Chapter 16

Things were a little chaotic outside the hangar, and Kit was a little disjointed over the bomb that Vil dropped on him, but his desire to get Vil alone was satisfied almost immediately. Marcus, one of Vil's panther bodyguards, drove their car back to his house as Kit and Jessie rode in a limo with Vil, Sarah, and Brian, and the three cousins, Victor rode in a second limo that had also been hired for them, and Sheila abducted Muffy and drove off with her in her Mustang. That was a lot of people in one limo, but the limo was a huge stretch model, so there was room for everyone to literally lie down on the seats without touching.

Before the door of the limo even closed, Vil held up her paw to quell his impending questions. "Not until we're moving," she told him.

Jessie held his paw nervously as they waited for the other panther to get behind the wheel of the limo, start it, and then pull out.

"Alright, what the hell is going on?" he demanded. "Something sure as hell is!"

"The lawsuit is over," Sarah told him with a sigh.

"Over? It hasn't even started!"

"It's over," Vil beamed. "Well, not officially, but it's over. We have that stuck-up English bitch hanging over hot coals," she declared with a vicious, almost predatory smile.

"Wanna can the dramatics and get to the point?"

"The point, brother dear, is she screwed up," she said calmly. "I've come into… possession, of some very interesting emails and phone records that will totally destroy her case, and send her running to England for fear that I might hand them over to the police."

"We weren't the ones that tried to have you killed, Kit. It was Cybil," Brian told him.

"Cybil? Cybil was the one that did it?" he gasped.

All three of them nodded. "Vilenne unearthed the evidence just a couple of days ago," Sarah continued. "It seems that my wayward daughter was good for something. When she fled to Austin with her ridiculous story–"

"I started looking into Cybil a lot more closely," Vil completed. "I never suspected her of it, baby bro, so I didn't check her out. I had way too many suspects in the family."

"Unfortunately," Brian nodded. "Cybil had her claws more deeply into the family than we thought. She had a couple of members of the board under her thumb, and had a mole in the legal firm that Vil uses."

"She saw what I was planning to do, and hatched her rather clever little scheme to kill two birds with one stone, brother," Vil continued. "By killing you, it would have seriously crippled my suit to get you back into the family, which also basically blocks her suit. If you'd have been dead before I filed the suit, I'd have had to do it completely differently. Your status only became moot after the suit was filed," she told him. "If I'd have walked into court trying to get my dead brother named executor of the estate, we'd have been laughed out of Boston. And since your death would have sent me over the deep end, she felt it would tie me up and allow her to waltz in and snatch up a good half of the family's fortune and go back to England before the Vulpans could call a truce and work against her. She wasn't aiming at all of it, just half of it. It was a clever plan. If it wasn't aimed at my own brother, I could admire it for its subtlety and effectiveness."

"When you got involved with… Jessica, it gave her the perfect cover," Sarah told him. "She knew the family would go up in flames when we learned of it, and it was the perfect opportunity. Vilenne would focus on us, and that would only make it that much easier for her. Even with the assassination attempt failing, it was a benefit for her. It angered Vilenne and set the family against itself, which she hoped would cause enough discord to allow her to slip through and go back to Britain with a share of the family fortune beyond what was granted to her by her prenup. Even if that failed, her hope was to tie us up in court and try to force us to settle with her at a fraction of what her suit was demanding, which the family, still in disarray from Vilenne's crusade, would accept just to have it over with… thinking it was better to willingly hand over ten percent rather than risk losing it all. She felt that no matter what happened, she would win, and go home richer for her trouble."

Kit leaned back as Jessie gripped his paw tightly, taking it in. They were right. Nobody would suspect Cybil, who had never even met Kit before the funeral. She had no motive if one looked at the picture Cybil presented, no motive at all. But when one looked at the fact that Cybil did know about Vil's planned lawsuit and how it involved him, then everything just snapped into place neatly. If Kit was killed, then it destroyed Vil's suit and would turn the family into chaos as Vil exacted her revenge against the family. But even its failure was a boon, for nobody would ever suspect Cybil, and it still set the family against itself, as Vil tore into the family hunting for the perpetrator, believing that it had to be the purist family using a hit man to prevent a marriage they would not accept. No matter what happened, it was all gain and no loss for Cybil, and it had been. Vil had gone crazy on the family, and while her back was turned to the treacherous British vixen, Cybil made her move, filing her lawsuit while the family was in disarray. But what Cybil didn't count on was Vil being ready to move herself. She underestimated Vil's resilience and ability to manage multiple complex issues at once. Vil did not go as crazy as Cybil hoped over the attempt on her brother, and was ready to act when Cybil made her move.

"Well… hell," Kit breathed.

"It does make a kind of sense, Kit," Jessie said quietly. "You once told me that Vil said that odds were, Cybil was filing the suit knowing she couldn't win just to get something."

"And she used me against the family," he sighed. "Even when I just want to be left alone, I just can't get away from this damned family. So, have they arrested Cybil yet?"

"Oh, no," Vil purred ominously. "She has no idea we have this information. She has no idea. And we're going to use it against her."

"We're going to allow her to go on with her lawsuit, and then allow her to dig her own grave," Brian told him. "She'll leave Boston with nothing, and unless she's extraordinarily careful, she'll do it in the back of a police car."

"Ah, so, this evidence can't–"

"Nope, bro, it can't," Vil told him. "I got this evidence illegally. If I could hand it over and get her arrested, she'd already be in jail, because sending her bony ass to prison would be the ultimate revenge," she chuckled darkly. "Hell, if the cops knew how I got it, I'd be thrown in prison," she said seriously. "But, if we let Cybil dig her own grave and my lawyers present some select parts of it in court as rebuttal, we don't have to explain where it came from, and it doesn't fall under the same rules as criminal evidence. It will destroy her case, and put her in a spotlight she does not want to be in," Vil said with bright eyes. "Then, after she gets her ass kicked in court, I drop the rest of it on her and blackmail her into giving up everything she gained out of the marriage, or I take it all to the British tabloids. I'll get her convicted of your attempted murder in the court of public opinion, and for British aristocracy, that's a deahtknell. It may not be admissible in a criminal trial, but once people find out what she did, she'd be totally ruined, and facing investigation after investigation on both sides of the Atlantic. She'll avoid all that and knuckle under, so she can go back to England with at least a modicum of dignity… at least until I start on her on that side of the pond."

"But that doesn't punish her!" Jessie protested. "She tried to kill my Kit!"

"Jessie, there are punishments, then there are punishments," Vil told her seriously. "Prison would be a punishment for Cybil, there's no doubt about that, but what I'll do to her goes way beyond simple punishment. I will destroy her. I will take her reputation, her status, her wealth, and her good name."

"Then that's what you should do, not buy her off with blackmail!"

"Jessie, remember what I promised you when Kit was shot? That I could punish people far beyond the pitiful reach of the law?"

"I remember."

"Did you trust me then?"

"Yes."

"Well, trust me now. I can destroy Cybil Whitmore, in ways the law could never manage. Will you allow me to do that?"

"Only if you do to her what she did to Kit," Jessie said vindictively.

"Not literally, but I'll crush her, Jessie. Just leave it to me."

"Make her hurt."

"She's going to hurt, Jessie. She will hurt."

"Good," she said with a nod, leaning against him.

"My little barbarian," Kit chuckled, kissing her on the cheek.

"They tried to hurt you, Kit," she said with surprising calm. "She tried to kill you, and for no reason other than to run home with a little more money in her pocket!" She looked at him. "I mean, I could understand if you raped her baby sister or something, but that's just cold-blooded murder, and over nothing but money. Now I understand what you've been saying, love. I understand the curse. You're very smart to want nothing to do with it."

"Curse?" Brian asked.

"The curse of money," Kit said calmly to him. "The cancer that destroyed this family."

"Well, I'll respectfully disagree with that opinion, Kit," Brian said. "I see nothing wrong with having money."

"There's nothing wrong with having money. But when money becomes your entire life, then it becomes a curse instead of a blessing," Kit told them. "And from my point of view, it has destroyed this family. We're not a family anymore, not the way a family should be. We're a collection of vain, arrogant, greedy, hedonistic foxes sharing a common name as we fight over money and reputation, even among ourselves."

"That's a silly concept," Sarah snorted.

"Really? Then here's a question for you, Sarah. Am I a Vulpan?"

"Of course you are," she answered.

"Even though I'm disowned and poor?"

"Your eyes show us who you are, nephew."

"And I'm a member of this family?"

"In a way, yes. Unofficially, as it were."

"Fine. Then where the hell were you when I was laying in a hospital bed with a broken back?" he asked directly.

Sarah looked away.

"If you were family, you would have come to see me. You would have helped me when I couldn't pay my hospital bill. But I didn't see any of you. Not once. Why?"

"You were disowned," Brian told him.

"And?"

Sarah sighed. "And Lucas threatened to disown anyone who helped you," she admitted.

"So, you chose money over me, one of your own family, in my hour of greatest need."

She was silent a long time. So was Brian, for that matter. "We did," she finally admitted.

"I rest my case," he said eloquently. "The only family I have is Vil. The rest of you can go to hell."

Brian gave a rueful chuckle. "You went into the wrong profession, Kit. You'd have been one hell of a lawyer." He slapped his paws on the knees of his suit pants. "And we need to do something about that, nephew. I for one am starting to think that Lucas was very wrong about you. I'd like a chance to get to know you a little better."

"Well, you can just stuff that wish up your ass, Uncle Brian," Kit said flatly. "When you leave this city, I pray to God I never see you again. The time for apologies passed a long time ago. You didn't just burn your bridge with me, you nuked it. You can take your damn money and get the hell out of my life."

"Well, I can only hope your opinion of me will change the same way it did for Sheila."

