Siblings: The Series - Episode 12
#20 of Fetish
Siblings - The Series
Episode Twelve
© 2016 Carlos Penguin
Preface
Anyone old enough to remember Netscape Navigator, will remember the out-of-place retro question Ethan's computer asks ;-)
--
After an extremely long week, at least in the sense that it felt like one, Ethan and Elise relaxed, or tried to, on Friday after work at their aunt and uncle's house on a dinner invite.
"The little darlings must be getting ready to kick any day now." Aunt Eugenia said as she took her niece's coat from her. She looked noticeably bigger than when she saw her last two weeks ago.
"I'm looking forward to the first kick." Elise smiled. "That is if I can feel it through all this padding I'm adding. I am so hungry all the time!"
"Well, we'll keep ya well fed." Uncle Rick added. "We got a freezer full of food in abundance since sellin' the property. Steak and' lobster for all tonight!"
"Oh, wow! Thank you Uncle! Auntie!" Ethan smiled, very grateful.
"Ohhhh, thank you Uncle, but my figure..." Elise lamented.
Ethan put his arms around her and gave her hips a squeeze. "Your figure is perfect."
Rick chuckled, "The boy gets his good taste from my side of the family." He gave Eugenia's ample ass a firm pat, making her squeak.
"Happy to be able to do more for my favourite niece and nephew!" Rick continued with a big grin. Something he had said since they were kits and they have given up reminding him that they were his only niece and nephew.
"So, how did work go this week? Your dad easing up on you two?" Eugenia asked,
"Daddy's been professional and kind of easing into being personable again. I think he's scared of too much, too soon and making another mistake." Elise said in an assertive manner.
Rick and Eugenia didn't want to touch that one. Elise still hadn't forgiven her dad for what he did to Ethan, even in an angry outburst.
To change the conversation, Ethan blurted out, "I think my best friend is turning gay."
"Huh?" Rick said, his eyebrows almost popping off his head.
"What on earth makes you think that about Al?" Eugenia asked, surprised.
"We went to his place where he lives with Cerise and he was giving a goodbye kiss... to another guy." Ethan explained.
Normally when Ethan had something he needed help handling, he would talk to Al. But now Al was the thing he needed to deal with. Not that it made him uneasy, it's just not something two friends as close as they were would keep from one or the other. All the years he had been completely honest with his friend, he felt that he had been holding something back. And if he was holding something that big back from him, what else? Trust was in the crapper between them as far as Ethan was concerned.
"I'm sure there's an explanation..." Rick said, scratching his head.
"I'm sure there is too. But none he was willing to share." Ethan said with disappointment.
"Did you ask him about it?" Eugenia asked.
Ethan paused, then looked at her, "No. That would be prying."
"Well, how are you going to know? It's obviously bothering you." His aunt observed.
"Prying is against the 'guy code', Auntie. I already went down this road with Mr. Stubborn here." Elise rolled her eyes.
"He'll talk when he feels ready too." Rick said with a pat to Ethan's shoulder, making him smile.
"See, Uncle understands." Ethan said, sticking his tongue out at Elise, who exaggeratedly rolled her eyes again, waving her hand dismissively at him.
Rick and Eugenia chuckled. Despite the relationship and grown-up responsibilities, they were still siblings after all.
--
Too much time to think. Marie sat in the living room of the apartment where she was staying with Elise and her brother. She had enough of TV and couldn't concentrate on the novel she found. Magazines brought no satisfaction and while Kiana was full of sympathy, offered no answers for her predicament.
She blew it with her boyfriend. The only male she had been with that stuck by her, despite meeting her family. She still felt violated by his accusations that her family didn't love her. A feeling more compounded when she had gone home from his place and sought emotional comfort, they didn't give it. "You screwed another one up?" Was her dad's response and her mom just walked away in disappointment. Her brother mocked her as a fuck-up. Only her little sister, Delia, held her and cried for her.
She packed her clothes and left fully expecting to live out of her vintage station wagon when Elise offered her a temporary place to stay. Not that it was anything comforting emotionally, as she knew Ethan only tolerated her presence for the sake of his sister.
Rather than facing truth or reality, she always sought escape. A black wolfess whose fur shone naturally as if it had hair slick in it and bright amber eyes and a bubbly, extroverted personality; she was pretty and she knew it. So far that had been her free ride. But this was coming to an end. But his time it was coming to an end by her choice. She needed a change and to change herself if her situation were to improve. She knew it now.
