Chapter 10 - A Rough Start

Something gently caresses the fur on my cheek, I open my eyes and while it's dark, I can perfectly see Kaia's face sharing the pillow with me. A faint glint of moon light reflects on a tear that rolls down the pitch black fur of her cheek.

I open my mouth to speak, but she speaks first in hushed whispers, "Are you alright?" I tilt up my head so I can see Gavin laying next to Kaia. Somehow Gavin is sprawled out, taking up 2/3rds the bed, while me and Kaia are squished in the last 3rd.

I whisper back, "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you ok?" Her ears look scared, but she nods, caressing my cheek with her trembling paw. "Hey, lying about how you feel is my gig," I take her trembling paw in my own, and hold it against my heart. Her brow furrows, "how are you so calm? He could have killed you."

"But he didn't. It was quick thinking getting Gavin out of there and coming back with the pipe. But I had him under control."

"I didn't know what to do, they killed that whole family of meerkats, did he want to do that to us?" Tears stream down her muzzle onto the pillow.

"It's ok, he won't be hurting anyone ever again?"

"Do you think I k-killed him?" Her voice trembles on the word killed.

"He tried to kill us. Why are you worried about his life?"

"I teach Gavin that all life is precious. I don't think I could look him in the eye if I took someone's away."

"Sometimes bad people need to die, so that good ones can live."

"You've been hanging out with my brother too much, you're starting to sound like him."

"Listen, I'm very confident if he does die, it won't be due to anything you did to him. They might even be able to save his vision."

I stroke her cheek, wiping her tears, and say, "It'll feel more distant in the morning."

"Kyle, ever since you woke up without your memories you have this look of wonder or fear in your eyes, sometimes both. Like you are seeing and experiencing all these things for the first time. Last night, I saw your eyes, I haven't seen you look that sure of yourself in... well... ever."

I shake my head and say, "I was terrified, I was afraid of losing you and Gavin. Of failing to protect you. But I know fear in the moment will make me hesitate, and hesitation will lead to failure." I wouldn't tell Kaia this, but luckily that jackal was built like a 12 year old boy. If there had been two of them, or that one was a big predator. I don't think that would have gone the way it did. I'm slow, weak, and out of practice. I need to start training, and I need an effective weapon.

Kaia says quietly "You shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself like that. I'll protect you, you'll protect me, and we'll both protect Gavin. But you know if it came to it, I don't want you to die protecting me, you're not a fighter, you're a thinker." Kaia is something else, she's trying to comfort ME when she is the one crumbling.

"Well, my mind IS my most deadly weapon."

"That's the spirit." She kisses me on the forehead and closes her eyes. I-I don't think she understood what I was saying.

I wrap my arm around her and scratch her lower back she falls asleep.

After a few minutes Kaia's breathing changes to slow and deep, she's finally fallen asleep I think to myself. I settle in and close my eyes, when I feel Gavin sit up. "I have to go to the bathroom."

I whisper to him, "so go, it's right there."

"No, I want you to take me." He looks at me defiantly. I'm not getting any sleep tonight, am I?

"Ok, come on."

He sits on the edge of the bed and looks at me with his arms up.

I walk around the bed and pick him up, then place him on the ground. He takes my paw and leads me to the bathroom, at the door he stops me and says, "don't follow."

"I thought you wanted me to take you to the bathroom."

"No, I can do it."

"Ok," I turn and start walking back to the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to bed?"

"No, you need to watch the door."

"I can see it from the bed."

"No, pleeease," He bounces in place with a pained look on his face.

"Fine, fine, I'll guard the door, go before you poop yourself."

"I have to pee."

"Well, whatever, do what ya gotta do."

I start to close the door.

"No, if you close the door you're going to go to bed."

"No, I'll stay here I swear."

"I don't believe you."

"Then go with the door open."

"I can't, you'll see."

"I literally wiped your butt 5 days ago."

"That was then, this is now."

"Ok, how about this, I'll close the door so I can't see, but I'll stick my arm through so you can see that I didn't leave."

"Ok!" He nods with a smile.

I'm standing at the door, my arm in the bathroom, the rest of me out. I look over at the bed and see my phone. Damn I wish I would have brought that with me.

