-- Morning --
©1995 by Sony Music Corp
It would be unfair to say that this exactly characterizes the state of mind that both Lee and Debbye found themselves in on Sunday morning, but they were definitely concentrating more on the previous day’s experiences than on what their respective preachers were saying. They did, however, make it through their respective services without undue problem.
As they left church after the service, Diana Reynard padded up beside Debbye. “You seemed a bit distracted today,” she commented, “Anything wrong?”
Debbye blushed slightly, “No, nothing’s wrong. I was just lost in thought.”
Diana smiled, “I’m glad to hear that.”; with a grin she continued, “Would it happen to be something good then? Say, something to do with a certain male feline?”
Debbye’s blush deepened as she laughed, “You got me! He was very definitely on my mind this morning.”
“Any particular reason?”
“Well, more like just reflecting on the last week or so before I meet him again this afternoon.”
“Oh? That often? What’s been happening between the pair of you?”
“Well…” began Debbye and she proceeded to give Diana a quick review of the last week.
“And your feelings about Lee are?” inquired Diana afterwards.
“My feelings about Lee are complex,” admitted the squirrel. “I’m strongly attracted to him and I know he feels the same toward me. Beyond that, he’s got a lot of depth to him and the way he respects my choices and me reflects that. The only thing I’m worried about is moving too fast.”
“He hardly sounds like he’s pushing things; unlike a lot of males. Has he met your folks yet?”
“No,” grinned Debbye, “he hasn’t.”
“Well then, I’d say that’d be your next move.” She giggled, “I wonder if your dad will over react? In the meantime, enjoy your afternoon with him; I know I would.”
Debbye hugged her friend. “Thanks for listening.”
“Glad to help. Always glad to help a friend.”
With one more hug, they parted company and Debbye padded over to her car.”
-- Afternoon --
Lyman parked at the sports car club’s trials area and padded over to the registration table.
“Afternoon, Lyman,” greeted the badger. “Where’s your navigator?”
“Good afternoon to you, too, Art. I forgot to tell him until yesterday and he’d already made other plans. “ Lyman grinned, “I’m going to have to get used to him having a social life of his own.”
“Lee?”
Lyman nodded.
“Will wonders never cease?” chuckled Art. “In that case, do you want to pick one of the members to fill his seat?” He waved at some seated members watching the trials.
Lyman shook his head, “After the week I’ve had, I don’t think I care to adjust to a new navigator. Got any place I can help out?”
Art responded with an enthusiastic grin. “Do I ever! I’ve only got a fur on stage 7 and that really needs at least two. Let me show you the way.”
Guided by the badger, Lyman soon found himself at a timing station with an attractive female snow leopard. Art performed a quick introduction, “Lyman Aquilaferi, allow me to present Amandajean Snowpaws – and vice versa.”
“My friends call me ‘Mandy’,” she purred with a hint of a chuckle as she shook Lyman’s paw. Turning to Art, she continued, “Thank you for getting a second fur here so quickly. I thought I’d get overloaded before you got another fur.”
“You can blame my faulty memory,” chuckled Lyman as he recounted why his normal navigator wasn’t with him.
“Then I’ll thank your memory and your friend’s girlfriend; I definitely need a second fur here.” As Art left, she smiled, “During the week, I’m a professional photografur; what do you do?”
“I’m an engineer at the aircraft plant in town,” responded Lyman as he relaxed into the chair, and this has been a rough week there.”
Before further conversation could occur, a car came up and the two of them began an afternoon that was alternately busy and slack enough to allow pleasant conversation. Each party shortly became convinced that the other was good company and they passed a delightful afternoon.
-- 2 PM –
Debbye pulled up promptly and found Lee awaiting her. He gave her a kiss as he climbed in and she drove off as soon as he buckled up. “Got the film?” she asked with a touch of concern.
“Right here,” he patted a pocket of his khaki cargo pants. “I wouldn’t dream of forgetting either roll.” Looking over, he complimented her on an attractive outfit pairing a dark green peasant blouse with a dark brown skirt.
“Thank you,” she dimpled as she glanced appreciatively at the way his light tan tee shirt fit his torso. “You don’t look bad, yourself.”
