With Jasmine out exploring with her friends, Laurie's day was a quiet one, at least by park standards. She killed and buried a few rabbits and scrounged some choice venison from another predator's partially-eaten kill, but that was about it. (It wasn't that food was hard to come by, but the two foxmorphs had found that meat that had "aged" a little had an interesting and pleasant flavor, like wine or cheese, so they kept replenishing their supply wish fresh meat and consuming the older stuff.) Evening had come and Laurie was about to head off to the meeting when Jasmine finally returned. She was clearly troubled. "Laurie," she said, "we need to talk."
Laurie was a little surprised to be referred to by her name; Jasmine had mostly been calling her "Mom," furthering the illusion held by their friends that she was in fact Jasmine's mother. This must really be serious, she thought.
The two sat down next to the stream by which they'd made their home. "Laurie," Jasmine sighed, "I...I..."
Laurie knew what was coming. "You don't want to change back."
Jasmine nodded. "I'm sorry...I wanted this for so long, and I...I don't think I could handle life as a man again. I'm sorry; I should have known this would happen if I became a girl anthro."
Laurie shook her head. "It's my fault, really. I should have known this would happen eventually. I guess we shouldn't have..."
Jasmine put her hand on Laurie's. "Please don't think of it that way. Our marriage wasn't a mistake. If nothing else, you helped me through so many hard times...I loved you then and I still do. And I'm not going to break my vows to you. Laurie, if you want me to, I'll do the best job I can of being Jason again."
Laurie shook her head. "I love you too. And that's why I couldn't ask you to give up the happiness you've finally attained. I've never seen you as happy as you are now, and I wouldn't take that away from you. But...I'm not a lesbian. And...I suspect you aren't either."
Jasmine blushed under her fur, ears drooping. "You're right," she said. "I...I think I'm in love with Mike, and...the other day, I let him do some petting. I'm sorry. And I'm sorrier that I didn't tell you before now."
Laurie nodded. "I forgive you. I guess that's another thing I should have expected. But...well, what I want to know is, what do we do now?"
Jasmine sighed. "I...I told Mike today who I really was. He said...that if I was free he'd take me. That he didn't care what I used to be, as long as I am what I am now. But...Laurie, I don't want to leave you. I still love you, I just want our relationship to be different. A different kind of love. I've been calling you Mom because...I really want you to be my mom. I want to be your daughter."
Laurie pondered the idea. "If you were my daughter," she said, "you wouldn't be my husband any more."
Jasmine nodded. "We'd release each other from the marriage. No hard feelings, and you can own everything but my personal stuff. Teenage girls aren't co-owners of houses, usually. And...if you released me from romantic fidelity, I'd do the same. Honestly, I'd like for you to find a nice todd to be your mate and my dad. But...Laurie, I only want to do this if you could be happy with it too. I don't want anyone else for my mom. So...if you wouldn't be happy this way, I'll go back to being Jason."
Laurie shrugged. "I don't know," she sighed. "It's a lot for you to ask, but I really want you to be happy. Let me think about it."
Jasmine agreed, and Laurie headed off to the meeting. Most nights she was there to provide support, but tonight support was what she needed, more than anything else.