Bored At Work
#8 of Hockey Hunk Season 4
Fan art by kensukethecat Thank you, kensuke!
Hehhey, and welcome to The Hockey Hunk! And oh my, a Wednesday chapter, I must have been feeling very feisty these past two weeks - but alas, the show must go on, and I think that with the recent pace of things, an extra installment has worked nicely to keep things going on at a comfortable speed. Hence, I am proud to present this new chapter of my ongoing furry soap opera.
I hope you will enjoy the read, and that you will amuse me with your curious and interesting comments! Keep them coming! Your feedback is always most helpful and fun :P
Also remember that all votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories to enjoy as well!
Have a good read!
*
My phone got to purr in my pocket for a brief moment before I pulled it out and flipped the screen up to see who was vying for my charming company this time.
MOM IS CALLING
_ _
I let out a surprised chuff at the sight of the name on my phone, now happily vibrating in my palm. Crystal was looking at me curiously as well, and I exchanged a glance between my phone and her, as I tried to contemplate what to do with my surprise caller. I couldn't exactly just start blabbering on while I was on my work station, behind good old trusty cash register number two.
"Want to get that?" Crystal questioned.
I flicked my ears and gave my phone another look.
"Yeah, it's my mother calling, probably asking me how I'm doing," I said, "I can tell her to call later..."
"It's fine!" Crystal replied cheerfully. "I'm here, and Alex is here, we can keep up!"
"If you're sure..." I hurried to say.
"Positive," Crystal smiled.
"Okay," I rumbled as I lifted the phone up to my ear and pressed the button, "Rory here."
"Hi Rory!" my mother's voice filtered through. "How're you doing?"
_ _
"Hi," I said, "I'm at work but I can talk for a while, but I have to move from the counter, so can you hold on for a sec?"
"Ohh...oh, oh, you're at work! I could really call later if you like!"
_ _
"No, it's perfectly fine," I hurried to speak," just give me a moment, I'm a bit slow, heh."
"Well alright, I don't mind!"
_ _
"Alright, hold on," I replied before gingerly pushing my phone into the pocket on the chest of my shirt. Then I grabbed my crutches and began the careful work of getting onto my footpaws, which happened without a hitch, thankfully, and with Crystal stepping out of the way, I had soon cleared the main obstacle, namely, the counter.
"I'll just pop outside," I explained to Crystal, "Easier than going down the stairs."
"Alright!" Crystal waved her hand. "Give your mom a hi!"
"Sure!" I grinned as I made my four-pawed way out to the thankfully unpopulated door and pushed myself out to the warm midsummer afternoon air.
The sun was still shining high and bright, and I had barely stepped out of the way of the door and leaned against an empty patch of the wall between the display windows before every exposed patch of my fur was painted an extra warm tone of gold. I tucked my tail close to my legs so as not to fill the entire pavement with myself, and then, finally, once I felt secure with just one crutch, I dug my phone out.
"I'm here!" I announced. "Sorry about the wait."
"I'm sorry, I had no idea you were at work," my mother chuckled. "When did that happen? Feels like I've missed an update!"
_ _
I rumbled.
"Well, you kinda have," I replied, holding tight onto my crutch as I settled in, "I'm covering for Marge today, my boss, because she had an errand to run, and she asked me to come in for the afternoon. So I'm not quite there yet."
"Ohhh...I see! Helping out your boss, then!"
_ _
"Yeah," I said, "kinda nice, though, getting out and all that."
"Well that is nice. Are you still staying with Peter?"
_ _
My mom's innocent question conjured up an image of the cougar, sitting alone on a corner of the couch and holding his knees up to his chest in an act of self-comfort as he combated his loneliness.
I really wished I could do more.
_ _
"Yeah, he's been great," I said, truthfully, "Always taking care of me."
"Well it goes both ways with you two, doesn't it?" my mother proposed. "Long way back."
_ _
I smiled a little.
"It does."
"It's nice to hear that! And how're things going with that...boy?"
