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Movie Night

I wandered past the outside exhibits for the cats, and there were a few people leaning on the barrier fence trying to get a better view of the animals, or reading the large display placards placed at each exhibit explaining some things about the animals within. A couple had cameras or camcorders and I chuckled to myself wondering how many pictures or videos were going to show up on CatCollection.org. There already were a few of our cats posted there, which I could tell from the peripheral scenery, but I didn't mind in the slightest. Better publicity for the zoo, for those inclined to watch such things.

Jake was lounging in the sun on one of the ledges built for that, his package fully exposed to the viewers, as was his nice big tailhole. Hugo was romancing one of the lionesses as occasional short roars bore out, but they weren't at the best angle for observing the coupling. Soon there was a loud roar from both and I smiled knowing he'd found what he was after. I didn't check to see which one it was but chances are it was one of the two that wouldn't have cubs from him until we let them.

I gave that some thought as I looked to see where Tatiana was, and she wasn't outside. That was fairly normal for her since she liked people and typically was indoors unless she felt the need to get her daily sun, or go for a bit of a dunk in her lagoon. It's only about 4 feet deep, so it's not like she could really go for a swim, but it's fun for her anyway.

Turning back around I headed into the building and did a cursory check indoors. Yep, Pickles was inside laying up against the fence so it must have been Flo or Lola that Hugo was schtupping. Tatiana was inside on her loafing shelf watching the people from an upside-down position. I really wanted to go in and give her some tummyrubs but that would have to wait for another time as it was getting close to closing. Zeus was lounging but I didn't see Anna in the indoor enclosure, though that was alright. Their outdoor pen was entirely surrounded by people-paths so she could be up on a large limb in there keeping an eye on the bipeds milling about. That was about her style, anyway.

I made my way out the side door and along the paths back towards the center of the park where the monkey house, a fountain and artificial stream, the bandstand gazebo with its concessionaire area and a picnic lawn framed the courtyard where the old carousel was tittering along, its music able to be heard nearly to the cathouse itself... by me at least. I'm sure the cats all heard it. A nice Wurlitzer bandorgan replica was belching out the Blue Skirt Waltz as I came walking up, with me humming along, of course.

I wandered away one night 'till I heard an orchestra play. I met you where lights were bright and people were carefee and gay.

You were the beautiful lady in blue. I was in heaven just waltzing with you. You filled me with strange delight then softly you stole away.

I was singing the lyrics in my tenor voice by the time I reached the door to the concessionaire under the bandstand gazebo. The young workers just chuckled and shook their heads as I entered and then unlocked the door under the stairs leading down to the tunnels. Most were counting out their drawers but one window was still open getting rid of the last few hotdogs, bratwurst, and small trays of tater-tots to the few visitors wanting some last bite to eat.

Down I went, still singing along to the music in stereo from outside the gazebo and from below from the room beneath the carousel.

I dream of that night with you lady, when first we met. We danced in a world of blue, how can my heart forget.

Blue were the skies, and blue were your eyes, just like the blue skirt you wore. Come back, blue lady, come back. Don't be blue anymore.

I was singing that last bit as I unlocked the gate in the tunnel and entered the storage room beneath the carousel. Even through the din Cleo must have heard me coming because she was standing right there. I smiled and kissed her head. Music like that always makes me feel better about things, and even though the day had gone relatively crappy with the investigators poking and prodding everywhere, it really wasn't so bad after all.

I patted my leg and Cleo started following me, me leading her back towards the Gazebo entrance. Towards the bottom of the stairs I stopped and patted the floor of the tunnel. She got the clue and laid down right there.

"Stay here, girl. I'll be back in just a little bit."

The announcement had been made that the park was closing, and the concessionaire staff had alreadly left that area. I got outside just in time to see the worker starting to shut off the switches for the carousel's lights and other functions. "Hey! You!" I called out and he stopped, looking in my direction as I hurried up.

"Yes, sir?" the young man asked.

"What's your name?" I inquired.

"Andy, sir. Why?" he asked, seemingly worried about something.

I chuckled at his concerned look. "Was just wondering. But don't worry, Andy, you're not in trouble. You just don't have to shut down tonight, cuz I'll be taking a look at the bandorgan for Vic... err... Mr. LeDronne. So you can just leave everything on and I'll take care of it later."

Andy looked a little concerned. "Well, I'm supposed to..." I guess he then noticed my title embroidered on my work shirt beneath my name. "Oh! No problem then, Mr. Peters. Thank you. Have a good evening, sir."

I chuckled at his about-face in attitude. "You have a good evening too, Andy," I said as he made his way out from the carousel pavillion.

I made my way through the carved characters... our carousel is what's known as a "mixed machine", in that through the years various of the animals have been replaced with ones from other carousels. Most of the stationary ones are still original, like the tigers with their unique saddles, the chariot-benches and the like, but the majority of the motion animals aren't exactly matched sets anymore. Depending on your perference it either gives the carousel more character or diminishes its value. One thing I did when becoming head keeper was to replace four fiberglass horses with carved replicas of the rarest of the PTC animals - green and blue dragons. Way back before the modern popularity of those type of creatures, they were considered too fierce-looking and scary for most children, so they got removed and replaced with more mundane animals. But today, they seem to be some of the most popular, which suits me fine. I think they look marvelous, and were worth the money spent to acquire them.

Making my way to the center of the platform I patted one of the other "cherries" of our collection - actually on loan from me personally. A 32-whistle Calliophone automated calliope. It's about the size of a moderate chest of drawers for a bedroom - about four and a half feet tall, three wide, two-and-some deep. But that little pixie can probably pop eardrums if you were above it when I had it running. Being an air calliope, it's tone is noticeably different from its older "steam piano" counterparts, but still sounds quite lovely when you get the chance to hear one.

I noticed the time and lifted the cover for the keyboard. Dust had settled over the polished aluminum and brass keys I'd installed to replace the wood-and-plastic ones. I dusted it off, and since the bandorgan was already shut off for the moment, I reached back and moved the old knife switch which caused the 30-pound blower to start winding up. Soon it was at speed and I sat down. Automatically, it was set to use the keyboard unless you changed a lever position to actuate the player roll once the machine had achieved its operating pressure. I figured Jerry would recognize the tone and tune as something unusual and realize it was me puttering over here, as I began playing "Pretty Red Wing"...

There once was an indian maid a shy little prairie maid Who sang a lay a love song gay As on the plain she'd while away the day.

She loved her warrior bold this shy little maid of old But brave and gay he rode one day to battle far away.

I was smiling broadly... even though no one was on the ride and could see it, I kicked the floor pedal and the gong clanged three times to announce the ride was about to start, before the large frame motor groaned to life and set the lighted carousel in motion.

Now the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing The breezes sighing the night birds crying While afar beneath the stars her brave is sleeping While Red Wing's weeping her heart away.

I saw Jerry swing up onto the platform from the gate's edge and he wobbled his way towards me at the center.

She kept the campfires bright, And under the sky each night Our maid would lie her heart would sigh And dream about his coming by and by

But when the braves returned The heart of Red Wing learned That far away her warrior gay Fell bravely in the fray.

I nodded to Jerry as he held on to one of the standards as he revolved about my position, and it wouldn't have been right to stop playing the song in the middle, so I finished the final chorus.

Now the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing The breezes sighing the night birds crying While afar beneath the stars her brave is sleeping While Red Wing's weeping her heart away.

