Michael and Amanda, Chapter 34

XXXIV

Wanda Talks to Michael

The next morning, Michael woke up at his usual time of 2300. He got out of bed and made his

way to his bathroom so he could take his morning shower. He had had to change that routine

during his trip to Jaguarville, first of all, because of Amanda’s being in heat and sleeping in bed

with him and secondly because she was continually trying to get into the shower with him. As he

stepped into the shower, he suddenly realized that he missed those times.

Michael started lathering up as he thought of how happy he’d been these last few days since he

had told Amanda that he loved her. He wanted her to always remember how important she’d

become to him but, he wanted to show her in a way that would bring a smile to her face on a

regular basis. Finally, as he was rinsing off, he thought of the perfect way. All he had to do was

make sure that he’d be able to do it and to do that, on his way to work, he had to stop at a store to

make sure what he was thinking of was available.

**********

Amanda’s alarm went off at 2315 and she opened her eyes while smiling at the dream she’d just

had. In the dream, she and Michael were visiting Dogtona Beach again and she was wearing the

beautiful yellow bikini that he had bought her last weekend. They were walking along the beach

as the sun was peeking over the horizon. Michael was kissing her as they walked along while

holding hands. Amanda’s smile became even bigger as she imagined that in the dream they were

married and on their honeymoon. She stretched languidly and closed her eyes happily as she

thought of how happy she believed that Michael could make her.

After thinking these thoughts, she looked at her clock again and realized that she’d been lying

there fantasizing for 15 minutes. She threw the covers off of her, raced to her bathroom, and

started showering. As she worked the lather into her fur she smiled as she thought of how much

more fun it would be if Michael was there to wash her back for her. She didn’t even care how her

mother would react if she walked into Amanda’s apartment and caught them taking a shower

together.

**********

Bertha snuggled closer to her bed partner. Jonathan’s young, strong body was warm and cuddly.

She was both surprised and elated that his parents had accepted her as his girlfriend and lover. In

fact, the night that she had spent in their home, they had insisted that she and Jonathan sleep in

the same bed. She was shocked into speechlessness when Jonathan’s parents had told them that

the bedside table was fully stocked with condoms. Jonathan had failed to mention to her that his

parents were very open-minded where sex and relationships were concerned so she was at a loss

as to how to react to this. While Jonathan was in the adjoining bathroom getting ready for bed,

she had investigated the bedside table’s drawer and found that his parents weren’t even remotely

exaggerating.

After Jonathan joined her in bed, Bertha had asked, “Jonathan, I know your parents are very

open-minded where sex is concerned but, do you think they’ll understand my bi-sexuality?”

“Are you kidding? My dad would go nuts if he found out. He’d be asking me if I’d ever joined

you and another woman. Even though he was 20 when he married my mom, he’d had quite a few

lovers before he met, fell in love with, and married my mom. He even told me about a few times

he’d spent with bi-sexual women. He’d laugh when he’d tell me about them. One couple was a

Manul and an Ili pika.”

“Well, I’d rather not have them find out. I’m surprised that you know.”

“Sweetheart, I’m good friends with Robert; Wanda confessed to Robert about the two of you and

he told me. I don’t know why he told me; maybe he wanted to prepare me for when you

eventually told me. All I know is, I don’t care if you sleep with Wanda or any other woman as

long as I’m the only man that finds his way to your bed.”

Bertha had snuggled closer to Jonathan after he said that. She ran a finger through his chest fur

and answered, “You don’t have a thing to worry about, Jonathan. You’re the only man I want to

sleep with and Wanda is the only woman. Good night, baby.”

Jonathan, whose eyes were starting to close, said, “Thank you, Bertha. Good night.”

*****

The next morning, Jonathan’s mother had said, “Jonathan, are you two always that quiet when

you’re in bed together?”

“What do you mean, mom?”

“I mean, when you two have sex, are you always that quiet?”

Bertha’s mouth moved but no words came out. Jonathan rescued her by saying, “Mom, Bertha

can be very vocal when we’re making love. But, she didn’t want to give you and dad the wrong

impression about her so she asked me if we could wait before we make love in your home.”

