Back at the house, Jeff and Emma look over the new thirty-eight-year-old behemoth they just created. Jeff starts scratching under his chin with his thumb-paw finger before asking Emma, “What animal should he be. I mean, I really don’t want another wolf in the house, with three of us being wolves. But then, do we make him a tiger like Jared?”
“There is the face too, we may have made him ‘too’ big for mom as it is. I mean, that is twelve inches right there, if that grows, she maybe in pain.” Emma replies.
Jeff snickers, “Then I guess equestrians are out.” He jokes, receiving an elbow from Emma.
“Yeah, you’re a Jackass already.” Emma replied. “But seriously, what do we make him? We don’t have much time now.”
“Well, Mom has always liked Tanukis, so why not a raccoon dog?” Jeff suggests.
Emma nods her head. “Okay, he is still a canine, but not a wolf or dog per say. I like that.” Emma starts making the changes into the Chronivac, “Let’s see, Standard brown and black or red and black?”
“Red and black.” Jeff replied before looking at the time on the computer. “Crap, mom should be at the coffee shop already, if not already done. Make the changes and teleport him to the coffee shop.”
Emma types away furiously, “Okay, the changes will be instant, and he should appear just outside the store and coffee shop in his new car.” Emma then hits enter.
At the store, Susan is drinking a small coffee, catching up on a book on her phone. She had made it store with very little traffic and was about ready to return to her hectic life by doing her shopping for the weekend. As she takes another sip of her coffee, her eyes catch a sight that she didn’t usually find outside her home.
Walking around the corner of the store entrance was a large tanuki man, about seven feet tall, well-groomed amber and brown fur, a short muzzle but long and fluffy tail. His foot paws were clean, his hand paws manicured. Susan even found herself looking just below his fanny pack at his large bulbed sheath and matching balls. If there was ever a time for her to be happy that Antro’s didn’t wear clothes, this was it.
The man orders a large coffee, taking a number to go and find a seat. As he looks around, he sees that the only table in the small, attached coffee shop that he could even hope to fit was the one that Susan was sitting at. He walks over, to Susan’s beating heart, and lowers his head solemnly.
“Forgive me ma’am, but do you mind if I sit with you?” The tanuki man asks. “I am afraid none of the other tables will fit me.”
Susan, unable to speak to the handsome anthro, clears her throat. “Sorry, um… Yes, you can. I guess I got choked up.”
“Meeting an antro for the first time sometimes does that to people.” The tanuki man replies as he pulls out a chair and takes a seat. He swings his tail around under the table, keeping it from tripping up the other customers.
“Well, truth be told, I have a house full of anthros.” Susan replied, “All my children are anthros.”
“Oh,” the Tanuki man nods in surprise. “If it is not out of place to ask, is your husband an anthro? It’s been a while since I have talked to another anthro.”
“No,” Susan replies looking down at her coffee cup. “He wasn’t. He passed away a while back.” Why was she telling this man this, She never tells anyone she thought. She looks back up, seeing his sadden face. “It’s fine, I have delt with it. Had to for my kids. You see, I have two sons from him, a wolf and a white tiger, Jeff and Jared. And then I adopted two wolves from a bad situation, Emma and Noah. They are my world now.” Susan takes a sip of her coffee, still not understanding this need to talk to the Tanuki. “Oh, my name is Susan.”
“Forgive me Susan, I am Thomas. But you can call me Tommy.” Tommy replies. “I just came into town to check on the house I am building. Unfortunately, it is behind and now I need to pick up some things from the store before finding a hotel. When I saw the coffee shop, I just had to stop in.”
“Oh, where are you from?” Susan asks.
“Further South here in Texas, The Corpus Christi area. I love it there, but the sand always gets into my fur. That is why decided to look around here in Poth. It was just far enough away to be country, but not too far from where I was born.” Tommy answers.
“Much family still there?” Susan asks.
“No, my parents have already passed away and I had no siblings.” Tommy responds. “Made it easier to decide to move. I also work from home, so no real job to worry about either.”
“What do you do?” Susan asks. “I handle medical billing from home, part time. Most my time goes to the kids though.”
“Oh, I am an investor. I have some investments in different developments in around Texas and they bring in enough for me not to worry about much.” Tommy replied. Tommy then hesitantly asks, “So, tell me about your kids.”
“Oh, I would need another coffee for that.” Susan jokes. “Besides, I need to get to shopping too.”
“Well, how about this, why don’t I buy you another coffee? Then after we talk some more, I can help you shop as you show me the layout of the store? Deal?”
Susan thinks for a minute. It wasn’t like her to talk to a strange man, but she was drawn to Tommy somehow. Her heart throbbed and her womb ache. She wanted to learn more about this Tanuki. “Sure.”