"Um, Tiffany." Mitch said, opening the cupboard door and looking at what he had to work with, "You... you don't have to do anything. I'm used to doing stuff like this myself."
"What a gentlemen." She said with a giggle.
He bent down a bit to grab the bucket, then he cringed in pain. "Hey, uh, nobody's watching, right?" he asked.
Tiffany looked around. "No it looks like the lady is busy? Why?" She asked.
He took one more look around, decided there really was nobody in there with them, and with a quick motion, shoved his hand down his pants. In less than a second, the hole in his pants was once again serving its allotted purpose, and he exhaled in relief.
"Aaaaaaaoooooh."
It was hard to tell which was the more relieved, the boy or his tail.
"... so, I tell you what." he said, looking a lot more chipper now, "You keep a look out. Let me know if she's coming back, alright? I'll get this place cleaned up right quickly."
The cursed brown appendage wagged occasionally, clearly making up for being trapped for so long.
"Yeah I'll do that." Tiffany said and backed against the wall, watching the woman through the window. The lady never really did check on them. Perhaps she had forgotten about them.
Occasionally he went out back for more water, momentarily hiding his extra limb, but he was vigilant. He gave the dishes an extra rinsing, tidied and repaired the shelves and hauled misplaced sacks and bins. And even he went down to wash the floor into his hands and furry knees proper with a scrub brush.
The times where Mitch was on his hands and knees on the floor were...odd...for Tiffany. She couldn't help but think some donkeyish thoughts in her mind when happened. Even though the donkeys from Pleasure Island were small she knew that Mitch would be strong.
And Tiffany was right to think that. On all fours, he was working like an animal, his tail raised up in the air so as not to get wet or knock anything down. He clenched his teeth as he pushed and pulled, sweat filling his face and dampening his hair.
A full half hour later, Mitch finally looked his handiwork. The floor was absolutely spotless.
"It looks great, Mitch!" Tiffany exclaimed. "Oh crap! She's coming! Mitch hide it!" She exclaimed. "Hide your tail!"
He did, yanking it back through the hole and down his pant leg as he staggered back onto his hooves, leaning partially on a counter for balance.
Tiffany saw his tail squirm in his pants and Mitch's eyes tear up. It must have really hurt. She grabbed his hands. "It's ok Mitch!"
The woman came in. Mitch wiped the pain from his mind and put on his customer service face.
"Right, you kids, done yet?" she asked. Then she blinked. It was like somebody had slapped her in the face. Her eyes lit up in delight, and yet it was an emotion she were vastly inexperienced in.
"My my my..." she breathed, entering the kitchen and looking around, testing surfaces with her finger, "Ain't never seen the kitchen this clean before."
"I still need to dust and empty the sink." Mitch said, "I just need ten minutes more, ma'am."
She slowly nodded, unable to believe her eyes. He wasn't even done yet. "... yeah, yeah, y'all do that." she said, slowly turning and walking out, "I'll- I'll get Willy ta fix y'all something nice now. Clean yerselves up while yer at it."
Tiffany watched as Mitch went back to cleaning with a single minded effort. Nothing could distract him while he did his work. Again thoughts of what a good donkey he would be came again into Tifffany's mind.
"Ugh...Mitch have you had any...odd thoughts since getting back from the island?"
"Wh- what- what do you mean?" Mitch asked, hauling a large bucket of filthy water toward the outdoor drain, bowlegged and walking with an awkward stance.
Tiffany lowered her voice to a whisper. "You know..uh..." She blushed. "Donkey thoughts. Like...animal thoughts."
Boom. The bucket hit the ground as he gasped for breath. "So you're having them too, huh?" he asked.