Jonathan’s dad said, “Well, that explains why it was so quiet last night. We were afraid that you

were doing something wrong, boy.” He laughed heartily at his joke; he was soon joined by his

wife. Even Bertha smiled a little at what was said. Jonathan just rolled his eyes and shook his

head.

As she thought of these things, Jonathan stirred next to her and she pulled him closer to her. She

looked at her bedside clock and debated whether or not they had enough time for a little fun

before they had to get up and get ready for work.

**********

Wanda woke up and felt an arm across her chest just below her ample breasts. She turned her

head and saw the top of Robert’s head. Even though they were close to the same height, Robert

had settled in a position where the top of his head was level with her shoulder. She reached over

and softly caressed his cheek. When she did this, she was rewarded by him pulling her tighter

against him and a soft sound of pleasure in his throat.

*****

As Wanda lay there, she thought back to the previous weekend. Robert had arrived home on

Friday and said, “Wanda, are you ready?”

“Ready? Ready for what?”

“Have you forgotten that Mom and Dad invited us to spend this weekend with them?”

“Robert, I’m nervous about spending the weekend with your parents. They’re speciesists and I

don’t believe they’ll accept our relationship.”

“Well, they’re expecting us. If they start to give you a hard time, I’ll tell them that we’re going

home and we’ll leave. But, I doubt very seriously that they’ll care.”

Wanda smiled, kissed him, and said, “All right, Robert. Give me a few minutes to pack a bag for

the weekend.”

*****

A few minutes later, Wanda and Robert were in his car and driving to his parent’s home, in

Cowlumbia, Carpolina. Even though she was nervous, she wanted to please Robert as best as she

could. Every now and then, Robert would look over at her and smile. She would return the smile,

albeit a bit nervously.

“Wanda, I’ve told you that you don’t have to worry about my parents. They’ve known you since

we were in second grade. They like you.”

“That may well be, Robert, but I was never your girlfriend before now.”

“Don’t worry, Sweetheart. They’ll accept you.”

*****

A little over three hours later, Robert was pulling into the driveway of a two-story house. This

was the first time that Wanda had ever visited Robert’s ancestral home in Cowlumbia. Even

though he’d talked about it quite a bit when they were in school together, he’d never invited her

to join him and his family when they visited. She always believed it was because his

grandparents were speciesists and would never have accepted her as a friend of his. However,

Robert’s parents had always accepted his friendship with her even though she was noticeably

bigger than him, height, body, and weight-wise. Robert had started catching up with her during

their high school years, but, Wanda continued to be slightly larger than Robert.

It had been over 15 years since Robert’s parents last saw her but they recognized her

immediately. “Wanda!” Jeanette Jordegern practically screamed when she saw her. “You haven’t

changed a bit since the last time you were here.”

Wanda smiled and said, “Mrs. Jordegern, you and I both know that isn’t true. I’ve put on even

more weight and my chest is noticeably bigger, too.”

Ever one to be open about her sexuality, Jeanette cupped her slightly bigger breasts and said,

“You’ve still got a way to go to catch me there, sweetie.” Then, she laughed causing Wanda to

join her. Robert just rolled his eyes.

Simon Jordegern walked into the living room at that moment and gave Wanda a big hug.

“Wanda, it’s so good to see you again. You know, just because you got married didn’t mean you

couldn’t come by to visit, even if you had had to drag that husband of yours along against his

will.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jordegern.”

“Come along, you two. Dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes. Go clean up. By the way, your

bedroom is all ready.”

Wanda looked toward where Simon had exited the living room with her mouth open. She turned

to Robert and whispered. “What did your father mean by that? Didn’t he mean our bedROOMS?”

“No, Sweetheart. They already know about our sleeping arrangements.”

“And they accept it?”

“Yes.”

*****

At dinner, Wanda was even more nervous than she had been when she entered the Jordegern

house. Jeanette said, “Wanda, what’s wrong? You look as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room

full of rockers (1).”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Jordegern. I thought you and Mr. Jordegern were speciesists.”

“We are, honey. But, just because we’re speciesists doesn’t mean that we expect our children to

be as well. After all, Robert’s older brother is married to an Ili pika and his younger sister is

married to a Manul woman. His younger brother is married to a chipmunk.”

“Wait, his younger sister is married to a woman?”