She checked her purse and had enough for one coffee. She left for the cafe with aims of seriously looking for and applying for a job.
She perused the cafe computer to search. She wrote down several that fit her lack of qualifications, regardless of how boring they seemed. Time passed.
"Hey sweetie, ya gotta buy something if you want to stay here." The waitress at the cafe came up to the workstation said.
Marie had been there for several hours and could only afford the one coffee. Being peak time in the evening, there were other users waiting.
"A few more minutes, please? I'm trying to find a job so I can buy more than one coffee." She pleaded.
"Hun, I let you stay two hours longer than I should have because I saw that you were looking for a job. You gotta go." The waitress said.
"Fine." Marie said in discouragement. She got up and put on her coat, grabbed her purse and went to leave.
"Excuse me.." A patron called to Marie and waved her over to her table. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but did you say you were looking for work?"
"Yes, I did." Marie answered hopeful.
"I work at the family restaurant beside the hotel. We're going to put an ad out next week for a waitress and a dishwasher. Why don't you go over there right now and tell them Luci sent you." The stranger said.
Marie looked at her phone. "But... it's almost eight?"
Luci nodded. "We're open until midnight tonight and the manager that hires is there until closing. He traded shifts with me."
"Okay. Well, thank you!" Marie smiled.
She headed over to the restaurant straight away.
It was after ten when Marie returned to the apartment. Elise had let her use her key until such time she could convince Ethan that she wasn't going to use one of her own to have one house party after another.
She quietly opened the door, expecting them to be asleep. Instead, she found them up watching TV, looking a little green in the face.
"Hey..." She whispered and got their attention.
Ethan grunted, but Elise smiled, "We over ate, tonight." She patted her even larger belly, "We tried to lie down but got heartburn."
Marie realized now that she hadn't eaten that day. But before asking if she could have some of their food, she went into the living room and made an announcement. "Guess what? I got a job!"
"That's great!" Elise on the second try got herself off the sofa and gave Marie a hug. "What will you be doing?"
"Waitress at that restaurant beside the hotel." She replied.
"Awesome!" Ethan said. "You can pay rent!"
Elise gave him a scolding expression.
"Yes, yes I can!" Marie said proudly, not taking the bait. But then her expression humbled. "Can I.. uhhh... have something to eat?"
Ethan laughed, "Well working girl, knock yourself out on macaroni and cheese in the cupboard there. It's better than the food they serve at that restaurant."
"It's not that bad." Marie said as she got a pot and filled it with water.
"Tonya had it right when she called it a grease pit. Everything you order there tastes like french fries." Ethan remarked sarcastically.
Marie gave a glare and mumbled, "I really don't care what that titsy polecat thinks."
"Oooooo... Ffit! Ffit!" Ethan made cat claws with his hand and was going to continue his antagonizing of her when Elise waved for him to shut up.
"We'll help you if we can. Do you need clothes?" She asked.
"Their uniform is anything all-black." Marie thought for a moment, "The only all-black I have I can't wear there." She smiled, thinking of her fur Au-natural. "I have black jeans that are kind of dressy, but black shirts all have logos on them."
"Why don't we go to the discount store tomorrow and see what we can get you." Elise offered, getting a cheerful and appreciative response from Marie.
"Enjoy!" Ethan said with a dismissive wave. Last time he went shopping with his sister and one of her friends, he ended up as a pack horse. "I'm off to bed after some game time. The tummy tablets seem to have kicked in." He got up and left the room.
He turned on the table light and closed the door to the bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, he
put his pillow behind his back, picked up his keyboard and pulled over his monitor that was on a swing-arm.
Having to put his machine in the small room required a little ingenuity. He missed the privacy and had to log off when his sister came to bed, but figured he could at least make the experience comfortable.
Logging in, he put on his headset and read the private messages before going into the game. An interesting one from his best friend was in the lot.
Hey man, need to talk. Hang out tomorrow afternoon? - Al
"He's ready to talk." Ethan said to himself.
Al was showing offline, so it was moot to try and respond now.
Since his hooking up with Cerise, his sporadic appearances in game made it just not the same. He still had a great team, but......
He sighed, removed his headset and stared at the monitor. He gave a scoff, "Now I know what she meant when she said, "Can't go back to the way it was anymore." He mumbled.