He blushed in response and settled back. Looking around, he chuckled, “You know, I hadn’t noticed until now how this car doesn’t seem to match ‘you’; it doesn’t seem the kind of car you’d choose at all.”
“Debbye shrugged, blushed, and grinned. “It wasn’t my choice. When I started college, I needed a car and didn’t have enough for anything decent. My folks offered to buy me one if I’d handle the insurance, upkeep, and so on. They found me this LTD in “cream puff” condition at a surplus property auction and managed to get a good price. Working for the city or state government does have some advantages.” She chuckled, “Daddy says he wouldn’t have bought this car if I’d been a son rather than a daughter.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“It seems that, though it was driven by an ‘administrative fur’, it still had all the mechanicals for a full ‘police package’ and you know what kind of drivers young male furs are.”
“I do indeed. I saw some real reckless driving while in college; even refused to ride with a couple of furs. I think, perhaps, you’d best not let Rava see this. She’d start drooling at the thought of what she could do with it.’
“Really?”
“Really! She’s an excellent mechanic as well as an engineer and always has an eye out for good material.”
“Then I’ll be careful,” grinned the squirrel. “After the effort to fit this car out the way I wanted, especially since the stereo fit so nicely where they took the radios out, I want to enjoy it.”
Lee grinned at that and they traded small talk for the rest of the trip. Finding a decent parking spot at the mall, they dropped both rolls of film off and strolled paw-in-paw to the multiplex at the other end of the mall.
“So what will we be watching?” asked Lee as they neared the ticket booth.
“I thought ‘Sixth Sense’ would be a good choice. From the reviews it sounds like something we’d both enjoy.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ve seen some good reviews, too; it’s not like some of Willis’ ‘stinkers’.”
Arriving at the ticket booth, Lee fished his wallet out and passed over the money. “Two for the next showing of ’Sixth Sense’, please.”
“Here you are, sir,” replied the young femme. “The last showing just finished and the next showing doesn’t start for a half-hour.”
Lee looked at Debbye, who nodded. “That’s okay, I imagine we’ll be able to pass the time.”
Seeing how close they were standing, the ticket seller grinned and drolly replied, “No doubt.”
As they padded inside, Lee looked over the mammoth refreshment stand and then turned to Debbye. “See anything you want?”
“Besides you?” she giggled. “Something to drink, I think. Could we share a large popcorn if there’s any fresh? I don’t see anything else I really care for.”
“Any preferences?”
Well, diet cola for the drinks and, if you can get it, unbuttered popcorn. A gal’s gotta watch her figure.”
“Yours is quite nice and I enjoy watching it,” quipped Lee with a smile as he headed for the counter.
“Trust you to notice,” she chuckled.
Carrying a tray holding their refreshments, Lee followed Debbye to the theater for their movie and then to seats in the back row. Debbye grinned, “I thought we’d get a bit more privacy this way.” Lee’s answering grin was sufficient.
Settled in, with his arm around Debbye and her paw in his lap to help hold the popcorn, they indulged in small talk, and the occasional gentle kiss, while waiting for the movie to start.
Some two hours later, they left the theater, paw-in-paw, and headed back down the mall. “You have to admit,” commented Lee, “that the film makers played fair with the viewers. There were plenty of clues as to ‘Malcolm’s’ state.”
“True,” answered Debbye as they padded along. She grinned, “I didn’t catch one ‘til afterwards. In the scene where Cole is describing his ability, the camera focuses on Malcolm when Cole tells about some ghosts not knowing that they’re dead.”
A stray thought brought a laugh to Lee. At Debbye’s quizzical look, he explained. “I told you that both of my grandfathers came from Chicago?”
She nodded.
“Well, both of them have told stories about the political machine there and I can imagine both of them making the same comment about that movie.”
“Which is?”
“If it had been filmed in Chicago, Cole’s line would have been ‘I see dead people…and they’re voting.”
“Tch,” responded Debbye as they arrived at the film developer. Lee passed over his claim slips, paid the charges, and accepted two envelopes of prints.