“Baby, you can’t control who you’re attracted to. Robert’s been in love with you since you two

were in grade school together. Haven’t you noticed how he’d do almost anything you’d asked of

him?”

Shyly, Wanda replied, “Yes. I noticed. To be honest, I was in love with him, too. I often

wondered why he never asked me to go out with him.”

“That’s because he knew we were speciesists. He was torn between his love for you and his love

for us. He didn’t realize that his happiness was more important to us than the purity of our

bloodline.”

*****

As the conversation continued, Jeanette finally brought up a subject that had been on her mind

for several months. “Wanda, Robert’s told us about the human that’s working at SoGa Industries.

Have you met him?”

With a sour look on her face, Wanda said, “Yes, I’ve met him. He’s the C.I.T. manager and he

has a weekly meeting with Mr. Blaidd. Why are you interested in him?”

Simon said, “Wanda, why do you have that look on your face?”

“Mr. Jordegern, he’s human. Why wouldn’t I have a sour look on my face? You know what

humans did to our feral ancestors, especially mine.”

“Yes, I know; I also know what they did to our Humanimal ancestors, especially the female

Humanimals. What does that have to do with this one?”

“Mr. Jordegern, Michael Thomson was born over 20,000 years ago. He’s admitted to being a

hunter. He probably used to hunt chipmunks and badgers.”

Robert interrupted Wanda, saying, “No, Wanda. I’ve spent time with Michael. He said he was

opposed to killing carnivores unless said carnivore was endangering a human and even then, he

preferred to capture the animal and move it to an area where humans rarely traveled. Besides, he

grew up in south Gargia. Badgers and chipmunks weren’t indigenous to that area of the country.”

“Robert, are you defending him?”

“No, my dear. I’m merely stating facts. Also, he was in stasis almost 500 years before

Humanimals were created and enslaved by humans. He’s truly innocent of the things that you

hate humans for.”

“That may well be but humans did mistreat us.”

Jeanette said, “Wanda, the Good Book says we shouldn’t visit the sins of the father on the son. It

also says we should forgive those who would harm us. From what Robert’s told us, the only

trouble Michael’s had with Humanimals was the idea of falling in love with one.”

Weakly, Wanda said, “But, what if he turns out to be as I’m afraid he’ll be.”

Simon said, “Has he shown any signs of being like that?”

“Well, no.” Wanda paused for a second thinking. “Actually, now that you mention it, he’s always

been overly friendly with every one of us. Almost every week, he arrives for his weekly meeting

with Mr. Blaidd and he’s got a bag with him. He’ll walk to each of the eight secretaries and hand

them a small package. He says it’s his way of thanking us for doing our jobs.”

Jeanette said, “Does that sound like someone who’s only interested in hurting us?”

Wanda squirmed a bit before she admitted, “No. You’re right. He seems to be going out of his

way to show us he’s sorry for what was done to our ancestors.”

“Then, maybe you should meet him halfway and accept his apology. He may be a great friend.

Robert seems to think so.”

“Yes, ma’am. Maybe you’re right. It won’t be easy for me but, I’ll try.”

Robert said, “We couldn’t ask you to do more than try, Wanda.”

**********

Michelle opened her eyes. She was smiling and looking at the ceiling of her bedroom. She was

wondering what Amanda would think when she found out that Michelle had spent the entire

weekend in bed with Albert. More importantly, she was wondering if Albert would brag about it

to his co-workers. She hoped he wouldn’t because it would lower him in her estimation.

She lay in her bed for a few more moments smiling as she thought of how much Albert had

shown her he wasn’t like the guy who had raped her 10 years earlier. They’d gone out on several

dates, usually with Janet as a chaperon. However, one night, Janet had had a date with her

current boyfriend and couldn’t chaperon them. Remembering how that other caracal had taken

advantage of being alone with her 10 years earlier, she reluctantly, nervously, agreed to go out

with Albert alone that night. When Albert was told that Janet wouldn’t be chaperoning them that

night, at first, Albert offered to postpone the date for her. When she refused to postpone the date,

Albert was still a gentleman with her and only held her hand as they walked through the

shopping center they had decided to visit. When she asked about his still being nice to her even

without Janet being there, he replied that he wanted her to understand that he wanted to show her

that she was so important to him that anything that happened between them that night would be

her decision.

