The Dead Cat

But it was already too late. I cringed as I heard the soft 'thud' of the car striking the cat.

"Oh, no!" Maxim said. "What did I just hit?"

"A cat," I told him.

ButHe pulled the car onto the side of the road, and we both got out and looked at the mass of black and white fur lying perfectly still in the middle of the road. At the same instant, a little girl of about nine or ten ran toward us. "Fluffy! Fluffy!" she called. "Hey, have either of you seen my...oh, no!" She spied the dead cat as well and began to cry.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" Maxim went to her and embraced her. "I didn't see him. He just came out of nowhere! I didn't have time to stop!"

"You killed my cat!" The girl backed away from Maxim and glared furiously at him.

"He didn't mean to kill your cat, sweetie." I went to the girl and embraced her as well. "It was an accident!"

She stood there silently, her arms crossed, still glaring at Maxim, who walked over to the dead cat and picked it up. "I'm so sorry," he repeated.

"Give him to me," the girl demanded. "I have to b-bury him."

"Would you like some help?" Maxim offered.

"Well...all right," the girl agreed grudgingly.

Maxim and I followed her to a small shed behind the house we were parked in front of. She opened the door and grabbed a shovel that was resting against the wall with several other tools, then led us to a spot in the back yard.

"Do you have anything to wrap him in?" asked Maxim.

"I'll get something." She dashed into the house and returned about twenty minutes later carrying a worn sheet and accompanied by a middle-aged woman, who gave us a questioning look.

"I'm Maxim, and this is my wife Lacy." Maxim smiled and extended his hand to her. "We're helping your daughter bury her cat."

"Oh...well, I'm Melanie Taylor, and my daughter's name is Brandy," the woman said.

"I'm awfully sorry about the cat," Maxim told Melanie. "He just darted right out in front of me and I didn't have time to stop. I'll be happy to buy you another cat, if you want."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," said Melanie.

"Aw, Mom!" Brandy protested.

Maxim gave Melanie a questioning look. "Well, all right, then," she consented.

"Great! I'll pick you up Saturday morning at ten and take you to the pet store, and you can pick out the one you want," Maxim told Brandy, who grinned.

"Do you have any kids?' she asked us.

"We have a four-year-old son named Seth and a year-and-a-half-old girl named Morgan," Maxim told her.

"Do you have any pictures of them?" Brandy's grief over Fluffy's unfortunate demise seemed to have been quickly forgotten. I took out a photograph of Seth and Morgan to show her.

"Oh, they're cute!" she exclaimed.

Quickly Maxim wrapped the dead cat in the sheet and buried it, and we were on our way. "Kids," he chuckled, shaking his head.

"I thought she was kind of cute," I said.

"Oh, she was. Definitely," he agreed. He winked at me, and I felt myself becoming moist in anticipation, knowing what was in store for me.

We'd hardly gotten the kids into bed and ourselves alone in our bedroom before he was tearing my pants off. "You didn't show enough sympathy for the dead cat," he growled.

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" I wailed. "Please don't punish me too hard!"

"I'll give you the discipline you deserve."

Pow! Whack! The blows came faster and faster, making my eyes sting with tears.

"Are you finished yet?" I asked.

"Not quite." He continued to rain blows onto my pink cheeks until I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Mercy!" I cried.

He grinned. "Are you going to be nicer from now on?"

"Yes, Daddy!"

He lay down on the bed and pulled me on top of him. He began to kiss me and play with my breasts, and I felt myself getting turned on all over again.

Saturday morning we rose early, got the kids up and ready, and picked Brandy up and took her to the pet store, which had a large selection of kittens in various colors.

"I want that one!" Brandy cried, pointing to a kitten that was colored similarly to the cat she'd just lost. "I'm gonna name you Fluffy the Second," she announced when the kennel worker placed it in her arms.

"Can we have a kitten too, Mommy?" asked Seth.

Maxim and I exchanged glances. "You knew this was gonna happen," I told him.

"So I did." He smiled wryly. "Which one do you want, Seth?"

"That one!" Seth cried, pointing. About a half hour later, we were on our way with two kittens in the car. "Thanks a lot for Fluffy the Second," Brandy said to us as Maxim dropped her off at her house.

"No problem at all," Maxim replied. "Glad to do it."