Yes, the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing The breezes sighing the night birds crying While afar beneath the stars her brave is sleeping While Red Wing's weeping her heart away.

I finished with a bit of a flourish and Jerry laughed from his position. "You old goof. What are you going to do next?"

I hopped onto the platform and easily made my way to the far edge as Julie walked up. I waved to her, holding onto one of the standards, and she waited for my next orbit, at which time I reached out and helped scoop her onto the moving platform.

"Was that you playing, Jim?" she asked, her eyes showing her disbelief.

"Of course it was Jim. Certainly wasn't me. I ain't that talented like Mr. Wizard here." Jerry chuckled as he settled onto one of the tigers, backwards.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Julie asked.

"Lots of things," I responded, "but I'm not sharing what they are."

"Bastard." Jerry laughed and winked. "And here I thought it was going to be "True confessions" night."

I dropped down to the center again and pulled the switch for the Calliophone and threw the one for the bandorgan. I turned the toggles on the back panels to lift them down so I could see the works better. The old motor was spinning, the belts seemed tight. The throw-levers on the lower crankshaft seemed to be working properly as they actuated the pressure and vacuum bellows. Soon the strains of Mockingbird Hill were piping out, xylophone bells ringing as their repeaters twittered. The player rolls seemed to be tracking correctly...

When the sun in the morning peeks over the hill And caresses the roses 'round my windowsill Then my heart fills with gladness as I hear the trill Of the birds in the treetops on Mockingbird Hill.

"Can you stop this thing, Jim?" Julie asked. I peeked around the bandorgan and nodded, kicking the foot-lever on that side, at which the motor spun down and the motion gradually stopped as the massive machine lost its inertia.

"Why'd you have us meet here?" Julie asked.

"Vic asked me to take a look at the bandorgan as it's been acting...." a wrong note sounded, and I looked to see a nick in the player roll pass by the reader bar. Those happen sometimes. "It's been acting up and he figured I could fix it."

Jerry looked around. "We're missing someone."

I nodded. "She's just below the bandstand, mind getting her?"

Julie looked at me confused. "Who? Did you invite someone else for supper?"

I laughed. "Well, yes, she was invited to supper but that's an every night thing."

Julie looked at me completely confused until Jerry appeared with Cleo padding along. "Oh! How could I have forgotten her!" she exclaimed and crouched down as Cleo padded faster ahead of Jerry to greet Julie with a nuzzle.

I sat down in the folding chair and watched the mechanism of the bandorgan as Mockingbird Hill fiished and Dem Golden Slippers started... then I noticed it kind of starting to skip and drag a bit. I looked closer at the reader bar and the player roll... then I saw what was causing the problem. One of the roll draw sprockets was messed up a little. There's a small chain that goes from the vacuum motor around a couple sprockets to pull the paper rolls this way and that which draw the holes in the rolls across the brass "reader bar" holes, causing the various vacuum relays to move, in turn moving rods that actuate pressure dampers that cause pressurized air to either blow through pipes, or move through small bellows-like actuators to ring bells, actuate the swell dampers of the front, tap the drum or cymbal... that sort of thing. One of the small idler axles that's adjusted to keep the proper tension in the chain was bent slightly, and so when a certain amount of paper got rolled up onto the take-up drum, the effort needed to draw the paper up increased enough for the wobble in that sprocket to cause the chain to bind periodically, causing issues with how the machine played. The larger the roll got, the greater the tension on the chain, the worse the wobble affected the mechanism. Oh well, not that big of a deal to repair, fortunately.

"Lose something in there, Jim?" Jerry asked, noticing my staring at the mechanism for awhile.

"No," I stood back up and chuckled. "I just found the problem... and it shouldn't be that hard to fix unless the little sprocket gear's center is worn wacky now. But it should be just a quickie repair. Though I do see that this winter we'll need to go through all the vacuum relays on this old girl... at the very least to clean out a few years' worth of gunk causing them to work slow. Pressure chamber probably has a load of dust-crud in it too. She just needs a good going-over is all. But that's how it's supposed to be. You should see the buildup in some of these old bandorgans that hadn't been serviced in a half-century! Now THAT can get nasty."

Jerry looked curious. "Well, if some can go a half century, why would you need to putter with this one every few years?"

"High dust area. It all depends on where you have it at. In the center of carousels it's a lot more of a problem than if you had it in a wagon, or some clean display shed. Here we got kids off and on all day, and dust blowing around from exhibits... crud falling through the air from the trees and other businesses nearby. It'd be even worse if the whole carousel wasn't off the ground. If it were at ground level the whole machine would need to be taken apart and de-gunked pretty much every winter. I think we've had the horses down.... four times since I started here? So that's pretty good considering how old the machine is... but then agian, that's why it got that old. This old girl was built to last, unlike many modern carousels which tend to need some part or another replaced nearly every year from wear."

Jerry nodded and chuckled. "Didn't know you were so into old shit like this, but I should have figured given you and that accordian of yours."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I don't know whether it annoys the cats when I bring it to work, or whether it's them liking to sing along. Either way, it's fun for me and interesting for the visitors."

"Accordian?" Julie asked, having come over after I shut down the bandorgan.

"Yeah, this goofball plays accordian as well as calliope." Jerry thumbpointed to me and I nodded.

"You really do have many talents," Julie observed.

At that, I laughed out loud. "Oh, you've just scratched the surface. Jerry here has had to put up with my commentaries on this-and-that for years!"

Jerry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sometimes it's annoying working for a walking encyclopedia like Jim here, but it's never a dull day!"

I just shook my head and chuckled. "Well, shall we go out to dinner?" I asked.

"Did you print up the directions, Jim?" Julie asked as I started flipping the switches that shut down the various light sets of the carousel.

"I didn't, sorry. Hadn't gotten back to my office since I saw you there, Julie." I frowned, then patted my pocket and got my notebook out from my shirt pocket. "Here, I'll just doodle you two a map."

I quickly drew out a bit of a map, labeling a number of the streets as to how they could get out to my place. I drew out a second one on the next sheet using the same impressions made from drawing the first.

"Well, wow... you even do good at drawing maps," Julie commented.

"Eh, it's just a doodle. Not to scale or anything but should get you two there," I said.

I started walking to the entrance gate of the carousel and locked it up, then moved around the machine to the exit gate and waited for the trio. Cleo padded along ahead and came over to me. I pet her head. "Cleo, you're going to have to ride with Jerry. Are you going to be a good girl for him?"

She nodded and Jerry chuckled. "Well, this will be a first for me... having a lioness as a passenger in my car."

"I'd take her, but she'd be kind of noticeable sharing the front seat of my little Volkswagen," Julie chuckled as I locked the gate behind us.

Along the path, past the clock tower and across the courtyard we strolled. Soon enough we were at the employee lot and I unlocked the door to my Blazer and as I was about to get in, I froze in place.

"What is it?" Julie asked, noticing my expression.

On the front passenger seat here was a newspaper folded in an awkaward fashion, which I never do. There was a post-it note attached to the paper with an arrow pointing to an article, the headline of which read. "Petition Denied - Judge's Order Evicts Big-Cat Owner." The post-it read "Contact ASAP." and then the arrow to the article. "I... don't know. Someone must have slipped this onto my seat sometime but..." I looked to make sure of what I thought to be true, "... both doors were locked. Hm..."

I had my suspicions who it may have been, then another thought occurred to me of who it might have been as well - it could be a plant from the suits.

Julie looked at me. "Someone broke into your car to give you a newspaper? That doesn't sound right. Maybe it was there before and you just didn't notice it."