"Can I go get my cell phone?"

"No, you promised,"

"I didn't promise"

"A swear is a promise!"

"Shhhh, you'll wake your mom up,"

"Good, she'll know you broke your promise too."

"Ok, are you almost done in there?"

"No."

"Do you need help in there?"

"No."

"Are you ok?"

"Yes."

I sigh, the only thing I have to occupy my mind is the time on the alarm clock.

I look at the clock, it's been 18 minutes. Is he jerking off in there, do 6 year olds jerk off?

"Ok, either you are done or you need help."

"No."

I start to hear pee hitting water, he just now started going? He was definitely jerking off in there.

"I'm done."

"Ok, wash your hands."

"What are hands?"

"Paws, I mean paws. Wash your paws."

He comes out with a smile on his face and stops in front of me.

"Right this way, my liege."

I walk him around the bed back to his side. He puts his arms up and faces me, I oblige. Picking him up and lay him on his side, I pull the blanket over him, as he hugs his stuffed bear with a smile,

"Thank you" he whispers.

"You're welcome."

I lay back on my side, Kaia says with her eyes closed. "What happened?"

"Gavin was jerking off in the bathroom or something."

"He's 6, we won't have to worry about that for at least 4 years."

"Well, it took him 15 minutes to start peeing, so either that or he has serious prostate problems."

"He just has a hard time getting it out sometimes, you should have helped him."

"Well, he didn't want me to help."

"He wants to impress you."

"I'm already impressed, he hardly gets any pee on the floor."

I look over Kaia and see Gavin smiling, holding his stuffed animal.

"When I first had Gavin, my mother told me she had to wash Levi's bedding every day, or by the 3rd day she could crack it in half."

"Gross."

"Yes, gross. You can tell him I told you that story."

She rolls over, and pulls my arm over her side and rests her muzzle in my paw. I hold her and close my eyes.

I'm woken up by Kaia flinching violently, I grip her tightly as she is startled awake by her own movements. She looks at me with tears streaming down her face. "Did you have a bad dream?" I ask, she says nothing, just rolls into me and cries into my chest. I can feel her trembling against me, I rub her back, and hold her tight.

"Mommy? Why are you sad?" Gavin is sitting up, tears starting to stream from his eyes, his little paws gripping his stuffed bear.

Kaia wipes her tears, composing herself as best she can, before rolling over to face Gavin. "I'm not sad Gavin, I'm so happy you and Daddy are safe and with me."

"You're crying because your happy?"

She nods, wiping the last of her tears away, before reaching to dry Gavin's tears.

"Is that why Daddy cries sometimes?"

She lies for me "Yes, because he's so lucky to have us."

"I am very lucky to have the both of you."

"Can I watch TV?" Gavin turns the TV on.

Kaia laughs through tears.

"Lets watch TV in the family room, so Daddy can rest," Kaia sniffles and begins to climb out of bed. I put a paw on her shoulder.

"No, it's ok, Gavin why don't we hangout, so Mommy can rest."

"Really?" He says excitedly. "Why?" He says furrowing his little brow, "am I in trouble? I didn't push Cousin Leto. He's lying!" He says defensively. I begin to ask who Leto is, "Besides I only pushed him because he was mean to Charlotte. So I pushed him and kicked him, then he punched me in the nose."

I ask, "Is that how you hurt your nose yesterday?"

"Nooo!" He says, looking guilty as fuck.

Kaia says sounding shocked and angry, "Gavin! You told me one of the boys tagged you in the face while playing!"

Gavin's ears flatten out in shame.

"We don't lie to each other in this house. Go to your room. 2 hours time out, and you need to apologize to Leto."

"I'm sorry Mommy...". He hangs his head and slowly leaves the room.

Kaia says, "I have to make sure he doesn't play his games." She starts to get up again. "Rawr," I say playfully as I tackle her back into the bed. She giggles and tries to roll me off her, I spread my hips and lower my center of gravity, laying my chest flat on hers. She tries to push me up with her arms, I just use my forearms to deflect her arms out to the sides, preventing her from getting any leverage. I just let my dead weight do most of the work.

"Ok, ok, I give!" she says giggling, and pats my back.

