“Did you have pets growin’ up?” Dee asked one evening, watching Ryo grooming Dick the dachshund, making his sleek coat shine. Dee had just brought the little dog home from his evening walk, and Ryo was making him tidy again, having removed his outdoor wear. The coats kept him warm in the chilly December weather and made him look smart, but they tended to ruffle his fur, making regular grooming essential, even though he was a shorthair.

Ryo looked up from where he was kneeling on the rug, smiling ruefully, and shook his head. “No. I would’ve liked to, but first my folks said I was too young, and then they were away a lot on buying trips and didn’t think it was fair to lumber the people taking care of me with animals as well as their son. Then, when I was old enough to be left alone while they were away, I was too busy with schoolwork and after school activities to have time for pets.” Ryo didn’t ask Dee whether he’d ever had a pet, because he knew his lover hadn’t, growing up in Mother’s orphanage.

Dee flopped down onto the sofa. “If ya could’a had pets, would ya have had a dog?”

Chuckling, Ryo shook his head again. “Not with all the art and sculptures around the house, that would’ve been asking for trouble, and a cat would’ve been even worse, always jumping up on cupboards and shelves, knocking things down.”

“What then? No, don’t tell me…” Dee grinned. “A goldfish. No, a hamster!”

“Wrong!” Ryo was laughing openly now. “One of my friends had guinea pigs, and I wanted a couple of my own. They’re so cute and fuzzy, and I liked hearing them squeak. I even asked my parents if maybe I could look after them for my friend when he went on vacation, but my dad put his foot down. Said he wasn’t having rodents in the house, they were smelly, and too much like rats. I guess he had kind of a phobia.”

“That’s too bad. Guess it explains why ya took Biks to the pettin’ zoo whenever you could though.”

“My secret’s out,” Ryo said, grinning. “It did give me a good excuse to indulge myself, but also, I wanted Bikky to have the experience of being around animals, learn how much work it was to take care of them, in case he ever wanted pets. And I hoped it might help him avoid developing phobias. Someday maybe he’ll have kids of his own, and they might want pets.”

“Educatin’ the next generation for the future?”

“Something like that,” Ryo agreed, smiling.

“Bikky was lucky to have you for a dad.”


The End