"Mikey's Weekend"

Chapter One
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          I never really liked avocados.  Regardless of this fact, I found myself riding home in an SUV this Thursday afternoon, currently stuffed with avocados.  My mother is a chef, so naturally she makes lots of interesting foods for my family. I wasn't always a fan of the foods she made, but that didn't stop her from cooking them anyway. My mom's name is Lissa.  She wasn't in the car though--it was just me and my dad today. His name is Richard. He's a great guy. We went out to the grocery store together to pick up those damned avocados, and we complained about how squishy they are. No food should feel like that in your mouth.
          He's been great to me. My dad works as a business consultant, specifically for new businesses that are just starting out. Together, he and my mom help restaurants open up. We used to live in Minnesota, which means I miss snowboarding. My dad assures me we'll get out to the mountains this winter, like we always do. I don't think winter is ever going to come. Maybe we'll get rain, but I doubt it.
          We just moved here to a little town called Palm Harbor, in southern California. It's a suburb town, really. I don't like it. The air is thick with smog, and the sun is brutal. I'm a coyote, yet I love the cold. I know, I'm a freak, right? Tell it to my face, and I won't care. I've been called a freak more times than I can count. I guess I'm a loner. People are fucked up. Yeah, I'm 15 years old, and everyone tells me I'm supposed to feel this way. I'm supposed to think the world is fucked up. I think that's just an excuse. I ask questions, like, "Hey dad. Why is the world so fucked up?" And do you know what God-awful answer I get in return?