That thought was depressing, so he figured he'd cheer himself up a bit.
Ten minutes later, Elise came in the room. She gave a wide mouthed yawn, curling her tongue and flattening her ears. She shook her head and smacked her lips. "So tired all of a sudden." She said and unbuttoned her blouse.
Ethan made a few quick clicks, "I thought you and Marie would be up half the night talking about her secular accomplishment and planning targeted shopping-strikes."
Elise smiled. "So did I. I guess all my energy is going to the kits." She unclasped her bra and with a flop, her growing breasts were released from their strangle hold.
Ethan smiled, "I bet that felt good."
"Uh-huh." She said and sat down at her vanity, untying her hair and shaking it out for the evening brushing.
She picked up her brush and raised it to her head, looking back at her brother through the mirror. "Ah, haaaaaa!" She smiled mischievously and came over to her side of the bed and lay down beside him on her side. "What'cha lookin' at?"
"Wha? Nothing!" He said innocently, waving at his desktop screen.
"You were going gaming. No headset. What'ca lookin' at, huh? huh?" Elise said persistently, nuzzling at his cheek. "Naughty things, hm?"
"You're a pain!" He replied and licked her nose. He double-clicked the icon for for a blank browser window.... to an unexpected pop-up:
Browser Session:
- Open new session?
- Continue with Magnificent MILF's?
"Oh... gawd...." He put his hand on his face.
"I knew it!" Elise squeaked as his discomfort grew. "This is the website of that magazine you showed me?"
He nodded.
She propped herself up beside him and put her pillow behind her back. "Show me?" She asked with a grin.
"Huh?" He said, confused.
Pointing to the screen, "C'mon, show me. What do you find so cute, there?"
With a sigh, he chose to continue.
The browser window opened to reveal a pin-up pose of an older, very pregnant skunkette. She was poised to her side, kneeling with one arm under her belly, the other over her breasts, her bushy tail wrapped around her legs and giving a sultry over-the-shoulder glance.
Elise giggled, "Still have a thing for Tonya, I see?"
"Uhhh...."
"She's beautiful!" She cut him off. "Show me another?"
"Interesting response..." He thought to himself as he went back to the index of that week's MILF ladies.
Elise pointed to a human in one of the images, "You would think they get so terribly cold!" She remarked of the hairlessness. "What are those red spots?"
"Stretch marks" Ethan replied matter of fact.
Elise ran her hand against the grain of her fur on her belly and examined her skin.
"Our skin is far more elastic than a human." He put his arm around her reassuringly and kissed her. "Furs don't get those."
"Ooo, she's adorable!" She pointed to another, a mouse girl of tan fur with shining hazel eyes looking innocently into the lens as she stood in the morning rays of sunlight on her rustic porch.
Ethan smiled and happily clicked on the image for her gallery. "You two have something in common...."
As the gallery loaded, each subject had their name at the top of the page in a regal, cursive font. The name that appeared for this lady was, "Elise"
Elise gave a squeak, looked at her brother, then back to the page.
The poses were casual or pinup, anything but smut. "The reason I like this site..." Ethan remarked, "Is the girls are everyday people. No professionals here." He looked at his sister with loving eyes, "Just walking works of art, like you." He kissed her on top of her nose.
"Awww, you...." She was flattered and snuggled against him.
They continued to browse through several more profiles together.
"I've made up my mind." Elise said and looked up at him. "I'm going... to... do... it!"
"Do what?" Ethan asked, not catching on immediately. Then it clicked, "This?" He pointed to the screen.
"Uh-huh!" She smiled.
"What will mom and dad say if they found out?" Ethan reminded her.
She pointed to the screen, "I haven't seen any image on here that I would be ashamed of if mom or dad saw me in."
Ethan gave her a squeeze, "Then honey, I'm behind you one hundred percent."
She smiled sweetly and kissed him gently. "I love you!" She said in a whisper.
Twirling a painted, manicured nail around his chest fur, she ran it lower on his belly. "I think you deserve a treat."
Ethan smiled, "I love your treats."
Moving the keyboard off his lap, she saw a damp, tented sheet over his erection. "I see the internet has already prepped you for me, huh?" Pulling the sheet back, his distress turned de-stress as he felt his sister's tongue dance about his maleness.
