AN: Yes, MeeMaw is a reference to Young Sheldon.

I've decided that I'm going to end this story at the 1 year anniversary mark, or approximately So through the end of May. But it's basically a season 1. There will be at least one or possibly two more seasons. If there's anything you'd like me to show, please let me know.

Part 97

Porsha met Glenn at the Pavilion entrance. As she promised, Nooshy excused herself to set up her boombox and tip can.

The wolf walked with Glenn, putting space between them and her little sister. "Sorry, Big Daddy asked me to bring her too and I couldn't say no."

Glenn chuckled. "It's no problem. At least she's not the stereotypical little sister. How are you both doing since last night?"

"Better minus a couple of nightmares. Being home in our beds helped though," Porsha admitted. "And the music box my daddy gave me." She smiled sadly.

He smiled at her. "I saw it last night. It was very pretty."

Porsha nodded. "It's the only gift my father ever gave me that really means anything."

They stopped at a fish taco truck along the path. She tried to pay but he stopped her. "It's my treat," he clarified. "Would your sister like anything?"

Porsha looked over at the makeshift stage where Nooshy was break-dancing for the crowd. "I'll buy her something later if she wants it. She's busy working."

They sat on a bench with their fish tacos and watched the dancing. Or at least she did. Halfway through the snack, she realized that he was watching her. She blushed.

"Your sister is a really good dancer," he said. "So, you've been in Calatonia for awhile now. What do you think?"

"It's great here. It's always so sunny. It's more laidback and not as stuffy as Redshore City," she replied. "And I love going to school."

"Didn't you go to school in Redshore?" He asked.

"When I was a kid but… the other kids treated me differently because I didn't have a mom and my dad was the richest guy in the city," she explained. "When I wouldn't just buy them stuff, they started bullying me and being generally cruel. The school either couldn't or wouldn't stop them so Daddy decided I would be homeschooled."

Glenn nodded. "That sucks. It's not right that they bullied you over your money. There's nothing worse than fake friends who only see an ATM."

Porsha smiled. "Because of that… I didn't have a lot of friends. It was just Daddy and everyone at Crystal Entertainment. Aunt Suki and Uncle Jerry were always there and Karen always had a candy for me. The entire board became my aunts and uncles. But I didn't really have any friends."

"Sounds lonely," he observed. "I noticed your friends here got really weird when you showed them the globe."

She nodded. "Well… they don't really like my dad. They hate him actually. You see… my dad loved me. He was a good man but… he had issues and a temper… a temper that could get violent in the wrong circumstances. Last May, my friends came to Redshore. It's where I met them. They had gotten a gig with my dad. Buster was the leader then…" Porsha went into the sad story. "It was really my fault. I started the problem by taking Rosita's lead role from her… And while I could do the stunt, I learned later that acting was a lot harder than it looked. I choked and my delivery was really bad. Buster tried to be nice but he had to change it. At the time, I got mad and I thought he was firing me and that everyone hated me." She felt him take her hand. "So I lost my cool and threw a fit and ran away. On the way to tell Daddy, I ran into our friend Linda. The host of Hot News…"

—

Still wearing the spacesuit costume, Porsha ran from the stage in tears. She ran right through the plaza, right past Meena as she tried again to talk to the ice cream vendor. Right past Johnny who was enjoying a cheap lunch with his dance partner. Right past the large brood of piglets playing with their father. And right into a horse with long red hair.

"Porsha, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Linda asked with both curiosity and concern.

"Mr. Moon! He hates me! He fired me!" She hugged the horse, desperate for comfort.

Linda straightened up. "Mr. Moon fired you? From your father's show? It'll be alright, sweetie. Auntie Linda's got this…"

—

"And when Dad saw it on the news… he completely lost it. He wanted Mr. Moon's head on a pike… but he got away… and later that night, Miss Crawly came and said they needed me… to be the Green Alien," Porsha explained. "I hoped Daddy would be more forgiving when he saw I was still in the show but he still tried to stop it. And… towards the end, he got ahold of Mr. Moon. And… he took him…. To the top of the highest catwalk. And there he…" Thinking about that fateful night was still hard. "I tried calling Daddy back. I begged him to stop but in his rage, he couldn't hear me and… poor Mr. Moon… was dropped…" She started to cry as she remembered. "It was all my fault. Daddy was only angry because of me. And later that same night… Daddy… he didn't want me losing everything and being put into the system… He… he took his own life." The tears were flowing freely now. "I'm sorry… I thought I was done crying about it…"

He only put his arm around her shoulder, letting her decide how he could comfort her. She leaned into his shoulder. "Hey, that sounds very traumatic. You can't blame yourself though. You didn't want him to do any of that. You're a good person."

She shook her head. "They hate him and it's my fault. But I can't help it. He was my dad. I hate what he did. Mr. Moon was a nice guy. But I still love my dad." She wept.

He rubbed her shoulders as she cried into his. "You shouldn't have to hide it. It's not your fault. He made his own mistakes. It's not your fault." He reassured her. Okay, so she came with emotional baggage but he guessed as much when he knew she was adopted. "My birth father was an ass. He regularly beat my mother and he would threaten me. One Fourth of July, she sent me to the town fair. I came home to my house ablaze. She'd had enough and she killed them both. I was taken to the nearest home for boys and I was adopted by the Coleman's who couldn't have kids of their own."

Porsha gasped. "That's awful. I'm sorry that happened to you."