"My opinion of Sheila never changed," he retorted. "Sheila is harmless. She's a self-absorbed hedonist who lives only for the pleasure she gets out of her trust fund, and when I was disowned, she was too young to really understand what was going on. She was only twelve. Later on, she was too afraid of losing everything she knew to help me, and I can't really blame her for it. Sheila couldn't survive without her money, and surprisingly, she's wise enough to admit it to herself. You, on the other hand, are one of the uncles. You aren't like the cousins. You know what's going on, and you don't live for the next bottle of vodka, hit of ecstasy, or cute fox you can lure into bed. When you turned your back on me, you did it fully knowing what you were doing, and fully understanding that I might die because of it. You threw me away, Uncle Brian, and I can never forgive you for that."

"And now you hold our futures in your paw. Fate has a dark sense of humor," he said with a chuckle.

"I see it as justice, not fate," Jessie told him bravely. "If Kit does end up holding the key to your fortune, then you have to look at him and remember what you did to him, and I think that's going to haunt some of you for the rest of your lives. Not because you care about him, but because you drove away someone who came back to hold power over you, and there was a time, however brief, when you had to look at yourself in the mirror and see what you did and what might happen because of it. You had to face the consequences of your actions, maybe for the first time in your whole life. You had to face the prospect of being poor, just like he was, of having him do to you what you did to him. But Kit's not like you. Kit's kind and gentle and caring, and he wouldn't do that to you, no matter how much you deserve it. And when he was faced with helping a member of his family, despite what your family did to him, he helped. That's something you would never do." She patted Kit's paw. "You may have the money and the power, but right here is the best part of your family, and it's just one reason why I love him so much."

"I do believe we've just been spanked by this little femme, Sarah," Brian said with a rueful chuckle.

"You deserve it," Vil said bluntly. "I risked my ass to help my brother, Uncle Brian. It was possible to help, you just didn't care to help. Even after I begged it of you."

"I know, I know," he sighed. "I can admit that that was a huge mistake. And I can't say I'm sorry enough times."

"The only person you need to apologize to is sitting right there, and it seems he just told us he won't accept it," Vil told him.

"If Kit wishes to be recalcitrant, then let him," Sarah told her brother simply. "We told him why we're here, and we offered our apology. If he rejects it, that's his affair, not ours. At least we tried."

"Way to stay on his good side there, Sarah," Vil said with dark humor.

"I will not grovel and beg like a dog," Sarah said with pride staining her voice. "If that leaves me broke and homeless, then so be it. At least I'll still have my self respect."

"Brave words since he already gave his word," Brian told her, a bit acidly. "I was hearing quite a different tone from you on the flight up. It sounded strangely like raw panic. Admit it, sis, you're just as helpless and afraid as the rest of us."

"Now see here, Brian–"

"That's enough," Vil growled in a low voice, that instantly silenced her elders. "Fighting just proves Kit's point. Act with a little decorum," she told them, looking out the window. "Ah, we're almost there."

Kit looked out, and realized they were on Congress near the capitol building, going to their apartment.

"So, brother, you've heard the truth. What do you think?"

"I think you need to kick Cybil's ass," he answered immediately.

"Yes!" Jessie agreed fervently.

"So you'll let me handle it?"

"I trust your sense of moral outrage," he told her with a nod. "You'll do what needs to be done."

"And I'll enjoy it," she grinned. "Oh, keep your calendar somewhat clear in late January. That's when the trial starts. I'd like you to be there to watch the beginning of the end for Cybil Whitmore. I want her to be able to look into your eyes when she realizes that we know she tried to have you killed. And, you'll need to be there to sign some papers once I win the suit, so you can wash your paws of it and come back home."

"I'd be happy to. The sooner I can get rid of you, the happier I'll be. Well, not all of you," he corrected.

"I love you too, baby bro," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

The limo pulled into their parking lot a few moments later, and he saw that one of the panthers was waiting by his truck, having driven it back. He opened the door of the limo, and Kit urged Jessie out. He followed her, but Vil didn't exit the limo. Kit and Jessie looked in at her as she grabbed the door handle. "I'm going to drop them off at the Armitage, then go on to the church to make sure everything is to my satisfaction," she told them. "I have my phone with me, so call if you need anything. Remember, we're going to dinner at the steakhouse at four. Do you have any other plans for today?"

"We're going over to the hotel a little later to meet more of Jessie's family," Kit answered.

"Alright. Drive everywhere. Don't take any rides. Keep your car with you, just in case I need you to come to me."

"We can do that," he nodded.

"Alright then. I'll see you two later. Be good."

"See you soon, Kit," Brian offered.

The panther closed the door to the limo, gave Kit his keys, then got into the front. They watched the limo back out of the lot, and then drive off.

"Well, that was… informative," Jessie said, which made Kit laugh helplessly. "Can you believe the nerve of your uncle to act like nothing they did to you mattered?" she flared indignantly.

"I'm so glad I wasn't the only one that felt that way," he chuckled, putting his arm around her.

"I can't believe them! They're so stuck up, they must walk around on their tiptoes because of the steel rods in their butts!"

Kit laughed. "Wow, that's the closest thing to a dirty remark I've ever heard out of you in public," he teased as he turned them towards their front door and started for it. "They must have really made you angry."

"Oh, slightly," she said with vast scorn. "And not just me. Did you see Mom lunge at that vixen in the hangar when she said that horrible thing to me?"

"We should have let your mom get to her," Kit grunted as he unlocked the door. "Getting her ass whipped might be just what Aunt Sarah needs." Kit turned off the alarm, and Jessie filed in behind him. "Who were those two younger ones?"

"Victor and Muffy."

"Oh, the nudist is here?" Jessie giggled.

"Yep, she's here," he answered. "Here's hoping she keeps her dress on during the ceremony… if she attends, anyway. I hope they don't. Muffy's harmless, but Victor's a nasty bastard. He thinks he's God's greatest creation, and he has a temper."

"He's that bad?"

"He doesn't get physical, but he's ruined people in Boston over imagined slights," he answered. "He once got a waiter fired for dropping a fork. He got the manager at Castle Cinema fired because the movie he was watching melted during the show, and they had to give the people refunds."

"Oh, he's like that," she sighed.

"Yeah. Anyone who does not cater to his every whim must be destroyed. Sheila may be a brat, but Victor is the spoiled brat to end all spoiled brats. If anyone disrupts our wedding, it'll be him… and probably because he's bored and wants to leave."

Jessie had her phone open almost immediately. She hit two buttons and put it to her ear. "Vil? Jessie. Listen, that Vulpan boy that you brought with you, Victor? He's not invited to our wedding. No, no, Kit just told me about him, about what kind of male he is. I don't want him anywhere near our wedding. Okay. Okay, I will. See you at the steakhouse. Bye-bye." She closed the phone. "Problem solved," she told him with a slight smile.

"I love you, Jessica Desdemona Vulpan," he laughed, swinging her back and forth in his embrace.

"You'd better, Kitstrom Lucas Vulpan, you're marrying me tomorrow," she grinned, then she began to purr as he caressed her back. But she was startled out of her purr when he laughed richly. "What?"

"As soon as Victor hears that he's been banned, he'll be on the phone to his mother instantly. He'll throw a tantrum, and Maxine will try to get him into the wedding," he said, laughing again. "Banning him will make him want to come, if only because someone is denying him something. Of course, he'd cause a scene and ruin the wedding out of revenge, but he won't be able to tolerate not being invited."

"Well, then, sounds like he's about to learn that you don't get everything you want," she winked.

"That's blasphemy in the Vulpan household," he teased, leaning down and kissing her.

"Mmmm, let's do that again," she said, and she began to purr as she laced her arms around him and kissed him again. She kissed him for long, wonderful moments, then nuzzled his neck. "You know, this might be our last chance before it's moral," she breathed in his ear.

"I will bet you a thousand dollars that if we do, someone will come over or call us before we're done," he said with a rueful, lamentful chuckle.

The doorbell rang, and Jessie almost fell down, she was laughing so hard.

"Who is it?" Kit called loudly, a bit irritated.

The door opened, and Sheila peeked in. "Hey, cousin," she called, opening it fully. Behind her was Muffy. The older Vulpan cousin was nineteen, a little taller, but thinner and more built than Sheila. Muffy's red hair was cut short, in a pixie style, and she was wearing a tank top-style halter that ended just under her breasts and a pair of very tight spandex workout pants, clothes Kit recognized… they were Sheila's. She had three piercings in her left ear and two in her right, which was rather unusual for a Vulpan. Most Vulpan femmes only had one piercing in each ear. "We just got back from the airport, and I'm gonna take Muffy down to the Y so we can work out in advance of all that food we're gonna eat." She stepped in, and then looked back and motioned. "Come on!" she urged.

"But it's his house, Sheila!" she said fearfully.

"You can come in," Kit called as Jessie steadied herself, and he let go of her. "I only bite the aunts and uncles and older cousins, Muffy. I don't have too much against the younger cousins."

"Oh, well, better safe than sorry," she said with a grin, fluttering the lashes of her Vulpan eyes. "Oh, you're Jessie, right?"

"That's me. And I've heard a few things about you," she said with a bright smile.

Muffy's fur started to rise. "Well, I'm sure they've told you those stories," she said, elbowing Sheila knowingly.

"With every deliciously naked detail," she answered brazenly, slapping her cousin on the rump.

"They'll never let me live it down," she sighed morosely.

"What fun would that be?" Sheila grinned.

"Why didn't you go to the hotel, Muffy? You need to get settled in," Kit noted.

"Kit, my stuff is already there. They sent it on in the second limo," she answered. "When Sheila offered to take me to work out, I came with her so we could change. Her clothes fit me pretty well," she said, patting her chest. "A little tight, though."

"Just the way you like it," Sheila teased.

"So, there any fun places to go in this town, guys? I hope we can go have some fun before I go home, it's warm down here!"

"Oh, I have a couple of places in mind," Sheila grinned in a predatory manner.

"Sheila."

"What? She's a cousin, cousin! You think she hasn't done all those things?"

Kit was about to say something, then he chuckled. "Point. I won't say a word."

"A word about what?"

"Oh, where I want to take you," she grinned. "It's called the Top Hat, and it's pretty awesome."

"What makes it so awesome?"

"It's members only. And bring lots of cash with you."

"Oh? Oh. Oooohhhhhh," she said, her eyes brightening. "Can we go tonight? We can take Jessica, give her a last gasp bachelorette party!"