           "You're a young man, and the world is a confusing place for you right now. Trust me Mikey, you'll grow out of it. Everything will start to make sense soon enough... probably." My eyes rolled as I heard my father's recycled answers roll off of his tongue.
           "That's what they all say."
           "Well that must count for something, right?" My dad always had a way of cheering me up, even when I purposefully was set on being in a bad mood. He smiled, and I couldn't help but do the same.
           "Yeah, unless the world is ganging up on me. I think everyone has decided to get together and lie to me."
           "I think that would take serious organizational skills to pull off. A cohesive world-wide lie fabricated just to deceive you?"
           "I wouldn't put it past the world..." My dad just laughed.
           "Son, if there's a big conspiracy going on here, you can rest assured I haven't started it. Remember what I said about needing to be organized to start something like that?" he said with a smile.
           "Yeah... mom says you're so disorganized that she's surprised you still have your tail on you."
           "Exactly! So we can rule out one culprit of the massive world-wide conspiracy altogether. You can trust me." I don't know why we love having these absurd conversations. It's the way dad and I bond, I guess. It makes him happy.
           "I'm getting the feeling that the conspiracy might have been started by mom."
           "You might be right about that." We both had to laugh at that. As the polite snickers faded, we found ourselves staring down cold hard silence. I didn't mind. I liked the quiet. However, my dad can't go two seconds without needing to start a new conversation.
           "How are you liking your new school?" Of course. He had to ask about school.
           "Meh... well I guess it could be worse."
           "Have you made any new friends?"
           "Dad, I've only been here for a few days... not really. I hardly had any friends back in Minnesota. I don't think it'll be too different here." He nodded his head and went back to focusing on the road. The face of a girl popped into my head, against my better judgment. A pretty face. The face of a squirrel named Emily. She had dark brown fur, and dark brown hair, along with beautiful amber eyes. She sings. She plays lots of musical instruments. She has a steady boyfriend--a venerable fuckwad named Chris.
           "There is this girl... I... no, forget it." My dad feigned interest. I wasn't sure if he was honestly interested in hearing a 15 year old boy talk about his lack of a love-life, but it was nice of him to seem interested anyway.
           "Oh really? Go on. I'm listening."
           "Well... her name is Emily. I'm sort of obsessed with her already, and I only just met her yesterday." My dad was a nice guy.
           "Maybe that means she's your destiny."
           "Ha ha, very funny." My father redoubled his encouragement efforts.
           "No, I'm serious. Maybe it's love at first sight. Is she a nice girl?" I had to breathe in a heavy sigh as I thought about her.
           "Yeah... yeah, she's real nice. And, she's got a boyfriend. A good guy. Taller than me." My dad let out the same heavy sigh I just did. I wondered if I was going to turn into exactly the same person as my father. The thought didn't scare me as much as you'd think.
           "Don't worry about it, son. Maybe it's just a small obstacle. They aren't married yet. Anything can happen. Don't let it preoccupy your entire mind. Just be her friend and let things happen naturally. Don't force anything. You're a good guy. A good girl will notice that, very soon." He smiled and patted me on the shoulder. We just arrived home. Home... was this actually my "home" or just my house? Nowhere felt like home to me anymore.
           "Yeah... whatever, dad. Thanks, I guess." My dad just rolled his eyes and grinned as he got out of the car.
           "Now there's a heartfelt 'Thank You' if I ever heard one!"
           "Blame it on my youth." I unbuckled my seat belt as we both headed to the back of the SUV. Those avocados weren't going to teleport themselves into the kitchen. He went first, and grabbed one bag. I picked up a bag after he was inside the house, and an avocado fell out.
           "Damn! Stupid thing..." I placed the too-full grocery bag back in the car, and bent down to reach for the fruit. As I did, I saw a pair of feet standing in front of me. They were fox feet. No, correction--they were vixen feet. And they were wearing cute sandals. The cute vixen paws led up to two glorious shapely legs, covered in soft, velvety rust colored fur. Gazing further up would have been inappropriate. Naturally I did.
          The legs and paws belonged to a woman I had only occasionally seen. She lived next door to us. I didn't know her name. She was about two or three inches taller than me. I hated being short. She was wearing a flower patterned sun-dress. It was casual, yet sophisticated, and when the wind blew against her, you could see the wonderful shape of her body underneath it. You could even tell by the visible shape of her nipples that she wasn't wearing a bra. Was she wearing anything else under that? She picked up the avocado and handed it back to me.
           "Did you drop this?" Her voice was sweet. I could feel myself blush. Damn.
           "Y-yeah, I think I did. Thanks..." I grabbed the avocado from her, and felt her paw brush against mine. Do avocados conduct electricity? 
           "Those baggers in the store always fill up the bags too full, don't you think?" She was making small talk with me. Holy shit.
           "I guess..." Why did my mind decide to go blank while talking to a gorgeous older woman who was obviously flirting with me? I wanted to talk to her. I just couldn't think of anything to say. She must have noticed my anxiety. By now, I was totally fucked.
           "Oh, I'm sorry. I guess we haven't even met before, have we? We're neighbors but I don't even know your name!" She held out her paw for me to shake. I wanted to take it and kiss it. I thought that would have been impressive. But I lost the nerve. I just shook her paw and introduced myself as well as I could. Her paw felt... neat.
           "My name is Mikey--er, um... Michael. Call me Michael." I grinned as she shook my paw.
           "Beth. Nice to meet you, Michael." The amazing Beth smiled a miraculous smile. I would never forget that intoxicating smile. My heart was racing, and all this vixen had to do was just look in my eyes and touch my paw. I wondered if this was what love felt like. Maybe I just wanted to boink her. Both possibilities seemed likely.
          The sound of approaching footsteps told me I was no longer alone with Beth the Beautiful. My father came back to get the rest of the grocery bags. He saw Beth and came over to introduce himself.
           "Oh, hello there. My name is Richard. Nice to meet you, miss..."
           "Hudson, Bethany Hudson. Nice to meet you too, Richard. Is Michael your son?" He looked down at me as he replied and patted me on the back.
           "Yeah, Mikey is my youngest, and he's a good kid." Why did he call me "Mikey" in front of her? Why did he say I was his "youngest" and that I was a "good kid", damn it?! I was so embarrassed. My unusually light tan fur must have turned a few shades pink as I blushed. "So you're our new neighbor, right?"
           "That's right. Just thought I'd introduce myself. By the way, that avocado may not be fit for eating anymore." I blushed even harder as I replied.
           "Yeah, I sort of dropped it... Beth was nice enough to pick it back up for me." My dad just shrugged it off.
           "Well, God knows we have enough avocados for now. Losing one won't hurt us. Come on son, let's go inside and help your mother! It was nice meeting you, Bethany. We'll see you around!" My dad smiled a hearty smile as he ushered me back into the house. I glanced back at Beth with yearning.
           "I hope so! See you later. Bye, Mikey!"

          She called me "Mikey"... Fuck my life.