A Fox’s Tale
By Joshua Fox
Susan Felin, Debbye Squirrel, Cindy Lapine, Clarence Skunk, Chris Foxx, Rodney Lapine and Wanda the Vixen are copyright Chris Yost. Zig Zag and Max the Black Rabbit are copyright Max Black Rabbit. Sabrina Mustelidae, Tammy Vixen, Sheila Vixen, Tor the Dog and Amy Squirrel are copyright Eric W. Schwartz. Lillian Batholomew, James Sheppard, Rhonda Badger and Tamara Rabbit are copyright James Bruner. Marvin Badger is copyright James Bruner after a description by Chris Yost. Robert Fale, John Anderson, Veronica Salese, Melanie Turres, Joshua Fox, Jim Leard, Ralph Dix, Shawna Coon, Kris Coon, Wilde Cat, Aaron Cole and Tara Nadine are copyright Joshua Fox. Blue Wolfe, Kyrin Cat and Kittiara Seng are copyright themselves. Tyler Leone is copyright Mike Mullig. Thomas Woolfe is copyright Mike Higgs. Rava Purr copyright her player.
Legal Notice: This story is copyright 2000, 2001, 2002 by Joshua Fox. This story may not be sold or used for commercial profit in any form or fashion. This story may not be modified in any way. This story may not be posted on a mirror site or any internet site without the written permission of the author. This story may not be distributed on print, magnetic, electrical or optical mediums.
Permission to use characters that are copyright other individuals was obtained prior to the appearance of said characters.
This an independent work of fiction with no connection whatsoever to any other stories or works by anyone else and does not imply any connection to the before-said sources. As far as these sources are concerned, this story doesn’t exist. They disavow any knowledge and do not officially sanction the events in the story.
Chapter 13 –Glimpse the Enigma
"Are you sure you’re ok, Josh?" Tammy asked concernedly, her paws raised to her muzzle as she looked down at her friend sprawled out on the floor.
"Yeah, no need to worry. The back of my head broke my fall," Josh chuckled, followed by a groan as he propped himself on his elbow and grabbing the arm of the couch, slowly trying to get up.
"Here, let me give you a paw," Tammy offered as she stepped over to him, taking his paw.
"No, no, I’m ok," Josh groaned slowly as he pulled himself to his feet. "Besides, I am about four times your body mass. Somehow I don’t think you’d be able to help get me up if you ended up on the floor with me."
Tammy pressed her right paw to her muzzle to stifle a giggle. "I guess you’re right. Sorry for scaring you like that."
"Hey, you didn’t scare me," Josh assured her as he placed both paws behind him on the small of his back and pressing forward until it ‘cricked’. "But you certainly did surprise me. How did you even get in here?"
Tammy smiled as she held out a small, shiny key. "You really should find a less obvious hiding place, Honey. The board covering it was loose."
"Ah, ok," Josh chuckled as he took it from her, placing it in his pocket. "Blue used it earlier; I guess he didn’t put it back properly."
"Oh? Finally had to resort to locking him out of the apartment, huh?" Tammy teasingly ribbed him, remembering how Blue had hit on Josh near-constantly on her last visit.
Josh let out a good hearty laugh. "No, I assure you I haven’t. Rob… well, he’s another story."
"Oh what, Mr. ‘Did it hurt when you fell from heaven’ can’t take Blue’s cute little lines?" Tammy asked with obvious amusement.
"Heck no. You should see the door to his apartment," Josh grinned as he recalled the last time he had been over there. "That thing is bolted and locked better than any bank vault I’ve ever seen. Fort Knox should have as good security as that guy. And what’s more, he even-."
Josh paused as Tammy padded forward and wrapped her arms around him. She smiled happily, giving him a tight squeeze along with a quick nuzzle of his chest. "I missed you."
Josh replied with a light-hearted smile and a prompt hug in return. "I missed you, too, Tammy. Just isn’t the same without you and Sheila around, you little Pocket-fox," He added, grinning deviously as he blew on her ear.
"AAAH!" Tammy pushed him away, her paws immediately moving to her ear. She quickly smoothed down the fur that had been abnormally puffed up from Josh’s breath. "You know I hate that!"
Josh was bent over laughing, his paws holding his knees to keep from falling over. "I know, but I can’t resist the reaction it gets."
"Grrr… now its going to feel tingly," Tammy whined, rubbing her ear between her fingers.
