“Home Again” by Kergiby

Speaker: 00:00:01

You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.

Speaker: 00:00:03

I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,

Speaker: 00:00:05

and today’s story is

Speaker: 00:00:07

“Home Again” by friend-of-the-fireplace Kergiby,

Speaker: 00:00:10

who’s a part-time writer, and full-time panther.

Speaker: 00:00:13

He’s been writing furry work and explaining the difference between cheetahs and leopards

Speaker: 00:00:17

since 2010.

Speaker: 00:00:18

You can find more of his stories on

https: 00:00:20

//kergiby.sofurry.com.

Please enjoy: 00:00:23

“Home Again”

Please enjoy: 00:00:25

by Kergiby The town of Stagecoach was, to put it mildly, a shitshow.

Please enjoy: 00:00:32

First, there was the name.

Please enjoy: 00:00:34

Whoever had originally chosen the name Stagecoach was long-since gone,

Please enjoy: 00:00:37

but the interceding years and town governments

Please enjoy: 00:00:39

had never thought it worthwhile to rename such a terrible name.

Please enjoy: 00:00:43

Second, you had the vast no man’s land of culture that was the space between Colorado Springs

Please enjoy: 00:00:48

and Denver. The world seemed like it was moving forward, but Stagecoach always seemed like it was clinging onto a past of

Please enjoy: 00:00:54

simple farming, despite the fact that most of the people who lived that lifestyle didn’t even farm or have animals,

Please enjoy: 00:01:01

they just wanted to have the look.

Please enjoy: 00:01:04

Third, there was the way that everything seemed more crowded, and run down

Please enjoy: 00:01:09

despite all the new money that was flooding the state with the wealth of investors and businesses

Please enjoy: 00:01:13

that came in following Legalization.

Please enjoy: 00:01:16

The town had grown,

Please enjoy: 00:01:17

but there wasn’t any major industry or draw.

Please enjoy: 00:01:19

And building a large conference hotel across the street from the small movie theater was a choice that baffled everyone.

Please enjoy: 00:01:26

But, nonetheless, Avery was back here.

Please enjoy: 00:01:29

And she hated it.

Please enjoy: 00:01:31

She hated that this was where her life took her back after escaping it so many years ago.

Please enjoy: 00:01:37

The blue jay sat in the old coffee shop she’d frequented in

Please enjoy: 00:01:40

the days before she moved away.

Please enjoy: 00:01:42

Her wing ruffled,

Please enjoy: 00:01:43

her back off the booth

Please enjoy: 00:01:45

and trying her best not to be obvious.

Please enjoy: 00:01:47

She was not doing the best job.

Please enjoy: 00:01:50

It was odd enough being a bird in this part of the state,

Please enjoy: 00:01:52

but it was odder still to be a bird not native to this region of the country.

Please enjoy: 00:01:57

But even still, she grew up here, native or not!

Please enjoy: 00:02:00

She took a sip of her coffee,

Please enjoy: 00:02:01

sighing and leaning back in the booth,

Please enjoy: 00:02:03

her rough-skinned hands tapping on the mug.

Please enjoy: 00:02:06

“Avery?” The voice froze her entire body.

Please enjoy: 00:02:11

She looked up towards the voice

Please enjoy: 00:02:13

until she saw him.

Please enjoy: 00:02:15

The coyote she was once friends with so many years ago,

Please enjoy: 00:02:18

stood there looking at her.

Please enjoy: 00:02:20

He had a mug of coffee

Please enjoy: 00:02:21

and his leg was in mid-step.

Please enjoy: 00:02:23

His large ears were perked up

Please enjoy: 00:02:25

as if she’d made a sound he was trying to identify. “I

Please enjoy: 00:02:28

-Isaac,” Avery faltered.

Please enjoy: 00:02:31

So many years of confusion since,

Please enjoy: 00:02:33

but she could still remember the sting.

Please enjoy: 00:02:36

“I didn’t know you were back in town.”

Please enjoy: 00:02:38

“Just got here a few days ago,”

Please enjoy: 00:02:40

she said. “Wow. It’s so…

Please enjoy: 00:02:43

It’s nice to see you again.

Please enjoy: 00:02:45

If you want to catch up, we can—“ “No.”

Please enjoy: 00:02:47

She said. “I don’t think we’ll be catching up, Isaac.

Please enjoy: 00:02:50

Look, I’m not here to reconnect or whatever.

Please enjoy: 00:02:52

I’m just trying to drink my coffee in peace, okay?”

Please enjoy: 00:02:55

His shoulders drooped slightly,

Please enjoy: 00:02:57

but his ears! Those big ears dropped to his head and he nodded.

Please enjoy: 00:03:01

“Right. Yeah, no. Of course.

Please enjoy: 00:03:04

I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

Please enjoy: 00:03:06

He didn’t even say goodbye.

Please enjoy: 00:03:08

He took another step and continued around the corner of the coffee shop.

Please enjoy: 00:03:12

The taste of her coffee seemed suddenly sour. ***

Please enjoy: 00:03:16

Avery was on her bike after dinner.

Please enjoy: 00:03:18

She’d had to oil the chain and put liberal amounts of WD-40 on the joints, but she couldn’t handle being at home with her parents.

Please enjoy: 00:03:25

They were so kind and supportive

Please enjoy: 00:03:27

and they just wanted her to feel comfortable and didn’t they

Please enjoy: 00:03:30

get it? That was the problem!

Please enjoy: 00:03:33

The problem with all of this was how everyone ignored her fuck up.

Please enjoy: 00:03:36

Everyone seemed to put blinders on, ignoring what she’d done to try and make her feel better.

Please enjoy: 00:03:41

She didn’t want to feel better!

Please enjoy: 00:03:43

She wanted her life back.

Please enjoy: 00:03:45

Being back in Stagecoach wasn’t helping anything,

Please enjoy: 00:03:48

but the one piece of solace was the bike trail she was able to speed through.

Please enjoy: 00:03:52

She pedaled hard,

Please enjoy: 00:03:53

legs burning on the straightaways.

Please enjoy: 00:03:55

She leaned into the turns,

Please enjoy: 00:03:57

feeling the wind in her face.

Please enjoy: 00:03:58

When she was confident no one was around, she’d spread her wings and let the air go through her feathers.

Please enjoy: 00:04:03

Her large wing span made the act somewhat dangerous to anyone passing by,

Please enjoy: 00:04:07

but it was worth it for those moments she could do it!

