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In a sumptuously elegant dining room we sat down to a breakfast of juice and coffee and savory crepes with soft cheese, or something much like it. How Lewis could serve us cheese on a planet with no cows or goats, I'm not sure. I sniffed at the cheese, doubtfully. It smelled delicious. Was it made with Vroufling milk, perhaps? I didn't ask. Lewis had gone quiet after his first effusive morning greeting with us, but grew visibly more cheerful as his hangover potion took effect. Was it brewed from hair of the dog? I didn't ask about that, either. I did ask him about the necklace Narcelia had given me.

"Lewis... can you tell me what I should be doing with this thing?" I asked, removing the fox/collie pendant from around my neck, and handing it over to him.

Lewis had opened his mouth for some clever banter, but at the sight of that necklace he stopped short, all clever words forgotten. "Where did you get this?" he demanded.

"Narcelia gave it to me. He said he got it from your Guardian."

"From my Guardian? Why would she give a thing like that to Narcelia? And why tell him to give it to you? Did Narcelia tell you anything more than that?"

"He said I have your eyes."

Lewis laughed, nervously, and muttered "What an odd thing to say! Was that his own observation, or was it... someone else who told him that?"

"He said your Guardian told him that, when she gave him the necklace."

Lewis jerked at my words, as if they had been a physical blow to him. He said "I need to go now. I'll call a taxi for you." As he rose from the table, Lewis looked me in the eyes, his expression unreadable. He handed back the necklace and told me "You should wear this. Don't share this conversation with anyone else. That means you, too, Natan."

The next few days where sort of mundane. We jammed out a lot at work, and I was really starting to get to know my band-mates really well, but I guess the big surprise was getting a letter from a pregnancy counselor with an appointment date in it. But then I had a hell of a lot of questions about what Vroufling bitches went through when they had their puppies, so I wasn't going to miss it.

Natan and I continued to date and make love, and that was nice. God, it felt so good to have someone like Natan in this weird world that would stand up for me. Or maybe that was just my new girl brain talking, because being around Natan really did make me feel both comfortable and protected. And I did feel vulnerable on the nearly naked and heavily armed streets of Vrouf.

The pregnancy counselor, Sartan, turned out to be a reddish-furred Labrador, and I had lot of questions for her. My first was "how many puppies have you had?" of course, because I wanted to know I wasn't talking to a total quack.

Sartan told me she had given birth to three litters, with three different men. Her tactic was to use her older kids to raise the younger ones, and it was working well for her. And it turned out that a Vroufling bitch had a five month gestation period, so I was going to be having puppies sooner than I had originally expected.

But at least they where small. She showed me a reel-to-reel movie about what giving birth was like, and the puppies looked a lot smaller than human babies. The mother didn't look like she was having a hell of a lot of fun though, and they came out one right after the other, maybe a minute or two apart. Yeah, that made me put my hand-paw to my womb and stare.

I was only supposed to be in labor for about four hours, and home delivery was normal on Vrouf, but of course I had every intention of checking into the hospital. I was expected to be breastfeeding for at least a year, and during that time it was unlikely that I would get pregnant again. Nursing is a natural form of birth control for Vrouflings, I was told, even though I would go into heat at least twice during that year, and possibly more. I smiled at the thought of that, and told Sartan the dogs of Earth can get pregnant any time they're in heat, regardless of whether they're nursing. Sartan shrugged and said she said she knew that, but Vrouflings are different. I could ask the Yenta why that was, if I felt so inclined, but she didn't know.

After the first counseling session, I tried to be as supportive of Natan as I could, because I knew exactly what was coming and I knew that I was really going to need him. Having a litter of Vroufling puppies was not something a bitch could take lightly. It actually sounded worse than what a human woman had to go through back on Earth....

It was only a week later when I had my first bout of morning sickness. Sartan told me I just had to put up with it, because the only anti-nausea drugs available could be dangerous to my unborn puppies. And I did want to whelp healthy puppies, and give them the best chance in life that I could. So I slept with a bucket beside my bed. But at least Natan understood when I told him why.