"Aw, come on," Josh bit his lip, trying to keep from laughing again. "Everyone has their sensitive spots."
"Keep it up, Buster, and I may just take advantage of yours," She growled softly, licking her paw and smoothing out the fur on her ear.
"Fraid’ you’ll have to get in line; Blue already made that offer years ago," Josh chortled a bit before regaining control.
"Pfft! Don’t flatter yourself, Honey," Tammy teasingly countered with a smirk, moving back over to the amused Fox.
Josh smiled genuinely as he laughed, this time giving Tammy a quick hug. "It’s good to have you back around here. There aren’t many out there with a sense of humor like ours."
"Right on that count. You can still take a joke better than any guy I know," Tammy confirmed, plopping down on the couch after Josh had released her.
"Really? I thought John had a good sense of humor," Josh ventured as he walked towards the kitchen area, heading straight for the fridge.
"He does, he just needs to be a little more light-hearted at times. But don’t worry; I’m working on him," Tammy explained, stretching out and sinking back into the soft cushions of the couch. "Wow, this thing is comfy. When’d you get it?"
Josh looked up and over to Tammy as he opened the fridge. "That thing? I got it when I redecorated the place last year. Blue thought it looked good with the recliner and the coffee table."
"Blue picked this out?" Tammy asked as she pushed her paw down to test the cushion. "I’m amazed. It’s not even a sleeper."
Josh belly-laughed hard as he rummaged through the inside of the fridge, removing a carton of orange juice. "Well, he didn’t have full say in what I was going to get. He does have quite an eye for that sort of thing, though."
"I won’t argue with you there," Tammy mused, bouncing lightly to get more of a feel from the couch. "So, did he help you pick out everything?"
"Well, the furniture, yeah. Everything except the bed," Josh added as he poured himself a glass. "Would you like anything?"
"I’ll have whatever you’re having," Tammy replied, turning her head in Josh’s direction. "So why didn’t he help you pick out your bed?"
Josh chuckled self-satisfyingly as he poured another glass. "Just a little bit of ingenuity on my part. You know how Blue is. In return for his expertise, he demanded the right to ‘test out’ each piece of furniture with me that he helped me pick out. So I agreed and we both sat down on that couch there, the stools for the kitchen counter, even that recliner over there," He added with a gesture of his glass.
"And let me guess; you had already bought the bed before you went on your little shopping trip," Tammy ventured with an amused grin.
"Bingo," Josh grinned back, downing the last of the juice in his glass.
Tammy couldn’t help but giggle a bit. "Blue must not have been too happy."
"That’s an understatement," Josh responded with a laugh. "He pouted and frowned when we left that store and kept on doing it all the way home. I swear, his lower lip pouted out so far I thought he was going to swallow his face."
Tammy almost snorted when the image formed in her head. "So, how’d you make him feel better?"
"What makes you think I did?" Josh replied, chuckling.
"Easy; I know you. You can’t stand seeing anyone unhappy; especially a friend," Tammy airily explained, turning herself around and laying on the couch, bending backwards so she was looking at Josh upside down. "Soooooo, how did you make him feel all better?"
"To be honest? I let him jump on it," He said, smiling as he noticed Tammy’s skeptical expression.
"Jump? On what?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"On the bed," Josh said with a gesture of his thumb towards the bedroom. "Sounds strange, I know, but it was his request. He was at it for over an hour. Then when we went to Callahan’s that night he started off saying to every Ron, Dick and Jerry he met how sore he was from breaking in my new bed."
Tammy couldn’t help it. Her paws flew up to her muzzle just in time to stifle a hard laugh, causing it to come out as a snort instead, followed closely thereafter by a fit of giggling.
Josh grinned as he carried the two glasses of juice out of the kitchen. "Don’t tell me you’re surprised, now."
Tammy stopped giggling just long enough to speak. "Not in the slightest. That is classic Blue."
"You don’t know the half of it; he’s used that line before," Josh chuckled as he sat down on the couch next to Tammy and held out the other glass. "I was kinda disappointed he didn’t come up with anything new."
"Really," Tammy smiled as she took the glass from him taking a very dainty sip. "And the fact that he went around doing that didn’t bother you at all."
"Not in the slightest. He was just having some fun," Josh lifted his glass to Tammy’s before gulping it down.