Please enjoy: 00:04:11

Avery rode through the trail,

Please enjoy: 00:04:13

going through the prairie, past the baseball diamond.

Please enjoy: 00:04:16

She went under bridges

Please enjoy: 00:04:17

and pedaled hard.

Please enjoy: 00:04:19

It felt good, it felt

Please enjoy: 00:04:20

alive! At familiar territory, Avery came to a stop around a thick bramble of trees and bushes.

Please enjoy: 00:04:27

She kicked the stand

Please enjoy: 00:04:28

and set her bike up.

Please enjoy: 00:04:30

Slowly, she walked up to it.

Please enjoy: 00:04:32

The poorly-constructed

Please enjoy: 00:04:33

“treehouse” of her childhood was here.

Please enjoy: 00:04:36

She’d pointed out that a flat piece of wood with no walls or roof

Please enjoy: 00:04:39

didn’t make a treehouse, but no one cared about that distinction.

Please enjoy: 00:04:43

It took her some time to let go of that fight.

Please enjoy: 00:04:46

The Jay pushed her way through the brush.

Please enjoy: 00:04:48

She had to almost crawl at one point to get through the thick bramble of branches and shrubs.

Please enjoy: 00:04:53

After a bit of work, she got through to the clearing.

Please enjoy: 00:04:56

She saw the curve of the old, gnarled tree on which they’d planted the few boards

Please enjoy: 00:05:00

to provide a flat platform.

Please enjoy: 00:05:02

She took another step

Please enjoy: 00:05:03

and put her hand on it.

Please enjoy: 00:05:05

Taking a tentative step up,

Please enjoy: 00:05:06

Avery stood up on top of the boards.

Please enjoy: 00:05:09

They shifted under her weight,

Please enjoy: 00:05:11

moving and creaking so much

Please enjoy: 00:05:13

she thought they may break but they held.

Please enjoy: 00:05:15

Avery put her hand on the tree,

Please enjoy: 00:05:17

running it over the rough bark.

Please enjoy: 00:05:19

She sighed and leaned into the solid tree.

Please enjoy: 00:05:23

Looking down, she blinked back tears.

Please enjoy: 00:05:26

She was back here.

Please enjoy: 00:05:28

Where she fought so hard to escape from.

Please enjoy: 00:05:30

Where she worked so hard to make sure she never came back.

Please enjoy: 00:05:33

But she was here again.

Please enjoy: 00:05:34

Trapped. Caged. Bound, inextricably, to a place

Please enjoy: 00:05:39

that still had the power to make her feel

Please enjoy: 00:05:41

weak and worthless.

Please enjoy: 00:05:43

She closed her eyes,

Please enjoy: 00:05:45

letting the tears fall.

Please enjoy: 00:05:46

Each drop hit with a plat against the old wood.

Please enjoy: 00:05:49

She opened her mouth

Please enjoy: 00:05:50

and let out an anguished cry,

Please enjoy: 00:05:52

primal and hurt. She tried to force the sheer fact of her existence,

Please enjoy: 00:05:56

her territory, her being,

Please enjoy: 00:05:58

into the strange cry her species did that sounded

Please enjoy: 00:06:01

like a squeaky gate.

Please enjoy: 00:06:03

For so long,

Please enjoy: 00:06:04

Avery hated that sound when it came from her,

Please enjoy: 00:06:06

but this was what it was for.

Please enjoy: 00:06:09

To tell the world she existed.

Please enjoy: 00:06:12

She sat, quiet, alone,

Please enjoy: 00:06:14

hunched over as sobs racked her body.

Please enjoy: 00:06:17

“That’s a hell of a call,”

Please enjoy: 00:06:19

a voice said. Looking up, Avery saw, not ten feet away,

Please enjoy: 00:06:24

Isaac. He stood there with hands in an old, faded hoodie from his college.

Please enjoy: 00:06:29

His ears twitched at the sound of something in the field, but he focused on her.

Please enjoy: 00:06:33

“What do you want?”

Please enjoy: 00:06:35

“Believe it or not,”

Please enjoy: 00:06:36

he said. “I was coming down to this spot again.

Please enjoy: 00:06:39

I don’t even mind if you don’t talk to me.

Please enjoy: 00:06:42

But this is the one place in this town I feel…

Please enjoy: 00:06:45

at peace, if that makes sense.”

Please enjoy: 00:06:49

Avery looked at him,

Please enjoy: 00:06:50

cheeks red from crying

Please enjoy: 00:06:51

and wiped her face.

Please enjoy: 00:06:53

She wanted to hate him. She really wanted to hate him

Please enjoy: 00:06:56

but instead… “It makes perfect sense.”

Please enjoy: 00:07:00

“Do you mind if I stick around for a while?”

Please enjoy: 00:07:03

he said. He had one foot behind him, ready to leave if she decided to attack.

Please enjoy: 00:07:07

She didn’t blame him.

Please enjoy: 00:07:09

She remembered— “Sure thing. Just…

Please enjoy: 00:07:11

this doesn’t mean we’re friends.” “Nah, I get it. Just… thanks.” Isaac put one foot on the boards and jumped up to a nearby branch. The coyote turned around

Please enjoy: 00:07:14

and got settled on the branch.

Please enjoy: 00:07:25

He leaned his back on the trunk,

Please enjoy: 00:07:27

resting his head and letting out a deep sigh.

Please enjoy: 00:07:30

“I don’t miss much…

Please enjoy: 00:07:32

but I miss that sky.”

Please enjoy: 00:07:34

He said. Avery looked up at the dark sky.

Please enjoy: 00:07:38

She looked up and up,

Please enjoy: 00:07:40

seeing the stars, the blinking stars of millennia past.

Please enjoy: 00:07:44

How many of those were still burning?

Please enjoy: 00:07:46

How many died out eons before

Please enjoy: 00:07:48

but their light still hit the atmosphere?

Please enjoy: 00:07:52

“It’s… It’s beautiful.”

Please enjoy: 00:07:55

Isaac looked over at her.

Please enjoy: 00:07:57

He was chewing on his lip

Please enjoy: 00:07:58

and went back and forth between the sky

Please enjoy: 00:08:00

and her. “I… I’ve been thinking about…

Please enjoy: 00:08:06

about us, about what we did,

Please enjoy: 00:08:09

who we were before.

Please enjoy: 00:08:11

Not just today, but for a while now.

Please enjoy: 00:08:13

Ever since my marriage fell apart…

Please enjoy: 00:08:16

I’ve been thinking about my life and I’m so ashamed, Ave.