"You relax, I'll take care of Gavin." I say as

I kiss her and sit up, clumsily tucking one of the pillows behind her head.

"That's a new trick. It's the first time you've been able to pin me." She sits up, adjusting the pillow and lays back into it.

I wink at her, as I slip out of the bed. I look around the floor.

"What are you looking for?" She leans upon trying to see what I'm looking at.

"My sweat pants."

"Why would they be on the floor? They are in the bottom drawer."

"Oh yeah, I forgot." I look through the bottom drawers and find it on my second try. Kaia settles into bed curiously watching me slip on my sweat pants, right leg first, and struggle with the button closure over my tail. Who designed these things!

Walking into Gavin's room, he's picking up his toys and putting them in bins.

"Why are you here?" Gavin doesn't look up at me, he just picks up his toys.

"I live here?"

"No, why are you in my room?"

I'm trying to think of an excuse, to justify my intrusion to this 5 year old kid.

"Mommy is sad, she rubs my back when I'm sad. You should go rub her back."

"Ok, I'll go do that."

"Are you going to leave and get a new mommy?"

"What, no, why?"

"Sarah said her Daddy got real nice before he left and now she has two mommies. You're being real nice."

"Hey, I'll be here until I die."

"You're going to die?!"

"No, I mean, yes, eventually, but not for a long time ok?"

"I don't want you to die, you just started to like me." He sits on the floor sobbing, a toy block in each paw.

I sit on the floor next to him, and pat his back.

"Rub," he says while sobbing.

I rub his back,

He turns and hugs me, crying into my fur, still clutching blocks.

"Look, I'm not going to die, and I'm not going to leave or get another mommy."

His sobbing slows to quiet crying,

"Sarah's Daddy couldn't find another Mommy. She says when she visits him, he looks sad and lonely. I don't want you to be sad and lonely."

"You said she got another mommy?"

"She lives with two Mommy's now."

I chuckle to myself. "Well, you've got me and your Mom."

He wipes his nose and hugs me.

"But you need to finish cleaning your room so I can impress your mom. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, can I get a fudge pop after?" I remember Kaia likes to be conservative with the fudge pops.

"I'll give you a fudge pop after lunch, deal?"

"Deal!" He says extending his little paw, "it's not a deal, if we don't shake," He says. I grasp his little paw and give it a shake.

"Do a good job." I say as I leave the room.

I smell Kaias scent lingering in the hall by Gavin's door. Was she standing here watching us? I follow the scent back to our bedroom door, I pause with my paw about to grasp the knob. I can just barely hear Kaia having a conversation on the phone. I can't hear the other person, but Kaia is telling the story of last night from her perspective.

Kaia speaks in hoarse whispers, "I was carrying Gavin to the building, when I smelt blood at the front door. I froze as this big blood soaked beast jumped in front of me with a big knife. Kyle leapt between us and wrestled the monster. I ran away and called for help, Lupine didn't answer his phone, the police told me they were on the way. I was so afraid, I knew I had to go back and help Kyle. I put Gavin in a dumpster and told him to hide. I looked for a weapon. I was going to use a trash can lid, but there was a heavy metal pipe in the trash can. I grabbed that and ran back to our door, I was sure I'd find Kyle dead or bleeding... No, Kyle wasn't hurt at all and dancing around as the jackal tried to stab him... He didn't look afraid at all. He looked so calm, he just grabbed and flipped the bad guy into the wall. I ran up and hit him with my pipe until he stopped moving... No, I didn't hit Kyle, I hit the murderer...Yeah, It was terrible, his eye came out and everything... I don't think I killed him, Kyle is sure he will live... I don't know how he knows, he just sounded confident..."

I wonder who she is talking to, but I don't want to interrupt the conversation. Backing away quietly I decide I'll surprise her with some coffee in bed. I start a pot of coffee and look in the pantry for something to snack on. I take the lid off one of the white porcelain jars. It's full of rectangular dog biscuit looking cookies. I take one out and nibble on it. It's very hard and tastes like cocoa. I need to use my back teeth to bite off a piece and chew it. But it was good, I really enjoyed gnawing on it, more so than the cocoa flavor. I grab two more from the jar and put the lid back on.

