VI
Confusion
An insistent knocking awakened Michael. At the same time, a masculine voice was saying, “Michael, son, get up. It’s time for you to find a job.”
“All right, Dad. I’m awake.”
“Good. Now, get dressed, get downstairs and eat.”
“Yes, sir.”
Michael was confused. He looked around the room and thought, “Were the last few days a dream?”
Michael threw the covers off and rolled out of bed. He looked out of the window of his bedroom and enjoyed the view of a late June morning in South Georgia. He found himself wishing that work was what we did in our spare time and enjoying life was what we got paid to do. He started laughing as he realized that every college graduate had probably thought something along those lines at one time or another before they found work. He tore himself away from the window and walked over to his closet.
Michael opened the door to the closet and was stunned into utter inaction. His closet had disappeared; in its place was a black void. It was the unlighted coal mine at midnight on a new moon black. There was absolutely no light to be seen, even the light from the room stopped at the door frame. He took a cautious step. He could feel the floor, although it couldn’t be seen. He took a second step and looked back; he could see the light in the room; but, as he had observed from the room, absolutely no light entered the closet. He took a third step and the closet door closed inexplicably; now, he was in utter darkness. He turned around and retraced his steps toward the door. After six steps, he hadn’t found the door; he stopped and thought, “Now, I know I didn’t take more than three steps into my closet and my closet isn’t three steps deep.”
Once again, Michael turned around and, holding his hands in front of him, headed in his original direction. He figured that, if he could at least find it, he could follow the back wall around until he found the door. After about twenty steps, he noticed that he was no longer walking in total darkness; now, it was a very dark gray. He looked ahead and, far in the distance, he discerned a line of light. He decided to go toward that light. As he neared this light source, the darkness was gradually being replaced with lighter shades of gray until, finally, his hand touched a door. He ran his hands over the door until he found the doorknob. He turned it and the door opened slightly; Michael peeked through the crack in the doorway and saw a bedroom which was unoccupied. He stepped through the doorway and took a look back into the closet. He saw the same strange blackness that he had seen in his bedroom closet. He took another step into the room and heard the door close. He looked around the room and saw a door to his right, bed and dresser in front of him and a window to his left. He walked over to the window and glanced outside. Immediately, Michael slapped his hands onto the window sill. He saw varying shades of color on the leaves of the trees. Michael thought, “I know when I looked out of the window before I entered my closet, it had been early summer; now, it’s fall.”
Michael raced back to the closet, snatched the door open and saw the back wall of the closet. He closed the door behind him, took two steps and planted his nose on the back wall of the closet which caused him to stumble backward until he struck the closet door with the back of his head. He turned around, opened the door and cautiously looked through. Once again, he saw the bedroom he had just left. “Something’s strange here. What’s going on?” He thought.
Michael heard someone knocking on the bedroom door. He shook his head, felt himself go light-headed for a second, looked toward the other door, and walked over to it. He opened the door and, standing outside the door and looking right at him, he saw a lion. Not just any lion, a full grown bipedal, tailless, male lion. Immediately, Michael slammed the door and braced against it with all his weight.
“Go away! Don’t eat me! I’ll give you indigestion!” Michael yelled.
He heard a deep rumbling voice outside of the door saying, “Michael, are we going to go through this again?”
Michael said, “Again?”
“Yes, you said the exact same words four months ago when you woke up from stasis. Besides, why would I eat you?”
Cautiously, Michael opened the door about an inch, looked the lion up and down once again and answered, “Bee-ee-cause you’re a lion?”
“Nice of you to notice, again.”
“Again?”
“Yes, when Tigresa and I woke you earlier this year, you made the same comment. Now, get dressed. Tigresa wouldn’t appreciate it if you came to her breakfast table in your underwear, although I believe it wouldn’t hurt Victoria’s feelings.” The lion said as he laughed.
Michael looked down, realized the lion was right and smiled sheepishly. The lion continued, “When you finish getting dressed, come on down to the dining room and I’ll reintroduce you to everyone.” Then, he closed the door and Michael heard him muttering as he walked down the hall.
