FIRE ON HIGH
“Fire On High” is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. All characters and settings © Tigermark 2003-2005 unless otherwise noted. Request permission before using them, please.
The characters of Anatol Altaisokova and Melinda Altaisokova are my names for characters © Max Blackrabbit. They appear in this story with his permission. The characters of Brandy, Maxwell, and Tonya and Zig Zag are also © Max Blackrabbit and appear here with his permission. Events and information relating to Tonya, Anatol, and their family are presented here, but are not to be considered canon to those characters or any other story but this one. ZZ Studios © James Bruner. Matt Barstock and Intermountain Charter © Silver Coyote. See their story HERE.
CHAPTER 26
LIFE GOES ON . . . AND ON
“Ah, Alex?”
Alex looked up from his seat in the lobby of Malone’s, one of the nicer downtown restaurants in Lexington.
“Yes. Melina?” Alex stood to greet the Siamese who’d spoken to him. The femme had typical chocolate-point markings, and clear blue eyes. Tall, but not overly so, the top of her head came to level with Alex’s eyes. Penny had been adamant about getting the two of them together, and Alex could see the physical reasons why. The feline was quite lovely, and very well turned out in a dress and sweater outfit that looked very fashionable.
“Yes. It’s very nice to meet you.” Melina gave a warm smile and offered her paw. Alex was old-school enough to consider kissing it, but opted instead to gently shake it while giving a slight bow.
“Likewise. Would you like to sit down? Our table should be ready in a few minutes.”
“That’s fine.” Melina sat down beside Alex, putting her purse between them. Her demeanor was cautiously friendly, and Alex was glad for that. From what he’d seen of modern dating moors, he knew that many femme’s these days were very forward, expecting to quickly bed a male and then move on.
I really should have known better than that, Alex thought. Penny certainly wouldn’t set me up with someone who acted like that.
“Ah, Penny said you work for one of the businesses that use the ad company she works for. What do you do there?” Alex asked to start the conversation.
“I’m the Assistant Marketing Director. That basically means I get to do everything while my boss plays golf.” Melina had a slightly mischievous look on her face, and Alex picked up on her intent.
“I take it that’s not as bad as it sounds?”
“Hee hee, you’re right. We manufacture golf equipment.”
Alex chuckled, but before he could reply, the squirrel femme in charge of seating the guests called out.
“O’Whitt, party of two?”
Alex stood and offered a paw to Melina as he replied. “Right here.”
“Ah, this way please, sir.” The squirrel turned and walked into the dining area.
They followed her out into the center of the dining room. Once there, Alex pulled a chair out for Melina. After she was seated, Alex sat down, and a whippet stepped up.
“Hello, my name is Dennis and I’ll be your waiter this evening. What may I get you to drink, while you decide on your meal?”
They gave their drink orders, and the whippet gave them each a menu and then departed.
“So, Penny says you’re her husband’s partner. Do you fly, too?” Melina asked, picking the conversation back up. Alex smiled. Apparently, Penny hadn’t told the Siamese any more about him than she’d told him about her.
“Yes. In fact, I just retired from the Air Force.”
“Oh? You don’t look that old.”
Alex arched an eyebrow slightly at the comment. Melina’s eyes grew large as she realized what she’d said.
“Ah, I mean, uh . . . sorry, Alex. That came out wrong.” The feline dropped her eyes, embarrassed. Alex chuckled softly and met her eye to eye when she looked back up.
“I’ll take it as a compliment, thank you,” he said, smiling. Melina returned the smile, still a bit hesitant.
Before either could speak again, the waiter returned with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. They read their selections off their menus, and the whippet collected the menus and left. This time Alex restarted the conversation, but before long it fell into the standard small talk. Melina was divorced, and it had been bitter, so they steered clear of that subject. There had been no children in her marriage and after a brief synopsis on Tia and Andrew from Alex, that subject played out, too. The waiter arrived with their meal, and as they ate, Alex spoke in mostly general terms about his Air Force career and current business. He didn’t usually get into any details unless he knew who he was talking to well. As they finished eating, their eyes met. They were silent a moment, and then Melina spoke.
