After Jenny had gotten home last night, he watched her and Cindy rain attention down on little Jimmy. They fed, bathed, and then spent hours cuddling him. For the most part, Ken just spent the evening alone on the couch watching and must have fallen asleep. But that was all right because Jimmy deserved all of the devoted attention after the miserable life he had in the walls of Jenny�s apartment.
What the� This bed is moving!
�Well good morning sleepy head.� A familiar voice softy said from behind.
Ken turned around and there was Jenny, at least her head. That�s when he realized that his bed was her chest. Oh shit and those weren�t pillows in front of him, they were�
�You know I was wondering if you were ever going to get up.� Jenny teased.
Jenny was smiling warmly, it was obvious she didn�t mind the rather odd place he fell asleep. Then again, she was probably the one that put him there in the first place.
�Well I was beat after last night. But I can�t complain about where I woke up.� Ken replied.
Jenny just giggled a little and ran her finger gently down his back. This caused him to purr loudly and lay back down. The idea of her petting him like this was something Ken was learning not to mind. It felt incredible and made for a great massage.
However after about ten minutes she stopped. Ken stood up, feeling rather refreshed, and looked around. They were still in the living room and Jenny was on the couch. Cindy was laying on her stomach in front of the TV. She was awake and watching the news.
On the sole of Cindy�s right paw was Jimmy, curled up in a ball, sleeping like a baby. His small fragile body sunk deeply into the soft leather of her pads. The whole scene gave him flashbacks of his own experience with Jenny�s paw.
�What happened to Jimmy?�
�Ah well you see, Cindy and I were talking about your little visit in the woods� and uh� Well Jimmy must have overheard us. He climbed up on to one of Cindy�s paw and began lick it.�
Ken�s face turned bright red with embarrassment. �You told Cindy about the woods? How could you!�
�Sorry Ken, but it just came up. Had I know you would react like this, I wouldn�t have said anything.� She replied defensively.
�I�m sorry Jenny, it�s just that I never licked anyone�s paws before. It was a spur of the moment thing, something that��
�Made me purr like a kitten.� Jenny interrupted and began to stroke the fur on his back again. �It felt wonderful and was the sweetest thing any man has ever done for me. And Cindy was in heaven for about an hour last night while Jimmy imitated you. So please don�t be embarrassed by it Ken. I promise I won�t tell anyone else.�
�Thanks, but I don�t think the guys at work would believe� Oh shit! What time is it?�
Jenny checked her watch, �About 1:30 in the afternoon.�
�1:30! I was supposed to be at work at 11:00. My boss is going to kill me! Please take me home.�
Jenny quickly scoped him up in her hand and got off the couch. After telling Cindy where they were going, she headed out the door with Ken cradled in her palm.
During the trip out of macro territory, not a word was said. Ken was too worried about work, he was already in hot water with the boss over another incident. Jenny just felt guilty that she let him sleep in.
Within twenty-minutes they approached the all-to familiar street that marked the end of macro territory. Jenny placed Ken down on the ground next to a streetlight.
�I had a� good time� Yeah a good time.� Ken stuttered out.
�I did too.� Jenny replied with a smile. �You will come by again and visit me, won�t you?�
�Yes of course!� He replied reassuringly.
Ken walked up and kissed the top of one of Jenny�s toes, the only part of her body he could reach. It felt awkward, but he was getting used to interacting with her paws. Besides the way to these giant ladies� hearts was made all to clear to him a little while ago.
He stepped back and looked up. A tear was running down the side of Jenny�s face, perhaps she didn�t believe that he would ever return to the woods. But Ken was determined to keep his word this time!
Trying not to shed a tear himself, Ken waved goodbye and began to walk down his street.
�Freeze! Police!�
Ken stopped dead in his tracks and was overtaken by two large human police officers. The cold hard sensation of handcuffs engulfed his wrists. Then each officer grabbed one of his arms and carried him back to their car. A large Raccoon fur wearing a Lieutenant�s uniform was waiting for him there. It was Lt. Thomas, someone he had dealt with many times before.
�Son, we need you to come with us. The chief wants to talk to you about you excursions into macro territory.�
Although the Lt. was right in front of him, Ken�s attention was instead on the huge paw that was about 10ft. in back of him. He could see and hear its nails digging into the ground aggressively.
Slowly he lifted his head up until his eyes met Jenny�s. She was growling and looked very pissed! Her eyes went from the cops on the ground, to her paws, and back to him.
Ken knew what she was offering, no words had to be said, but he shook his head is disapproval. He had dealt with the police before and they have always treated him well. They didn�t deserve what she would do to them. And he trusted Lt. Thomas, Ken knew he would be treated fairly for whatever the crime.