That night, he took it slow and easy, giving me soft pats on the behind at first, working up to harder and firmer strikes.

"What's it for this time, Daddy?" I asked.

Just because I feel like it," He growled. "Sometimes I just have to show my little girl who's boss." Wham! Bang! Smack! He gave me the spanking of my life!

One night the following week, we had Andy, Denny, and Mason over for dinner. Denny was still on crutches, so Andy had to pick him up and bring him.

"Hey, bro!" Mason said, hugging him. "Long time, no see!"

"It has been awhile," Denny agreed. "It's great to see everyone again. Especially you, Maxim. I'm glad you were finally able to come back to the United States."

"Thanks," said Maxim. "It's nice to see you again as well, Denny."

"Lacy told me you work as a security guard at the hospital," said Denny. "So how long have you been back?"

"It's been several years now," Maxim replied.

"And what do you do now, Andy?" asked Denny.

"I'm a stock clerk at a supermarket," Andy told him.

"And what about you?" Denny asked Mason.

"I work at my Dad's body shop," Mason replied.

I'd made fajitas, and everyone complimented me on how good they were. Seth's kitten, which he'd named Whiskers, rubbed himself against everyone's legs, then cuddled up to Morgan, who promptly sneezed.

"She does that every time Whiskers comes near," I remarked.

"I hate to say it, but I think perhaps she's allergic," Maxim replied.

After dinner, we all sat around in the living room talking about old times. "So, is the goofy golf still there?" asked Denny.

"It sure is!" Maxim told him. "I took Lacy there on our first 'real' date."

"What about the race track?"

"It's still there too," said Andy.

"How about on Saturday we go around and see all those places again?" Mason suggested.

"Great idea!" Andy agreed.

After our guests had left, Maxim helped me clean up. "That was very enjoyable," he commented.

"It was," I agreed. "But I'm afraid you're right. We are gonna have to get rid of the cat," I added as Morgan sneezed again.

"Later." He gave me a shit eating grin. "I've got other things on my mind right now."

As soon as the kids were in bed, he showed me what he was talking about. A few well-placed smacks were applied bottom, just to remind me who was in charge, I guess, and soon we were making passionate love.

"Aw, Mommy!" Seth protested.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," I told my son. "But Whiskers is making your sister sick. Maybe we can find another kind of animal you'd like even better."

"But I like Whiskers better!" Seth glared at his sister. "This is all your fault!"

"It is not her fault!" I said angrily. "Don't you dare blame her!"

"Come on, sport," Maxim said cheerfully. "Maybe we can get you a pet monkey or a pet dragon...or maybe a pet dinosaur!"

Seth giggled. "There aren't any more dinosaurs, Daddy! They're all stinked now!"

"Extinct," I corrected.

We took Whiskers back to the pet store and explained the situation to the owner. Luckily, Seth found a Shih Tzu that he fell in love with, and the owner let us exchange the animals. "So what are you gonna call your new puppy?" I asked my son on the way home.

"How about Simba?" Seth suggested.

Maxim and I laughed. "That's a good name," said Maxim.

Little Simba kept us awake all night long, crying and howling. It was several days before he got used to his new environment.

On Saturday we picked Denny, Devin, and Andy up and took them to the race track. Maxim let Seth ride with him while Morgan and I looked on. After that we went to the goofy golf course. I like to play goofy golf too, so Maxim and I took turns watching Morgan.

"That was a lot of fun," Maxim said after we'd taken Denny, Devin, and Andy back home. "It was just like going back in time ten years. You weren't with us the first time we went all those places, were you?"

"No, I was probably working at the hospital that day," I replied.

"Well, I'm glad you were able to come along this time," said Maxim. He stopped by the pizza buffet on the way back home. The sun was just beginning to set, bathing the atmosphere in brilliant shades of pink and purple.

"I talked to my boss about Denny," he told me while we were eating. "He said he's going to call him in for an interview."

"Good," I said, wiping pizza sauce from Morgan's chin. "I hope he gets the job. Then he can stay here."

"That would be nice," Maxim agreed.

After we finished eating, we let Seth stay and play the games for awhile and then went back home, where we watched a movie and then put the kids to bed.

"Time some discipline," Maxim said as he peeled my pants off me. "I can't start going soft on my little girl."

