Furry Fantastic by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Published: 2006-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

WAN SUI YE

Elizabeth A. Vaughan

I opened my eyes when the mouse coughed.

It was polite enough, a gentle cough to draw my attention, but it startled me anyway. I was sitting in the sun in the backyard, taking my morning break from the computer and letting the dogs run. A break from writing travel articles about Grand Rapids, Michigan. Boring as all hell, but hey, ten cents a word, thank you very much.

The dogs, Itty and Bitty, had plunged into the koi pond, as usual. I’d spent an entire week building that pond, putting in the rubber liner and building up the limestone sheets to make the waterfall. It had been worth every ounce of sweat and pain in my middle-aged body. The dogs loved to jump in, ignoring the fish and getting sopping wet. I heard their nails as they jumped back onto the patio and ran to the fence to try to steal some of the tomatoes in my neighbor’s garden. The fence often prevented their best efforts, but it did not stop them from trying or from scoring the occasionally victory.

Wet, tomato-breath dogs are acceptable.

Sentient mice are not.

I’m never at my best when jolted, so I swore when I opened my eyes and saw the mouse sitting on one of the flagstones next to the koi pond. From his expression, it was clear that I’d offended him with my language.

I closed my eyes and tilted my face back toward the sun. It had to be all the orange juice I drank at the all-you-can-eat buffet this morning with my grandmother. I’d had something like eight glasses, and all that acidity, plus her nasty comments had gotten to me. Give it a minute and—

“Forgive this interruption, Honorable One.” The voice was low and determined.

Oh, hell, now it was talking.

I opened my eyes, and the damn thing was still perched there. It rose to sit on its hind feet, catching its tail in front of it in a nervous gesture. A plain, ordinary dark gray mouse.

I whistled for the dogs.

They came at a run, looking for the action, all bounce and leg and sopping white fur, scrambling to make sure they’d be first for whatever said action was. They wiggled at my feet, licking my hands, happy, excited, and paying no attention to the mouse.

The mouse paid no attention to them, merely opened its mouth as if to begin a conversation.

Okay, clearly it was time for some antacids. I rose and slid open the glass door so the dogs and I could return to the relative sanity of the computer room.

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