I shrugged and decided to pass it off as nothing, for Julie's sake. "I guess it could have been. Anyway, shall we?" I asked as I got in.

"I'll be a little later, Jim. Gotta go take care of an errand before I come out for dinner," Julie said.

I nodded. "No worries. The food will take a little bit to cook anyway. Jerry, you ready?"

He unlocked his car and opened one of the back doors for Cleo, who ambled in as though it were just another natural occurance. The only thing I noticed was she sniffed the seat a bit before she lay down. "I'm ready, Jim. I'll just follow you, then. Or..." He looked at the gauge cluster as he powered down the passenger window. "I'll have to get gas. But it'll be alright. I think Cleo can make out like a stuffed plush for that. Besides, I know a station where the owner's a former classmate of mine."

I nodded. "Just be careful. See you out there, then." I shut my door and backed out of the stall I was parked in.

* * * * *

I arrived at my place in pretty good time, and opened the front door. Thankfully, there was no Peaches there waiting for me, so she must have been a good kitty. I went back to her room and there she was, standing by the door as I opened it. "Sorry, girl. You're going to have to stay in here for a little bit more than usual. We're..." I then thought for a moment. She should be ok with Jerry, more or less. Julie... should be alright because she said she'd be coming later. I thought for a bit and then reversed course. "Ok, come on out, hon." I swung the door open widely for the cougar and she padded out into the main part of the house before claiming a spot on the sofa.

I flipped on the kitchen light and started getting things ready. Stove preheating, check. Tartar sauce? No. I got out the jar of Miracle Whip, a little tin of Cream of Tartar, the little tin of Paprika, some sweet pickle relish and a couple of spoons from the silverware drawer. Since it was just going to be mix-and-match eating I wasn't worried about running out of utensils, especially since the only food requiring one would be for the cole slaw. Oh! The cole slaw!... I looked in the 'fridge and ... ok, good. There was enough left in the tub I'd bought the other day to serve my guests and myself. I'd already added some "secret" spices to it to make it a little perkier than how just the store-bought kind usually comes. I left that in the fridge and quickly made up a fairly large bowl of tartar sauce, then stuck the relish, Miracle Whip and the ceramic bowl of tartar sauce back into the fridge to stay cool.

The bell rang telling me the oven was ready, but I wasn't quite yet. Grabbing several packages from the freezer, first I opened the one of fish patties. Ok, there's enough in there for two apiece... which I'd readily eat, having skipped lunch today for the investigators. I grabbed a cookie sheet and ripped off a piece of aluminum foil to cover it. Eight fish patties made their way onto the sheet... I figured I might as well make them all. Jerry would likely be fairly hungry, too. Another package was opened to reveal spicy-battered steak fries - basically potato wedges with a flavoring kick. Another cookie sheet, another piece of foil, and the whole package of those was spread out on the foil, then liberally salted with some sea salt a friend had given me. Into the oven both sheets went and the timer was set for flipping the fish over after 10 minutes.

Ok, fish... fries... tartar sauce... BUNS! I was just about to grab the bread bag with the hamburger buns in it from the freezer as I heard footsteps on the front porch. Peaches heard them, too. The screen door squeaked and then a knock came just as Peaches jumped off the sofa.

I shut the freezer door and went out into the living room, wiping my hands on my shirt as I did so. I grabbed the doorknob, and commanded "Peaches, back up!"

She complied and in came Cleo followed by Jerry. Cleo just ambled in and then sat down near me, waiting for something, but Peaches started hissing as Jerry stepped into the room.

"Eh... Jim?" Jerry inquired as I shut the door. "You sure she's alright with me?"

"Peaches, quit being a pissant. This is Jerry and he's a good person." I told her. She continued to stare at him, then Cleo decided to break the stalemate. She got up and rubbed against Jerry's legs, at which he reached down to scritch along her back. Peaches quit fussing and stalked off a little bit. I chuckled and turned back for the kitchen. "Have a seat anywhere but the recliner. That's mine. You can put something on the TV while we wait for Julie, or you can start looking for a movie or two you'd like to watch tonight."

"Got anything good?" he asked as he went further into the living room.

"Lots of stuff. You know me... packrat extraordinaire," I called out from the kitchen as I popped the buns in the microwave for a quick thaw.

"I'm sure you do... plenty of animal smut, too, I'd wager." Jerry probably thought he was putting me on a bit of a spot with that, but I played it straight.

"Sure do. Got a lot of ones of Hugo getting stuff pushed up his ass to get him to cum... the older films Big John was in when he was a porn star... lots of electroejaculation stuff... Inseminations... exams... But most of that is upstairs for whacking material," I said matter-of-factly.

I heard Jerry splutter and cough as though he swallowed something wrong as I said all that. "You're kidding, right?" he inquired.

"Nope... straight up. If you'd like to see Jake or Big John take a cattle probe up the ass, I got it," I said with a nod, even though he likely couldn't see where I was.

"Wow... you ARE a pervert," Jerry commented, the smile on his face quite audible.

"Member 133029, Western Division, Perverts Unanimous," I quipped back.

"But... for real. You said Big John was a porn star? I never knew that... though that would explain why he's so comfortable with humans touching him." Jerry's curiosity was showing.

"Yeppers... he'll top, bottom, blow... the Full Monty," I answered as I stuck my head through the kitchen doorway. "I'm sort of surprised you didn't know that, even though it's not in our brouchure."

"I wonder how it'd feel... getting rutted by a bear..." he was looking curious and introspective, so I didn't let on that I knew firsthand.

"Anyway, how about we keep it more towards... theater-friendly fare for mixed company, at least for now. I don't know what Julie would think if she found out that I was having sex with Cleo. Or if ANYONE had sex with animals. She seemed to take the banter in stride between Jim Bridger and I while she watched Cleo getting checked, but that stuff is easy enough to chalk up to masculine parrying, like when you and I call each other bastards and assholes. I just don't know how she'd take it being the truth and not just something said to get a rise out of others." I gave a half-shrug as I finished.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. So... where's this huge video collection I've heard about?" Jerry asked as the dinging of the timer bell summoned me back into the kitchen to flip the fish patties over.

"There's a binder up next to the selector and VCR on the shelf above the TV labeled Movie Guide. That's what you can look through. Most of the DVDs are in the selector's carousel. Videotapes I've not gotten around to transferring to digital are elsewhere, but I can get them out if need be," I called out from the kitchen as the pan clattered on the stovetop.

I could see Jerry move across the living room as I put the pan of fish back into the oven to cook another 15 minutes. I heard steps on the porch and called out, "Jerry, could you get that? It's probably Julie," a second before there was another knock on the door.

Cleo was lapping at the large water bowl near the little "Warm Morning" coal side-stove next to the actual oven, so she turned to look at who was coming. Peaches took the opportunity to jump up onto the couch and planted her butt there.

"Ok, Jim," I heard from the living room as footfalls announced Jim crossing towards the door.

"Hi Jerry, where's Jim?" I heard as the screen door clattered shut and Peaches started to growl.

"I'm in here. Peaches! Quitdat!" I hollered from the kitchen as I got the buns out of the microwave and got three dinner plates and a serving plate out of the cupboard over the countertop.

"Oh, there you are!" Julie said as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen. I didn't know whether she was talking to me or Cleo, until she asked. "Can I help you with anything in here?"