"Oh no, don't drag me into this!" Jessie laughed. "I'm going to be busy tonight. And if you guys show up at my wedding hung over, I'll strangle you with my veil!"

"Well, damn, I forgot about that," Muffy sighed. "If we have to be at the church at noon, well, that's just not enough time to have proper fun. I'll have to pass tonight, cousin… but there's always tomorrow night."

"Yeah, there is," Sheila grinned. "Ready to hit the Y? Now that I think of it, this is the last chance Kit and Jessie will have to be alone 'til after the wedding. We should really give them some half-dressed quickie sex time."

Jessie's cheek fur stood straight out. "Out, you hussy!" Jessie demanded, pointing at the door.

Sheila laughed. "Just remember, Jess, it only takes about five or ten minutes when the only thing you do is drop your pants and bend over."

"Maybe it does with your boyfriends," Jessie retorted, crossing her arms beneath her breasts in an aggressive posture. "Now go work all that energy out of your system so you're too tired to be nasty."

"All exercising does is turn me on, but I have until four to get satisfaction," Sheila grinned, and she herded Muffy out, who was waving goodbye, then closed the door after locking it for them and giving them a knowing little grin.

"She has a one track mind," Jessie sighed, leaning against him. She looked up at him. "What?"

"Ten minutes," he said with a speculative hum.

She laughed and pushed him playfully, then she saw the look on his face. "Wanna try?"

"She did lock the door for us."

"I am so not just pulling my pants down, though!" she declared as she laughed and hurried past him towards the bedroom.

"That's not half as sexy as you naked," he laughed as he followed her quickly.


Fortunately, nobody bothered them for a while, which allowed them to fully experience enough pre-marital bliss to hold them over until their wedding night. When they were finally bothered, they were sitting on the couch, snuggling in silent contentment, with Jessie's purring the only sound Kit cared to hear. It was their last hurrah. They'd had their last fling as singles, their last instance of living in decadent, sweet sin, and now they were enjoying their last moments of quiet, private intimacy before the events of the day and the near future got them too busy to enjoy one another's company. At the dinner tonight, they would go their separate ways. Jessie would be going home with Rick, and Kit would be spending tonight alone in advance of the wedding. Jessie was traditional, and she believed that they shouldn't see each other on the day of the wedding until she was walking down the aisle. Kit could respect that, but he was going to miss her in their bed tonight.

But tomorrow… tomorrow it would be official. They were going to marry, and they'd begin their happily ever after a little after one o'clock tomorrow afternoon, the time of the ceremony. She wouldn't be his girlfriend, she would be his wife. She'd be entwined completely and irrevocably into his life, bound together with ties that he prayed would never fail. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he wanted to grow old with her. She was his match. She was his soulmate. She was the femme God put him on this earth to find and love for all his life.

He couldn't wait.

Many grooms were nervous about their weddings, but Kit wasn't in the slightest. He was looking forward to it, like a kid and Christmas, the chance to finally claim this femme and cry from the rooftops that they were a pair, they were a couple, they were married, that he was the lucky male that would have her on his arm for the rest of their lives. He was the one that would have children with her, he was the one that would hold her paw when she was frightened, cower from the wrathful blows of her deadly pillow when he teased her, hold her in his arms as she cried out in ecstasy while they made love. He would love her, and take care of her, and want her and need her, for the rest of his life.

But that all started tomorrow. Today, well, today was the day before the rest of their lives, and it would be filled with family. Kit was certain that they wouldn't leave them alone before the planned dinner at the Double J. Someone was going to call or stop by to see them, but that was alright. They'd had their time to be alone, and the marriage was about more than just them. It was about family, about the coming together and celebrating the happiness of one of its members. It was a time for the two families to meet more deeply–which in his case was just Vil and Sheila–and a time for them to be together.

But, surprisingly, they were left alone until nearly noon, when Jessie's phone began to ring.

"Do we have to answer?" she asked quietly as she just snuggled deeper against him.

"Yah, I guess we do," he sighed, reaching down and picking her phone up off the coffee table, and handing it to her.

"Hello?" she called after opening it. "Hi Mom. No, not really. Me and Kit are just enjoying a little peace and quiet before all the craziness starts." She giggled. "No, you didn't interrupt, we did that already," she said, poking him in the side gently, then she laughed. "I'm surprised you'd dare to ask me that, Mom. No! Well, it's just not you, especially since you keep saying you don't approve of us." She traced her finger along his stomach as she listened; Kit could hear Hannah's voice from the phone by her ear, but couldn't make out her words. "Let me ask." She put her paw over the phone. "Did you finish your Christmas shopping, love?"

"Kinda. I still haven't bought a gift for you or Hannah yet."

"Brave words to say this close to Christmas," she teased.

"Well, have you finished?"

"It's been so crazy…" she hedged, her cheeks ruffling.

"Then hush, Miss Kettle."

She laughed. "No, Mom, he hasn't. I haven't either, to be honest." She looked up at him. "Mom wants to know if you'd like to go shopping with the family. They're going to go out and do some Christmas shopping, and you can also meet Aunt Susan and Uncle Sam and Uncle Bob. They just got in a bit ago."

"Sure, we can do that," he nodded.

"Okay, Mom, we're coming. No, she and one of her cousins went out, so they'll have to pass. No, that's okay. Sure, we're on our way. Bye." She closed the phone. "She wanted Sheila to come too, but she's not here to ask, so…"

"Yah, she and Muffy will probably hang out all day. They're friends."

"I could tell when they came over earlier."

The doorbell rang. "Kit! You two done yet?" Sheila shouted from outside.

Jessie laughed. "Guess we can ask now," she amended.

Kit got up and opened the door, and saw Sheila and Muffy. Sheila was in a sleeveless half-shirt that was barely more than a halter or glorified bra, that showed off her sleek stomach and a pair of low-rider jeans, with a white linen shirt thrown on over it and left unbuttoned to give her some protection from the fifty degree air. Muffy was wearing a black miniskirt with a white blouse that had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. "We were about to go hit the mall, cousin, wanna come?" Sheila offered. "We got Christmas shopping to do."

"Actually, we were going to ask you along with us," Jessie said as she came to the door. "My mom invited us to go shopping with my family, they're going looking for Christmas presents."

"Umm, what about me?" Muffy asked.

Jessie was on the phone before she finished. "Mom, Sheila just got home, and she still has her cousin with her. Is it alright if we bring her too? Okay, see you soon." She closed the phone. "You're welcome along, Muffy."

"Cool!" she said with a grin.

After getting their stuff together and packing an overnight bag for Jessie, who wouldn't be coming back to the apartment tonight, they were in the Pathfinder and on the way. "What's your family like, Jessie?" Muffy asked her.

"You'd find them boring, but I do need to warn you about one thing."

"Don't spew any purist crap around them," Sheila told her. "Jessie's a mixed breed, so you'll offend her family."

"Wow, you are? You don't look it at all," Muffy said in surprise.

"I know, but my grandfather was a fox," Jessie answered her. "That's why I have these," she added, holding out her black-mittened paws.

"Yeah, you do have fox markings," Muffy nodded after looking at her ears.

"What do you do, Muffy?" Jessie asked. "Do you go to school or work?"

"Work?" she said with a laugh. "No, I don't work! I go to Yale. I'm a Business major. When I graduate, I want to open my own nightclub in Boston!" she said excitedly. "I'm going to call it The Fox Den, and have a big bar on one side and glass-bottomed stage, and–"

"We've heard that description a million times," Sheila interrupted her.

"So, you actually want to do something after you get out of school?" Jessie asked curiously.

"Yeah. Most of the family goes to work at the shipyards after they graduate, or don't work at all, but I want to do something different. I love to club and party, so the best thing I could ever do is open a club that I think is perfect, so I have a place to go where I have fun and I can provide fun for other people!"

"It's a lot of work to run something like that."

"I know, but think of how cool it'll be when it's up and running!" she said with a trill in her voice. "I'll hire a manager that knows the business and runs the little details, and I'll handle the big stuff, so it also gives me time to enjoy it."

"Sounds interesting," Jessie noted. "You have bigger plans than this one," she said, poking her finger towards Sheila.

Sheila laughed. "Hey, I'm getting better!" she protested. "I'm actually thinking of doing something after I graduate now."

"Really? What?" Kit asked.

"Well, Rick told me the other day that if you do something you like to do, it's not really work. Well, I doubt I could make a career out of partying, but I really like cooking. I never thought it could be fun, but it is. Maybe I'll open a restaurant."

"Just so long as you don't do all the cooking," Kit noted, which earned him a slap on the top of his head.

Jessie teased more out of Muffy as they drove to the hotel, and learned more about her. Muffy was smart, as smart as Sheila, but the difference between them was that Muffy actually had a plan for what she wanted to do after college, she had a dream she wanted to chase, and that was hugely different from most of the other cousins. As Kit listened he realized that Muffy's idea was simply to basically hire people to do all her work for her, so she could sit in her office and just be the boss, and then go down and party in her own club. But, for a Vulpan cousin, she had a different outlook and plan, and that set her apart from the rest of the Party Pack. It was actually surprising to hear it, a Party Pack member actually talking about doing something with her life… such as it was. She was just going to build her own nightclub so she had a place to go to party every night, her perfect party place. But it was a start. Muffy would find out that there was real work involved in her dream, but on the other hand, Kit felt that she could handle it. She'd do that work to recognize her dream of owning her own nightclub, and in the bargain she'd be actually producing something, being a contributing member of society rather than a leech. Sheila was starting to come to see things the way Muffy already did, that there might be something productive she could do out in the world that would keep her occupied. Muffy wanted to open her own nightclub, an extension of her love of partying and fun. Sheila could open a restaurant, an extension of her growing interest in cooking. For both of them, they'd be doing something they liked, something that would make their parents respect them for at least trying to live up to the family name by trying to establish their own businesses.

"Just make it members only, so you can dance naked as much as you want," Sheila teased.

"See, she never lets me live it down," Muffy said, her cheeks ruffling.

"She has a point, though," Kit chuckled. "You were an exhibitionist when we were kids."