“Ah, Alex, this was nice. You seem like a really great guy —.”
“But there’s no spark between us. I know,” Alex finished. Melina smiled and gave a slight shrug. Alex returned the smile and continued.
“You are a very lovely lady, and you seem to be a really great person, too.”
“I’m sorry,” Melina sighed, looking down.
“It’s not anyone’s fault to be sorry for. We just didn’t click. Shall we finish up and be on our way?” Alex put money for the bill and tip on the table, and then stood up and stepped around to help Melina with her chair.
“Thank you Alex. It was a nice meal, and a pleasant evening,” she said as she stood up.
“You’re quite welcome. Perhaps we’ll cross paths at Penny’s sometime.”
“Oh! Penny is going to be so disappointed. She really built this date up.” Melina looked concerned as she and Alex walked out of the restaurant.
“Oh, don’t worry. I think I can ease that a bit. This date went a whole lot better than the last one she set me up with.” Alex was grinning to himself.
Melina giggled. “I’ll just bet, by the tone of that. Here’s my car. Sometime either you or she will have to tell me about that.”
“You bet. Have a good evening, Melina.” Alex, out of habit, glanced into the car as he held the door open for her. She glanced around to see what he was looking at, and realized he had made sure no one was in the back seat. She smiled up at him a second.
“Thanks, Alex. You’ll make someone a good husband.”
Alex smiled back ruefully. “Someday,” he replied as he shut her door. She waved and started the car, and then pulled away. Alex shrugged to himself, turned and headed for his truck, his thoughts already turning to driving to his father’s in the morning.
# # #
Alex was up early the next morning, heading for his father’s place in West Virginia. It was starting out as a cloudy, drizzly, cool autumn morning. The fall colors along the drive were muted in the misting rain, making the mood subdued. He had thought about flying, but repeated trips back and forth in Stripes One would get to be prohibitively expensive.
“Perhaps I should think about getting a light twin. That’d be more economical and more time-efficient than driving,” he mused to himself as he made his way north from the I-79/I-77 split. The low clouds and mist clung to the hilltops, but Alex refused to let the weather depress him. The time left with his father was very precious, and he would not waste it being gloomy. He covered the fifteen miles up I-79 to the Elkview exit at a good pace on the damp road, and in ten minutes after taking the exit, pulled up in front of his father’s house. Grabbing his overnight bag, Alex got out and walked toward the house. Anton came out the door and met him on the porch.
“Hello Son,” the older tiger said as he opened his arms. Alex stepped in and hugged him tightly.
“Hi Dad. How’re you feeling?”
“Not too bad. Looks like fishing may not be in the cards for today.” Anton released the hug. Alex had noted how well he could feel all the bones in his father. The tiger looked gaunt, but not anymore so than when he’d seen him last. Alex was quite glad that his father seemed to be holding his own for now.
“Nope,” he agreed as they went inside. Alex sat his bag down in the living room as he and his father had a seat.
“Coffee?” Anton offered. He’d made a pot and put it in a thermos. There were two mugs waiting on the table beside it, so neither of them would have to go into the kitchen.
“Sure, thanks. Good idea. No, sit. I’ll pour.” Alex stood back up before his father could. He stepped over and picked up a mug. He poured first for his father, and then himself. The two then settled in to spend some time together.
“Ahhh, this is nice, Dad. I’m kinda glad it’s rainy. It’ll give us a chance to talk. Better yet . . .” Alex reached down into his bag and brought out the mini-recorder. Anton grinned.
“You know what I said I’d talk about the next time you brought that out.”
Alex nodded as he plugged the device in beside the chair. “Yep. When you’re ready, I’ll start it and you can fire away.”
The elder O’Whitt nodded and waved a paw for Alex to go ahead. He reached up and turned on the recorder, and had just stated the starting information when Blake jumped into his lap. Anton grinned again.
