Page 9 of Packed for the Holidays

“Laying on its back? All fours up in the air and not moving?” Tanner asks.

“Yes! And it’s all naked looking.” Nils glances back at the cage and gives a full body shudder.

“That’s Gretchen,” Tanner explains. “She’s a hairless guinea pig with a flair for dramatics.” Taking a step away from the counter so he can see the animal in question, he gives a high pitched whistle. “Look alive, Gretchen!”

There’s a little flurry of woodchips and straw as a wrinkled ball of skin rolls over.

“That looks like my left nut.” Oz quips. “Who is bringing something like that home?”

“Oh, I’m sure we could find someone interested that would take the right one too.” Ellis grins, but I nudge him with my elbow to knock it off. Not the time, nor the place.

“Sorry, Tanner.” I apologize for my packmates, even though the young man is chuckling.

“You could check the shelter for a chinchilla,” he says.

I’m glad he doesn't comment on the topic of Oz’s balls.

“They sometimes get one or two. Not often, but…” Tanner trails off with a shrug.

“We’re not going home without a present for Meggie,” Harrison says, a determined set to his jaw.

“Should we look for something else in the mall since we’re here?” Nils suggests.

Ellis’s whole face drops.

“I think we should stick with a pet,” I say.

“We got lots of amphibians.” Tanner walks around the counter. “Got in some pretty cool toads yest–”

“No toads,” Ellis and I say at the same time.

“Meggie’s afraid of toilet frogs,” Nils explains.

“Well, we don’t have much that’s cute or cuddly right now.” Tanner scratches the splotchy hair on his chin. “We’re pretty picked over this close to Christmas.”

“Let’s check the shelter,” I suggest, wanting to give Ellis and Meggie the Christmas pet they’re dreaming about.

As we leave the pet store and head back to the car, I pull Ellis a few steps behind everyone else. “Why didn’t you ever tell me you wanted a pet?”

His cheeks turn the palest of pink. “I didn’t realize I did. Not until Meggie said something about it. And then… I guess I just really liked the idea of taking care of something small and cuddly together.”

Ah, things are making a bit more sense now. We all agreed we weren’t ready to have kids, but Ellis and Harrison were the most hesitant about waiting. Harrison surprised us all with a bit of a breeding kink, and Ellis… well, Ellis just likes taking care of everyone. He’s got a lot of love to give. And he’s always wantedto be a dad, maybe to right the wrongs of his own strained relationship with his father.

He’s also the only one of us who doesn’t have a job or school to keep him busy during the day, since he’s still figuring out what he wants to do now that we’re not allowed to play in the Olympics anymore.

I stop our progress across the parking lot and pull him in for a true kiss this time, slow and savoring.

When we break apart, I whisper against his lips, “I think a pet is a great idea.”

7

Harrison

We tried calling ahead, but no one answered at the shelter, so who knows if this is a fool’s errand or not. Let’s hope not. It’s getting late, and we’re supposed to pick Meggie up from Emily’s in an hour. Her family will all arrive tomorrow and she’s got all kinds of holiday activities planned. We won’t have a chance to go out again.

The shelter is tucked between the fire department and a county history museum. I guess they try to keep all the tax-payer funded buildings together on this side of town. There’s a picture of a cartoon dog and cat on the sign, which gives me hope as we pull in and park.

That hope is strangled to death as we chat withthe short beta man staffing the front desk. He’s wearing a nametag that says Oscar. The bloody scratches down his arm and the bottle of antiseptic on the desk are a clear indicator of why he couldn’t answer the phone when we called. Frickin' cats.

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