Once and Ever More
#2 of Short Stories
Once and Ever More
Carlos Riverta was your average pit bull. Born in New Mexico, worked in a garage, smoked cheap tobacco, ate from the taco truck for lunch, had a girlfriend, drove a 1974 Chevy Camero that was turbo charged. He wore casual clothing most of the time. His tattoos covered his back, shoulders, and most of his arms. This thin brown fur was coarse like most of his breed. And the smell of grease and gasonline hung on him like musk.
His girlfriend was a female doberman by the name of Carolyn Mosstin. She was average for her breed. Worked out all the time, shopped for clothing, and tried to ride her boyfriend to death. The woman was unemployed, but lived on the trust fund her father made for her. Their relationship was no match made in heaven, but it was no worse than the average relationship across the nation. They had screaming matches, both got angry, and by midnight they were mating like rabbits.
She was coming to the garage where Carlos worked, hoping to catch him for a little something during his lunch break. Carlos was bent off in the engine of an expensive car, working away. "Hey baby, what you doing?" Carlos leaned up and looked over his shoulder. "Hola Chica! What are you doing here?" She smiled, "I came to see my big stud." She moved right up to him, pressing herself against his side and grinding on him a bit. He chuckled and set his wrench down. "You know I'm covered in grease babe."
"Ooh, so dirty. Just how I like it." She growled playfully. Her little stub tail shaking happily at the thoughts of hiding in the back of the greasy garage and having a quickie. The pit bull leaned in and nibbled on her neck, cupping her ass with one hand and giving her a firm squeeze. She gave a soft yelp and then a playful growl. Grinning at him she whispered, "Care to make me howl for you?" Carlos chuckled and nodded, "Sure thing."
This is where the fun ends. A gun shot made both jump and turn, and two armed furs with bandana's over their faces came running into the garage. "Alright, hands up punto!" The pit bull growled and pushed Carolyn behind himself. "Step off asshole!" But his courage failed him with he found himself staring down a 9mm pistol. "Ok man, calm down. Take what you want. Cash is in the register, I got my wallet in my tool box over there..." "Fuck You! Back up...You Bitch! Get over here! Now or I'm gonna grease your taco boyfriend."
Carlos tried to hold her behind himself, but she pushed his hands off. "No, Carlos. I wont let you die for me." She walked toward the masked fur. The other that had simply stood by now gently pulled her to the side. "Just be a good girl. We wont be here long. Alright I got her man. You get the cash and let's get the fuck out of here." The first one ran off, leaving the second to stand with a gun pointed at the female. "I don't wanna hurt either of you. Just looking for some cash, so please...behave."
Carlos was busy wondering how he could get the 45. caliber in his glove box without getting himself and Carolyn killed. He stood very still, glancing around as if bored with the situation. Finally an idea came to him. He sighed and put his hands on his face, sitting on the hood of his car. The guy holding the gun on Carolyn paid him little attention. The first one came back out, holding a bag and pushing the shop boss. "Look who was hiding in the office." The two gunmen pushed the pug toward Carlos. "Alright. Now we will take the bitch with us." The first one said. "When we are away and No cops are following then we will drop her at a gas station or something."
The second one looked at the first. "Hey, we never agreed to that. I said the cash. I never said jack about a hostage!" Carolyn was shivering hard, almost in tears at the thought of being kidnapped. Carlos had eased back about three feet to the passenger side of his car. The first one started yelling. "Oh you son of a bitch! Don't you dare lose your nerve on me now! We almost have enough to get out of here. A fresh start in a new country! Think about it man. No one to tell us we are stupid or can't do something! No more having to fight just to have a bite of food!"
Carlos had his hand in his glove box, and pulled the gun out. The second one looked at him just in time to see the gun. He dove for the floor, as the gun went off. The first one never saw it coming. His dead body slumped to the floor. Carolyn screamed as the blood spray hit her. She ran to the back of the garage. Carlos turned the gun on the other guy only to find him running for his life. The pit bull slowly moved back until he found Carolyn.
"Hey, you alright chica?" She slowly stood up, whimpering and hugging herself. "I..I wet myself." She whispered. Carlos knew she was in shock. "Hey that's ok baby. Come on. The policia will be here in a minute. Let's get you cleaned up ok?" She nodded as he tucked his gun in his back pocket and pulled her into his arms. Taking her to the bathroom, he heard the sirens.
Taking her to the back of the restroom, he took the roll of toilet paper off the rack and then turned on the sink. "Come here babe," he whispered to her. She came closer, letting him pull down her jeans and white panties. Wetting a small piece of toilet paper, he wiped her legs off. He knew she had done more than wet herself. The pit bull gently parted her legs a little and wiped her nethers softly. "Aye Dios Mio, baby girl. I'm so sorry," he whispered to her. Standing, he wiped off the blood from her face and neck.
