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Description
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round, all the live long day…

It wasn’t so much that the Kidzballadz cassette had been put on for the 18th time, but that his mother and ‘live-in aunt’ had to contribute their windpipes every damn time! And that song! It brought back memories of that awful bus they’d rode on prior. With the possum lady who smelled of haemorrhoids and sardines, and those nanny goats who kept handling him like he was a porcelain doll…Even if the memories of his and Eurydice’s former life on the street were fading, he was tired with all these changes in scenery. Knashford would gladly reject this bawdy rental car filled with caterwauling, and return to the flickering lots he had inhabited with his mother after birth.

The wheels on the bus go round and round…

“Hey, Mittens?” Eury blurted, after a session of deciphering the mile-long road map whilst devouring dozens of Swedish Fish. “Your parents… don’t make you do anything you don’t want to do… right?”

“Course not. If they did, I couldn’t call them my parents!”
“And they don’t regret you.. right?”
“Eury, I’ve told you 76 times. They love ALL of me. I mean, they were a little shocked, Dad moreso, when I dropped the L-bomb, but they’re good with this.”
“Oh. Okay.” Another fake read of the map.

“…They’ll welcome me and Ford, right? They won’t eat him?”
Mittens thought to scowl, but decided it unnecessary.
“No. No they won’t.” She grinned. “You’re too tough to eat anyway!”
“Yeah, dip me in tartar and I’d still break your teeth!”
They laughed in harmony.
“Stop that noise!” yelled the backseat driver.

The wheels on the bus go round and round…

………………………

FFZT! BZZT! FGGGHHT!

They were back from the steel mill early. Hope there wasn’t an accident, Manfred stressed. He took one paw into the towering shed, thought better of it, then waited outside in case of one last… FZZT!… there we go.

Inside, past the undertow of rakes, hoes, rusty bicycles and whatnot, a masked figure examined their latest metallic prometheus. Behind the thick gloves and visor, you could tell they weren’t able to fully deem the object’s worth on their opinion alone. It turned to Manfred, throwing down their welder and hammers like a boss.

“Hiya, Sweetie! Do you like it?”

Manfred stared at the monument. It looked like a glumph of melted black gum with soggy spikes protruding the sides. Not exactly Lovecraftian, but you could lose a bit of sleep if you spotted a face in there.

“Well, ah… it’s a work of art. An act of hard work.” And that mustered bit of half-truth came from a decade of working in newspapers, thank Dog. Besides, he admired their dedication to the product. Plus, the artist was a masterpiece in herself.

“Oh goody!”
The dark plastic overalls came off to reveal a bewitching 6-foot coyote with a river of black hair behind her, Bell-bottoms, a gray-pink sweater and a pair of giant ruby-quartz sunglasses engulfed her face. How could she dress like it was still 1967 and be the most fashionable animal in the room? Mary Sue Malone was one in a universe.

“Any sign of them yet? I do hope they get here before dark. After all, our baby wears so much black that she’d blend right into the woods!”
“Ah, no.. she just said around 5. On some day. Ahh, dear, did she say exactly who she was bringing along?”
“Not exactly, just that her name’s Eurydice. Eurydice… what a lovely name. Makes you think of those grand old Greek myths, don’t ya think?”

Perhaps I should have read the article next to the photo? Wasn’t there something about a school who had kicked out an exotic animal a while back?…

“Y-yes. Now ah, do we have any precautions planned? In case…”
“In case what?”
“This… girl… has special requirements. Maybe… dietary?”
A rare frown from Mary. “You’ve been going to Chuck’s again, haven’t you?”
She could read him like a book.

“Well, he does have good intentions. Or warnings, I should say. And cheap snacks.”

“And now you’ve spoiled your appetite! You’re in hot water now, mister!” A trilogy of books. “I’m afraid your punishment is a plate of steamed asparagus and a soppy wet kiss!” Her scratchy tongue lick was welcome, and lead to a bit of playful rolling and nipping on the floor.

“Now, go set the table, and don’t let me catch you going to that bogus convenience again, you silly old Alpha!” Alpha. Only she could call him that without sarcasm or guffaw, even though Manfred looking nothing like an ideal wolf pack leader.

But Manfred saluted, and ran off into their two-story triangle lakehouse. Mary smiled, then turned and examined her latest creation for Bellhound’s bi-annual community art show. A bit directionless, but there wasn’t going to be any real competition anyway (besides Agatha Anaconda’s portraits of sad-eyed kittens). Maybe I’ll just enter that one with the two kids in the boat, or that represents the fragile bubble of innocence, and then…

She hadn’t realized it, even though the subconscious had been blunt during the commission. Oh. Right. It would’ve been…. She quickly pulled the tarp over the products.

The smile was still on her face. But the motive for it was long gone.

Continued...