Please enjoy: 00:08:19

If I never say anything else to you than this,

Please enjoy: 00:08:21

I’ll be okay with that.

Please enjoy: 00:08:23

I’m sorry for hurting you.”

Please enjoy: 00:08:27

The silence filled the space between them.

Please enjoy: 00:08:29

She couldn’t even look at him.

Please enjoy: 00:08:31

But she could remember when they fought.

Please enjoy: 00:08:33

When they screamed at each other.

Please enjoy: 00:08:36

She remembered grabbing his collar and tearing at it.

Please enjoy: 00:08:39

She remembered screaming at him the day she finally broke.

Please enjoy: 00:08:42

The anger filled her up and made her lose control.

Please enjoy: 00:08:46

It was the first time she’d ever been that far out of control but it wasn’t the last.

Please enjoy: 00:08:50

And she hated that.

Please enjoy: 00:08:51

She hated that she had this moment of fury

Please enjoy: 00:08:54

deep down. She hated that he was the one to bring it out of her.

Please enjoy: 00:08:58

But she hated that was in her to begin with.

Please enjoy: 00:09:01

But… “I accept your apology.”

Please enjoy: 00:09:04

She said. It was quiet, barely even audible but Isaac looked over at her with a soft smile.

Please enjoy: 00:09:10

“Thank you, Ave.” “But we’re not friends.”

Please enjoy: 00:09:13

“You know what? As long as you let me keep coming here when I need to,

Please enjoy: 00:09:17

I’ll be happy.” “I won’t stop you.

Please enjoy: 00:09:20

Will you stop me?”

Please enjoy: 00:09:21

“Nah,” he said. He pulled a vape out of his pocket and took a puff from it.

Please enjoy: 00:09:26

He exhaled the vapor in a thick cloud.

Please enjoy: 00:09:28

“Neither of us want to be back here.”

Please enjoy: 00:09:31

“Too many memories,”

Please enjoy: 00:09:32

she said. “Yeah,” he sighed.

Please enjoy: 00:09:36

“I can’t believe you vape though,” she smirked.

Please enjoy: 00:09:39

“I never figured you for the type!”

Please enjoy: 00:09:41

“Well, it ain’t about being cool.

Please enjoy: 00:09:43

It’s about not smoking cigarettes anymore.

Please enjoy: 00:09:45

I hate the looks I get from this thing but it’s been 6 months since my last one.

Please enjoy: 00:09:49

So… It’s worth looking like some try-hard tool to do this.”

Please enjoy: 00:09:53

“Ordinarily, I might make fun of you for only looking like a try-hard tool,

Please enjoy: 00:09:58

but really, that’s great.

Please enjoy: 00:10:00

I’m happy you’re able to quit.”

Please enjoy: 00:10:02

“So am I. I’m just… I’m trying to figure out who the fuck I am anymore.

Please enjoy: 00:10:06

A ruined marriage takes a lot out of you if you didn’t know.”

Please enjoy: 00:10:10

Avery nodded her head.

Please enjoy: 00:10:12

“Yeah. I… I don’t have that,

Please enjoy: 00:10:15

but I have something similar.

Please enjoy: 00:10:16

I was laid off from my job last month.

Please enjoy: 00:10:19

I thought I’d be able to stay out there but…

Please enjoy: 00:10:21

Nope. I had to come back here.

Please enjoy: 00:10:23

To the nest. To Mommy and Daddy.”

Please enjoy: 00:10:26

“Well, at least you’ve got company back here at the bottom.”

Please enjoy: 00:10:30

“Yeah,” she said. “It could be worse;

Please enjoy: 00:10:33

I guess… I, um, I think I’m gonna go.”

Please enjoy: 00:10:38

“Oh. Okay,” Isaac said.

Please enjoy: 00:10:40

He had a soft smile on his face.

Please enjoy: 00:10:42

“I’ll probably stay out here a bit longer.

Please enjoy: 00:10:44

But I’ll see you around, yeah?”

Please enjoy: 00:10:46

“Yeah,” Avery said. She looked at Isaac for a moment.

Please enjoy: 00:10:51

She wasn’t sure… what to think of him,

Please enjoy: 00:10:54

but she knew that the anger she’d still had in her heart for him

Please enjoy: 00:10:57

was cracked open now.

Please enjoy: 00:10:59

She could tell the sting of seeing him had lessened tonight.

Please enjoy: 00:11:02

And she was okay with that. *** Avery slipped her clothes on, her feathers still drying off from the shower.

Please enjoy: 00:11:09

She’d dried her down off as best she could

Please enjoy: 00:11:11

and took her time getting dressed.

Please enjoy: 00:11:13

With her clothes on,

Please enjoy: 00:11:14

she grabbed her phone, scrolling through the messages and texts from her old coworkers.

Please enjoy: 00:11:19

She sighed and pinched her beak.

Please enjoy: 00:11:21

“Dammit. I just can’t right now.”

Please enjoy: 00:11:25

The Jay’s thumb swiped each notification away,

Please enjoy: 00:11:27

moving them aside and sighing to herself.

Please enjoy: 00:11:30

Being back here, she should be looking for job postings.

Please enjoy: 00:11:34

She should be trying to apply for places

Please enjoy: 00:11:36

or figure out a plan.

Please enjoy: 00:11:38

She should be doing

Please enjoy: 00:11:39

anything productive.

Please enjoy: 00:11:41

Instead, Avery went downstairs, moving her wings

Please enjoy: 00:11:44

and letting them dry out.

Please enjoy: 00:11:46

She went to the front porch

Please enjoy: 00:11:47

and stretched her legs out, trying to let the sun help dry her

Please enjoy: 00:11:50

off. She shook her wings out in the space.

Please enjoy: 00:11:53

Her arms were stretched out

Please enjoy: 00:11:54

and she rolled her head around.

Please enjoy: 00:11:57

“Hey Avery,” Isaac said.

Please enjoy: 00:11:59

Her head jerked forward and she saw him.

Please enjoy: 00:12:01

She gave a little smile to him and waved.

Please enjoy: 00:12:03

“What are you doing around

Please enjoy: 00:12:05

here?” “Just taking a walk.

Please enjoy: 00:12:07

Parents still live a few streets over.

Please enjoy: 00:12:09

So I just thought I’d take a walk and enjoy the nice day.

Please enjoy: 00:12:13

You’re welcome to join me if you want.”

Please enjoy: 00:12:15

The blue jay looked the coyote over for a moment.