"Nope, pretty much got it. Supper will be ready in a little bit. There's some wooden TV trays just inside the door to the basement if you don't want to balance your plate." Admittedly, I wasn't paying much attention to her as I rushed about the kitchen.

"Well, I brought dessert. I didn't really want to come empty-handed, and not knowing what you'd like I just brought what I'd like... dutch apple pie." She showed off the store-bakery pie box and I smiled.

"Well, that was sweet of you. You really didn't have to bring anything," I commented.

"Well, I brought something sweeter than that!" Jerry said, coming to the doorway.

"What was that?" Julie said, looking at the kitchen table and counters.

"Cleo!" Jerry and I both answered. Jerry with a smile, me as a matter-of-fact comment.

Julie laughed. "You ARE nuts, you know that?" she said and gave Jerry a shove, making her way back to the living room. "Nice place you've got here. Are all the buildings yours too or just the house?"

"Everything you see, including the fields between here and the road. But I lease out the fields and rent out a couple of the buildings. The pigs aren't mine, and you're lucky that the wind is from the west tonight or you might not be thinking it's such a nice place. Wind from the east can get a little ripe in summer," I jested.

Fish... fries.... cole slaw... tartar sauce... cheese... I got the tartar sauce and a pack of Kraft singles out and set them on the table. I opened the box and cut the pie into six pieces, put a knife across the top of the tartar sauce bowl, large serving spoon for the cole slaw. Forks... plates... paper napkins... drinks! "I won't set out all the drinks but you can select what sodas you'd like from the fridge. There's plenty in there."

"Yeah, you should see how many movies Jim has... he's well-stocked for everything," Jerry said from the living room as he held the binder open to the page he was looking at.

"Really?" Julie asked and made her way over there. I looked in just to see what Peaches was up to... fortunately nothing more than scowling at the newcomers from her spot taking up as much of the sofa as she could. That would only leave my recliner and the armchair that matched the sofa... not enough seats.

"Peaches, get off of there. Let someone sit down," I commanded, with little effect.

"I guess I'll give it a try." Jerry said with a smirk as he moved towards the cougaress and made as though he was about to sit down. She didn't move and hissed a little at him.

"Hey, quitdat. I'm a good guy, ok? All the bears say so. And Cleo." Jerry wedged his ass into what was left of the seat and patted Peaches rump as she scowled silently at him.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry. She's not shredded you yet so she must think you're alright. Oh! That's probably why too... you're here and she's not had her dinner yet!" I had completely forgotten that Peaches was used to me coming home and feeding her right away. Cleo was more interested in the goings-on than any hunger pangs she might have been experiencing, as she was seated to the right of the base of the stairs, watching both the kitchen and living room activities as though she were some taxidermy figurine placed there as decoration.

The bell dinged again and I started setting things out on the table. "You two can find a couple good movies and I'll finish making the food. We'll save dessert for after we're all done eating." I folded the towel I used as a potholder and got the pans out of the oven. The fish were golden brown crispy and the fries were dark brown as befit their seasoning coating. All were sizzling. I put a slice of cheese on each bottom bun, slathered some tartar sauce on the top, and on went a patty. This, repeated eight times, filled out the serving plate. The steak fries made their way into a plastic bowl so they wouldn't get cold and we wouldn't singe our hands. Ketchup bottle went under one arm and I set the plates down on the one end table between the couch and my recliner in the corner.

"Wow, that looks good, Jim," Jerry said.

"Thanks, I'll be right back with the cole slaw, plates and utensils," I said in reply.

Soon everything was out there. "Go ahead and serve yourselves. I'll get the cats their food."

Soon there was chicken portions in a couple of large stainless-steel bowls. Cleo's was put on the kitchen floor next to the communal water bowl. Peaches' was taken down the hall to her room. Upon seeing me heading that direction with the shiny bowl, she jumped up from the couch and padded in that direction.

"Hey, she can eat in here with us. We don't mind," Jerry called out, at which I stopped and called back "You sure? She can be kind of a sloppy eater."

"Yeah, it's alright. We're just guests. Besides, we came here to see her, too," Julie chimed in.

I shrugged and turned around, setting Peaches' bowl down at the corner where the hall met the living room area, to the left of the foot of the stairs. "Either of you want a TV tray?" I asked.

Jerry shrugged. "I'm good. Table's right here." Julie had moved to the armchair on the other side of my recliner. "I could use one, Jim," she said.

I went back down the hall, opened the basement door, and got one of the folding mini-tables before shutting it again and coming back into the livingroom. Setting it up between her and I, I smiled. "There you go, miss."

She giggled a little. "So..." I flumped down in my recliner. "What movies we gonna watch?"

"What's this one... "Flyboys"? Sounds science-fiction." Julie asked.

"World War I flying group of American volunteers. Their mascot was Whiskey, a pet lion," I said.

"Oh, that sounds interesting. I'm not usually much for war pictures but... can we watch that?" she asked.

I shrugged and got up again. "I don't mind if Jerry doesn't. What would everyone like to drink?" I asked as I went into the kitchen again.

"Oai dunnt maynd. Oai'd laak arfnbarf aif oo aav id," Jerry said with his mouth full.

"Jerry, that's disgusting," Julie piped up. "I'll have anything light."

"7-up it is... or...." I looked into the fridge and pondered. "Actually, you'd probably like this better." I grabbed a couple cans of A&W for Jerry and a couple of Welch's Strawberry soda for Julie. I nabbed a couple Mountain Dew for myself and brought them out to the living room.

"Waal id IZ sheafuud," Jerry intoned, causing me to instantly quip back. "But we'd rather not see it, thank you." I knew Jerry was just being himself, which was fine for me, and Julie laughed. I grabbed myself a plate and filled it before sitting back down in the recliner, flipping up the footrest and punching the remote code for the disc Flyboys was on.

I started munching my fish and the DVD carousel clicked around its rotisserie until it reached disc 70 and whirred as it was spun up. The TV flickered and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer logo came up with Leo the Fifth roaring out. There were four other "Leo" lions MGM owned, but never appeared as their mascot. Two others that were not owned by MGM were used for the two-layer Technicolor logos, and their first one from Goldwyn Pictures (1924) was Tanner the lion, which was also the first lion ever to ever have his roar captured on audio recording. The sound caused Peaches to look up and shrink back a little bit towards her room, and caused Cleo to call out in reply as she finished crunching on some bones and padded back in from the kitchen.

Julie laughed at the unexpected sound effects and I laughed too. "Happens quite often. She might sound off when the new volunteers first meet Whiskey as well."

"Really?" Julie asked.

I nodded. "Sometimes when there's sirens on TV also. But that's just par for the course. You get used to it, somewhat."

I finished off my first sandwich and started munching some fries, the ketchup making a splut sound as it issued from the squeeze bottle. Cleo moved towards my seat and stood off to the left, looking at me. Jerry looked at me as he grabbed another fish sandwich from the plate. "What's she want?" he asked. I responded without answering him, "Go ahead, Cleo. You can come up here and lay down." Cleo hefted herself up into my lap with all four paws and then stretched out towards the footrest, putting first her forepaws on it and then laying down between my lap and feet, watching the TV with her head up.

"Did you teach her that?" Julie asked as I had a lapful of lionrump. I shook my head. "Not really... I mean, I kind of did but she did most of the learning all on her own."

I munched on more of the meal, Jerry stuffed himself as I figured he would, and we all laughed at the line "Who keeps a lion as a pet?!?" when Rawlings and squadron first met Whiskey. Naturally, I grunted out, "Someone like me!" with a broad smile on my face, which brought chuckles from my guests.