When he took her home that night, he kissed her gently, squeezed her hand equally gently, told

her good-night, turned, and walked to his car. Michelle watched him drive away. She entered her

apartment, went to her bedroom, and felt a funny feeling, a feeling she’d never felt before. She

smiled as she realized that she was starting to fall in love with the brash young caracal who

turned out to be more than a little shy, especially around her.

Two weeks later, the first weekend that Michael and Amanda were in Jaguarville, when Albert

brought her home, she invited him in. After he sat down on her sofa, she excused herself, went

into her room, and changed clothes. When she returned, she was wearing a filmy negligee that

left very little to the imagination. Albert’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at the

beautiful young serval woman standing in front of him. She had extended her hand to him and

led him to her bedroom.

These thoughts crossed her mind as Michelle lay in her bed that Monday morning. She wondered

if Albert had the same feelings for her that were starting to grow in her.

**********

Michael finished getting dressed and walked into his kitchen. Being a typical bachelor, his

breakfast was a very simple affair. He had found a store that sold cereal, milk, and orange juice

so that was his normal breakfast. As he ate, he made a telephone call and talked to his other

girlfriend, Anne. She was always so happy to hear his voice and this morning she asked about

Amanda. Michael told her that Amanda was at her home but he would bring her over to visit as

soon as he could. He told Anne that he loved her and he was looking forward to seeing her the

upcoming weekend.

After he finished eating, Michael put his bowl and glass into his sink and filled them with water

so they would be easier to wash when he got home that evening. He reached into his refrigerator

and got his lunch. He opened the bag, saw what he’d made, and grimaced. “God!” He thought.

“I’ve really got to learn how to cook. Cold sandwiches get old after a while and I don’t want to

ask Dr. Tigresa to cook for me all the time. Hmm. Maybe I can suggest to Mr. Blaidd about

renting part of the building to a dine out restaurant or a hot sandwich shop. If we did that, it

would save the employees a few minutes to enjoy their meal before having to return to work.”

He walked to the dining nook and put his lunch on the table. Since Fall was in full force by now,

he pulled on a coat, grabbed his lunch, and left. He got to his car, cranked it, and headed to SoGa

Industries. As he drove, he started fantasizing again. Amanda was in the forefront of his

thoughts, as usual. He’d left early enough to stop at a nearby store to see if what he had planned

to do to show Amanda how much he loved her was available. He parked and walked into the

store. A few minutes later, a smiling Michael exited the store with a small paper bag in his hand

and he continued on his way to work.

**********

Bertha and Wanda arrived at the front door to SoGa at the same time. They both smiled at each

other, although Wanda had a look of serious thought on her face. This bothered Bertha a bit.

As they walked through the front door, Bertha said, “Wanda, I’ve never seen that kind of look on

your face before. What’s wrong?”

Wanda looked at her girlfriend and said, “Bertha, Robert, and I spent last weekend with his

parents in Cowlumbia.”

“That’s wonderful, Wanda. Oh! Wait. They’re speciesists, aren’t they?”

“Yes, but they accept Robert’s decision to be with me.”

“So, what’s with that look then?”

“Friday night during dinner, Mrs. Jordegern mentioned Michael.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah.”

“How did they learn about him?”

“Oh, Robert told them. They were very interested in my opinion of him.”

“Really? Did you launch into a tirade about humans?”

“Yeah. But, after I finished, Mrs. Jordegern asked me if Michael had ever done or said anything

bad to me. After I told her no, she reminded me that not all Humans hurt our feral ancestors. She

also reminded me of a couple of things from the Good Book.”

“Oh? What?”

“‘Don’t visit the sins of the father on the son’ and ‘We should forgive those who do us harm.’”

“Those are good things to remember, especially since Michael has said on numerous occasions

he was opposed to killing an animal just to kill it.”

“I know. That’s what made what Mrs. Jordegern said hurt so badly. She reminded me of how nice

Michael has always been toward us.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I’ll think of something by the time he gets up here for the 0400 meeting.”

**********

Michael arrived at SoGa just a few seconds after Amanda did. When he saw her, he called to her

and came running up to her. Amanda smiled at him and waited for him to catch up to her.