He shrugged. "I blamed myself. I thought that if I'd been stronger maybe I could have stopped him. Or if I had told someone or done something, anything… It took a lot of therapy before I accepted that there was nothing I could have done. It's not my fault. And it's not your fault either." He felt a pair of eyes watching them and he looked up.

Nooshy had stopped dancing and was watching him. She mouthed, "Is she alright?" He nodded. He could handle this. He wanted to handle it.

Porsha's breath hitched and she sat up. He offered her a handkerchief from his pocket. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trauma dump on you." She accepted the cloth and wiped her eyes.

The German shepherd shook his head. "It's okay, I practically asked you too. I want to be someone you trust with everything. I… I really… really like you. If it's not too forward…"

She shook her head. "No, it's not too forward. I like you too. I can talk to you about all the things that I can't even talk to my new family about." She rest her head on his chest.

"Yeah… I've never told anyone else what happened to my parents… I feel safe with you," he petted her shoulder. "Porsha… would it be alright if I asked your dad's permission for us to go steady?"

The wolf smiled up at him. "I would like that… very much…" She sighed contentedly. She realized he had brought something. "What's that?"

He pulled the folder from where he'd been sitting on it. "Dad suggested I show you some of my work. I write in my spare time." He offered her the folder and she opened it.

Her eyes lit up. "Music! You write music?" She giggled with joy as she read it.

"Oh, I told Dad you would laugh…" he lamented, trying to take it back.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm just so surprised. And this looks great. May I?" She asked.

He sighed. "Alright… I just… wasn't sure how you'd react… The music is for a play I've been writing."

Porsha read the sheet music. "7am, the usual morning lineup. Start on the chores and sweep til the floor's all clean…" She smiled. "Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up. Sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15."

Glenn's eyes lit up. "You have a beautiful voice. You would be perfect for the lead character." He blushed and looked away. "I just mean if I ever did anything with it."

She blushed with him. "Thank you… you know, you should show this to Eddie and Gunter. Oh! Tomorrow, after school, come to work with me. We're rehearsing for our Easter musical but I know they'd love to see this."

He shook his head. "Nah, it's not that good. It's just a hobby."

She smiled. "Well, just come with me tomorrow. Nooshy'll be there and my brother. Then you can decide." She took his hand.

He sighed. "I'll think about it. As long as it means I can spend more time with you."

She blushed deeply and looked over at her sister. She was looking at the sky. Porsha looked at her watch. "Is that the time?" She sat up.

"I guess it is getting kind of late. Can I walk you both home?" He asked as Nooshy came over.

"Sure," Porsha agreed, taking the arm he offered.

Nooshy kept her eye on them on the way back. She wasn't sure what she thought of this. Glenn seemed nice and Nooshy didn't think he meant any ill. However, what would it mean for them as a family?

—

"We're home!" Nooshy called as they walked into the main house.

Suki came out of the kitchen with a bowl of egg salad and a loaf of bread. "Just in time for dinner. Oh, hello Glenn. Big Daddy told me that you'd invited Porsha and Nooshy for a walk."

Glenn smiled at her. "They're both good company. Nooshy entertained us with her dancing."

"Well, why don't you join us for dinner. We're just having egg salad," the Saluki invited him. She looked up as a set of shrill cries caught her ears. "You guys start without me." She said as Marcus came from the back. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

Nooshy shook her head. "I'll help, Big Mama."

Marcus chuckled as she took Rosamund from her crib. Suki laughed along. "You know, you don't have to, Nooshy. I appreciate it but you don't have to."

"Sure, I do. I'm their big sister," she argued, holding the pup close and she followed Suki back with a bottle from the warmer.

Glenn found he couldn't refuse the invitation. Not when it presented such a good chance to talk to Mr. Green.

"I'll be right back," Porsha said. "I just need to freshen up." She went back to her bedroom.

Glenn realized that he was now alone with the very intimidatingly large mountain gorilla. "Um… I hope it's okay. Mrs. Green invited me to stay but I can go if you'd prefer."

Marcus shook his head. "No. I'm glad for a chance to talk to you. Man to man, what are your intentions for my daughter?"

The German shepherd nodded. "Right to heart of the matter, I like it. I really like Porsha. Like-like her. We have similar stories and I feel like we understand each other. I want to know her better and care for her. I was hoping to ask for your blessing to… to date her. Like go steady."

The gorilla walked around the German shepherd. "And… what does she think about you?"

"Well, I asked her if it was alright for me to ask you and she seemed very receptive. I think she likes me too but I can't speak for her," Glenn admitted.

Marcus nodded and sat down. "How old are you?"

"I just turned 18 in January," he replied, sitting on the couch and making eye contact.

"And… what are your plans for the future?" He asked.

"Well, I'm going to inherit my dad's hardware store and I want to take creative writing and music theory in college, on top of business management," Glenn explained.

The older man listened and nodded. "Hmmm… if Porsha is willing… then you have my blessing to date. Just be aware… if you harm her, there will be dire consequences," he warned, his eyes burning with fire.

Glenn nodded. "Of course, sir… I will never hurt Porsha. You have my word." He vowed, looking up as she came back from the bathroom. She smiled at him. Soon after, Suki and Nooshy came back from feeding the twins and joined everyone at the dinner table.

AN: Ending this here. It's taken long enough. Again, if there's something from this year that you'd like to see me do, let me know. There's still a few subplots to get through.