*****
A few minutes later, Michael left the room and, following the direction of the footsteps he had heard earlier, walked to the dining room. When he entered, he saw a large room with a proportionately large rectangular table. Surrounding the table were nine chairs, all but one of which were occupied.
The lion stood and said, “Michael, I’ve told everybody that the expected amnesia has occurred; therefore, allow me to remake the necessary introductions.”
Michael said, “Expected amnesia?”
“Yes. Tigresa will explain in just a minute.”
“Now, I’m Dr. Leo Panthera and seated directly across from me is my beautiful, loving wife of twenty-two years, Dr. Tigresa Panthera.
“Starting to my right, is our eighteen-year-old daughter, Victoria, our ten-year-old son, Edward, and our two-year-old daughter, Anne.
“Starting from Tigresa’s right is our twenty-one-year-old son, Richard, our six-year-old daughter, Mary, and, finally, our fourteen-year-old daughter Elizabeth.
“The empty seat next to Richard is where you’ve sat since you arrived in our home about four months ago. Now, if you would be so kind as to take your seat, breakfast is getting cold.”
As Dr. Leo made the re-introductions, Michael smiled at each person. Michael sat in the indicated seat which was directly across from Anne. During breakfast, Victoria kept flirting with him by smiling shyly and quickly averting her eyes when he looked suddenly in her direction. He noticed that her fur coloration was a mix of her father’s lion yellow and her mother’s black stripes and seemed familiar to him. He could tell that, even without seeing her mother, she had to be a mixture of lion and tiger; she wasn’t a liger because a glance at her chest told him that she was most definitely sexually mature, something that is theoretically impossible for a liger to reach, since they don’t have the gene to stop growth.
A couple of minutes after sitting down, Michael noticed a bit of a mischievous look cross Victoria’s face. She said, “So, Michael, are we going out again on Friday night?”
Michael stopped talking and started coughing as part of his food went down his windpipe. He stopped coughing and looked at her quickly with a look of utter and complete shock. Richard, Dr. Leo and Dr. Tigresa looked at them. He looked at the three of them and, speaking to Victoria, said, “I don’t remember that happening the first time.”
“Of course, silly, you’ve got amnesia, remember. You wouldn’t remember the fact that we’re dating or all the times you’ve snuck into my room in the middle of the night.”
With utter shock in his voice, Michael said, “Ah, He-ell, no. I believe I would remember something like that. I mean, spending time in bed with a beautiful young woman like you should be something any healthy young man would remember.” He was staring at Victoria as he spoke. As he stared, he noticed the impish smile forming on the corners of her mouth. “You little . . .”
She burst out laughing, saying, “You should have seen the look on your face. Michael.” She continued to laugh.
Suddenly, Michael heard a little voice raised in his defense. “Bi’towa, leeb Mah’l ‘lone!” He turned toward the voice and saw little Anne with as angry a look as he had ever seen on the face of a two-year-old. Anne continued with, “He mah fwen! I luh hin! Leeb hin ‘lone!”
Smiling at her, Michael said, “Thank you, Anne. I love you, too.” She crossed her arms across her little chest and continued to glare at Victoria.
Richard stage whispered, “Victoria, you had better apologize to Anne. You know how she is about Michael.”
Victoria said, “I’m sorry, Anne. I know Michael’s your boyfriend. I was just playing a joke on him.”
Anne’s features softened a bit and she said, “Uh-kay, Bi’towa.”
Dr. Leo just shook his head slowly as he said, “Michael, how can you not remember how Anne attached herself to you on the day you arrived. She doesn’t even want Richard to hold her anymore, much to his chagrin.”
“Sorry, sir. The only memories I have of being here started from just before you knocked on my door a short while ago. Prior to hearing you knock on my door, I had heard my father’s voice waking me up.”
Dr. Leo sat there thinking for several seconds; then, he looked up toward Dr. Tigresa. “What do you think, Tigresa?”