"You’re strange, you know that?" Tammy asked half-kiddingly, folding her arms across her chest.
"Heh; feel free to define normal," Josh replied with a poke.
Tammy only grinned back. "Normal? That’s easy. Not you."
Josh immediately had his index finger pointed upwards, waving it back and forth. "Ah, but there’s a problem with that definition, My Dear."
"And that is?" Tammy inquired, keeping her grin as she played along.
"If we did indeed go by your definition, then both Rob and Blue would be considered normal," Josh pointed out with no shortage of personal amusement.
Tammy opened her mouth to respond, but held back her response. "Shoot. You’re right."
Josh’s grin grew wide as he lifted up his glass once more. "I win."
Tammy shook her head slowly as her grin softened into a smile. "It amazes me that you three are friends; best friends to boot."
"Oh?" Josh started as he moved a bit closer, taking Tammy’s empty glass from her paw. "And why, pray tell, is that?"
Tammy shifted to face Josh as he got up. "Do you really have to ask?"
Josh chuckled as he brought the glasses back to the kitchen. "Humor me."
"Well, for starters let’s look at Blue and Rob," Tammy started, holding up her index finger. "Rob is a paranoid homophobe; Blue is absolutely flaming gay."
"A minor detail," Josh grinningly shot back as he placed the two glasses in the dishwasher.
"Rob acts like a ladies’ man; Blue acts like… well, a lady," Tammy said after a slight pause.
"And doesn’t that make them compatible?" Josh kiddingly rejoined as he padded back out of the kitchen, sitting back down next to Tammy.
"Yeah, right. That is probably one of the few words I would NEVER use to describe those two," Tammy stated before giving Josh a gentle elbow to his ribs. "So how do you fit into things? You’re about as different from them as they are from each other."
"Am I? You don’t think we really belong together, eh?" Josh asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Considering how you three contrast? Probably," Tammy answered, now mirroring the same tone of voice.
Josh smiled thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, I don’t really see us as contrasting all that much. I guess you could say we compliment each other more than anything."
"A Don Juan wannabe ferret, a male-hungry wolf, and a muscle-bound fox too gentle to hurt a fly. Oh, yeah, you three were made for each other," Tammy smirked as she watched Josh get a good hearty laugh out of it.
Josh smiled, shaking his head slowly as he leaned back, putting his feet up on the coffee table. "You’re basically right, but there’s more to my best buddies than just hunting down mates."
"Well, then it’s your turn. Enlighten me," Tammy ordered as she followed Josh’s example by putting her feet up next to his.
Josh kept his smile as he saw Tammy put her feet up, nodding approvingly as he put his paws behind his head. "You see, that’s the thing. It’s not really something I can tell or explain or anything like that. You kinda have to see it to understand."
"Oh, I see. Rob said the same thing to me when I met him," Tammy told him with a raised eyebrow. "Though I’m guessing he didn’t mean it in the same context you do."
"Likely not," Josh grinned after enjoying a good chuckle. "It’s difficult to explain, but you just have to know them the way I do. I mean, come on, would you expect Rob to stay friends with Blue based on what you’ve seen? Would you expect Blue and I to stay close if he was only just looking for another guy?"
"Ok, ok, ok… so you’re all strange," Tammy quipped, sticking her tongue out just enough that the tip showed between her teeth.
Josh’s paws moved to his tummy as he laughed, craning his neck so that the back of his head sunk into the cushion. "That we may be, Pocketfox. Besides, who are you to talk, Ms. ‘I-Put-Pickles-On-My-Ice-Cream’?"
"Hey! That’s a matter of taste!" Tammy exclaimed, giving Josh a push after he had broken out into a fresh fit of laughter. Josh fell back to avoid another one, but was quickly pounced on top of. The two quickly engaged in a tickling match, each one going after the other’s known ticklish spots. Josh got the upper paw, though, and had tickled her into submission very shortly. "Ok! Ok! I give up!"
Josh chuckled as they both sat up, taking a few moments to catch their breath. "You shouldn’t start something that you can’t finish, Pocketfox."
"Yes, well, I still say you’re strange," Tammy playfully bopped his nose before giving him a tight squeeze.
"I repeat; you put pickle slices on ice cream," Josh poked fun as he squeezed her back with his arms. "No wonder Tor was always asking if you were pregnant."
He immediately bit his tongue afterwards. Oh no. I can’t believe I just said that.