“Ah, what a perfect day for this, Son. Damp and drizzly outside, warm and comfortable in. A kaht on your lap, and a good story to hear, eh?”
Alex nodded and Anton went on. “Ah, you Alex, were most definitely an O’Whitt-Altaisokova male as a child. Stubborn! My, you were as stubborn as the Siberian winter, as Papa used to say. In a very determined way, too. You always had a reason to cross those arms and determine not to do something. Or determine to, as the case may be. Heh, don’t look like that, I do believe it has served you well. Oh, you gave your mother fits at times. I remember when you were in third grade. Every day she put your hat on you as you left for school, so you wouldn’t get cold. Every day we would find it just inside the fence beside the gate, even if she walked you there. You mumbled something about hats not being cool, and flat refused to wear one. I don’t think I saw you in one again until you started ROTC.”
“Well,” Alex said after a few seconds to fill the void, “guys who wore those kinds of hats got an awful teasing. I was just trying not to get in another fight.”
“Hmmm, didn’t happen though, did it? Heh, Su-Lin and I knew every official and teacher at the school on a first-name basis. My, what a temper! It’s good your claws were kept a bit dull then. As I recall, you learned to make them into razors in College. Darn near landed you in jail then. I was so glad when Master Quai agreed to take you on as a student. Seems he got through to you where the rest of us couldn’t.”
“Ahh, Dad. You got through, believe me. That’s partly why I went to Izzy to start with, so I could learn to control my temper and never give you a reason to be ashamed of me. It was Izzy that taught me how to sharpen my claws the way I do. If I’d had my claws that sharp in that incident you just mentioned, I would be in jail. I did have a temper, though. A male can only take being called ‘Fluffy” so many times before it gets to you.” Alex still smiled as he said this, remembering the good times in school and with Izzy Quai, rather than the bad.
“Huh, yep. I’d nearly forgotten that they called you that so much through school. Seems like I was in to see your principal shortly after the start of each school year because some young yahoo thought that would be funny.”
“Well, it didn’t always end in a fight, but it did end,” Alex replied, rather distantly.
“Yep. Don’t know why the young males thought it was so funny that you had a snow leopard’s tail. Your mother was quite fond of hers, and so was I.” Anton grinned broadly. Alex’s jaw dropped.
“Dad! I can’t believe you said that.”
“Why? I loved Su-Lin very much. Why wouldn’t I also be physically attracted to her?”
After several long seconds, Alex just shook his head. “I guess you’re right. I just didn’t think of you two that way.”
Anton now grinned slyly. “Maybe not, but back then you sure didn’t have any problem thinking of the local femme population that way. You dated a lot, and seemed to have a new girlfriend every week in high school.”
“Uh, Dad, we’re talking about the family history, not the history of my love life.”
“I know, but I did say I’d talk about you a bit this time.” Anton paused a second, and then continued. “I’m happy you became a Christian, but it seems after that you became so picky you haven’t even had a girlfriend.”
Alex thought on this for several moments before he said anything.
“No, I’ve had several girlfriends since then. It just never seemed to work out. Either I’d have to leave on some assignment, or she would move on. I just never have found that certain one, y’know? That one I can look at the way you always looked at Mom.”
Anton nodded, a faraway smile on his muzzle. “I can appreciate that. You keep looking. Jason was always kind of your opposite, y’know? He was always a bit shy in high school. Didn’t date much. He also was saved the teasing, because he looked full tiger. He met Jenna in college and they settled down. If they hadn’t met, he’d have been just like you, but for the opposite reason. He was so confident in his flying, and as an officer, but he was really tongue-tied around femme’s back when. He would’ve grown out of it eventually, but he met Jenna and they became inseparable. I have two wonderful grandcubs from that. Su-Lin was a wonderful wife and a great mother. You know, she was always very proud of you both.” Anton turned his head away. Alex had a brief glimpse of tears in the older tiger’s eyes.
“Ah, I think that’s enough for this time, Dad. Yes, I know she was proud of both of us. We loved her very much, too.” Alex then reached out and turned the recorder off.
