Paperwork
(June 9, 18:00) They had spent the past six hours at the Busch Gardens theme
park, exploring every inch of the living attraction, yet never stepping foot to
the rides. Lilliana realized then that the meek little mouse was not a thrill
seeker, but a nature lover. She sat and watched the tiny mouse sleep peacefully
on one of the two kings sized beds, while she printed off the content of her
virtual fax inbox. Hearing the alert
from her laptop Lilly looked back at the travel printer, It was out of paper
again. [i]How did Susan get all this so quickly? This is a lot more than she
made it out to be. That chinchilla is a miracle worker.[/i] Dropping more paper
into the feeder she removed the small
stack and started the thumb through it. She pulled the six page form out and
set it aside for later. Looking at the top of the first page: September 6, 1997: Baby Doe, anonymous turn over to state.
Approximately two weeks old. Healthy kangaroo mouse. six pounds eight ounces.... Flipping through the small file. [i]Susan could get in so
much trouble for this. I hate to see what she wants in return.[/i] She counted
through the individual case sets. [i]What this fuck? This can't be right.[/i]
Slipping her earpiece in she pressed the
button on the side and aside "Call Susan on cell." waiting for the chinchilla to pick up, she continued to jump
around reading in the file. "Hey there Susan, its me again... Yah, that's what I
am calling about... First, how did you get this stuff on a Sunday... Ok, ok, I won't
ask. The less I know the better... sure I can shred it later. There is a lot to
read here... Are you sure this is all her's?... Nine homes if fourteen years?...
Yeah, I see that... How the fuck do these guys slip through the cracks?... I
don't give a shit if its unsubstantiated... The fucker went to jail five times
during the investigation... And this here, FAMILY RELOCATED... who the fuck cares,
take the girl with you... That looked like the best place she was... From there it
looks like a spiking record... Returned special needs... returned problem child... May need counseling... No Shit
she needs help... No, she's passed out... the little guy was
overwhelmed with Busch gardens... I have never seen a kid take so many
pictures... I think this was the first time she really smiled in years... Wait a
sec, what's this stuff here at the end?... yeah the pictures... Someone took the
time to file these?... So what's this going to cost me?... Don't pull that
shit... I don't care, I'm not doing that... yeah laugh it up, still not happening...
What do you mean getting late? Its only 9:00 out there... Ok, I need to make
another call anyway... I am going to fill it out in a few... first thing in the
morning, have to get a notary... You take care of yourself... I think three weeks
from now... TTFN" She set the file aside pulling a pen from her bag, she slid
the forms in front of her, then pressed the button on the earpiece again, "Call
General on cell." Starting to fill out the forms. "Wow, someone taught you to
use caller ID?... It's about that letter of recommendation you offered... not
quite, I am looking for a character reference for an adoption... Fuck you old
man... If you saw what I was looking at, you would reconsider your jokes... She's a
runaway... ward of the state... Yeah that about covers it... I have my ways of getting things... Kiss my
ass, when did she call you?... I still got everyone's number... once a month like
we promised... Back to what i wanted... Asshat, if you already drafted it up why
did you make me ask for it?... Ha Ha, you got the bitch to beg... Yeah, I will...
Hold on a sec" Lilly picked up the phone and snapped a picture of Cecily
sleeping, and then fumbled through sending it as a text message. "You need to
get with the times old man, texting photos is old hat... Skype, live video... Yeah
she is a cutey... growing on me like a
fungus... I asked myself the same thing... Shit, I don't know. We'll figure that
out when we get to it... Thanks, I owe you one... the answer is still 'fuck no'...
Call you on the first... yeah we do need to do a get together... Get Susan to set
it up, she was always good at that shit... Ok, go eat, I will be here... Bourbon
Alley?... Yea it's on my list... sometime next week... no I don't have a date set,
I'll get there when I get there... How many?... OK, the usual drop box?... I got
you covered, are we square then? I might need another letter for a job... I don't
care what the others say, you're great in my book... have a good one, and thanks
again." Leaning back in her chair with a sigh, "The paperwork is
always the hardest part for me. And you're talking to yourself again Lilly. As
long as I don't answer I'm not crazy. Well you just answered nut job." Laughing
to herself, she went back to filling out the forms. --- (June 10, 06:00) Lilliana woke to the sound of running water. Slightly
disoriented she reached for the wall at the side of the bed. When her hand
closed around nothing, she jumped up with a start. Landing on her feet eyes
wide, she scanned the room. She put a
shaky hand to her head, "You're not in the dust bowl, that was six years ago.