“What do you want, Mr. Thomson?”

Giving Amanda a look, Michael replied, “Mr. Thomson? Mr. Thomson? Have you found

someone else so soon?” Feigning shock and surprise by slapping his hand across his chest and

rolling his head and eyes, he continued, “Oh, the pain. To know that the woman I love only used

me as a dakimura for the last week.”

Amanda looked at Michael strangely before saying, “Dakimura? What’s a dakimura?”

“A dakimura is a full body pillow people used to cuddle up to in bed when they didn’t have

someone to cuddle up with. They usually had someone, or something, printed on the pillow to

make it look like the person had a bed partner.”

They started walking into the lobby of SoGa as Amanda replied, “So, you think I thought of you

as a pillow?”

Michael laughed and pulled her into a hug. He kissed her and said, “Never would I ever. Besides,

I believe it was me doing all the cuddling.”

Amanda replied, “Yes, you were. You always pulled me close to your body. I’m thinking you

were using my body heat and fur to keep yourself warm.”

Looking around conspiratorially, Michael said, “Shh. Don’t let my secret out.”

By this time, they had reached the end of the foyer where Amanda had to turn left to get to the

elevators to take her to the 12th floor and Michael had to turn right to get to his office. Michael

pulled Amanda into a hug and gave her a quick, gentle kiss before saying, “I’ll see you at 0400,

Sweetie.”

As Michael watched Amanda walk seductively away, he heard a voice saying, “Wow! What

happened while you were in Jaguarville.”

Without looking, Michael said, “Good morning, Albert.”

“Good morning, Michael, and don’t try to change the subject. What happened? You always said

that you couldn’t even remotely consider a relationship with a Humanimal.”

Michael smiled and said, “Albert, I managed to open my eyes and see Amanda for the beautiful

woman she is. I even told her that I loved her.”

“Really!?” Albert said, incredulously. “Congratulations, Michael.” Albert looked quickly at his

watch and said, “Uh, Boss.”

Michael smiled, slapped Albert on his back, and said, “And don’t you forget it.

“Now, tell me what happened while I was gone last week.”

“Do you mean personally or here at work?”

“Oh? Tell me about the personal part first then about at work.”

**********

At 0400, Michael picked up a bag from next to his desk, left his office, and stopped at Mrs.

Impisi’s office. They headed to the elevators to go to the 12th floor. Upon leaving the elevator,

they headed toward Mr. Blaidd’s office with Michael stopping at each secretary’s desk and

giving them a small package. When Amanda saw them coming toward her, she got up from her

desk and waited for them. However, just as he came abreast of Wanda’s desk and handed her a

package, she stood up and spoke to him.

“Michael?”

Michael stopped and said, “Yes, Wanda?”

“Could I stop by your office at lunchtime today? I need to talk to you about something.”

Michael stole a quick glance toward Amanda and saw a sour look on her face. However, he was

curious as to what Wanda felt compelled to say to him. “Sure thing, Wanda. I’ll be there waiting

for Amanda so we can have lunch together.”

“Thanks, Michael.” Wanda looked toward Amanda and said, “Don’t worry, Amanda. I just want

to tell Michael something rather important.”

Amanda said, “I’m not worried, Wanda. I know Michael is only interested in me.” Narrowing her

eyes and looking at Michael, she added, “Right, Michael?”

Michael smiled and said, “You bet, Sweetie.”

**********

Michael, Amanda, and Dana entered Mr. Blaidd’s office and greeted Mr. Blaidd, Mr.

Schimpanse, and Mrs. Gatopardos. After taking their proffered seats, Mr. Blaidd stood, walked

around his desk, sat on the corner closest to him, and said, “Welcome back, Michael and

Amanda. I hope you enjoyed your vacation.”

Michael smiled and said, “Was that what that was? I thought you expected us to work.”

Amanda and Dana looked at him with shocked looks. Mr. Blaidd smiled and said, “You didn’t

get the memo? Well, since you actually did some work, what did you, Amanda, and Charlotte

agree would be the best computer system for our company?”