“Offhand, psychologically speaking, it would be my guess that he is temporarily rejecting his current situation by forgetting what has happened the last four months and the fact that he is 20,000 years older than he feels like he is.” She paused for a moment in thought before continuing, “Likely as not, his amnesia is compounded by the fact that the human species is going extinct, thanks to a group of mentally disturbed humans who, 20,000 years ago, decided to create a genetically altered virus to single out the human species for extinction, and there’s nothing he can do to prevent it. Since he arrived in our home, I’ve observed that Michael prefers to be in control of any situation which affects him, including the education we gave him about humanimal society, either directly or indirectly and, since the human species is on the downhill slide toward extinction unless the therapy that we’ve developed works, Michael has no control over his situation and, likely, believes that he has no potential mating opportunities even though, genetically speaking, humanimals are 50% human. Despite the fact that we, and Galina Sobaka, have tried to convince him that it is possible for humans and humanimals to mate and produce fertile young just like the different species of humanimals are capable of doing, he seems to have a mental block where this is concerned. As likely as not, he’ll overcome his amnesia pretty soon, most likely within an hour but no longer than 24 hours once he realizes that he was just dreaming before you went to get him for breakfast.” Michael got the feeling that Dr. Tigresa was saying this to jog his memory more than just making idle speculation concerning his amnesia.
Dr. Leo said, “Exactly as I suspected. So, Michael, there’s no reason for you to be alone or lonely when you can find a humanimal female that might be interested in you, just be careful around speciesists.”
“Speciesists?”
Dr. Tigresa said, “Yes, they are humanimals that believe the species bloodlines should remain pure.”
“Really?” Michael asked incredulously.
“Yes. As you have no doubt guessed, Leo and I aren’t speciesists; but, if you were attracted to the daughter of a speciesist, he might make it unbearable for you to spend time with his daughter.”
“You mean violence against me?”
Dr. Leo said, “Oh, no; but assuming she is interested in you, her father could make it difficult for you to be able to talk to her, or see her, or any number of things, short of violence. Of course, the female may reject your overtures. For some strange reason, speciesism tends to run in families. Speciesists tend to think their future son- or daughter-in-law is supposed to meet with their approval. Some even go so far as to arrange a marriage to guarantee their cub marries within the species.”
“Arranged marriages? Are you serious?”
Dr. Tigresa replied, “Yes, my parents were going to force me into an arranged marriage when they found out about Leo.”
“I see that fell through. What happened?”
Dr. Leo spoke up, “When they met me, they fell for my wonderful charm.”
Dr. Tigresa laughed and said, “Of course, dear. If you keep saying that, you might actually start to believe it yourself one of these days. Actually, it was me that fell for his charms.
“My dad refused to allow Leo into his house for four years. He kept saying, ‘When you’re ready for a good husband, I know several successful tigers that wouldn’t hesitate to marry you, even if you’re a divorced woman.’
“I called my parents regularly. Leo insisted on it. When I got pregnant with Richard, my dad said he wanted to see his grandcub. I asked him if Leo was going to be allowed in his home. When he said no, I said no. I said that Leo is my husband and, if my husband isn’t good enough to enter his home, my cub isn’t good enough either, since my cub would be half-lion. After I gave birth to Victoria, my father realized how much he would miss if he maintained his stubborn out-of-date attitude toward Leo.”
Michael turned to Dr. Leo and asked, “How did your parents act when you brought Dr. Tigresa home the first time?”
He laughed loudly, “Oh, my parents were a lot more open minded about inter-racial marriage. They fell madly in love with her.
“I knew my father got around before he met and married my mother. As a matter of fact, he told me on more than one occasion what sex was like with different species even though I told him every time I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to think that my father had loved anyone before he knew my mother.
“When I brought Tigresa home for the first time, my father said, ‘Damn boy, how did you rate such a beautiful tigress?’ Later when we were alone, he asked me, ‘Come on, boy, and be honest. What’s she like in bed?’
“I said, ‘Dad, as far as I know, she’s a virgin and, if that’s what she wants to be if we get married, that’s what she’ll be.’
“‘Come on, Son. I know for a fact that tigresses are some of the wildest, most sexually hungry predators there are. I love your mother, she never tells me no and she wants it as much as, or more than, I do; but she’ll never be as hungry for it as a tigress.’
