Annie III: Back in Touch

Annie III: Back in Touch

(Chronological index: Shortly after Ray/Denise wedding)

I leaned into my supervisor's cubicle for a moment. "FYI, I need to be a little late tomorrow. Putting the wife in a plane."

"What? Marriage over so soon?"

"Andy, her family is in Georgia. She'd drive home to Mama, not fly. No, she's got a business trip, I'm driving her to the terminal so her car won't be in the lot for the week."

"Business trip…? She's got to…" I could see him trying to remember what Denise did for a living.

"As the purchasing agent for her hospital, she's going out to an auction in a hospital that's being shut down. She's looking things over this weekend, then bidding for the week."

"Ah. So, you're going to be baching it." He turned back to his monitor, then paused. "Or, are you and Annie baching it? Or you and Annie and her sylph?" My sylph was well known in this building. Pet wasn't here nearly as often.

"She's taking Pet, of course. I'm keeping Annie."

"Okay, yeah. See you later. And don't do anything I wouldn't do over the week." He winked knowingly, making a nasty gesture. I shook my head and returned to my desk.

Everyone seemed to think that a husband and wife apart for a week were going to behave as a separated couple. We were still practically newlyweds, I wasn't going to be cruising for a date or anything.

My screensaver was on when I sat down. I have a program that catches screenshots of the webcams I have at home. The one bouncing around my monitor showed Annie working out in the running wheel.

I called up the live page and scanned the house. Denise was nowhere to be seen, but two suitcases were standing by the back door. She'd probably gone out to shop for last minute items. I didn't see Pet.

Annie plugged away at the wheel. She'd been on that a lot, lately. It was odd. The exercise toy had mostly been a gag gift from a friend. With sylph metabolism, it was very rare to see a fat one. And with the distance she had to run to get anywhere in the house, she was always trim and toned. I had no idea why she was on this running kick these days.

I shrugged, entered my time and headed home.

"It's Pet's ass," Denise confided to me some time later. We were alone in the bedroom. One of the first things we did after moving in together was to soundproof that part of the house. The girls were in the guest room while we said our first real goodbyes since the wedding.

I'd mentioned my concern about my sylph and Denise said it was envy. "Pet's much younger, much perkier, much more taut than Annie. She feels drab in comparison."

"But she isn't," I protested.

"Have you told her that?"

"She knows how I feel. She always has."

"You mean," Denise said softly, "that every single time you've been married, Annie's been your favorite woman in the house? And known it?"

"Uh," I said. "You know… I mean, you have to know… You have to understand…"

"Shut up," she said, covering my mouth with her hand. "You love your sylph. You love your wife. The two are not mutually exclusive conditions. I know this. I'm in the same situation." The hand moved, caressing my chest.

"You love your sylph and your wife, too?" I asked. "Does she have a sylph? We could get a six-some going some time- Oooof!"

----

The drive to the airport was a little strained for everyone. We both usually let our sylphs wear clothes, but the airlines forced them to travel naked. Pet started the day nude in anticipation of the security checkpoint. Annie went nude in sympathy.

I wasn't paying a lot of attention to them though. I didn't want to see Denise go. But I wanted her successful in her chosen career even more. So I carried her bags and kissed her goodbye.

Annie was subdued as we returned to the car. I'd even have said that she was relaxed.

"How about lunch?" I asked as I sat down. She shrugged and crawled from my hand down onto the dashboard.

"Where to?"

"Someplace we haven't been in a while," I said and pulled out.

"You're not taking me to Dick's Wings are you? I don't mind if you lick honey-mustard off of me, but don't drop me in the pile of wings first. Okay? Everyone laughs as I slither over the damned things."

"No wings," I promised. Once we were on the straightaway, I plugged the iPod into the stereo and started the playlist. Tennille started to ask The Captain to 'Do That To Me One More Time.'

I watched as my pet gasped in pleased surprise. She started dancing to and singing along with the song. I stayed quiet. There was no point in trying to talk to Annie while Captain and Tennille were on. She was in a different world. I made it to I-95 before they stopped.

The playlist segued to the Go-Gos and Annie slid to a dazed stop. She wandered over to sit on the dashboard above the speedometer. Her smile shown above my steering wheel.

"God, I loved that song," she sighed. "I don't even care that you hate it."

"I don't hate it," I protested. "You taught me to slow dance to that song." I drove for another few moments before I shook my head. "But no, I can't remember why we used that song."

"Because your prom theme was 'Love Will Keep Us Together.'"