Then he turned her around and cleaned her rear. He normally would have just laughed at someone like this, but being in the situation himself made him realize what was going on in her head. After he cleaned her up he gently removed her dirty pants and panties and tossed them into a stall. Then he guided her into the locker room attached to the restroom. Leading her to his locker, he pulled out a spare pair of jeans he kept for her and helped her to get them on. Then he got her a belt and helped her put it on. Finally he just held her in his arms. She suddenly started sobbing and crying loudly. "OH Carlos!" Carlos was going to answer until he heard footsteps. An officer came around into the locker room and spoke. "Sir...Sir are you alright."
Carlos nodded without looking at the cop. "I'm alright amigo. But my girlfriend, she is in some kind of shock. She needs a medic, man." The cop nodded and pulled his radio. "Need a bus for the 22-7. Female Doberman. Appears to be in shock. Needs transport to the local hospital. Also need a second bus to check out the two male victims. The older one appears to be having some chest pains. Younger Male Pit Bull, may need evaluation."
Leading the girl to the ambulance as it arrived, the pit bull answered questions. "Two males, they had guns. They were arguing. One wanted to kidnap my girl for a hostage. The other wouldn't agree to it. The one that wouldn't agree ran off when I pulled my gun. The other got it in the side of his head. I fired one round, and the other guy ran off. Heading up the street toward the bus stop."
The cop nodded and wrote it down. "The guy you shot, did you see his face ever?" Carlos shook his head. "No man. Punto kept his bandana on. Glad he did. I don't want his face in my dreams." The canine put his girlfriend on the stretcher and stood next to her as the paramedics took care of her. As she was trying to answer the questions of the paramedics, the police radio went off. "Suspect in custody. I repeat, suspect in custody. Bandana still around his neck and gun in his pants."
The pit bull growled softly, but did nothing more. It was as he was getting ready to climb into the ambulance with his girl that the officer gently tapped his shoulder. "Sir, I need you weapon. If you would please. Pull it slowly and place it in this bag for me." The pit bull was familiar with the drill, having had a couple run ins with the police before. Using his left hand he pulled the gun up by two fingers. He held it up and dropped it in the bag. Then he turned and moved to his car. "I'm going to follow my girl to the hospital. Or do you need anything else?"
The officer put a hand on his holster. "You are trying my patience you Mexican prick..." The pit bull barked. "Get out of my shop Pig!" The officer growled in return. Being a German shepherd, he took severe offense at the given statement. But another officer spoke behind him. "He ain't worth your badge Rick. Leave him alone. Rick....you won't clear the holster before he'd be on you. Rick!" the shepherd snapped out of his anger and shook his head. "Huh? Roger, what are you yelling about?"
The pit bull slid into the driver seat of his car and started the engine. The pug waved at him and the pit nodded. Carlos was soon driving along the highway, catching up to the ambulance. His engine was several times more powerful than any ambulance engine. He caught up quickly and drove behind the EMS van. He was royally pissed now, but that paled in comparison to how worried he was about Carolyn.
Hours later, he was hugging her as she was sitting up in the bed. She smiled again, finally out of her shock. Her little stubby tail bouncing back and forth with how happy she was. "Can we get out of here? I wanna go home and have some food." she whined. Carlos smiled and nodded, "Soon as the doctor lets you go, I'll take you where ever you wanna eat and let you eat as much as you want." She murred softly and nodded. Settling down, she leaned back and waited for the doctor.
Finally, a Cougar came back in and smiled at her. "Well, it seems you just had a little bit of shock. Nothing too serious. No physical damage, but I would still take care with your condition ma'am." The pit bull turned, "What condition?" The cougar looked up, rather confused. "Did you not know she was pregnant?" Carlos looked to her, but she held up her hands and shook her head as if she didn't know herself.
The doctor sighed and closed the door. "Well, if you didn't know you were pregnant, I would suggest you see your regular doctor. Start taking prenatal vitamins, no alcohol, eat more healthy food, the usual. Honestly, it may even be a false positive. But just to be sure, you need to go see your doctor."
As they were leaving, the pit bull held the doberman to his side. "Carolyn....did you know? I mean, even just having an idea?" She shook her had. "I noticed I was hornier than usual, I'm hungry a lot. But I didn't think..." She left her sentence unfinished. Carlos brought her to his car, and held the door for her. "Come on baby. Let's go get some food. What you hungry for?"
She leaned back in the seat, sighing softly at the familiar feel and smell of Carlos' car. "Let's head to the taco truck, and then to your place. I'm hungry for more than just some food...." She smiled at him as he got into his seat. He paused to look at her a minute, but chuckled and nodded. "Alright. We both could probably use a couple days away from everything."