Get a grip Lilly." She looked around the room trying to pull herself back into
the present. Hotel letterhead and loose printer paper was spread across the
floor. She picked them up to find on each a rough sketch of flowers or animals,
all scratched out with the complementary ballpoint pen. She sat with her back
to the bed and slowly went through the pages, amazed at the talent
displayed. Lilly was so enthralled that
she did not hear the shower cut off. As she walked into the room with a towel wrapped around her,
Cecily let out a soft 'eep' when she saw Lilly on the floor with the papers.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you up with the TV." After jumping with a bit of surprise for the added presence,
Lilly looked at her, "Sorry for what, having talent? I couldn't draw a stick
figure if my life depended on it." she patted the floor beside her, "Com'ere. I
am clueless here, tell me what they are." "Just stuff we saw at Busch Gardens" she said as she
fidgeted with her tail. "You read all the plaques; I was just there for the nature
walk." She thought for a moment while Cecily slowly came over and sat a foot or
so away for her, "You like this stuff? Drawing I mean. You're pretty good at
it." "It's ok I guess." "'OK' my ass. When did you wake up?" "About an hour ago." Cecily
responded quietly. "You did this stuff in an hour? You'd be a fuckin' Rembrandt
if you took your time." Lilly said slapping the papers with the back of her
hand. "You should have told me you like doing this shit. You'll need something
to fill the time on the road. I was going to stop by a bookstore this morning;
we have a full day's drive to Orlando.
We got about three days' worth of stuff to do down there before we head
off to the Bourbon Alley in Tennessee." Lilly reached her arm around Cecily and
pulled her close, "Look here Squeaky, we have some long days of driving ahead
of us. After breakfast and FedEx, let's hit up the book store and stock up on
reading mats and a sketchbook or three." Looking up at her Cecily, asked, "FedEx?" "I got to send off these custody forms and get the ball
rolling on the adoption. Susan will kick my ass if I don't overnight them
today. For now, I need a shower and you get dressed." Lilly stood up and made
her way to the bathroom, "So what's going to be for breakfast today, Sisy?" Speaking up uncharacteristically, loud enough to be heard in
the bathroom, Cecily asked, "Why do you keep calling me Sisy?" "Well, slut, heffer, and asshat didn't seem to fit, so take
it or leave it, Squeakers." Lilly said
from the other side of the door. Sitting in silence on the floor listening to the liger
humming as she showered, Cecily held the bundle of loose sketches in her hand.
[i]Is she really going through with this?[/i] She felt a tear forming on her
cheek. [i]Don't do it, Cecily. Don't get sucked in. She will give you back like
everyone else. it's only a matter of time.[/i] She tossed the papers across the
floor and buried her face in her hands. [i]It's only a matter of time. She kept telling herself.[/i] The sudden
silence from the shower being cut off sent Cecily into a frenzy of gathering
the paper. [i]No.No.No. don't let her see. Don't show weakness. That is what
always ruins things. Be strong, just deal with it.[/i] Having shoved the papers
into the trash she ran to her duffle to get dressed in a fresh set of cloths. Lilly came out of the bathroom, towel over her shoulder, "So
you come up with breakfast ideas yet, or am I going to have to do it again?" As
she passed the trash can she stopped and pulled the drawings back out, "What
the fuck, Sisy? I wanted to keep these. I now have art to display on the
fridge." looking over at the small mouse Lilly saw a look of panic in her eyes,
the same look when she bolted the day before. "Fuck, I screwed up again." she
said as she slapped her hand to her forehead. "I am sorry, Cecily. Don't listen
to me, half the time I speak before I think." dropping into the chair nude,
"Hell, I never think before I speak. You know what? I was told by an old friend
that I was missing the filter between my brain and my mouth that tells me 'you
shouldn't say that'. That has gotten me into so much trouble it's not funny.
Here let me try this again." pausing a moment she put on the fakest grin she
could manage, "Hey there Cecily. Why don't we keep these as a reminder of our trip
to Busch Gardens? They are so much cooler than photos." dropping the smile,
"How was that?" Cecily just stood there recovering from a state of panicked
silence, looking wide eyed at the liger for a long moment. Then she looked down
at the floor once she was able to collect herself. "You're nude?" she managed
to squeak out. Looking down at herself then back at the mouse, "So are you
under that towel. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Or is that just me being
insensitive again? Personally, I think you should flaunt it if you got it. On the topic of our hot bodies, what you want
for eats? We got about two hours before FedEx opens, and I think the B&N
here is 24 hours." pulling her duffle into her lap, Lilly said, "Put some rags
on that hot bod so we can strut our stuff at the bookshop." --- (09:00) Standing in line at the FedEx store, Lilliana gave the forms
one last check. Checking addon items, lease still good for two months, even if
she was not planning on staying there and the apartment was empty. Expedited
background check request, that one might need another phone call. [i]Damn, I am
burning through favors on this one. We are going to need to get to Oregon
faster than originally planned. Bureaucratic bullshit. In person interview. At
least we will still have the cruise.[/i] She moved up to the counter, "I need
this signature notarized and this
overnighted." "Just one moment, ma'am, let me get the public notary" the
young fox behind the counter told her as she went to the back of the store.
