“Nice landing, Ryanair. Left F6, F6 F G4, hold short runway 7R. Top 1% exiting the ramp now.“
“F6 F G4, short of 7R, DWK.”
Eventually, after holding for various evening arrivals, and purchasing enough fuel to waive the security fee and add about an hour of flight time, I pay up, grab some water, and wipe my sweaty face down. Instant torrential sweat from stepping out into 48°/118° heat. Any hotter and I probably would’ve had to hold or divert. Most commercial flights have to cancel or delay to the night, which corroborates the fact that the only traffic moving on the ground with the intention of flight were business jets.
Sunset rolls around to grab me after only a few minutes of waiting. I jump in and am greeted with an embrace when we get home.
“Welcome back, Max.”
“Happy to be here. Thanks for getting me. I chose not to take a car this time.”
“Wow. You’re really roughing it.”
“Thanks.”
She chuckles in response. “Were you planning on buying another car?”
“No, but this is probably one of the best places to do so.”
“That is true. So, did you have anything in mind?”
“Not really. I just wanted to drop by and show how much you mean to me. We did have fun driving up to the Grand Canyon, but I don’t see a need to necessarily repeat that.”
“I agree.”
“Wanna go to Vegas?”
“Not now. I have work on Monday. I’d love to see Flash though.”
“We can go. I like flying into Harry Reid.”
“Nah. Feels pointless to go for basically less than 24 hours.”
“Less than? Monday an early day for you?”
“Yeah.” She sighs.
“How are you awake before me?” I ask groggily as Sunset wakes me up.
“I woke up to go to the bathroom. No point in going back to sleep, so you wanna go for a walk?”
“No.” I groan, though wishing I did have the willpower to join her.
“This is the best time to. In about an hour or two, it’s gonna get blistering again.”
“I know…” I grumble.
Sunset then gets me upright and defogged enough to fix my hair. As soon as I breathe in that fresh air and the first real feeling of warmth (heat to come) hits me, I smile serenely.
I know I’m off to a rocky start, and I certainly wasn’t doing myself any favors after seeing Matthew jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. Everything from San Francisco up until Indianapolis has been a blur. Now, in Phoenix, it feels a bit different. Though there is a nice warmth right now (it’s gonna get real hot later, like I just said), I feel more than just the warmth of the environment.
With Sunset at my side, I hold myself back at throwing one of my arms over her shoulder. I know we’re close enough to where she’s not put off by it, but I still know that my own personal timidity is keeping myself in check, just in case it makes her uncomfortable.
Amidst all my thinking, I notice Sunset, one who I would describe as usually talkative, is keeping silent. I feel an obligation to break the silence, but I still have a lot of thinking to do. I’m just checking in to see if I missed anything. Looks like I didn’t.
As we continue walking, my brain stops scrambling but now feels stuck in a void. Two steps any which way could start something else, but for now, I think I’ll just enjoy where I am. Enjoy the moment as it is.
Keep walking.
I check street names so I can orient myself, when Sunset smiles and offers her hand for holding. I warmly accept it, interlocking our fingers glad that even as friends, we‘re close enough to do something like this.
Walking hand in hand with only the morning sun as company (I’m surprised no one else in the neighborhood is up this early), we eventually round back home, going through the kitchen to figure out breakfast.
As I expected, there is no red meat anywhere, so if I want a protein, I guess I’ll have to settle for… Impossible Burgers?
“I like them better than Beyond, which is Fluttershy’s favorite.” She says opening the package. “This tastes more like a burger, and it’s easier for me to find, or rather, closer.”
“Hmm.” I nod. “I have a very slight, like 50.01%, preference for Beyond because it feels more marbled, so if I’m reading you correctly, you say it feels more like a burger. Would that be because it’s leaner?”
“Probably. You wouldn’t be wrong to say that.”
One normal package can be made into 8 slider-size patties, so she cuts it into four pieces and returns half of them to the fridge. I have a pan pre-heating with a very slight bit of sunflower oil, which is the fat that these burgers are made out of (Beyond use coconut and canola oil, the former of which is where that extra .01% comes from.)