"She still is," Sheila laughed. "When we party together, she wears miniskirts with no panties so she can pull them up and flash boys in the clubs. She's not wearing panties now," she declared.

"I don't like panties, the elastic seams rub the my fur off my waist, bikini lines, and butt," Muffy said, a touch primly. "My fur is thinner than yours, Sheila, and it's a little brittle, so tight clothes rub my fur off. That's why I go without them, not because I like to show off my equipment. I don't even own any panties."

"None at all?" Jessie asked in surprise.

"Not a single pair," she nodded.

"Hon, miniskirts with no panties is… dangerous."

"Now you're getting the idea of it, Jess," Sheila laughed.

"The only reason I wear bras is because I don't want my boobs below my belly button when I'm fifty," she added. "If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't wear a bra either, cause it rubs the fur off my back."

"I had that problem too 'til I switched to Silk Sensations," Jessie told her. "For some reason, that brand doesn't chafe the fur off at all, and it does it while providing lift and support."

"Really? I've never heard of that brand."

"Well, you don't find them in upscale boutiques," Jessie laughed. "I buy mine at Wal-Mart."

"Wal-Mart? Can we stop by and show me today?"

"Sure."

"We can do that right now, we'll pass one on the way to the hotel," Kit offered.

They did just that. They detoured to a Wal-Mart and Jessie showed her which bras she bought, and Muffy bought several of them before they went on to the hotel.

The second floor of the hotel was crowded now, almost like a convention. Doors were left propped open as members of Jessie's family visited each other. Jessie waded into them with kisses and hugs, and Kit and his cousins were introduced to Jessie's cousins, aunts, and uncles as they went to her parents' room. "Mom, Dad, we're here!" she called as they entered the room. It was a fairly small room with a pair of beds, like most hotel rooms, with it clear that the pair were only using one of them. Hannah hugged her daughter, then hugged Kit. "Mom, this is Muffy, one of Kit's cousins," Jessie introduced.

"Muffy? Is that a nickname, dear?" Hannah asked directly.

Muffy laughed. "Yeah, cause my real name is even worse," she answered as she shook Hannah's paw.

"Eugenia Minerva," Sheila teased, which earned her a murderous look from Muffy.

"Minerva? I've always adored that name," John said as he shook Muffy's paw. "Had Ben been born a girl, it would have been his middle name. It's a traditional British name, dear, nothing to be ashamed of. There are many women named Minerva."

"And I'm sure they hate their parents as much as I do," Muffy declared, which made John and Hannah laugh.

"Well, we need to get everyone's attention to find out who's going shopping and who's not," John said.

"You want attention? No problem," Sheila winked, marching out the door. Outside, she put two fingers to her muzzle, then unleashed an ear-splitting whistle that stopped all conversation and made furs look out their doors at her. Just how did she do that? "John needs to know who's going Christmas shopping!" Sheila shouted once she had everyone's attention. "Come on, shake your tails, we don't have much time before the dinner tonight!"

"I knew I liked that girl," Grandma Pearl cackled as she came through the adjoining door from the other room.

"She's always been fearless," Muffy said, a little jealously. "Ever since we were both little girls."

"So, where are we going?" John asked. "You're the resident expert on Austin, Jessica."

"The mall," she shrugged in reply. "We can go to Northcross. It has the skating rink and a video game arcade in case the kids get bored while we're shopping. The steakhouse is right beside it, too. That way if we run late, we don't have to go far to get to the dinner."

"That's not a bad idea, pretty kitty," Kit nodded.

"Okay, show us where it is on the map," John said, picking up a street map of Austin. "I'll spread that information so everyone knows where to go in case they get lost."

"Maps? Clever."

"Everyone has a copy of one, just in case. The Williams clan is always prepared, Kit," he chuckled. "Oh, I'd like to swing them by the church along the way, so they know how to get there."

"It's not far out of the way."

Kit ended up leading a procession of sorts out of the hotel. Six rental cars followed him as he drove them by the church, then went back to the interstate and took them to Northcross. Kit had a warm spot in his heart for the area, since he'd met Jessie at the Java Joint, and they'd had their first kiss on the ice in the skating rink in the mall. Once they were there, the fifteen adults and children that came with them split up, as did Kit and Jessie. He wanted to get her a Christmas present, and he wasn't going to do that with her along. He ended up with Hannah and Muffy, as Sheila went along with Jessie and John to get Kit a Christmas gift. They paused at the rail overlooking the ice skating rink, and Kit had to chuckle. "This is where me and Jessie had our first date," he told Hannah. "Right there. I took her ice skating."

"An unusual choice, cousin," Muffy noted.

"It was a date of opportunity," he answered. "We were at a coffee shop just outside the mall, it was close, and it was something for us to do. I just asked her out of the blue, and she accepted."

"You could have taken her to a restaurant."

"I was homeless and broke then, Muffy," he told her evenly. "I didn't have the money to do anything else, not really. And it would have been so impressive for me to ask her to wait with me so we could take the bus to get there."

Muffy giggled and nodded. "Ah, I can see why you did now. I should have brought my skates, I didn't know they had ice skating in Texas."

"You skate, dear?" Hannah asked.

"I'm from Boston, Misses Williams," Muffy laughed.

"Call me Hannah, dear."

"Muffy's actually pretty good. She took lessons when she was a girl."

"Yeah, I was crazy about figure skating when I was a little girl, so I took lots of lessons," she answered. "So I'm a pretty good skater."

"Maybe we should take a try at it," Hannah noted.

Muffy's cheeks ruffled. "Umm… maybe some other time? I'm not really dressed for skating, Misses Hannah."

"I doubt wearing that skirt would cause you too much trouble. It's not tight."

"Umm, it's what I'm not wearing under it that might," she said in a low tone, almost a whisper.

"Really?" Hannah said, her eyebrow raising.

"I, uh, kinda have some issues wearing underwear," she said, giving Kit a look. "They chafe off my fur, so I kinda don't wear them."

"And yet you're wearing a miniskirt?" she asked pointedly, looking down at her black skirt.

"I didn't think I'd be ice skating," she said delicately, putting an unconscious paw over her skirt, as if a sudden breeze at any moment might lift it up.

"Well, this is a mall, dear. I'll find you something that won't rub your fur off," she said quite forcefully, taking her paw and marching her towards J.C. Penny's. She gave Kit a strangled look as Hannah took charge of her, but Kit just smiled and shooed her along.

Kit took advantage of the isolation to do his shopping. He bought Lupe some new lounge chairs for his porch since he said his own were too old, and started hunting for something for Hannah and Jessie. Jessie was not easy to shop for. She didn't really like jewelry, and was actually quite content with things. But she loved books and reading, so he went to Borders and bought quite a few books for her from many different genres. He bought her a sexy bikini at a boutique for their trip to Florida, with tiny little cups on the bra and what amounted to a G-string for the bottom. It was part joke, part tease for her. He wanted to see her in it, but he knew she'd never wear it in public. She'd die of embarrassment if she wore that in public, despite the fact that she had a body that could make that bikini look awesome… or would look awesome in that bikini. He could imagine the look on her face when she took it out of the box and realized it wasn't a frayed napkin. He bought her a new blouse and a skirt, too, for he knew her size and he knew her sense of style, and felt comfortable buying clothes for her.

Hannah was trickier. He looked around for quite a while until he found something he felt was suitable for her. He spent a great deal of money on her. He bought a new food processor for her, since he remembered that the one she had at home was fairly old, and she'd complained about it. He also bought her a knitting set for advanced knitters; Jessie was very good at knitting, and had told him that Hannah was the one that taught her. Unable to resist a little joke present, though, he bought her a Cincinnati Bengals jersey nightshirt, like the thigh-length nightshirts that many femmes wore for sleeping in them. He also bought her a pair of Bengal colored panties, really sexy tiger-striped orange and black panties out of Spencer's that would probably make John quite excited to see her wearing, given his… fetish for his football team.

The only bad thing about that joke was he'd be there when she opened it, and she could get him for it… but it was worth it.

And the beauty of them was they were tie-on panties, the waist cords of the panties tying together at the hips, so he didn't have to guess her size and potentially mortally offend her.

He bought a bunch of little knick-knacks and such, small gifts for the gang, he bought a couple of cookbooks and a spice rack for Sheila, and realized he really should get Muffy something, since Jessie seemed to like her. He got her a little music box with a little vixen ballerina in a pink tutu that spun when it was wound up and played. It was cheap, but Muffy had always like figure skating and ballet, so it would appeal to her.

He took his gifts to a wrapping booth in the mall and had them all professionally boxed and wrapped. Hannah and Muffy tracked him down not long after that, laden down with shopping bags, and Muffy looked a little skittish. "There you are," Hannah told him. "When we came back to the rink, you were gone, dear, so we went ahead and did our shopping."

"I had to buy your presents, Hannah," he chuckled. "So, you're all done?"

"I have a few yet to buy, but I'm done with her," she said, nodding at Muffy. "Did you know this girl did not own a single pair of panties?"

"Yeah, I knew," he chuckled. "You should ask her why we call her Muffy. Well, actually you don't, now that you know that little piece of information."

"Kit!" Muffy gasped.

Hannah gave him a sharp look. "That's totally improper, so we found her some panties that won't chafe off her fur," she said, giving Muffy a steady look. "And you had better wear them," she added in a flinty tone. "It's a scandal for a pretty young lady like you to go around wearing a skirt like that with nothing under it!"

"I will!" she squeaked. When Hannah directed them to a jewelry booth, she fell in by Kit and whispered "at least while I'm in Austin."

"I heard that, young lady," Hannah said curtly, looking at them and wiggling her ears. "They don't just decorate my head, you know."

Muffy laughed.

As Hannah drifted away from them looking at necklaces, Muffy pulled him to a bench and they sat down. "Jessie's mom is really pushy, but I kinda like her," she giggled.

"She's a great femme," he nodded. "I just wish she liked me more," he sighed. "She objects to the marriage, you know."

"Really?"