“You still miss her a lot, don’t you,” he stated after several moments of silence.
Anton looked at his son and nodded. The tears were for more than that reason, though. He’d been carrying a burden in his heart ever since his wife had died, and now he realized he had to unload it before his time came.
“Yes, I do. She was the most wonderful femme a guy could ask for. I’m looking forward, in a way, to seeing her again. I only have one regret.”
Alex arched an eyebrow. His father had always lived in such an upright manner, he couldn’t imagine what the tiger could possibly regret.
“What’s that, Dad?”
Anton sighed and turned his eyes away, looking toward the floor. Alex saw something in his father he’d never seen before. Shame.
“Son, I’m ashamed to admit it, and even more ashamed that I ever let it happen to begin with.” Again the old tiger sighed. “Best to just tell it, I suppose. After Jason was born, Su-Lin went into a terrible post-partum depression. She absolutely doted on you and Jason, but she was distant to me. She also rejected any compliment I’d give her, and almost flinch if I touched her. Believe me, she got her figure back quite well, but she didn’t seem to believe it. She’d reject my attempts at affection, going to tears about how fat she was. She wasn’t, but I couldn’t convince her of that. Anyway, after a couple of months like that, I was very frustrated. It was then that the secretary at the shop I was working at asked me if I wanted to stop by after work for a drink or two. Seems she was just finishing a pretty bitter divorce and wanted to celebrate. I was under the impression she’d invited the rest of the crew there, so I went along, just to be friendly. Turned out to be just the two of us. We had a couple of drinks and commiserated about our troubles, and then went home. Nobody else showed up, and I learned later that no one else had been invited. I didn’t think anything about it then. At work a week or so later, I mentioned to one of the mechanics that Su-Lin was taking you two and going to visit her mother for the weekend. I turned to find Carol, that was her name, standing behind me. At the time, she just gave me a work order she’d just filled out for a customer, but within an hour she invited me to stop for a drink after work again. I know, I shouldn’t have, but I accepted.”
“Well, to make a long story a little shorter, we ended up at her place. The next morning when I went home, I was feeling pretty good, and she seemed to be, too. I tell you, though, what happened when I walked through the door was the worst moment of my life, next to receiving the phone call about Su-Lin’s accident. The house of course was empty, as it was Saturday morning. The first thing I saw was the picture of Su-Lin and Jason taken in the hospital when he was born. We’d had it enlarged and put in a frame to hang on the wall. I took one look and fell to my knees. I cried for over an hour. Yes, me, crying. I vowed then and there never to make such a damned-fool mistake again, and I didn’t. I doubled my efforts to help Su-Lin, and in another couple of months, she came out of it and never looked back. I eventually confessed to her, and after we both cried for a while, she forgave me. Son, she was the most wonderful femme that ever was.”
Here Anton fell silent. Alex had sat through the whole confession with a stunned look on his face, not believing what he was hearing.
“But Dad,” he said after several moments, “you always drilled it into Jason and me to be faithful to our future spouses no matter what. I —, I don’t know what to say.”
Anton gave a rueful smile, shaking his head. “Yes, I did. Because I wanted to make sure you and your brother and whoever you married would never have to go through the guilt and shame I felt, or see the hurt in your mate’s eyes when they found out. I thank the Lord that Su-Lin kept a level head and forgave me. It was also fortunate that Carol left within a couple of weeks after that. I never heard from her again.”
Alex was silent again for several more moments, absently stroking Blake’s back. The kaht had fallen asleep on his lap, but presently looked around, stood, and stretched. He looked up at Alex, gave what sounded like a knowing “Mrrr,” and then jumped down and strolled off through the house. Alex looked at his father with a questioning expression.
“Heh,” Anton chuckled. “That’s his way of saying it probably won’t be the last shock you have in store from the family history.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “Oh crap! I turned the tape off before you said all that.”
