After arriving home in the early hours or the late morning or whatever the hell it was classed as the house seemed so sombre and empty. Ashley and I tiptoe through it holding hands and inspected all the rooms as if it was haunted. We must have looked so silly and God knows why we where being like that but it was almost as if the house wasn't ours without Sally in it. Even though it was Sallys first time here she had been with us for quite some time now that it felt as though she had always been there.
We eventually made out way in tto the study as the grandfather clock struck at half past five and I made us a hot toddy and pulled Ashley onto my lap and we sipped it in silence both lost in our own thoughts.
"Why would anybody want to poison Sally Gabriel?" Ashley asked sadly.
I shook my head and signed deeply.
"God only knows darling. There are some sick fucks out there though." I said through clenched teeth.
"I love Sally you know Gabriel." Ashley said like a small child and it made me chuckle.
"So do I darling." I said giving her a little squeeze and kissing her neck.
"No but I really mean it. I never had a pet when I was little, well I think my dad my have bought Laura a rabbit or something years ago but that was it. We did discuss getting a dog when I was about 16 but we would never have been able to look after it so it would have just been too cruel to get one. Then we got Sally, well you rescued Sally and she just kind of...I don't know really...She just....brought us a bit closer some how, maybe....Oh I don't know but either way her being with us has been so nice." She said with a little smile.
I smiled too and thought about the day when I found Sally in the bushes and how she raised her fuzzy paws to my face as if she was destined to be found and loved by us. Then I thought about how I had to put her mother in a hessian bag and I felt all horrible then and tried to push it all to the back of my mind. Ashley was right though, somehow our fat ball of fuzz had just turned up one day and we just kind of fell on love with her in such a short amount of time, like the same day kind of thing, well I know it was for me. She was the kind of cat that had such an adhering persona and initially I wasn't a cat person but by God I definitely was now.
We finished our drinks and then continued to just sit there as the clock struck 6am.
"Shall we go to bed?" Ashley suggested casually.
My ears pricked up but my cock stayed soft and I laughed.
"Wow babe, you really pick your moments to offer to take me to bed."
Ashley giggled and I joined her. Then we started to chuckle, then we started to laugh. Then before we knew it we where in silent hysteria of manic laughter as tears tripped down our faces and I banged the armchair in release as Ashley slowly rolled onto the floor and clutched her sides. I could barley see her through the tears that blinded me and when I did managed to breathe and aid my aching sides the second I glanced at her the laughter erupted once more. Ashley was no better as she rolled about in a fetal position side by sides crying out with whoops of laughter as our wraped sense of humour took her further into lunacy.I eventually found my self kneeling besides her still laughing as she playfully slapped my arm still howling the house down which sent me over the edge with her.
By 10am we had both calmed down and had enjoyed another two hot toddies each followed by a shared but platonic bath with the jacuzzi settings on and where now all wrapped up and ready to go for a walk. It was pretty misty outside and we both felt the chill even with our coats on gloves on as we set off in a hap hazard direction through the landscaped gardens at the back of the hospital. We got to the lake and stood on the bridge and just watched as the birds and ducks floated about and I felt quite guilty that I did t have any bread with me.
As I pondered over y lack of thought for the poor wildlife Ashley turned to me and smiled.
"Hey, I'm outside." She looked at me with a sparkle in her eye.
I pulled a quizzical face at her and didn't understand what she ment.
" I never thought I would see the day when I could just go for a walk with you like a normal person." She said smiling.
I smiled broadly at her and put my arms around her and pulled her I to my chest.
"Jesus, me neither." I said with a soft voice.
"I know now isn't exactly the moment to discuss this and I don't want to jinx anything or you know, ruin the moment but....you do still scare me. Not like the pure terror I went through when you first kidnapped me, or you know all those random sex attacks you did to me, and who could forget the bloody handcuffs! Jesus! If I ever get arrested I think I will end up having a PTSD attack!" She said laughing and I smiled at her just listening to her.
I stroked her face and was gutted that my gloves prevented me from feeling her reddened cheeks.
"If.....If I could go back in time Ashley....and would change things....The only thing I would change is that I didn't kidnap you sooner." I say in full honesty as her eyes dulled a bit at my revelation.
"Sorry darling. But it's true. I'm a naturally dominant person. If I knew then what I knew now, I would have kidnapped you as soon as your parents died and took you away from all the stress of your Grandmother and Aunt. I am well aware that what I am saying is not exactly what you want to hear but it's the truth. I can't help being dominant and possessive, it's just my nature. I want what I want and I feel things intensely and when it comes to emotions I can be very laid back and placid you know because it's my job to keep calm when shit hits the fan. But when it comes to you its completly insane. It's like there is some part of my brain that just can't get enough of you and I just need you, I want you, it's. ....oh I'm just a fucking freak Ashley. I'm sorry." I mutter shaking my head at myself for being such a twat.