“I said, ‘Dad, I really don’t want, or need, to know about your sex life before Mom and I really don’t need to know about your sex life with Mom. Tigresa is a friend from school and I wanted her to meet you and Mom. She’s had a lot of bad luck with guys she’s dated and I thought that meeting my family would be a nice change of pace.’
“Dad said, ‘Yeah, you talk a good talk; but I see the way you two look at each other. You two may not be keeping the sheets warm; but I see it happening in the future, the near future. Believe me, Son, I’m happy for you. Your mother and I were beginning to wonder if you even liked girls, let alone find one.’
“We had dinner with my four siblings, I’m the oldest by the way, and then, we played board games until midnight. As we were breaking up the games to go to bed, a sudden thought struck me.
“I said, ‘Mother, where’s Tigresa going to sleep?’
“She looked at me and said, “Well—I, uh—thought that—you two were—‘
“Tigresa was embarrassed and I said, ‘Mom! Tigresa and I are friends, not lovers! We don’t sleep together; we haven’t even kissed! If we ever start sleeping together, it certainly won’t be in your home! I, we, have too much respect for you to do that!’”
“So, where did she sleep?” Michael asked.
“With my oldest sister. My room was between my sister’s room and my parent’s room. On one side, I could hear my parents reacquainting themselves with each other, again, and, on the other side, Tigresa and Rebecca whispering and giggling all night; I finally fell asleep around 2200 only to be awakened at 2230 by my father who wanted to go fishing. I can honestly say that I wasn’t much of a conversationalist that day.” He laughed and added, “Dad had to keep me from falling out of the boat a couple of times. Like all lions, I can swim; but I didn’t want to go home and explain to my mother why my clothes were soaked.
“Dad said, ‘What’s wrong with you, boy? You’ve been a space cadet all day.’
“‘I’m sorry, Dad; but, between you and Mom on one side and Rebecca and Tigresa on the other, I didn’t get a lot of sleep.’
“‘Tigresa and Rebecca!? I don’t believe that. Rebecca’s always been interested in boys, even when she was a 6-year-old cub.’
“‘Not like that, Dad. I mean they were whispering and giggling until 2200. I only got half an hour’s sleep.’
“‘Well, I’d hate to have to explain to your mother why you drowned; so, weigh anchor and let’s head back. We’ve always got the next time you visit to go fishing. Hopefully, you’ll bring that lovely tigress with you.’ He growled knowingly.
“‘Oh, Dad!’
“‘Don’t, ‘Oh, Dad’ me, son. Your mother and I were discussing the two of you before we, uh, well, you know. She and I both noticed the way you looked at each other when the other wasn’t looking. You’ve got it, boy, got it bad.’
“‘What? What are you talking about?’
“‘You’ve got it so bad, you can’t even see it. I’m talking about love, Son. You and Tigresa love each other; but, neither of you know it about the other.’
“‘Are you saying that I love Tigresa and she loves me?’
“‘In words of one syllable, yes. When I see Tigresa looking at you, I see your mother looking at me and I’m sure, when your mother sees you looking at Tigresa, she sees me looking at her. So, when you go back to school Monday, why don’t you just admit it to her?’
“I guess that was the first time that I realized how I felt about Tigresa and, since I knew my parents had no requirements as to whom I married, I was free to admit my feelings to her.”
“It’s interesting, isn’t it,” Michael said, “how people aren’t willing to admit they love someone, even to themselves?”
“Well, since my parents weren’t speciesists and since I now knew why my heart fluttered every time I saw Tigresa, I confessed my feelings for her and she did the same. We haven’t even looked at another since that day.
“Now, I need to make a very important telephone call and then, I’m going to the shop and get ready to go fishing tomorrow. Does anyone wish to come with me tomorrow?”
“I’ll go, Dr. Leo. I always loved fishing in my previous life. Besides, you shouldn’t go fishing alone. Something could happen.” Michael smiled as he said, “You could get so sleepy you almost fall out of the boat.” Leo laughed and threw a towel at Michael.
“As for me, I’m going back to my room. I think that strange dream I had earlier made me more tired than refreshed.”
Richard said, “Don’t plan on me for dinner. I have plans this evening.”
