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Chapter Twenty Five

Marcus

Marcus had changed into his green speedo and was sprawled out in one of the lawn chairs.

He slid his sunglasses up his muzzle as his mind began scheming how to win Ralph back. Frank was right, he needed to change his attitude. The change do the talking, pleading wasn’t any good.

Begging Conor and his other ex’s hadn’t won them back - not that Marcus really wanted to be reunited with Conor anymore. The more he thought about it, the more he realised Gabe, Aaron and Krista had been Conor’s friends too, not his, which was why they hadn’t spoken to him much since.

If one good thing had come out of Ralph leaving yesterday and bumping into Frank again, it was that memories of the Corgi were inspiring less bitterness.

He had new problems to worry about instead.

His phone began buzzing and Marcus glanced down to see Tim’s number displayed on the screen.

“Sorry Tim,” he said, swiping to ignore the call.

Although he liked the leopard, inviting more trouble into his life was certainly not the way to change for the better.

Tone down flirting with other guys, that’s a good start.

Marcus also wondered what he could do that was kind or helpful.

Make lunch for Frank, ask him to sunbathe with me?

He settled on making lunch as sunbathing probably wasn’t Frank’s style, and doing something practical helped him take his mind off the stinging guilt over Ralph.

Marcus got up and made his way to the kitchen.

He decided that a sandwich would be an easy and simple option; cheese for himself and as many of the meat cuts he could put in Frank’s.

I want to be kind, and get rid of the meat before it goes to waste.

He made his sandwich using some of the exotic cheese Ralph had brought with him (feeling a slight twinge of guilt in the process), before slapping as many slices of meat as he could into Frank’s. He wondered if it was too much as the sandwich grew taller and began listing dangerously to one side.

Eh, Frank is a big boy. He can eat a large sandwich.

Marcus’ ear cocked as he heard the sound of a key in the front door.

He turned, half-expecting to see Gareth making his way into the house and he opened his mouth in preparation to tell the husky off.

“It’s only me!” Frank called as he walked into the kitchen. “You were expecting Gareth?”

“How did you know?” Marcus asked as he finished the sandwiches and licked his paws.

“Because you adopted a defensive stance like you were going to karate chop someone,” Frank replied before his eyes roved down to look at Marcus’ speedo.

“Do you like this pair?” Marcus asked, putting his paws on his hips. “You’ve seen them before.”

“They almost match your dyed fur,” Frank replied with a chuckle. “I’d make the most of sunbathing while you can, I imagine the weather here is different to San Francisco in winter.”

“You should get a pair like this yourself,” Marcus said.

“Is that a tease?”

“No, honestly you’d look good, you’ve really evolved to have a nice body as a grown wolf,” Marcus insisted. “That wasn’t a dig.”

“Sometimes when you dig too much it makes people unsure of whether you’re being sincere or not,” Frank reasoned and Marcus knew he had a point.

He noticed Frank’s paws were shaking slightly.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I’m sorry?”

“Your paws are shaking,” Marcus said, feeling a sudden rush of concern for the wolf. He walked over and took Frank’s paws in his. Frank looked visibly surprised at the gesture. “What happened?”

Frank sighed before gently squeezing Marcus’ paws and letting go.

“Well, it’s a long story.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Marcus replied. “I have all afternoon, tell me, it’ll take my mind off Ralph.”

“Hmm, okay,” Frank said, looking unsure. “Do you promise, and I mean a paw on heart, hope to die sort of promise, to keep this quiet until I find out more? I need to keep this subtle at first.”

“Yes, I promise,” Marcus replied, putting a paw on his heart and feeling intrigued as to what Frank was going to say.

“Do you remember Anthony Higson-Pearidge?” Frank asked. “Oh, and you can put your paw back down,” he added with a chuckle.

“The man who makes all the cider?” Marcus asked. “He came to your house and threatened you about something.”

“That’s the one,” Frank nodded.

“What’s he done now?” Marcus asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“I’m not entirely sure what he’s up to, but it involves something with the old Cecil Mansfield house.”

The name sounded familiar to Marcus and he scratched his muzzle.

“The poet!” he eventually exclaimed. “Yeah, he lived around here. I remember them telling us him at school.”

“Well, my new cottage is right next door,” Frank explained. “I think Anthony is up to something over there.”

“Like what?”