Jenny smiled back at him. �Alright Ken, we�ll do this your way. I�ll be here when you get back.�
The two cops that were holding his arms let a sign of relief. A moment later they stuffed him into the back of their sedan. As they were leaving, a large group of heavily armed police showed up to guard the boarder. Ken admired their bravery but they were little more than a speed bump to Jenny.
He tried to relax on the short trip to the police station, but the image of Jenny�s nails ripping into the ground haunted his thoughts. The fear that she could easily stomp her way through the police line and into the city was bad enough. However the fact that it would be done for him was even worse.
Upon arriving at the station, Lt. Thomas led Ken to a large office in the rear of the building. A moment later Chief Adams walked in and told Lt. Thomas to leave. The chief was a 50-something police veteran who had been with the force for as long as Ken could remember. He was a stern but fair human who had close ties with the EMT service.
�Hello Ken.� The chief said with a smile and patted him on the back. �Sorry my boys had to bring you in here but we had to have a talk. I�m sure you already know what about.�
�Well you see chief��
�Ken, please don�t give me some cockamamie story about why you went. It doesn�t matter. All that matters is that you weren�t suppose to go into macro territory. You put the whole macro-normal treaty at risk!�
�But it was harmless chief, Jenny is my friend.�
�HARMLESS!?�� Ok listen no one had a problem with what happened to Leroy, he had it coming. But we can�t have you bringing your macro girlfriend back and forth to the boarder. And if the macros found out you were going in and out of their territory, well let�s just say it would not be good.�
Ken hung his head down in shame. The chief was right, he had been putting countless lives in jeopardy for his personal interest. Thousands died in macro-normal war 50 years ago, that is why the treaty was established. Since then, no one on either side has dared to break it.
And his travels in and out of macro territory could cause an incident. Jenny would have crossed the boarder had he not stopped her. Who knows how many police and innocent bystanders she would have trampled trying to find him.
The chief walked over and patted him on the back again. �Listen kid this is what it comes down to. You can either say goodbye to your oversized girlfriend or leave. That�s it, plain and simple. My boys will take you back to the boarder. It�s all up to you now.� The chief smiled and lead him to the door.
During the ride back to the boarder it became obvious that he was going to have to make a choice, one that would affect the rest of his life. Go back to his normal life as an EMT or spend the rest of his life depending on Jenny�s good graces.
However the real question, the one that still haunted him, was whether she saw him as just a pet or something greater. That�s the only one that matters, the only one he really cared about.
When Ken got back to the boarder he explained the situation to Jenny. He found it hard to look at her since the only logical choice was clear. He took a deep breath, looked her straight in the eye and broke the news.
�Jenny, I�m sorry.� He said with a tear in his eye. �I value our friendship more than you would know, but this is my home and I can�t leave it.�
�I understand.� Jenny replied while fighting back tears.
Ken turned around and walked quickly away from her, not looking back. He wanted to make this whole thing as painless as possible. It just wasn�t meant to be.
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Two weeks later, Jenny laid in the large open field reading the novel she started that day Ken came to visit her. If he only knew what she thought of him, but it was too late for that. He was gone now and she had to learn to accept it.
�Jenny are you still down about Ken?� Cindy asked.
�Yeah, I only wish I had told him how much he meant to me. Cindy, I know the size difference might have been intimidating for him but it didn�t matter to me. He was my friend and was very special to me.�
�Wait! What�s that noise?� Cindy asked abruptly and turned her attention to a small fur that just appeared out of the woods.
She quickly trapped the fur under her paw. A moment later, the fur began to holler out in pain as the paw trapping him slowly applied pressure. If Ken wasn�t allowed into macro territory, then neither was this pest. Just the idea of him trying to enter the territory her friend was banished from, probably out of curiosity, enraged her. It was a mistake he was going to pay for with his life!
�Cindy STOP!!!� Jenny screamed suddenly.
Cindy lifted her paw off of the fur and Jenny scoped it up in her hands. �Ken, are you alright?�
Grasping his sore body, he weakly replied, �I�ll be fine, she didn�t break anything.�
�Ken, I�m so sorry. I thought you were just another damn� I mean I... I�m sorry!� Cindy cried.
�It�s ok Cindy, you are going to have a long time to make it up to me.� Ken replied with a smile.
�You�re staying!� Jenny exclaimed
�Yeah, I finally realized just what was important to me. I would like to come back to macro territory if you guys will have me. Your friendship means more to me than my life back there.� Ken replied
Jenny didn�t say a word, instead just brought him closer to her mouth and began lick his fur tenderly. It wasn�t a definite sign of love, but it was a start. Maybe, with time, Ken could turn their special friendship into something much more.
The artwork contained on this page is copyrighted to Cerberus and has been used with permission.