Sunset then does the burgers while I make work of toasting the buns and preparing the toppings. Tomato, lettuce, mayo, mustard, ketchup, and… I guess that’s it.
The buns pop out of the slotted toaster just as she turns off the gas. Two burgers about 1.5 times the size of a slider apiece, we sit down and dig in to the evening’s prime time TV offerings.
As we share a few laughs at reruns of Friends and Home Improvement, we eventually find the latter’s spiritual successor, Last Man Standing. Sunset enjoys this one quite a bit, and as a result, sets a season pass for her DVR.
By now, the OAT is well in excess of 38°/100°, so as Sunset adjusts her A/C, I find another way to pass the time. To do some more thinking, I head to her backyard and have a cigarette. Moving one of her lawn chairs under the shade, I begin work on another stick and meditate on my thoughts.
I have plenty of cash to cover helping Applejack out, and I am not by any means going to hold her to a strict repayment schedule, but that’s not what’s troubling me. No, what’s weird is even though I have made substantial efforts to get over her, as soon as I saw her, everything came rushing back, and I had two simultaneous reactions. 1. Spending time with her is obviously very important to me, since not only is she one of my best friends, she seems to like me too, more than just merely tolerate my presence. In line with that, I feel like Applejack, while privy to my feelings for her, still appreciates my presence despite the barrier that in most relationships would be presented as tension. 2. While I was helping her out in the orchards, I still had those feelings of “potential lover,” which marks my quashing of feelings as a failure, and by extension failure to myself. I should’ve known that it wasn’t going to be that easy, and while I had banked on just being honest with her and telling her early on, (in an effort to quash said feelings), she not only took it gracefully, she welcomed it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very glad that Applejack has been able to play off the fact that I did (and sometimes still do) have a crush on her, but maybe the fact that she took it so well is the reason these feelings still exist. Could being honest with Applejack have backfired?
“Max?” Sunset calls just as I wrap up that thought.
“Sunset?” I ask nervously. “Do you remember how I asked about the relationship I have with Rarity and Applejack?”
“Yeah?”
“Wait!!!” My inner voice shouts at me to the sound of skidding tires and locked brakes.
“Uh, never mind.” I then say to Sunset. “What’s up?”
“Are you smoking?”
“Yeah. Electronic of course.”
“I know. I don’t have a problem with it. If you were smoking real ones, then I would ask you to move to the front.”
“And I would’ve gone.“
She smiles. “I was just gonna ask if you wanted to get something for dinner.”
“It may be a late one for me. I’m still full from earlier.”
“Okay, that’s fine. I was gonna go in like a half hour anyway, but I just wanted to know if you were feeling anything.”
“No preferences.”
“I’m good with anything too.”
“If all else fails, we can just go to like Waffle House or something. I’ll probably want something small.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Good on ya for pumping the brakes.” My inner voice then rebuts.
“It provides a lot of plausible answers granted, and it would explain a lot about why I still have feelings for her.”
“I’m listening.”
“She, according to Princess Twilight, is the element of honesty. Obviously that makes sense it would transfer here. I have no reason to doubt that because I was honest with her, not only is she choosing to stay loyal to me, she treats me like a best friend. As the element of honesty, being honest and upfront with her almost immediately was not going to destroy the friendship or a potential relationship. On the contrary. Trying to use her own element against her not only backfired, it was in her eyes a standard expectation.”
“You may be right, though not all your points hold water.”
“I wonder how she’d react now if I told her I still do.”
“I don’t know. You seem to be pretty good at suppressing those feelings.”
“Until I saw her again, then…”
“It all came right back.” We both say in unison.
“I don’t think I can tell her. At least, no reason to. We’ve cemented ourselves as friends, maybe even siblings per her little sister’s accounts, and nothing more.”
“You never know until you try.”
“No. This is Rosalina all over again. The only difference is this time, I didn’t wait to reveal my feelings.”
“Rosalina found out you liked her almost immediately. It’s probably the only reason she let you hold her hand after only having met once before.”
I sigh. “I won’t argue.
