Spencer had just enough time to rush home before her parents got there. She’d fallen asleep in the trees behind the Andersons’ house. What’s worse, she woke up covered in a veritably sticky mess. Thankfully she managed to race home and jump into the shower just as her folks walked through the front door.
“Spencer?” Evan called into the house.
“I’m in the bathroom!” she shouted back, vigorously scrubbing any trace of her night with Eric from her. The last thing she wanted her father to know was that she hadn’t just disregarded his curfew rule, she’d spent it with a boy.
“I’ll go check on her.” Maggie said. Evan nodded and followed his wife up the stairs. They went their separate ways once they reached the second floor, where Evan went into their bedroom to change his clothes.
“Showering?” Maggie asked, poking her head into the bathroom. A cloud of steam exited the doorway and hit her in the face. Once it clears she catches a glimpse of Spencer’s tail flicking against the shower curtain.
“Ya. Did you two, um, have a good time?” Spencer asked awkwardly.
“Yes. What time did you get home?”
“Uh, not sure. Late probably. Why? Is Dad mad at me for sneaking away?”
“No, he’s on cloud nine.” Maggie said, though she didn’t say the “cloud nine” part loud enough for Spencer to hear.
“Last night went well. I can see why you always come home with that daydreamy face.” Maggie said, distracting herself from the growing heat in her pants.
“Daydreamy?” Spencer repeated.
“Oh come on Spencer I’ve seen the way you look when you start talking about those two. Though it would appear both are off the market.”
“Kinda…” Spencer said, still scrubbing her body with at least five different body washes. A good deal of hair is getting caught in the drain catcher, causing the water to fill the bathtub up. She focuses on the little balls of fur forming at her feet instead of the look her mother is giving her.
“What does that mean?”
“Uh, it’s complicated.” Spencer said, pulling the catcher from the drain and letting all the soapy water run. She turns off the shower and pulls the curtain aside. Maggie is sitting on the toilet, giving her daughter a knowing look.
“Spencer, what aren’t you telling me?” she asks.
“Nothing, it’s not important. Are you going to work soon?” Spencer said quickly changing the subject.
“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” Maggie said. She hands Spencer a towel to dry herself off with. Normal hair dryers never did much good against the thick layers of fur. On Maggie’s maybe, since hers is just one dense layer. But not Evan’s or Spencer’s, which is made of guard hairs and them a thicker undercoat (Spencer’s a thinner than her father’s).
“Mom…” Spencer groaned.
“Are you two having some sort of party in the bathroom?” Evan called from the bedroom two doors down.
“Just having one of those mother-daughter talks.” Maggie shouted back.
“Right well, be sure to work in the part about Spencer still being on house arrest this weekend.” Evan said. Spencer groaned again from underneath the towel, which she’s thrown over her head.
“And tell her I heard whatever noise she just made.” Evan said, knowing his daughter like the back of his hand. He doesn’t need to hear Spencer to know she’s complaining in some way.
“Are you sure he hasn’t bugged the house yet?” Spencer asked her mom, only half joking. It wouldn’t be too odd, considering her father sent a drone after her when she went on a date with Jeremy once.
“Oh don’t be so hard on your dad. He’s just worried about you. Try not to let him get under your skin.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one being treated like a prisoner at Alcatraz.”
“Don’t over exaggerate, it’s more like you’re a prisoner at Rikers.”
“Mom!”
“Alright I’ll talk to him. But you have to start behaving yourself. You can’t go through life half invested in things. What do you plan on doing when you’re done with high school?”
“I don’t know. I’ve still got two years to figure that out don’t I? Besides, you went to college to be a lawyer and ended up switching majors.”
“Touché.” Maggie sighed. She leaves Spencer to her own devices and joins her husband in the bedroom. Evan’s already in clean clothing, and sitting on the bed looking rather irritated.
“Why do you have to be so hard on her?” Maggie says, closing the door behind her.
“She takes after you, that’s why.” Evan said.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It’s not entirely a bad thing. But I don’t think I can wait until Spencer’s in her twenties for her to finally start maturing.” Evan said. Maggie rolled her eyes. Truthfully she hadn’t really gotten out of her “wild child” phase until after she married Evan. She was just a bit better than Spencer at hiding her antics. Maggie was more than capable of playing the nice, quiet girl around Evan and then sneaking out with her sister to go clubbing or find someone to have a one night stand with.
“The less you know the better,” she thought.
“Isn’t house arrest a little extreme? She didn’t start a fire, she just changed a few slides in a powerpoint.” Maggie asked.
“You mean she didn’t start a fire YET.” Evan said, throwing himself back onto the bed.
“That, I believe, really was an accident. I mean how does a person set a pool on fire?”
“Ask Spencer, she did it.” Evan huffed, rubbing his temples. Maggie smiles and leans over Evan. The two stare at each other for the longest time.
“Would you like me to relieve some of that stress?” she said. Maggie leans forward to gently kiss Evan’s neck.
“Don’t you have to be at work soon?”
“I can be a little late. Or a lot late…”
Evan grins, and slides a hand up Maggie’s shirt. He skillfully undoes her bra clasp and then his own pants. He kicks them onto the floor and lets Maggie pull his own shirt off. Their chests meet as Maggie presses herself against him. Skin on skin turns into fur on fur as they assume their fursonas again.
“Oh great. They’re doing it again.” Spencer said when she passes her parent’s bedroom. She slips into her bedroom and, as she does so frequently, jams headphones over her sensitive ears to drown out the noises in the bedroom adjacent.