"Those are biscotti," I turn around to see Kaia stealthily pulling two coffee cups from the cabinet. "You eat them with your coffee." She pours two cups of coffee, placing one in my paw. She plucks the biscotti from my mouth and sticks it in her coffee, using it to stir.

"They aren't hard cookies. Hard cookies are in the brass jar."

She takes the biscotti, moist from coffee, from her cup, bites it and holds it up to my mouth offering me a bite, which I do. The cocoa compliments the coffee nicely, very delicious. I pop the two biscotti I have in my paw into the cup using them both to stir. The biscotti flavor the coffee as much as the coffee flavored the biscotti, a great pairing.

"I wanted to bring you coffee in bed." I say watching Kaia take a seat at the kitchen table.

"Thank you, but I can't lay in bed all day. I need to food shop, and take Gavin out to play."

"When do we leave?" I ask sitting down at the kitchen table in front of Kaia.

She smiles into her coffee,

"A little later, after Gavin finishes and eats." She bites her biscotti.

She dips her biscotti into her coffee and stirs it.

"Can we get some cereal other than Grain-O's? Something with marshmallows and sugar frosting?"

"Kaia?" Kaia is just zoned out stirring her coffee with what I imagine must be an incredibly soggy Biscotti.

I reach out and touch her paw, "Earth to Kaia?" She snaps out of her trance and looks at me confused "Who's earth?" Fuck they don't call the planet earth!

"Oh, um, just an expression."

"Your name is Kyle." She says slowly.

"I didn't forget my name, you were just lost in thought. What where you thinking about?"

She rests her elbows on the table, bracing her neck with her paws. "I was thinking about you fighting that jackal, and the look on his face before I hit him with the pipe... and after. Even through all the blood in his fur, he looked scared, like he couldn't believe I hit him. I hit him again anyway." Oh, damn, she told me. I always thought when people asked each other what they are thinking, it was a rhetorical question.

"That guy was a psychopath, he deserved what he got, and so much more. They did some pretty bad stuff in that apartment."

She leans forward and touches my firearm. "What did you see? You didn't tell me."

"Just death and brutality. It's better you don't know. Once you see what a person is capable of, it changes your opinion of everyone."

"You mean a mammal? What a mammal is capable of?"

"yeah, a mammal,"

"I'm sorry you had to see it, d-did it change your opinion of me?"

"No way, you are my beautiful guardian angel. You saved me." She smiles at that.

"The more I think about it, the more I think you had it under control, where did you learn that?"

"What? How to run away from someone half my size, until they get tired?"

"You know what I mean... It just doesn't make sense to me. You lost your memory and become brave, affectionate, and loving. 3 weeks ago, we got mugged by a raccoon, you barely made a move to protect us. I had defend us after you got punched out."

"I got beat up by a raccoon?"

"Yes."

"Was he at least a really big raccoon?"

"No, smaller than the jackal."

"That's embarrassing... how did something so small knock me out?"

She shrugs, "he didn't knock you out, he just hit you a few times and you stopped resisting... you aren't a fighter, weren't a fighter... I don't know."

"That's pretty rough... he would have to kill me before I stopped trying to protect you or Gavin."

She looks me in the eye "I believe you."

"Can I come out now?!" Gavin yells from his bedroom.

Kaia checks her phone. "5 more minutes!" She shouts back

"Come on! I'm doing hard time here!"

"Don't make it 10!" She says, sternly.

He's silent after that.

"We have 5 minutes." I wink at her suggestively.

"You only need 5 minutes?"

"I need 1, that leaves 4 to cuddle"

She chuckles, and shakes her head.

I sip my coffee, "weird question, but which one of us is better at sex? Old Kyle or new Kyle?"

She looks at me oddly.

I put my paws up, "never mind, forget I ask."

"I like what you do, if I didn't I would tell you."

Gavin marches out of his room huffing and puffing.

"Gavin that wasn't 5 minutes." Kaia says turning to look at him.

"Mom, I'm 6, every second feels like 5 minutes. And I cleaned my whole room and made my bed." He smiles looking desperate for an early parole.

