Snatty...such a strange name...wonder what he named the rest of 'em? Jeez, now I'm honestly curious! RUMPY!
The man chuckled. "Pay no mind to Snatty. She wouldn't hurt a fly," he assured.
Jodi stared at him warily, not the least bit convinced. "Why the hell do you have it?" she repeated slowly and deliberately. "Do you have any idea how poisonous those things are?"
"Of course, sweetheart," he smirked. "All a part of the thrill of owning them. Besides, they are incredibly intelligent and trainable."
Jodi merely glared at him. "I don't want it in my store," she snapped.
"If you insist, though it's inhumane to leave pets alone in cars in this heat," Randall shrugged, leaning down to pick up the tiny cat.
Jodi paused. The tan cat mewed curiously at her. "Snatty here is my best behaved little girl," the man said, stroking the cat.
Jodi hesitated another moment before sighing. "Fine, it can stay, but keep it...restrained or something."
Randall gave her a huge grin. "Thank you, love. We appreciate that," he pulled a small harness and leash out of his pocket. "I anticipated your reaction. Anyway, I was actually coming down here to finally get the chance to personally thank the man who offered me these most unusual felines. A Mr. Norvel?"
"He's out on an errand."
"I guess I'll just stick around until he gets back," he said, placing his now harnessed cat on the floor.
"Would you like something to eat?" Jodi offered, trying to act as though having one of the creatures that nearly killed Nancy sitting in her store wasn't freaking her out at all.
"Sure, I'd love something," he said. "A burger and some fries would be just fine."
"Make yourself comfortable." The Asian turned to busy herself with the cooking.
A few minutes passed while the British man looked around at the merchandise in the store. Soon, Jodi's truck pulled back up in front of the market and Larry came inside carrying a box of supplies.
"Hey, Jodster got the Have-a-" he started before seeing the strange man in the store. "Who's that?" he asked curiously, motioning towards the Brit.
"An old friend of yours," Jodi replied shortly, focusing on the burger.
Larry looked a bit confused and glanced over a Lewis.
"Ah, you must be Lawrence!" Randall said. He walked over, shaking the flustered Larry's hand. "I'm Randall Lewis. We've talked over the phone."
"Oh, oh right!" Larry said with a small smile. "You're the guy I got to take the Snat Dogs."
"And who also turned them into pets," Jodi set the finished plate on the counter. "Would you like a drink?"
"Tea would be lovely, sweetheart," Randall said with a small wink at the Asian store owner.
"Pets?" Larry asked, suddenly hearing Snatty's mew. Seeing the tan cat, he jumped back with a startled cry.
"Apparently, they're trainable," Jodi told him, a hint of sarcastic doubt in her voice.
"Really?" Larry asked, gazing at the feline cautiously.
Randall grinned. "As a German Sheppard."
Jodi scoffed under her breath.
"I'm afraid your girlfriend doesn't believe me, Lawrence," Randall commented, pretending to take offence.
Larry's face grew slightly red. Jodi's went even redder. "I am not his girlfriend!"
His grin grew a bit toothy. "Oh, I'm sorry. That was presumptuous of me."
Jodi just grumbled under her breath, gave him his tea, and disappeared into her personal quarters.
"Thanks, love," Randall called after her with a laugh.
Larry cleared his throat slightly, getting the man's attention. "So, um, Mr. Lewis, what brings you to Perfection anyway?" he asked.
"First, to thank you of course. These little guys are the most incredible creatures I've ever worked with," he answered, making a small motion with his hand that seemed to cue Snatty to leap into his arms. "I also thought it would be enjoyable to take a small vaction out here, though I didn't expect the town to be quite so... empty."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Larry apologized. "Everyone kind of ended up taking their own vacations around now."
Randall smiled towards where Jodi had walked off. "I suppose I could still hang around for a bit."
Jodi spent the better part of the day avoiding the strange visitor and its eccentric owner, busying herself with laundry, dishes, dusting, and whatever other household chores she made up. She hadn't realized how boring it could be without the others there. It was the next morning before the store owner really saw the man, when he came into Chang's to get breakfast.
"What do you want?" she asked, not bothering with pleasantries.
"Bacon and eggs, if that wouldn't be too much trouble, sweetheart," he said with a bit of a smirk.
Jodi just nodded and went back to basically ignoring him.
"This is quite the quaint little store you have here, Miss Chang," he offered as he sat down at the counter.
"Mhmm."
"Seems pretty courageous living in a place with such unusual creatures," he complimented as his Snat Dog jumped up into his lap.
"You get used to it."
"About how long does that take?" he asked.
The question made her pause. "Actually...not all that long. Everyone just kinda...jumps in."
"Sounds like fun," he said a bit slyly.
Jodi mentally rolled her eyes and set his breakfast of sausage and eggs on the counter. Randall raised a curious eyebrow at her, seeing that his order was wrong. This time, however, he decided it would be best if he actually kept his mouth shut.
Before Randall had a chance to change his mind in the awkward silence, Larry pushed open the door to the store. He held some shredded paper in one hand. "Jodi, look! I think whatever ate your files got to my magazines," he said, looking a bit downcast.
Jodi took the ruined scraps to get a better look. "Are these Star Trek magazines?" She looked closer. "From the 60's?"
He nodded. "Well, they were."
She stared at him for a moment before dropping the pieces of paper back in his hands. "You've officially reached a whole new level of geek. Want any breakfast?"
"Could you make me one of your bacon omelets?" he asked.
"Out of bacon," Jodi said. "Is sausage okay?"
"Sure," Larry smiled, sitting down a seat away from Randall.
Jodi nodded and went back to slaving over her stove. The store was fairly quiet for awhile, Randall busy eating his breakfast and Larry mourning the loss of his magazines. Jodi was just about to hand the finished omelet over when she noticed a small, rather colourful ball of fur running away from the stove, tripping over the large white prize it held in its mouth. She shrieked in surprise, dropping the plate and splattering egg and sausage all over the floor.
"Jodi!" Larry said, surprised. "Are you okay?" He leaned over the counter to see what scared her. Randall dropped his fork at the sound of breaking ceramic and stood up as well.
"A squirrel just stole my eggshells!"
Squirrels...I love squirrels...so awesome. ;j;