“There’s no way I can let history repeat itself. If I got into a relationship with any of them, when it‘ll fail, it probably would go as bitter as it did with Rosalina.”
“Only worse.”
“Yeah, because not only would I lose her, I may as well lose everyone else.”
Immediately, without the need of my inner voice, I realize I have to talk to Sunset.
“Waffle House?”
“Sounds fun, let’s do it.”
Having made no more than simple chitchat at dinner, we return home. As soon as I close the door behind me, I ask Sunset,
“Can we talk?”
“What’s up?” She asks with a warm, welcoming smile.
“You know how when I was in hospital, you said I was your boyfriend so you could get time off work?”
“Yeah?”
“How could calling me your S/O be reason to be granted leave? I don’t know who would allow that.”
“I run the practice, but I called you my boyfriend because I didn’t want to make it seem like I’m cutting work.”
“I guess having your S/O in hospital would make more sense to take leave than just any one of your friends.”
“Well, when you put it like that…”
“Don’t even trip. You did say you would kill me if I told anyone.”
She glares at me.
“I haven’t!” I quickly reassure her. “I just find it surprising that you’d say I was your boyfriend. Though I guess if it was just to create the sense of urgency, then…”
“What brought that thought up?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Just thinking about my time in hospital. You did also say some were interested in a relationship with me.”
“Oh… yeah. About that…”
She reaches out and grabs my hand. I raise an eyebrow in confusion.
“I still owe you cuddles from last time.” She smiles as she rubs my palm with her thumb and smiles sheepishly.
“Big or small?”
“I was supposed to be little spoon, so it’s up to you.”
“I don’t care.”
“Neither do I.”
“Well, we’ll see how the evening goes. It’s still pretty bright out.”
“We’ve got what? An hour until sunset?”
“Give or take.”
After we both slide into her bed, Sunset reaches for me, grabbing just above the wrist. She holds on for a few seconds, and when she lets go, she stares at me and asks,
“Max, you… you still have feelings for Applejack?”
“You finally figure out what happened when I asked earlier?”
“Well, yes and no. When I touched you, I saw a stream of memories.”
“What did you see??” I ask urgently alarmed.
“You were in a room with a couple copies of yourself. It looked like something out of an investigative drama. You had presented the idea of how being honest with Applejack immediately may have worked against you. Despite some initial hesitation, you wanted to let her know of your feelings immediately, so you could try and nip your feelings in the bud. However, because Applejack is the literal representation of honesty in Equestria, not only did Applejack seem okay with it, she probably liked you more for it.”
“[Hit the] nail on the head.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to see that.”
“Did you see anything else?” I ask too nervous about her seeing anything else than the fact that she literally just saw my memories.
“No.” She shakes her head feverishly.
“100% honest truth. Did you see anything else?”
“I promise. I did not see anything else.”
“Okay then.”
“I can pick up thoughts in the rote and short-term memory.“
My face drops again. “If you were able to see my long-term memory or subconscious, I probably would run all the way back to Sky Harbor.”
“That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, what would you do to me if you were my boyfriend?” She asks as her blush creeps up her face.
“Wow. Going right for it, huh? Well, I’d want to take you out to dinner, wherever is good really. I always like asking for an opinion to see both what they like and if there are any dietary restrictions or allergies, even if I’ve known them a long time. Don’t mistake my consideration for lack of spontaneity. I’m almost always the deso [driver], so I would likely not drink. After dinner though, depending on how things go, I’ll play my physical interactions by ear. At the very least, I like hands around the waist, or hips, or, um…”
As I think, I notice Sunset’s blush has gone down, but her intrigue remains quite high, to my complete surprise.
“My love language is quality time, and probably the next one down would be physical touch. I take a lot of precautions with that though. Quite a few of those I’ve dated have been wary of that, but nonetheless, I enjoy cuddling and the like. I like taking things slow, and I’m also iffy about PDA. If I do want to be really physical with someone, I wait until we’re at home. Other than that, as long as I’m spending time with someone, and I can hold them close…”
“That’s really sweet. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”
“Ha!” I refute instantly. “Three failed marriages, Sunset. Three. And might I add the last one helped send me over the edge. I don’t want that to happen again. It’s why I don’t want to have feelings for AJ anymore. I can’t put myself through the strain of another relationship.”