Please enjoy: 00:12:18

He was smiling at her so sincerely.

Please enjoy: 00:12:21

His eyes were soft and a fierce shade of green that

Please enjoy: 00:12:23

bored right into her.

Please enjoy: 00:12:25

“Sure,” she said. The pair walked in silence through the old neighborhood together.

Please enjoy: 00:12:31

It was a home she’d never really liked.

Please enjoy: 00:12:33

It felt smaller and run-down and the whole time, the blue jay kept wondering why this place persisted.

Please enjoy: 00:12:39

It felt like time and hope

Please enjoy: 00:12:40

had moved away from this place, but it persisted,

Please enjoy: 00:12:43

a scab healing over,

Please enjoy: 00:12:45

ugly and painful.

Please enjoy: 00:12:47

“I have a proposition for you.”

Please enjoy: 00:12:49

“Go on,” Avery said,

Please enjoy: 00:12:51

taking a look over at him.

Please enjoy: 00:12:54

“We’re both… a little fucked up right now.

Please enjoy: 00:12:57

We’re both hurting.

Please enjoy: 00:12:58

I’m willing to listen to whatever you’re feeling right now

Please enjoy: 00:13:01

if you’re willing to listen to me.

Please enjoy: 00:13:03

No advice, no pity.

Please enjoy: 00:13:04

Just venting and being able to say shit that’s bothering us that we need to get off our chest.

Please enjoy: 00:13:09

Sound fair to you?” “I…”

Please enjoy: 00:13:13

She thought for a moment.

Please enjoy: 00:13:14

Her stomach twisted as she fought the urge to scream no.

Please enjoy: 00:13:18

She’d trusted him before,

Please enjoy: 00:13:19

telling him her secrets

Please enjoy: 00:13:21

that he’d twisted against her in school.

Please enjoy: 00:13:23

When she’d molted her feathers from her head, the coyote laughed

Please enjoy: 00:13:26

and made sure everyone did to.

Please enjoy: 00:13:28

He made her ashamed

Please enjoy: 00:13:30

of who she was because he knew where to hit.

Please enjoy: 00:13:32

It took a long moment for her to swallow

Please enjoy: 00:13:34

and look at him. “I’m not sure.”

Please enjoy: 00:13:38

“I’m not expecting things between us to be magically fixed.

Please enjoy: 00:13:41

But I’m offering you a chance to speak and to try again.

Please enjoy: 00:13:45

Who would I tell?

Please enjoy: 00:13:46

I don’t know anyone in this town but you and my parents.

Please enjoy: 00:13:48

They don’t give a shit.

Please enjoy: 00:13:50

They’re angry that I ruined the marriage when she’s the one that left me for her boss.

Please enjoy: 00:13:54

“So I can’t say you have a reason to trust me.

Please enjoy: 00:13:58

But I can only tell you this,

Please enjoy: 00:14:00

I don’t like that I hurt you.

Please enjoy: 00:14:02

And I’m trying to be a better person.

Please enjoy: 00:14:04

So if you give me a chance,

Please enjoy: 00:14:05

I’ll make sure I earn the trust, Ave.”

Please enjoy: 00:14:08

“You’re the only person to call me that in years, you know that?

Please enjoy: 00:14:11

I stopped going by that ages ago. It’s…

Please enjoy: 00:14:14

it’s nice to hear.” “You’re

Please enjoy: 00:14:16

the only person to smile at me in a few months so

Please enjoy: 00:14:19

thank you for that.”

Please enjoy: 00:14:21

Avery let out a long breath

Please enjoy: 00:14:23

and stopped at a split in the path.

Please enjoy: 00:14:25

She leaned back against the railing,

Please enjoy: 00:14:27

the trees’ shade hiding her face.

Please enjoy: 00:14:30

“I got fired from my job for reporting something illegal.

Please enjoy: 00:14:33

Whistleblower laws should protect me from that, right?

Please enjoy: 00:14:36

But right to work states don’t mean a damn thing.

Please enjoy: 00:14:38

So I did the right thing and reported the embezzlement that the investment firm was doing with pension money. And what do I get for it?”

Please enjoy: 00:14:45

She laughed, running her hands through her hair.

Please enjoy: 00:14:48

“I get to never use the skills and contacts I use again.

Please enjoy: 00:14:52

I get death threats and dead animals left at my apartment door step.

Please enjoy: 00:14:56

I stepped in deep shit and I’ll never get to be in the field

Please enjoy: 00:14:59

I spent the last 10 years working in.

Please enjoy: 00:15:01

And what do I have to show for it?

Please enjoy: 00:15:03

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Please enjoy: 00:15:05

I’m just trapped here.

Please enjoy: 00:15:07

This is where my life led me. I had to come back to the place where

Please enjoy: 00:15:10

I have… nothing. I am nothing. I’m… I’m

Please enjoy: 00:15:14

trapped, Isaac. I’m trapped in this hell hole

Please enjoy: 00:15:16

and I don’t think I’ll ever get back to happy again.”

Please enjoy: 00:15:20

Isaac looked at her.

Please enjoy: 00:15:21

There wasn’t any anger or pity in his face. But there was pain.

Please enjoy: 00:15:26

He brushed a thumb over the tears on her cheeks she wasn’t even aware of.

Please enjoy: 00:15:30

His arms move around her

Please enjoy: 00:15:31

and she was being held.

Please enjoy: 00:15:34

God! It felt so good to be held.

Please enjoy: 00:15:37

It felt so good to be held

Please enjoy: 00:15:39

and safe for that moment.

Please enjoy: 00:15:41

She hated herself for being so weak.

Please enjoy: 00:15:43

She wasn’t weak! She wasn’t the type to break like this but here she was.

Please enjoy: 00:15:48

Crying into the chest of someone she’d hated for so many years.

Please enjoy: 00:15:52

It felt good to just

Please enjoy: 00:15:53

let herself go,

Please enjoy: 00:15:55

let the anger, and pain, and frustration all slip away

Please enjoy: 00:15:59

until she was free.

Please enjoy: 00:16:01

“I’m sorry,” she sighed,

Please enjoy: 00:16:03

holding him around the waist and not letting go.

Please enjoy: 00:16:05

“I’m sorry for breaking like that, Isaac.”

Please enjoy: 00:16:08

“No need to apologize.

Please enjoy: 00:16:09

That’s what we’re doing here, right?”

