The Adventures of Peter Gray chapter 3: (Attempts for) A Valentine's Day Kiss
Chapter
3(Attempts
for) A Valentine's Day Kiss "Happy Valentine's Day, love," a young
wolf gent said to his lady. The
she-wolf happily took the flowers and pecked him on the cheek. "Why thank you,
honey," she smelled them. "You are the sweetest thing I could ever have." As
I passed them and went into the school yard, me mind couldn't help but think, you lucky wolf, you... Oh well, I had me
sights on another pretty set of eyes. While
the cubs, kits, and a couple of new human kids played and raced in the bustlin'
school yard, I casually inched me way inside. I was along the school's aging
brick wall, so no one noticed me yet. No teachers were in site, save for Mrs.
Gillman by the main doors, but she seemed more tired than a boy in Sunday Mass.
Luckily, I spotted them not too far from me stance, both of them the prettiest
vixens me gray eyes ever seen in New York. Their names were Abby and Constance
Anderson, thirteen year-old twin sisters with fur finer than their dresses and
eyes as yellow as the sun above. As
I casually made me way to them talking to some other girls, I noticed a
familiar pinkish face not too far away. It was the human boy named James,
playing a game of 'catch the robber' with some young cubs. He even took his
jacket off in the cool air. From what me ears have learned from Lance, the
kid's earned himself a couple of friends and played in the early spring sun
with Lance and his brothers after school. "Excuse
me? Who are you?" I
nearly jumped outta me fur, then I straightened meself up upon realizing it
were the twins. "'ello there, ladies," I nodded to them with a tip of me cap. One
of the vixens looked at me funny. "Yes?" she asked. They loved to mess with me
and pretend they had amnesia last time I talked to them, which sometimes got
annoying, even by me standards."Surely ya remember
the famous and...quite handsome Peter Gray?" I grinned to them, raising me
eyebrows with a flicking tail. "How about you, Constance?" I turned to her, who
had a red bead in her hair. "Don't ya remember me from last year, when I offer
ya a flower for Thanksgiving?" Abby
cleared her throat for some reason. "That was me, jerk," she pouted, her tail
curled in anger. "I'm Constance, you
idiot." I
wanted to slap meself. "Aye dang it," I mumbled. I
noticed the other girls giggling behind them and folded me ears. "And besides,
why would we want to mingle with you poor?" Abby (or whom I assumed was) asked
me. "You look positively filthy." "Hey!
The only poor one here is you, for who'd miss out on getting a kiss from me?" I
asked. I immediately regretted it when both vixens raised their paws,
snickering while walking away with their tails facing me. "Not
surprising, seeing as how you usually faint like a dainty woman every time a
girl kisses you," someone spoke. I
turned. "Hey!" I said, seeing it to be both Lance and James, who now wore a
snickering grin. "That wasn't what ya thought it was!" "I
may be a human but I ain't dumb, you know that?" James remarked. "Still," he
started to giggle like a girl, "I can't believe you humiliated yourself like
that." He bent over chuckling and Lance patted the lad's back with a wagging
tail "It's
not the first time old Peter here's kicked his own butt," he said in between
breaths. "L-Like, this one time last Valentine's Day, he tried to kiss a
teacher on the cheek, but he slipped and fell on his head instead." I
folded me ears. "Oh really, Mr. 'I-Love-Ya-Patty-Jones?'" I grinned. "Hey!"
he added, "she was a pretty raccoon and I didn't know she was secretly dating
that wolf!" Pretty
soon, me and Lance laughed at past days of Valentine. The day Lancie saw a
coyote from West woo a gal, and how me and him tried it out on other ladies,
only to get us in deep trouble. At least for him; I got me tail outta there
while he got the paddling of a lifetime. All
of a sudden, I spotted another pair of pretty eyes. "'ello there..." I grinned
with a flickering tail and bristled fur. "There's Caroline Mc..." Lord, what was
her name? "Caroline
McCray, you mean?" James asked. "The she-wolf over there?" Lance
folded his ears. "Dear Lord, you ain't going Casanova again are you?" he gazed
to me as I made me way over to the pretty she-wolf. Soon
as she turned to me, I grinned and gazed into her auburn eyes. "Has anyone ever
told ya how pretty your eyes are?" I
saw her blush slightly in surprise. Jackpot. "Ya must be Caroline McCray?" I
asked slyly. "Me name's Peter Gray, and I can say that your eyes are as
beautiful as autumn." I grinned kindly. "Uh,
thank you," she replied. Her tail slightly wagged behind her, so me luck was in
proper order. I also noticed her twiddling he thumbs. "Caroline?"