Josh could feel Tammy’s arms tighten around him after he had said it, the side of her head resting against the right half of his chest. He didn’t have to look to see her face; it was the same one he had seen before. Her eyes closed tight, a weak smile remaining on her muzzle, and an expression torn between the urge to cry and laugh.
"I’m sorry," Josh offered after a moment of silence. "I shouldn’t have…" He couldn’t finish the sentence, and instead allowed it to trail off.
"It’s ok," Tammy sniffled, giving him another tight squeeze. "It’s been two years; I’ve cried all I can."
Josh nodded, returning the hug and just remaining silent for a few moments.
"He was a great guy…" Tammy murmured, not opening her eyes.
Josh nodded again very slowly, keeping his lips pursed. "Yeah… not much of a conversationalist, but he was fun to have around. Very light-hearted guy…"
"Yeah…" Tammy almost sighed as they sank back into reflective silence, not uttering so much as a sound until a few minutes later.
"So, want to show me around the apartment?" Tammy finally asked as she wiped her eyes, hoping to change the subject. "Show me what’s new, stuff like that?"
"Uh, sure. I keep forgetting you haven’t seen this place since I redecorated," Josh said after blinking a few times to take him out of his thoughts. He waited for Tammy to get up and quickly followed suite, cricking his back as he got to his feet. "Now, let’s see… there’s the kitchen… besides a new blender there’s not much new in there."
"Of course not, you’re a bachelor; as long as you have a fridge and a microwave, you’re fine," Tammy smiled as she poked fun, glad to be moving on to a new subject.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I’m not a gourmet cook. I just don’t want to take the time," Josh said as they slowly moved over to the counter.
"Well, you could always try watching one of those cooking shows on TV. There might be a few easy-to-make recipes you can use," Tammy suggested, folding her arms on the counter and resting her head on them as she looked up at Josh.
"Pfft! Oh, I’ve tried those. What a crock," Josh scoffed as he thought about his last ‘experience’ with such programming.
"Didn’t work for you, huh?" Tammy asked, her tail swishing about slowly behind her.
"You don’t know the half of it. Let me give you an idea," Josh stated before padding behind the counter, standing opposite of Tammy.
He cleared his throat. Putting on his best fake smile and with his best snooty accent, he began.
"Hello there, all you out in Couch Potato Land! Welcome to cooking with the chef you all wish you could be! Today we’ll be making a very complicated recipe using ingredients you don’t have, cooking utensils you’ve never heard of, and we’ll be doing it in a kitchen bigger than your entire house! And while we do that, I will explain and demonstrate things far too quickly for you to follow at home, but will nonetheless do it all effortlessly while making each step sound like it can be done by even the youngest toddler! Not only that, but despite the fact that you’ll likely have all manner of strange substances sticking to your fur when it’s all finished, I will not have a single spot on my entirely white outfit! And to cap it all off, once I have finished explaining and showing you how to make the dish, I will proceed to sample and taste one that I had previously made, even though there’s absolutely no chance that yours is anywhere near ready to eat! And as always, mine will look absolutely perfect and mouth-watering, while yours will most likely look like it had been tossed into the middle of the freeway during rush hour!"
Tammy was bent over the counter, laughing hysterically. After she had calmed down a bit, propped her elbows up on the counter, holding her head in her paws. "So I’m guessing it wasn’t your cup of tea?"
"While watching a show like that, I’m sure I could have screwed even THAT up," Josh said frankly as he came out from behind the counter.
"My, my, my. That show must really have honked you off; you’re not normally that sarcastic," Tammy observed from her seat at the counter.
"Well, I probably wouldn’t have been quite so irked except for the name of the show," Josh explained, grumbling a bit under his breath.
"Oh? And that was?" Tammy ventured, her ears perked in interest."
"Cooking for Dummies," Josh begrudgingly admitted, folding his arms and leaning back against the end of the counter.
"I see," Tammy tried intently to hide her amusement, but some inevitably showed through. "Oh! What are those?"
Josh looked up as Tammy got up from the counter, padding over to the opposite wall where several decorative swords were hanging. "Oh, yeah, those. I got those a little while ago at a hobby shop."
"They look nice," Tammy said as she examined them, one at a time, running her finger over each of the blades. "Good craftsmanship."