Lilly Looked out the window to the Camaro where Cecily waited.[i] I really hope
this temporary custody shit goes through, she needs this.[/i] Cecily sat in the passenger seat of the red '73 Camaro,
B&N bag clutched tightly to her chest. [i]This is never going to work.
Stuff like this never really works.[/i] Sitting there she looked over at the
driver seat. Standing she looked into the store windows, Lilliana was at the
counter. Climbing over to the driver seat she sat and looked between the space
in the steering wheel and the dash, her feet got nowhere near the pedals. Whit
her height she would never be able to drive. Sitting on the edge of the seat
she put one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter, like she had seen
Lilly do so many time now. "So how does it feel?"
Cecily screamed from the unexpected Lilliana standing outside the car. "I'm sorry, I..." Liliana interrupted her "Sorry for what? You keep saying
that for no good reason. Your a fifteen year old girl sitting in the sexiest
hunk of steel in this parking lot. I would be right where you are if it were
me." Leaning in the window. "Looks Like we will need to do something about the
height. These things are not made for some people. We can fix this, I am sure.
No girl should ever be stuck depending on a guy for a ride. Slide over
Squeaky." She said, opening the door to sit down. "We have a decision to make
here. Susan is awesome, and I trust she has already formed some sort of plan to
expedite the temporary custody process." Looking over at Cecily now back in the
passenger seat. "and from the sounds of what she was saying last night, we just
want to keep quiet about it and go with the flow. I don't ever question the girl." cranking the
car, "The choice we have to make right now is head out to Portland now, with a
quick stop at the JD distillery for a package. Or just hope for the best and
keep going with the zigzag to places I
want to see." Looking over at Cecily again, "I don't know about you, but I
don't want to leave anything to chance here." Looking back over at Lilly, "But what about your vacation? All
the things you have planned?" "Shit, you haven't figured it out yet? I don't really have a
plan here. The plan was really to waste a month goofing off before taking the
cruise. Now I found something..." Looking down at the mouse, "More like someone
that needs my time and attention. And that is more important to me than goofing
off; we can do that any time." "Why are you doing this?" Cecily asked "You're giving up a
vacation for a runaway you don't even really know." "When I look at you I don't see a runaway. I see a young
girl who has been through more than anyone your age should have been. I have
more than I need, and no one to share it with.
I want you to come along for this ride of life. And I think my friends
are going to bend a few rules to get us there. People are prepared to give up a
lot here to make this all happen, just because I ask. Together we got a
snowball started rolling down hill, and it has just gotten too big for us to
stop now." Lilliana said pulling out the receipt for the FedEx Overnight
package. "You're crazy. You make it sound like people are going to
break the law here. And for me." "Not break the law, I hope. Just push things a bit faster
than normal. If I need to I still know a few more people that can grease the
gears. We just need to get past this custody thing, then it should all be
downhill from there." "What about the Home study and stuff? I hear that can take
years." "That is after the temporary custody or Protective custody
if you will. All you need to worry about is being you, and having fun. I will
worry about the rest of the stuff. OK, Sisy. If it all falls apart, I have
another idea. But we will worry about that when we have to." "This sounds bad. You're putting yourself out." Cecily said
getting quieter with each word. "Now you sound like General Helfgrad, 'When will you take
things seriously SGT. Fargo?' Lighten
up girl, we have a long adventure ahead of us here. If we worry about the small
stuff like being put out for a short time, or failing at what we try to do, we
might as well do nothing. And that sounds like no life at all." "You're crazy Lilly." Cecily said as she bucked her seat
belt. "And you're intrigued. Lets see where this little slice of
life takes us. To Tennessee and the Bourbon distilleries." Lilliana cheered,
shifting the Camaro into gear and letting it roll. --- (09:00 Portland, Or - County Courthouse) Susan Shelby, A plump chinchilla, sat in her office, phone
in hand. "You owe me this after last year's Christmas party... Don't make me to
it Jeff... You know I will... Come on now; give me more credit than that. You think
I got this far playing by the rules... You got it... how long will it take?...
Good... See you tonight." dropping the receiver back into its cradle Susan thinks
to herself, [i]I hope that little mouse of yours is worth all this.[/i]