A Companion's Journey

Chapter 3 - Change of Pace

Rachel did not sleep well that first night, and contributed it to the fact she went through a breakup and adopted a new friend. When her alarm finally went off at 6:20am, she had been awake for an hour. She reached for her phone, pulled up her manager's number, and expectantly got his voice mail.

"Jerry? Hi, it's Rachel. Listen, I need to take a sick day. Call me if there's an emergency, but you can just hand off my file to Lisa if it needs to get done today, 'kay? Seeya Monday."

Rachel felt glad it was Friday and looked forward to getting to know her new Companion.

"Might as well get up."

She went into her usual morning routine.

Instead of business casual attire, she went with worn jeans and a loose t-shirt. She laced up her shoes and made her way to the living room. Karson was up and flipping through channels on the display.

"Good morning!" Rachel said.

He quickly dropped the remote like a hot potato and his ears reflexively lay back. His response was somewhat timid.

"Good morning, Rachel. I hope you do not mind that I was watching the video display?"

She dismissed his apology with a wave of her hand.

"Nah, it's cool. You want some breakfast?"

She dug through the cabinets before deciding what to fix. Karson got up from the couch and followed into the kitchen.

His tail wagged.

"Yes, breakfast would be wonderful."

Rachel noticed his jumpsuit open about halfway down the front. From collar to stomach his fluffy fur coat peeked out around the gap. She paused in her rummaging and focused on his fur.

"Karson, your fur...can I-oh, never mind."

She continued to scrounge for breakfast and pulled out a bowl and a box of pancake mix. The Companion looked down at his chest and open jumpsuit zipper. He self-consciously ran a hand over the fur that poked out. It was a rare occasion for him to wear anything other than one of his jumpsuits when he lived with the Carlson family.

Once, Kara asked him to take it off so she could see his full fur coat. Of course, he complied without hesitation. Now it seemed Rachel wanted to ask the same thing, but held back.

Most Companions did not have any qualms about nudity, but Karson was accustomed to always wearing his suit and found it an awkward feeling to be in the fur in the presence of someone else. In this instance, he guessed that Rachel merely wanted to have a closer look at his fur. He walked over to Rachel and stood next to her. She seemed preoccupied as she mixed up the pancake batter.

He looked up at her.

"Would I be correct in guessing you were going to ask me if you could feel my fur?"

Rachel stopped mixing but did not look him in the eye.

He could sense her hesitation.

"It is alright, I do not mind. I am yours now; you can ask anything of me."

Rachel dropped the spoon in the bowl and turned to him, a strange look on her face.

"Karson, please! You're not mine. I don't own you. Yes, I provide for you, but you're your own person; you have your own free will. I will not treat you like a dog just because you happen to look like one."

Karson saw she was flustered and they had somehow entered into a touchy subject. He reached up and took her hand, then guided it to his chest.

"It is alright Rachel, I do not mind, really. If you had fur, you would know that it actually feels nice to have someone stroke it."