The first blow made me jump.

"Ow!" I hollered.

He laughed. "I'm just getting started!"

The spanks began to come, harder and faster, until at last he had me begging him to stop.

I was awakened at about two in the morning by Morgan's screaming. I checked on her and found that she was burning up with fever. I gave her some liquid Tylenol and rocked her but still couldn't get her to settle down. We were both awake until the wee hours of the morning. I was awakened by Maxim's gently shaking my shoulder.

"Oh! I need to call the doctor," I mumbled. I called Dr. Tanner's office, and the nurse asked me if I could bring Morgan in at ten. "Sure," I said.

"I'll take her," Maxim offered. "You've been up all night with her. Stay here and rest."

"Thank you" I replied, creeping to my bed and falling asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. Seth and I were just finishing breakfast when they returned.

"What did the doctor say?" I asked anxiously.

"She has another ear infection." Maxim sighed. "He said he's going to have to operate and put tubes in her ears. The surgery's scheduled for two weeks from now."

"Oh, no!" I groaned.

"It'll be all right." He came to me and embraced me and stroked my hair.

"Thanks," I said. "I feel better now."

A few days later, I was going in to work when I saw Denny working as a security guard in the parking lot. "I'm so glad you were able to get on here," I told him.

"Yeah, me too." He grinned. "I just started today. Hey, tell Maxim I said thanks for talking to his boss for me. I wouldn't have got the job if it weren't for him."

"I will," I promised. "Andy's gonna be happy, too."

The emergency room was slow that day, until about five minutes before I was supposed to get off, when a young woman who'd fallen off her bicycle and broken her arm came in, accompanied by Chad.

"Hi, Chad," I said with a forced smile, thinking about Lily and wondering how she'd take this. "How have you been?"

"Great!" he said. "I'm glad Lily and I decided to take a break. All that pressure was really getting to me, you know what I mean? I just met Nancy here last weekend. So far she's been a lot of fun."

I finished with Nancy and left for the day, wondering what I'd say to Lily the next time I talked with her. I got home a little bit later than I'd expected to. Maxim had already prepared and served dinner, and he and the kids were just finishing up.

"I'm sorry I'm a little late," I told him. "A patient came in with a broken arm and I had to take care of that before I could come home."

"No problem," he replied. "Things like that happen."

"Denny's working there as a security guard now," I continued. "He told me to tell you thanks for helping him get the job."

"That's great!" said Maxim.

As I was eating, I couldn't get the incident with Chad and Nancy out of my mind. "You seem awfully quiet," Maxim remarked.

"It's just that...the girl I was telling you about who broke her arm? Her name's Nancy, and Chad came in with her. They've been seeing each other."

"Is that so?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I don't know what I'm gonna say next time I talk to Lily."

"Well, they did decide to date other people, remember?"

"I know, but still..."

Maxim shrugged. "I guess she'll just have to get over it."

I sighed. "Maybe the thing between Chad and Nancy is just a temporary fling. I hope so, anyway."

A part of me dreaded hearing from Lily again, but as it turned out, she called that very night.

"Hey, girl! How are you?" she asked when I answered the telephone.

"I'm all right," I replied. "How are you?"

"Great! I just met the coolest guy!" she exclaimed. "His name's Ashton, and I met him at the gym. We had apricot smoothies together at the bar yesterday and got to talking together. Turns out we have an incredible amount in common. He's taking me out to dinner tomorrow evening. I'm so excited!"

"Boy, you sure got over Chad fast." I felt both relieved and disappointed. Now I wouldn't have to worry about whether or not to tell her about Chad and Nancy, since she'd found someone else herself. On the other hand, now chances of Chad and Lily getting back together seemed bleaker than ever.

"Well, maybe Chad and I just weren't meant to be," she replied. "If so, better to find out now rather than after getting married."

"Just be careful and don't rush into anything," I cautioned her. "You know you're still on the rebound from Chad, and you just met this Ashton."

"Of course I will be," she said airily. "How are Maxim and the kids?"

"They're fine! Maxim just re-connected with some friends he hadn't seen in a long time, and the kids have a new puppy named Simba. Morgan also has to have tubes put in her ears in a couple of weeks, so I'm kind of worried about that."

"Well, I don't have any kids myself so I can't really say I know how you feel, of course, but I hope everything goes well for her."