“A dubious building project of some kind if you ask me,” the wolf replied. “He wanted me to essentially rubber stamp the fact the Mansfield house needs to be knocked down, even though it’s structurally sound.”

“I don’t know much about buildings, but yeah this does sound weird,” Marcus replied.

Something interesting is happening in Little Hartbrook? Wow!

“And the other day he turns up on my doorstep swearing and threatening me, although I had no idea what he was going on about, and just now he drove past my house like a creep,” Frank sighed.

The thought of someone threatening Frank made Marcus feel a jolt of annoyance and anger.

“What a tosser,” he growled.

Frank looked surprised.

“Woah, I didn’t think you’d be that angry over it,” Frank chuckled. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“I don’t know, the thought of someone being rude to you like that makes me mad,” Marcus admitted.

“Even after you were rude to me?” Frank replied before an expression of guilt flashed across his face. “I’m sorry, that’s an unfair comparison to make.”

“No, that’s probably a fair criticism to make,” Marcus sighed. “My dad was fairly good friends with him and they played golf together a couple of times after my family moved here. Anthony did seem quite snotty the one time I remember meeting him, when I was about eleven I think? Anyway, he came to a party my parents were having. I wanted to go to bed, but my mum would always make me come down to say hello every time they had a social gathering here.”

_ “Anthony, this is my son. Say hello Marcus.”_

“Hello,” Marcus said, feeling self-conscious about the fact he was in his pyjamas.

“Ah, pleased to meet you Marcus,” the puma replied, extending a large paw. Marcus took it and felt his own paw being almost crushed in a firm grip. Anthony turned to his mother. “I have a daughter. She’s a year younger than Marcus.”

“Do you think they’d like to play together?”

“Ah, my daughter is very intelligent for her age. She needs playmates who will, how should I put it? Enhance her abilities, not drag them down.”

“Oh I understand Anthony, boys can be very rambunctious,” his mother agreed. “Marcus is mostly well-behaved, but certainly I can understand that boys can be very detrimental to someone’s learning like that.”

“That’s delightful,” Frank snorted. “Crushing a kit’s paw like that and saying those things in front of your mum.”

“Hmm, yeah,” Marcus grumbled. “And my mum didn’t help either, just call me rambunctious in front of him why don’t you? Oh, changing the subject, I had a go at making you lunch.”

“My, you are being kind,” Frank chuckled. Marcus turned and gestured to the sandwiches. His looked very neatly cut. Frank’s resembled an explosion on a plate. “Oh, what’s in mine?” Frank asked, maintaining a diplomatic expression.

“A lot of meat,” Marcus explained.

“Heh, I can see that, and thank you for making it,” Frank chuckled.

“Want to eat outside?” Marcus suggested.

“Um, sure.”

Marcus grinned as he led the way outside. He sat back in his lawn chair while Frank took the seat Ralph had sat in. The sight prompted another stinging feeling of sadness in Marcus, but he fixed Frank a reassuring smile.

He stretched out and adjusted his speedo while Frank bit into his sandwich.

“No sign of our husky friend then?” the wolf asked, wiping his muzzle with the back of his paw.

“Nope.”

“Hmm, I wonder if he’s noticed we’re here and is staying away,” Frank said.

“Good, he’s finally learning not to be thief, delinquent or someone who pushes boyfriends away.”

“Something you should know is Gareth is Anthony’s son,” Frank added.

“What!” Marcus choked, almost spraying bits of chewed sandwich down his stomach. “Wait, they’re not even the same species.”

“Adopted son,” Frank said. “It should have emphasised that part, but I’m quite interested to speak to Gareth about all this. I wonder if he knows something I don’t.”

“It’s a small world,” Marcus replied, rolling his eyes. “Then again, that’s what I discovered living in a tiny village, like when I say how did no one realise we were a couple?”

“Two boys with not many other boys to play with hanging around all the time, we wouldn’t have looked too suspicious beyond our own families.”

“Apart from the time we almost got caught by your step-dad when we were making out in your mum’s living room,” Marcus teased.

“Ah yeah,” Frank smiled, and Marcus could tell by the smile on the wolf’s muzzle that he was fondly recalling the memory. “We pretended we were looking at a rare trading card together with our muzzles close. It was lucky I had them in my pocket.”

They finished off their sandwiches in silence and Marcus noticed that despite the size of Frank’s, the wolf had done a valiant job of finishing it.

