Fresh out of the shower, Duke, in his new wife's pink rose floral bathrobe, sat on the couch, his feet rested on the coffee table.
"Well, hopefully the T.V. won't have trouble too!" Duke grabbed the remote and turned on the T.V. After he flipped through a few channels, he settled on a channel airing Family Goat, an adult cartoon sitcom he hadn't watched since he couch-surfed at one of his brothers' places last month.
This place was quite a step up compared to all the other places he temporarily rented or couch-surfed at. Duke didn't quite know how much money this 'Leilani' girl would share with him, if any, but living here, being her actual husband was a start. The start of a life without stealing, without selling bootlegged merchandise, trying to dodge the cops all the time. Not to mention Leilani seemed nice to live with. She was nice, nicer than any animal was to him in a long time. Her innocence was also kind of refreshing.
Duke saw the show's main character crash a plane with his face molded on it into his neighbors' yard. He burst out laughing. "Man, I'm gonna be watchin' this for a while! I kinda wish I made some popcorn. I wonder if Leilani has popcorn?"
"Hi Duke, I'm back!" Leilani announced as the door flew open.
"Hey, sweetie. How was work?"
Leilani didn't quite know how to feel about all her new nicknames. "Oh, it was pretty good! I came up with—" Leilani gasped. "That bathrobe!"
"Yeah, it's not my thing, but I had to wear somethin' after showerin'! I'm washin' my clothes in the laundry room downstairs."
"I know, but it's my bathrobe. Isn't it kind of weird to wear something someone else was naked in that hasn't been washed? Couldn't you have picked one of my towels?"
"First of all, this robe is nice and soft. Second, you were clean every time you wore it, and third, you're my wife, so it ain't that weird." Duke screamed with laughter. "Leilani, you should come watch this! It's hilarious! Peter Goatffin is such an idiot!" Duke continued laughing.
Leilani was tired of being upset. Being quite a cheerful weasel, she wasn't used to being upset for such a long period of time. "Well, okay. I've always wondered what Family Goat was like."
She threw herself down next to Duke, causing him to bounce.
"Whoa there!" Duke chuckled.
"Whoops, sorry!" Leilani patted his shoulder and focused on the T.V. "So, what's happening right now?"
"Peter Goatffin is trying different get-rich-quick schemes and he's trying to convince his wife that they'll work."
Leilani giggled and looked over at Duke. "He kind of sounds like you!"
"Hey, what? No way!" Duke frowned and crossed his arms.
Leilani still laughed. "Okay, name one difference!"
"I stick with the same schemes, and I don't have a direct goal of gettin' rich! I do have a dream of makin' it big time, but I don't completely expect it to happen." He held his arms out. "This is the closest I've ever gotten to makin' it big time, and it's pretty sweet so far!"
"Well, okay. I'm actually kind of flattered! I mean, I was really excited to move here, and this is the nicest place I've ever lived. I saved up money for years to buy a condo like this. I'm going to make even more money, now that I'm in marketing!"
"Oh, look!" Duke kicked his feet and pointed at the T.V. "Peter's disguised as a marketing agent! He thinks he's actually gonna fool them!"
"And he has his real name printed on his name tag!" exclaimed Leilani.
"And nobody else is wearin' name tags!"
Leilani and Duke doubled over with laughter.
About an hour later, when another cartoon sitcom started airing, Duke stood up and stretched. "Well, I guess I'd better get my clothes out now. They were probably done half an hour ago."
"Wait, Duke?" Leilani stood up just as Duke opened the door.
"Yeah?"
"I was thinking, since we're going to be together for…quite some time, maybe I could take you out shopping tomorrow? You could get some new clothes; nicer ones that fit better?"
"Oh, wow!" Duke let his paw drop off the doorknob. "I've been wearin' these clothes every day for a year or somethin'! My shorts fit fine, but I got this shirt 'cause it was the last one available at some thrift store."
"So, do you want to go shopping? Tomorrow? I don't have work tomorrow."
"Oh, yeah! And yeah to the second thing!" Duke walked out the door and closed it. He opened it again and poked his head though. "Thank you!"
He closed the door.
Leilani heard him running down the stairs. It felt good to do something good for someone less fortunate, and she couldn't wait to give Duke somewhat of a makeover! He was sort of like a real-life doll! Hopefully he would let her suggest clothes for him. Good thing she was going with him instead of letting him borrow her credit card.
As Leilani brushed her teeth, she thought about yesterday, the last time she brushed them, and thought about how different her life was at the time. She had been a bit worried she wasn't going to get any sleep due to her excitement about her new job. Now she was wondering how her shopping trip with her husband would go, or how she would convince him to file for divorce once the year was over.
She spat out the water she rinsed with, turned off the light in the bathroom, then walked through her adjacent bedroom door.
She flipped on the switch and saw Duke lounged in her bed with a peaceful smile, his paws crossed behind his head.
Leilani jumped with a yelp.
Duke tipped his head. "You done getting' ready, toots?"
"No!" exclaimed a horrified Leilani, "Can't you sleep on the couch?"
Still smiling, Duke sighed with a shrug. "Well, it's just not as cozy…and it's wife-less."
"You're sleeping on the couch!" Leilani marched over to Duke and pulled him out of bed.
"Hey! Hey! Watch it!" Duke grabbed onto the comforter, which pulled off the bed.
"You can use my biggest decorative pillow, and my throw!" Leilani threw both of them at him. "Goodnight."
Duke picked up the daisy-shaped pillow and pink tie-dye blanket. He drooped his head and shoulders and slowly walked away. "Oh. Okay. Goodnight."
Leilani nearly said something to him, but then thought he was probably guilt-tripping her.