June 25
When I woke up, Meghan still had me cuddled against her chest, and even though I wanted to lie on her I waited until she woke up and I was about to roll over and push her on her back but then she started gently scratching my belly and that felt really good.
I stretched out and then she kind of shifted around so that she could reach more and I rolled on my back, so that I could get a complete belly rub, and she eventually wound up sitting up and I put my head on her lap and she leaned down and kissed me then used both hands along my belly and under my wings. And it was kind of funny to watch her sort of wave away the few downy feathers that escaped as she was under my wings.
Part of me wanted to stay in bed with her all day.
We didn't, though.
She asked what I was going to do today and I said that I didn't have any plans yet. I told her about the hot air balloon I'd seen yesterday and asked if she knew where to go to get to ride in one of them. She didn't know, but she said that she could probably find out.
It was a nice day, and she said that it would be fun to walk around town, and I thought so too.
She said that she wanted to take a shower and I said that I would, too, because if I was going to be with her all day I wouldn't be flying much, and I was also kind of selfishly hoping that when we were done she'd want to brush me and braid my tail.
Then I remembered that I had just gotten a plug for the bathtub and asked her if she wanted to take a bath together instead, 'cause it would be kind of like the hot tub only a little bit more crowded.
She thought that would be fun, so I fetched the new plug and she started filling the bathtub and put in some shampoo so it would make bubbles and when it was about half-full the two of us got in and it was really crowded and it took us some figuring out how to make it work.
We wound up face-to-face, with my back up against the faucet and the water from it splashing on me before it found the bathtub, and she had put her knees up first but that was kind of unfriendly so she moved until her feet were on either side of me.
Once the tub was full, she had to reach behind to me to turn the water off, 'cause I couldn't get it, and then we had to be kind of careful about how much we moved or else we'd splash all over the floor and it turned out to not be really practical for actually washing either, but it was nice and relaxing and I played with the soap bubbles and made some of them drift away in little clouds, and then she took a big handful of bubbles and set them on my head and said that now I had a hat. It was really weird hearing them pop right next to my ear like that.
When Meghan said that the water was getting a little bit cold, I didn't want to get out of the tub yet so I climbed on her and rested my head between her breasts and even though my back started to get cold pretty quickly it was nice and warm between us, plus it let her reach and pet my mane easily.
Then she had the smart idea to drain out the water and take a shower to get clean because she said that she couldn't wash her hair in the bathtub anyway. So I kicked at the drain until it came out and the water started to gurgle out but I didn't move until she sort of pushed me off.
We both had to be careful getting up, and I retreated to the front of the shower so that she could reach over me and turn it on and it took a little bit but then it heated up again and we could rinse off the soap what was still left from the bath bubbles and then do a proper washing job on each other.
After we had finished and mostly dried off, we sat on the futon and she brushed my hair and then braided my tail and then I brushed her hair and by then both of us were pretty hungry so we went into the kitchen and I said that I wanted to make waffles so she took my box of waffle batter and asked if I had a mixing bowl, which I didn't. And it turned out I didn't have any eggs, either. I thought that the box was all I needed, so I was pretty disappointed in myself for not knowing that I needed other things to make waffles.
She said that we could get eggs, if I had my heart set on waffles, or we could go to a restaurant, or we could just eat what I had and I liked that last idea the best so she made oatmeal instead and said that she had never made breakfast naked before but it was kind of liberating.
I only had the one bowl, so we had to share, and when we were done eating she asked if I knew how to cook at all, and I shook my head. I said that cloudhouses didn't have stoves, so everything I'd ever eaten before that had been cooked had been cooked by someone else.
Then she asked if I wanted to learn, 'cause she could teach me, and that was really nice of her so I said that I would.
She washed the bowl and put it in the drying rack and then sat down on the futon while I went and unpacked the birdfeeder I'd bought from Meijer which was just like the one Aric had, and I went outside and hooked it on the tree just a little bit above the balcony and put some food in it for the birds and then I invited her to come over to the papasan to watch.
