Intermission II-Giving Them the Bird!

Thursday, November 28th 09:48:11

Another month passed by, Hope grew larger and faster than even Caleb saw, as unknown to him, Hope was compressing itself tighter to keep in line with the growth pictures they had seen.. Using the increased dexterity available to them, in addition to the table scraps and chow Caleb gave them, Hope had been eating food from the refrigerator and pantry over time during Caleb's daily work absences. The end result was that they looked like a large 5 month old 60lb dog but were closer to 75-80lbs.

During their research, they had found there were two other parks within walking distance of the house and had dragged Caleb towards each of them in turn, only going to the Plaza in the late evenings.

For his part, Caleb didn't seem to notice anything strange other than his groceries didn't last as long but that always happened in the Fall, though he wasn't gaining weight like he usually did(probably all those long walks with Hope) but that would change this evening when he drove to his parents for Thanksgiving. Unloading the car, Caleb hefted the fresh bag of puppy chow and sat it down on the kitchen floor

“Okay, all the errands done. Got the wine for Mom and Sis, beer for Dad, myself and Bryan. Then the stuffin’ and the sweet potatoes.” Caleb mutters to himself as he pulls the aforementioned items and places them all into the cooler for the drive. Looking down at his second shadow, Caleb remarks. “And for you, little lady, need some food, some pads and your leash.” Putting her supplies into a tote, he grabs his overnight bag and loads everything into the trunk.

“C’mon Hope, time for you to meet the rest of the family.”

Hope jumps into the back seat and they head off onto the highway going south. Sticking her head out of the window to gaze on all the sights outside the City, tongue wagging in the chill breeze. The sun was squarely overhead when they arrived, pulling up next to a truck with a pair of booted feet sticking out from underneath.

The muffled ratcheting stops as Caleb opens the door. “Zat you, Caleb? Yer Mom 'n' 'em was wondering when you were gonna show.”

“Hey Bryan, what’cha working on now?”

“Puttin' in a new oil pan, rock cracked it when me and ‘Manda went off-roading on Saturday.”

Unloading everything onto the lawn, Caleb opens the rear door to let out Hope. Bryan, his sister’s boyfriend, was the polar opposite of Caleb and his friends in almost every way except two: beer and video games. He made his sister happy though, so he could tolerate him well enough on these occasions. “Nice, you checked out the new Medal of Warfare, yet?”

“Nah, can’t afford it right now and I ain’t gonna ask yer Sister for money, you know how she gets. Ooof, you must be Hope, I wouldn’t go crawling under here or yer gonna need a bath, girlie.”

“Hope, leave him alone. C’mon let’s go inside.”

Hope pulls back from under the truck and trots towards the door, followed by a panting Caleb carrying the cooler and other luggage up the driveway to rest on the front steps. Unlocking the door, a brown blur moves in, squeezing past Caleb to explore this new location. Sniffing around excitedly, Hope runs into Beelzebub, his Sister's black cat, sleeping on the bottom stair. After a languid stretch, meow and a swift bop on Hope’s nose, Beelzebub heads back up the stairs, clearly disinterested in this enthusiastic newcomer.

_“Hey Bub, you better stay upstairs for now, sorry for disturbing your sleep, Old Man. Alright, Hope let's go meet Mom.” Walking past the stairs to the kitchen, he walks in and sees his mother putting a large dressed turkey into the oven. “Howdy Mom, you want any help before I unload all this stuff?”_

“Hey Caleb Honey, not really, I baked the pies yesterday and Amanda made the sweet potatoes and her honey carrots last night. Just have the rolls and dishes now.” Caleb's mother, a short, thin Hispanic woman with darker hair than either of her children, moves over and hugs her son and kisses him on the cheek before noticing Caleb's shadow.

“Oh Caleb, she is a cutie, she's gotten BIG in two months. Go settle in your stuff upstairs and say hello to your Father in the Office. Then you can help me with the dishes and tell me more about what's been going on with you. Also, you can put Hope’s pads down in the laundry room.” Giving Hope a quick pet and hug, she bustles off.

Caleb drags the cooler into the kitchen, sets the tote next to it, before grabbing his duffle and heading up the creaking stairs to his old room. Chucking the duffle bag on the well-worn bed, he steps out of the room, moving past two closed doors, before opening the heavy door to the family office.

Inside, Caleb spies his father bent over a hobby table, assembling a new model spaceship, 80’s college rock blaring from a Bluetooth speaker next to him. His father, a slender bald man a few inches shorter than Caleb himself, was completely absorbed in his project and didn't notice the entrance of the two figures until Caleb shouted “Computer, pause track.” In the deafening silence that followed, his Dad turns around and lifts the magnifying visor out of his eyes.

“Howdy son, just get in? Working on an Alliance Cruiser from Solar Expanses this past week and it has been a real booger-bear.” At this moment Hope climbs halfway up his leg to see what he's working on.

“Howdy to you too, Big Girl, please don't mess with my model. Caleb?”

“Hope, get offa him, girl! Sorry, Dad, she's extremely nosy. Yeah, we just got in. You see Sis? Mom’s looking for her.”

“Nope, haven't seen her, she's probably in the garden or her room if I know her.”

“Thanks, Dad. Mom just put the bird in so make sure you set a timer or Hope’ll get your serving. C’mon, Hope let's go find Sis.”

Walking out of the room, they hear the music start back up, slightly muffled through the door. "I think he does that on purpose.” Caleb shakes his head as he walks across the landing and knocks on the door of his Sister's room.

“Hey Amanda, you in there? Mom wants you for something downstairs.”

“Okay, I'll be down once I've changed.”

Heading back downstairs, Caleb helps his mother clean the stack of dishes while she spills the tea on all the local goings-on. Then turning the interrogation lamp on her son, she checks in with him about his life before sighing about 'a nice woman' and 'grandkids'. "I know Hope is lovely and I'm glad you have her in your life, but she isn't a replacement, you know."

Scrubbing a particularly obstinate stain, he hangs his head and sighs. "I know, Mom, but dating nowadays is terrible. The apps are full of catfishers, FanTime influencers, and people who apparently just want free meals. All the ladies I work with are taken or decades older than me and you know I've never been one for clubs or bars."

This continues until Caleb is saved by the arrival of his sister Amanda stepping into the kitchen. A slender fit woman with freckled skin and auburn hair, Amanda was a decade younger than Caleb and was still living at home ostensibly until Bryan and her could afford a place together. "Oh hey Caleb, what'd you need Mom? OH MY GOD LOOK AT THE PUPPY!" Rushing over to Hope who had been gazing out of the glass patio door, Amanda hugs and squeezes Hope while nuzzling into her fur. For her part, Hope waggles her tail and licks Amanda. "Caleb, you don't deserve her, she's mine now, you hear? Why does she smell like bananas though?"

"It's kind of a long story..." Caleb starts before being cut off by his Mom.

"Amanda Maria! Leave that Dog alone and get your laundry out of the washer. I need to wash Caleb's bed linens before dinner."

"Fine, whatever. Tell me in a minute, okay?"

"Sure, lemme go grab the sheets and pillowcases from upstairs and I'll chuck them in."

After several hours of chatting, dinner is ready. Just like at the Halloween cookout, several large pieces of food *happen* to fall on the floor only to disappear on impact. After dinner and dessert, the family retreats to the den, alcoholic beverages in hand with Amanda doing her level best to hog Hope's attention. Around 11pm everyone heads to bed and Caleb takes Hope out for one last walk in the chilly night air, then utterly exhausted and stuffed they head up to his room where Caleb passes out with Hope again at his back.