Anton winked. “I know. You don’t think I want that on tape now do you? That was for your ears only, so there would be nothing left unsaid between us in the end. I still have more to tell, but it’s winding down. Su-Lin had no siblings, and her family ended with her. She doesn’t even have any relatives left in
Alex shook off his thoughts for a second. “Ah, sure Dad. Get your coat and we’ll go.”
Anton stood and walked back through the house to get a jacket. Alex stood also, moving over to the door. He stood there lost in thought while he waited for his father. He’d always looked at the older tiger as someone as near perfect as was possible for a fur. Now, with the news he’d just had, he didn’t know what to think. It would take some contemplation.
As Anton turned the corner coming back, he and Alex locked eyes. To anyone else, it would have looked like they merely paused a second, but in that time, volumes passed between them without a word. Alex’s eyes questioned his father, and Anton’s steady gaze in return revealed the same strong, determined, upright tiger Alex had always seen there. That said to him, “Yes, I screwed up, but I learned from my error, and never repeated it. Now, you learn from it and don’t make the error in the first place.”
The two nodded to each other, the matter settled between them. With a smile to each other, they headed out the door to go to lunch.
# # #
Jenna was humming to herself as she put her earrings in and then twitched her ears to make sure they sat properly. She was in no hurry. As it was she still had an hour before Jack was to pick her up for their date. Circumstances had conspired to keep them from going out before now, but she had been determined to keep this Saturday night open. Andrew had gone over to his friend Sal Idiri’s house along with his friend Dan to spend the night. Tia was in her room reading, and planned to spend a quiet evening doing more of the same unless she indulged in a telephone gab-fest with her friends.
Jenna had chosen a nice, not *too* short black skirt that made her hips look slimmer and showed off her legs well. A nice white silk blouse and a small black choker to offset the white fur on her throat completed the outfit. Jack hadn’t said what he’d arranged, but insisted it wasn’t formal. She wondered idly if there might be dancing involved. She hadn’t danced in over a year, since the last officer’s ball at Shaw.
Rather than let herself get melancholy over that, she tried to remember the most modern dance steps she could. She was gyrating about with this in mind when Tia walked into the room.
“Mom! What are you doing?”
“Dancing,” she replied as she spun around and faced her daughter, adding some arm movements. Tia watched critically for a few seconds.
“You’re not planning on doing that on your date, are you?”
Jenna continued to move as she answered, “Maybe, I don’t know yet.”
Tia crossed her arms and flipped her tail a bit. “I wouldn’t. It’d be a shame to ruin your first date with Jack by totally embarrassing yourself.”
Jenna stopped short and eyed her daughter. Then she saw the teasing glint in Tia’s eyes. She resumed dancing even more enthusiastically, spinning over and grabbing Tia’s paw.
“Misery loves company then. You show me how to dance.”
After a moment, Tia giggled and began to dance, too, but a bit more sedately. After a moment she was gyrating and rocking her hips as enthusiastically as her mother. She did one particular move, thrusting her hips about. Jenna stopped and arched an eyebrow.
“That’s what passes for dancing with teenagers today?”
Tia smiled and replied, “Hey, it’s no worse than the Hustle I’ve seen you do.”
Jenna smiled back. “Touché. But that was with your father, not on a first date. I think I’ll just let Jack set the pace for now. He’s pretty shy at times.”
Tia stopped dancing and hugged her mother. Then she looked into her eyes.
“Mom, I’m glad you and Jack are going out.”
Jenna was struck by the lack of height difference between herself and Tia. When had her daughter grown so tall?
“Thanks Honey. Hey! Look at the time. He’ll be here in a half-hour or so.”
They both giggled a moment, and then Tia stepped back. “Have fun, Mom. I’ll be in my room if you need me.” She gave a slight wave and departed, heading down the hall.
Jenna slipped on a pair of strappy, heeled sandals, and then looked herself over in the mirror. Satisfied, she walked to the living room and retrieved her purse and a sweater to protect from the cool autumn evening. She then sat down to wait.
It wasn’t too long before she heard the crunch of gravel as a vehicle pulled up outside. She started to jump up, but then something her mother had told her back when she was a teenager came to mind.