"That’s what I got em’ for. These don’t only look good; they’re well-made, too," Josh explained as he pointed to a lavishly decorated Katana hanging on the wall above him. "This is a good example. These kinds of blades have traditionally been exceedingly sleek and sharp, able to deliver a quick, clean cut because of the light weight. However, this also made them pretty flimsy, and a hit from the side with anything bigger could usually break the blade without much trouble. This one has a thicker blade than most, but it’s still thin enough to cut the air smoothly. Better durability, but a little heavier, too."
"I see," Tammy nodded slowly, looking over the intricate designs decorating the sheath and handle. "You seem to know a lot about swords."
"Not particularly. I’m a history buff, and you really can’t study history without learning a few things about weapons here and there," Josh explained, moving along the wall, passing several other finely detailed swords all hung side-by-side. "Like the handle on this broadsword, for example, that’s Celtic knotwork."
"Those lines that keep weaving in between each other?" Tammy asked, looking intently at what had been indicated.
"You got it," Josh confirmed, carefully lifting it off the plaque and holding it up for her to see. "As you pointed out, these lines interweave continuously; they’re supposed to go on forever."
"Neat. I like the way it looks," Tammy thought aloud, grabbing the sheath and testing its weight. "Wow, that one’s heavy."
"Yup. Those Celts were about as tough as they came," He commented as he placed the sword carefully back on the wall. "A very good replica, I think."
"No arguments here. You looking to storm a castle or what?" Tammy teasingly questioned, noting the quality and diversity of the various blades.
"Heh. Not quite. It’s just a little hobby of mine," Josh told her as they moved down the wall. "Some furs collect stamps, other collect coins…"
"And you just happen to collect deadly weapons," Tammy ventured with a small smirk.
"Something like that," Josh grinned, the humorous comment not lost on him. "But I don’t really see them as weapons all that much. If I was simply looking for something like that, I’d get a gun."
"So, why don’t you?" Tammy asked, still admiring several of the nicer designs as they reached the next wall.
"Simple; I can’t stand them. And I sure as heck don’t want to keep something in my home that any moron can kill me with by simply pointing it at me and pulling a trigger," Josh stated, moving over to the bookshelves covering the left part of his other wall.
"Not a gun fan, huh?" Tammy stated the obvious, now looking over the numerous books that filled the shelves above her.
"Lord, no. I hate the dang things. I’ll happily keep my distance from those, thank you," Josh continued, finishing his sentence just as they were standing in front of the larger of the two bookcases. "Ah, yes. You remember these. My diverse collection of various readings on just about every subject you can think of."
"Impressive, as always," Tammy mused as she looked up, seeing the massively stuffed bookcase almost touching the ceiling. "Oh! Do you have that book?"
"Well, I got lots of books. What one are you talking about?" Josh asked quizatively, scratching the top of his head.
"That book of poetry your Great Uncle wrote; you said you had a signed copy you wanted to give Sheila and me," Tammy explained, all of it just popping back into her mind. "We were going to get it the last time we visited, but you weren’t home."
"Oh, yeah, Uncle Al’s book. I forgot all about that," Josh said thoughtfully, turning to scan up and down the many rows packed with books of all shapes and sizes. "I remember having a couple of them left. They should be together… somewhere in there…"
"Even you can’t reach all those shelves. Do you have a stepladder?" Tammy asked, trying to be helpful.
"Sure; it’s in the bathroom closet, I left in there after the last time I painted it," Josh nodded in the direction of the bathroom, still thoughtfully scanning the shelves one by one. As Tammy was fetching the ladder, Josh caught something out of the corner of his eye. He moved back a few steps to get a better look. At the far right end of the top shelf, he could see a faded green and white book cover: the very same that covered all of his Great Uncle’s Poetry books. Great, the top shelf. It’s always the top shelf.
Hmmm… that’s not too high. I could get up there easily enough. Josh thought as he placed his paws on the shelf level with his chest, pushing it to test how sturdy it was. After a few good pushes and pulls, he determined that it was at least somewhat safe to venture on upwards. Josh placed his foot on one of the lower shelves, very carefully moving his way up. It wasn’t really all that high, about three feet above Josh’s head, and it would be easy enough to grab once he got within distance. Once Josh was able to reach the top shelf, he placed his paw on the book that had caught his eye and grabbed it. The only problem was, it wouldn’t budge. Josh pulled more firmly, trying as best he could to dislodge it from between the other books that were pressed around it, holding it in place. He was undeterred, and continued pulling with more and more force until it finally was freed.