"Oh, yeah. God, that's embarrassing." She was shaking her head. "Why not?"

"Because the other suggestions were the theme song from Jaws and music from Jonathon Livingston Seagull." I winced and she laughed.

"That was my first dance," I recalled.

"And the first time you let me wear clothes," she pointed out.

"Well, Principal Niedermyer wouldn't let anyone go to the prom without covering any and all breasts. Even exotic pet breasts. And I couldn't leave you at home."

"Because you promised me. I spent MY prom being the dice-bitch at your D&D game, you owed me at least one."

"Well, that and being the only kid in my class that had caught his own sylph was pretty cool. I couldn't have left you at home, people might have forgotten that I hadn't had my Daddy pay for you." She pouted a bit at that comment. I decided she deserved better.

"And as a 17 year old kid, I would never have imagined that you would turn out to be more beautiful in a dress than you had been naked." She beamed at the compliment. We passed our usual exit about then. She noticed but didn't say anything.

Hits from the 70's played as we talked about high school, the kids that talked to me only to get closer to her, the teachers that thought I was using her to cheat, the other sylphs that showed up before graduation.

The last exit for any Jax destination passed. Annie watched it go by, then looked up at me.

"Where ARE we going for lunch?"

"Saint Augustine," I said. "I went and took the whole day off. Figured you and I could spend some quality time."

"Where in St. Augustine?" She seemed more anxious than happy. I didn't understand it.

"The Spanish Kitchen. Haven't been there in a while." She nodded slowly. We'd always enjoyed the food there. And walking around the various shops on walking mall.

She started to cry. And not the 'I'm the center of attention and it's so wonderful' tears she dropped from time to time. This was misery.

"Annie, what's wrong?" She rolled to her feet and stomped to the air vents as far forward as she could get. Sobs sounded, even over Point of Know Return. "Annie! Get over here!" She ignored me. "Christ, it's like the time we told Pet that President Kimball had canceled Sylphoween this year."

I pulled over at a rest stop and tried to reach for her. She was just out of range so I looked around for a reach rod or something. Wait. She was still naked. I pushed the air conditioning to Arctic and waited.

At first she just quivered, swore and suffered through it. Goosebumps appeared, visible even where I sat. I started to wonder if I'd have to defrost her when she gave up. "OKAY!" she finally yelled. I turned the AC back to normal and held out a hand. She rolled over to her side, hands still clenched to her chest. I scooped her up and gently hugged her to my own chest.

"Annie, Annie. What's wrong?" She just shivered against me. I warmed her as best I could and waited. Her teeth stopped chattering and she swallowed. I waited for an explanation. Instead, I got crazy.

"You're giving me away!" she shrieked. "This weekend is like taking the old dog to the park one last time before you put him down. And you'll just tell Pet that old Annie passed quietly in her sleep or something." She started crying again.

"Oh, god, Annie." I held her up to my face and looked her in the eye. "You've gone nutsy fagin. "

"Oh have I?" she said. "You've got a wife who loves you, a hot young sylph who'll do anything you ask, what do you even need me for, huh?"

"Denise and I love each other, yes. But Pet wants to please Denise," I pointed out. "If pleasing me pleases Denise Pet wants to do it. It's not quite the same as wanting to please me."

"Oh, god," she replied, rolling her eyes. "She…" At that she suddenly covered her mouth. "Brrr," she said. "I'm still cold."

"Okay." I thought for a second, still stroking the icy form of my sylph. "Okay, in a few minutes, I'm going to give you Amnesty. For the whole weekend. But first you have to listen to me. Remember our agreement? I never, ever lie to you. So I'm not lying right now.

"You're my best friend." She started to open her mouth but I put a fingertip over it to shut her up. "I mean it. You're a significant portion of my life and my self-image. I have no intention of ever parting from you.

"If you're feeling a little less than the center of attention in our new life, that's too bad. I'm sorry, but we've both gone from half a relationship to a quarter of a family. This weekend isn't a last hurrah. It's a chance to concentrate on you, to find that connection we seem to have misplaced." I turned her face down in my hand, legs draped over the side of my palm. I massaged her from shoulders to thighs with two fingertips. She stiffened at my touch, but then relaxed and melted in my hand.

"I'm going to try to make and effort in the future to spend at least a little time for just us. But remember that we're not alone any more." A few minutes more of physical attention had a limp rag doll in my hand.

I eased her into my shirt pocket where she curled up against my heartbeat. A soft but heartfelt sigh sounded and I smiled. I got back on the interstate and continued our drive.