“Easy Kitten. Always make a male wait a few minutes for you. It heightens their anticipation, and besides, if you’re too eager, he might think you’re easy.”
She almost giggled at the thought that Jack might think her easy after what they’d been through just to get to this first date, but Jenna remained seated. After a few moments the doorbell rang. She still remained seated. After a couple of minutes more, the doorbell rang again. Now Jenna stood and walked toward the door. As she passed the hallway, she caught sight of Tia poking her head out of her room with a quizzical expression on her face. Jenna stepped down the hall far enough for Tia to hear her without shouting.
“Something my mother told me. I’ll explain later.”
Tia nodded and smiled, and then disappeared back into her room. Jenna turned and headed for the front door.
Outside, Jack Lazarus was wondering if he’d somehow gotten the wrong night. The house lights were on, and Jenna’s minivan was in the driveway. He’d rung the bell twice, but had detected no sign of movement. The thought of a very miffed Jenna in a robe with tousled hair and sleepy eyes came to mind, but he was sure she’d said Saturday night. He smiled to himself, thinking that she would be as beautiful as always, even with a robe and messy hair.
He was about to ring the bell again when the door suddenly opened. Just then, Jack temporarily lost the power of speech. Jenna always dressed well for church, and usually wore jeans for any outings with the church youth, but to Jack she now looked absolutely stunning! The white blouse and black skirt she wore made a wonderful counterpoint to her white fur and black stripes.
“Hi Jack,” Jenna said with a warm smile. Jack swallowed hard and had to resist the sudden urge to answer with “Helloooo Jenna!” A paraphrase of a line from a cartoon series he watched when there was nothing else on television.
“H—,” he tried, and then cleared his throat. “H-, Hi Jenna. Wow, you look spectacular!”
Jenna’s smile widened. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.”
Jack blushed. He’d worn a nice polo shirt and dockers, but wasn’t sure if he’d over or underdressed for the occasion. Before he could think of anything gracious to say, he remembered something. He carefully brought the paw he’d been holding behind his back around, barely missing his enthusiastically wagging tail. In it he held a single white rose, which he presented to Jenna.
“Ah! Oh that’s so sweet. Thank you,” she said as she carefully took the stem.
“Well, I was going to have them make it into a corsage, but I was afraid I’d do us both great harm trying to pin it on you.”
Jenna laughed behind a paw, and then reached out and grabbed his paw.
“I’m ready to go,” she said in a demure voice.
“Great!” Jack replied. He turned and held out his arm, allowing Jenna to release his paw and loop her arm through his. They walked to Jack’s truck, where he opened the door for her and helped her get seated. He carefully closed her door, making sure her tail was safely out of the way. He then walked around and got in behind the steering wheel.
They drove toward town, small-talking about church and their jobs, both content just to be in each others company. Jack eased through the Saturday night traffic into the city center. There he turned down a side street and drove on for a couple of blocks. He spotted an open parking spot and deftly maneuvered the pickup into it. Jenna could see a well-lit storefront a couple of blocks farther on. Jack shut down the truck and got out, crossing around to Jenna’s side. He opened her door and held a paw out. She took it and lightly stepped onto the sidewalk. Still holding paws, they walked down the street toward the place Jenna had seen. As they got closer, she could make out a name on the sign above it.
PLACE
She looked at Jack, who smiled and gave her a slight wink. They entered the ornate door, and stopped in the foyer. Jenna noted the décor was pleasantly subdued. From the foyer, one doorway opened into a dining area, another into a bar with smaller tables around it. At the back, both rooms adjoined a third room where she could see a stage and dance floor. A gruff-looking bulldog in casual dress clothes looked over a pair of black-rimmed half-glasses at them from the greeter’s podium. He stepped around and quickly up to them, a smile forming on his muzzle. He still looked gruff, but when he spoke it was all Jenna could do not to laugh.
“Ah! Monsieur Lazarus! Glad to zee you joining us tonight, mon ami.” The bulldog’s voice was a medium tenor, and his lilting French accent didn’t seem to match his tough appearance.