one of her friends turned and saw me, then gave me a friendly smile. "Oh come
on, you want to be the Valentine of that Gray fellow?" Caroline
turned to me and widened her eyes lightly. "Peter Gray?" she asked. "The street
urchin?" Originally thinking it was a good title for me, I smiled and nodded
with me pride. In
all me days on the street, I have seen and witnessed many things no regular New
Yorker sees on a daily basis. I slept in trashcans, eaten from that very can,
bartered for food, even gone days without
food. But never in me life,
save for a few mothers drunken or angered, have me cheeks been slapped by a
girl."Ewww!" Stars danced across
me eyes and I struggled to stand. "What the 'ell?" I felt the red in me cheek,
but kept meself smiling. "What was that for, me love?" Caroline replied with, "You're a street boy
and you could have fleas!" Me ears perked up. "Hey! Who are ya calling
flea-ridden?" I asked. "Me fur is cleaner than a priest's heart, yes it is!" I
got on me feet and pointed to her. "I give ya a complement and ya slap me like
a rag? What the 'ell?""Get out of here, mutt!" a cub shouted. "You
don't belong here!" A crowd had gathered nearby, with James, Lance, even his
brothers snickering in the corner of their curious eyes.I turned and gave a low growl in me throat.
The voice was from Gavin Flint, a coyote with an attitude of steel and a mind
more blank than freshly made paper. He came outta the small crowd and snickered
at me humiliation. "Why don't you do us all a favor and go back
to the workhouse, mutt?" he sneered with a flicking tail. "You don't belong
here, Gray." I hated him; one time Gavin pushed me into a puddle of mud and
took $3 and two ha'penny I earned from a kind gent. "You're one to talk, coyote!" I shot back. Me
eyes saw he was about to lunge for me when a high voice came from nowhere. "What is going on here?" Me fur bristled in less than a second. Oh dang it, not her! Great, another
familiar muzzle that hated me guts. I heard a gasp. "You!" With folded ears, I looked up to see Ms.
Lesser, or as many students liked calling her, "Presser Lesser." She was the
toughest teacher in the school, an old fennec who stood a foot taller than me with
eyes as piercing as her fingernails, and a stare that was said to have turned people
to stone. 'Who do you think makes the statues around Central Park?' everyone
joked. This was no
place for me joking. "'ello there...Ms. Lesser, m-ma'am..." from how
quiet the school yard was, all the other cubs and kits had to be watching,
waiting for me demise. And it came with her pulling me right ear
with her nails and speaking."You. I specifically told you to not come
here at all. You have the honest gall to
come to this public building and bring in your filthy footpaws to-""I am not
dirty!" She pressed her fingernails deeper, making me
try to squirm as we came to the gate entrance. "And if I ever see you set one
step in this place, if you even try to harass any of the girls again," she
threw me out, and I winced as air filled the small puncture of me ear. "I will
have the policeman arrest you and personally see that you and your fleas rot in
prison." She closed the gate. "Got! Get out of her before I do it! Now!"She turned to the kits and cubs that watched
it all. "Recess is over, so get to your classes! Go on! Get!" everyone followed
her command and I watched as Lance and James gave me apologetic looks.Witch... To
vent off steam, I went back to Joseph Kinnick's Bakery and got him to gimme a
piece of muffin for only three nickels, and I listened to him talk about how
Johnny was doing. "Ah, the cub is healthy as a horse?" I got me reply when I heard a cry travel down
the stairs, and a she-wolf cradled the cub in her arms. Rosie had Johnny's
green eyes, and a smile that I thought every woman should have. Kind, yet
sharp."So how's life been for ya, sonny?" Joseph
asked me as he kissed Rosie. "How's Valentine's Day for ya?" I gave no reply to
him, as he read it all off of me face. "Peter, I keep telling ya to stop trying
to flirt with women, they just cause trouble."Rose gave Joseph a quizzical stare. "Joseph?"