“Thanks,” Frank said, putting his plate down on the patio. “I have not done any work today!”

“Heh, take the day off,” Marcus suggested. “Sunbathe in your swim trunks.”

“I need a sexier pair first,” Frank sighed.

“As I say, you’d suit a pair like this,” Marcus chuckled. “But honestly, talking to you has felt good.”

The words slipped out of Marcus’ mouth before he had a chance to realise what he had just said, but he knew at heart that he meant what he said.

Having the wolf around suddenly felt comforting, and that was something he had ever imaged thinking since Frank had broken up with him.

Frank also looked a little surprised but he wagged his tail.

“I’m glad you think so,” the wolf replied. “You know, you’ve gone from telling me not to assume we’re having a coffee date to eating sandwiches outside and chatting in a way we haven’t done in several years.”

“I didn’t say this was a date,” Marcus said, sticking his tongue out. “But I have enjoyed hanging out like this, and although I’m depressed about Ralph not being here, I could be feeling a lot worse right now,” he added in a softer tone.

“Heh, well, maybe I will get some swim briefs like yours if we hang out like this again. I’ve already started buying sexier underwear, as you saw,” Frank grinned sheepishly.

“Do it stud,” Marcus chuckled, realising he had let slip the word stud without meaning to. He stood, set his plate down and stretched. “Maybe I should fetch us some wine?” he said.

“I have to drive back though,” Frank sighed.

“You’re in a small village where the nearest policeman is like, five miles away, but welcome to sleep on the airbed here,” Marcus replied. “In case Gareth shows up or Anthony is still being a weirdo around your house.”

“I’ll consider that,” Frank said. “A silly teenage husky is easier to deal with than Anthony. I remember my mum telling me off when I was fourteen for suggesting Anthony had connections to the mafia. Now that joke comes back to bite me.”

“Ha, did you really believe that?” Marcus laughed.

“Remember before he got that blue Bentley he drove a Lexus with blacked out glass?” Frank asked.

Marcus was about to respond when he heard the sound of his phone buzzing and realised he had left it sitting on the arm of his lawn chair.

He picked it up to see a message from Ralph. He felt his heart skip a beat as he opened it.

Hey fox, I’m safely in Croatia. Gunnar is okay, he’s being discharged from hospital. Going to take him for a walk along the beach. He was overjoyed to see me. Hope you’re okay x

Marcus felt an initial surge of happiness at getting a message from the Doberman, but the way he spoke about Gunnar also made his heart sink.

As a good fox, he knew he should be happy for Ralph, but at the same time he couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.

“Something wrong?” Frank asked.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Marcus claimed as he began idly moseying down the garden.

“You sure?” came Frank’s voice from behind, but Marcus was distracted by something laying on the ground by the treehouse.

He made his way over to investigate.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Marcus murmured distractedly as he bent down to take a look.

It was a plastic 7Up bottle.

Marcus sniffed around and caught the faint scent that he had detected in the bedroom and on his clothes.

“What’s going on?” Frank called.

“You don’t drink 7Up, do you?” Marcus asked.

“Not usually, why do you ask?”

“Give me a second,” he called back as he put a hind-paw on the first rung on the treehouse ladder. The ladder creaked alarmingly as Marcus began to climb, but as he sniffed the air the scent of the husky grew stronger.

“Careful!” Frank shouted and Marcus turned to see the wolf hurrying down the garden.

“You said it was structurally sound,” Marcus replied.

“I did, but I want you to be careful,” Frank said as he reached the ladder in a flash.

“Now I’m starting to see why Mr Bembridge picked you to captain the relay team at school,” Marcus said as he reached the top of the ladder.

He poked his head through the trapdoor and sniffed about.

Much of the treehouse was taken up by a sleeping bag and there was a crumpled bag of crisps discarded in the corner. Ralph’s jock and underwear were laying on top of the sleeping bag and Marcus grabbed them.

“What do you see?” Frank asked.

Marcus turned to see the wolf sniffing at the air.

“You smell it too?” Marcus asked.

“Yup.”

Marcus climbed down the ladder and fixed Frank a half-annoyed, half-triumphant face.

“I think we’ve found where my stalker has been hanging out,” he said, showing Frank the underwear in his paws. “Ya know, when we catch him I can’t wait to make it awkward by telling him we had sex up there.”

“Almost had sex up there,” Frank corrected.

“Ha! I knew you remembered."