The layout of the apartment had the bedroom doors facing each other, with the washroom recessed in between. Heavy vintage doors, the type modern houses use on the exterior, gave a measure of privacy.
Marie lay in her bed, the night table lamp on and placed her just-emptied bowl down with a clank. Nervous and excited about the prospect of her first job. Her mind wandered from one situation to the next as to how dealing with customers will be. She was brought out of her thoughts by the unmistakable sound, as muffled as it was though the door, of Ethan climaxing.
A smile grew on her face, "I wonder what she did?" She whispered to herself.
Her imagination became active. Given her size in the pregnancy, did he give it to her from behind? Was she riding him? Ooooo, that was a pleasing thought. She pictured Elise straddling Ethan, her hips rocking as her large breasts bounced a show for him.
She imagined herself voyeuristicallylooking through a crack in the door, getting a peep-show of the action. She slipped her finger between the moistened lips of her tingling pussy. She needed the relief from the the stress and excitement the day brought about.
Her hips moved in a circular motion as she massaged her own vaginal opening. She felt herself getting ready to cum. Her eyes closed, lost in thought as to what was going on in the other bedroom, she reached beside her for the other pillow. She could feel a large climax coming and knew she had to cover he muzzle or be heard. Instead, she grabbed and buried her face in her pants, her own scent filling her nostrils. Her lust exploded, as did she.
Ethan had just finished returning the favour to his sister. Licking his soaked muzzle, resting his chin on her belly, Elise easing her grip on his head fur as she sighed in relief. She gently lowered her legs down each side of her brother.
"Oooh baby, your treats are wonderful too." She said breathily in an afterglow.
A muffled sound came through their door, "Mmmmm, OH GOD! AHHHH!"
Ethan began to laugh.
Elise's eyes and mouth popped open, looking at her brother with a blush.
"I wonder which one of us she's thinking about?" Ethan said mischievously, getting an expression of shock from his sister.
He slid up from between her legs and over her body. Her flavour helping him get hard again, he slid into her as he did, eliciting a surprised 'yip' from his sister. "Let's get moaning and see how many times we can make each other cum, hm?"
Elise gave a gasp, "I don't think we should be.. YIP!" Her brother gave a firm thrust, along with a devilish grin that quieted her half hearted protest.
--
Next morning, the coffee pot was on. Ethan and Elise were sitting at the kitchen table when Marie very quietly opened her door and took a step toward the washroom.
"That was quite a night, eh?" He grinned.
Marie's mouth opened, wordless. Her black fur covered her full-bodied blush and she scurried into the washroom and closed the door.
"Honey, that was mean." Elise said, grinning, completely amused by her brother's mischief.
Ethan bobbed his eyebrows, "Maybe this will be fun, her being here that is."
Elise giggled with a sparkle in her eyes.
Later that morning, the girls arrived at the discount clothing store. Unlike the mall, it was these types of places where Marie could park her car with it not being out of place among the others.
"Now that I'm looking at clothes because I have to wear them instead of wanting to, this is boring." Marie remarked as she went through the racks of shirts.
"You sound like Ethan." Elise said, as she looked at some blouses to fit her growing figure.
Marie felt a pall of sadness as it was something Gary said as well.
She held a couple of professional looking black shirts against her, "Whaddya think?"
"Oooo, sharp. Good for tips." Elise said encouragingly.
Marie smiled, "Speaking of good tips, do you think tight jeans or stretchy pants would get me more?"
"How about focusing on keeping the job first? It's not that easy dealing with the public. Trust me!" Elise snapped, annoyed as Marie's focus drifted from her success of getting a job back into relying on bedazzling onlookers into handouts.
Marie said nothing.
"I didn't mean to snap." Elise sighed. "Not trying to be a prude, I just want you to succeed, for the right reason." She paused, "To answer you, go for stretchy pants." Elise winked.
A twinge of a smile appeared on the wolfess' face. "That's what friends are for, right?"
"Speaking of friends..." Elise thought it time to bring up, "What are you going to do about Gary? He seems like a nice guy."
The smile was gone from Marie's face. "I've been thinking about that." She said with annoyance. "He analyzed me. Just like that 'polecat' friend of his." She mindlessly fingered the garments on the rack. "I'm... not sure I want that in my life."
"There is SO much I could say...." Elise whispered.