He nodded. "She thinks we're jumping into this too fast. I just wish I could explain to her how I feel," he sighed. "If she knew how I felt in my heart, she'd see we're not going too fast at all. We're going at just the right speed."

"Well, tell her."

"I've tried, but I just can't find the words."

"I think you're being too critical of yourself, cousin," she told him. "She does like you."

"Yeah, but the marriage is there in her face, and it's hard not to hate the messenger in this case." He looked over at her. "I'm surprised you're taking all this so well. No trouble at all talking to me, eh?"

She laughed. "Well, Sheila told me about you after she came down here, and I was curious. So when I overheard my mom and dad talking about you, and Dad said he was coming to the wedding, I asked to come along. I wanted to see if Sheila was just blowing smoke out her butt or if you really were nothing like what the elders say you are."

"What do they say I am?"

"Depends on which family member you ask, Kit," she told him. "Uncle Zach says you're a miserable scumbag who betrayed the family, so you were disowned. Dad always told me that you were a pretty brave kid who stood up to his father and tried to live his own life, even after it cost you your money and place in the family. Dad's always been pretty impressed by you, you know. You get disowned at sixteen, and not only did you make it, you graduated from college and got a good job and made something good for yourself. He always told me that you're a true Vulpan, rolling with the punches and coming out on top, just like our great-granddad did when he built the company."

"Well, it's nice to know I'm not universally despised. What do you think of Jessie?"

"I think she's beautiful. The family hates her, though," she giggled. "Even my dad does. Says no Vulpan should marry outside the species, even a disowned one."

"Well, I expected that. But I don't really care. I don't answer to the elders anymore, Muffy. I'm my own fox now."

"Yeah, I've seen that," she said, nudging him with her shoulder. "I think I have to get Sheila for spreading those stories of me," she noted.

"You'll have to get me too," he chuckled.

"You didn't!"

"Muffy, you really did do those things."

"And you won't let me live it down either!"

"You still do it."

She laughed. "Well, I guess I do, but do you have to tell every fur you come across?"

"What's the point of being an exhibitionist if you don't want people to know?"

She gave him a look, then laughed helplessly. "I'm not an exhibitionist! I just like not wearing clothes. There's a difference," she said primly. "Exhibitionists show off. I just like being nude. I like being nude at home, but I do put on clothes when I go out. If I was an exhibitionist, I'd have no problem going ice skating in this skirt without underwear, after all," she pointed out.

"So you're a nudist rather than an exhibitionist. Pretty fine line there," he smiled. "Guess there's nothing wrong with that as long as you're not too nuts about it."

"Well thank you so much for not finding me to be a freak," she teased, nudging him.

"All the cousins are freaks, Muffy, even me and Vil. You can't be raised in that family without being a freak… at least when compared to normal people."

Muffy laughed. "Well, at least we have each other. And now you have more than just Vil. If Dad's right and they invalidate the will that keeps us from contacting you, I'd like to see more of you, cousin. I think Dad's right about you. I'd like to get to know you."

"I came to realize recently that I have nothing against the younger cousins, Muffy, not really. You all were too young to really understand what was going on when I was disowned, and you're still under your parents' thumbs, even now. But your dad and the older cousins, well, I want nothing to do with them. I'll never forgive them, Muffy. Not after what they did to me."

"I, I can understand that, I guess," she said. "I'd be totally pissed off at them too if they did to me what they did to you. I'm just glad you're not blaming all of us, I'm glad you see that when that happened to you, I wasn't even in high school yet."

"Well, when I was hit by that car, I didn't get any visits from you either, Muffy," he said pointedly.

She looked away. "I was terrified, Kit. Uncle Luke made it very clear, anyone caught talking to you or helping you would be kicked out of the family with absolutely nothing. We were scared to death of him, even Uncle Zach was. You know what it takes to scare Uncle Zach?" she asked pointedly. "He threatened to strip us naked and toss us out the front gate, Kit. Literally. What would you expect me to do? Risk everything for a cousin I barely knew, and risk the wrath of someone who did something like that to his own son?"

He sighed. "I guess not," he said. "But it still hurt."

"I can imagine it did," she said compassionately, putting her paw on his knee and patting it. "Does it matter at all if I tell you I'm sorry?"

"It does matter, Muffy," he said after a moment, putting his paw over hers and squeezing it gently. "And thank you for that."

"Hey, no problem. So, what did you get me for Christmas?" she grinned.

"Absolutely nothing," he retorted.

"Aww! I bought you something!"

"Well, I guess I'll have to stop by the claw machine in the arcade and get you something."

"You jerk!" she laughed, slapping him on the shoulder.

Kit and Muffy were joined by Penny and Susan, John's sister, on their way to a music store so Hannah could buy some CDs for Ben. "Ah, so you ended up herding the Vulpan kids, Hannah?" Susan asked with a grin at Kit.

"Herding is a good word," she said, glancing back at Muffy.

"Oh, stop teasing the poor girl, Sue!" she laughed. "This poor vixen has been teased by about everyone today! Don't let them bully you, sweetie, I'm on your side," Penny grinned, patting Muffy on the shoulder.

"Penny, right?"

"Good memory, hon!" she grinned. "You only saw about fifteen new faces today, you know," she added with a pat on her shoulder. "So, where are you headed?"

"Tower Records," Hannah told her.

"Well, mind if we tag along? We're all done," she declared, holding up her eight shopping bags from various stores.

"Please, we'd love to have you," Hannah said, and they fell into step with them. "How is Arizona, Sue?"

"It's been pretty good. Jack got moved to a new office last month, and he's just settled in at his new department."

"A promotion?"

"Not technically a promotion, just a transfer to a new department."

"What does he do?" Muffy asked.

"He works for IBM," she answered. "He's an engineer, dear. They moved him from small business computer to mainframe production. It's not technically a promotion, but it's a better position."

"He's a hardware engineer or a software engineer?"

"Ah, I could learn to like you, hon," Susan laughed. "He's a hardware engineer. He designs circuit boards and electronics. What do you do, hon?"

"Me? I go to Yale," she answered. "I'm a business major."

"Yale? Wow!" Susan said, her voice obviously impressed. "You'll make a pretty penny when you get out of school, young lady!"

"Me Nah," she laughed. "Most of us Vulpan cousins go to Harvard or Yale, and it's not because we're good students," she said modestly. "I don't want to work at the shipyard, like most of my family does. I want to open a nightclub!" she said enthusiastically.

"My, that sounds exciting, dear," Susan told her. "What kind of nightclub?"

"Oh, the best kind!" she said, getting very animated. "It'll have three floors. I'll have dance floors on two of them, and the top floor will have a restaurant, bar, and a lounge. I'll have different styles of music on each floor, and the first floor will have a stage big enough for popular bands to play to large audiences! The second floor will have a huge bar on one wall, and a big dance floor, with a stage for bands or a deejay with a glass floor that has lights in it."

"You've put a lot of thought into it," Susan said with an approving nod.

"It's been my dream since I was sixteen," she said. "And since I don't matter, nobody cares if I do it."

"What do you mean, don't matter, dear?" Hannah asked.

"I'm the second of three, and I'm a girl," she said simply. "Boys follow in the family footsteps in our family, Hannah," she explained. "Victor, our cousin that came with us, he's an example. He's dumb as a stone, selfish, and whiny, but he'll be a vice-president somewhere in the shipyard when he graduates from Harvard, probably for some unimportant division, what they call a graveyard department. Where they put the stupid people," she explained. "If he even works. He doesn't have to, but the boys are expected to work. Not like they do much, really. Cousin Vil, Uncle Zach, Uncle Jake, and my dad are the only ones that really do important work at the shipyard. Uncle Zach and Uncle Jake are on the board, and my dad works in the Navy liaison office as one of the main foxes who deals with the Navy about our ship contracts."

"What does your cousin Vil do?" Susan asked.

"That's Vilenne, Sue," Hannah said.

"She runs the company, Miss Susan," Muffy said, a bit proudly. "The first female CEO of Vulpan Shipyards!"

"What do the other femmes in your family do?"

"Get married and have kids," she answered. "Work if they want to, but they're never put in any important jobs. If I worked at the shipyard, my uncles would make sure I was the vice president of the south drydock mail room or something. They think girls can't do male work, not even Vil. That causes a lot of problems. They keep trying to take away her power in the company, but she keeps them all on a tight leash, and that drives them nuts. My family's still in the stone age, Miss Susan. Girls aren't supposed to do anything important. It was a major shake-up in the family when Vil became the CEO, but Kit kinda made that necessary. He was supposed to be the new CEO, but he didn't want it. When he left the family, the only kid Uncle Lucas had left was Vil. He either had to have Vil replace him, or give up his chair to one of the other uncles."

"Which he'd never have done," Kit added. "Dad was all about power, and he wouldn't give up any of it. He wanted his family to keep control of the shipyards, so he broke three generations of tradition and named his daughter to succeed him after I was disowned. The rest of the family wanted Uncle Zach to take his place, because they didn't want a femme to control the company."

"My, your family sounds…"

"Bigoted. You can say it, it won't offend us," Kit told her evenly.

Muffy laughed and nodded. "So, instead of going through all that, I want to open a nightclub. I love to go to clubs, and opening my own club will give me the chance to make what I've always dreamed of in the perfect nightclub." She shrugged. "But I don't even have to do that. We all have trust funds, Miss Susan. I never have to work a day in my life if I don't want to. My weekly allowance from my fund is more than enough to live the lifestyle a Vulpan is accustomed to, and still let me go out and party every night. Some of my cousins, like Bridgette and Bess and Lynn, they've never worked a day in their lives, and they've all been out of college for years."

"Idle paws are dangerous paws," Susan said calmly.

"Yeah, I guess they are," Muffy giggled.

After Hannah bought a few CDs at the music store, they found themselves with about an hour to kill. "Let's go ice skating!" Muffy urged as they walked back towards the rink. "Now that I can, anyway!" she added with a laugh.

"Sure, let's go put all these in the truck, and I'll skate with you," Kit told her.