* * * * *

Soon enough the food was finished, except for the pie, and so was the movie. Jerry let out a loud belch, Julie giggled as I just shook my head.

"Well, while it's been fun, I should get headed back home and pile into bed," Jerry said as he stood up. Peaches got up from where she had been laying in the hall and padded over to him. She looked up at him and then headbutted Jerry right in the crotch. Fortunately her head is rather wide so it didn't do any damage and he just fuzzled her headfur. "And nice meeting you as well, Peaches. You can have your couch back."

Julie and I had a chuckle about that. "I'd see you out, Jerry, but I've got something weighing me down." I gestured to Cleo, now sleeping as she lay stretched out.

"Don't worry, Jim, I can find my way out. And thanks for having me over," Jerry smiled and nodded before grabbing his jacket off the arm of the sofa.

"Can I stay for another movie?" Julie asked.

I shrugged and said "I don't mind, really. But I don't want you driving home if you get too tired. I've had enough friends in car accidents that I don't need to add to the number if I can help it."

"Does that mean I can stay the night if I want?" Julie asked.

I hadn't really considered it much, but... that would make things a little awkward. The spare room was still set up as a playroom, and Cleo still hadn't climbed the stairs to the second floor. I typically slept in the nude and that wouldn't really do with a houseguest... and my usual late-night activites with Cleo certainly wouldn't be something I'd want to show Julie. At least... I didn't think she'd accept how things were between Cleo and I.

Jerry chuckled as he put his coat on. "There you go, Jim. Instant housewife. And from what I saw in the can, you can use some help."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "What, you mean you don't have a mound of clothes hanging out somewhere in your place?"

Jerry shook his head. "Nope... got a sister working her way through college for that!" At which we all had a good laugh. "Jerry, you're something else..." I said as he moved over to the front door. "You have a good night, now, ok? And see you at work tomorrow," I said.

"If you two make it back in, you mean." Jerry smirked and quickly let himself out before he could get himself in more trouble.

"He's fun... but in a sort of... well... college prankery way, isn't he?" Julie asked.

I nodded. "He's a good person, just hasn't aged like I have. Then again, he's a lot younger than me, too. As far as college... I wouldn't exactly know as I've never been. Though I can imagine that yeah, that's an apt description."

Julie looked shocked. "With all that you know, you've never attended college?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Nope, just learned as I went along. Followed where my brain led. It's served me pretty well, for the most part. There are some that look down on me because I don't have a bit of the alphabet after my name, but... fuck 'em. Most of the time a college diploma is just fancy asswipe anyway because those that get it just don't have the knack for whatever. They only passed the classes and that was that, not like they live and breathe it like how I do with many things."

Julie nodded. "I know what you mean. And then there's the people that get a degree in something and never really use it, like the girl at the Farm & Barn store. She's got a Masters in Equestrian Science and is still just a clerk there."

I shrugged. "Anyway... what would you like to see next? I'm sure there's some movies in here you've not yet seen."

She flipped through the binder and then looked curious. "What's this one... Zoo (2007)?" she pointed to the entry.

I stopped for a moment. I could tell her and see what her reaction is, or I could try to direct her elsewhere. I canted my jaw a little for a moment.

"Well? Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Well... eh... not exactly. That one's a film about a rather touchy subject. Zoophilia." I decided to just play it out, I'd find out one way or another without really outing myself or anyone else.

"Zoophilia? What's that?" she asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Well... that's sort of one of those things that comes down to semantics. Zoophilia or bestiality is, boiled down, having sex with animals. There's a technical difference - zoophilia is intimate love involving animals, where bestiality is just the sexual act." I said matter-of-factly.

Her expression changed for a moment of confusion, then curiosity returned. "You mean... like... actual... sex? Like... ... ... fucking animals?" she asked.

I nodded. "Putting it bluntly, yes. Penetrative intercourse is many times involved, but it's not necessarily just that. In many cases it's all of what is involved in human sex - different combinations of people and animals, fondling, fingering, vaginal sex, anal sex, sex toys... pretty much anything you can think of. Though many times it's limited to species that humans have easy access to, though not always."

"How do you mean - limited to species?" she asked.

"Well, most of the time it's dogs or farm animals. Animals that most people have ready access to. Like the movie is about this fellow up in Washington that mostly had a thing about horses. Well, one time a stallion went in a little too deep, a little too hard, and it killed him. The movie is a bit about that and about the political aftermath that happened as a result - the state made bestiality a crime once again," I said with a frown.

Julie looked at me curiously. "You don't agree with that, do you?" she asked in a concerned manner.

"Well, no. I can't really think of it as a crime if no animals are hurt." I said honestly.

"Why not? I mean... isn't it kind of sick to... do that sort of thing?" she asked.

I canted my jaw and pondered that some. "Well... Not too very long ago, homosexuality was considered an actual, genuine, sickness. A psychological disorder. I don't know your feelings on that matter, but I know from my experiences that love takes many forms, so I can't really consider people being gay a sickness. And then there's what it means for the animals, too. You've seen how Cleo reacted to her exam. Most people would say that what I and Jim did with her was sick, even though she clearly didn't mind, and for all intents probably enjoyed parts of it."

Julie nodded, in thoughtful agreement, and I continued. "And then there's the size difference. Vets stick their arms up inside animals like cows and mares all the time, so how can that be considered fine for the animal, when something a lot smaller - like a human's penis - is thought to cause damage. That's just illogical to my mind." Again she nodded, her eyes unfocused a bit as though lost in thought. So I asked the question. "Now that you've heard what I think, what do you think?"

Julie blushed deeply. "Well...." She coughed and looked down at the floor a bit. "I've sometimes wondered... seeing animals mating. And we used to have horses. So I've sometimes pictured myself...." her voice trailed off.

I smiled broadly as I finished her sentence. "... pictured yourself being the one being bred? That's natural for most people, though many deny it."

"And when I saw Cleo get checked like that... I wondered what she was feeling with all that happened when you had that camera-tube-thing up inside her. She seemed to be so very... well... I don't know. Like she was about to orgasm, but... animals can't have orgasms, can they?" she seemed quite embarrassed at admitting it all, then looked at me inquisitively.

I chuckled. "Well, while no one knows for sure whether animals experience the same thing we call orgasm when having sexual experiences, from what I've seen and known I'd say that yes, they do. But to say that is quite an issue as there are many people that still wish to differentiate humans from other animals in some great psychological way as though somehow we're of so much greater intrinsic value, rather than just different and more cognitively... uh... adept? Other animals use tools, other animals have sex for pleasure, other animals show clear process logic, other animals even show "team effort" and coordination, so a lot of the assumed "superiority" of Homo sapiens has been shot down, which makes a lot of people uncomfortable as it challenges their preconceived notions about nature. And that includes the issues about having sex with animals being some horrible aberration rather than just another variant of the natural world."

"You seem to know a lot about that all. Does that mean you....?" she was fishing with that one.

I had to chuckle. "Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies..." I admit it, I wimped out.

Julie laughed, "Well, I couldn't blame you if you were having sex with Cleo or Peaches. I can see you love them, and I guess you're right in that so long as it doesn't hurt them, it shouldn't matter." She reached over and pet Cleo's rump as she lay there in my lap, which woke her. Cleo looked at Julie and then lay back down.

I pondered a couple things, then noticed the time. "Hm... well, it's getting late, so if you'd like to watch another movie with us, then we'd better get started."