This got Michael’s attention long enough to listen to his reason for not being at dinner tonight.
Dr. Leo said “Oh, really? What’s her name?”
“Dad, what makes you think it’s a girl?”
“Well, you never impressed me as to preferring boys over girls.” Dr. Leo replied, smiling broadly.
“Dad! You’re as bad as granddad.” Richard paused as everyone looked at him expectantly. Finally, Richard said, “All right! Her name is Maria Gato-Selvagem.”
Dr. Tigresa said, “The jaguar!?”
Richard answered quietly, “Yes, ma’am.”
Dr. Leo said, “Go, boy! Your granddad says that they are saucy cats.” Noticing the glare from Dr. Tigresa, he cleared his throat and added, “But, you know I prefer a special tigress.”
Edward said, “Nice recovery, Dad.”
Dr. Leo replied, “You’re not helping, Edward.”
Richard said, “Mother, I thought you didn’t care who we dated.”
“Richard, she’s got a bad reputation.”
“Mother, you’ve never met her. She has that reputation because the other girls are jealous of her. She’s actually a very shy girl. She wouldn’t give most guys the time of day and they spread nasty rumors about her; but, I treated her with respect and she warmed up to me. Her family emigrated from Grrazil a few years ago and she’s still got a bit of a Grrazilian accent.”
Dr. Tigresa looked at Richard for several seconds and then she turned her attention to Dr. Leo. “Well?” She said.
“Tigresa, Richard’s right. We’ve always told our cubs that their happiness meant more to us than any artificial determination of what’s acceptable. So what if Maria has a bad reputation.”
“Dad!”
“Hold on, Richard.
“He could be right. Maybe it’s sour grapes from the other girls and the guys. Who cares? If she makes Richard happy, she should make us happy. Right?”
Dr. Tigresa sat quietly with pursed lips, well pursed as much as a cat can purse her lips, for a couple of seconds before she nodded her head and said, “Right.”
She paused for a few seconds more before she said, “I want to meet this girl. I want to decide if she’s good enough for my baby.”
“Tigresa!” Leo said with shock.
“So, I want you to invite her to dinner tomorrow evening. All right, Richard?”
Richard leaned over and kissed his mother on her cheek and said, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” He got up and left.
*****
“Daddy, I found the perfect place. I want you and Mother to come with me to see it.”
“All right, Baby.” Jacob got up and got his keys. “Come on, Ophelia, let’s go see this apartment that Amanda’s found.”
“Jacob, I don’t think I like the idea of Amanda living somewhere else. We won’t know what she’s doing and who she’s with.”
“Ophelia, Amanda is 18 years old and an adult. She can move out any time she wants and we can’t stop her. Who she associates with isn’t any of our business either.”
“But, what if she decides to start being sexually active? What decent man’s going to want to marry her if she isn’t a virgin?”
“That’s none of our business, Ophelia. Now, come on. If it’s got her this excited it must be a great place.”
Grabbing Jacob’s arm, Amanda said, “It is, Daddy. It’s in a great neighborhood. You’ll see.”
“Can you afford it?”
“Oh, yes sir. It’s only 500 Yenars a month.”
“Really!? That’s fantastic. Don’t you agree, Ophelia?”
“Humph! For that amount, it’s probably a dump.”
*****
Michael excused himself and went back upstairs. He walked over to the closet and snatched the door open. “Just a walk-in closet, just like the one I walked out of a short while ago.” He thought.
Michael started following the wall, tapping every couple of feet. He was lost in his attempt to figure out the mystery; so lost, in fact, that he didn’t notice that someone was watching until he turned to leave and found himself practically kissing Victoria. He jumped back far enough to hit his head on the back wall of the closet.
Rubbing the back of his head, Michael exclaimed, “Damn it, Victoria! You walk like a cat!”
“Well, thank you, Michael. It’s nice to know that I haven’t completely lost touch with my ancestry.”
Michael shook his head and said, “What can I do for you, Victoria?”
In a quiet, little girl’s voice, Victoria said, “Can we talk, Michael?”
Michael smiled and said, “Of course, Victoria. You know you’re like a little sister to me.”