“Have you talked to her about it?”
“Oh heavens no. I’m not ready. Rarity however, was privy to it, since she had that thing for me. I did say I kind of broke her heart by telling her I always default to suppression of feelings, and by the looks of it, if she is or was still interested, she’s backed down. She said she understands my side after being a witness to most of the ordeal surrounding the accident. If any of you are still interested, I would immediately advise you to avoid me. I’m nothing but trouble, and as of the accident, off the market, and out of the ring.”
“I understand. I just have to say though that if you saw yourself as how we saw you, I can almost guarantee you would not have attempted suicide.”
“However true that may be, keeping that gap between my ideal self and where I actually am is how I be myself, but better.”
“Horseshit.” She immediately snaps back, pushing herself up off the bed. “That’s exactly what put you into that nosedive in the first place. You set the bar so impossibly high and kept it so far out of reach that you inevitably stalled out. Knowing you in hindsight, I should’ve stepped in when I had the chance.”
“Believe me, I’ve heard that so many times I should be sick of it. In any case, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m over it, and it’ll never happen again.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” She responds sternly crossing her arms.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
She sags her shoulders and sighs.
“Promise me this though, not just for me, but for all of us. If you ever feel down, please just talk to one of us. We’re your friends.”
I sigh in defeat, but utter a slight variance on Pinkie‘s promise mantra.
“Cross my heart, wish for death, put a bullet through my head.”
“Good. Now, would you like to hold me like you said you would?”
“Thank you for stopping by Max!” Sunset beams as we embrace once again.
“Thank you for letting me crash for the weekend.”
“Love ya, Max! Stay safe and come by when you can.” She says before giving me a quick peck on the cheek.
“Phoenix ground, Boeing EI-DWK with Golf.”
“Boeing EI-DWK, Phoenix ground, runway…”
The transmission cuts off.
“Uh, Boeing EI-DWK, with the wind 080 at 5, could you accept 25L, 25R or take a slight delay?”
“How long?”
“About, uh, 10 to 15 minutes. Traffic a couple arrivals within 5 minutes of the airport, then we‘re gonna do a runway change.”
“I’ll wait for the runway change, DWK.”
“Boeing DWK, Roger. Would you like runway 7R or 7L?”
“7L.”
“Roger, runway 7L, taxi via H H1, hold short runway 7R.”
“H H1, short of 7R, Boeing DWK.”
“Phoenix tower, Boeing EI-DWK short of 7R for 7L.”
“Boeing EI-DWK, Phoenix Tower, Roger. Break. Speedbird 291 heavy, runway 25R, cleared to land.”
“Cleared to land 25R, Speedbird 291 heavy.”
As I patiently await my clearance, I try and spot the mighty Brit’s approach, but since they’re landing on the opposite runway, my view is obstructed by sitting in the left seat.
“Speedbird 291 heavy, right E6 or E5, right E, hold short of E8.”
“Taking E5, E, short of E8, Speedbird 291 heavy.”
“Boeing DWK, cross runway 7R, runway 7L, line up and wait.”
“Cross 7R, line up and wait 7L, DWK.”
“Boeing EI-DWK, say hello to your colleagues on the taxiway, runway 7L, cleared for takeoff.”
“Pass the message onto ground, cleared for takeoff 7L, Ryanair [sic] DWK.”
Takeoff thrust set.
80 knots.
V1
Rotate.
V2
Positive rate, gear up.
Flaps up.
“EI-DWK, contact departure, cheerio!”
“Over to departure, adios, Boeing EI-DWK.” “Phoenix departure, Boeing EI-DWK off Sky Harbor, 2,600 climbing 8,000 on the CHILY Four.”
“Boeing EI-DWK, Phoenix departure, continue on the CHILY, upon reaching 8,000, climb and maintain FL200. At MESSI, proceed direct BTY.”