"I'm going to check your room, if it's not perfectly clean, you'll have to finish your time. Plus 30 more minutes for lying." She stands up.

"Wait, what's perfect? I'm your son, not a machine."

"Do you want a second to make sure?" Kaia says tapping her foot.

Gavin runs back into his room.

"Poor guy, maybe you should go easy on him, he's a good kid." I say with a smile

"Yes, and we're going to keep him that way." Kaia nods assertively.

There is a knock at the front door,

"Are you expecting someone?" I ask Kaia.

"Maybe it's the police again?" She says.

I grab a steak knife from the knife block and approach the door, holding the knife so my forearm conceals the blade. I can't believe these doors don't have peep holes. I open the door a crack using my foot planted on the ground to brace the door incase someone tries to barge in.

I see Bianca, wearing a black leather jacket, with her paws behind her back. She regards me through the narrow slit. "Mr. Kyle... Feeling jumpy, are we?"

I whisper "what are you doing here?!"

Kaia asks curiously "Kyle, who is that?"

"Kaia, it's Bianca, she works for our wealthy benefactor that's getting Kyle into school."

I step back opening the door fully.

Kaia approaches cautiously, "what brings you out this way, Miss?"

"It's just Bianca, I'm here to deliver this". She pulls a blue child's backpack with Spider-Pig on it from behind her back and dangles it in front of me. I take it from her and look inside, it's full of books, notebooks, and some other papers.

Bianca notices the knife in my paws.

"Something happen?" She asks

Kaia answers "Yes, someone was murdered downstairs. Kyle caught the killer."

"He never ceases to amaze, does he?" Bianca smirks at Kaia.

"I'm Kaia, Kyle's Wife, would you like to come in?"

"Pleasure to meet you, but, no thank you. Perhaps another time, I have other appointments. You need to bring Gavin to school his first week, after that they will get him on a bus route. It's the best we could do on such short notice. Good day." She turns and walks away. I close the door and turn to Kaia.

"She seems nice."

"She's not that nice."

I put the knife away in the knife block and dump out the backpack on the couch. I examine the contents thoroughly, looking for anything abnormal that Bianca might try to sneak into my kids books. Transmitters or tracking devices. But I find nothing suspicious.

"What are you looking for?" Kaia asks me as I'm running my claw tips down the spine of a text book.

"Um... these books are expensive, good craftsmanship!" I smile convincingly, I hope.

"Um, yeah, they are nice and expensive. They are even brand new." Kaia's eyes go wide, when she picks up a stack of papers. "Oh wow!" She exclaims.

"What's that?" I ask

"A paid invoice, this text book was 105 dollars." She reads down the invoice, "Your new friend paid over 25,000 dollars for the first year of tuition and all these books. There is a separate receipt for the backpack and school supplies."

"Let me have those for my records?" I ask.

"I'm going to file all these papers so you don't lose them." She says. I'm confident if she wasn't covered in black fur. She would have turned white.

I nod, "Very well."

"Gavin!"

Gavin comes out of his bedroom, "What did I do now?" He whines.

"Don't take that tone with me, do you need a time out?" She says flatly.

"I'm sorry, mommy."

"Come here and get your new backpack and books, you start school tomorrow morning."

"I get to go back!" He skips forewords excitedly and grabs his bag. "I can't wait to see Ava, and Sarah, and Rex, and-" Kaia cuts him off, " No, Gavin, you won't go back to that school, no more collars for you. This is a different school, that's better for you."

"But my friends, I'm sorry I got hurt, please don't make me change schools." Gavin pleads.

"You will make new friends, you'll love it, you'll see."

He sighs and says sadly, "oh-Kay."

"Look at your backpack," Kaia holds up his bag.

"Oh wow!" He grabs the backpack and starts singing "spider-pig, Spider-pig, does whatever, a spider can!" He puts on the backpack with one strap with some difficulty "ugh, it's heavy!"

I say, "Better two strap it bud."

I smile at Gavin and watch him carry his heavy as fuck books to his bedroom, my gaze crosses a disapproving look from Kaia. "What?" I ask.

"Don't make me give you a time out too."

"I'm sorry..." maybe a corny bit of flattery will save me, "what vexes you my beutiful queen?"