They put all their bags in his Pathfinder and then they went to the skating rink. She rented figure skates, and he first asked for hockey skates, but Muffy talked him into figure skates. Hockey skates allowed a fur to be more agile than figure skates, tighter turns and more control, as well as faster skating, but figure skates let a fur do some other things like spins. She stowed her purse in a coin-op locker, then darted out onto the ice. Muffy had taken skating lessons, and she was damn good, floating on the ice like an earthbound angel. The others on the ice, most of them novices or worse, stopped and watched the willowy vixen whiz by them, turn sharply, turn around and skate backwards, then curl up in the middle of the rink and perform a spin that lasted nearly a minute, starting off slowly and ending so fast her tail kept trying to stick straight out. A few furs watching from the rails over the rink actually applauded, which made Muffy laugh and give a little curtsy in reply.

"You still skate I see," Kit noted as he skated up to her.

"Every week," she nodded, holding her paw out. "Let's do some laps!"

They weren't by themselves long. Sheila appeared on the ice about five minutes later, weaving between some kids who were floundering near the entryway and whizzing by them, then turning and skating backwards in front of them and slowing down so they could catch up. "You guys finish?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're done," Muffy answered. "How about you?"

"We finished too," she nodded. "I was with Jessie and her grandmother. Damn, that old lady's a riot," she laughed. "Uh oh, someone's coming to challenge our superiority on the ice," she grinned, looking back to the entryway. Kit looked, and saw Jessie coming out onto the ice. She was about the same as most of the others in the rink, but to him, she looked beautiful and graceful, even as she staggered towards them before remembering how it worked and settling into a more easy and graceful stride. Ben and Jenny came out just behind her, along with a couple of the young children that the Williams clan had brought to the wedding. Ben looked like he'd never been on ice skates before, but Jenny zoomed right by her sister with ridiculous ease. Jenny knew how to ice skate.

It seemed quite the surprise to Jessie. "Hey, where did you learn that!" she demanded as Jenny negotiated the turn easily.

"They got a rink right by the campus at school!" she called across the ice as she went by on the other side.

"Well, someone in their family is civilized," Muffy said, which made Sheila burst into laughter.

"Well, excuse me while I give someone a private lesson," Sheila said with a leering grin, looking at Ben floundering at the rail. "If I'm lucky, I can grab his butt."

"Be nice!" Kit called as she skated across the rink to him. He and Muffy came around and picked up Jessie from behind, and they skated backwards in front of her as she tried to look as graceful as her younger sister. "Hey, pretty kitty," he said, "doing okay?"

"I need to learn how to do this," she said competitively as Jenny blew her a kiss teasingly as she skated by.

"You're talking to the right foxes," Muffy grinned. "If there's anything any Vulpan can do, it's ice skate!"

"Kit's told me that before," Jessie laughed. "You make it look so easy!"

"It is easy if you do it enough," Muffy answered her calmly, taking her paws, pulling her ahead, then getting behind her and putting her paws on Jessie's waist. "Okay, feel my paws? I'll put pressure on you, up or down, just follow by putting your weight on that side. You're moving your feet the right way, but you just need to get a sense of balance. And don't fight the skates, hon. Figure skates are flat on the bottom, remember that. You're going to go in one direction until you push an edge into the ice to alter your direction. You can literally skate sideways if you do it right, because they have no edges to catch on anything and things move in a straight line on the ice. You're going to have a little play, hon, they're not hockey skates that bite into the ice all the time, or roller skates that change your direction with the tiniest shift in your weight. I notice you try to correct every time your feet move sideways. You don't have to do that, just slide your feet back the way you want to go and use the edges of your skates to gently turn you back in the direction you want to go. Now follow my paws. Left… and right… and left… and right…" she urged, helping Jessie get a feel for the way it felt to skate comfortably.

Jenny zipped up to his side and slowed to his speed as Jessie started going faster and faster under Muffy's professional tutelage, at least until they reached the turn. Muffy had to teach her how to make a turn skating at anything faster than a crawl. "Wow, your cousins are pretty good," Jenny told him as she looked to Sheila, who had Ben by the paws and was coaxing him out onto the center of the ice.

"It's cold in Boston, Jenny, so ice skating is popular. You're not bad yourself."

"Eh, the rink was a cheap way to have fun," she shrugged. "I used to skate every weekend, cause it kept me out of the clubs and it was decent exercise." She slapped him on the shoulder. "Let's see what you've got, you pansy! Real males don't wear figure skates!"

"Brave words, femme," Kit teased.

"The Bruins should wear figure skates, at least then they'd look pretty while they lose!"

"Hey, them's fightin' words, you infidel!" Sheila shouted, pointing at Jenny threateningly. "Don't you rag on our Bruins! We'll kick yer butt!"

"Go Blackhawks!" Jenny shouted, pumping her fist in the air. "The 'Ruins suck!"

"I'm sorry, but we have to kill you now," Muffy told her, letting go of Jessie and moving to cut Jenny off.

What happened next almost got them thrown out of the mall. Jenny tried to evade both Sheila and Muffy, but she was in no way prepared to out-skate those two. Jenny was good, but she was nowhere near as good as Muffy. Jenny knocked a few other skaters down, and a few others fell down out of terror when Muffy and Sheila whizzed by them and weaved through them, until the two of them had Jenny cornered at the far end of the rink. Muffy caught her and dragged her to the center of the ice, where Sheila spanked her with her paw as Jessie's sister laughed almost uncontrollably. "Who's the best team in hockey?" Sheila demanded before every strike, and when Jenny didn't answer, Sheila whacked her on the rump. A rink employee scrambled out onto the ice on his sneakers and broke it up, gave the three of them the rough side of his tongue, then threatened to have them kicked out if they didn't behave themselves.

Jessie came up and stopped by Kit, and she laughed when the wiry bobcat femme lambasted the three of them, pointing her finger in each of their faces and read them the riot act. "Do your cousins even know who the Bruins are?" she asked Kit.

"Oh, yes," he chuckled in reply. "Jess, love, hockey is huge in New England. They know their hockey. Any native Bostonian who doesn't know who Bobby Orr is would be lynched." He put his arm around her. "The Vulpans own a luxury box at the garden, I'm sure they've been to games. Actually, I know Sheila has. I remember going to game once with her and a few cousins and Aunt Sarah," he recalled as the bobcat stalked off the ice, leaving a few of the Williams kids to giggle at the chastised trio.

They were pulled off the ice not long after that, because it was about time for the gathering at the Double J.

It was a quick affair to move the truck to the steakhouse, and he saw two limos already sitting at the back of the lot and quite a few rental cars parked out front, as well as several cars he recognized. Lupe's pickup was there, and all the gang's cars were here, as well as Sandy's Festiva and Kevin's Acura. Kit helped Jessie out of the passenger side as Sheila and Muffy started for the front door. She looked back into the cargo area and laughed. "Look at all that," she said, motioning at all the gifts. "How much did you buy?"

"A few of those bags are ours," he said, taking her paw. "Now let's go eat, I'm starving."

The steakhouse was jumping. Fully half of the dining room had been reserved for the party, and most of it was occupied. There was quite a bit of applause when Jessie and Kit became noticed, and they were herded to the table where Vil, Clancy, Sarah, and Brian were sitting. "Save room for Jessie's parents," Vil warned when Sheila and Muffy looked to join them. Sheila stuck her tongue out at Vil, then the two of them moved to sit with Ben and Jenny as they looked for a place.

Kit looked around, and noticed someone missing. "Where's Victor?"

"On a plane back to Boston," Vil answered. "The little punk threw a tantrum when I told him he wasn't going to the ceremony, so I sent him packing."

Jessie laughed, and Kit gave Vil a curious look. "Any trouble?"

"Just the usual 'my mom will fix you' crap," she answered, which made Brian chuckle. "He didn't want to get on the plane until I had Stav take him by the ear and drag him in."

"That might have been going a touch too far, Vilenne," Sarah noted. "You know how Maxine coddles him. She'll be upset with you."

"Let her," Vil shrugged.

Amanda, the German shepherd waitress with whom he used to work, hurried up. "Kit! It's great to see you!" she smiled. "How have you been?"

"Wonderful, Amanda. How's it been going here?"

"It got great when the Blimp quit," she grinned. "Our new night manager's really cool!"

"Well, that's great to hear."

"So, what can I get you?" she asked as John and Hannah took seats on the far side of Jessie. She took their orders, using up several pages of her order pad, and then hurried off to get them started. "So how did your shopping go?" Vil asked John and Hannah.

"It went quite well," Hannah answered. "At least after I had to take that young one, Muffy, in paw."

"Muffy's harmless," Sarah noted. "Whatever did she do?"

"I had issue with her choice of dress," Hannah said in a way that made Jessie giggle.

"I hope she didn't cause you any problems. I'm her father, Misses Williams, if she did, just let me know."

"Please, call me Hannah. Well, then perhaps you should be the one to keep a foot on her. That young vixen doesn't wear underwear," she said in a low tone, leaning over the table.

Brian laughed. "Oh, that? It's what you can call one of her little quirks. She doesn't cause any trouble with it. She's been like that since she was a little girl. She says it rubs her fur off, and she's always been a little obsessed over her fur. Her coat's not as thick as most, so she's compulsive about keeping it looking thick and healthy."

"I'm surprised you don't see such scandalous behavior as unusual, Mister Vulpan," she noted.

"It's not scandalous, and please call me Brian," he smiled. "It's just a quirk. She doesn't run around naked, well at least not anymore," he chuckled. "We had trouble keeping that one in her clothes when she was a child."

"Yes, we had the same problem with Jenny, as I recall," John agreed with a smile.

"Your youngest?"

"No, she's our middle child."

"So is Muffy. It must be some middle child thing," Brian said absently.

Quite a few friends and members of the Williams clan came over to their table and talked with them for a while, introduced themselves to Kit, or were introduced to Vil, Sarah, and Brian. Kit wasn't too happy to be sitting with them, but he kept his peace. He only had to put up with them until tomorrow, and then he could leave them behind forever. He didn't directly speak to them, though.