Once I was back on cruise control I placed a fingertip against the bulge in my shirt. "Okay, Annie. You have Amnesty for the entire weekend. Could you please tell me what I've done that would make you think I was going to get rid of you."

"Oh, nothing," she said. I knew she didn't mean it but would wait until she was ready to talk. She waited to see if I'd press the issue but I only grunted. After a couple of seconds she climbed to a standing position and poked her head out of the pocket. "Hey, what was that about Sylphoween?"

------

The Bakery can take some doing to find. I'd give you a hint, but I really hate getting there to find that all their fresh loaves are sold, their empanadas gone, etc. So suffice to say that I parked and made a beeline for the place. And I found it. If you can't then that's more for me.

Annie wriggled in my pocket, making sure I didn't forget to order her favorites. I left her in the pocket as I sat down. I took the cap from my bottle of Coke and fished a single grain of rice out of the Picadillo. I set that at the edge of the tray, then pinched some bread from inside the loaf and placed it next to the rice.

"There," I said, fishing her out and placing her on the tray. "Since you've been so worried about your figure for the last couple of months, this should be enough for you."

She glared. Then she nonchalantly carried the cap over to my plate, scooped up some meat, veggies and more rice and sat back down.

We ate in fairly companionable silence for a while. Neither of us would hamper enjoying that food for the sake of a grudge or a fight. I saved most of the bread for last. I tore off a hunk and picked her up. Then I dabbed at the spots she'd spilled sauce on herself and ate the bread. She got the last of the loaf and wiped sauce out of my mustache.

At the end of the little ritual she lay her head against my cheek and purred. "All better?" I asked.

"All better." With drippy food out of the way, I put one of her suits in my pocket. She dressed as I bused the table.

"I guess I've never really gotten fat, have I?" she asked as we stepped out onto the Spanish Quarter street.

"Never," I said. "I don't think it's even possible. Not unless I carry you everywhere." I looked from the crowded mall to her and back. "You wanna walk to the silversmith's?"

"Shut up, oh revered Master," she muttered.

I let Annie guide me in picking out some gifts. She steered me away from a Tiger's Eye and horseshoe nails necklace I thought was stunning towards a constellation of precious stones. She swore that Denise would like those more.

Then she found a pair of friendship collars for her and Pet. They were even worked in a pattern than resembled Denise and my wedding rings.

She modeled hers before a mirror for a while, confirming that it looked as good on her as she deserved. When she lay under the magnifying glass for me to see, I had to agree with her.

The clerk smiled indulgently at us as we discussed who'd look better with today's purchases. I maintained that I was honor-bound to appreciate my spouse more than anyone else on the planet, so that would give Denise the edge.

The salesman bent over to look closely at Annie. "I assure you, little one, it can only be a very slight edge." She beamed at him then hugged my hand.

We walked towards the New Age bookstore then. Annie crawled up out of my pocket to ride on my shoulder. After a silent moment there she turned and spoke into my ear.

"You seem uncomfortable in the morning shower. Like you're not really happy. It looks like you're just humoring me, not enjoying time with me."

"Ah," I said with a careful nod. "You picked up on that."

"It's TRUE!?!" she wailed.

"You're misreading the emotion," I said. She swallowed hard, enough that I could hear her set herself to listen to the bad news. I smiled.

"Annie, I made it clear to every date I ever had that you were a fixture in my life." In the corner of my eye I saw her nod. "Denise was no exception. She knows that you and I have rituals and routines, and that I cherish our relationship."

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is, I've been burned. You can probably remember a few relationships where the woman tested me? Where the phrase, 'Of course I don't mind if you do' should be translated as 'if you truly loved me, you'd know me enough to realize I do mind and you'd choose to stop doing something so offensive, you base animal beast jackass, you!' Right?"

"Oh. Yeah, like that blonde who-"

"Never mind her. Thing is, after a few times of that, when Denise says that she doesn't mind my playing with you, half of my brain is waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Ah. You don't think she's being honest?" I turned to gauge her expression. She looked to be as serious as I'd ever seen her. But unafraid, for all that the topic might mean to our future together.

"I think she's honest," I said. Annie nodded agreement and I was surprised to notice that I felt relieved. My pet's opinion had always been important to me. I guess I'd been hoping she really approved of my marriage, but afraid to really ask.

"Well, yeah," she replied. "You two go to such lengths to be open and honest with each other, I expect there to be disclosure statements printed up."