She smirks, "That's better." She continues in a more somber tone, "25 thousand. It just feels like too much. I hope- it's fine, I know you know what you are doing." She ruffles her head fur. "I trust you Kyle, you are a new man. Practically a different wolf. I trust you."

"You didn't trust me before?"

She scratches her ear, "well, you had a tendency to do things without having a plan or thinking them through. Like for instance, buying things without thinking about up coming bills... Maybe somethings didn't change."

"In my defense. I just wanted to get something nice for you, and I didn't realize how poor we are."

"I know, your heart was in the right place."

"What if I told you I was a different wolf? That I wasn't even originally a wolf? That I woke up and I was here with you. But this is so much better than the life I left, that in 3 days I fell in love with you and Gavin?"

She looks at my deadpan serious then laughs, "like what an alien, body snatcher? I'd ask you to take me to your leader. But if you seriously thought that, we should see Dr. Grover, because that's crazy."

"Yeah crazy," I force a laugh, "I'm going to go get dressed." I kiss her on top of her head and walk to our bedroom. Kaia catches my paw, "something happened to you, to make you lose your memory. If you start to remember, or have any unusual theories, you should tell me, before you tell anyone else, ok?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem Kaia."

She kisses me before saying "Good." Then, she walked past me into our bedroom, slapping me on the butt as she passes.

I changed into some khaki shorts and a black t-shirt. Kaia put on a similar outfit, khaki shorts and black shirt.

"Oh, no, we're not going to be that kind of couple." I change my shirt to a light grey one.

Kaia just shrugs.

I go out into the hall, as Gavin comes out of his room, wearing khaki shorts and a light grey t-shirt. "I'm ready" he says.

"Did you pick that out yourself?"

"Yeah, look we match!"

"Wait right here,"

I change my shorts to some grey cargo pants and a blue t-shirt.

"3 outfit changes?" Kaia asks inquisitively.

"Yeah, well, I can't have you two encroaching on my individuality." I smile,

"You're going to be warm." She says flatly.

And she was right.

After Gavin had 4 hard boiled eggs, Kaia handed me 3 folded up cloth grocery bags with silver foil lining the insides. Apparently most mammals bring their own reusable bags to grocery shop, in order to cut down on wasting paper. Looking around the house, I didn't find any paper plates, one use plastic utensils, not even paper napkins. Zootopia doesn't seem to have the same concept of disposable throw away society like we do in America. All the cars are electric, and even then, most in the city don't have one. Out of concern for the environment. At least that's the impression I got from my conversations with Kaia.

Before we left Kaia made Gavin go to the bathroom, then she made me go to the bathroom. I didn't understand the big deal, the food store is 100 yards away. We started walking in opposite direction,

"Isn't the food store that way?" I point over my shoulder.

"No, that's a convenience store, everything there is three times more expensive and they don't have many of the things we need."

"What's on the shopping list?"

"It's in my phone, we have a fixed budget, we can get 15 dollars in non-essentials. You can pick whatever treats you want, just remember they have to last 2 weeks."

"Sweet," I say

"I was talking to Gavin," she says.

Gavin sticks out his tongue at me, wow his tongue is like 3 inches. I wonder how big my tongue is.

"Well, that doesn't sound very fair, I've been choking down Grain-O cereal for 9 days."

I stick out my tongue and wow, look at that, if I pull it out the right side of my mouth, I can wrap it over my muzzle and lick the left side of my face.

"Well, we can pick a different cereal if you don't like Grain-Os anym..." she stops mid-word looking at me stretching my tongue.

I let it go and swallow my drool, "what?"

She just shakes her head.

"Maybe we don't need to make Gavin a play mate, seems you are filling the roll perfectly."

I look at Gavin, "Daddy that's gross."

"We might need to make me a play mate, Gavin is outgrowing me."

"Daddy, I won't outgrow you. I'll always be your pal."

"Thanks little bud."

"You have to say it back." He says looking indignant

"What, oh, ok. I'll always be your pal Gavin." He smiles with his head held up high.

On the next block, we need to take a bus into Downtown Zootopia. The bus is packed full of mammals, there is space under the chairs with little grab rails, for small mammals. I bend over to look at them all huddled under there.