Debbye looked askance at the two envelopes, “Kinda thick, aren’t they?”
“Not really,” replied the cat. “I ordered double prints so we’d each have a full set.”
“Thanks.”
They continued their conversation on the way to her car and then on the way back to Lee’s place. Escorting Debbye to the couch, Lee laid the photo envelopes on the coffee table. “Something to drink, dear one?” he inquired.
“Yes, please. Some more diet soda?”
“Coming right up.” Lee stepped away and quickly returned with two tall glasses. Passing one to her, he sat down beside her.
Opening the envelope of prints from the practice roll, Lee separated them into two sets and passed one to Debbye. Sitting side by side, their tails intertwined, they reviewed the shots; discussing what worked in setting up the photos and what didn’t for these photos. For those photos that didn’t work out as Debbye intended, they went over other approaches that might yield the image she was trying for. Finishing the 12 prints, Lee placed the negatives with his set and offered Debbye the print envelope for her set.
“Gladly, thank you,” she answered with a dimpled smile.
Turning to the second envelope, Lee again separated the two sets but this time he placed his set to one side and slid his arm around Debbye. “I thought we’d look at these together,” he answered the squirrel’s questioning look and then softly kissed her cheek.
Debbye’s blushing grin evidenced her approval of this; her arm sliding around his waist and her paw on his thigh further showed her feelings. Starting with the basic shots, they reviewed the prints. The evidence before him and the comments of his companion gave Lee and encouraging appreciation of the femme squirrel’s feelings. When they got to the “special” photos that she’d taken, Debbye blushed a bit but continued going through them with the cat. After they’d discussed the sixth and last such picture, Lee turned to the lightly blushing squirrel, “Does my body really affect you that strongly?”
She blushed more deeply but met his gaze squarely, “I find you quite attractive, but I enjoy your mind even more.”
He bent over to kiss her cheek as she moved to meet him directly in a deep kiss and their tongues played together for a bit. Murring softly, Lee pulled back a bit. “I think that answers my question. Shall we continue with the pictures I took?”
Nodding, Debbye snuggled back against him as they returned to reviewing the prints. Her turn, now, for the evidence before her eyes and the comments from her companion to convey the nature of his feelings. When the first “special” that he took came up, she looked it over carefully and then looked at Lee. “Tell me,” she asked in a somewhat husky voice, “how you see me in each of these pictures.”
Turning to the first picture, depicting her head resting on crossed paws with slightly closed eyes, Lee answered, “I tired to get your dreamy, imaginative side here.” Debbye smiled as they moved to the next shot where her chin rested on interlaced paws supported by her forearms while her face held an open, quizzical look. “That,” chuckled Lee, “is the side of you that’s curious about things and furs.’ Debbye nodded as they proceeded to the third photo. In this one, she lay on her tummy, her arms crossed on her chest with an open, smiling face presented to the camera.
“Even I can read this one,” stated Debbye. “It’s the open, friendly side of me; though I don’t think I’m normally that open to other furs.”
“I couldn’t say” responded the feline, “you’ve always been that way every time I’ve been with you.”
“Well..” continued the squirrel with a hint of blush. “I’m not always that way. I often feel shy and get somewhat standoffish.”
Lee’s silent answer was to just hug her close and stroke her headfur and upper back. After a few moments of silent communication, they returned to reviewing the three remaining picture. The next one, the first taken on her car, showed her perched on the left front fender, right foot paw braced on the bumper, with her left paw braced on her hip and her right paw shading her eyes. “I see this as your adventurous side,” offered Lee, “the part of you that’s willing to step out and try something new or different.”
The squirrel blushed. “I don’t know if I’d go that far,” she demurred, “I don’t often do that. It’s only when I’m with special company,” here she looked directly at him, “that I feel secure and comfortable doing that.”
The smiling feline bent his head and softly kissed her forehead. “Then may you always have that special company,” he murmured almost prayerfully.
Her eyes shining, the squirrel’s soft “Thank you” spoke as loudly as her gentle kiss on that cat’s cheek.