Michael said, “Well Mr. Blaidd, we decided that the best system for our needs would be the

Honeybee Business Machines model 6A-37. It’s a relatively small CPU. It’s a cube that measures

about 4 feet per side. It’s got about 500 megabytes of RAM, Random Access Memory. It’s also

got 4 disc drives that can be set up howsoever we decide would work best for us. The options are

1 and 3, 2 and 2, or 4 in a row. My recommendation would be 4 in a row. The representative said

that, if we decide at a later date to expand the number of drives, it would be a simple matter to do

that. There’s also three tape drives that can be added to the end of the disc drives, the opposite

side of the CPU, or they can be stand-alone, either singularly or next to each other. The package

includes a printer with the ability to print up to 25 pages a minute, a computer card reader,

monitor, and keyboard. Honeybee also included 10 software packages that they recommend for

our company, including payroll software.”

Mr. Schimpanse said, “That sounds wonderful. But, how important is the printer?”

“The printer will allow us to keep hard-copy of any and all important documents. The printer is a

dot matrix printer rather than a slower letter band printer.”

Mr. Blaidd said, “Is the card reader important?”

“Yes, Sir. When you input a program into a computer, you’ve got two options, you can input the

program through the terminal which is very slow or you can use a card reader which is

significantly faster. Plus, a keypunch machine would allow the computer to work while a

programmer is keypunching cards to input new programs.”

Mr. Schimpanse said, “How much is this new system going to set SoGa back?”

“Well Mr. Schimpanse, the total cost of this system is about 10 million Yenars.” Michael winced

as he expected Mr. Schimpanse to lose his temper at the cost.

Mr. Schimpanse said, “Only 10 million? I’d heard that a good system can cost as much as 50 to

100 million. Why is this system so relatively inexpensive?”

“The model 6A-37 uses a lot of new innovations that I, from personal experience, can guarantee

work perfectly. The major problem with the system is that it needs a very cool, almost cold, room

to operate at peak efficiency.”

“How cool?” Mrs. Gatopardos asked.

“Let’s just say that it would behoove the computer operators to have a sweater at the very least so

they don’t shiver so badly they can’t operate the system.” Everyone in the room laughed.

Michael then added, “The best operating temperature is 18 to 20 degrees. (2)”

Mrs. Gatopardos said, “That’s rather cold but with our fur, we should be able to tolerate it. A lot

of our ancestors lived in rather cold conditions. Some of them are from arctic regions so their fur

should allow them to tolerate those temperatures.”

“Then, there shouldn’t be any problems with the cool temperatures,” Michael replied.

**********

The meeting continued for another hour before Mr. Blaidd brought up a subject that Michael

hadn’t known that he knew about. “Michael, I understand that you got yourself arrested on a visit

to St. Alsatian.”

Michael looked at him for a second before replying, “Yes, sir. Amanda and I decided to visit St.

Alsatian and I showed her some sights that I remember seeing when I visited my senior year of

college. I didn’t know about the law preventing humans inside of St. Alsatian. How did you hear

about it?”

Mr. Schimpanse said, “Did you forget that you visited my cousin’s diner?”

Michael laughed and said, “Oh, yeah. I had forgotten about Mr. Txinpantze’s diner. Mr. Jake was

good to Amanda and me. He even prevented the police from losing their tempers with me

because I wanted to know why it was illegal for humans to be in St. Alsatian by sitting between

us and explaining the history of the law.”

Mr. Blaidd asked, “How did you get out of it?”

“I allowed myself to be arrested and when I told the Lieutenant who I was, he allowed me to

have access to almost anything I could want. I asked for the police reports about the murders

from 150 years ago. I told the police what I found in the reports and they figured out who the

murderer was, and it wasn’t a human.”

“Who was it?” Mrs. Gatopardos asked.

“The great-great-great-grandfather of the president of the city council.”

Everyone looked at Michael in shock. Mr. Blaidd said, “Really?”

“Yes, sir. When he found out, the president, who is a multi-millionaire, decided to set up a

reparations account to repay the displaced humans and he also is going to have the laws

repealed.”

Mrs. Gatopardos said, “Laws?”

“Yes, ma’am. Besides the law preventing humans inside of St. Alsatian, there’s also a law

preventing relationships between humans and humanimals.”