With a small, shy smile, she asked, “Do you remember everything now?”
“No, not everything. I am starting to remember things, though. I do remember opening my eyes, seeing your parents peering through the Plexiglas at me and being so frightened because I thought they were going to eat me.”
She smiled more broadly and said, “I remember Mother relating that story to us. She thought it was one of the funniest things she ever experienced.”
“I’m glad to know I gave her some merriment.
“So, what do you want to talk about?”
She sat on the edge of Michael’s bed, pulling him down beside her. “I miss my brother, Richard, Michael.”
“What do you mean, Victoria? He’s here every day.”
“Richard Panthera is here. My brother, Richard, left five years ago.”
“O-o-o-okay. Now you have me intrigued. What are you talking about?”
“Mother told me that, when I was born, Richard was as happy about me being born as Mom and Dad were. He would spend as much time as possible standing by my crib when I was asleep asking Mom when I would be awake. When I was awake, he wanted to hold me all the time. Mom said that she had never heard of a male cub wanting to hold a newborn cub as much as he did.
“When I started crawling, he was on the floor crawling with me and encouraging me to do better. He was continually talking to me. Mom says I learned to talk faster than any other cub she ever heard of. She believes it was because Richard talked to me so much.
“When I started walking, once again, Richard was there encouraging me. If I fell, he was at my side faster than Mom and Dad. Mom said that some well-meaning friends expressed their concern that Richard was too close to me. They thought that his attention to me was unhealthy and would interfere with our psychological development; but, Mom wasn’t concerned.
“When I was three, I tagged along with Richard almost everywhere he went. If he was out of my sight for any length of time, I would start crying for him. I even tried to follow him into the bathroom on more than one occasion. He would always shoo me out saying, ‘Victoria, you’re a girl and I’m a boy and your brother. You shouldn’t come into the bathroom with me. It isn’t right. I’ll be right back.’ Mom says I would cry quietly while Richard was in there and I’d stay outside the door until he came back out. When he came back out, I would throw my arms around him and wouldn’t let him go until he hugged me back.
“When Richard would go outside to play, his shadow was right behind him; but, he didn’t mind. He would have me sit in a place of safety when he would play football or baseball. I could see him; so, I was always happy. When one of his friends would pick on me, he would inform that friend that I was his sister and he wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt me. I remember how I used to hug and kiss him on the cheek when he would defend me from some bully. He always seemed to enjoy that.
“But, about the time I turned 13, everything changed. He started becoming distant and would pull away when I tried to hug and kiss him. It hurt me when he did that. Don’t get me wrong, Michael, he still defended me from some bully; he was the proper big brother but, he seemed withdrawn and moody toward me. I want my big brother back.”
Michael saw tears forming in her eyes as she spoke. He knew that, among human females, they normally don’t want you to solve their problems. They just want to talk it out and find the solution themselves. But, between the facts that this problem had been bugging Victoria for five years and it sounded like she actually wanted Michael to assist in a solution, he felt compelled to offer his assistance.
“Well, Victoria, I believe I may know what’s going on but, I need to ask some rather personal questions.”
“All right.”
“You’re three years younger than Richard. Right?”
“Yes.”
“This problem began five years ago when you were 13. Right?”
“Yes.”
“How old were you when you entered puberty?”
“What?”
“How old were you when you entered puberty?”
“13.”
“Richard had already gone through puberty by the time he was 16. Right?”
She smiled and said, “Yes. We used to make fun of him when his voice would crack at the time.”
“Yes, I remember having the same problem.
“Now, I need to bring up a little biology so I can better explain what I believe caused the problems.
“I’m human.”
“Obviously.”
Michael gave her a semi-dirty look and said, “Bear with me, Miss College Student.
“As you can see by looking at my face, I have no muzzle at all. All of my scent receptors are inside my head.
“You’re a feline.”
“Once again—“
“If you say obviously, I’m going to slap you.” She laughed.
“Now, as I was saying, you’re feline. You have a muzzle. As a result, you have more scent receptors than I do. Because of the fact that you have scent receptors in your muzzle and inside of your head, you have a significantly greater sense of smell than I do.” She started to give Michael a bored look.
