“Ow! Hey what was that for?” He gets up, rubbing his side.
“I wanted to sit, so I moved you.”
“Well, it could’ve been done without kicking me…” He grumbles. Shauna turns on the TV, ignoring him. The fennec reaches over to the side table for his glasses.
“You know, this place does have a spare bedroom…”
“The mattress sucks.”
“Still, it would be better than sleeping on the couch.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you play that game with me!” She looks at the fennec sternly.
“Why?” He says with an innocent face.
“Because.”
“Because why?”
“Because I said so!”
“Why did you say so?” He stammers, stifling laughter.
Frustrated, the cat storms off into the kitchen. She harumphs, looks at the vulpine, and sighs, shaking her head slightly, as J.T. continues looking at her with his wide, innocent grin, leaning on the back of the couch looking like a big puppy dog, chain and tail wagging. “Freak.”
“Hey! I resemble that!” The fennec retorts in mock amazement.
She rolls her eyes, “I’m making breakfast. What do you want?”
“Dunno… what ya got?” He asks as he wathces the cat get up and walk to the kitchen.
“Check the fridge.”
“You’re in the kitchen!”
Ceding the argument, she opens the fridge, “We have bacon… eggs…”
“Bacon and eggs!”
“Ugh… you’re impossible!” She turns around.
“Call me when it’s done!” The fennec jumps over the back of the couch. He walks out the door shoeless, shirtless, and coatless.
“What? J.T.?” The feline asks, but there was no one around to reply.
J.T. slows from his run. He continues, walking, taking a deep breath, trying to absorb as much of the damp, foggy graveyard air as he can. He turns off to his right following the long row of gravestones hardly visible in the dense morning fog. He looks around, gazing at the scenery. He enjoys being here. He enjoys the dark, foggy morning, the damp mustiness of the air, even the haunting silhouettes of the willow and half-dead oak trees. The fennec stops in front of a small, granite gravestone. He sits down in the dewy grass, in front of the inconspicuous pink quartz stone. He reaches down, lovingly caressing the granite block. He runs his fingers delicately over the engravings and the small gold ring embedded in it. He runs his fingers over his matching ring. On the small stone, written in fancy, intricate script, is the name of the one woman able to capture his heart.
“Alexa, I’m back, love.” He says, as if he could speak to her, beyond the grave. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here in awhile. Another sleep spell.” A weak, pain-stricken smile breaks his face. His head lowers, and a tear trickles down his muzzle and off the end of his nose, landing on his dead wife’s gravestone. “I’m sorry. I promised you I wouldn’t cry again, didn’t I?” He gently wipes the teardrop from the stone. “Can I make it up to you? How about if I sing our song? I still can’t believe I played it when I proposed. I’ve never forgotten the look on your face…” He sighs, “I’ll sing it for you…” His smile widens, and he takes a deep breath to relax, and then starts to sing.
His voice isn’t perfect, but his feeling can even touch the hearts of the deaf. It begins to rain just as he finishes, as if the weather responded to his heartbroken call. The rain beats down heavily on the fennec’s back, falling in thick blankets of wetness. He tries to stifle a sob, but fails, miserably. The sorrow caused by losing Alexa is too far much for him to smother beneath his usual happy-go-lucky demeanor now, and he starts crying, uncontrollably, breaking his promise to his love, yet again. He screams, trying to cope with the unbearable pain, as he’s somehow done for the past two years. The memory of the event still fresh in his mind, bringing him nightmares as he lays in his narcoleptic states. Shivering, more from fear and pain than from the cold downpour, he sits there lost in his memory. Then, out of nowhere, two dark purple arms wrap him up again, tightly.
“You okay?” She asks as she sits down next to the shivering vulpine. He remains still, everything else around him blocked out. “J.T.?”
“Alexa… I’m sorry… I- I’ve failed you…” His shaking becomes worse. Shauna looks into his face. The fennec’s appear distant, unfocused. “I couldn’t protect you. I failed you when you needed me the most. How can I ever make it up to you…” He continues his babbling, no longer in coherent sentences. Suddenly, his shivering stops, and his eyes open wide. “Do… do you really—“ His mouth clamps shut, like someone has grabbed his muzzle. His ears shift forward, listening intently to unseen, unheard, whisperings. Shauna falls back, shocked about the fennec’s odd actions. The vulpine sits completely still, his only movement is his nodding. Then, his face relaxes, the nonexistent speaker releasing it’s hold on his muzzle, and he smiles, saying, “You have my word, love.” He turns to Shauna, “Lets go home.”