"Well as you said Gabriel people are less likely to be a psychopath if they love animals." Ashley said trying to lighten the mood as she patted my arm.
I laughed at her lovingly.
"God what did I do to deserve you eh?" I said pulling her in to me further to give her a massive hug.
"Well you just kidnapped me. " She said bluntly.
We walked around the woodlands after setting off from the bridge and just admired the scenery. I took her to the old hub shelter my dad built years ago. It was basically a rudimentary summer house with a home made fire pit and low benches made out of big rocks and wooden planks. It was a place my dad went in his younger dad's to get blind drunk with his friends and many years later a place I went as a teenager to get drunk with my own friends. It was looking a little battered now and I offered to take Ashley inside but she was very reluctant as she noticed an abundant of spider webs covering the front of it and one of the windows had cracked and left a gaping hole. That and the pad lock on the front of the door was rusted to hell so I couldn't even open it so I just peered inside and found it was now covered in moss and leaves and a few of the old chairs had started to rot away and the bar that donned the back wall needed a danger sign on it as it had started to collapse in places. Ashley pulled at ,e to come away from the hub hut because the roof had also started to give in around the back.
"Maybe I should have the gardeners take this down." I say sadly as I stepped back to look at my old homage.
" Think that's wise Gabriel but you know don't look to sad over it. I mean you could really get somebody in to rebuild it you know? With proper foundations and some good solid bricks and then maybe a cedar wood covering it all to make it look more authentic? And look here this old stone fore pit only need a little TLC so you could still keep that as well as just giving those benches a little renewal." She said walking around pointing and getting all prop decorator on me.
I stood back and envisioned what she described.
"You know what darling, that sounds like a good idea. I think when the spring comes in that this place could be my new project." I say dreamily as I visioned the old hub hut modernised.
"Really Gabriel? That's surprised me. I thought you might have started ordering some Thailand brides to add to your harem. " Ashley said with a stoic expression as she folded her arms and looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"Hmmmmm. You don't say? Well I don't think I will order any of those. I will just chase what I already have." I say edging closer to Ashley feeling playful.
"Oh no you don't! " Ashely said backing away but she too was smiling.
I ran towards her to play chase and she leapt off away from me and like two kids we ran laughing and screaming and making stupid noises through the woods until I managed to catch her hiding behind a tree. I got hold of her from behind and lifted her up by the waist as she squealed and wriggled about protesting that I had cheated.
I eventually let her down and propped her carefully against the tree and stroked back a few tredils of her hair that had fell from her high messy bun. Her face was all pink and shiny from running in the cold and she turned her head to the side and we just looked at each other, studying each other's features. Without noticed she leaned up and in and kissed me on the lips chaste and though I wanted to then enjoy a full make out session with her I didn't. I was behaving myself and decided that of she wanted to further the kiss I would let her take the lead. But she didn't and though I was kind of disappointed it didn't matter because as the weather began to grow colder as we walked around the old trees and small natural streams she took my hand in hers and asked could we go back to the manor.
We had been out all day and I hadn't realised the afternoon was almost gone until we had a pot of tea between us with some tomato soup and crusty bread and I noticed the day was drawing in fast.
"I don't want to sound overly obsessed or anything Gabriel but do you think you could just call the vets and see how Sally is? I know it's not even been a full day or anything and we are supposed to wait till they call but.....well she's all I can think about." Ashley said nibbling her lip.
"I'm so glad you called that one my love becuase I was dying to mention something but I thought you would think I was being silly." I sighed out in relief as I pulled y phone from my pocket and called the vets.
After my obsessive call of jittery and stumbled heart felt expressions to the vets anlut how our baby was doing, with Ashley leaning into the phone with me, Tessa assure me Sally had come round from her operation and was recovering well and that her antibiotic treatment was doing the trick and there was no doubt that she would be home with us very soon.
Ashely and I sat in the kitchen with yet another pot of fresh tea after the phone call and just looked around us like the whole house had been cleared out.
"Well now we know Sally is going to be ok, what are we going to do for the next few days?" Ashley asked with genuine concern.
"If I was in the right frame of mind my darling I would have started to ask you pleadingly and desperatley to preform inappropriate sexual acts with me on top of the kitchen table. But seeing as I have other things on my mind, do you fancy a game of scrabble?"
She looked at me in complete shock of my sexless revelation and nodded her head dumb founded as we took our mugs up to the sunroom.
