Crystal Tower Hotel.
The flagship hotel of once the most revered showman in all of Redshore City. It's stunning crystal shaped exterior, accompanied by it's glamorous interior tributes, from it's numerous five star restaurants, to the lavish living accommodations, and it's massive theater, made it appear the pinnacle of luxury. And even though the previous manager, one James "Jimmy" Crystal, was behind bars for attempting to throw a koala director to his death from the rafters of the theater, business seemed to be good. In fact, better than ever. And with "Out Of This World" being in about two months into its five-month off-season, the theater was open to plenty more opportunities.
Which a certain saluki was tending to.
The door that led to the main office of Crystal Towers opened, making way for a lovely white tigress, the young woman eagerly shaking the hand of the new manager and lead talent scout of Crystal Enterprises, Miss Suki Lane, the saluki smiled brightly as the feline continued shaking her hand with great eagerness.
"Thank you so much again Miss Lane," the tigress exclaimed with great excitement, "I promise I won't let you down."
"I know you will make us proud Delilah," Suki said as finished escorting Delilah to the elevator. And when the door shut, Suki couldn't help but smile at the thought of all the new talent she had signed on over the past few weeks. In truth, since "Out of This World" was on it's off season, Suki was looking for some summertime gigs that could fill it's spot until then. And Delilah, who Suki was amazed to sing with the range of a professional opera singer, was just one of many solo act's she had booked for the Towers.
"Cherry, sweetie," Suki called to another saluki who sat in the office that once belonged to a very obnoxious, troublesome suck up of a cat. Upon hearing her name being called the younger girl raised her head to look at Suki, a soft smile on her face as she brushed back a lock of fiery-red hair from in front of her stunning violet eyes.
"Yes, Aunt Suki?" the girl answered in sweet and chipper voice. Suki returned the sweet smile, her fondness of her niece still ever present as the day she first held her in her arms. In fact, she still couldn't believe that her brother and sister-in-law could make something so sweet. In fact, when they told her that Cherry was looking for a job straight out of high school, Suki jumped on the opportunity to hire her, seeing it as a great opportunity to spend more time with her.
"Why don't you head down to one of the restaurants and get us something to eat," Suki suggested, "then we can have dinner in my office? Sound good?"
Needless to say, Cherry jumped at the idea, instantly making her way out of the office and toward the elevator, but not before giving her aunt a quick peck on the cheek.
"Okay," she eagerly replied, "I'll get out usual and be right back!"
And with that, the door to the elevator closed, leaving Suki alone in the hallway, a soft giggle escaping her throat as she made her way back to the office. And with each step she took, she couldn't help but think about how much Cherry reminded her of a certain teen wolf. Actually, Suki had to remind herself that her niece and Porsha actually were good friends, thanks to having met through their aunt and father respectively. In fact, Cherry was actually one of the few true friends Porsha had. At least, one who did not care about her money and status.
Upon returning to the office, taking a seat at the big desk that a large artic wolf once sat behind, Suki continued to let her mind wander to her niece and Porsha. And the more she thought about Porsha, Suki couldn't help but let a frow form on her face when she thought about how little Jimmy was there for her. In fact, she found herself reliving memories on how she had to be there for Porsha when Jimmy wasn't.
Suki recalled one time when Porsha was seven and her kindergarten class was putting on a cute little musical. Jimmy, however, was too busy to attend, and instead sent Suki in his place. Luckily, Suki was already planning to attend with her brother and his wife since Cherry was in the play as well. Suki let out a loud sigh as she remembered the look of disappointment of Porsha's face when she noticed her father wasn't there. But, she was just as happy to get a hug and a "job well done" from Suki.
Suki let out a lite cough, quickly taking a sip of water to sooth her dry throat. This alone triggered another very powerful memory.
"It's about time you got here," Jimmy groggily grumbled to Suki in mild agitation, the wolf, dressed in his black robe with gold trim, shutting the door behind Suki, who, given the sudden call she received at one in the morning, was dressed in blue fleece pajama pants, a black tank top and red robe and a pair of tennis shoes.