_ _
I almost chuckled at that. Calling Victor a boy was certainly interesting, but much preferable to "that special friend", which was my parents' euphemism of choice for a while before they came to their senses. Asking about it so openly was quite the nice thing to do as well, which I certainly didn't take for granted.
"We..." I started, thinking for a "Suitable for moms" - graded reply to the question, for a moment, "we're talking. Sorting things out. Planning to see each other, but not rushing things in any way."
"Well that sounds fine to me, Rory!" my mother chimed.
"Thanks," I rumbled, feeling so damn awkward.
"So how are you really doing, Rory, you didn't tell me yet," mom pushed on.
I snuffled.
"I wonder what you really mean, mom," I replied.
"Are you happy, Rory?"
_ _
Such a simple question, and with the stopping power of a full metal jacket bullet. My tail snapped against the warm concrete on the shop wall, and my heart gave its customary jolt, when it came to me reflecting on my feelings. Damn that went deep. Just one question, spoken with that gently rumbling voice I knew so well.
Damn mums. They must possess some mind-reading powers.
"I'm fine enough," I said. "Hanging on."
"Are you recovering alright? Are there any pains or...you know, nightmares, or anything?"
_ _
My ears dropped a little. This part of the conversation was inevitable, I supposed, but it still made me feel a bit uncomfortable, thinking about everything related to the accident, and the messes surrounding it, chronologically. It did not make for a cheerful topic of mother-son conversation, either.
"My leg is getting better just like it should," I replied. "I might be ditching the crutches in a few weeks. The doctor says it's going to be alright. No pains, if I'm careful."
"And?"
_ _
And...
I huffed.
"Well I don't sleep too well every night, I guess, but a lot's been going on," I said, trying not to sound too defensive, or traumatized, for that matter.
"Have you told anyone about that? To Peter or Victor or someone professional, maybe?"
_ _
I bit my lip before answering.
"Yeah," I said. "They do make that kind of questions every time I go there for my physiotherapy."
And I hadn't wanted to bother Peter with anything extra.
"And you would tell them if they asked?"
I snuffled.
"Is this some sort of an interrogation?" I suggested.
Mom chuckled.
"Well, I am at work, so I guess I should keep my skills up."
_ _
I let out a surprised cough.
"You're calling from work?" I whispered conspiratorially.
"It's a slow day," my mother replied. "Only two DUIs and one shoplifting school kid. I'm so going to be scaring Justin's ass off once I get home, too. This one was fourteen, so maybe there's some parenting your dad and I can still do with your brother."
_ _
I chuckled good-naturedly and smiled to myself. That sounded much like Captain Gliese alright.
"How're they?" I asked.
"Ohhh, oh just fine! Justin's enjoying the weather and your dad already cleaned the barbeque. We might be having a nice roast with the Crippens and the Joneses on Friday, if the weather's nice."
_ _
I smiled at the sound of mom rattling away the names of our neighbors.
"Fry a pork chop for me too," I proposed.
"It'd be lovely if you could come, of course, but we know how difficult it is for you to travel at the moment..."
_ _
I knew that it was a partial "please come home" from mom, but I also knew that she was right. I wasn't perfectly fit to travel, and sitting down for too long in one place had the tendency to make my ass and hip go numb. It was better to keep moving.
"Yeah, I know," I replied. "But I'll think about you chugging it all down!"
"That's very sweet of you, Rory."
_ _
"Heheh," I chuckled.
"And maybe, next time you come, we could have a roast, too...you could bring your Victor, maybe?"
_ _
Oh, dear me...my mother's ways were even more cunning than I had realized - first making me feel a bit guilty about not getting home for the barbeque, and then trying to suggest I should come with Victor! My tail was flipping about heartily as I considered my darling mother's positively wicked ways. I couldn't help but smile a little still. It'd been such a long time she'd had the occasion to do this kind of a thing, of course, what's with me and the decisively not Rome, New York-friendly Graham, and I could tell that mom was thoroughly enjoying herself.
"I could always ask..." I mumbled.
"Only if he would like to, of course! I know it's quite the drive and all that but..."
_ _
But they would simply adore him, surely, I knew, mother would say, if I'd give her the chance.
I was still smiling.