Betraying a touch of nervous excitement, Lee lead in returning attention to the next photograph. The photograph itself did not reduce his nervousness. In it, Debbye lay across the hood of her car, on her side, with her head pillowed on an outstretched arm, her free leg bent, and her tail curled over her lower torso and hugged to her. A slow, soft smile completed the look. At the squirrel’s questioning look, a slightly nervous cat blushed and answered, “Sexy and innocent; you’re a most devastating combination, dear one.”
Debbye smiled around her blush as her paw slid up to caress the fur at his neck. “Dear, sweet cat; you flatter me extremely. No fur has ever called me ‘devastating’ before.”
“Maybe the right fur hadn’t found you before.”
Her ears blushing, she kissed his muzzle again and added a gentle lick. “Shall we look at the last picture?”
Not trusting himself to speak, due to his excited reaction, Lee nodded. The final picture in the set had Debbye laying back on her car hood, paws behind her head and elbows back, with her right leg draped over the fender, her left foot braced on the fender, her tail curled between her legs, and a welcoming smile on her face. “Your sexy, sensual side,” whispered the cat through very evident nervousness.
“Me?” Questioned the squirrel. “You see me that way?”
The feline’s nod was sufficient verification, though his nervousness and other signs clearly supported that conclusion. “That meets, I hope, with your approval?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” replied Debbye. At Lee’s crestfallen and worried expression, she laughed, “It meets with my most enthusiastic approval!!” With that, the paw on his neck pulled him toward her waiting mouth.
Needing no further encouragement, the pair embraced tightly as their tongues tangled in a fervent sharing of feelings. Maintaining the embraces, they progressed to nuzzling and licking each other’s neck fur in mutual pleasure. A certain satiety eventually led them to relax back on the couch in a close embrace.
Nuzzling her, Lee murmured, “If we didn’t already know it, this afternoon has definitely made plain how we feel. I don’t think ours is going to be a short-term relationship.”
“Indeed,” whispered Debbye. Her impish smile hidden as she pressed against his throat, she continued, “In fact, I think it’s time to make this a bit more ‘official’. Next time, why don’t you pick me up at home; I think it’s time you and my folks met.”
Lee started momentarily then resumed his embrace with a smile. “I’ll be very pleased to, my dear. I’ll be most interested in meeting the parents who could produce such a delightful femme as yourself.”
Debbye giggled as her ears blushed again, “Such shameless flattery – don’t you dare stop!’
The cat moved back a space and ran his paw down her cheek, “ ‘Tis not flattery if it’s what you truly believe.”
After a blissful smile of pleasure, her head turned as she licked his paw. “I feel the same about you, Lee.” She giggled, “You really are the answer to this femme’s prayer.”
Blushing briefly, he answered by pulling her close in a soft kiss. “I’m humbled, dear one.” He held her there for a bit, then moved back to a close embrace. “Much as I’d like to stay like this, I think we’d best go for dinner.”
The squirrel considered, “That sounds good to me, any thoughts about where?”
Lee raised a questioning eyebrow, “Chinese? I know a real good place for that.”
Debbye nodded after a moment’s thought. “Sounds good to me.”
Lee placed the photos in the envelope, carefully separating both ‘special’ sets of photos. “You might not want to show these to your folks,” he grinned.
“Yeah, that’s probably wise,” she agreed light-heartedly. “Got a separate envelope for them?”
“Certainly”
Moments later, Lee returned with a plain envelope for these prints. Placing both envelopes in her purse, the femme squirrel accepted his offered paw and stood. Linking her arm with his, they headed for the door. “Your car? After all, you know where you want to go.”
“My pleasure, dear squirrel,” he replied as he locked the door and they headed to the parking lot.
- - - - - - - - -
As the last car of the day left, Lyman collected the record sheets and placed them in the folder provided. Turning to the snow leopardess beside him, “May I offer you a ride back?”
“You may; thanks,” giggled Mandy.
The wolf-fox escorted her to his car, secured her properly in the seat, and hurried around to slide in, buckle up, and head back to the main assembly area. During the drive, his passenger surveyed the car with an experienced eye & paw, purring with pleasure as she approved of what she’d found. “The green one over there,” pointed the femme as they reached the main area.