“Climb FL200, direct Beatty at MESSI, Boeing DWK.”
“Max!” Fluttershy calls as I step out of the terminal. “Over here!
“I’m so happy to see you!” She exclaims as we share a long and tight hug.
“So am I.” I whisper back, though likely muffled by her hair. “I know you’re busy, so I’ll be out of your hair in a couple days. If you’d like me to stay longer, I don’t mind.”
“Well, whatever works for you. I know it won’t be easy with my work schedule.”
“I can be a househusband if you want.”
She giggles. “That’s alright. I just spent this weekend cleaning.”
“Well, at the very least, I’m here to personally thank you.”
“For what?”
“Your support. Had it not been for you and the others, I probably would’ve been a goner. I’ve lost a lot of supporters since even before the accident, so forgive me if I come on too strong, but I’m very thankful for you and your friends.”
“Aww!!” She blushes.
With her i3 to take advantage of electric car parking, we head for the city and Pike Place Market, where I start dozing off right after getting on I-5. Must be that tired already. Weird, considering I haven’t done anything else today other than travel.
When we arrive, the remaining range justifies a slight premium to pay for electricity, so once she plugs in and I pay the tab, we head for the market.
I go for my usual here, Caffe Lieto, home of “Seattle’s favorite” southern comfort icon laced with attitude and riddled with swear word(s), Biscuit Bitch, currently serving a limited menu for reasons related to kitchen complications. Sounds pretty serious.
When I emerge from the restaurant with my haul in tow, I ask Fluttershy where she is, but she doesn’t respond. Based purely on instinct, I can only assume she’s in one place: the namesake of Pike Place, the farmer’s market.
Sure enough, as I find the very colorful and wholly abundant fruits and vegetables both staple and exotic lining the stands for the length of the outdoor hall, I pick out Fluttershy by the butterfly hairpins and of course her hair, admiring and purchasing some fresh fruit from what I can only recall are local farmers from the Olympics or the interior valleys.
As I myself partake in the eye candy of colors and flavors (yes, I actually enjoy fruit and veg), I eventually catch up to Fluttershy, who pulls out her phone just as I tap her on the shoulder.
“Oh!” She gasps. “I was just about to ask where you were.”
“I’m here. I have my haul. Is you ready to go?”
“Mhmm.”
Back at home, I enjoy some filtered tap water with my dinner. Fluttershy then joins me with what appear to be leftovers.
“So, Fluttershy?” I ask slowly. “How have you been?”
“Things have been good. Miss Kitty was adopted a couple months ago, the one we helped rescue.”
“How about Princess?”
“She was adopted too!”
“Yay! Does the shelter need help?”
“We can always find a place for you. Most of the animals love to interact with humans, and the ones that don’t always stay with me.”
“When do you show up?”
“Usually 8 or 9. Paisley’s off tomorrow, so we should probably arrive closer to 8. Volunteers don’t begin until 10, but you’ll be a huge help to me tomorrow.”
“Happy to help. Maybe spending time with another organic life form will at least soothe some of the torment I’ve been feeling since I got out of the hospital.”
“I’m sorry you’ve been feeling that way.”
“Don’t be. I’ve just been struggling to find work. I haven’t had any hires since Crystal Prep, and I’ve put more cycles on my airplanes than clients have in the past year.”
“I wish there was some way I could help.”
“From a work standpoint, I’m sure there are rescue flights available. I’ve met a few pilots who do those almost exclusively, but I don’t have any in’s on those types of flights.”
“Could we start something with you if the opportunity arises?”
“Sure. I have all the certifications necessary, your most obvious problem is going to be costs. I can knock a little off as demand dictates, but eventually I’d need to rely less on a friend discount, and there’s the issue of having to get your transported animals to and from Boeing [Field] or Renton. Plus, jet fuel is pretty expensive.”
“I know. And I also know that there are a lot of animals who could find forever homes outside of Seattle.”
“I’d really love to operate some shelter rescue flights, and I’m sure the shelter could receive some well-deserved attention. If your only euthanized animals are due to terminal illness, then that’s at the very least a step forward!”