"So, then say it!" Marie snapped, making those close turn their heads.
Elise looked straight faced at her and calmly continued, "For one thing, you had no problems with him until you found out he and Tonya were friends. Secondly, he's the first guy that really cares about you, rather than just take you for a free ride in bed. Finally, Tonya is my friend too. If you hate her, fine. Just please stop calling her a 'polecat' around me."
Marie's mouth dropped open. "Of all the people... you... YOU are going to defend... SO betrayed!" Marie shouted, creating a scene.
"No, I am not..." Elise tried to calm her friend.
"Forget it! And forget our friendship!" She was getting hysterical to the point two store security officers arrived.
"Ma'am, please, you have to calm down." The human female officer said calmly. "If for the sake of the other shoppers."
"Why is everyone telling me to be calm!" Marie shoved the garments towards the officer, her excited state causing her to forget her canid physiology and knocking the officer into an adjacent display end-cap.
"Ma'am, you have to go!" Her larger male security partner grabbed Marie's arm. Instinctively, she threw him off and screamed, flashing back to the attack in the underground parking lot.... something they didn't know.
His training had him roll out and get to his feet, taking a martial arts defensive stance. Despite Marie being half his size, her physiology gave her twice his strength.
"Back, Jerry!" His female partner shouted, as she drew her taser from the side. In a pop, squeal and a flash, Marie was down.
--
"Hey!" Ethan said with a smile as he approached Al, who was sitting facing outward on a picnic table bench. "Southern coyotes are pretty chill resistant, huh?"
Despite the winter chill still in the air, Al asked his friend to meet at the Heritage Park. Summer or winter, it was a contemplative, peaceful place.
Al slowly shook his head. "Nope. But helps narrow the focus by freezin' out extraneous thinkin'."
Ethan chuckled, "Sounds like something Uncle Rick would say." He sat down and tugged at his coat and patted his gloves together.
A few moments of silence passed before Al spoke. "So, what are they sayin' 'bout me?"
Ethan pondered a humorous answer, then decided against it. "Honestly?"
"Yep."
He sighed. "Well, Elise hasn't said a word about it. Other than nagging me the first night to ask you all about it."
"Uh-huh." Al said simply.
"Marie was, well, Marie. Went on with possible explanations until our ears exploded. Hasn't mentioned it since. Her mind probably moved on to more interesting things." Ethan chuckled.
"Like a cat, that one. Offer something more interesting and off she goes." Al said and they both had a chuckle.
A minute passed and Ethan grew uncomfortable. He knew he was next.
"How about you?" Al asked and looked over at him.
It took Ethan a moment before he could look at him. When he did, it was with anger. "Why didn't you tell me? I thought we told each other everything?"
"'Cause I didn't know myself, until it happened." Al looked straight ahead again, "Thought you might appreciate that one."
Ethan's feelings of anger not only dissipated, but turned to amusement. "Heh, welcome to my world!"
With a laugh, they both relaxed, now that Ethan's feelings of betrayal were laid to rest, as well as Al's worries of any ill feelings from his best friend.
"Y'know, I think I have a thing for Fennecs?" Al said.
"They are cute." Ethan agreed. "Tiny noses, the ears, bushy tails and those adorable eyes..."
"Heh, their noses aren't the only thing tiny on them." Al said as Ethan roared.
"Oh gawd, do I want to hear this?" Ethan threw up his arms and was interrupted by his phone ringing.
"Hey sweetie!" He answered after looking at the display. "WHAT?!?!?! Where are you? We'll be right there." He hung up.
"What is it?" Al looked concerned, seeing the expression on his friend's face.
"Please tell me you have Cerise's car...." Ethan gasped as he stood up.
"Yeah, I...." Al said as he stood and they began to walk to the parking lot.
"We gotta get to the hospital...." Ethan began to run.
"Elise?" Al joined him in a jog, his longer legs easily keeping up.
"No, Marie got zapped by a security guard."
Al drove as fast and he felt comfortable on the rain soaked roads. He dropped Ethan off at the emergency entrance and went to park the car.
"Honey?" Ethan shouted, seeing Elise in the waiting area, who began crying as soon as she saw him. He held her, "Are you OK?"
"Just... shaken." She replied. "Marie's in psych."
"Wha...?" Ethan looked at her in disbelief. "What the hell happened?"
