A Call from Home

You and Tibby take time to finish cleaning the living room and then why not zip through the other rooms too? Since you'd spent most of your time in the kitchen and living room and they were already cleaned, the other rooms are done much faster.

When you are finished, you don't want to just turn around and make a new mess. Instead, you slump onto the couch with another large glass of lemonade. Pretty soon Tibby comes to join you on the couch. It actually feels nice to have her curled up beside you, within easy reach of your roaming hands. Without thinking much about it, your hand starts skimming what's closest.

"Mm. That feels nice," says Tibby. Her eyes are closed. She leans into your hand more, offering encouragement.

Your phone rings, diverting your attention. You answer it and settle back onto the couch. "Hi Mom."

"Yes, I'm doing fine, Mom. I was going to call you guys today actually. I wanted to swing by and see if you had a couple of lawn chairs I could borrow. We just discovered that tenants can hang out on the roof and enjoy the breeze in the evenings."

"Yes, we. The day before yesterday I adopted my first petgirl."

"Today. Tibby. Cat."

"No, not that type of cat. You'll see when we come over."

"OK. That's a good time. We'll see you then."

Tibby had been quiet during the phone call, but now she speaks up. "We'll see who when? Am I included in that?" She resists your attempt at hugging her.

"Of course you are included in that." She cannot escape as you tap the end of her nose. "We are going to see my family this afternoon. Mom would never let me live it down if she heard about you from Ashley! I planned on calling them today. Now that Mom has heard about you she insists on meeting you as soon as possible. I thought she might have been more patient than that."

Tibby gets a curious look on her face. "Your family? There's more than just your Mom?"

You chuckle. "Oh yes. Jennifer's away at school, well, getting settled in before school starts like I am. So you won't meet her, but you'll get to meet Dad & Mom and my three other siblings."

"There were FIVE of you!?!"

"Yep. It meant the house was loud and full of life. My brother is the oldest. Everybody just calls him Junior 'cause he's got the same name as Dad. He graduated this spring and moved back home to save up for his own place. He studied Engineering and now he's working at the family business. Jennifer is the next. She got a basketball scholarship to a university on the other side of the country. Both of them played basketball so there was quite a lot of the noise of dribbling or the ball getting bounced off a wall. They hung out with friends a lot and played many games on the driveway. When Jennifer wasn't doing that, she'd be on the phone talking for hours to one of her friends. Then there's me."

Tibby bats her eyelashes as she looks up at you. She leans forward so that her breasts skim your chest. "And then there's you. That's the family member I am the most interested in." More eyelash batting. "The whole person and not just his member," she says as she squeezes her hand over your crotch. "So, you're a student too. What are you studying? What's your dream in life?"

"Dad wants me to run the business side of the company eventually. I'm studying business at college." Your answers are short because Tibby is distracting you with her hand.

"Hey, Pet, if you want to play this game just remember that round two will be this afternoon when you answer questions for my family." You pants are relieved of any weight so fast it would make your head spin if you were more invested in the physical activity.

"No. I'm good. I will be good. I promise. Please continue." She has some real fear on her face, just a little bit, but it's clearly there. She is sitting straight up with her hands folded in her lap.

You tell Tibby, "And then there are the twins, Samantha and Rachel. They are such opposites. You would think that would mean one was loud and the other was quiet, but no. One is party girl and the other is pouty girl and they are both loud. It's the one feature they have in common, and it drives us, their brothers, both crazy. Junior complained about them so much that he finally went to study in the capital. His marks improved by at least 10% in every class. That's why I get to have my own apartment. Just have to keep my grades up to prove it's worth it."

"What happens if you don't prove it's worth it?"

"Then my parents will be disappointed and stop paying the rent. I will either have to get a job to pay the rent myself which will make studying that much harder or move back home which will also make studying harder. So when I say I need to study, that's serious and I need to study. Got it?"

"I already got it even without the talk. You don't get to be a champion gymnast without understanding the importance of concentration and practice. But it's good to know what's on the line." She tilts her head. "You said that I'm not that type of cat. What type was that?"

"Mom wanted to know if you were one of those petgirls that's obsessed with balls of yarn and toys. I mean, you've been able to focus on a task like helping me unpack my books. And other than your cushions, I haven't seen you with a lot of stuff. Well, besides the closet or should I say your closet?"

She jumps up. "Oh, I should get changed. What should I wear?" She's talking to you but you can tell that her mind is already going through her closet. Who knows what wild thing she will come out with!

You want to stay seated, but you know that it will prolong things if you don't go to the closet with her. As you get up you say, "Relax. It's just a..."