"Thanks." We chatted for a few more minutes and then said good-bye.

"Well, it turns out Lily's met someone new too," I told Maxim when I got off the telephone.

"That's good," he replied.

"I was kind of hoping she and Chad would make up," I said.

"Well, perhaps it just wasn't meant to be."

"Maybe not." I sighed. "I'm just glad we're still together and that things are going so well."

"Forever and always." He embraced and kissed me.

As the date for Morgan's operation drew nearer and nearer, I got more and more nervous about it. The night before we were to take her to the hospital, I paced back and forth anxiously in the bedroom.

"She's just so young to have to go through this," I fretted.

"She'll be fine." Maxim hugged me from behind. "This time tomorrow, it'll all be over with and we won't have to worry about it anymore."

In his arms that night, I finally drifted off to a troubled sleep. We got Morgan up early the following morning. Seth had spent the night at my parents' and was still there.

"Want toast!" Morgan demanded.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," I told her. "But you can't have anything to eat before your operation."

She began to scream angrily. "Sh, sh." Maxim held her and bounced her and sang to her in Russian. Fascinated, she stopped crying and just looked at him. As he pointed to various parts of her body, she giggled.

"What song was that?" I asked him when he was finished.

"It's called 'Mouth, Nose, Ears, and Eyes," he told me. We walked out to the car, he fastened her into her car seat, and we were off.

We arrived at the hospital, signed in, and waited to be called. Morgan dozed in her stroller as I nervously looked around the waiting room. There were a couple with a little boy of about six, and elderly couple, and a young man in about his early twenties who seemed to be alone. The little boy wandered over to us and stood staring at Morgan.

"My name's Dustin," he told us. "What's hers?" He pointed to Morgan, and I told him her name.

"I'm getting my tonsils out," he said.

"Morgan's having tubes put in her ears," I told him.

"Dustin!" called his mother, and he hurried back to his parents.

"Cute kid," Maxim remarked.

After awhile an attendant came with a gurney to take Morgan back. I lifted her from her stroller and held her tightly, reluctant to let her go. Finally I laid her on the gurney. "I love you, sweetie," I told her as I kissed her forehead. I watched her blonde curls until they disappeared behind a set of double doors.

I felt Maxim's arms around me, holding me tight, and rested my head on his shoulder. "It's going to be all right," he said softly.

While waiting, I picked up one magazine after another but failed to find an article that held my interest. Maxim read a book in Russian that he'd brought along. "What is it?" I asked him.

"Anna Karenina," he told me.

After what seemed like a very long time, a nurse came to talk to us. "The operation went well," she told us. "We're going to keep her here for observation for a couple of hours, and if everything continues to go well, you can take her home today."

She led us to the recovery room, where Morgan lay fast asleep in a crib. To me she'd never looked so tiny. I walked to her side and just stood there stroking her hair and watching her chest move gently up and down. Maxim stood beside me and took her small hand into his own.

It was perhaps thirty minutes or so later when her eyes fluttered open. "Juice," she said weakly. I took her into my arms and held her sippy cup to her lips. She took a few sips and then drifted back to sleep.

It was around lunchtime when they let us take her home. We stopped at my parents' to pick Seth up on the way. Maxim carried a sleeping Morgan into the house.

"Oh, sweetie!" Mom cried, patting my daughter's back. "Did everything go all right?" she asked me.

"Everything went fine," I told her.

"Thank goodness!" she exclaimed.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Seth cried as he ran toward us.

I put a finger to my lips. "Morgan had an operation this morning, so she doesn't feel very well," I told him. "You're gonna have to be a good boy and keep quiet so she can rest."

"OK, Mommy."

When we got home, Maxim put Morgan in her crib and then kept Seth busy with drawing and coloring and, when he got tired of that, watching a video. I watched Morgan closely to make sure that she was comfortable and didn't seem to be suffering any complications. They'd told me to call right away if there was any bleeding or swelling. She woke up at dinner time and ate a few bites but, other than that, slept for almost the entire day.

"Boy, long day," Maxim yawned as he joined me in bed that night.

"I'm sure glad it's over," I agreed. He gave my butt several light swats, a promise of pleasures to come. Then I snuggled into his arms, and we were both fast asleep soon.