"Kyle, that's rude, stop acting like a tourist."

"I'm sorry."

A mouse looks up at me and I mouth, 'I'm sorry,' to him before he ducks back under,

I whisper to Kaia, "How terrible must it be to be a small guy in such a busy place, they must get robbed or killed all the time."

Kaia whispers angrily through clenched teeth, "Kyle!"

Kaia is shooting me a lecture with her eyes, when Brrrrt-beuuuu...Britt-t-t-t. "Scuse me." Gavin says, shyly.

I ask quietly, "Did you just toot?" Then the smell hit me, like rotten eggs died and sat in a hot car for 3 days with spoiled milk.

Kaia rubs her temples with one paw, as the passengers in the crowded bus try to escape the kill zone of Gavin's bowels. The cloud of death had a tangible parameter, defined by the shock and revulsion of those that can smell it. I heard that cats can taste the things they smell, I pity the kitty that gets caught in this stench cloud.

The smell finally starts to disperse, Pittteuw-squeak! "'Scuse me" the skin barely visible in Kaias ears is bright red.

I whisper to Kaia, "Hey, you gave him the eggs."

Sensing Kaia's embarrassment, Gavin's ears brighten up red, his embarrassment much easier to see. A nearby female hyenas looks down at him, her face contorted in disgust. Eliciting a yip from Gavin, his ears fold down, in fear. "Mommy," he whispers, as he clings to her leg, burying his face in shame. She places her paw on his head, "it's okay Gavin," She says in a soothing voice.

I clear my throat, "it was me, too many eggs this morning. Might want to step back I might have pooped a little on that last one." She looks at me in horror and averts her eyes as I maintain eye contact, as another wet sounding fart escapes Gavin.

Gavin, I bit the bullet on your violation of the Geneva Convention. Do they have a Geneva Convention here? I'm sure all nations would come together to outlaw bio weapons after they catch a whiff of that one.

A nearby female wolf looks at me and tries to give me a little more space but she has nowhere to go, the bus is packed. At the next stop more mammals cram into the bus forcing everyone into closer proximity. Fortunately it seems Gavin is all out of gas. "Hi ma'am," I say to the female wolf as she is pushed into me by the crowd.

"This is our stop." Kaia says with a sigh of relief.

We file out and exit the bus, much to the satisfaction of those crammed into close quarters with us.

"You ok, Gavin?"

"Yeah..." he says through sniffles, he sounds like he's on the verge of tears.

"Did you have an accident?" Kaia asks.

"No..."

"Are you sure?"

"No..."

"I'm going to check ok?"

"Ok." He says

She sniffs him and palms his butt.

"You're ok, no messes."

I breath a sigh of relief, I wasn't looking forward to trying to find a public bathroom that would let us clean him up.

"We're almost there." She points up ahead. I follow where she is pointing and see a big sign K9-Mart, cute. Another play on words of this world.

We enter, a coyote in a wheel chair says, "Welcome to K9-Mart, thank you for choosing us."

This store is as big as any k-mart I've ever seen. Section for clothes, toys, TVs, 10 aisles for groceries, each one easily the length of a bus. 12 cash registers, only 2 of them in use with huge lines, just like a k-mart back home.

Kaia gets a shopping cart, Gavin walks next to me and we watch Kaia grab all our essential items.

"Is there anything you want me to go get to maybe speed up this process?" I ask.

"I'm so use to doing this without you, I forgot you were here. Um, I'll text you a short list, get only the items on the list. Unless you want it to count against the 15 dollar limit."

"Yes, ma'am."

"C'mon Gavin."

"Wait..." she looks at me, then Gavin nervously.

"Um, ok, yeah, he can go with you."

"Ah, thanks?" I look at her oddly.

"Keep an eye on him Kyle."

I give her a little two finger salute.

Once we are out of earshot.

"Ok, don't make me look bad by disappearing." Oh shit where did he go, I look left and right.

"Ok, I'll stay right besides you." I turn around and Gavin is behind me.

"Let's hold paws."

I hold his paw, I get a text notification, and head to the cereal section. Ok, what looks good?

"What do you like Gavin? This is our option of cereal."

