Fork in the Road

Sharon and Ray's apartment, afternoon, 16 months after Ray's Story

Rays sitting alone on the couch in the apartment, playing a game on his phone, flinging perturbed avians at shoddily built constructs. He has the TV on to the news but is only half paying attention to it, waiting for a another news story pertaining to officer Judy Hopps, and his second cousin, Officer Nick Wilde, that was promised to be 'coming up next'. The sound of a key in the lock of the front door makes his ears perk up, and a quick check of the time on the ticker on the bottom of the screen confirms that it is earlier then the time he expected Sharon to get home. He listens as the door opens and the coyote enters to determine what kind of day it was. A moment later, the sound of her bags dropping to the ground without a greeting from her confirms what he had feared. It was a really bad day at the hospital.

Ray immediately turns the TV off, pockets his phone, and gets up off the couch, his game, and the upcoming story, forgotten. Although it is not uncommon that Sharon needs some emotional support after a tough day at work, the fact that she came home early, a very rare occurrence, means that today was especially taxing on the coyote doctor. The fox wordlessly limps over to Sharon and embraces her. She lays her head on the fox's shoulder and for a moment, just breaths in ragged breaths, then begins sobbing. After a few moments, Sharon breaks the silence.
"I… I could't save him," She says between sobs.
"You did everything you could, I'm sure. You're the best doctor in the whole city, and you have saved so many others." Ray responds in a quiet voice.
"He was just a cub, not even eighteen yet. there was just too much damage. Not enough time…" She trails off into some more sobbing.
"Shhh. It's ok. Just breathe baby. I've got you." He strokes her back as he holds the upset coyote, letting her lean on him.
"It was a car accident. They said he was racing and slid into a tree… Ray?" she practically whispers.
The fox has a sinking feeling about what Sharon is going to say next, this being an ever more common argument with the coyote.
"I don't want this to happen to you. Promise me you will stop going out at night. Please?" Sharon asks.
It would be so easy to lie. So easy to just say yes or mumble something incoherent, but Ray can not bear to be untruthful with his mate. And yet he can not bear to tell her no, either, so he just remains silent.
"Ray? Come on. Promise me." She lifts her head up off his shoulders and waits for an answer, one that does not come. She stands upright and holds the fox out at arms length, paws still on his sides. Ray bows his head, barely able to meet her pleading gaze.
"Ray, I am serious. I do not want you going out anymore. I want you to stop racing." She tells him in a almost demanding tone.
"You know I can't promise that, Sharon. You know what it means to me." He replies quietly as he takes her paws off his sides and holds them in his own.
"I don't want you getting hurt, or worse…" She is practically begging him.
"I will be fine, I am very careful." He says in his most reassuring tone.
"You can't control everything, Ray. It's too dangerous." Sharon tells him sternly. Her hands dropping to her sides as she backs up a step.
"I take every precaution, my cars are the safest out there, I will be fine." Ray says, confidently.
"You don't know that. Anything can happen out there." Her voice is getting louder.
"Anything can happen anywhere. I can get hit by a bus going to work, I can trip down some stairs, hell, I can fall in the bathtub here at home." He says, his voice, rising to match.
"You know what I mean, Ray! It's too risky! I do not want you out there getting hurt!" Sharon yells.
"I know the risks! Everyone out there knows the risks! It's part of the sport! It sucks, but we all accept that it can happen to us at any time!" He yells back.
"Well I can't accept it! I do not want you to end up on my table, dead, like that cub today! I will not have my mate dying like that! I forbid it!" Sharon yells, as tears fall from her cheeks.
"It's not your choice to make!"
"It damn well is! if you won't stop, then you can just get out of my apartment!" The coyote points to the door for emphasis.
This hurts Ray. Ever since that night on his birthday it has been 'their apartment'. For Sharon to call it only her's, both saddens and angers the fox.
"Sharon…" He begins quietly.
"No! If you choose to kill yourself on some dark street somewhere, I do not want to know about it!" she screams.
"I'm not going to stop just because you're scared! It's my life I am putting on the line, not yours!"
"Don't give me that! Get the fuck out of here! If you have to keep racing, you can do it alone!" She continues to point at the door.

Ray looks at Sharon for a moment then storms out of the apartment, leaving the door open behind him. He walks quickly down the hallway to the elevator and mashes the down button. Impatiently, he turns to start heading down the stairs, but realizes he left his cane in the apartment and his pride will not let him return for it, so he turns back to face the elevator doors, fuming, as he waits for them to open. He hears the door to Sharon's apartment slam shut down the hall and his shoulders slump. A curse is mutter under his breath.

Mountainside Park, one hour later.

Ray limps up to the tree, he has dubbed 'Marty', and punches the trunk, angrily. His eyes are closed and he just focuses on the pain in his paw, using it as a sort of anchor, as he tries to slow his breathing. He lets the scents and sounds of the forest wash over him as he calms himself, head down, fist still pressed against the pine. He opens his eyes about a minute later and looks to where his fist landed. The moss has fallen away from the trunk due to the blow, around were he scratched his epitaph over three years ago, revealing one of the words partially. Ray stares at the letters 'dumb' on the trunk and sighs, shaking his head.
"You got that right, Marty. I sure am dumb for fucking up this one."
He spins around and pushes his back to the tree, sliding down to sit on the ground at the roots. Ray sits and tries to make sense of the flurry of emotions and thoughts flowing through his head, sadness, anger, hope, fear, all viewing for attention in his mind. Anger wins out momentarily as he exclaims.
"Who the hell does she think she is? It's not like I am just going to change who I am for some fem."
His thoughts continue to swirl around in his head as one big jumble. In an effort to shake some sense into himself he bangs his head back against the tree a few times. The pain reminds him of that night he went flying over the edge and ended up pinned to this very tree in his car. That reminds him of the car he came here in, the grey Lynxus, bought from Karma, who won it from Jarod, who had the thing decked out with some serious mods. Currently though the car is quite tame, especially considering who owns it. No rock hard racing suspension. No high flow, and loud, exhaust. No complete roll cage to stiffen the chassis, and make it difficult to climb in and out of, all so that the car can be more comfortable for Sharon to ride in. Ray comes to the, quite obvious in hindsight, realization, that he is not going to change for this female, he already has.
"Fuck." he says in defeat. "I am not going to go crawling back with my tail between my legs," he says with a little more conviction. "I am not giving up on my dreams."
At the though of dreams, Ray becomes curious. He pulls out his phone and fires up a banking app. entering his password he selects the option to view his account balances and selects his savings account.
"Almost there, maybe." he says to himself, as he stares at the screen.