Elise explained the chain of events to their arrival. "After she was checked out and told she was fine, she said that was more than what that 'bitch sow' was going to be for doing that to her and she tried to leave. Long story short, handcuffs, screaming, sedatives... Oh Ethan, it's my fault for pushing the issue with her and Gary." She began to cry again.
"Hey, what's up?" Al said, coming up to the couple.
"Marie flipped. She's in the loonie ward." Ethan replied.
"E-THAN!" Elise growled angrily and tearfully. She pulled away from him and walked away, still crying.
"GAH! That's not what I meant!" He tried to explain. "It's just 'dude' for what you said."
"Bullshit." She replied, still angry.
Ethan looked at Al with his arms out, obviously looking for confirmation.
"I ain't going under that bus... again." Al shrugged.
A nurse with a clipboard approached them, "Are one of you Elise Redd?"
"I am!" Elise turned anxiously.
"Do you know how we can contact her family?" The nurse asked. "She's claiming she doesn't have any."
Elise sighed, "They aren't much of a family. It's most likely she is the way she is because of them."
"Oh." The nurse's head moved back as she frowned.
"She lives with my brother and I." She pointed to Ethan.
"Well, I can't discuss anything other than with her immediate family or spouse." The nurse said and turned to leave.
"I'm her fiance, if that means anything." Al said in a creative attempt to gather information.
The nurse stopped and turned. "I guess that will have to do." She approached Al, "She's been arrested for causing a disturbance and assault. But the doctor won't release her into their custody unless they can determine if she's able to comprehend the charges against her." The nurse lifted her clipboard and flicked her pen. "Can you give us a list of any unusual behaviour from her that you're aware of?"
Al smiled and nodded, "I hope you got all day to sit with me, then. Screwball in the side pocket, that one." He looked over to Ethan and Elise, "Y'all go on home." He winked.
The siblings nodded and walked away. But instead of heading for the exit, Ethan headed down another corridor.
"Honey, where are you going?" She asked.
Ethan smiled and waved for her to follow, "C'mon, while we're here, let's see how Terrance is doing."
After getting directions from a nurse's desk, they found Terrance's room.
"Hey boss!" Terrance croaked hoarsely and smiled.
"Hey." Ethan said with a smile. "Are you up for a visit?"
"Sure." Terrance replied. "I sound worse than I am. My boyfriend just left and talked my ears off."
Elise gave him a careful hug. "We're so sorry this happened to you."
"Workplaces can be dangerous. I'm just glad to be here." Terrance said and everyone agreed.
"So, are you doing it all yourself now in the back?" He asked Ethan.
"Nah, got a layabout friend helping out." He winked. "Keeping the lift truck seat warm for you."
They had a short, but pleasant visit and shared a few laughs.
As they left Terrance in good spirits, the gloom of Marie's predicament loomed over them again.
Not a word was said as the siblings rode the bus towards their apartment. Elise gave the odd sniffle and Ethan was lost in thought.
He pulled the cord to request a stop. Elise looked out the window, "This isn't our stop?"
"No." Ethan said. "I'm going to transfer, I have an idea. I'll meet you at home later." He gave his sister a kiss and got off the bus.
Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the family restaurant adjacent to the hotel. "Is the manager here?" He asked the hostess, who pointed to an older human in a corner, chatting with some regular customers. He went over to him.
"Excuse me, can I talk to you for a moment?
"Sure, young fellah!" He said happily as he excused himself from the table of patrons. He guided Ethan to his office and closed the door. "Your expression tells me this is important. Have a seat."
Ethan thanked him and sat down. "I'm here regarding your new hire, Marie Deans."
The manager nodded, "Sure, she's to begin tomorrow. Has something happened?"
"Matter of fact...." Ethan paused, "She's in the hospital."
"Oh, dear!" The manager sat back in his chair looking concerned. "Is she all right?"
"Well, we hope she will be. She... had a breakdown of sorts."
The manager looked disappointed, "Ah!" He sighed, "She seemed all extroverted and would have fit right in. I've been wanting to diversify our staff to make all feel welcome, but...." He lowered and shook his head.
"Please!" Ethan looked pleadingly at him. "She's actually come a long way to do this. She comes from a very emotionally abusive household and finally got the courage to leave. She's been living with me and my sister and... well.... she really needs this job. To start her own life. A new life. The first one she's known outside of hell."