“I said all of that to say this; when you started puberty, your body started changing.”
She put her hands under her breasts and said, “Exhibit A.” Then, she laughed.
“Will you be serious?”
“I was being serious. A woman’s breasts are obvious physical evidence of what you said.”
Michael frowned and said, “Sometimes you are a little too literal.” Victoria laughed.
“Anyway, the changes are more than physical, more than endocrinal; they are chemical as well. Scent glands become a bit more pronounced and active. The scent glands also produce pheromones, especially when a female is receptive. In humans, these pheromones are subtler than in other animals. When you reached puberty, your body started secreting these pheromones. Richard, who had already reached sexual maturity, could smell them. Immediately upon smelling your pheromones, a battle started raging in his body. His instincts told him that you were a receptive female and a potential mate. His intellect told him you were unavailable because you are his sister.”
A look of shock crossed her face. “You mean he considered me fair game for sex?” She asked.
“Instinctively, yes. The only way he could protect you was for him to distance himself from you. Consequently, he became cold and distant. You didn’t realize what kind of anguish he was going through because you just wanted to hug and kiss your big brother as you had done for the previous 13 years. Likely as not, Richard started spending a lot of time away from home about that time.”
“He did. He also wouldn’t let me tag along like he used to do.”
“By doing that, he was protecting you both from himself and from his friends who would have realized that Richard’s little sister wasn’t a little girl anymore.”
“Is there any way to get the brother I grew up with back?”
“In a word, no. But, you might be able to rekindle a little of the affection you used to have for each other.”
“How?”
“Have you ever had a boyfriend?”
Smiling, Victoria replied, “Well, yes, one or two. Why?”
“Is there any guy you’re interested in right now?”
She smiled shyly and said, “Well, there’s a half wolf/half rabbit guy in one of my classes at college. He seems to be interested in me. I’ve caught him staring at me numerous times. He’s pretty shy because of his mixed heritage.”
“Then, if he’s too shy to make the first move, it’s up to you to make it. Make up an excuse to sit near him. If he’s interested in you, it doesn’t even have to be plausible or believable; then, start talking to him. If he’s as shy as you imply, he’ll welcome the icebreaker of your talking to him first, especially if he finds you attractive and only a blind man would think otherwise.”
Once again, she smiled shyly and said, “Thank you. But, what should I do next?”
“Give him a chance to ask you out. If he’s still too shy, think of something to do that would be more fun if two people do it together and ask him to accompany you; but, make sure that you give him the opportunity to ask first. Otherwise, he may think you’re working too fast and then he’ll run away from you.”
“How will having a boyfriend help me with Richard?”
“Silly, once you make yourself unavailable to Richard, he’ll be able to relax around you. A relaxed brother is more likely to feel that he can be an affectionate brother.”
“Okay. Thank you, Michael.” She put her arms around Michael and kissed him on the cheek.
*****
After a fifteen minute drive, The Fuchs family arrived at the apartment complex. They went to the manager’s office and had him take them to the apartment that Amanda had found.
The manager, a civet named Mr. Moschogali, led them to a three story building and to the third floor. The number on the door read 3-C. “Here it is.” He said. “It was vacated last week and we just finished preparing it for residence. There is still a bit of a paint smell. Are you interested in the apartment?”
Amanda said, “Yes! Is it really only 500 Yenar a month?”
“Yes, it is.” He led them around the apartment. “Here’s the bedroom. Here’s the bathroom. Here’s the kitchenette. Here’s the living room.”
With each room they looked at, Amanda’s smile grew bigger. After the short tour, Amanda said, “What do you think, Daddy? Isn’t it wonderful?”
“Yes, it is, Sweetheart. Are you sure you want to move out of our house and into an apartment?”
Ophelia said, “No! No, she does not. She isn’t going to move out.”
Jacob turned and said, “Ophelia, Amanda is 18 years old, can move out anytime she wants and we can’t do anything to stop her.”
Fuming, Ophelia said, “Fine! Because she isn’t old enough to have established credit, that means that we’ve got to co-sign on the lease.” Ophelia turned to the manager and said, “Since my daughter’s adamant about moving here, let’s go sign the lease.”