It was about two weeks later that I noticed my baby bump. And about that time my boobies started to ache, and feel a little swollen. And I swear to God, I thought they where slightly growing....

Then Edison dropped by. He showed up one day with a bottle of wine I couldn't drink, and a bouquet of flowers. "Larry, I must talk to you," he said.

So I invited him in, and I decided to make some snacks for him, and he popped the cork on the wine. I refused to drink, of course, but he got sort of drunk as I talked to him.

Edison was a fascinating and awesome dog. Everything he said sounded true to me. It was like talking to Albert Einstein or something. I was literally in awe as he explained to me how things actually worked when I asked him questions. But then he brought up a puppy contract. Again.

Edison wanted to breed me.

Grisengen's offer to Lewis had been mysteriously rejected, but Vrouflings are always free to negotiate their own contracts. He wanted a litter of Earth-Vrouf super-puppies, and he was willing to fork over a lot of gold for it.

His own gold.

I could only stare in disbelief. Yeah, having Natan's puppies by accident was more than enough for me. God, what was that going to be like? And Edison wanted me to have more? No thank you.

But as the weeks went on, and we cut our first album, it was my growing pregnancy that concerned me the most. It was starting to feel like I had a weight in my womb. And I thought about the puppies every day: what was it going to be like to raise them? Could I really handle being a mother? Those where real living little children, half me, and I couldn't screw up.

Natan's solid strength at least gave me some comfort. He was really supportive of me. But then I knew he had a lot of experience doing that....

And then one day at work, I smelled another Vroufling bitch on him. A bitch in heat. Right away I confronted him, and he told me it was just business, explaining that it was just a breeding contract. But I was shocked. Natan had promised me he would stop doing those!

I told him "Natan! You promised me you wouldn't do stud work anymore!"

Natan cringed away from me, not meeting my eyes. He said "Larry... I wasn't thinking straight when I told you that. I have to do this! It's a part of my contract with Lewis. He pays the bills for our band, and he expects certain services in return. That's what the Yenta patron relationship is all about. My stud fees are not that high, by the way. I'm popular, but not hard to get. Not like Edison! Lewis takes eighty percent and give me twenty. It's good money for basic expenses, but we'll never get rich on it."

I just stared at him then, not knowing what to say. I couldn't believe that the father of my puppies was still impregnating other bitches! I demanded to meet the mother and he said no, that would be unprofessional. It would violate the confidentiality rules, or some such bullshit.

I cried all night long, or seemed like it. I guess I slept a little towards the end.

The next evening Edison showed up again, after work. He had an awesome looking yellow sports hover-car. This time he was wearing a suit, and he was carrying a big paper bag full of groceries. Of course I let him in, because quite frankly I was charmed by the guy. The groceries all turned out to be some kind of nutritious health food, including even a big glass bottle of vegetable juice.

I made dinner for him, and while I was cooking some snake and singing a little to myself he walked up behind me and embraced me, putting a hand-paw to my lower belly and rubbing my baby bump. "Edison!" I yipped, and he licked me on the back of the head and said "Larry... I want to be only yours."

That stopped me. After what Natan had just done, Edison wanted to be mine alone? I shook my head. He could be lying to me, but I didn't think so. Edison didn't seem like that kind of dog to me.

He nuzzled my ear and whispered "Larry, let me take you away from all this. You you can live in my mansion with me."

That made me blink a few times. But still...

"Edison, I'm Natan's mate," I replied. "He loves me."

Edison gently turned me to face him, looked me in the eyes, and said "I love you too. Don't be greedy. You can share love. But I want only you".

That sort of shocked me, so I had to ask "Edison, do Vrouf females have multiple mates?"

"Yes. Males and females both can have multiple mates. Is it different on Earth?"

"Yeah. Some cultures have multiple wives, but those are slave societies where females have no rights. We hardly have multiple husbands at all. Just a few open marriages, maybe."