“I’m sure some of my colleagues would love to start something or at least raise some awareness! We had great successes in Hawaii, and we may soon see efforts to tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Keep an eye out for that, because we might need to hire you!”
I can only beam!
Next morning, I’m up at the same time as Fluttershy, so she gives me a towel and points me in the direction of a spare bathroom.
Humming little nothings as I wake myself up with slightly cold water, I get dressed and wait for Fluttershy to get ready. We’re quickly out the door with leftovers for the two of us in hand, arriving at the shelter at 8:15.
I watch Fluttershy do her morning routine, greeting the animals as she turns the lights on. A couple of dogs and cats each run up to their cage in hopes of being pet, so Fluttershy obliges them happily.
One of the cats then starts meowing desperately, so Fluttershy lets it out. Suddenly, as she picks it up, the necklace she’s wearing starts to glow.
“Max, Julio here says he would like to stay at your side for today.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Yes. Julio is one of our most well-trusted and liked cats, but he is our longest-tenured resident. His previous owner’s mother died and could no longer care for him.”
“Aww. Well, I’m happy to have a companion.” I say as Fluttershy sets him down.
He walks towards me, rubs up against my leg, then meows and wraps his tail around said leg. I let him sniff my hand, and he licks it before he moves on to my wrist. I let him do as he pleases before he purrs and stands by my side, eager to follow me around.
“Until the shelter opens, there isn’t much else to do. How well-versed are you in receptionist activities?”
“I can answer phones, but I do worry if anything specific pertaining to adoption may come up.”
“Oh, there are pamphlets available here. Financial information is kind of case by case here, since we do adjust our rates based on the care we provide. Other than that, since you’re not qualified to do any telephone adoptions, you’ll have to encourage callers to visit in person, so they can obviously see what we have.”
“Okay. Does Julio have any… behaviors I should be aware of?”
“Um, other than kind of wanting to do his own things, not really.”
“Is he afraid of water?”
“No.”
“So he bathes easily?”
“He loves baths, don’t you Julio?”
He doesn’t respond. Probably too afraid to admit it.
Julio however then makes himself comfortable on the desktop and is content to sit in a loaf just next to me.
*Call from Rainbow Dash*
“Why’s Rainbow Dash calling me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hello?”
“Hey Max, are you home right now?”
“No. I’m in Seattle with Fluttershy.”
“Well, when will you be home?”
“Either tomorrow night or the night after. What’s up?”
“I was just curious. If I have time, would you want to hang out?”
“Of course. How can I turn down time with my favorite first officer?”
“Don’t call me that.” She says indignantly.
“Sorry.”
“Hehe, I’m just kidding! I’ll let you know then.”
“No problem. Hope something works out.”
“We’ll make it happen.”
“Sure.”
“Awesome! Gotta go, talk to you soon!”
“Later.”
“Does Rainbow Dash want you to be home tomorrow?”
“Don’t know. She wants to hang out, so I assume she has some time off. In any case, knowing her, she *might* want to fly with me.”
“If you need to leave, just let me know and I’ll take you back to Everett.”
“Well, I’m here to show you how thankful I am for basically… no, outright saving my life. I want to show you how I feel, and how much I appreciate you.”
“Max, I felt how grateful you were even when you were still in the hospital. All the others can agree.”
“Did Rosalina ever come to see me?”
“Yes, while you were still intubated. She wished she could come see you post-op, but she was facing a pilot shortage.”
“Unfortunately, across most of aviation, we’re now in the surplus cycle.”
“I’m sorry, but at least you’re not out of work.”
“Oh, I’m very grateful. Otherwise, I’d probably be going crazy because literally nobody would hire me. I’d lose job opportunities to people with shinier profiles than me, whether they’re veterans, have spotless records, or can make twice the progress in half the time.”
“Max, are you okay? I’m sorry if I hit a nerve.”
“No. It happens from time to time. I reminisce about my lowest points to remind myself how far I’ve come.”
“You don’t need to beat yourself up over what happened in the past.”
“Lest I forget.”