Please enjoy: 00:16:11

She nodded her head,

Please enjoy: 00:16:12

feeling some of the weight that was on her chest

Please enjoy: 00:16:15

feel like it was finally being let go.

Please enjoy: 00:16:18

“Thank you,” she said,

Please enjoy: 00:16:20

pulling free from him.

Please enjoy: 00:16:21

She leaned back to the sign and looked over his face for a long moment.

Please enjoy: 00:16:25

The silence dragged on,

Please enjoy: 00:16:26

an impenetrable wall between them.

Please enjoy: 00:16:29

“You’re welcome, Ave.”

Please enjoy: 00:16:30

Isaac said. “I’m happy I can do something right for a change.”

Please enjoy: 00:16:33

The blue jay cocked her head at him.

Please enjoy: 00:16:35

The coyote’s ears were flat to his head, his shoulders drooping

Please enjoy: 00:16:38

the longer she looked at him.

Please enjoy: 00:16:40

“What happened to you?”

Please enjoy: 00:16:42

She said. “You were so confident and sure of yourself when I knew you.

Please enjoy: 00:16:45

Even when you were an asshole, you were so confident.

Please enjoy: 00:16:48

I don’t get it.” The coyote’s face twisted into a smirk.

Please enjoy: 00:16:52

But the look didn’t hit his eyes.

Please enjoy: 00:16:55

“Well, I went to college.

Please enjoy: 00:16:57

I was suddenly a very small fish in a big pond.”

Please enjoy: 00:17:00

He gestured for them to keep walking,

Please enjoy: 00:17:02

going down the sloping path through the prairie.

Please enjoy: 00:17:04

“I started going to a few different clubs, trying to figure out who the fuck I was.

Please enjoy: 00:17:08

Pretty standard shit, right?

Please enjoy: 00:17:10

Well, I went to one

Please enjoy: 00:17:12

and there was this antelope there that took my breath away.

Please enjoy: 00:17:15

She was funny and smart, and she had this

Please enjoy: 00:17:17

biting wit that would chew into me when I said something.

Please enjoy: 00:17:21

We were friends for a long while.

Please enjoy: 00:17:22

Then, I started to date her.

Please enjoy: 00:17:24

Things were good!

Please enjoy: 00:17:26

“After college, we moved in together.

Please enjoy: 00:17:28

She got this job working for a marketing agency.

Please enjoy: 00:17:30

We got married. We were saving up for a house and everything just felt

Please enjoy: 00:17:34

good. It felt, right, y’know?

Please enjoy: 00:17:37

Hell, I was happier than I’d been in a while.

Please enjoy: 00:17:40

But then her new boss came along.

Please enjoy: 00:17:42

After a few months, she was sleeping with him.

Please enjoy: 00:17:44

I knew about it shortly after it happened.

Please enjoy: 00:17:46

I confronted her.

Please enjoy: 00:17:48

She told me…” He took his vape out

Please enjoy: 00:17:51

and drew on it for a long moment,

Please enjoy: 00:17:52

taking the time needed to compose himself

Please enjoy: 00:17:54

in his long, slow exhale.

Please enjoy: 00:17:57

“She told me that she knew what love was finally.

Please enjoy: 00:18:02

We’d been married for about a year by then. And she just destroyed me.

Please enjoy: 00:18:06

I tried to fight for her, but she just…

Please enjoy: 00:18:08

she was done. She didn’t want to hear it.

Please enjoy: 00:18:11

So we split up. It was… amicable,

Please enjoy: 00:18:13

as far as divorces go.

Please enjoy: 00:18:16

And, I didn’t want to live in that city anymore.

Please enjoy: 00:18:18

Too many memories.

Please enjoy: 00:18:19

So I just drifted for a while.

Please enjoy: 00:18:21

I was couch surfing with my friends until…”

Please enjoy: 00:18:24

He rolled up the sleeves on his long sleeves and Avery gasped when she saw the deep scars

Please enjoy: 00:18:29

that had dug into his skin and fur. The long marks on his wrists that went up his arm.

Please enjoy: 00:18:32

She grabbed his arm

Please enjoy: 00:18:33

and looked at him,

Please enjoy: 00:18:34

feeling the tears stinging her eyes.

Please enjoy: 00:18:36

“I’m not a happy person, Avery… I don’t think I ever have been.

Please enjoy: 00:18:39

I don’t know… I don’t know what being happy feels like anymore.”

Please enjoy: 00:18:45

Avery looked at him for a long moment.

Please enjoy: 00:18:47

She brought his hand up to her beak,

Please enjoy: 00:18:49

nuzzling into his hand.

Please enjoy: 00:18:50

She gave his fingers and hand soft kisses.

Please enjoy: 00:18:54

“Isaac, even when I hated you…

Please enjoy: 00:18:56

I wanted you to just…

Please enjoy: 00:18:58

learn a lesson, but I never, never, wanted you to go away completely.

Please enjoy: 00:19:02

I’m not trying to fix or save you, only you can do that for yourself… But

Please enjoy: 00:19:06

I never wanted this.”

Please enjoy: 00:19:08

Her claws went over the scars

Please enjoy: 00:19:10

and the coyote’s hackles raised.

Please enjoy: 00:19:12

He shivered the feeling away,

Please enjoy: 00:19:13

looking at her and nodding his head slowly.

Please enjoy: 00:19:16

“Thank you… I… I should probably shut up.

Please enjoy: 00:19:20

But you should hate me, Avery. You should hate me for what I did.”

Please enjoy: 00:19:23

“I don’t want you to dwell on that, okay?

Please enjoy: 00:19:25

I forgive you. But you need to forgive yourself. Okay?”

Please enjoy: 00:19:29

The coyote cocked a brow at her words.

Please enjoy: 00:19:32

He opened his mouth as if to argue with her but closed it.

Please enjoy: 00:19:35

Those large hands found their way to her head

Please enjoy: 00:19:37

and he planted a kiss softly on her forehead.

Please enjoy: 00:19:40

“Okay. Then, how bout we just enjoy the nice day for now.

Please enjoy: 00:19:44

And maybe we can start talking more.

Please enjoy: 00:19:46

Not about the past but just…

Please enjoy: 00:19:48

catch up. Really catch up.

Please enjoy: 00:19:51

I want a second chance at being your friend, Avery.”

Please enjoy: 00:19:54

“Okay,” she said. “But can you promise me something?”

Please enjoy: 00:19:57

“What’s that?” “If you think you have to hide some feeling from me,

Please enjoy: 00:20:01

please don’t. We’re both past that stage.”