*****
They walked to the manager’s office. As they walked, Ophelia walked next to the manager and talked with him. They were far enough ahead of Jacob and Amanda that the conversation couldn’t be overheard by them.
They reached the office and the manager rifled through his paperwork until he found a lease agreement. As he looked for the lease agreement, he was talking to the Fuchses. “There are standard requirements for any apartment that is rented anywhere in the city.” He named them, ticking them off his fingers as he spoke. “No parties after 1530.”
Amanda said, “Yes, sir.”
“No visitors overnight without prior approval of management.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, sir.”
“If any party to the agreement decides to end the agreement, you will have 72 hours to vacate the property.”
Amanda paused for a moment. Something about that statement bothered her. “I don’t understand why you would have that in a rental agreement but, I don’t see a problem with it.”
“We have that in the agreement just in case a renter becomes abusive to one of the neighbors or repeatedly violates the rental agreement.”
“Oh, okay. Then, I’ve got no problem with your agreement.”
“Good. Now, Amanda, you sign this line.” Amanda signed the indicated line.
“Mr. & Mrs. Fuchs, you sign these two lines.” They signed.
Mr. Moschogali, signed his line and said, “There you go. Miss Fuchs, as soon as you pay the first and last month’s rent and 500 Yenar deposit, you can move in.”
Jacob asked. “What about furniture?”
“It is an unfurnished apartment. So, you’ll need to bring your own furniture.”
“Daddy, I’ve got enough money saved to pay the rent and buy the furniture. Let’s go furniture shopping and have it delivered today.”
As Amanda counted out the 1500 Yenar, accepted the keys to the apartment, and handed one to Jacob who handed it to Ophelia, Jacob smiled and said, “All right, sweetie. Come on, Ophelia. Mr. Moschogali, we’ll return shortly.”
“Yes, sir.”
*****
Just as Victoria kissed Michael, there was a knock on the door and it opened. Michael turned to see Dr. Leo standing there looking at them. Despite the fact that his daughter had her arms around his guest’s neck, no emotion crossed his face. After a couple of seconds, he said, “Michael, I just got off the telephone with my friend, Edward Blaidd. I asked if he was still looking for a computer technician and he said yes. I told him a little about you and he wants you to come down and interview for the position. You have to be at SoGa Industries at 0300 Monday morning.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you sir.”
“You’re welcome, Michael.” He started to turn then he said, “Victoria, if you thought to upset me by not taking your arms from around Michael, you failed. However, you know how he feels about that; so, you might want to go ahead and let him take that nap he mentioned at breakfast.”
Victoria stood and, with one of her hands still on Michael’s shoulder, said, “Thank you for your suggestions, Michael. I’ll do what you said I should.” Then, she leaned over and kissed his cheek again. After the kiss, she whispered, “I do love you Michael; but, I understand why it can never happen between us.”
“More than anything else, Victoria, it’s because I see you more as a sister than a potential mate. Of course, you being a humanimal doesn’t help your case any.”
After Victoria left, Dr. Leo said, “I swear. That girl just loves to tease you. I wouldn’t be surprised if her affection for you is more than just sisterly.” Michael just smiled.
“I’ll talk to you later today, Michael. Enjoy your nap. Maybe your memories of the last few months will come back by the time you wake up. After you left the breakfast table, Tigresa said that sometimes this form of amnesia can be overcome with simple rest. I hope that’s the case with you, too.”
“Thank you, Dr. Leo. I hope so, too.”
After Dr. Leo closed the door, Michael got undressed and crawled into the bed. He lay there wondering about this morning’s events. Why did the dream he experienced just before he saw Dr. Leo seem so real? Was it even a dream? If a dream is involved, which part is the dream, the first part or this part and if this part is the dream, why does he have memories of the things mentioned at breakfast and why does he appreciate the fact that Anne said she loves him? Was he actually in suspended animation for 20,000 years? He feels like he’s in an episode of “The Twilight Zone”, except there’s no narration by Rod Serling. After several minutes of these musings, he fell asleep.
