America enjoyed his morning walk.
It was relaxing, listening to the sound of his shoes thumping against the pavement, and made good exercise, which meant he gould eat more McDonalds without having to worry about getting fat!
He didn't know why so many people thought it was strange...
Maybe it was because he wasn't on the sidewalk? That was probably it! He did feel bad that he wasn't on the sidewalk, but he was pretty sure his pet wouldn't fit across the little path...
That was the one thing he didn't like about his morning walks, it was hard to make sure his pet wasn't getting in the way of other pedestrians.
Sure, he wasn't aggressive, but when your pet is bigger than most adults, people tended to like their space.
America sighed as he looked up at the whale currently lifted above his head. He shifted the weight onto one hand and used the other to pat the rubbery skin. "You tired yet, Bud? How bout we stop and get you a drink?"
He felt himself vibrate as the large mammal let out a rumble, before heading towards the nearby gas station to buy a drink for his pet.
When he reached the station, he set the whale down on the sidewalk before clipping a leash onto the collar buckled around his right fin and tieing it to a 'Wheelchair Parking Only' sign nearby. He knew the whale didn't like the leash, but he didn't want anyone stealing him, and the store had a policy about no unleashed pets anyways.
He made his way to the refrigerated section of the convenience store, before grabbing three water bottles and a coke. He made his way to the counter and pulled out his bills before greeting the girl at the counter. "Morning Anna, how's business going?"
She smiled as she rang up the drinks and put them in a plastic bag. "Great Mr. Jones! You're still taking that whale on his walks I see."
She giggled after that last part, which confused America, but he figured it was just because she had remembered something funny. He giggled then too, remembering about the time when Prussia's bird had nested in Frances hair and France had run screaming to the nearest hair salon. Now, THAT was funny!
"Yup, the people at the pet store said that its important to make sure that your pet gets lots of exercise, and he doesn't really like the gym, so I figured this was the best option."
Anna giggled again, but America was too busy thinking about when he tried to take Ameriwhale to the gym. He had flown right off the treadmill, dropped all the weights, and popped three exercise balls. When he had seen how out of shape his friend had gotten, he offered to help train him, but the whale insisted that he didn't like the gym, so America paid for the popped exercise balls and decided to find a better way to exercise him at home.
He had gotten the idea to walk his whale when he had asked England how Scotland got Nessie to exercise. England had given him a funny look before telling him that he walked him everyday with the queen's corgis. America had thanked him, and then gone to buy a collar and leash for his whale. After all, sea monsters were sorta like whales, right? When he told England that his advice had been helpful, though, he'd just gotten mad and said something about how sarcasm was unbecoming and waked away. That had just confused America though, because didn't England use sarcasm a lot? Maybe he was being sarcastic then? Sometimes, he just couldn't tell with England.
He grabbed the bag off the counter and said goodbye to Anna. It was nice chatting, but he needed to get Ameriwhale home. He had said it was bad for his skin if he was out of the water for too long, and America didn't want to think about how much it would cost to buy enough makeup to cover up whale acne.
When america got out, he was immediately greeted with a loud "Wroooooooooooooaaaaaaawww!"
"Ha, I know you're thirsty little guy, here you go. America opened one of the water bottles and set it in front of the whale, and then poured the other two on top of him. He then cracked open his coke and sat down next to the whale. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a couple kids staring wide-eyed at him and Ameriwhale. He waved, before calling over to their, also shocked, mom.
"You guys can come pet him if you want, he really doesn't mind! Right, bud?"
His whale did a little floppy thing that he was pretty sure was a nod, before answering with a roaring, "Eeeeeiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaoooooooooooowwwwuuuu!"
The kids immediately started begging their Mom, who gave a weak nod, before following them over.
"Wow, Mister! How did you get him here, I thought whales lived in the ocean?" Asked the smaller of the two, a little boy who had yet to get too close to the whale.
"Well, I had gone to Japan one day, when I met this guy! After that he sorta followed me home. He lives in my backyard now."
This seemed to interest the girl, who was currently petting the whale. "He followed you here from Japan, that's all the way on the other side of the world!"
America smiled as he answered her, "Well, really just to California. When I saw he had followed me all the way there, I asked if he wanted to stay with me, and when he said yes, I asked some friends of mine to help move him here to D.C.
By now the kids had stopped petting the whale, and the mom had gotten plenty of pictures. She shooed the kids into the store before offering a handshake and thanking him. "It's very sweet of you to set all this up, do you charge for pictures, tips? The children really enjoyed the little rig. I'm sure they'll both be excited to tell all their friends they met a whale!" She pulled out her wallet and looked at him then, but he waved her away. She thought this was a show? He supposed it made sense, after all, most people didn't take their pet whales on walks.
"Oh no Ma'am! There's no need for that! I was just talking him on his walk, this really happens all the time."
The woman laughed a little before saying goodbye and heading inside. America smiled even wider as he turned to his whale, who was cooing at the spot where the kids had been, already missing his new friends. "Aren't my people great, Bud?
His whale cooed again, and America picked up all four empty bottles and throwing them in a nearby trashcan.
"Whelp," He america said as he unbuckled the leash and lifted the whale onto his shoulders once more, "Time to head back."
The kids inside had immediately rushed to the window and waved, grinning at the nice man and whale they had met, and Anna giggled from behind the counter. America turned to wave, and then began his walk back home.
Yes, America thought, he liked his morning walk.