By that evening, Carlos was sitting naked on his sofa. Carolyn was curled up next to him, contentedly murring as she nuzzled his arm. Carlos was channel surfing as he held her close. The pit bull let the TV settle on an HBO channel that was airing the 1970s version of The Thing. Looking down at her, he smiled. "If you are pregnant, that means we need a bigger place than my apartment." She nodded, "Yea, a two bedroom place, with a full kitchen."
Carlos chuckled, "Kitchen, neither of us can cook worth a flip. And I don't believe my mother will have the patience to teach us." But she giggled, "I have been taking classes at the community center for a while now. I can cook some stuff. I can make Tacos, sandwiches, salads, steaks." He rubbed her hip and smiled at her. "If you can make a good steak, that's good enough for me." She leaned up and kissed him. Then she sat up and slid into his lap. "Oh I can make more than just a good steak," she whispered in a coy tone.
The pit bull grinned as he moved is hand to her hips and began rubbing her up and down slowly. "Oh, you know how to make a hotdog?" She smiled as she leaned in and nibbled on his neck. "I know very well."
It was around midnight that the panting, howling, barking, and screams stopped. Carlos lay on the bed, watching her wash her face in the bathroom. He smiled, imagining how things would be after she had the baby. The house, the life, watching his child grow, playing with them; all these thoughts rolled around in his head. As Carolyn came back to bed, she leaned over him and smiled, "What you thinking about?"
He shook his head and pulled her close. "Life, happy life. Somewhere in the country, a small town or city. Quietly making a living repairing cars for the people there. Coming home to my beautiful wife, playing with our children..." "ChildREN? As in more than one. Oh my is this Carlos Riverta, the dog that needs no family? The man that only needs his woman and his car?"
Carlos just laughed softly and pulled her closer. Kissing her chin, he whispered, "Carolyn.....child or not I love you. And I think I'm finally ready to settle down and just live my life with you." She smiled and kissed his nose. "So...the sex has nothing to do with it?" He chuckled at her, "The sex is amazing. I just have to have it to be happy. Just having you is fine with me......the sex is a nice bonus." She laughed and ruffled his hair. "You are terrible Carlos. Mmmm one more round?" He sighed softly and pulled her closer. "Sure, but this time, let's try something a little different." The pit bull gently laid her back on the pillows and gazed down at her. She gazed back up, and sighed as she felt his paws moving along her body.
As the morning light poured through the open window, Carolyn opened her eyes. She was in bed alone, but she could hear Carlos in the small kitchen of his apartment. The bed was still very warm. She smiled and bunched the pillow up under her chin. She heard Carlos coming back into the room, and the sounds of what sounded like silverware jingling in a bowl. Looking up, she saw him coming in with bed in breakfast. Setting the tray down he let her roll over on her back and sit up. "Figured we could start eating better this morning. Especially if you wanna keep that gorgeous body after having a baby." She giggled and took the oatmeal.
Carolyn sighed softly as she watched Carlos eat some toast. He was incredibly kind, gentle, loving, and above all he was loyal. She had had boyfriends before, but no one like him. A man that put his life on the line for her, a man that stopped anything he was doing for her, a man that would kill for her if he had too. Life was certainly going to be interesting, especially with her first baby possibly on the way.
Months later, Carolyn sat on the exam table in the doctor's office. Her belly huge and her husband at her side. Carlos watched the monitor as the doctor moved the ultra sound around the top of her belly. "Looks good from here. Two developing fetuses, tails, ears, muzzles, limbs. Let's get a closer look." He got a different probe and looked at Carolyn. "Alright, dear part your legs for me. This goes in not on." While Carlos was unhappy with the idea, he knew it was merely a medical procedure. The doctor put some lubricant on the probe and eased it partway in. Then he looked back at the screen. Mr. & Mrs Riverta, I am proud to announce you are the parents of healthy, fully formed, twins. One male and one female."
Carlos looked at that ultrasound picture, a tear coming to his eyes. Carolyn held his hand tightly as she cried and laughed at the same time. "My babies..." she said. Carlos smiled. "Our children." As they watched the ultrasound, the couple whispered back and forth. Names, clothing, games, toys, everything. Even the small town they now lived in.
As they were leaving the clinic, the pit bull pulled out his key ring. Clicking the door lock button, he looked at the SUV. It was smaller than most, but much better on gas. The pit bull helped his wife into the back seat, refusing to let his pregnant wife ride near an air bag. Then he got into the driver seat. "Let's get home. You look like you need a nap chica..." She stuck her tongue out playfully. "Only cuz I'm tired of you fussing over me." He chuckled and began to pull out.