There was no talking once the steaks arrived, though. Vil's eyes lit up when she saw her huge porterhouse set before her, and rubbed her paws together eagerly. "You're in for a treat," she said. "This place serves the best steaks I've ever had. I've been looking forward to this," she hummed, then picked up her knife and fork and got down to business.

"I'm impressed!" Sarah called after the first bite. "This is better than any steak I've had at home!"

"They really know how to make steaks here," Jessie told her. "Grilling steaks is a Texas tradition. They take it seriously."

"And to think, I'd never stop to eat here if I were alone," Brian chuckled as he took another bite. "It just goes to show, I guess, that diamonds aren't always cut and polished."

They ate their dinners in happy silence, and after many of them were done, they began talking among themselves again, or moving to visit other tables. Lupe and Rick came over to their table, and Kit introduced them. "This is my friend Lupe and my boss, Rick," Kit said.

"I'm surprised to see other members of Kit's family here," Rick said, shaking Brian's paw.

"Well, a few of us would like to try to reconcile with him," Brian said simply.

"Well, you can keep dreaming," Kit told him bluntly.

"Kit, that's rude," Hannah said immediately.

"Sorry, but it's how I feel," he told her.

"We've got a room all ready for you, hon, and Martha's almost as giddy as a schoolgirl over the idea of getting you ready tomorrow," Rick chuckled. "We don't have any daughters, only sons, so she's getting to experience a wedding from the femme's side this time, and she's in heaven."

Jessie laughed. "Did you give the directions to your house to my parents?"

"He did," John told him. "We'll be arriving early in the morning. You'll have both Martha and your mother fussing over your dress."

"That may not be a good thing," Jessie said with a laugh.

"Oh hush, Jessica," Hannah said with a slight smile. "Even if I object to this marriage in principal, at least I can enjoy the idea of helping my oldest put on her wedding dress."

"We didn't know you had reservations about this, Hannah," Sarah said.

"They're too young and haven't known each other long enough," she answered immediately. "But I've agreed to at least give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them to try to prove me wrong."

"That only took a month," Jessie grunted under her breath.

"I'll make sure Kit don't oversleep, brah," Lupe grinned, patting him on the shoulders.

"Dude, I don't have to be there until noon," Kit protested.

"Yah, like you'll sleep much past six," Lupe grinned. "But I'll make sure you're ready to go."

A lioness wearing a manager's uniform approached their table. "Miss Vulpan," she said, almost bowing, handing her a small clipboard.

"You're sure everyone's done, Miss Lewis?" Vil asked.

She bobbed her head. "I'm sure if someone orders something by now, we can just let it go," she answered.

"You're paying?" Kit asked curiously.

"Of course I am," she said dismissively. She took a credit card from her small purse and put it on the clipboard, then handed it to her. "I'll handle the tip with cash," she added. "Could you have our servers come see me at once?"

"I'll be right back with them, ma'am," the lioness said, taking the card and clipboard and hurrying off.

"Your sister is very generous, Kit," Rick said with a smile at her.

"I am where he's concerned," she grinned, pointing at Kit. "Did you send your projections for next year?"

"I'm not done with them yet."

"Projections?" Kit asked curiously, looking up at his boss.

"I told you, Kit, I've invested in the magazine. All that equipment wasn't free. Rick keeps me up to speed on the magazine's business health. I watch over it the same way I do my other business investments."

"But she doesn't interfere," Rick said quickly.

"Oh no, never that. So far, I've seen an increase in profits since I invested in the magazine, and that's what I want to see. Soon, the magazine will be ready to expand."

"I've been considering it," Rick said. "Increasing our circulation, maybe taking on another new hire and expanding our pages per issue. We're almost ready for it."

"Well, I know you've been considering it. Hell, I'll be first to admit that we needed Sheila. She took a lot of pressure off the office."

"I'll need to replace her soon, she'll go back home after your stepmother leaves Boston, so I've talked to the journalism department at U.T. over offering internships for the students that gives them capstone credit."

"That's not a bad idea," Kit noted. "You get a free worker, and they get real experience."

"There is one problem, though," he grunted. "Our current office is going to be too small. I'm afraid we'll have to move to a new office."

"And get out of my closet? I'd love that," Kit laughed.

"Be glad you have that closet," Rick said. "You and Mike are the only ones with your own offices outside of me. The gang doesn't begrudge you two for it, because of what you do, but still, be thankful."

"You're talking to the right vixen, Rick," Vil said. "I'll make some inquiries and see if I can't find you new office space that gives you room to grow and won't cost you an arm and a leg. My name might take a little off the rent."

"I'll miss our building," Rick sighed. "We've been there since we started. But the rest of the building is completely full. I already talked to the building manager about expanding or moving to new offices there in the building, but there's just nowhere for us to go."

"Well, we'll get you going, Rick," Vil smiled. "You're one of my investments. I have to make sure you remain profitable."

"I'll call you about it after the wedding."

The manager returned with the three servers that had been working their tables. Vilenne stood up and complemented them on doing a good job, and gave each of them a hundred dollar tip. Amanda looked ready to faint, thanking Vil about twenty times a second and all but bowing as they were herded away by the lioness. "Well, it's about that time," Vil said. "Are you ready to go, baby bro?"

"I guess so. It's going to be lonely at home without Jessie."

"Well, I think we can manage one more night alone, cause after tomorrow, we'll always be together," she said teasingly, kissing him on the cheek.

Kit again saw that look of disapproval flash through Aunt Sarah's expression, but she said nothing.

They began filing out of the steakhouse, and Kit pulled Jessie aside by Rick's car after they put her overnight bag and the things she'd bought at the mall she didn't want him to see in Rick's car. He held her close and kissed her lingeringly, then nuzzled her cheek. "This is it, Jessie," he breathed in her ear. "The next time we see each other, it'll be at the wedding."

"I can't wait," she whispered in his ear. "Tomorrow, you will be mine, Kitstrom Lucas Vulpan."

"I've been yours since the day we met, Jessica Desdemona Vulpan," he answered honestly.

"Well, you'll be officially mine," she giggled, kissing him on the nose playfully, then she pulled his left paw up between them. "There's going to be a little something on this finger," she winked.

"I can go put it on right now," he offered.

"Don't you dare!" she laughed. "No jinxing!" She kissed him one more time, lingeringly, longingly, then she let go of him and got in the back seat of the car as Rick and Martha approached. Martha gave him a little hug and assured him it would be over before he knew it, then he stepped back and watched Rick back out of the parking space. They all waved to him as they pulled out, and he waved back and watched them go. She was on her way, and their separation made it clear that they were truly in the home stretch. By this time tomorrow, we'll be married and at the reception, he thought to himself, and that thought only made him smile eagerly.

He couldn't wait.

A paw touched him on the shoulder. He looked and saw that it was Vil, sliding it up until she had her paw around his shoulders and back. "We're almost there, baby bro," she told him. "Just a little bit more."

"I can't wait," he said honestly. "Thanks, sis."

"For what?"

"For everything. And especially for keeping your meddling where I can't see it."

She laughed. "I told you I don't take no for an answer," she grinned. "I've been dealing with Rick for a good couple of months now, and he naturally keeps it hidden from you. I don't do anything outrageous," she assured him. "He keeps me up to speed on what he's up to, basically."

"Did you meddle with Lupe?"

"Huh?"

"He got a loan to expand the complex."

She laughed. "Nope, I had nothing to do with that. I didn't even know about it. He got that all on his own. But, I'll have to look into it and see if I can't make it smoother for him," she winked.

"Well, that makes me strangely proud of him," Kit laughed.

"I'd rather see you in a house."

"Vil, we're happy there," Kit told her. "We have friends there, and I don't have to mow the lawn or fix anything."

"You don't have to do any of that if you just say the word."

"And give up my independence? No," he said simply.

"You always were a headstrong young man," Clancy chuckled as the aged fox came up to them.

"Ah, gonna talk now, Clancy?" Kit teased.

"You know your aunt and uncle consider me to be the hired help, my boy," he said simply. "Vil had an argument with them just seating me at their table."

"I should have guessed," he grunted.

"Now, I need to go see what kind of horrible conditions you've put yourself in, Kitstrom. Take me to your apartment. We can sit down and talk and help while away the time until your wedding."

"I'd love to," he said. "Mind riding with me, Clancy?"

"It would be my pleasure."

"I'll be along in a bit," Vil told them. "I can't miss out on a little family reunion. There's a few furs I want to talk to first."

"Just don't invite Sarah and Brian," Kit warned. "I don't want them anywhere near me."

"I won't," Vil nodded.

Kit brought Clancy to his home, and after he inspected their apartment with a disdainful sniff, they sat down for tea. They talked of old times, happier times, and then Clancy told him what it was like in the manor now that everyone was gone from it. "It's been taken over by your uncle Zachary," he sighed. "Vil lives in her home in Chelmsford, and since it's still owned by your family, there's no one there for me to serve, as Zachary keeps his own staff in the west wing. There's little he can do to us really, since the manor is still owned by your family. He's brought in his staff to take care of the manor, but we are still charged with the upkeep of the east wing, so he leaves us to our amusements. So we keep your old apartments clean and the manor hosts some Vulpan family events, such as your cousin Travis' wedding in September. But the staff and I have little to do, really. We keep it clean and wait for Vil to decide when she will evict your uncle from your ancestral home."

"I'm surprised she hasn't done it already."

"Zachary wants to force Vilenne out of her position of power in the family, so he fights her in court over Stonebrook. He wants possession of it. As you know, whoever lives within Stonebrook has always been considered the head of the family, so Zachary tries to hold the manor for the status it gives. Vilenne prefers her home in Chelmsford because it is to her tastes, but she will not give the manor to him."

"Typical for the family," he sighed. "I'm glad I left it sometimes."

"Well, for one, I miss you, my boy," Clancy told him with a smile. "You certainly made life interesting around the manor."

"I missed you too, Clancy. You, Vil and Suzy were really the only friends I had. I wonder why she didn't sit with us."

"My boy, Suzy has had a crush on you since you were kids," Clancy told him. "The news that you were getting married was a mixed blessing to her. She's happy you've found happiness, but even now, she laments that she wasn't the one who captured your heart." He patted Kit's paw. "She's giving you space, my boy, both for you and for her."