"Porsha's been up since ten cough and hacking," Jimmy complained, leading Suki up the stairs of the foyer of his penthouse to the door that led to his nine-year-old daughter's room. And given the fact that the doorframe was accented by multicolored lightbulbs, it was hard to miss.
"Look," Jimmy continued, cutting right to the chase, "I have meeting in the morning, so I need to sleep. And I can't get any sleep if I'm taking care of Porsha. So, I need you to watch her. Can ya handle that?"
And while Suki was a bit unnerved that Jimmy would rather put business before the well-being of his own daughter, Suki knew better than to refuse. And so, with a curt nod, she responded.
"Yes sir."
"Good, medicine's the cabinet in the bathroom."
And with that, Jimmy left for his bedroom adjacent to Porsha's, leaving Suki alone in front of the brightly lit door. And on the other side, the saluki could definitely hear the tell-tale sound of little pup stricken with a bad cold, as evident by the coughing and wheezing that came from the other side. And so, steeling herself, Suki opened the door as quietly as she could, peaking into the room to find Porsha, her blankets kicked off of her as the nine-year-old curled in on herself. But she must have heard the door open, because just as Suki closed the door behind her, Porsha brought her head up from her pillow, her eyes squinting in the dark to make out who it was.
"Daddy?" she called in weak, and almost frightened voice. And to hear Porsha in such a state broke Suki's heart.
"No sweetie," she responded as she quickly made her way to the bed, sitting on the edge as soon as she reached it, "it's just me."
"Miss Suki? Where's Daddy?"
That question alone not only made Suki's heart ache for the pup before her, but also made it harden toward her boss. But, for now, her main concern was looking after the sick pup.
"Daddy's in bed sweetie," she said, immediately noticing the hurt in Porsha's eyes. "But, he wants to make sure you are feeling better as fast as possible. That's why he called me."
And while the pup had an inkling that Suki was just telling her this to spare her feeling's Porsha couldn't really respond as she was plagued with another coughing fit. Thinking quickly, Suki ran to the bathroom in the corner of Porsha's room, immediately feeling a cup by the sink with water. And before returning to the bedroom, Suki quickly rummaged through the medicine cabinet, immediately finding a bottle of kid's cough syrup. And throughout the night, Suki tended to Porsha, making sure she took the cough syrup, drank plenty of water, and got as much sleep as possible. Suki was even surprised when Porsha made a somewhat personal request.
"Miss Suki…can you cuddle with me?"
At first shocked, Suki couldn't help but let a soft smile form on her muzzle.
"Of course sweetie."
And Suki couldn't be sure, but she could have sworn that the moment Porsha wrapped her small arms around her waist and snuggled her head into her chest that the pup just almost instantly clocked out. And it wasn't until some five minutes later that Suki found herself drifting into a peaceful sleep, the weight of the young pup in her lap a welcome comfort to her.
Unfortunately, with Jimmy, work always seemed to be more important than family.
Fast forward four years, and it was now Porsha's thirteenth birthday. Jimmy had been so busy that he hadn't bothered getting Porsha a gift. So Suki took it upon herself to get Porsha a gift. In the end, it was Suki who got Porsha her first phone, using her own money and saying it was from Jimmy. Suki had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for a month, but the look of excitement on Porsha's face when she opened her gift was well worth it.
Fast Forward another three years, and we come to Porsha's sixteenth birthday. In attendance was Suki, Cherry and a few other friends. And once again, Jimmy was absent due to a business trip. Sadly, Suki could that, over these past few years, Jimmy's absence started taking affect on Porsha. Especially when Porsha wanted so desperately to spend time with her father, only to be shoed away or giving his credit card to go shopping so that she was out of the way. In truth, it was Suki or Cherry who went shopping with Porsha. And while the teen wolf was grateful for the company, she still felt the hole that was left in her heart. But, despite being absent, Porsha still managed to enjoy her party without her father, who had facetimed with her for five minutes while on his trip. And at that moment, Suki could see that the call meant so much to Porsha, as evident by her bright smile and wagging tail. And to Suki, she was beginning to think she was wrong about her boss…
Until one year later.
"NOW THE WHOLE WORLD THINKS I HAVE A TALENTLESS LOSER FOR A DAUGHTER!"