"We'll talk about it, okay?" I proposed a gentle diplomatic compromise that I hoped would be enough for mom...for now.
"That'd be nice!"
_ _
I couldn't help but imagine how it'd be like, Victor and I stepping out of the car, with numerous lions lining the windows of my home, all eager to get a good look at the newcomers. Somehow Dream-Dad, Dream-Mom and Dream-Justin had ended up throwing confetti at us while Victor was simply trying to carry our bags into the house. I pushed the idea away before a DREAM-COBB would be rushing towards Justin holding a giant Super-Soaker water gun and yelling "HEY HEY I'M COBB HEY YOU MUST BE JUSTIN YOU'RE MY NEW BROTHER IN LAW ISN'T THAT AWESOME THAT OUR FAMILIES ARE NOW JOINING TOGETHER BECAUSE OF OUR BROTHERS BUTT BUDDY BEHAVIOR THAT'S JUST FANTASTIC AND COOL AND NORMAL AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE A BIG HAPPY FRIENDLY FAMILY TOGETHER AND IS THAT BARBEQUE I SMELL I JUST LOOOOOOVE BARBEQUE!!!
"I'm sure," I hurried to say before the silence would stretch out.
"I shouldn't keep you any longer, though, Rory, you're at work and someone might be coming to see the police chief, too, and if anyone happened to walk in I would have to be pretending to be talking with the FBI, so I think I better leave you to it now."
_ _
"Okay," I replied with a snuffle, "I suppose my boss is waiting for me to get back to work, too..."
"I'll call you back when you've got some more time, okay, Rory?"
_ _
"Sure," I mused.
"I'll see you then!" mom chimed. "Take care, Rory! We're thinking about you!"
_ _
"I'm thinking about you too," I replied.
"Bye, Rory!"
_ _
"Goodbye, mom."
The line closed with a comfortable bleep, and my mother was gone.
The sun was still shining ever so nicely.
*
"There you are!" Marge declared as I stepped into the shop again, enjoying the coolness provided by the air conditioning.
"Hey," I replied to the cougar who was lurking by the counter, while Crystal simply smiled.
"How was your mother?" Marge stated immediately.
"She's fine," I said, "just wanted to know how I was doing...mom stuff."
"That's the best kind of stuff, or the worst," Marge mused, arms folded over her bosom as she watched me making my slow way back behind the counter.
"Yeah," I replied. "Definitely."
"Well, at least you got to stretch your legs, too," she said, "making you ready for your last...oh...fifteen minutes of worktime!"
I followed her gaze to the big wall clock and saw that the paws were indeed indicating that only very little remained of my assigned shift here. It meant that at any time, my relief should come in the form of a certain wolf waltzing through that front door...possibly in search of his man-bag with its...interesting items within it. My tail jumped against the counter as I was again reminded of that stupid library bag and the fact that it was lodged in my locker even now, simply waiting to be picked up by the wolf. Did he even know that I was supposed to come today? Shouldn't he have taken it out before I came in and would have probably found it?
What if he wanted it to be found...
Oh, God.
I slumped down onto the stool and arranged myself comfortably again.
*
"Well, this is not like him..." Marge rumbled, as she gave yet another look at the clock, now showing that it was five past four in the afternoon.
"Maybe he missed the bus," Crystal offered.
Marge scratched her chin.
"Maybe," she said. "It's not like him, though."
I couldn't decide whether I was glad or not about Mason running late. My own shift was now officially over, and I could've simply left...but somehow, and since Marge hadn't started to nudge me out of the door yet, I had simply kept my muzzle shut and quietly manned my cash register, while we all wondered when the wolf would come over. If I'd leave now, I could get out before meeting him and possibly having to deal with the bag issue and the other issue straight on...but then again, if he did come, then I WOULD have to deal with it, and then...
Oh, damn it...
I scratched the fur on the back of my neck and let out a deep breath.
"That'll be 17,99," I told the wolf I was serving, and put a happyhappy smile on, "Cash or credit?"
*
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Don't forget to comment - and also remember that all votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories to enjoy as well!
See you on Friday!