“Hello Rip, thank you, glad to see you, too.” Jack shook paws with the canid.
The bulldog grinned. “And ‘oo is zis? What a lovely lady you ‘ave on your arm!”
“Yes she is, isn’t she? This is Jenna O’Whitt. She goes to church with me,” Jack replied with a slight chuckle.
“Ah! Bon, bon. Elle est trés jolie. Very pretty. Bonjour, Mademoiselle.”
“Thank you, Rip, it’s nice to meet you.” Jenna nodded and offered her paw. Rip took it and bowed, but did not kiss it. He straightened and released her paw, and turned toward the dining area, motioning with his paw for them to follow.
“I ‘ave ze perfect table for you two back near ze dance floor. Ze band tonight is quite good. Slow jazz. Lop Ears, zey are called. You will like zem, I think. Follow me, si vous plai? Maria, take over ‘ere.” Rip nodded to a vixen in a classy gown. She stepped up to take his place as he led Jack and Jenna through the restaurant to a table in the back corner near the entrance to the room with the stage. On the stage there they could see several instruments and a drum set, along with sound equipment, awaiting the arrival of the band.
“’Ere you are. Joni will be along shortly to take your order. Bon appétit!”
“Thanks, Rip. I’ll talk to you later,” Jack said as he held Jenna’s chair for her. Jenna nodded to the bulldog as she took her seat. Rip smiled and departed as Jack sat down.
“Well, he’s an interesting one.” Jenna smiled at Jack, an inquiring look in her eyes.
“Yeah, Rip’s quite a character. He came to the
“Well, coming to a femme’s defense? I like him already. So, you did the construction here? Very nice work.” Jenna smiled wider, and Jack stammered a second.
“Ah, uh, yeah. Well, I contracted the furs who did the work, but I oversaw everything in person, side by side with Rip.” The wolf was blushing slightly under his gray fur. Jenna laughed lightly, and then Joni, a slim bobcat dressed in the establishment’s waitress uniform, stepped up.
“Hi, I’m Joni, and I’ll be your waitress tonight. What can I get you to drink while you decide on your meal?” She pawed them each a menu and then took their drink orders and left. Jenna picked the conversation back up.
“So, between various folks at church, and our conversations, we already know a lot about each other. That’s kind of unusual for a first date. What should we talk about?”
Jack thought a moment before answering. “Well, I’ve told you a lot about me, my work, even my wife. More than I’ve told most anyone. There is one thing I haven’t talked about, mostly because of your reaction the last time I mentioned it.”
Now it was Jenna’s turn to think a moment. Then it dawned on her what he was talking about. “Jack, you’ve told me about your wife’s passing, and how hard it was to see her go with ovarian cancer. You’ve told me how you used to be a carpenter and then started your own contracting business. You’ve even told me your favorite food, color, TV show, book. In short, just about everything, and I’ve liked everything I’ve heard. The only thing that ever bothered me was when you mentioned flying. I’m over that. If you didn’t fly, you wouldn’t be you. Talk away.”
Jack smiled broadly and began to tell Jenna about his love of flying. Jenna had been right. The light in his eyes and passion in his words told her that when he loved, it was all the way. The time passed quickly. Their dinner arrived, and they talked and ate. Jack related that he’d started flying for business and pleasure about ten years earlier, pursuing higher ratings as time went on. He spent a lot of time in the air after his wife passed away, finding it his only solace for a while. He now held a multi-engine commercial instrument rating. Jenna listened intently, finding herself drawn more and more into the wolf’s love of the air. She liked that he cared so deeply for the things he felt were important, and he made a point of telling her several times that he felt she was very important.
After they finished eating, not very much time passed until several rabbits came out to the stage and began to tune up their instruments. Shortly a tall lop-eared buck with a saxophone stepped up to the microphone at center stage.
“Welcome ahl, We’ah the Lop Eahs. Enjoy the jazz.” The rabbit stepped back with the other band members, and they began to play some slower, mellow jazz tunes.