Please enjoy: 00:20:05

“Alright,” he sighed.

Please enjoy: 00:20:07

“Then I have something I have to tell you.

Please enjoy: 00:20:08

I didn’t tell you before.”

Please enjoy: 00:20:10

“What’s that?” she asked.

Please enjoy: 00:20:12

She held both of his hands in hers. “I drank

Please enjoy: 00:20:15

a lot of coffee this morning. So I think we need to cut this walk a little short so I can go to the bathroom.”

Please enjoy: 00:20:21

Avery snorted at him.

Please enjoy: 00:20:22

She shoved his chest and let out a laugh.

Please enjoy: 00:20:24

“Alright, pooch. Let’s get back then.” ***

Please enjoy: 00:20:30

Wanna grab dinner tonight? was an innocent enough question,

Please enjoy: 00:20:33

but why was it throwing her for such a loop?

Please enjoy: 00:20:35

Avery ignored the text for now, focusing on another application she was sure would go nowhere.

Please enjoy: 00:20:41

She shook her head,

Please enjoy: 00:20:42

typing out the cruel monotony of another application that asked for the same information she’d already provided a thousand times to a thousand different companies.

Please enjoy: 00:20:50

The blue jay was quiet and her brow was furrowed with annoyance

Please enjoy: 00:20:53

at the insinuation of the text.

Please enjoy: 00:20:56

They’d been spending time with each other for a few weeks now,

Please enjoy: 00:20:58

and she enjoyed having him around,

Please enjoy: 00:21:00

but the question…

Please enjoy: 00:21:02

Who did he think he was to ask her that?

Please enjoy: 00:21:05

She shook her head again,

Please enjoy: 00:21:06

typing with anger in every keystroke.

Please enjoy: 00:21:08

She slammed the enter key down

Please enjoy: 00:21:10

and the next application was submitted.

Please enjoy: 00:21:12

It hurt her head to keep doing this.

Please enjoy: 00:21:15

Where did you have in mind? She typed back to the coyote.

Please enjoy: 00:21:19

Their time together helped.

Please enjoy: 00:21:20

It helped to be able to spend time with him

Please enjoy: 00:21:22

and talk and vent

Please enjoy: 00:21:24

and not feel the pressure.

Please enjoy: 00:21:26

She’d broken down a few times and he in turn.

Please enjoy: 00:21:28

She just wanted to help him through this as best as she could.

Please enjoy: 00:21:31

This wasn’t… Avery, for once, had no idea what was going on.

Please enjoy: 00:21:36

And that scared her.

Please enjoy: 00:21:38

It scared her to think

Please enjoy: 00:21:39

that things could be that good or that normal between them

Please enjoy: 00:21:43

that she could talk and play around with him as if they were normal people, without all their history together.

Please enjoy: 00:21:48

Noodle Bowl. The Thai Place?

Please enjoy: 00:21:50

6 work? Yeah. Yeah, that sounds nice.

Please enjoy: 00:21:54

Fine! She’d go out to dinner with him, but she wouldn’t dress up.

Please enjoy: 00:21:57

This wasn’t a date; this was just two friends.

Please enjoy: 00:22:00

They just needed to …

Please enjoy: 00:22:02

Well, what topic hadn’t they covered recently?

Please enjoy: 00:22:05

She felt as close to him as she did before.

Please enjoy: 00:22:07

It was like they’d never had their fight or the pain of losing something important to them.

Please enjoy: 00:22:12

Cool. I’ll see you then, Ave.

Please enjoy: 00:22:15

Getting ready for their dinner was simple.

Please enjoy: 00:22:17

She just grabbed comfortable pants that she thought looked halfway decent

Please enjoy: 00:22:20

and a top that hugged her curves.

Please enjoy: 00:22:22

Mostly, Avery just didn’t think they were at the point where

Please enjoy: 00:22:25

dressing up that much mattered.

Please enjoy: 00:22:27

She told him every secret she could think of

Please enjoy: 00:22:29

and he’d bared his soul on his failures as a husband

Please enjoy: 00:22:32

and they both still wanted to talk to each other.

Please enjoy: 00:22:35

And Ave. She didn’t let anyone call her that.

Please enjoy: 00:22:39

But she let him. She let him call her a name she stopped using almost a decade ago. What the hell was going on with her?

Please enjoy: 00:22:46

Why was it so hard to figure out what she wanted?

Please enjoy: 00:22:49

Was she just latching onto him as the first thing that came along?

Please enjoy: 00:22:53

She didn’t know. But it didn’t bother her enough to stop her as she got into her car.

Please enjoy: 00:22:57

Or when she parked her car at the restaurant. Or when she saw him,

Please enjoy: 00:23:01

in a striped shirt and a nice pair of jeans

Please enjoy: 00:23:03

but she still smiled at him because he really was handsome, wasn’t he?

Please enjoy: 00:23:07

When did that happen?

Please enjoy: 00:23:09

“You look nice,” he smiled.

Please enjoy: 00:23:11

“Thanks, so do you.”

Please enjoy: 00:23:13

Isaac opened the door,

Please enjoy: 00:23:14

leading her in. She’d gone to Noodle Bowl a few times when she stopped back in. But this…

Please enjoy: 00:23:20

She wasn’t sure what to make of this.

Please enjoy: 00:23:23

“So I got a job doing some consulting work while I’m back in town.

Please enjoy: 00:23:27

At the very least I can keep some money coming in for the moment,”

Please enjoy: 00:23:29

Isaac said. An older red panda came up to the pair,

Please enjoy: 00:23:32

leading them to their seats.

Please enjoy: 00:23:34

Her smile was positively infectious

Please enjoy: 00:23:36

and lit up her whole face.

Please enjoy: 00:23:38

She came back a moment later with menus for them.

Please enjoy: 00:23:41

“That’s great!” Avery smiled.

Please enjoy: 00:23:44

“Happy to hear you’ve got some good luck heading your way.”

Please enjoy: 00:23:47

“Yeah,” Isaac frowned.

Please enjoy: 00:23:49

“About that. I actually uh, I’ve been talking to my uncle who’s an investment broker.”

Please enjoy: 00:23:56

It felt like the air was sucked out of the room.

Please enjoy: 00:23:58

Leaning in, Avery looked at Isaac.

Please enjoy: 00:24:01

Her eyes narrowed.

Please enjoy: 00:24:02

“What are you doing?”

Please enjoy: 00:24:04

His head cocked to the side.

Please enjoy: 00:24:06

“What do you mean?”