Guiding the car at her direction, Lyman wasn’t aware of her car until she bade him stop. Getting his first good look, his eyes widened and he let a low whistle, “A Sunbeam Tiger? Very nice, fair femme; very nice indeed.”
“Thank you,” she purred, pleased by his responses.
“Clean and obviously well maintained,” he continued. “I really like the way you’ve taken care of such a choice classic.”
He parked next to it and both of them sported smiles as they exited his car and padded up to the administration table. “Here you go,” he offered as he passed the folder to the badger. “We having the usual dinner tonight?”
“ ‘Fraid not,” grimaced Art. “they were booked up.”
“What dinner?” inquired the snow leopardess. “This is my first time here.”
“Normally we reserve a room at the local buffet,” explained Lyman, “ it gives everyone a chance to meet and greet’ without being too expensive. But apparently it won’t happen tonight.” He brightened, “In such a case, may I offer an attractive femme dinner?”
“I’ll join you for diner,” she agreed with a laugh, “but I insist that it be ‘Dutch’ this time.”
The wolf-fox raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, “I still get a fascinating dinner companion. Are we through, Art?”
The badger nodded.
“In that case,” Lyman continued as he turned, “I know a good steakhouse that we can stop at.”
“Lead on,” she replied with wave of her paw.
Lyman climbed into his car, fastened up, and headed out. She’s keeping up rather nicely, he mused to himself as her car stuck closely to him all the way to the steakhouse. They found the lot somewhat packed, but managed to find two adjacent spaces. Locking the cars, they strolled arm in arm into the restaurant. The young ring-tail greeter smiled as she saw them, “we’re crowded, but I do have a corner booth that’d suit a couple; I warn you, it’s a bit cozy.”
Lyman turned to Mandy and raised an eyebrow; with a slight blush to her ears, she nodded. The wolf-fox turned to the femme, “We’ll take it. Lead on.”
“Right this way, then.”
Despite the confines of the booth and the way their legs and tails couldn’t help but rub, they had a very enjoyable dinner. Lingering over dessert, they talked and found themselves becoming quite friendly. Lyman paused as they arrived back at their cars, “May I see you again? I greatly enjoyed today.”
“I did too,” whispered the snow leopardess as she softly licked his cheek. Reaching into her purse, she retrieved a slip of paper, wrote her name and number, and gave it to him. “I’ll be looking forward to it,” she whispered. With one last peck on his cheek, she slid into her car and, with a wave, drove off. Lyman stood there for a moment with a silly grin on his muzzle, then climbed into his Miata and headed for his apartment.
As he pulled into the complex, Lyman noted that Lee’s apartment was dark and simply headed for his place. As he opened the apartment door, he could hear the phone ringing. Racing for it, his answer was greeted by a relieved voice, “Lyman, it’s Cathy. Rava finally let her guard down this weekend and…”
- - - - - - - - -
Lee and Debbye pulled into the parking lot of The Jade Palace and discovered that parking spaces were less than plentiful this evening. Finding one, they parked and strolled, paw in paw, into the busy restaurant. A party of two, they managed to get in without undue wait. Taking their drink orders, their cloud leopard waiter then inquired, ”Will you be ordering a dinner or from the individual items menu?”
“Do you have dinners catering to both vegetarians and carnivores?” inquired the cat.
“We have dinners for either,” replied the apologetic waiter, “but there’s not been much call for the two together.”
“Bother! I guess we’ll just have to order from the menu,” sighed Lee to Debbye.
“Not necessarily, look!” as she pointed to a buffet being set up.
“Just the thing,” agreed Lee with a relieved grin. Turning to the waiter, he continued, “we’ll wait and have two buffets, then.”
“Very good, sir. Would you care for some complementary soup while you wait?”
At the squirrel femme’s nod, the cat replied, “Yes, thank you. Two bowls of egg-drop soup, please.”
The soup arrived quickly and the couple enjoyed it slowly, engaging in pleasant conversation as they passed the time. At last the buffet was ready; they moved to join near the head of the line. He certainly checks the dishes over carefully, observed Debbye, but she kept her counsel as they passed through the buffet line. Finally, back at their table and eating, Debbye remarked, "I saw you examining every dish quite carefully. Are you really that 'finicky' an eater?"
