Part 60

Meena served a late supper, praising God for the slow cooker that Marcus and Suki got for them as a wedding present. "That slow cooker makes roast beef so easy." She served the roast over mashed potatoes with carrots and smothered in brown gravy.

Alphonso nodded. "It smells delicious." He took her hand when she sat down, bowing his head. "Heavenly Father, thank you for this meal which we are about to receive. May it nourish our bodies so that we may do your good works. And bless my beautiful wife and our child." He smiled at Meena, who blushed. "Bless all of our friends and the new lives that have entered this world. In Jesus' name we pray, amen."

She smiled at him. "Oh don't forget, we have an appointment with the ob/gyn tomorrow. Dr. Overman said we can learn the sex of the baby if we want. What do you think?"

He scratched his head. "On the one hand, the surprise is part of the fun. On the other hand, it would give us an idea of how to decorate the nursery or what name to choose. On the… third hand…" he shrugged. "They can be wrong. Look at Suki, she and Marcus were expecting two boys."

Meena nodded. "You're right. That, right there, is the kicker. If it's possible for them to be wrong, there's no point in it. We'll just pick our favorite boy and girl names and go from there."

He squeezed her hand and proceeded to eat his meal. "Mmmm, this is great, as always. And Tyler said the truck is really popular with the theater guests. We ran 2000 just for the few hours before and after the show."

She nodded. "Mr. Moon wanted to offer concessions but we never got to that point. He did get a popcorn maker though." She smiled at him. "I was thinking, have you considered getting a storefront?"

Alphonso thought about his answer. "Well, originally the plan was to travel the country in our truck but I don't want to do that anymore. I'm very happy here. Tyler is too. He met a pretty orangutan at the theater last night too." He chuckled. "Maybe I should help out tonight and give him a hard time like he gave us." They laughed together.

"Well, I wish him luck. He deserves someone nice," Meena said. After dinner, they tag teamed cleaning the kitchen together before going up to bed.

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Ryan never was able to fix his problem the night before so ultimately he and Johnny just went to bed. He waited until he fell asleep before getting up and going down to the studio to practice.

Klaus was practicing on his own as he usually did before bed. He looked up as Ryan came in. "Uh oh, are we having another fight?"

Ryan shook his head. "Oh, no, no. I just couldn't sleep and thought some exercise might help. Let's face it sir, you've rubbed off on me." He chuckled as he began warming up.

"What is bothering you?" The proboscis demanded to know.

The tiger knew Klaus wouldn't let it go. "I can't talk about it. Not with you. No offense, sir. It's just not something you talk about with your dad."

Klaus nodded. "Ahhh then it has to do with…." Definitely not what he was expecting. "Try me, son. Maybe I can help."

Ryan sighed. "Well… okay, I guess… Have you ever been… unable to… you know?" He felt really uncomfortable about this conversation but he needed an older man's advice.

The monkey shook his head. "Unable to what?"

He cringed. "Well, you know how married couples do… Except… I couldn't…" he left it there with an embarrassed expression.

"Oh!" Klaus realized where he was going. "Well, yes, that's very normal. You're tired from your performance tonight and stressed."

"What should I do? How do I fix it?" He asked.

"You stop. You relax, you do something else. Stop trying and it'll come," the dancing teacher explained. "Why don't you go back upstairs. Get some sleep. Relax. Drink tea. Read. Take a bath. Rest. And eventually, it'll fix itself."

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The next morning, Lance took his kids to school before going to the Calloway-Patel-Gupta home. Clay let him in with a look of suspicion. He no longer tried to threaten him away from Ash but he still didn't fully trust the porcupine.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here…" Lance began nervously.

The lion nodded. "Indeed. Are you planning to fill me in and satisfy my curiosity?"

He sighed and looked down. "Look, I know I messed up once before but I love Ash. I know what I lost when I gave her up before and I was an idiot."

"That's a fair assessment. What are you building up to here?" He growled. Sitara put a hand on his shoulder and put a cup of coffee before him. "Thanks, dear."

Sitara sat beside him. "What is it, Lance, dear?" She gave him his own cup of coffee.

"Thanks ma'am…" he sipped the hot, bitter ambrosia. "It's just… she's a great mom to my kids, they love her. I love her. I'd… I want to ask for your blessing to ask her to marry me."

Calloway blinked. "And why do you think it's my blessing you need?"

"Because her dad is a grade A asshole and I wouldn't ask him for a glass of water if I was dying of thirst," Lance explained. "You're the next closest. She looks up to you."