Description
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round, all the live long day…

It wasn’t so much that the Kidzballadz cassette had been put on for the 18th time, but that his mother and ‘live-in aunt’ had to contribute their windpipes every damn time! And that song! It brought back memories of that awful bus they’d rode on prior. With the possum lady who smelled of haemorrhoids and sardines, and those nanny goats who kept handling him like he was a porcelain doll…Even if the memories of his and Eurydice’s former life on the street were fading, he was tired with all these changes in scenery. Knashford would gladly reject this bawdy rental car filled with caterwauling, and return to the flickering lots he had inhabited with his mother after birth.

The wheels on the bus go round and round…

“Hey, Mittens?” Eury blurted, after a session of deciphering the mile-long road map whilst devouring dozens of Swedish Fish. “Your parents… don’t make you do anything you don’t want to do… right?”

“Course not. If they did, I couldn’t call them my parents!”
“And they don’t regret you.. right?”
“Eury, I’ve told you 76 times. They love ALL of me. I mean, they were a little shocked, Dad moreso, when I dropped the L-bomb, but they’re good with this.”
“Oh. Okay.” Another fake read of the map.

“…They’ll welcome me and Ford, right? They won’t eat him?”
Mittens thought to scowl, but decided it unnecessary.
“No. No they won’t.” She grinned. “You’re too tough to eat anyway!”
“Yeah, dip me in tartar and I’d still break your teeth!”
They laughed in harmony.
“Stop that noise!” yelled the backseat driver.

The wheels on the bus go round and round…

………………………

FFZT! BZZT! FGGGHHT!

They were back from the steel mill early. Hope there wasn’t an accident, Manfred stressed. He took one paw into the towering shed, thought better of it, then waited outside in case of one last… FZZT!… there we go.

Inside, past the undertow of rakes, hoes, rusty bicycles and whatnot, a masked figure examined their latest metallic prometheus. Behind the thick gloves and visor, you could tell they weren’t able to fully deem the object’s worth on their opinion alone. It turned to Manfred, throwing down their welder and hammers like a boss.

“Hiya, Sweetie! Do you like it?”

Manfred stared at the monument. It looked like a glumph of melted black gum with soggy spikes protruding the sides. Not exactly Lovecraftian, but you could lose a bit of sleep if you spotted a face in there.

“Well, ah… it’s a work of art. An act of hard work.” And that mustered bit of half-truth came from a decade of working in newspapers, thank Dog. Besides, he admired their dedication to the product. Plus, the artist was a masterpiece in herself.

“Oh goody!”
The dark plastic overalls came off to reveal a bewitching 6-foot coyote with a river of black hair behind her, Bell-bottoms, a gray-pink sweater and a pair of giant ruby-quartz sunglasses engulfed her face. How could she dress like it was still 1967 and be the most fashionable animal in the room? Mary Sue Malone was one in a universe.

“Any sign of them yet? I do hope they get here before dark. After all, our baby wears so much black that she’d blend right into the woods!”
“Ah, no.. she just said around 5. On some day. Ahh, dear, did she say exactly who she was bringing along?”
“Not exactly, just that her name’s Eurydice. Eurydice… what a lovely name. Makes you think of those grand old Greek myths, don’t ya think?”

Perhaps I should have read the article next to the photo? Wasn’t there something about a school who had kicked out an exotic animal a while back?…

“Y-yes. Now ah, do we have any precautions planned? In case…”
“In case what?”
“This… girl… has special requirements. Maybe… dietary?”
A rare frown from Mary. “You’ve been going to Chuck’s again, haven’t you?”
She could read him like a book.

“Well, he does have good intentions. Or warnings, I should say. And cheap snacks.”

“And now you’ve spoiled your appetite! You’re in hot water now, mister!” A trilogy of books. “I’m afraid your punishment is a plate of steamed asparagus and a soppy wet kiss!” Her scratchy tongue lick was welcome, and lead to a bit of playful rolling and nipping on the floor.

“Now, go set the table, and don’t let me catch you going to that bogus convenience again, you silly old Alpha!” Alpha. Only she could call him that without sarcasm or guffaw, even though Manfred looking nothing like an ideal wolf pack leader.

But Manfred saluted, and ran off into their two-story triangle lakehouse. Mary smiled, then turned and examined her latest creation for Bellhound’s bi-annual community art show. A bit directionless, but there wasn’t going to be any real competition anyway (besides Agatha Anaconda’s portraits of sad-eyed kittens). Maybe I’ll just enter that one with the two kids in the boat, or that represents the fragile bubble of innocence, and then…

She hadn’t realized it, even though the subconscious had been blunt during the commission. Oh. Right. It would’ve been…. She quickly pulled the tarp over the products.

The smile was still on her face. But the motive for it was long gone.

Continued...