Chapter 11

Wake Up Call

"Michael Ferretti, I want to have your children." Cassy mumbled sleepily in the soft morning light.

=BING= "I'm awake!" Mike's sleep sodden brain screamed. His eyes flew open and turned to look at Cassy who was gazing at him with half lidded eyes and a ridiculously goofy grin on her muzzle.

"W-what did you say?" Mike stammered unsteadily.

"Hummm?" Cassy mumbled innocently, "Well, if you must know..." she said, pulling herself on top of him to gaze into his eyes, her azure blue eyes smoldering with remembered passion. Eye to eye and nose to nose, in a voice husky enough to pull a sled... "I said: Michael Ferretti, I want to have _ Your _children." She gave his nose a playful lick, rolled over and padded off to the bathroom.

_"Score one more for the flooring specialist."_that little voice remarked. Michael lay in bed, eyes wide staring at the ceiling while his brain desperately tried to make sense of the information it just received. "...Oh my god, what have I done." He mumbled in a horse whisper. He could hear Cassy humming a jaunty tune from the bathroom.

At breakfast Mike managed to broach the subject that had so rattled him this morning.

"Um, Cass..." he said hesitantly.

"Hum?" she grinned, eyes aglow.

"Uh, this morning...you um, said something and I uh..." he stammered.

"Yess?" Cassy beamed resting her chin on her palm, thoroughly enjoying this.

"Okay, w-what brought about that thing you, um said?"

"Hum? Oh, you mean what I whispered to you, just before I went to the bathroom?" She blinked innocently, watching him squirm.

"Uh, yeah." he nodded.

"Well, last night I had this weird, vivid dream...I was walking in an olive orchard, and this wizened old ferret woman dressed all in black with a white stripe down her muzzle wearing glasses came up to me. She smiled at me and said in broken English, 'You a keeper, you give Michael lotsa bambinos.' then she slapped my hips and patted my boobs chuckling. 'Yup, You built fora bambinos." Mike went pale.

=Grandma!=

"D-d-d-did she say who she was?" mike stammered.

"She said she was Straga Nona, she just clapped her withered paws together saying 'You a Keeper.' I woke up this morning thinking how nice it would be to have children with you. Why, Who was that?" Mike let loose with a string of guttural Sicilian, soon catching himself. "Oh, you just met my maternal grandmother. She lived on the estate...She died twoyears ago..."

"Really?" Cassy said fascinated " She seemed so cool."

"She was quite the character, it was said that she had 'The Gift." Mike said with a wistful smile. "We spent quite a lot of time together when I was there. She taught me to cook; the Manicotti was her recipe."

"You said she had the gift? What was that, exactly?" Cassy asked. Mike nodded. "She had the gift, She was a witch; Straga Nona means grandmother witch. In her own way, she has blessed you. She thinks that you will give me many children; bambinos. Maybe we should be more careful from here on out, grandma was quite stubborn when she wanted to get her way." Mike chuckled.

"And the olive trees?" Cassy asked.

"Hold on a minute, I have some pictures." He returned with a photo album. "I took these when I was over there, does this look anything like..." he asked, handing Cassy a photo of olive trees and a stone cottage.

"Oh my God! That is it exactly! She was right over there." Cassy pointed to a spot between the trees.

"Thought so, that was her cottage, she and I would sit there and She would tell me about our family history." Mike said somewhat bemused.

"So what do you think this all means?" The Bunny asked.

"Well, I think in her own unique way, she's saying 'welcome to the family.'" Mike smiled "So what do you think of the idea of being known as Mrs. Cassandra Ferretti?" Cassy's eyes were almost as wide as her smile...

"I love it!" Cassy squeed.

"That's good, because as far as grandma is concerned, it's out of my hands, looks like she's decided; 'Welcome to the family.'" Cassy sat and tried to wrap her mind around recent events. The more she thought of it the better she liked it. In her mind's eye she could see an old ferret lady laughing.

Mike grinned. "Looks like these promise rings have just become engagement rings." Cassy tackled him, smothering him in kisses.

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