After the excitement of the Halloween event died down, Julia and Thomas decided it was time that they got to know the rest of Travis's family. It would also be a good way to keep everyone's minds off the results of the election. When they called the Flecks to ask when would be a good time for them to come over for dinner, they were a bit surprised when the Flecks actually invited them over. But still, they couldn't turn down an invitation like that. It might be interesting to see how Travis's family lived.
The Fleck house was a little smaller than what Julia and Thomas were expecting. It was a house that wasn't too far from the Animalia fire station. The inside seemed a little on the spartan side, though with comfortable furniture. But this wasn't really unusual. Many uplifted animals were getting used to higher standards of luxury. For some, just sleeping in a comfortable bed and eating good food was enough. But at least they have a TV and a computer. Once they understand what there is to enjoy about being sapient, they'll be able to flesh out their home.
But for now, the main interest was in the backyard. Dallas might not have the most sophisticated kitchen appliances, but he definitely knew how to work a grill. The smell of baby back ribs and barbecue sauce was extremely tantalizing for the canines. Julia also brought a wild rice dish, which was still palatable to them. And thankfully soda was no problem for any of them to drink.
Considering most of the dinner was being made on the grill outside, the two families were sitting at a table that was set not too far from the grill for just that purpose. Travis sat next to his mom and across from Sarah. It was nice to have this big dinner, but Travis couldn't help but feeling a little dwarf. He was the only single-doser there. Everyone else there was a double-doser and easily towered over him. It was a little weird to Travis that Sarah, Malice, and his and their moms all looked to be the same age. Not that Sarah wasn't an unattractive age, not at all.
"So, what do you two do for a living?" asked Dot.
"Well, I work at the bank," said Thomas, "You won't believe how often I get 'guard dog' jokes now."
"Not as often as I get 'office bitch' jokes at where I work," said Julia, "And believe me, there are some who work there who deserve that title a lot more than me."
"Still, it's still more interesting there than it was before," said Thomas, "I guess that's one of the reasons I wanted to hop on the Animalia train so quickly. Life was so dull in Lyre before the virus got loose."
"I guess we could say the same thing, but we had a limited idea of what 'dull' really meant," said Dallas.
"So, did you two already know all there was to know about firefighting when you uplifted or did you have to go through a training course?" asked Malice.
"Well, we spent so many years with the firefighters that we pretty much knew all we needed to know. We just had to go through a quick test to see if we were qualified," said Dallas.
"So, are you the cop-crazy one that Travis has been telling us about?" asked Dot.
"I am not cop-crazy," said Malice in an annoyed tone.
"You kinda are, sis," said Sarah jokingly.
Even Julia cracked a smile and said, "You are a little bit obsessed with dating a police dog or wolf."
"Well, it's not like there's a lot in the fire department to choose from," said Malice before turning to Travis and saying, "No offense."
"None taken," said Travis, "You're probably a bit too much for me, anyways."
"So, is Travis your only pup?" asked Thomas.
"Oh, no," said Dot, "Before the outbreak, me and Dallas used to produce many pups for other fire departments and families that wanted Dalmatians. Travis was training to be a fire dog here when the outbreak happened." Dot paused and wondered aloud, "You know, I do wonder how the rest of my pups are. Maybe I could see if their new families would allow them to be uplifted."
"We shouldn't force it," said Dallas, "We can't uplift every animal or else the world would be thrown out of balance and I think plenty of them are happy enough being just dogs." He nuzzled his mate's nose and said, "Besides, we'll probably have more pups eventually."
"Pop, not at dinner," groaned Travis.
Dallas clapped his son on the back and said, "Better get used that sort of talk, especially if you want to keep dating her."
"And I thought you were outspoken," muttered Sarah to Malice.
Malice just grinned and said, "We're uplifted. Modesty is something humans normally know."
"So, I'm guessing you have no objection to Sarah dating Travis," said Thomas.
"Of course not," said Dallas, "She's a fine young lady, smart, pretty, and very nice. The only thing that's off is how much bigger she is than Travis."
Julia cleared her throat a bit and said, "Well, we did tell our girls to hold back a bit when it came to finding boyfriends. After all, we wouldn't want them infecting anyone and, well, I'd rather not be a grandmother too soon."
Dot reached over and patted Julia's hand. "I understand that feeling. Even if one of my non-uplifted pups had pups of their own, it would still be a shock to me. But I think I can trust Travis and Sarah to be careful even if they do get a little frisky."
"Of course, that all depends if you're willing to let them," said Dallas, "She is your daughter after all and you've got a better understand of what humans will and won't accept."
Julia looked between Travis and Sarah for a while and said, "To be perfectly honest, the whole idea makes me a little uncomfortable. When Sarah was starting high school, I knew she'd be going after boys eventually. But this, all of this...it's just something I never would have expected to happen. Even without the whole dog aspect, it feels like my little girl is growing up too fast. But still, I suppose I should let myself be more open to change, considering it's one of the corners of Animalian society. But I expect them to use protection."
"Exactly," said Thomas, "They can't even think about having pups until they're officially married and out of high school. Also, I think it would be a bit too much torture to have Travis have to stay single-dosed around Sarah for four years."
"You mean we can really-" started Sarah.
"Not right now," said Julia, "We're in the middle of dinner."
"She can spend the night if she wants to," said Dallas casually, "I think we'd have the right to see our son fully grown first."
"Don't worry. We already have some contraceptives," said Dot.
"Can we please not discuss this when we're eating?" asked Julia, "That's a basic dinnertime rule: no discussion of sex while everyone's eating."
There was a bit of an awkward silence after that before Thomas said, "So, what kind of sauce is this?"
"Oh, it's one of the firefighter's. I'll have to show you the recipe," said Dot.