Jack cleared his throat and held out a paw to Jenna. “Ah, I can’t manage more than a waltz, but would you care to dance? That is, if you like to dance”
Jenna involuntarily giggled. “Silly wolf. I was an officer’s wife. Of course I like to dance, and a waltz would be wonderful.”
She took the offered paw and they made their way to the dance floor. They began to waltz in the proper form, with one of Jack’s paws on Jenna’s waist and the other holding her paw at shoulder level, with her other paw on his shoulder. After a few rounds like that, though, the waltz became a more intimate, prom-style slow dance with Jenna’s arms around Jack’s neck and his arms around her waist. For his part, Jack wished the music would go on forever. Jenna found she felt quite content to be in the wolf’s arms, too.
All too soon for either of them, the Lop Ear’s saxophone player stepped back up to the microphone. “Ahl Raht, folks, Rip says we kin do one last song and den it’s closin’ tahm. Dat ol’ bulldog says One A.M. is late enough.”
Jenna started. “Oh Jack, is it really that late? We have church in the morning, and Tia is home by herself. She’ll be . . .”
“Shhh,” Jack admonished in return. “Tia’s got a good head on her shoulders. I’m sure she’s fine. There’s one more dance. For just a bit longer, let yourself be Jenna, and not Mom.”
Jenna stared a moment, but as the music started, she pulled close and put her head on Jack’s shoulder. A low purr resonated through his chest as Jack held her close and they danced the last dance of the night. The song was a long one, and it was closer to one thirty when Rip let them out the door.
“Jack, bring zis one back with you next time, si vous plai. She classes up ze dance floor quite well, no?”
“I most certainly intend to. Yes, she does, doesn’t she. Thanks Rip, I’ll see you next time,” Jack replied as they walked out. As they headed for Jack’s truck, Jenna held his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. After Jason’s death, she had doubted she’d ever feel this way again. She still didn’t want to rush and call it love, but it sure felt close. Jack felt like he had won every jackpot ever thought of as they walked on. He had no doubt about being in love with Jenna, but the first date seemed too soon to make an announcement like that, so he settled for just enjoying the moment.
They made their way carefully toward home through the late traffic. Many of the clubs had just closed, and the last thing they wanted was to meet up with a drunk driver. Soon though, Jack pulled up in front of Jenna’s house. He got out and quickly came around and opened her door for her. She grabbed the paw he offered and he walked her up onto the porch and to the front door. The lights inside were all off, and the porch light provided the only illumination to be found. Once there, before Jack could say anything, Jenna turned to him.
“Jack, I had a fantastic time.” She wrapped her arms around the surprised wolf and kissed him soundly. After a moment, she released her embrace and opened the door to go inside. Jack was so overwhelmed by the kiss that the door had nearly closed before he found his voice.
“Ah, Jenna? Same time next week?”
The wolf had such a cute, hopeful expression on his face, and his tail was wagging a mile a minute. Jenna nearly giggled out loud, but instead she winked at him and nodded as the door closed. Jack felt like his feet never touched the ground as he walked back to his truck and headed home.
Inside, Jenna shut the door and turned, planning on letting out a happy sigh. It turned into a short “EEK!” when she found herself face to face with Tia.
“All right young lady, what do you mean by coming home at this time of night?”
Jenna looked at both the stern expression on Tia’s face and the twinkle in her sleepy eyes and had to laugh. Tia couldn’t keep the tough face going and laughed, too. After a few moments, Jenna spoke.
“Nice try, Tia, but I’m the one who sets curfew around here, remember? And before you ask, yes, we had a great time. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, now let’s get to bed.”
Tia started to say something, but thought the better of it. She kissed her mother on the cheek, and with a knowing smile and a wave of her paw, she headed off to bed. Jenna went to her bedroom and got undressed for bed, also. As she lay down, she couldn’t keep the smile from her muzzle. She folded her paws across her chest and expressed what she was feeling as a simple prayer.
“Thank you”
End of Chapter 26