"My name's 'Lee', not 'Morris'," grinned the cat as he mentioned a well-known feline restaurant critic, infamous for being finicky about the quality of food. "I am, though, a careful eater. I get a bad reaction to an ingredient they often use; I've found from sad experience that I need to be very careful."
"Oh? And what ingredient might that be?"
"Nothing fancy, just mushrooms," grimaced Lee, "I don't know why, but they make me quite sick, even if it's just finely grated ones in a sauce."
The squirrel nodded, "I can see why you're careful here, then. That's one of their favorite seasonings."
"I know," he smiled, "that's why I ordered a soup that doesn't ever use them."
"I missed that," she acknowledged, "but I will file this in memory for future reference."
The feline nodded his thanks.
Presently, the comfortably full pair left a more than adequate tip, paid their bill, and exited the restaurant. Strolling with their arms around each other’s waist, they took their time proceeding to Lee’s car. Holding the door as he helped her in, Lee inquired, “Feel like a drive and then a spot of dessert after things settle?”
“Certainly,” responded his companion.
After roughly a half-hour’s leisurely drive, Debbye was surprised when they pulled up outside the same ice cream parlor they’d visited the previous evening. “I didn’t think you knew where this place was!’
“Well, you did bring me here last night.”
“So?”
“After my hometown,” laughed Lee, “if I’ve been to a place once, and kept my eyes open, I can find my way there again.”
Debbye giggled and kissed his cheek, “Still, it’s thoughtful on your part. Thank you.”
A widely grinning cat helped her out of the car; he was still grinning minutes later as they exited the ice cream parlor and walked, holding each other’s waist, over to the park. Finishing their ice cream cones, the couple sat and cuddled on a park bench. After some pleasant time like this, Debbye stirred and looked Lee in the eye. “I need to warn you,” she started, “my folks, dad especially, aren’t going to be overly happy that I’m dating a guy six years older than me. You’d best be prepared.”
The cat nodded as he held her. “I’ll be prepared! Is there a particular reason or is it just the age difference?”
The squirrel blushed and hugged him close. “I’m afraid there is a reason. I told you about the guys I was interested in, first, but there was one who initiated matters when he saw me at a mall.”
Sensing her unease; Lee snuggled her close and simply whispered, “Go on.”
“Anyway, I was a junior in high school when this hunky raccoon of a college sophomore started showing an interest in me. His name was Parker Thompson and he was cool & laid back with a delightfully offbeat sense of humor. Things went well most of that spring, but over the summer he started pressuring me to take our relationship to a more intimate level. I didn’t feel comfortable or ready but he refused to take that for an answer and kept pressuring me.”
The cat let out a low, feral growl.
“Finally, I had to break things off and, when he wouldn’t stay away, my father finally had to ‘come down’ on him. Since then, he’s been a bit concerned when I see any fur more than a couple years older than me. Now I’m falling hard for you, a hunky cat, six years my senior, who’s sharp & confident with his own distinctive sense of humor. The similarities are going to be too much for him not to worry.” Sighing into his chest, she continued, “I’m sorry about the extra trouble, Lee.”
Holding her close, he softly stroked her headfur. “Nothing to apologize for, my very dear squirrel. I can understand why you were hesitant to tell me and I do appreciate your trust and confidence in me.”
The femme hugged him hard, “I was more than a little afraid scared the you’d think less of me and back off.”
“For that? Never!” he exclaimed with a strong hug for emphasis. “You mean way too much to me for that to put me off. As for dealing with your father, I’m confident I can handle that.”
Her gray eyes shining, the squirrel moved up to kiss him fervently. “Thank you, Lee, for being a fur I can talk to like this. You mean every bit as much to me.” Breaking the kiss, she placed her muzzle next to his while hugging him fiercely and they communed silently in the close embrace.