"I didn't know she felt that way. She should have said something!"

"My boy, you forget," he sighed. "Your father would have had no qualms over destroying her family if she took up with you. That's why she always operated in secrecy, helping you while keeping it hidden. She had to keep her distance from you to protect her own family. But don't regret it too much, Kitstrom. Suzy is dating a wonderful fox that takes good care of her, and I think she'll be happy with him. She's just regretting the past rather than looking forward to the future."

"Well, I wish she would have said something. I knew she liked me, and we did have a–you know. A little fling. But she never hinted that she thought more of it than that."

"Before you begin to doubt, Kitstrom, answer yourself this. Are you unhappy at all you ended up with your cat than with Suzy?"

"Hell no!" he said immediately and adamantly. "Jessie is my life, Clancy! She's the femme I was put on this earth to marry!"

"Then don't worry a bit about Suzy. She is still your friend, and she always will be. She doesn't blame you, and she won't hate you. Just be her friend, my boy. You were fast friends before, you still can be."

"I–yeah, you're right. I love Suzy like a friend, and if I can, I'd like to be her friend again."

"You never were anything but her friend, Kitstrom. That never changed."

"Yeah. I do need to talk to her, though."

"That would be a good thing."

The doorbell rang, and Kit had to put a paw on Clancy's arm to keep him from going to answer it. "You're a guest here, Clancy," Kit chuckled. "It's open!" he shouted.

"Sorry, my boy, an old habit," he chuckled.

Vil appeared in the doorway, along with Suzy, Sheila, and Muffy. They came in, and Kit stood up and greeted them. "Please, come in, I have some tea on," he said.

"I hope it's good tea," Suzy grinned.

"As good as you'll find for a poor fox in Texas," he answered.

"It's not bad. Not what I would expect, but not bad," Clancy noted, taking another sip.

"Wow, it's been years since I've seen some of these faces," Suzy laughed, looking at Sheila and Kit. "And even long for others. When was the last time we saw each other, Muffy?"

"Seven or eight years," she answered. "I think we only met once, at a party at Stonebrook. It was Vil's eighteenth birthday. You still in school?"

"Me? No, I work at Yankee Bytes now," she answered. "I'm the vice president in control over the stores in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire."

"Nice, that's a lot of work."

"Yeah, I know how Vil feels sometimes," she laughed. "It's pretty tough, but it's rewarding. Dad's been slowly pulling back and letting us kids run things. I think he wants to retire soon and enjoy the wealth he built up. Can't blame him, really. I think he's had all of one week off since he started the chain. He wanted to be here for the wedding, but he couldn't make it. He's negotiating to expand the franchise west."

"Nice. Where?"

"Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia maybe. He doesn't want to expand anywhere he has to change the store's name," she giggled. "Yankee is a slur in some places."

"It is down here," Kit chuckled.

"So, you're marrying a cat, Kit," Suzy said with a grin at him. "Did you pick her on purpose to piss off your family, or was it something you kinda stumbled into?"

Kit laughed. "It wasn't deliberate."

"Jessie's an absolute doll, Suzy," Vil told her. "Sweet, kind, a little shy, but once you get past her shell, she's totally charming and lovable. Sometimes I think she's way too good for a fox like my brother."

"I'd have to agree with you sometimes," Kit agreed.

"And to think, I missed my chance," Suzy sighed, a little self-mockingly.

"Nah, I think you'd never have worked out, Suzy," Vil told her seriously.

"It would have been nice to try," Suzy said, giving Kit a coquettish look.

"Well, I'm sure Corey would object," Vil grinned.

"Corey? Who's that?" Muffy asked.

"Corey Reeves," Sheila told her. "You know, the Reeves! Cape Cod Shipping?"

"Oh! Them! I've never heard of Corey," she complained.

"He's one of their cousins," Suzy said. "He's from California, not Nantucket. I met him at a mixer on Nantucket two years ago."

"What does he do?"

"He's a filmmaker," she answered. "He hasn't hit it big yet, but he has done some work on a few projects that got some attention at the Sundance Festival." She laughed. "He directed a commercial for the shipping company that seemed to go over well. You know, the one with the bicycle that went a thousand miles an hour?"

Muffy gave her a look, then burst out laughing. "Oh, that commercial was hilarious! He did that?"

"He did," she said proudly.

"I remember that commercial. Indeed, it was very funny," Clancy chuckled in agreement.

"I guess we'd never see it down here," Kit noted.

"Oh, it was great!" Muffy exclaimed. "It shows this guy on a bicycle going a thousand miles an hour, riding over the ocean while some narrator talks about overseas shipping and how you can do it cheap, then the bicycle comes up on the coast and rams a lighthouse!" All of them started to laugh. "And there's this big hole shaped like a fox and a bicycle, while this old fox that was inside looks through it with this all confused expression on his face, then he looks back and sees the guy and his bicycle pasted on the other wall, flat as a board!"

"Then the narrator says over that, 'save a lighthouse, go with Cape Cod Shipping'," Vil laughed. "It was a very good commercial. I might have to talk to him to make a couple of shipyard commercials, put something fresh in it."

"He'd probably go for it, Vil," she told him.

"He's a great guy," Vil noted.

"Yeah, he's a sweetie. But you always were my first love, Kit," she admitted, reaching out and putting her paw on his arm. "I had the biggest crush on you when we were kids."

"Yeah, we heard about that," Sheila grinned. "We heard you're the one that took his virginity."

Suzy's cheeks ruffled. "Well, I think we did do something like that back when we were kids," she said with a naughty little smile, patting his arm fondly.

"So, was he any good?"

"That's something you'll never know, Sheila," Suzy teased.

"And something you'd be wise to drop, so long as I have your mother's number," Clancy added, which made everyone but Sheila burst into laughter.

It was a good time. They talked for hours, well past sunset, drinking tea and talking of old times, and giving Suzy a chance to get familiar with Sheila and Muffy. No subject was left untouched, which surprised Kit, as they talked about his father and the fights between him and both his children, Kit's leaving, and then him getting hit. "I carried so many messages to the hospital," Suzy laughed. "I felt like a mailfur."

"Suzy was my most frequent visitor," Kit told his cousins. "Since Vil and Clancy couldn't visit often or Dad would find out about it."

"There wasn't much to do for the first couple of months, cause Kit was always stoned out on the painkillers," she sighed, holding the back of his paw as she remembered. "But after he got coherent again, it was nice to talk to him. I'd deliver Vil and Clancy's messages, then take messages back for them." Suzy turned his arm over to expose the white scars on his forearm, touching them with her finger. "Did they ever explain why these turned white?"

"Not really. They think the ones on my back were a reaction to the cauterizing scalpel they used. The only guess I heard that might make sense is that this was friction burns from sliding over the pavement after it hit me. It took some meat off my arm, and of course, it did this," he said, pointing at his half-missing ear and the white streak in his hair just by his ear. "For some reason, Jessie's totally fascinated by the scars on my back. She's always touching them."

"Compassion," Vil told him. "The same reason Suzy's tracing the scars on your forearm right now."

Suzy gave a cough and quickly let go of his arm, which made Sheila and Muffy laugh.

While the girls continued to talk, Kit and Suzy took a walk in the courtyard, under the guise of showing it around to her. They walked in silence for a few minutes, then she took his paw. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Kit," she told him. "But I've always wanted to tell you that."

"No, it's alright. I just wish I would have known sooner."

"Second thoughts?"

"Oh, hell no," he chuckled. "But I think it would have been fair to give you the same chance Jessie had."

"Aww, you're sweet," she said, kissing him on the cheek fondly. "Do you love her?"

"With all my heart," he answered immediately.

"I'm glad to hear that. I really like Corey, Kit. I think there's a chance there for love. He's a wonderful boy, kind and caring, and right now it's a long distance relationship while he's shooting a movie in Mexico, but he does love me. So don't you worry about me."

"Do you love him?"

"I think I'm almost there," she answered honestly. "I think about him all the time, and I miss him terribly. What is Jessie like?"

"Pretty much how Vil described," he answered as they came around the corner, towards the back side of the complex where Sheila and Dan lived. "She's very kind and sweet, and she's also very shy and modest. She's from a traditional family, so she's a little old-fashioned in some regards, but she's very strong, Suzy. She has steel in her, and even though she's shy, I've seen her stand up when she felt it was necessary. She shouted down Aunt Sarah," he said with pride in his voice.

"That take some guts alright," Suzy laughed. "So, you're marrying a prude?"

"She's no prude in private," Kit chuckled, nudging her. "And she's loosening up a little. Sheila's been working on her."

"Oh my!" Suzy laughed. "Do they get along?"

"Amazingly, yes. Jessie thinks of Sheila as a little lost puppy she needs to nurture. Sheila loves Jessie, says she's a lot of fun and she's a wonderful friend. She is, too. She'll give you the last dime in her pocket if you need it. She has a big heart."

"She has big boobs too," Suzy noted clinically. "Bigger than mine."

Kit laughed. "Those are just an added bonus," he grinned. "She's fun to tease. I get into a lot of trouble doing that," he said slyly. "Her weapon of choice is a pillow, and she's deadly with it."

"You like being a tease," she grinned.

"Yeah, guess I am," he noted. "I used to tease you enough."

"It was fun though," she said with a smile. "Kit?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you miss us?"

"Of course I do," he told her. "You were my first girlfriend, Suzy. You were my first lover, too. I still get excited at the thought of leather sofas, thanks to you."

Suzy laughed, leaning against him.

"But, even though it's the past, and I'm about to get married, and you have a boyfriend, I'd still like to be your friend. I want to send you stupid birthday cards, and come hang out with you when I'm in the neighborhood when I'm at Boston, and I'd like you to get to know Jessie and hopefully come to love her as much as you love me. Now that it looks like the sword of Damocles that my family put over my head is being removed, I'd like to invite you back into my life, Suzy… just in a new role, that's all. If you don't mind just being friends."

"Just friends is fine with me, Kit," she told him as they turned back towards his apartment. "It's just fine with me."

Chapter 17