The manager looked empathetic to the story. "As much as I'd like to hold the position, I do have a business to run, young fellow."
Ethan racked his brain for a solution. "What... what if I came up with a temporary for her, also a fur, until Marie was well enough?"
The manager tapped his finger in contemplation. "Do you mean yourself? A tall, dashing fox would make a heck of a front host, but I don't know about a waiter."
Ethan shook his head, "No, not me. I manage a warehouse for my dad. But I know a young lady who is unemployed."
"I really like your style." The manager smiled. "Adaptable and creative." He nodded, "OK, if you can convince her today and get her here by 8AM tomorrow morning, I'll keep the position for Marie."
"Thank you so much!" Ethan said grateful. "I'll call her right now."
Standing, they shook hands and exited the office. "Have a seat as you make your call. A friend like you is good to have for the young lady." The manager said and motioned for one of his staff to come over. "Selena, this fellow is going to be making some calls to help the restaurant out. How about a coffee and a treat for him on the house?"
She nodded and poured Ethan a coffee and handed him a dessert menu.
Ethan arrived home in the evening, tired from the emotionally draining day. He opened the door to the apartment and was warmly greeted by his sister with a kiss and a hug as tight as the one his aunt gave.
"Wow! If coming home late gets a response like this, maybe I should do it more often!" He smiled.
"I can't tell you how much you mean to me. I love you." She said sweetly. "Give me your coat, you big softie. I'll start dinner."
"I love you too, sweetie." He replied, confused. "What's the occasion?"
"I talked to Kiana. She told me what you did, for Marie of all people!" She hanged his coat up on the rack. "We're both in shock."
"Oh, that?" He said innocently and waved his hand. "I just want her share of the rent due."
Elise rolled her eyes, "There's so much of dad in you."
"Duhhhh, wonder why." He said, crossing his eyes, making Elise giggle. "Well, thank that little squirrely girl. She could have said 'no'." He grinned, "Then I'dda had to volunteer you."
"You're such a brat." She smiled.
--
Marie awoke, her eyes burning from the bright light She went to shield her eyes, but found she couldn't move her hands.
"Elise? ELISE????" She shouted.
A human female's face appeared in the reinforced glass window and she heard her exclaim, "Bed twelve is awake!"
She blinked a few times and realized she was in a hospital room of some sort. He heart was racing. "What could have happened?" She said to herself.
The door buzzed, then opened. "Well!" A smiling human male with a dark complexion and dressed in blue scrubs poked his head in the room, then entered. "How are you feeling?'
"Like I've been in a car wreck. Was I? She replied calmly.
"No." The human said. "I'm Doctor Grove and you were in a fight of some sort."
She lifter her head, "I... what?"
"Just lie still for a moment..." He said calmly and inspected her eyes and checked the monitor. "You seem no worse for wear and coherent. If I release you, are you going to make my day bad?"
"Release me?" Marie asked puzzled. She looked down at her body and realized her wrists were strapped to the bed, as was her ankles. She was in a hospital gown and had wires attached to her, pinching her skin. "Why am I like this?" She began to cry.
The doctor called for a nurse to be present. The nurse came in, but looked more an athlete from a Russian Olympic team, complete with matching expression.
The nurse looked 'at the ready' as the doctor gently released the thick wrist straps and explained why she was there. "What I'm told, is you had a bit of an excitement in a store, then you sent a guard flying."
Marie rubbed her wrists, stroking her fur against the grain and with. "I don't remember. I was at a store getting clothes with a friend for a new job. Then I was here."
The doctor nodded as he released her ankles. "Temporary amnesia and a host of other anomalies can result from such an altercation as well as the sedatives. Do you remember your excitement in the ER?"
"No."
"Hrmph." He nodded. "We'll have someone talk to you and see if we can't find out what happened to cause this."
Marie rubbed her ears and shook her head in a vary canine manner. The doctor smiled, amused while the nurse continued her android-like stare. Marie slid her legs off the edge of the bed.
"Where are you going?" The nurse finally spoke, in a far more human tone than Marie expected.
"I really have to go pee." Marie replied as her foot pads hit the floor.
"I'll get you an escort." The doctor said and left the room.
She cocked her head at the nurse, "An... escort?"
A constable entered the room. "She is coherent?"
The nurse nodded.