He stared at me in shock at that one. "Your planet has slave societies?"

I sighed. "Yeah. We may be more technologically advanced than Vrouf, but we do have civilizations that have issues. Some Earthlings are considered more equal than others. But there is a movement to fix that."

Vrouf of course had its own issues, and they weren't small ones, judging by what was on television...

He looked at me for a long time and then asked "Where you enslaved, Larry?"

I sighed, and looked down, and said "That depends on what you think about contract law. Lewis and I do have some issues we're working on. Some time I'll have to look into getting a decent lawyer."

Then Edison shocked me out of my funk by licking me on the nose. "I can get you anything you want," he said. "Including the best lawyers."

I knew Vrouf social norms where different, but openly showing signs of affection like that left you with no safe space. I pushed him away from me, but I couldn't be angry with him. Vroufling culture was different, and the planet was not gonna change its rules just for me. Edison was offering to give me anything I wanted, including legal help... if I had his puppies. And I didn't really like the idea of having more puppies. But on the other hand-paw, it was Edison asking me this. And my tail wagged for a moment in happiness thinking about that.

"Edison, you're going too fast for me. I need to think about this," I said. "Let's talk to Natan and see if he's okay with it."

He smiled at me and said "I'm sure he'll agree. I'll go talk to him right now."

"Invite him over, so we can all talk about this together," I replied. I was really curious about what was going to be said!

"Sure!" he yipped. "I'll be right back."

Edison shot off and I retreated to my bedroom, my emotions in turmoil. What had I just agreed to? I picked up my acoustic guitar and sat down on my bed, stroking out chords for a new blues song I'd been working on, because that was my mood now. Already had the lyrics worked out... pregnant with puppies... yeah... stuffed with puppies... not a sort of problem most guys have to deal with!

The doorbell rang and I slung my guitar and came to answer it. Edison and Natan where there, both looking nervous and very, very earnest. Canine faces are good at that. "Larry," Natan said in his deep gravelly voice, "let's cook-out behind my place and talk this over!"

I sighed. "Sure," I replied, and we walked across the grassy lane towards Natan's trailer. Was Natan really okay with me having Edison's puppies? For financial reasons, maybe? I felt so confused! But then I didn't really understand Vrouf, and there where no public libraries. I decided that I really needed to buy some books.

Natan fired up the grill, got some quality lizard from his fridge, plus condiments, and brought it out. And it did smell delicious as we began to talk.

"I really do want to impregnate your bitch," Edison told Natan. I sighed, cringing at his choice of words. Only on Vrouf! How did I even get involved in this?

I muttered "Guys, I have a real issue with this."

Edison looked up at me and sighed, ears down and eyes puppy-dog wide. He said "It's okay, I'll take care of you."

"What does the puppy contract pay?" Natan asked him.

I face-palmed. That was enough for me! No culture may be superior to any other, but I just couldn't take any more of this. I unslung my guitar and told them "Guys, I want you to hear the latest song I've been working on. It's called 'I got the stuffed-with-puppies blues.'"

They both looked at me happily, which was even more weird, but I began to play anyway.

Hey all you Vrouflings how d'ye do? It seems now I'm a Vroufling too. You like my sound? You hear the news? I sold my soul to play these blues.

I sold my soul to play the blues! My agent said how could I lose? Ten mil for legal rights, he said, To duplicate what's in my head.

I sold my soul to sing the blues! A low-cost lawyer I could use. The legal duplicate is me, And now I play these blues for free.

Not just my soul to sing the blues! Seems I had one more thing to lose. Can't rut no rumps now cause what would I use? I sold my shaft to sing the blues.

Yes I'm a bitch now, plain to see. In heat my friend took care of me. A condom we forgot to use. Now I got stuffed-with-puppies blues.

Yes I got stuffed-with-puppies blues! This gig's a strange one, win or lose, So buy my records all you Vrous! Your gold will soothe my bitch-gig blues.