"Lucky Chomps! Lucky Chomps!" He jumps excitedly.

"Does your mom normally let you get lucky chomps?"

"No, because you like Grain-Os."

"Ok, let's get Lucky Chomps."

We pick out some snack foods, I grab cold cuts, she was very specific about these. Me and Gavin spent most of our time negotiating over the flavor of Bark Bar, we settled on a box of s'mores flavored and strawberry Pupper Poppers, which resemble pop tarts. And of course Gavin's favorite, Apex Fudge Pops.

I find Kaia in the frozen foods section, grabbing some Big Woofer chicken strips.

"Here ya go," I put our items in the carts.

Kaia, takes them out of the cart and double checks the numbers.

"You two did a good job..." she looks at me then around my legs "wait?! Where is Gavin?" She says nervously.

"I'm here mommy". Gavin's tugs on her pant leg,

"Yeah, he did that to me too, he's a ninja."

She takes a deep breath.

"I'm almost done, here, do you want to help Gavin pick out a new outfit?"

"Sure. Come on little buddy, let's find you some pimp new threads."

I look at the sizes and they come in different animals and a numbers. I text Kaia 'what size is gavin?'

She replied 'fox 5 or jackal 6'

"What do you like?"

"I like this!" He grabs a spider-pig pajama pant off a rack.

"That may not fly at school, how about these black jeans? And this Spider-Pig button down shirt, and a grey t-shirt?"

He looks at me and shrugs, " I like the shirt." He points at the Spider-Pig shirt.

I say "Ok, let's try this on."

We find the changing rooms along the far wall.

"Here ya go," I put the clothes on a clothing hook. "Call me if you need me?" I sit in a chair and look at him standing there confused with the door open.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes."

We look at each other for a second.

"Are you going to try those clothes on?"

"Ok." He pulls the door closed.

After 6-7 minutes, I knock on the door.

"You ok in there?"

"Yeah,"

"Can I come in?"

He opens the door for me and I look at him. The buttons on his shirt are crooked, he skipped one, and the one side is higher than the other.

"Lot of buttons."

"No, so count from the bottom, 3, and then button these up to the 2nd from the top. Now you look cool, hows that feel?"

"Ok." He replies

"Ok, I'm going to make sure this stuff fits you well."

I lift the back of his shirt and rub my paws around the collar.

"Kneel... sit... ok, looks good, I'm going to run my two fingers under your belt, no homo". My mom did this to me when I was younger, I have to imagine it served a real legit purpose

I turn and Kaia is sitting in my chair watching me.

"Hey."

"Did you tell Gavin, no homo?"

"Yeah, ya know, checking his pants size. No homo."

She laughs, "you're so weird"

"What do you think of my fashion sense?"

"I like it, it's different from what he already has. How much is it?"

"I don't know..."

She sighs, "I hope you didn't sell him on something we can't afford."

She checks price tags, "were these on clearance?"

"Um... I don't think so."

"If this isn't on sale this one outfit is 55-60 dollars..."

"How far off is that from what we can comfortably afford?"

"25 dollars."

"Ok, when am I due to buy... anything?"

"3 months."

"Um, ok. Well, let's get him this and I'll see if I can pull an extra shift or something to generate 25 dollars. He's starting at a new school, full of rich kids probably. I'd like him to fit in and feel confident." I look over at Gavin, he's looking at himself in the mirror doing Spider-Pig poses, and karate chops.

"Alright." She says. "But we need to get back to our conservative living. In the grand scheme of things, brand new fancy clothes aren't going to change his life for the better."

"Could be surprised, what if he meets the girl of his dreams because of his fancy clothes?"

"If she's only attracted to him because of his fancy clothes, then she wouldn't be the girl of his dreams."

"You're very wise for only being 20."

"I can't afford the luxury of being foolish." She sighs and says, "It's ok, we can swing this outfit without you having to pull another shift, he really seems to like it. Let's get out of here and get home before our perishables thaw."

We checkout, and fill the bags we brought with our groceries, and Gavin's new outfit.

On the bus ride home Gavin says, "I'm hungry, can I have an Apex burger. Like at the bbq?"

"No, when we get home I'll make us something you'll like."

"Aww, ok."