After some time to calm, they moved into a comfortable sitting embrace with her head on his shoulder. They talked of several “little things” as each learned more about the other. Finally, the growing night forced their return to Lee’s car and then his apartment. Inside, they again embraced warmly until Debbye broke the embrace and sighed, “It’s getting late and I do need to get ready for tomorrow.” Fishing in her purse, she retrieved a pen and a slip of paper and a moment later passed the slip to him. “Here’s my address,” she smiled, “ Don’t lose it.”
“I won’t,’ answered her cat with a grin, “it’ll go with all my other valuables.”
“Need directions?”
“I shouldn’t; I can read a map and I can navigate.”
“That you can,” giggled the squirrel. Sobering, she continued, “Now give me a kiss to keep me warm on the drive home.” The resulting embrace and kiss definitely served that purpose; it would have served equally well to keep her warm under arctic conditions. Breaking the embrace, Lee took her arm and announced, "Your escort waits, fair lady."
"Thank you, my good fur," answered Debbye with a small curtsey.
At her car, they again indulged in "one for the road" and a bemused feline watched the squirrel femme drive out of sight before turning to his remaining evening activities, albeit in a distracted state.
Debbye drove home; her memory of the last two kisses keeping a warm smile on her muzzle. Parking, she made certain that the two envelopes of prints were separate and then headed for the door. In the family room, her parents looked up from their reading as she entered.
"Good evening, darling," greeted her mother. "Did you two have a nice time today?"
"Sure did, mom," replied the young squirrel. Fishing in her purse, she retrieved the thicker envelope of prints and passed them to her mother. "Among other things, we got the prints of the photos we took yesterday. The practice pictures are first followed by the photos we took of each other."
Linda Squirrel opened the envelope as her husband scooted over to join her; both remarked on the improvements shown through the practice pictures.
"Lee's a good teacher," blushed their daughter.
"Passing on to the photos of Lee, both elder Squirrels grinned. "He is an attractive young male," smiled her mother.
"The least of his attractions," responded Debbye. "His mind and personality are quite attractive too."
George looked up, "We know something about his personality form what Alisia Nash told us and what little you've let drop. Care to enlighten us further?"
"Now honey," chuckled Mrs. Squirrel, "let that wait at least until we've finished with these pictures."
Debbye's father thought a moment, then grinned, "Okay, let's see the rest." They finished looking at the remaining pictures of Lee and continued with the photos of Debbye. After the first few, both George and Linda smiled. "He does seem to catch you well, darling," offered her father.
"Indeed," continued Linda with a raised eyebrow, "he does already seem to know you quite well, dear. Just how close are you two?"
Debbye blushed, "That's what I wanted to tell you next. We know that whatever's between us is strong and that our relationship isn't going to be a short-term one. Beyond that, we're not making any assumptions."
Her mother smiled and nodded, "I'm glad you're being sensible, darling. I hope you'll continue to be careful."
"I will, mom. Lee's a cautious gentlefur himself; I don't think you'll have reason to worry."
George sat up a bit. "He is? Are you sure he's not like Parker Thompson? You thought a lot of him at one time."
The young squirrel stood her ground. "Daddy, he's not like that at all. He's a real gentlefur who's been very careful around me. We both have strong feelings for each other but he's kept himself under control and been perfectly behaved."
Her father stoked his chin, "He sounds a little too good to be true. When do we get to meet him?"
"That's the last thing I wanted to tell you & mom. He'll be picking me up here next Friday night."
Her parents nodded. "Good," replied her father, "if you're going to be seeing him, I want to be certain that he and I understand each other."
The young femme groaned at the thought, then grinned, "He just might surprise you, dad. He's a lot more than most males I've met."
"That remains to be seen, darling; but I will keep it in mind."
"Okay, dad," she replied grinning. Collecting the photos, she continued, "I need to go get ready for tomorrow. G'night; I'll see you in the morning." She left for her room in a very good, but thoughtful, frame of mind.
Back in the family room, George looked at his wife, "This one seems to be special to her; I hope he's as good as he sounds."
Linda nodded, "She is growing up, George. You have to trust her to choose carefully."
George chuckled, "I know and it is a bit difficult; I think all fathers remember what they were like at that age and shudder."
Linda laughed and hugged her spouse close.