“I get that you don’t want to forget or wish it never happened, but if I’ve been taught anything, it’s that you’re not doing yourself any favors by choosing to latch on to those memories. I was bullied for a long time in school, and if it wasn’t for Rainbow Dash staying by my side, I don’t know what I’d do. The same thing is happening with you now. Rainbow Dash was by my side, and she and I and the rest of us are certainly by yours. You don’t have to do this alone, Max. You have friends who love you, care about you and care so much for you.”
“Love you…” a voice not belonging to the one I chat to whispers behind my head.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but…” I then pet Julio, much to his pleasure. “I don’t want to rope you into drama that’s been persistent in my life since long before I met you.”
“Max, you’re not listening to me! None of us care if you were born into drama or even if you were the cause of it! You’re continuing to push us all away, just because you want to protect us?! You even said that that drama caused you to snap and attempt suicide! Max, we are here to help you! Please! Stop pushing us away! We would not be doing this if we didn’t want to help you! You may think it’s an inconvenience, but I’m more inconvenienced by the fact that you refuse to let us in!”
“That’s exactly it, Fluttershy. I’ve been working at this alone for quite a while. I’m ready to let you in, even if by venting I roped you in when we first got to know each other. At this point, I’ve put you through so much and it was my own fault. If you want to help me, then all I ask for is moral support, and be willing to let me vent. This is not a battle I can face with help. I know what I have to do and I have to face it alone.”
Before Fluttershy can respond, the office phone rings.
“Snoqualmie/Mt. Si animal shelter, how can I help you?”
“Hi, I have a question about the adoption process.”
“Sure!”
“What kinds of commitments financially can I expect for the adoption process?”
“What kind of animal are you looking for?”
“What do you have?”
“Dogs, cats, lizards, geckos, guinea pigs, hamsters…”
“Can you give me a rough average across the board?”
“Yeah, one second.
Once I find the fee list, I continue.
“Okay, anywhere from $150 to $420 is the adoption and filing fee itself. Add another $350 for spaying or neutering, and your tentative total at the absolute highest should not exceed $750 or so. Bear in mind that that’s the higher end, you may end up paying less.”
“Can I schedule a viewing?”
“Sure! We’re open today from 10:00 to 19:30 if you can make it today.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’ll see if I can stop by!”
“Alright then!”
“Thank you so much!”
“No problem, happy to help.”
During my phone call, a couple of people have walked in, and Fluttershy takes them to the kennels for visitation.
“Well, this should be fun.” I say to Julio.
He only meows.
“Hi welcome!” and the occasional phone call along with some delivery sign-offs pretty much define the morning. I appreciate the work, and to my surprise, Julio hasn’t left my side, even when I’ve gone to fetch him water and food.
Minding his own business and taking the occasional bites of food, I’ve had to refill his water bowl a few times already, so I make use of a water bottle and the occasional paper towel in case he makes a mess.
The afternoon slows down with only one other phone call asking about our operating hours. Granted, running a shelter on a Monday isn’t exactly the most exciting of days, but at least I’m out of the house, even if I’m doing roughly the same amount of activity as at home (minus the fact that I’d likely be sleeping.)
At the end of the day, Julio thanks me for the day by rubbing up against me again and licking my fingers very clean (though maybe that’s because of what I had for lunch) before he goes back to his kennel for the night.
When we return home, Fluttershy gets ready for bed and then in her sleepers, sits me down at the kitchen table and picks up where we left off.
“Max, I would never ask you to do anything you’re not comfortable with. However, it may be worth your while to at least let us offer our assistance however we can.”
“Look, Fluttershy, I’m afraid you might be in a little over your head here. I’ve been wrestling with this bear for a long time before I met you. Aside from you just being there for me, there isn’t much else you can do.”
“Then please let us be there for you!” She pleads desperately.
“I want to help you help me, but as it stands right now, all I need right now is moral support. Sunset has kept an open line to talk, and it seems like you are also.”
“Of course Max! I’m your friend! I want to help you.”
“I know you do, and right now, all I ask is that you remain open to talking.”
“Then let’s talk.”