"Marie Deans, You are under arrest for assault and battery....." He began and anything said past those words faded out from her comprehension, as she went into shock.
The constable continued to read his Miranda from a card, but trailed off as he noticed the young canines expression going blank. She teetered, eyes rolling and lost control of her bladder. She crumpled onto the floor, beside the bed.
"Doctor!" Both the nurse and constable said simultaneously. The Nurse acted quickly to put Marie into a recovery position.
Doctor Grove came swiftly into the room. "What the hell happened?"
"He placed her under arrest and we had a syncope due to acute stress reaction." The nurse replied.
"Get out!" Dr. Grove growled at the cop.
"She needs processing." He steadfastly replied.
"She is my patient and I will not release her. She is currently unfit to leave this facility. Now GET OUT!" The doctor ordered.
"Nurse, get her BP and O2." He said as he donned his stethoscope and knelt beside her.
Coming around the bed from the head end, the nurse quickly attached the portable monitor.
The constable got out of their way and returned to his cruiser.
Getting in, his senior partner gave a mocking grin. "Well?"
"She passed out before I could read her her rights." He shook his head, "Doc's keeping her."
"All well and fine, but she assaulted one of our own!" The senior constable said impatiently.
"No! A fur assaulted someone during a panic attack. Good enough for trial by media, right?"
The senior leaned over, scowling, "You forget your place."
The junior didn't flinch, "No I haven't. To Uphold the Law. THAT is my place."
--
From moping and crying, to happily chittering and flitting about, Kiana was feeling better about herself, even if she was driving her mother crazy. Mostly with indecision as with what to wear.
"Black, honey, just black. That's the only requirement." Her mom said with mild frustration.
In her room, Kiana put on all her black shirts, multiple times, finding issues with them each time.
She gave a hopeless expression to herself in the mirror, "I have nothing to wear!"
She came into the living room, "Mom, we have to go shopping. I have nothing to wear for my job."
Her mom sighed, "Sweetie, we just don't have the money. Anyway, you have plenty of clothes and it'll only be for a week until Marie gets things sorted out."
It was a reasonable reply, logical and full of common sense. And enough to put Kiana into a full blown pout. She went to her room and slammed the door.
After brooding for half an hour, she called Tonya. But despite all her cheerful accolades, her girlfriend gave little comfort.
"I hate to tell you this hun, but your mom is right. You'll be fine for the week with what you have." Tonya said empathetically. She was met with silence and imagined the brood her emotional squirrelfriend was feeling and continued, "Like any sales job, it's about selling yourself first, then the product. Never mind what's covering you, that cheerful smile you give will be able to fill the table with plates."
Despite her mood, her temper evened out. "Even when you say something I don't want to hear, you always somehow make me feel better."
"Glad I could help sweetie." Tonya whispered. "But, I do have to go. Talk to you later." She ended the call and replaced her phone to her handbag.
The room was silent and the click of the magnetic purse clasp seemed loud. Faces around her stared. Some with incredulity, others with curiosity, but by far there was stares of annoyance. But there was one unreadable expression. That was from the elderly human standing at the front of the room who stared at her through glasses so far out of style, they were back in fashion.
"Crisis solved, Mistress Sackworth?" He asked patiently.
"Sufficiently for the moment, professor." She replied unapologetic.
He sat down on his desk and surveyed the room. "What did you all hear, hrm? A personal call in the middle of class? Or someone exercising psychology, prioritizing an immediate concern?"
No one offered an answer.
He stood up again. "Tell you what I heard. Someone called knowing a student was in class, looking for confirmation. Instead of receiving it, was instead corrected by positive reinforcement of existing talents and that external accoutrements were unnecessary. Once satisfied the caller was appreciative of the advice, if not happy with it, was able to close the session and move on."
A student raised his hand, the professor pointing to him, "Master Grewal?"
"And you were able to take a traditionally unacceptable interruption we subconsciously detest and turn it into a conscious instructional tool. Dr. Carl Jung?"
The professor smiled, "My take on Ephesians 5:16, actually. But yes, let's give Dr. Jung the credit."
He noticed Tonya smile and pointed to her, "Mistress Sackworth, thoughts?"
Her defensiveness was mitigated. "I was expecting you to confiscate my phone for the rest of the class for that."
He leaned over and smiled in return, "That is such grade school foolishness. Welcome to the Ivy League, Mistress Sackworth."