Please enjoy: 00:24:07

“What do you think you’re doing?

Please enjoy: 00:24:09

You’re running your mouth again? Why didn’t you ask me if I was okay with that?”

Please enjoy: 00:24:14

Isaac’s hand squeezed hers.

Please enjoy: 00:24:15

He looked her straight in the eyes.

Please enjoy: 00:24:17

“Because I wanted to help.

Please enjoy: 00:24:18

He’d like to talk with you.

Please enjoy: 00:24:20

I’m not saying this will fix anything.

Please enjoy: 00:24:21

But he’s worked with people who ran into the same situation you did.

Please enjoy: 00:24:24

And he’d like to talk with you about options.”

Please enjoy: 00:24:28

Avery looked at him,

Please enjoy: 00:24:29

from his hand back to his eyes.

Please enjoy: 00:24:31

“Why? What’s it you’re after?”

Please enjoy: 00:24:34

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I just thought it might help.

Please enjoy: 00:24:37

Honest truth. I haven’t lied to you since we started talking again.”

Please enjoy: 00:24:41

The blue jay smiled when the red panda came back.

Please enjoy: 00:24:43

Avery nodded her head,

Please enjoy: 00:24:45

and placed her order.

Please enjoy: 00:24:46

But she kept looking over at Isaac.

Please enjoy: 00:24:48

She wasn’t sure what was happening with him.

Please enjoy: 00:24:50

Why was she so suspicious of him?

Please enjoy: 00:24:53

Something about her was broken.

Please enjoy: 00:24:55

“Ave?” “Sorry?” she said.

Please enjoy: 00:24:58

Isaac frowned at her.

Please enjoy: 00:25:00

His hand still on hers.

Please enjoy: 00:25:01

“I’ve been trying to get your attention.

Please enjoy: 00:25:03

I just… I’m just trying to help you.

Please enjoy: 00:25:06

I know you… you may not be able to trust me very well.

Please enjoy: 00:25:09

But all I want to do is help you get back on your feet.

Please enjoy: 00:25:12

Nothing else, no ulterior motives.

Please enjoy: 00:25:14

I’m just trying to be your friend.”

Please enjoy: 00:25:16

“I…” She sighed and shook her head. “I know you are. I know you are.

Please enjoy: 00:25:21

But I have something in me that keeps telling me not to listen to you.

Please enjoy: 00:25:24

And I just… I’m trying to figure out why that is.

Please enjoy: 00:25:28

You’re helping and kind.

Please enjoy: 00:25:30

But I feel like there’s something in me that won’t let me take that step to believing you yet.”

Please enjoy: 00:25:35

Isaac nodded his head.

Please enjoy: 00:25:37

He scratched his ear,

Please enjoy: 00:25:38

not looking at her.

Please enjoy: 00:25:40

His eyes were closed tight and his body shuddered at his next sigh.

Please enjoy: 00:25:43

“Truth… truth is, I like you, Avery.

Please enjoy: 00:25:47

I’ve liked you for a long time. And I don’t care if you don’t like me back or not.

Please enjoy: 00:25:50

I don’t care what this means.

Please enjoy: 00:25:52

I need to tell you that I like you

Please enjoy: 00:25:54

and I need to try and help you because I care about you.

Please enjoy: 00:25:56

You can trust me or not.

Please enjoy: 00:25:58

But I promise you

Please enjoy: 00:25:59

on my name, for all that’s worth.

Please enjoy: 00:26:01

I won’t ever lie or hide the truth from you again. I just want to be your friend.”

Please enjoy: 00:26:05

“Isaac—“ “Just… forget I said anything.

Please enjoy: 00:26:08

I shouldn’t have

Please enjoy: 00:26:10

—“ Avery leaned across the table

Please enjoy: 00:26:11

and kissed his lips softly.

Please enjoy: 00:26:13

Her beak pressed to his

Please enjoy: 00:26:15

and she closed her eyes in the soft touch

Please enjoy: 00:26:17

of his body to hers.

Please enjoy: 00:26:19

“You’re a pretty trustworthy coyote.

Please enjoy: 00:26:22

I have this fear in the back of my head that you’re going to hurt me again.

Please enjoy: 00:26:25

Because I liked you back then.

Please enjoy: 00:26:27

So I… I want to keep seeing you.

Please enjoy: 00:26:29

I overthink things. I overcomplicate things, but you’re just being helpful and sweet and I just like you.”

Please enjoy: 00:26:35

Isaac leaned forward,

Please enjoy: 00:26:36

kissing her again.

Please enjoy: 00:26:38

His lips were warm

Please enjoy: 00:26:39

and he held her cheek.

Please enjoy: 00:26:41

The jay gave a trill,

Please enjoy: 00:26:42

her eyes fluttering closed and she relaxed into the touch

Please enjoy: 00:26:45

and taste of him.

Please enjoy: 00:26:47

“That’s… that’s much better news than work.”

Please enjoy: 00:26:50

“Yeah,” Avery grinned.

Please enjoy: 00:26:52

“I’m much more important than work.”

Please enjoy: 00:26:54

“We’ll see where this goes

Please enjoy: 00:26:56

and help each other pick ourselves up.

Please enjoy: 00:26:58

Does that sound good?”

Please enjoy: 00:26:59

“Yeah,” Avery smiled.

Please enjoy: 00:27:02

Her cheeks were hot

Please enjoy: 00:27:03

and she held onto his hand tightly,

Please enjoy: 00:27:05

afraid he’d leave if she let go.

Please enjoy: 00:27:07

“It really does.” Their meal came and went

Please enjoy: 00:27:11

and the voice in her head stopped yelling at Avery.

Please enjoy: 00:27:13

She seemed able to be in the moment for the moment.

Please enjoy: 00:27:16

She could just smile with him and let go.

Please enjoy: 00:27:19

After dinner, Avery and Isaac walked through the town together.

Please enjoy: 00:27:23

They meandered past the closed shops that made up downtown.

Please enjoy: 00:27:26

They jumped up on the stone facades and balanced on precarious stones

Please enjoy: 00:27:30

on the side of the sidewalk.

Please enjoy: 00:27:32

Avery smiled, feeling lighter and freer than she had in ages.

Please enjoy: 00:27:37

It was so nice to let go and just

Please enjoy: 00:27:39

feel, not quite happy,

Please enjoy: 00:27:42

but better. Better was all you could get sometimes.