Clay regarded Sitara for a few minutes, silently conferring with her. "Ultimately it's up to Ash. But I have no objections as long as you understand the consequences if you mess up again."

Lance nodded. "Thank you, sir. I mean it. I love her so much and I won't hurt her again. I swear." He stayed a little longer. "Thanks for the coffee Mrs. C. I better go, it's almost time for my shift. Thanks again, sir."

Clay chuckled as he topped off his own cup. "I still don't know why he felt like he needed to ask me. I'm not her father."

Sitara smiled. "Maybe not legally or biologically but she does look up to you, Clay. The truth is, you have a great many children now, even if you don't realize it. Ash. Meena is your stepdaughter. Johnny, Rosita, Gunter… Everyone loves you very much." She kissed her husband.

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The following morning at Calatonia High, Porsha sat down in her home room beside the cute German shepherd.

"Hey, it's Porsha, right?" He asked politely. "We haven't really me. I'm Glen. I saw you in the show the other night. That was you right? At the theater?"

Porsha smiled. "You were there? Yeah, that was me. My big brother is one of the core troupe members and my sister is his dance coach."

"Your big brother? Which one was he?" He asked.

"Johnny, or Jay in the show," she replied. "What did you think?"

Glen nodded. "It was good, fun. Obviously geared towards kids but what can you do? I only went because my little sister wanted to go. She loved it." He scratched his chin. "Johnny? He's the gorilla? How is he your brother?"

Porsha sighed. "It's a long story. My father passed away last May and Johnny's dad adopted me and Nooshy."

"That's Nooshy and me, dear," their teacher got their attention. "But right now, we're talking about what's coming up at school this week. I need you both to pay attention."

Both teens rolled their eyes and turned their attention to the teacher. He leaned over and whispered. "That sucks. Sorry for your loss."

Porsha shrugged. "It's been rough but I'm okay. Big Daddy's the best and he and my adopted mom just had twins. That's what brought me to Calatonia."

He nodded. "Where were you originally from?"

"Redshore City," she whispered. The two continued to whisper, being careful to be silent when the teacher looked their way.

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With several hours before she needed to be at the theater, Ash went to the jewelry store. She went to the men's section and started looking.

A stately llama approached her with a smile. "Good morning, may I be of assistance?"

Ash nodded. "I'm looking to get a ring for my boyfriend. He won't take the plunge, so I'm doing it."

She and the saleswoman laughed. "Hmm, tell me about it. I've been waiting doggies' years for my beau to propose. Maybe I should do it. Well, tell me about the gentleman. What kind of animal?"

"Porcupine, like me. His name is Lance. He's a former musician turned food truck employee with two adorable kids," she explained.

The llama reached into the case. "Well, here's our collection of rings for small animals. One of our best sellers is this one, it's silver tungsten carbide, very durable."

Ash examined it closely. She took a moment to visualize offering him the ring. "I'll take it."

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At least his head wasn't splitting, Eddie thought as he opened his eyes. He smiled at his lover as he continued to sleep. He kissed his cheek tenderly before getting up to get ready for the day. A big theater critic had been at the show the night before and Eddie wanted to read the review.

The newspaper was already on his desk, opened to the correct page with a hot cup of coffee. He read aloud. "After Happily Ever After moves quickly through its two-hour-long running time, builds momentum off of a handful of peppy tunes, and delivers a colorful confection that's sure to impress the younger crowd." Eddie smiled. He was fine with the show being aimed at kids and families. Kids brought parents. Families meant multiple tickets sold at once. "What do you think of that, Buster? My first play is a success. I'm trying Buster. I'm really trying. I just can't help missing ya, pal. If only you could be here doing this with me. I should've been helping you with this ages ago." He hid his eyes as felt the pain. A hand touched his shoulder and he looked up at Gunter. He saw the pain in the hog's eyes and leaned against him.

Gunter stroked his fleece. "It's okay… you can cry if you are wanting to. I'm not going anywhere." He promised.

Eddie did just that. "I'm sorry… I just… I miss him." A drop of wet hit his face and he looked to see Gunter was crying too.

"I do too. I keep thinking of how much he would love our new show," he admitted. "He would be over the moon." He laughed at his own pun. "I miss him so much. At least we don't have to miss him alone."

The sheep nodded as he let himself cry. "It hurts so bad…." He wrapped his arms around Gunter, trying to comfort him as much as the pig was trying to do the same.

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AN: Ending it there. Part of why Gunter and Eddie work well together is they're both experiencing the same pain.