she asked wryly. "Oh-except for you dear," he chuckled, and
then turned to me. "The point is, you can't keep looking for a girl when you
are who you pretend to be. A real love for someone is when ya don't see it
coming' for ya." He happily turned to Rosie and his cub. "That's how I met my
beautiful wife, young lad. So you should wait too, and make the best of
Valentine's Day for those who can't."After drinking the rest of the water, I laid
me change on the table. "I'll consider it, Joseph," I mumbled. "Good day,
Rosie, Joseph. Little Johnny." After waving to them
from the window, I took meself a stroll down Cross Street and past the tenement
buildings with a curled tail. Occasionally I tipped me cap to a pair of pretty
eyes shining under the cloudless sky, and smelled the sweets that gents and
ladies held tightly in their arms. It
was Valentine's Day, and every one of every species was cheery from perking ear
to swishing tail. Of course, everyone was busy and some scowled at me merry
muzzle, many of New York greeted each other with "Happy Valentine's Day" and
"Good bless ya neighbor". In every alley and every tenement and every
marketplace I went, husbands kissed their wives, kits and cubs and human kids
shyly gave presents and cards to their friends, crushes got crushed, and young
couples held paws together like glue. On
me way to me usually hideaway, I even spotted two gents holding paws together,
one a reddish fox and the smaller a mouse. I knew them pretty well, being they
were outcasts as I was, and gave me scraps back at the orphanage. The tall fox
was named Edward and the mouse liked to be called Hansel. Hansel wore a coat
that covered overalls while Edward wore a shirt that looked fancy once, but now
was more worn and dirty than a wash rag. Both were in their late thirties yet
seemed young and bright as me fur. I
stopped in me tracks in the melting snow to see they weren't getting popular
looks as well, even scowls that matched that of the Presser Lesser, but worse than anything she coulda thrown at
me. Their looks were just...pure disgust. And
faster than a crossing cabbie, someone nearby threw a piece of thrash or two at
them. Another hurled a dead rat at their muzzles. "Hey look, it tis
your cousin!" someone howled. "Why don't ya kiss that?"A young mountain lion
nearby shouted to them, "Get outta here, degenerates." He was selling flowers,
and some of his customers gave the pair ugly looks as well. Me eyes saw Hansel
and Edward's expressions of distress, then the two quickly walking away while
the wolf went back to selling roses from his cart. I stood there frowning madly,
remembering how Gavin treated me earlier, not to mention the Presser Lesser.
The memory eased away eventually, and an idea popped into me head.Casually, I walked
over to the cart and innocently looked at the busy cat as he worked. He had to
be no older than twenty, and seemed happy with his job. So you should wait too, and make the best of Valentine's Day for those
who can't,I recalled Joseph's
words and grinned at the mountain lion. Too bad he was gonna have less roses to
sell.Soon as the mountain
lion gave a rose to the next customer, I slipped behind him and grabbed meself
two decent roses. By the time me ears caught him shouting, I disappeared into
the street and ran for Edward and Hansel. It took me a couple o' seconds, but I
spotted their curled tails among the wagging."Wait!" I shouted. "Hansel!
Eddie!" They turned their
muzzles and I skidded to a halt while holding the roses behind me back. I lit
up a kind smile on me muzzle and looked up at them. As others went by, earning
me an extra frown and two confused looks, I shamelessly presented the roses. "Happy Valentine's
Day! I got these two for ya two."I spotted Hansel's
brown eyes light up in a widening smile next to Edward's grin of white canines.
"Peter Gray, you lil' scamp," Hansel let go of gave one of the roses to him.
"You did not need to do this." I handed the other to
Hansel's empty paw. "Of course I do," I said with me tail wagging and cap in
paw. "You two deserve a proper Valentine's Day, so me noggin thought that flower
seller wouldn't mind me borrowing a few of his flowers." The older fox and
mouse laughed through their noses while holding the roses, putting a smile on
me muzzle. It seemed like only
yesterday when I first caught sight o them from the orphanage windows, two
distinct immigrants from Germany who came to America in escape from hate and search
for opportunity. Both worked as street sweepers and once worked in steel
factories before Edward was nearly crippled in an accident one day.They were very kind
to me the first days we met. Every morning as they went to work, Edward would
come by me open window by me bedroom and leave me a few pieces of bread from
the market, and Hansel, on special occasions, a sweet bear or two. I always
waved to them and thanked them for their kindness.Edward didn't speak
often enough, not cause he bore a thick accent even Hansel had trouble
understanding, but he held a troubled past. I didn't know why, but I respected
him for that."You keep your head
clear, and don't give up, you lil' scamp," Hansel told me. The mouse petted me
headfur and I hurried to put me cap back on. "Can do," I chuckled
lightly. "Happy Valentine's Day, ya two." I smiled with a tip of me cap. "And
don't let others get the best of ya!" I
waved me paw to them and watched as they went down the street and disappeared
around the corner. Feeling merry as a schoolboy, I went into an adjacent alley
and climbed me way up the tenants. It was difficult, but me paws never faltered
in their grips. At
last, I made it to the top, and felt immersed in the sunlight as it began to
sink from the sky. I saw the bustling tenements and the
upstate houses from me spot, the smoke from atrocious workhouses, the immigrant
ships sailing in the Hudson, everything with the slightest beauty. And as the
sun sank on New York, and the lights of Lady Liberty arose in the dark, I
thought, What a beautiful city...