"I'd like to, but... where's the little girl's room?" Julie asked, somewhat embarrassed.

I laughed. "Down the hall, first door on the left. Please ignore the laundry pile. I AM a bachelor after all, even if I live with a lot of pussy." I winked.

Julie stopped acting embarrassed and laughed out loud. "Jim Bridger is right, you are a pervert."

"And proud of it!" I exclaimed as Julie quickly walked towards, then down the hall and I heard a door close.

I pet Cleo and pondered... was Julie really putting me on that she'd accept such things, or was she genuinely zoo-curious? I guessed only time would tell.

"Was Peaches laying in the hall there, or was she back in her room?" I asked Julie as she returned.

"She's laying in that room at the very end of the hall. Is that her room?" Julie asked.

I nodded. "Would you mind shutting that door, then? I would but... I've got a lapful of lioness."

Julie smiled. "Sure, Jim. Be right back."

I nodded, "Thanks, Julie."

I pondered things as Julie went off to shut Peaches in for the night. I'd noticed her before, but... never really thought I'd have a chance with her. Besides, I wasn't really fishing for anyone. It's not like just anyone would welcome sharing their bed with big cats, let alone having their boyfriend having sex with animals instead of only with them. And you certainly couldn't put that on a dating profile online without catching a whole lot of flak about it, even if it were technically legal where you're at. Not to mention it would bring a whole crapload of undesirable attention to the zoo if I were to do something that foolish. But Julie was... interesting. She seemed curious about zoosex, and didn't seem inclined to be too weirded out about the way I'd done just the stuff with Cleo and... there was the possibility that underneath her somewhat shy and polite exterior there was a sex maniac waiting to be let out. Sometimes the shy types hide a lot...

Julie returned and plunked down in the armchair. "So... um... another movie? Anything you'd recommend? I'd like to see something with animals in it, but... I've not really watched that many of the movies you have. Seems most of them are older, you know."

I laughed and nodded. "Yeah, comes from watching a lot of public television growing up and remembering all the older movies they'd play during the summer as afternoon filler. I well remember "Afternoon at the Ritz" vintage theater program. Mostly old black-and-white films." I furrowed my brow. "Ever seen the film made the last year the Ringling Brothers show was under canvas?"

"Under canvas?" she asked.

I chuckled. "Circus term. That's what they say for a show that performs under tents as compared to an arena show, which only performs in like coleseums and venues that are an actual structure."

"Oh... so... OH! Under the "big top"! I understand now." Julie smiled. "I didn't realize there were different terms."

"There's lots of stuff about circuses most people don't know. It happens, just like with any other trade or subject." I smiled.

"So, what movie is that one? Sounds interesting," she said.

"Cecil B. DeMille's "Greatest Show on Earth", shot in '51 and came out in '52, the last year the real Greatest Show on Earth performed under canvas. Since then they've split into three touring groups and only perform arena shows. And it's a far different program than back then, that's for sure." I smiled and punched up disc 16.

"DeMille... isn't he the one that made "Gone With the Wind"?" Julie asked. I nodded, "directed that, and the 1939 classic "Union Pacific" about the building of the transcontinental railroad."

"You seem to have a lot of train movies, too, I saw. What's up with that?" Julie asked and I couldn't help but laugh. "That comes from having been playing and working on steam equipment since the age of 10 and having run a steam locomotive before I could legally drive a car," I said with a nod of emphasis.

"Wow... you HAVE done a lot more than most people." Julie seemed genuinely surprised, then scooted the armchair up against my recliner as the movie started. I looked to her with a smile as she lay her head on my shoulder as the opening credits began with the theme song.

Come to the circus, the Greatest Show on Earth.... Come to the circus, see the circus. If we're not very careful life can overwork us....

I looked to Julie. "Tired?"

She looked up to me and shook her head. "Just getting comfortable."

I chuckled and pet Cleo's rump idly as the movie played. About 40 minutes into the show, during the "Duel for the center ring" aerial sequence, Cleo got up, stretched, and padded off for the hall.

"Where's she going?" Julie asked.

I shrugged and casually answered, "Probably to take a leak." I shifted about some, "I should probably do the same." I put the footrest of the recliner down and stood up, a bit wobbily from being seated for so long.

"You're kidding, right?" Julie asked, and I shook my head.

"Go have a look for yourself if you don't believe me." I nodded towards the hall and Julie jumped up and soft-footed it across the living room and the two steps down the hall as I walked slower behind her.

The door was open so it wasn't any big thing to see in. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself, Jim," she said as she stood there, and I chuckled. Cleo turned her head at the sound but finished what she was doing. She wobbled a little as she moved foward off the seat and just casually flipped the lid down with a clatter before pawing at the handle. She still had a little trouble getting it to flush, but for a lioness that certainly didn't diminish the ingenuity of it all.

"That must have taken a long time to train her to do that..." Julie commented.

"No... only took her watching me once to figure out what to do. And I didn't train her, she learned that one all on her own. Only thing she doesn't do is wipe!" I winked and smiled to Julie as Cleo came padding out. "Guess it's my turn," I said and I stepped in, closing the door behind me.

I did what I needed to do, washed and dried my hands, and then went back out to the living room. Julie had moved to the sofa and Cleo sat before her, being petted. "I'm glad I got to spend this time with you and Cleo, Jim. It's been a wonderful evening."

"Movie's not over yet," I chuckled.

Julie smiled. "I know... it's just I couldn't have had a better time out at a party or anything."

I chuckled "I'd never been much for parties. I guess that's part of why I'm still single. That and I don't go out much, and it's somewhat rare I have people over here, for obvious reasons." I sat down on the end seat of the sofa and cleo put a single forepaw on my lap.

"I don't mind if Julie doesn't mind," I said. Julie looked at me in a confused manner. I smiled at her and answered her unasked question. "Cleo's asking if she can climb up to be in my lap, but since you're here too, I can't exactly speak for you."

Julie's eyes lit up. "OH!" She smiled at Cleo. "If you're careful, Cleo, you can lay in my lap too. I'm not as strong as Jim, though."

This seemed to satisfy Cleo as she climbed up into my lap with all four paws, then shifted some so her hindlegs were laying out in the same direction mine were, she stepped carefully, if awkwardly, over Julie's lap and walked her forelegs out so she settled down carefully across her as she snuggled up close to my right, then flipped herself some, rolling against us as she settled out onto her back in her favored spread-eagle position.

I watched Julie's expression as she lay her head on my shoulder again, then I wrapped my right arm around her and she seemed happier at being held. She looked up to me and blushed a bit and smiled. That left my left hand free, so I idly pet Cleo's soft tummyfur as she wriggled about some to get comforable as the "roll the show" scene came on - of how the show's big top was set up by hand and machine together each time it went up.

Julie giggled at the antics of the clown Lou Jacobs and then Jimmy Stewart's "Buttons" (which was created for the movie) and Emmett Kelly's "Weary Willie" character (which is world famous) during the song "Lovely Luawana Lady", which I hummed along to. She snuggled in and sighed happily.

Sometime during the show I'd relaxed a fair bit and my mind shut down as I mindlessly watched the movie, which I'd seen a number of times. Julie woke me by squeezing my arm hard as Cornel Wilde's "The Great Sebastian" charater fell from the trapeze to the ground. I chuckled some as I used my right hand to pat her far arm. She then poked my side and looked up at me with a smirk. I wordlessly looked at her in confused inquiry. She pointed to where my left hand had settled.... cupping the snoring Cleo's warm, puffy pussy. I shrugged a bit and smiled. "She's not objecting, is she?" I said softly and winked, though I was somewhat embarrassed that things had settled out like that.

