MONO ISSUE 2 - Flipbook - Page 86
her.
Tonya introduced her little peaches and Fluffy under my nose. I stroked the fur and
it was just softness and a really nice feeling. She put the bunny in my arms, and I held it
carefully. Fluffy’s heart was racing so fast it felt like the continuous whir of a tiny motor.
Her small breaths came too fast also, about one every two seconds. This bothered me,
but I gave Fluffy back over to Tonya.
“So, Fluffy is a girl,” I said.
“I don’t know, well I wasn’t sure, the guy I got her from didn’t tell me, but there’s so
much fur down there it hides everything. I couldn’t tell what I was feeling or seeing.”
“Yeah, it’s often like that.”
“So I just thought of her as a she.”
I reached out to stroke Fluffy again. It gave me an unexpected and wonderful kind of
calm and good will. She gregariously hugged him to her breast, sighing, “Mmmmmmmhhhh, so cute,” roughly stroking the bunny’s head. Fluffy’s eyes bulged slightly.
Then she ushered the bunny back into her cage, shutting the door a little too hard. Bang.
“What’s your sign?” Loretta asked me, as she poured herself another full mug of
schnapps. The three of us sat on the front porch enjoying the evening air.
“I’m Taurus,” Eric said.
“I know your sign, Eric. I meant his.”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“When’s your birthday?” she asked. I wanted to avoid the whole business about my
sign and didn’t know what to say next.
“What’s Fluffy’s sign?” I said finally. Tonya took a thoughtful drink of schnapps. She
put down the mug and stood up to stretch, rubbing herself up and down. Then she got
down on her hands and knees, opened the cage door and sang out softly, “Fluffy, what’s
your sign, Baby?” Tonya’s dress hiked up to her naked butt; she had no underpants. For
a second, I was stunned.
“She does that kind of thing all the time,” Eric said to me aside, “I try not to pay any
attention to it.”
Loretta reached into the cage. “Fluffy,” she called several times. Then she started
yelling louder, “Fluffy, Fluffy”! Eric and I exchanged looks. Something was wrong.
Loretta began moaning a little. Then she stood up and tugged down her dress. She
stared out into the night, her face blank, and she stayed like this for maybe a minute.
Then she turned and went into the house like she was on a mission.
“I don’t like this,” Eric said.
I got down and looked in the cage. I felt Fluffy’s chest and neck. It was certainly dead.
I looked to Eric and shook my head. We both stood up with our hands in our pockets.
Then I heard Tonya’s steps. The door opened, and she came out carrying a plastic
pitcher, which was full. She still had that blank face but moved purposefully to the cage.
She opened the cage door, hauled back, and tossed in a full pitcher of water onto Fluffy.
She got down on all fours to look inside. She stared for a few seconds then got up and
walked back into the house. Eric said he was going to get some beer, and he got in his
car and drove away. I stood on the porch wondering if I should just leave. I could hear
some banging around. I figured I might help her, so I went inside.
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