Please enjoy: 00:27:46

Eventually, they made their way back to the old treehouse,

Please enjoy: 00:27:49

tramping through the brush to climb on top of the wood.

Please enjoy: 00:27:52

Isaac laid back on top of the wood.

Please enjoy: 00:27:53

Avery leaned against him, resting her head on his chest.

Please enjoy: 00:27:57

She closed her eyes,

Please enjoy: 00:27:58

listening to his steady heartbeat.

Please enjoy: 00:28:00

“Just being here with you is really nice.

Please enjoy: 00:28:03

I’d just forgotten what it felt like, I guess.”

Please enjoy: 00:28:06

“What’s that?” Isaac frowned.

Please enjoy: 00:28:08

“I just… I work too hard.

Please enjoy: 00:28:11

I’m so focused on my career that when everything blew up on me…

Please enjoy: 00:28:15

I had nothing. I don’t know who I am without my job anymore.

Please enjoy: 00:28:19

That whole part of me is just

Please enjoy: 00:28:20

gone. And I’m upset, but at the same time?

Please enjoy: 00:28:23

It’s part of my problem.

Please enjoy: 00:28:25

I put everything into that place

Please enjoy: 00:28:26

and then when I did the right thing? Poof.

Please enjoy: 00:28:29

All gone.” Isaac’s hand rubbed over her back

Please enjoy: 00:28:33

feeling her soft feathers and down.

Please enjoy: 00:28:35

She wrapped arms around him and kissed his cheek.

Please enjoy: 00:28:38

“You matter, Ave. You’re more than your job.

Please enjoy: 00:28:41

You’re more than just one thing so I…

Please enjoy: 00:28:43

I don’t know. Act like it, I guess?

Please enjoy: 00:28:46

Focus on work and that, sure.

Please enjoy: 00:28:48

But go home and allow yourself to be someone else.

Please enjoy: 00:28:52

Find something you like.

Please enjoy: 00:28:53

Hold onto it. Things can slip away from you so quickly and you don’t even know it.”

Please enjoy: 00:28:58

“Like we slipped away?”

Please enjoy: 00:29:00

“We pushed each other away. But hey,”

Please enjoy: 00:29:03

he smiled, kissing her softly.

Please enjoy: 00:29:05

“I’m staying right here. Got it?”

Please enjoy: 00:29:08

The blue jay smiled at him

Please enjoy: 00:29:10

and kissed him again.

Please enjoy: 00:29:11

She kissed him, closing her eyes

Please enjoy: 00:29:13

and letting her hands run over her chest and stomach.

Please enjoy: 00:29:16

She felt him, the soft fur on top of his firm body.

Please enjoy: 00:29:19

She rubbed his chest and sides.

Please enjoy: 00:29:21

His hands worked under her shirt and she shivered.

Please enjoy: 00:29:24

She didn’t stop him,

Please enjoy: 00:29:25

but he didn’t go past that.

Please enjoy: 00:29:27

The feeling of his hands on her stomach

Please enjoy: 00:29:29

made her shiver. “I’m sorry.

Please enjoy: 00:29:31

I’m still feeling a little…

Please enjoy: 00:29:33

broken myself. I … I really like you, Ave.

Please enjoy: 00:29:37

But I need to figure out how to do this at my own pa

Please enjoy: 00:29:39

—“ The blue jay shut him up with a soft kiss

Please enjoy: 00:29:42

and she held onto his head with both of her hands.

Please enjoy: 00:29:44

Her forehead pressed to his.

Please enjoy: 00:29:46

“Ssssh. I won’t do anything else, Isaac.

Please enjoy: 00:29:49

I’m gonna hold you but I’m not going to press you. Okay?”

Please enjoy: 00:29:52

He nodded his head slowly,

Please enjoy: 00:29:54

a sigh leaving his throat.

Please enjoy: 00:29:56

“Thank you, Avery. It means a lot to

Please enjoy: 00:29:59

me.” Avery placed a last kiss on his lips

Please enjoy: 00:30:01

and smiled. “Let’s just watch the stars for a bit.”

Please enjoy: 00:30:05

She leaned her head into Isaac’s chest.

Please enjoy: 00:30:07

The wood creaked at the shifting weight

Please enjoy: 00:30:09

and she moved her arms around his waist.

Please enjoy: 00:30:12

It was nice to sit there with him,

Please enjoy: 00:30:14

holding him close

Please enjoy: 00:30:15

and watching the stars together.

Please enjoy: 00:30:17

“When I’m with you,”

Please enjoy: 00:30:18

she said. “I don’t feel like I’m…

Please enjoy: 00:30:21

stuck alone. I feel like I belong somewhere again.

Please enjoy: 00:30:25

I matter. Whatever the rejections and the firing did to me…

Please enjoy: 00:30:28

I matter.” “That’s what that call is for, right?

Please enjoy: 00:30:32

The one from a few weeks ago?”

Please enjoy: 00:30:34

“Yeah. It’s… territorial, I suppose.”

Please enjoy: 00:30:37

“Like a howl.” “Yeah,”

Please enjoy: 00:30:39

she smiled at him. “Exactly.”

Please enjoy: 00:30:42

Isaac leaned his head back,

Please enjoy: 00:30:44

howling up at the night sky.

Please enjoy: 00:30:46

Avery shivered at the sound of it,

Please enjoy: 00:30:48

lonely, sad but… safe.

Please enjoy: 00:30:51

She didn’t feel like she had anything to fear from him anymore.

Please enjoy: 00:30:54

Taking the chance to be happy again was worth the possibility of pain.

Please enjoy: 00:30:58

Avery took his hand,

Please enjoy: 00:31:00

holding it in hers

Please enjoy: 00:31:01

and singing the squeaky gate call.

Please enjoy: 00:31:03

She kept going, declaring this as her territory.

Please enjoy: 00:31:07

This was where she mattered,

Please enjoy: 00:31:09

where she belonged.

Please enjoy: 00:31:10

Not just Stagecoach, not just Colorado. But Here.

Please enjoy: 00:31:13

Wherever she went,

Please enjoy: 00:31:14

she belonged. She mattered.

Please enjoy: 00:31:19

This was “Home Again”

Please enjoy: 00:31:21

by Kergiby, read for you by Khaki,

Please enjoy: 00:31:23

your faithful fireside companion.

Please enjoy: 00:31:25

For more stories you can find us wherever you get your podcasts, or on the web at thevoice.dog.

Please enjoy: 00:31:31

Thank you for listening

Please enjoy: 00:31:32

to The Voice of Dog