Ah, good. No-, whoa! Josh was taken off guard for a moment and came dangerously close to losing his balance. He very narrowly missed going down and taking the bookcase with him. He kept himself steady, though, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, you were supposed to wait for me to get the ladder!" Tammy’s voice suddenly came from directly behind him, catching him off guard and surprising him so much that he fully lost his balance, landing with a *thud* on the floor.
"Ouch," Josh groaned as he sat up, rubbing the right part of his lower back with one paw as his other presented Tammy with what he had plucked. "Here’s your book."
"Thanks. Are you ok?" Tammy asked with concern in her voice, taking the book under her arm as she helped Josh up.
"Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. I’m just glad the bookcase didn’t come crashi-," Josh didn’t have time to finish the sentence, because as he looked up, he saw the entire bookcase about to come crashing down on top of him. He quickly got to his feet, moving forward and putting his arms up just as it was about to come down. "I got it! I got it! *WHUMP*… I don’t got it…"
Tammy tried to suppress a giggle after she saw what happened. Josh had caught the bookcase by the outside of the frame, but since the bookcase was tilted over, all the books that had been on the shelves came toppling right off and onto the floor around him.
Josh just stood there for a few seconds, his lips pursed and his brow furrowed, before pushing the case back against the wall. "Well, I almost had it."
Tammy giggled when she saw him give way to a somewhat bashful expression. "Don’t worry about it. I’ll help you pick these up."
"Thanks," Josh bent over and began gathering books in his arms, getting down on one knee and shuffling them onto the bottom shelf.
Tammy did the same and after a moment caught sight of something. After she had picked up a dictionary from on top of one of the piles of scattered books, she noticed what looked like the corner of a box. She cleared away the books around it, examining it closer. It looked like one of those old Cuban cigar boxes she used to see on older films, made of a very sturdy wood with fancy lettering all around the top. What she immediately noticed, though, was that it had a keylatch on it. She had never seen a cigar box that you could lock.
"Hey, what’s this?" Tammy asked, turning it sideways to examine the box a bit more thoroughly.
"Hmm? What is wha-," Josh froze immediately as his gaze fell upon it, his eyes growing big as saucers instantly. Within the time it takes to bat an eye, he had almost dived over to Tammy, grabbing the box from her paws and tucking it under his arm. "This? This is nothing; just something I’ve kept around for a while, it wasn’t even supposed to be up there."
Tammy stared at Josh; she had never seen him react like that to anything before. The stunned silence remained as she watched him go over to his desk and open the bottom drawer.
"I keep forgetting it’s supposed to go in here," Josh continued talking, not bothering to wait for Tammy to add anything. He quickly padded back and again started to pick up books to put back on the shelf. "Now, let’s finish this up."
"Josh, what is tha-," Tammy stopped when she felt Josh’s paw rest softly on her shoulder. She saw him smile very warmly at her as he kneeled down, books tucked under his other arm.
"It’s nothing important. Trust me," Josh assured her with a very sincere, non-threatening tone of voice. "Don’t worry about it, ok?"
"Ok…" Tammy agreed, though still a bit flustered from Josh’s lightning quick reaction. She trusted Josh, though, and by the time they had finished placing all the books back onto the shelves, she wasn’t worrying about it at all. She had completely put it out of her mind.
"Ah, there we go! Good as new…well, good as before," Josh mused as he picked up the stepladder and folded it before placing it under his arm. "Let me just put this away and I can finish the tour for you."
"Actually, it’s ok. It’s getting kind of late," Tammy said as she looked at her watch.
"You sure? It’s no problem at all," Josh yelled out from the bathroom as he put the ladder back in the closet.
"Yeah, it’s ok. I think I’m about ready to call it a night," Tammy yawned, raising her arms skyward and stretching her back.
"Well, ok.... Oh, yeah, I wanted to ask you something," Josh said as he came out of the bathroom, padding over to the couch.
"Mmm?" Tammy murmured as she straightened up.
"Why didn’t you call me?" Josh inquired, his brow wrinkled in slight confusion. "I thought I was supposed to pick you up at the airport."
Tammy stared at him for a few moments, then moved a few feet over to Josh’s answering machine, with a smug grin, she pressed down the message key.