Suki had never seen Porsha so distraught. Mascara running, her body racked with sobs at having been "fired" from "Out Of This World." And even as Jimmy ordered Buster Moon to be brought to him, all Suki could do was focus on Porsha as she was taken home, her heart breaking for the poor girl. But, at the same time she couldn't help but feel some warmth as she saw Porsha's cheetah bodyguard as well as other staff sending her sympathetic gazes, a clear sign that even they though Jimmy was being very harsh toward his own daughter.
And at that moment, Suki realized that Jimmy didn't deserve to have Porsha in his life.
"My girl, my girl, my girl Talkin' 'bout my girl My girl."
Suki was pulled out of her thoughts by her phone going off. Holding her device up so that she could see, Suki smiled at the selfie that she, Cherry and Porsha took on her seventeenth birthday, the caller I.D. showing Porsha attempting to facetime her. And upon answering the call, Suki's tail started wagging as she was met with beaming face of Porsha.
"Hey Porsha," Suki said, offering a small wave, resulting in the excited wolf practically bringing her phone to her face.
"HIGH SUKI!" she exclaimed, making Suki giggle at the excitable teen.
"So, what's up?" Suki asked, quickly receiving an answer from Porsha.
"I just wanted to let you know that Me, daddy and everyone else are at this awesome boardwalk," Porsha said, her reference to Buster making Suki giggle once more, her heart fluttering at the thought of how close the koala and Porsha had gotten. In fact, Suki couldn't help but add this to list of things she admired about Buster.
"Yeah," a new voice called, one Suki instantly recognized.
Speak of the devil, she thought to herself as Porsha knelt to get Buster's face in the frame.
"I figured," he began, "that me and the gang would show Porsha around the city today."
"Yeah," Porsha continued excitedly, "Ash showed this awesome club she sang at, Gunter took us to this great karaoke place he knows, and Johnny showed Nooshy and me this amazing skate park that he goes to."
"Sounds like you had a fun day," Suki said, her smile even larger know as Porsha's contagious excitement seemed to bring her spirits up, her attention briefly being brought to the door her the office opening to make way for Cherry, who was carrying a tray of food for dinner, the younger saluki's eyes popping wide open when she heard the conversation her aunt was having.
"Oh yeah, it's totally awesome!"
"PORSHA?!" Cherry exclaimed, quickly discarding the tray onto the desk, rounding the corner with lightning speed, practically shoving her aunt out of the way, her cheek pressed against her as both teen's faces lit up at seeing each other.
"OMG CHERRY!" Porsha exclaimed as she saw her best friend. And for several minutes the two caught up with each other, talking about how things were in their respective lives. And on both ends of the line, Suki and Buster were smiling as the two girls conversed. But, eventually, the conversation turned solemn.
"I really wish you were here, Cher," Porsha said with a sad smile.
"Both of you."
This sent a pang through Suki's heart, the saluki realizing for the first time how much she missed Porsha.
"Me too, Porsh," Cherry responded, sending her friend a sad smile, "but hey, three more months."
"Three more months," Porsha responded, returning the sad smile as she did.
"Anyway," Prosha added, "I gotta go. Daddy's friend Eddie is taking us out to dinner."
"I get it," Cherry responded, "me and Aunt Suki are getting ready to have dinner. I'll talk to a later P."
"Gotha C. Bye Suki. Love you guys."
"Love ya too, Porsh," Cherry responded before the call ended. But as she turned to give her aunt her phone back, Cherry grew concerned when she saw the distant look in the older saluki's eyes. In truth, Porsha's send off had struck a chord with Suki, who realized while though many would say it in passing, Suki knew that when Porsha said she loved them, she meant it. And at that moment, Suk brought a hand to her mouth as she sniffed back a sob, a thin line of tears forming in her eyes as she did.
"You okay, Aunt Suki?"
And at that moment, Suki, in her brief moment of sorrow, was struck with an idea. One brought by Porsha's wish that they were with her.
"Yeah," Suki responded, a determined smile coming to her face as she looked at Cherry, "yeah I'm fine Cherry. In fact, after we eat, I want you to go home and pack some things…we're going on a trip."
Yeah, Suki knew that she would always be there for Porsha.