Julie just smiled and snuggled back in wordlessly as we watched the rest of the video. During the train wreck scene she watched wide-eyed at the animals that had been running around the set freely... lions... leopards... spider monkeys... she laughed at the way someone was carrying a juvenile lioncub by the forelegs only, the rest dangling down the man's front almost to his ankles.

"I know, that'd never have been filmed like that these days. And even less, someone wouldn't be allowed to have all those kinds of animals," I frowned. Julie looked at me, surprised, and I nodded. "It's true. Lots more regulation and many more states ban ownership now. Back then, you could buy anything, take it anywhere, and have it as your own."

She snuggled up again. "I'm just happy you have what you have. Cleo's certainly happy, and I've never had a lioness sleeping on my lap." I gave Julie a gentle one-armed squeeze as we watched Betty Hutton's character "Holly" rally the crew to give a parade, which the Ringling show hadn't done in decades, which is why a lot of the parade wagons were merely farm hay wagons draped with colorful bunting.

As the movie finished, I stretched my arms up over my head, groaning a little bit, and Cleo raised her head some to look at me before laying it back down and squirming a bit. "Can I ask you something?" Julie asked.

I shrugged, "Ask away."

"Were you... Did I.... uh.... catch you doing something with Cleo?" she asked, clearly embarrassed and couldn't look me in the eye as she asked.

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, I was just resting my hand there on her vulva. I didn't even realize that's where my hand had settled out until you brought my attention to it."

Julie nodded but was still blushing. "Can I....?"

I looked curious. "Can you what?"

She looked even more embarrassed. "I'd like to.... spend the night here, if I could. It's not that I'm too tired to drive home, like you cautioned me about before, but... I'd just like to, if that's alright."

I gave it some thought. "Well... I guess it's alright. Though I'd not be too pleased if you go bragging to your girlfriends or the other office girls about it. And it'd be kind of awkward for a few reasons, but..." I shrugged and smiled. "I guess it's alright. It's been a long while since I've had a lady stay over, though, so... the place is a mess, I live like a slob, and..." this was my turn to be a bit embarrassed "... my stash of porn isn't hidden."

Julie giggled. "Don't worry, I think I can overlook most of that."

I smiled and nodded. "Then I guess you can stay over. You can have my room upstairs, if you like. I've been sleeping down here with Cleo ever since she came here."

"You've been sleeping with her?" Julie's eyes twinkled with amusement and innuendo.

I laughed. "Yes... she snuggles up to me and we sleep. You know... eyes closed, brain turned off, snoring and all that? She does most of the snoring. It's fortunate I can sleep through it most of the time." I winked, smiling at her.

Julie giggled a little and sighed, then looked at the DVD player's splash screen. "Another movie?" she asked, voice full of hope.

I shrugged. "Sure. Your pick."

She looked through the guide and wondered. "How about one of these lion documentaries?"

I chuckled. "You've really got a thing for lions now, don't you?"

Julie blushed. "I... kinda always thought they were great looking animals, but... never really paid too close attention because they were always far beyond arm's length. Until I met Cleo for the first time. Even after working at the zoo all this time I never really let it out."

I smiled. "And then there's me, who just pursued anything I found interesting, including working with these horrible, dangerous predators long before people though I had the right to do so."

Julie snuggled back up as I just seemingly randomly selected one of the lion documentaries. We chatted as it played in the background but it wasn't random at all - I'd selected this one for one scene I thought I recalled being in this particular film. I was right. Partway through it focused on preserving lions' genetics and showed the semen collection of a lion and insemination of a lioness, in very brief clips, but it was obvious that the anesthetized lion had a smallish white probe automatically wobbling in his butt as he gave up his seed, and the lioness was spread in stirrups as the vet used a human laryngoscope as a vaginoscope to guide the insemination catheter into her. Julie watched it with the rapt attention of someone seeing something amazing for the first time. When she saw I noticed her attention, she blushed and looked down without saying a word. I smiled and chuckled softly but didn't speak about it either.

Soon that video was finished as well and again I stretched, and Julie looked to Cleo, who remained there sprawled as she was, though awake and had been watching the lions on the screen, voofing a little from time to time as the recorded lions vocalized. Cleo looked up at both of us and I nodded. I thought I knew what she was asking and I was right. She wriggled and flipped over onto all fours to stand before the couch. Julie looked to me. "Did she just ask if she should get up and you told her to?"

I nodded. "I thought that's what she was wondering about, and I was right."

"She is such a sweetie. Can I have her in bed with me?" Julie asked, curious.

I laughed. "Not if you're in my room, sorry. She seems to be concerned about the narrow stairs, for whatever reason. And I've not gotten around to showing her that it's alright by actually helping her climb the stairs."

Julie seemed confused. "She goes up and down the stairs at the office quite readily. Why would it be she's scared of the stairs here?"

I shrugged. "I've not found the answer for that just yet. I'm guessing it's a matter of them being far narrower so Cleo wouldn't be able to turn around on them. Some dogs are like that, too, so... either they get over it with you helping them climb the stairs by moving their feet step by step, or they just never do get over it."

Julie nodded. "So... care to show me your room?"

I chuckled. "Nothing to really show off. Up the stairs, turn left. It's the only door up there on that end of the house. At least at this time. The other door heads out onto the porch partially over Peaches' room, but you can see that from the window in it."

"Worried I'll say something embarrassing?" Julie asked.

I laughed and shook my head. "No, just heading off comments from Jerry and others that I invited you up to my bedroom. If we aren't up there together then they can't wag their tongues that something happened and we just aren't letting on."

Julie chuckled a little and smiled as well. "I guess that's best, then. Should... I go up for the night or...?"

I shrugged. "I think that'd be a good idea, as it's nearly 2 am and dawn will come sooner than you may expect," I said, gesturing to the old regulator clock ticking away in its place on the wall.

"Oh! I had no idea it'd been so long," Julie smiled and I laughed. "That's what happens when you're having fun, or doing something new. Time slips away so readily," I commeted.

Julie stood up and looked up the stairs. "Kinda dark up there," she observed.

I got up and stood beside Julie then pushed a switch button on the wall around the corner from the stairway doorframe and the lights at the top of the stairs came on. "There's another switch right by the door to my room, at the top of the stairs, that will shut it off. But if you're half asleep and it's still dark out, you might want to just try making your way down here without it as it can be kind of blinding."

Julie smiled. "I saw you had a nightlight on in the bathroom, so I'm sure I can find my way around once I get down here if I have to."

I smiled and nodded. "I'll leave the light on over the kitchen sink, too, so it'll be a little brighter here in the living room as well."

"Won't that make it harder for you to sleep?" she asked with genuine concern.

"Naw, it'll be alright. That's how I slept the first few nights with Cleo, so I could see her. Turned out to be unnecessary as, apart from her trips to the bathroom, she usually stays snuggled up to me." I shrugged and smiled.

"Thanks, Jim." She kissed my cheek and headed up the stairs to head to bed.

I moved back to the sofa and laid out my sleeping bag, pillow, Cleo's pillow, and got the larger blanket out from under the end table as well, putting it up on the sofa within easy reach. The light clicked off, and I heard the door click closed for the first time in quite awhile, as I'd never typically done so myself. Why shut the door when you live alone?