"That's your fault," I said and entered the store.

They had a large section of books on sylphs. Various opinions about why they existed, how they existed, what the state of their souls might be, how their totem animals were affected by the shrinking, does a healing crystal care how big you are…that sort of stuff.

And nearly every title was also printed on scrolls. The average sylph couldn't keep a paperback open long enough to read it. Magazines and hardbacks stayed open, but the constant walking back and forth interrupted each sentence and made it a daunting mental effort.

Someone had hit on reel-to-reel scrolls for the sylph set. String the book across a desk and hand-crank it at your personal reading speed. It was a little harder to bookmark, but much cheaper than the efforts to print, bind and distribute books 1/12th the size of the industry's standard.

Annie gave a small yip of frustration as I lowered her to the glass-walled sylph reading room. She wanted to discuss her fault, of course.

But the lure of the scrolls distracted her after a moment.

I skimmed the travel section. I always liked to read about foreign lands and cultures. New Agers were usually good for stories about outlandish people, garbs, culture or the shenanigans of feral sylphs in their global trotting.

As always, there was the frequent squeal of delight as patrons found Annie. Seeing someone in the reading room brought home the reality of sylphdom.

The proprietors were always glad to see it happen. It often led someone to purchase a scroll they didn't need to show their friends. I'd overheard some discussions in the various restaurants of the quarter. "And she was just hauling away on the handle. It looked just like she was actually reading!"

When I was ready to go I wandered over and found Annie looking a little anxious. She had six scrolls picked out, way over her allowance.

"They're not for me," she said as I picked her up. I glanced at the titles and set her down on the human-sized shelf. She stood and watched as I scanned her selections.

They were about people making the transition from humans to sylphs. Stories of loss, of discovery, shifts in outlook and points of view.

"They're for Pet," she explained. "She's always asking what she missed. These'll tell her."

"Uh-huh. Can Pet read?"

"Yeah." She twisted a bit on one toe. I was almost certain that Pet was illiterate. But maybe Annie wanted to teach her? Or at least would be willing to read them aloud? It might be a bonding experience. Then again, the two were like sisters already.

"Okay. But only get two. If she likes them, we'll come back and let her pick some more."

"Thank you!" She sorted her stack and picked four up. I lowered her to the room. While she put them back, I found the bigger versions, so Denise would be able to see what Pet was reading. Or being read.

"Fault?" Annie asked as I stepped out into the sun.

"Toy store or ice cream?" I asked first.

"We just ate an early lunch," she pointed out. "So of course it's time for ice cream. My fault?"

-----

Annie straddled the banana and licked ice cream off of her sprinkle. I ate around her. "Some time ago," I said, "I was at work. And my supervisor said I have to give a presentation. And I said I hated presentations because someone always asks me a question I'm not prepared for. I said, and I quote, 'I hate questions,' end of quote."

"Oh, god," she muttered. "I apologized about fifty-"

"A while after that, my girlfriend slant fiancé and I were snuggling on the sofa, watching a DVD. Two sylphs were curled up on my chest, next to her forehead. I made a pun, and she made a pun and the sylphs each made a pun and we all discovered we love punning. I said that it was a moral imperative that I make sure all those witty people stayed in my life. I said, and I quote again, "I simply must marry you, I have to."

"She had a sheltered upbringing," Annie started to say. I overrode her apology.

"So, a few months later, my mother and Denise's mother are getting together with Denise to help plan the wedding. My future mother-in-law asks about which faith I practice. And someone, who shall remain nameless, but her initials are Annie My Sylph, said, 'He says he hates Christians.' That took some sorting out."

"Look, I told you-"

"When that's finally worked through, the conversation leans towards how it was to raise children that owned pets that could talk. My mother says something along the lines of 'at least we knew he'd never be in the situation where he'd HAVE to marry Annie.' And someone-"

"Whose initials are Denise's Pet," Annie grumbled.

"-Leaps up and says, No, he HAS to marry Annie. He HAS to marry us all."

"She was trying to help."

I'd run out of ice cream and started slicing bits of fruit off with my spoon. She slid off the banana, picked up another sprinkle and ate it as I finished off the sundae.

"So," I continued, "since I actually live within a game of Telephone, Denise and I find it useful to fully express everything we're thinking, and what we mean, and what we expect the other to be doing if we're apart. It's to avoid any sort of cross communication from tiny little people that throw themselves into the conversation like a speed bump."

"I'm sorry," she said, shoulders slumped in abject misery.