Meghan said it was too close to the window and people might see her but then I guess she got lonely and wrapped the blanket around herself and did come to the papasan and I got out to give her room and then hopped back up and sat on her lap and the two of us watched until the first bird discovered the feeder and started to happily chirp and pretty soon a couple more birds flew over, too.
While she was watching the birds, I pushed the blanket open a little bit so that I could rest my head on her chest and she didn't object.
By the time we finally got out of the chair and she got dressed, the sun was overhead and I felt a little bit like I'd wasted the whole morning, but that thought didn't really bother me at all.
We had a snack before we left, and we went to her apartment first so that she could get her backpack and she put in some granola bars and bottles of water in case we got hungry or thirsty while we were exploring, and then we set out for the river trail.
It started off right next to the railroad bridge across the river, and went both north and south. We went south first, and that was nice; the trail went through a park and was right alongside the river. She said that it was kind of funny to have a nature trail that had a railroad yard on the other side of the river, but I guess the railroad yard had to be somewhere, and maybe the train drivers liked seeing the river, too.
That leg of the trail didn't go too far; it looped around and then went back the way we'd come, so we crossed over to the north leg and there weren't any railroad yards on this side. We had to cross over the river twice, and also over the railroad tracks a couple of times, too. And we went all the way until we got to F Avenue and it sort of had become part of the road there and wasn’t as nice, so we both agreed to turn around and go back.
We each had a couple of granola bars and some water on our walk, and since neither of us wanted to go back too quickly, she found on her pocket telephone that there was a park called Markin Glen that was right next to us, and all we had to do was cross off the path onto Pitcher Street and then we'd be on their trails.
The new trail went past a set of metal houses that Meghan said was a mobile home park, and then to the lake at Markin Glen. And that looked like a fun park, 'cause there was a beach for sunning and swimming, and it even had an island with a bridge to it, so we could both go over to the island.
When we got back to Kalamazoo, Meghan said that if we wanted to cook we'd have to go to her apartment since I didn't have any food or cooking utensils, or she said that we could stop at a restaurant downtown and just have dinner there.
I liked the idea of stopping at a restaurant, and I said that I would pay for our meals, so we went to a place called Olde Peninsula which had beer that they made themselves and that you could buy in a big jug called a growler. I had a salad named Zorba that was really good, and Meghan had a hamburger, and we each had a beer. I had the stout because I liked dark beer the best, and she had a cream ale which was a lot lighter but also very tasty. And then I got a growler of Midnight Stout to take home with us to share.
On her way back to my apartment, she said that we could stop at Walgreen's and get some eggs and a pan and a mixing bowl and a spatula and tomorrow morning we could have scrambled eggs and waffles and I kind of didn't want to go in there, which was silly. The angry man wouldn't be there any more.
Meghan didn't notice that I'd stopped to think, and she was across the parking lot and going through the doors and I didn't want to be out here all alone, either, so I galloped to the doors and when I got inside it took me a second to find her, but then I did and I stuck close to her a she picked out all the dishes I'd need to make waffles and got some eggs and cheese.
I wish I'd brought my saddlebags, 'cause it all would have fit in them. But I didn't have them, and when we were back out of the store and walking up Academy Street, I insisted on carrying one of the bags.
By human standards there wasn't a whole lot to do in my apartment, 'cause I didn't have a television or any movies, but Meghan didn't mind. We sat in the papasan for a little bit and drank beer and watched the birds until it got dark—the ones who had found it in the morning had told their bird-friends, so it was pretty busy. And of course there was a squirrel who wanted to get his share of seeds, too, and it was fun to watch him hanging by one hind paw as he stretched down to get at the seeds.
Meghan said I should chase him off, but I didn't mind him. There was enough food to share.
When it was almost all the way dark and the birds and squirrel had gone back to their nests for the night, Meghan made the bed and got undressed and lay down on her back so that I could curl up with my head on her breast and she put her arm around me and said that we'd had a great Saturday and I thought so, too. And tomorrow morning we'd have waffles!