I chuckled as I sat down in my recliner and undid the laces on my boots. Cleo looked up the stairs, and then to me. "Are you wondering something, Cleo?" She nodded. "Are you curious why Julie went up there?" Again, a nod. "Did you know she'll be sleeping here tonight?" Again, a nod. "Are you wondering if you should go up there to snuggle with her?" She shook her head. "Are you wondering why I don't sleep up there, too?" A nod in reply made me smile.

"It's because I can't just climb into bed with Julie. It's not quite right in how we humans live. I suppose some people would, but it's not how I live, so I'll be sleeping here with you like usual."

Cleo padded over as I finished removing my boots and peeled off my socks. I looked curious and sat back a bit. She put a forepaw on one of my knees, then lifted herself up to put her chin atop my head and her other forepaw on my shoulder. I chuckled and hugged her back. "Yes, Cleo, I love you too. I might not be able to spend every night with you, but you're still someone very special to me."

That seemed to satisfy her as she backed up and dropped to all fours, then padded over to the area in front of the sofa we'd been using as a bed and lay down there on her side, watching me and waiting for me to join her. I took the dirtied dishes into the kitchen and set them on the counter by the sink, then turned on the light overtop the sink to provide some illumination if Julie needed to navigate the house in the dark. I then shut off the lights in the living room, put an episode of "Seconds from Disaster" on to play, set the timer on the TV and shucked off my clothes, except for my t-shirt and briefs. Cleo nuzzled my t-shirt as she rolled over to snuggle up close. I smiled as I lay down next to her. "Gotta stay somewhat presentable in case Julie comes down. It's another one of those weird human things. Most of the time we're supposed to have our bodies covered up by clothes. Or at least that's how we've done things for centuries."

I helped Cleo fold herself into the jack-knife position, which was getting more and more difficult because of her increasing mommy-mound girth, but we made it and I pulled the larger blanket over both of us and sighed happily. I kissed her nosie, and she closed her eyes, her face relaxing completely and smiling a little bit. I shut my eyes and soon we were off to dreamland.

* * * * *

I woke and it was still dark out. Cleo was off taking a leak, as sounds told me, but there were other sounds, too. Coming from upstairs. I made my way up the stairs and partway up I saw a flickering coming from my room, the door to which was open - which was odd because I knew Julie had latched it when she went up last night... well, earlier this morning. Walking along the edge of the stair treads so as not to have them creak under my weight, I got up to the second floor and positioned myself to look in a bit. I knew she had to be watching something on the TV, as the unusual but somehow familiar sounds bore out, but just what I had no idea. Then a roar captured my attention and a smile came across my face. I sneaked around the bannister at the top of the stairs to a point I could see the TV fairly clearly. Yep... she was watching one of the DVDs of me doing a semen collection on a lion. It wasn't one of the zoo cats, as the room was different. And it wasn't here at my place either, so it had to be one of the ones I'd done in Arizona for a breeder friend. Or maybe the ones I'd done years ago in Ohio. I couldn't quite tell because I couldn't see the screen clearly from the angle I was at. As the video quit for the moment, and before the next sequence - which would have been an unusual insemination technique if it was one of the Arizona recordings - I heard a heavy panting coming from the room. The recorded sounds of the next video segment told me it was the one of the Arizona videos and I smiled. I wasn't about to be a boob and investigate just what was causing the heavy panting sounds, as I wouldn't want to embarrass Julie that much by "catching" her letting her wild side out to play, even if it was only her body naturally reacting to what her eyes were seeing without any help from her. So I just made my way back down the stairs and Cleo was waiting at the bottom. She was wondering something but I didn't want to speak until I was away from the bottom of the stairs, lest I disturb Julie's explorations. I then remembered I had left a Darius the Lion dildo by ZetaCreations out on the shelf from the last time Pickles was visiting me, so maybe Darius was having a bit of fun, too. Julie would let me know in her own good time, I'd wager, especially after seeing how pleased a lioness can be from human manipularions alone, even without penetrative intercourse.

I made my way back over to the sleeping bag and sat down. "You're wondering something, Cleo?" I whispered. She nodded. "Are you wondering what's going on up there?" She shook her head. "Do you already know what Julie is doing?" She nodded. I thought for a moment. "Could you smell it?" She nodded again. Ok, well that would make sense as cats' olfactory receptors are far more numerous than our own. "Are you wondering why I'm not up there with Julie?" She shook her head. "Are you wondering if you can have something that you want?" She haltingly nodded. Ok, I must have been on somewhat of right track. "Are you wanting something from me?" She nodded readily. I smiled and guessed what the next answer would be. "Are you wanting to mate?" She nodded.

I pondered... Cleo was usually fairly vocal when it came to her climax, that's for sure. And her roaring out would certainly draw unwanted attention from Julie. However, I did want to mate with Cleo, and my shorts were tented from what I'd seen upstairs and what I thought was going on. "Ok," I whispered, "but we'll have to do it a little differently, sort of like how we did it in the bath." Cleo seemed to understand and I laid back down, the patted the floor ahead of me. Cleo seemed to follow my cue and laid back down before rolling towards me and trying to fold her legs up agian. I helped her and moved her rump. However, before I tugged her tail to draw our hips together, I fished my cock out of my briefs through the hole provided for its exit, however I wasn't about to be taking a leak. It jutted out at about the right angle and I rubbed my cockhead to her puffy labia. She mewled a little and I worked it between the lips until the tip was centered in her well enough I could let go. Using my right, upper, arm I tugged her tail firmly, drawing her hips to nestle against my own and at the same time causing me to penetrate into her femaleness. She mewled more and her insides started twitching. I reached behind her hips and tried to tug her rump more firmly against my crotch, though it didn't really accomplish too much. I then put the blanket back atop both of us and snuggled that arm between our bodies.

I smiled at Cleo and kissed her nosie. I put my right hand to our coupling and started massaging her around myself, my thumb firmly above where her clit was and caused it to push tightly up against my shaft as I rubbed and massaged her stretched labia. She started rocking her hips some, but after a bit must have realized that she couldn't use her hindlegs or she would push herself further from me and diminishing the penetration. She then "hugged" me again, her upper, left, forepaw overtop of my shoulder, and her chin over my head as she arched, moving in that manner by flexing the muscles of her spine to shove her hips forward and rub herself against me.

I couldn't see as I had a face full of neckfur, but it didn't matter. I could hear her breathing heavier, feel her insides fluttering. She must have been a lot more stimulated than I figured as she was soon gripping my back firmer and shoving harder as she neared her orgasm. I was just along for the ride, more or less, but wasn't any less pleased about the results as I felt her grip my cock so very tightly and she roared out, hugging me close to her as I, too, came, shooting my essence inside her to coat the walls of her milking tunnel.

I heard a thud from upstairs and figured that Cleo's orgasmic roar must have startled Julie. "Close your eyes and pretend you are asleep, Cleo," I whispered and tried to control my breathing to a slower rate as I heard footsteps slowly descending the stairs. As one of the lower stairs creaked Cleo whipped her head around to look in that direction, causing me to faux-sleepily mumble out from my position "Kleeeoh.... goh bak tuh schleep...." I knew the blanket, though rumpled, covered us more than enough to hide anything directly incriminating, and I'm sure my comment made Julie smile, as the sound of soft footsteps ascending the stairs met my ears.

I let my breathing go free and cuddled Cleo close as soon we both fell asleep for real, my mind so awash in pleasure that I had no concern about what questions would likely come in the morning.