"No, don't be," I told her. "It's the most open relationship I've ever been in. We've never missed an appointment or jumped to the wrong conclusion or had a you-said/I-said fight. You guys keep us careful about communications. But that's why conversations take so long."

She looked thoughtful as she finished her sprinkle. I thought she looked a little sticky, so I dipped a napkin in my icewater and wiped her face. And her throat. Her shoulders, the nape of her neck, part of her cleavage and her hands as she tried to stop me. She sputtered and kicked, slapping at me.

I giggled and reversed the napkin to dry her off. People walking by glanced curiously at the odd noises coming from my table.

"Is your little one swearing at you?" an elderly woman asked.

"She tells me that it's a title of respect in the language of her homeland," I said straight-faced.

"Oh. Well, that's nice, then." She walked off happily.

"You are going to burn in a dark and smoky Hell," Annie told me. I raised an eyebrow. "Amnesty!" she said.

I cleaned her feet, a bit more gently, and picked her up. Once we were back on the street she wriggled in my grip, slapping the back of my hand twice. I lifted her up to my face.

"Hey," she asked, "if I'm your best friend, why do I need special permission to speak freely and honestly?"

"You are my best friend, but you're also my pet. It's in your best interest that I discourage your habitual candor. It could get both of us in trouble. Especially you. If someone reacts poorly to your comments, you could get really hurt before they got themselves under control."

I was used to walking and talking with Annie. My peripheral vision was up to it, although I got strange looks. It appeared that I wasn't paying any attention to other pedestrians, walls, traffic cones.

"So I am just a pet," she said.

"Far more than 'just' a pet," I said. Look, even if I had a terrier that I considered my best friend, I wouldn't let him go on the carpet."

Her mouth opened in a wide circle of shock. "That was ONE TIME!" she shouted.

"Yes, I know, I didn't mean to say-"

"And it wasn't even MY FAULT!"

"I wasn't drawing comparisons-"

"Mr. Popular On Campus kept making poor little Annie do 'just one more trick' for the girls at the student union." A t-shirt in a store window caught my eye so I went inside. Annie went on.

"I tried and tried to signal, 'Annie go wee,' but you were paying attention to the gaping cleavage on those cows. I didn't want to embarrass you by saying, "I MUST URINATE-"

"And I appreciate that. I did, I do, and I cherish that my tiny wingman had my best interests at heart right up until she jumped down to the floor and made a wee on the carpet. Speaking of which, do you think I should wear this to work?"

She stopped ranting long enough to read the tee. It was white, with blue lettering that said, '$40 for sylph potty training and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.' The pocket had a yellow stain just below the center. A continuation of the stain ran down across the chest.

Annie's eyes went narrow as she turned slowly back to me. "Don't. You. Fucking. Dare."

"Oh, now I HAVE to buy it. At least for the threat of carrying you around in that pocket." I reached for my wallet.

"Know that I have Amnesty right now," she grated out, "and take that into consideration. I am telling you, if you make me or Pet ride in that pocket, I will make you pay." She stared with an intensity I seldom saw in Annie. I thought about her threat, and what she might be able to do to me.

I drew my hand slowly into the clear, without my wallet. "It's not that I'm afraid of you," I said. "But perhaps I've teased you enough for one day."

A few hours later, I'd had about as much of St. Augustine as I could stand. And Annie had been run ragged. She was curled up in my pocket, snoring slightly. She'd slept through the castle, only slightly flinching at the cannon demonstration.

I got to the car, sat down gently and carefully drew the seatbelt over so as not to bump her. Then headed for the freeway and home.

I turned the music down and drifted north. I wasn't thinking about anything in particular. Images of my youth floated across my mind. Then images of our future.

I never noticed that Annie woke up and stood in my pocket, not until she spoke. "So, are you guys going to have kids?"

"She can't," I replied.

"Oh." The silence stretched, but once again it was fairly comfortable. "Can't-can't or won't-can't?"

"You're worried that it's somehow your fault that I won't have children? I mean, more children?"

Annie blew a raspberry at the insult then turned around and climbed up my shirt. She knelt on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my neck as far as they would go. I raised a hand to pat her back.

"Am I?"

"No, Annie. Denise is physically unable to have any children. We're okay with that, at least partly because of you and Pet."

She started to cry just a bit. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. Really. I do admit, I'd love to have seen you teach little Ray or little Denise how to dance…but we'll live."

We stayed in the hug for a while as I drove.

Back to the Index