, and decided to check out the news to see what was going on elsewhere, particularly if it had anything to do with the other G.E.L.F.s.

When the staff meeting got started, Rob went over some announcements regarding the general business. Most had to do with the usual stuff, minor policy changes, when the next safety training would be, and how well the business was doing lately. Ron took over at that point to discuss the work they had, what kind of problems there were if any, when parts that were on order would arrive, if there were anything needed as far as tools and equipment, the work schedule for the techs, and lastly he opened it up for questions and so forth from the others. He could tell that they wanted to know why the G.E.L.F. female was here, but were waiting to see if he would say something about it. After everything else had been gone over, that was when Ron decided to bring up Lupina.

"Okay, I know you're all chomping at the bit wondering about the person you've seen in here with me. Her name is Lupina, and yes, she's a G.E.L.F., so no, you're not hallucinating. Actually, she put in an application for the tech position that we have open. She has a B.S. degree in Computer Science, and even though she's more into the programming side of it, we've needed someone who can hack out code. Now, she's going through the process, just like everyone one else, and we're giving her a chance to see how it goes. Maybe it'll work out, maybe not, but she deserves a chance just as we've given everyone else. Now, I hope nobody is going to be having a problem with having her here. If there's going to be one, I need to know. Lupina is an intelligent person, and she's just trying to find a job. As soon as the usual checks come back, she'll be starting. I want everyone to treat her just the same as any other person, human or otherwise. Any questions?"

John, one of the younger techs, who was something of a cut-up, started snickering and asked, "She's not going to howl at the moon or anything, is she?"

"I doubt it, but if you piss her off, she might knock your ass across the room...and if I ever hear anyone calling her the 'B' word, that's going to piss _me_off. It's not cool to piss off the guy who signs your paycheck...and speaking of which, I've got them right here," Ron explained firmly, and handed out the envelopes.

Lupina got another cup of coffee and a few large oatmeal raisin cookies, and waited for Rosie to come on. It wasn't long after she sat down again that there was a little "ding" to announce Rosie coming online.

[R_Skunk005 is online]

L_Wolfe001: Hey Rosie! About time you showed up. :P

R_Skunk005: Hi Lu!!! So c'mon, dish...what's with the shower scene? ;)

L_Wolfe001: Wouldn't you like to know! ;)

R_Skunk005: Tell me already!

L_Wolfe001: Before or after I tell you that I'm munching on some of the best oatmeal raisin cookies I've ever tasted? They're huge, too! Soft, chewy...lots of raisins..."

R_Skunk005: You're killin' me!!!

R_Skunk005: Aw, c'mon already! Tell me Lu!!!

L_Wolfe001: Okay, okay...mmm, these cookies are good. ;)

R_Skunk005: STOP you teaser!!! :S

L_Wolfe001: We did. Last night. In his bed. :D

R_Skunk005: Get out!!! No way!!!

L_Wolfe001: Way. We even howled together, too!

L_Wolfe001: Yeah, we're mates now. I still can't believe it, but yeah! Geez, Rosie, it was better than I imagined! No pressure, no hurry, we took things slow, and ooo...I never knew that humans could be so...good! ;) I don't know how long we talked, and held each other, and tried things. Oh, yeah, and we took a shower together this morning, too. :P That was fun!

R_Skunk005: You sure he didn't just want to see what it was like with you?

L_Wolfe001: We both wanted to, the things we talked about, and the way he listened, he really cares and wants to be with me. <3

R_Skunk005: Geez, Lu...I wanna a guy like that, too!!! But all of the ones around here just wanna get weird or something. Nobody sees me for being me, you know? :(

L_Wolfe001: That bites, I know. Ron said he'll help get you up here, and he'll do it, too. I know he will.

R_Skunk005: You gotta send me a picture of your guy! I want to see what he looks like. ;)

L_Wolfe001: OK, I'll see if he'll let me take one of him. Oh, after he gets off work tonight, I think we might go out to eat for once. I'll see if he'll want to go to that restaurant where my friend Miki works. I think she's working tonight.

R_Skunk005: Do they have a salad bar?

L_Wolfe001: Yeah, it's pretty good size, too. :)

R_Skunk005: You're makin' me hungry! *drool*

[R_Wolfe001]: Ron got me a big cinnamon roll when we got here. It was really sweet, but it was good! I don't think I could eat those too often. I like my sausage sticks!

R_Skunk005: Yeah, I'm sure you do! ;)

R_Skunk005: I'm going to try to get something to eat...haven't had anything yet today. :( I think I'm losing weight and my fur is getting dull looking.

L_Wolfe001: Rosie...are you getting enough to eat?

R_Skunk005: Well...some of the stores won't let me in, and I have to go to people selling stuff out of their trucks sometimes. :(

L_Wolfe001: Oh...my...! :( Is that mailing address you gave me still good?

R_Skunk005: Yeah, why?

L_Wolfe001: I'm going to tell Ron at lunch, maybe he might know of something to do. I'll call you if I can, but it might be late your time, okay?

R_Skunk005: Okay, you know me--I'm usually up half the night. :)

L_Wolfe001: Yeah. Geez, Rosie, I didn't know you were having trouble getting groceries. Now I feel bad about the cookies and all! :(

R_Skunk005: Don't worry about it, girl. I'll be okay. If I can get up to where you are, you can get me a stack of those cookies! :P

L_Wolfe001: Ha, the way Ron cooks, he's liable to have a feast for you! ;)

R_Skunk005: Something to dream about, I guess. :) Okay, I'm going to see if I can get something at the sandwich shop. I talk to you later. And keep that guy warm at night! ;)

L_Wolfe001: Okay, and I will! ;)

[R_Skunk005 is offline]

"Oh, Rosie girl, we gotta get you up here!" Lupina muttered under her breath.

Ron came out after the meeting and sat down with Lupina.

"Hey, why the sad face?" he asked, reaching out and taking her hand.

"I've been chatting with Rosie. I found out that she's not eating enough because some of the stores won't let her in to buy groceries, and she has to buy things out of people's trucks. Here, you can read for yourself," Lupina explained.

She scrolled to the part for him to start reading at, and handed the slate over to him. He read it, and when he was finished, he handed the slate back to her. He had a look of concern on his face.

"Is there anything we can do to help her?" Lupina asked.

"It sounds like the people there need an attitude adjustment. When we get home tonight, I'll see if we can get a plane ticket for her. There's something else I think I can do, too...see if you can get her to tell you the names of the stores that won't let her in to buy groceries. I've got an idea," he said, stroking his beard and getting a slightly dangerous grin.

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"Family Tails" - Chapter 5 http://www.sofurry.com/view/494461

"Family Tails" - Chapter 7 http://www.sofurry.com/view/497327