You have 1 New Message
Josh bit his lip as he heard that, looking up at the still grinning Vixen. "I’m guessing that message is from you."
"Uh-huh. The one I left three days ago. Would you like to hear it?" Tammy asked, her grin more of a smirk now.
"No, no, that’s ok. I don’t think there’d be much point in it now," Josh chuckled somewhat embarrassedly, rubbing the back of his neck with his paw.
"Ok, then. Let’s just see what other messages you have on here that were more important than mine," Tammy teased, hitting the ‘Previous Play’ button on the answering machine.
"What? Hey, wait a sec," Josh started before he was interrupted by Susan’s voice coming from the speaker.
"Hi, Josh. This is Susan. Remember? We met at the ice cream parlor the other night."
"Ooh, a girl," Tammy teased further, her tongue tip showing from between her lips.
"It was very nice to meet you. I thought perhaps we might get to know each other a bit better. Would you like to have dinner together sometime?"
Uh-oh. Tammy thought, her ears perking as she heard this and paying keen attention as the rest of the message finished. Sheila isn’t going to like this.
Josh, for his part, looked somewhat bashful as he heard the message end and continued to stand where he was.
"Ok, that’s it. Details," Tammy said as she sat down on the arm of the couch, folding her arms and focusing her eyes directly on the blushing fox.
Josh chuckled nervously before he started. "Well, remember when I told you I had touched base with Sabby again?"
"Yeah…" Tammy nodded, not changing her expression.
"Well, when I found her again, she was with two friends at the time. One was Debbye, Amy’s little cousin, and the other was a very… fascinating lioness named Susan; she’s the one who was on the machine," Josh began to explain, sitting himself down on one of the stools at the counter.
"Yeah…" Tammy repeated, crossing her legs as she listened.
"Uhm, she basically just called me up a few days after that and… well, asked me out," Josh cleared his thought as he finished, folding his paws in his lap.
"Oh, ok…," Tammy paused for a moment to take that all in. "Have you two gone out yet?"
"Yeah, actually, we went out last night. I took her to that place I took Sabby, Trattoria Salvatore. Very nice place; GREAT food, but then again I had very good company…" Josh smiled as the memories of that evening refreshed in his mind, slowly drawing him away from the present and back to the restaurant that night.
Uh-oh. Tammy thought as she watched Josh’s eyes grow peacefully distant. Puppy love. And he’s got it BAD.
Josh remained in his dreamy state for a minute longer until Tammy spoke up again.
"Geez, look at the time, I should really be going," Tammy said with a hint of forced sleepiness to her voice as he got up from the couch.
Josh snapped out of thought just as Tammy had gotten up. "Going? Where?"
"Oh, it’s that Motel about fifteen blocks over from Eric’s place. I figured it’d be better to stay where I could be closest to everyone," Tammy explained, moving over to the door to get the suitcase she had left there.
"Like heck you are!" Josh stated sternly. "No way am I going to let you take a cab to some motel! This place is closer to everyone than that shack is."
"Thanks, Josh, but I don’t want to put you out," Tammy bit her lip as she watched him get up and walk over to her.
"Nonsense! There’s plenty of room here! And I can assure you that it’s nicer here than in that little motel room," Josh was horribly insistent when it came to hospitality, especially to his closer friends.
"But you only have one bed," Tammy pointed out, trying to resist to urge to break into a sprint and jump into it. She’d likely be asleep before she hit the pillows.
"No problem, I’ll just sleep on the couch here," Josh smiled as he gave the back cushion a few pats with his paw. "This thing was comfortable enough to keep me asleep for most of the day, so I don’t think I’ll have too many problems crashing on it again tonight."
Tammy was just too tired to argue; she gave in. "Ok, I’ll stay here, but only if I get to help you out around this place; deal?"
"Great!" Josh beamed happily as he took her suitcase and started to walk with her towards the bedroom door. "Just get some rest for now, and we’ll work something out in the morning."
"Fine," Tammy yawned, stopping in front of the bedroom door to give Josh a hug. "It IS good to see you again, Josh."
Josh smiled warmly as he gave her a hug back. "It’s good to see you, too, Tammy."
Tammy closed her eyes as she squeezed him tightly, opening them after a moment and looking up past him. "Uh, Josh?"
"Yeah?" Josh replied, looking down at the gazing Vixen.
"Why is there a spoon stuck in the ceiling?"