“Well, good,” Mr. Schimpanse said, “It’s about time St. Alsatian caught up with the rest of the

world.”

Mr. Blaidd said, “Well, I believe this meeting is officially over. Have a good day everyone and

I’ll see Michael and Dana next week.”

**********

At 0600, Amanda showed up at Michael’s office for their daily lunch date. Michael had been

given the room that he had discovered that his predecessor, Mr. Shishuukhei, had had built for

his trysts with women at SoGa Industries because no one wanted it. Michael had gotten it

fumigated, the loveseat/bed removed, had a small hot plate and medium-sized refrigerator

installed, and had turned it into a lunch/meeting room so he and Amanda could eat and look out

of the window at the stream with the willow trees around it or he could give his subordinates

performance reports. Michael preferred to eat here rather than in his office for two reasons. First

of all, it kept crumbs off of his desk and floor, and second, he liked to look at the stream flow

past as ospreys and the occasional bald eagle would fly by and snatch a fish out of the stream.

Just as Michael and Amanda were starting to walk to the room, Wanda knocked on Michael’s

office door. Since he could see her, Michael said, “Come on in, Wanda.”

Wanda entered the office, took a quick look around, and gawked at the size of the office. “Wow,

Michael!” She said, “This office is almost as big as Mr. Schimpanse’s office and he’s a

vice-president.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.

“What can I do for you, Wanda? You said earlier that you wanted to talk to me.”

“Oh, yes.” Wanda walked closer to Michael before saying, “Michael, the first weekend that you

and Amanda were in Jaguarville, Robert invited me to go to Cowlumbia, Carpolina, to visit his

family.”

“Cowlumbia? I thought he was from Catlanna.”

“He is but, when his parents decided to retire about 15 years ago, they decided to move back to

their hometown of Cowlumbia and take over the family farm.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that about Robert. What does that have to do with you wanting to talk to me?”

“Well Michael, Robert had been talking to his parents and you seemed to be a favorite subject.

His parents loved the fact that he knew and worked with you.

“When we arrived at his parents’ home on Friday night, we got reacquainted and I found out that,

even though Robert’s parents are speciesists, they would have accepted a relationship between

Robert and me even though we both thought otherwise.

“That leads me to the reason I wanted to talk to you today. At dinner that night, Robert’s mother

asked about you and she got visibly upset when I called you a human in a disgusted voice. She

told me that it was wrong to judge you by what other humans had done to Humanimals and our

ancestors in the past. The more she talked, the more I found myself realizing that she was right.

After a short while, Mrs. Jordegern told me that I should apologize to you. She also said that it

was likely that you would accept my apology. So, I’m apologizing to you, Michael. I’m sorry for

judging you by a preconceived notion about humans in general and you in particular. Can you

forgive me?”

Michael walked over to her, hugged her, gave her a kiss on her cheek, and said, “Wanda, I have

no problem forgiving you. You are a wonderful, loving person that I’ve considered to be a friend

since the day that I met you. I didn’t care how you felt about me and I still don’t. That’s just the

way I am. However, I’m glad to know that your hatred of humans seems to be gone and I believe

that will help both of us.”

Wanda hugged Michael back and smiled. She said, “Thank you, Michael. I hope that our

friendship can grow.” Turning to Amanda, she said, “I’ll see you after lunch, Amanda.” Smiling

impishly, she added, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Then, she turned and walked out of

Michael’s office and to her lunch date with Robert.

Michael watched Wanda leave. He turned to Amanda as he smiled at her. Amanda gave Michael

a curious look. Michael said, “What?”

“What did Wanda mean by, ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do’?”

“I think she means anything sexual which I find hard to believe is even possible.” Michael

laughed as Amanda cocked her head giving him a look reminiscent of a dog looking at

something it didn’t understand.

Michael laughed and said, “Let’s eat.”

**********

(1)-”As nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers.” This is an ancient human saying

that implies that a long-tailed cat would be afraid of having its tail pinched multiple times by the

runner of a rocking chair and, as a result, be nervous while in a room full of rockers.

(2)-The Humanimals use a thermometer based on the ancient human Celsius. 0 degrees is the

freezing point of water and 100 degrees is the boiling point of water. 18 to 20 degrees is

equivalent to 65 – 68F.