A plan starts to form in his head, it will take some luck, but if certain people accept his offers, he just might be able to pull it off. Or it could come crashing down and potentially ruin all he has worked for. Closing his eyes, he tries to mentally weight the pros and cons of this endeavor. Every time though, it all comes down to one unknown factor, will Sharon go along with it?
"Come on Ray, It is only your entire future that you can screw up, what's to worry about?" he says out loud to himself.
He goes back into his phone and pulls up Sharon's contact and his claw hovers over the 'call' button. He takes a deep breath and pauses, holding it in. He suddenly presses 'call' and lets out the breath as the phone starts ringing. He switches it to speakerphone.
"Raymond." Sharon's voice comes over the line, obviously still mad.
"Um… I need a few days to take care of some things. Then I would like to talk," He says as he closes his eyes and rests his head back against the tree.
He is answered by silence from the other end.
"Sharon, I love you, but…" He hesitates, thinking of what to say. "I made a promise to myself many years ago, and I need to at least try and complete it. Just give me a few days, and then you can decide if you still want to skin me and turn me into a rug for the living room. I'll give you a call."
"I… Ok. call me." Ray can hear almost a laugh in her voice. He smiles at this.
"I will." He hangs up and selects another contact from his list and presses 'call'.
"Ray! What the hell do you want at this god forsaken hour, you know I am on night shift, don't you?" The voice of Pete, Ray's wolf friend, says over the phones speaker after a few rings.
"Pete, this is opportunity calling, and time is of the essence, no time for sleeping if you want in on this deal." Ray says in a cheery, sales pitch, voice.
"What the hell are you yammering about? I'm half asleep here, I don't have the patience for riddles, fox." Pete says, rather annoyed.
"I'm selling the car." Ray goes on, matter of factly.
"You woke me up for that, you could sell that to anyone, and I already have a car."
"No, not the Lynxus, the CAR" Ray says almost laughing.
There is a long pause from the other end, and Ray can imagine the sound of gears turning as Pete works out what he means .
"The Catty?" Pete asks.
"Yes the Catty. I said you get first crack at it when I decide to sell, so now is the time." Ray says.
"Why now, and why wake me up for this, couldn't you call me tonight?"
"I need the money, and soon, like tomorrow or the next day would be good." Ray says, seriously.
"Are you in some sort of trouble?" Pete asks, worry in his voice.
"No,… Well… yeah, kinda, but not really." Ray stumbles over the words.
"It's that girl of yours, isn't it? You knock her up or something?" Pete says, the worry gone, replaces by amusement.
"That's not it. She told me I have to stop racing, and when I refused, she kicked me out."
"Ouch."
"Yeah, I feel like I am sitting at a fork in the road here, Pete. One way, I have her, but I am miserable and bored. the other direction, I get to pursue my dreams, but utterly alone… and miserable." Ray says, disheartened.
"So what are you going to do?" Pete asks the fox.
"I think I am going to plow right through, straight ahead, making my own path." Ray says in a thoughtful voice.
"Sounds like a good way to crash and burn." Pete says over the line.
Ray chuckles. "Yeah, it's kind of an all or nothing deal. But I think I just might be able to pull it off… if I had the money."
"Ok, Ok, let me check my account." Pete says. "What are you asking?"
"You know what it is worth, make an offer." Ray says, all business now.
"I can do seventy five right now." Pete says in the same serious tone.
"I can get that at any dealership down the road, come on bud, this is a once in a lifetime chance." Ray says, knowing that the first offer was going to be a lowball.
"Alright, don't take it so personal." Pete replies. The sound of a keyboard clicking can be heard over the phone. "Ok, I can… and this is everything I have… one hundred K, and I can get that to you in two days."
"Come by the shop with the money and it will be waiting for you, I will even fill up the tank." Ray says a smile forming on his lips as his plan seems to actually be possible.
"How generous," Pete says sarcastically. "You know the wife is going to kill me when she finds out I cleaned out the savings."
"Just take her for a ride and I am sure she will forgive you. Oh, and there is one condition for the sale." Ray adds.
"Now wait a minute…" Pete begins
"It's nothing bad," Ray says quickly. "You just have to promise to bring the car to opening day."
"Opening for what?" the wolf asks.
"You will see."
"What are you up to, fox."
"Better things," Ray says. "Just wait and see."
Ray hangs up the phone and access the internet on his phone. after doing a search he finds the number he was looking for and dials. The line rings twice when a female voice answers.
"Tiger Town Reality, This is Vicky speaking."
"Hi Vicky, My name is Ray Volpe."
"Hello Ray, is there something I can help you with today?" the female asks.
"I sure hope so," answers Ray.


What is that fox up to? next chapter might take a while, as I am leaving for vacation today. I am close to wrapping up what I have planned in my head, only like 3 more chapters or so. Then, I don't know.