A Weekend Retreat (Patreon)

“Jazzmine! Come on in! God, I barely recognize you. What’s it been, six months now?”

“I know! It’s been far too long Anna. Is Colette already here?”

Anna stepped to the side, allowing Jazzmine to see for herself. Colette, a petite five feet tall, stood up and walked over, giving the five foot, five inch Jazzmine a hug. “Jazzy! About time you show up! For a minute we thought you were going to bail. The three amigas wouldn’t be complete without you!”

Anna and Jazzmine both laughed as Colette brought up their high school title. Colette was the oldest at thirty-six and met Anna the following year when she was a freshman. The two did everything together, including cheerleading. When Jazzmine came into school the year after that and joined the cheer club, the three amigas were born. Despite graduating sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen years ago respectively, Jazzmine, Anna, and Colette remained in touch. Making sure to meet up at least once a month, they had kept that schedule up until about a year ago. Anna found either Jazzmine or Colette seemed to be unable to meet. Jazzmine realized both Anna and Colette had left their shoes at the door and hurried over to take her own off. “So Sorry Anna! I didn’t know about the shoes. I haven’t seen you since you moved. Please forgive me!”

Both Colette and Anna looked at each other, as the tone in Jazzmine’s voice was that of panic. “It’s okay Jazz! I don’t really care if you keep them on or not. Here, make yourself comfortable and I’ll go get the food out.”

Jazzmine nodded, her shoulders relaxing, as she took a seat on the couch. Colette sat in a recliner to the right of the couch. Moments later Anna returned with tea and a light brunch kind of spread. Setting it down on the coffee table, each of the three women picked up a plate and dished themselves some food. Anna looked up, seeing Colette picking at her plate seemingly contemplating every bite. By contrast, Jazzmine was wolfing down her food quickly, almost as though she hadn’t eaten in a week. Sensing something amiss, Anna put her plate down, looking thoughtfully at them. 

Colette had not retained her figure well after high school. At only five feet tall, she had to weigh at least a hundred forty pounds. Both the other girls had always called her bubbles, in regards to her backside. Being black, she always joked about it being genetic. After school ended however, the bubble aspect spread throughout her body. Jazzmine had also not retained her figure, but to the other extreme. Always healthy and happy in high school, and up until a year ago, she was now rail thin. It would be surprising if she weighed more than a hundred and five pounds. Anna has gained a few pounds, but was only five or so pounds above her high school weight of one hundred fifty-five pounds. “Hey you guys, what’s gotten into you? Colette, I thought you’d go crazy for the avocado spread. It was your favorite. Jazz? You’re acting like you are starved!”

Jazzmine was the first to answer. “I’ve been working like a dog for the past year and ended up eating out a ton. I gained like, twenty pounds. That did not please my husband. One night, we were getting into the mood and when I took off my shirt he told me he couldn’t continue because of how I looked. After that I kind of...stopped eating. He doesn’t understand though! I feel so weak now. It’s hard to even get out of bed in the morning.”
 

Anna had a look of anger on her face. “All because you were working your butt off?”

“Yeah. Funny thing too. When I used the term ‘working like a dog’ to him, he laughed at me and said if I was a dog, I could eat whatever I wanted and just go burn it off. After how much time I’d been putting in at the office, coupled with the bashing I took at home, being a dog didn’t sound all that bad.”

While Anna was outraged, Colette began to tear up. “I get how you feel Jazz. I’m having spousal issues too though mine is… a bit less vocal.”

Standing up, Colette sat on the edge of the coffee table between Anna and Jazzmine, rolling up her long-sleeved shirt. Due to her dark skin, it was difficult to see at first, but as she turned her arm into the sunlight streaming from the front window, the other two women gasped. A deep bruise in the shape of a large hand covered her arm, just above her elbow. “He’s been really stressed out lately. The construction site he works on has been cutting staff.”

Balling her hands into fists, Anna stood up, her face red with anger. “That doesn’t give him a reason to assault you!”

“I know that! What am I supposed to do though?! I’m five feet nothing and he’s six feet five! I tried to stop him but he threw me across the room. I started working out but that’s not going to help me any. There’s no way I’ll be able to get strong enough to stand up to him.”

“Why don’t you just leave him then Colette? Surely you can get your career back!”

Looking down, Colette sighed. “He convinced me to let my license lapse. I already checked. I’d have to retake the nursing exams again. I’ve been out of school for more than a decade Anna. The only way I’d pass it now would be to go back to school. I don’t have the money for that!”

Colette broke down, bawling as Jazzmine scooted forward, putting her hand on Colette’s thigh to comfort her. “He’s not a bad man you know. If I could figure out a way to put a little bit of fear into him, I’m sure he’d stop being so physical.”

With both Jazzmine and Colette consoling each other, Anna’s eyes lit up. Maybe there was a way for them to feel better, at least for the weekend. As a lab monkey, as her coworkers called her, she had gotten an extra supply of the formulas she had been working on. Having perfected the canine serum, she intended to test each of the other two species on herself. She knew they would work though. All the preliminary testing had gone without a hitch. “You two hang tight. I think it’s time for a stronger drink. By the sound of it, you both could use it.”

Anna left the living room, stopping to grab her work briefcase before ducking into the kitchen. As a lead researcher under Miss Roux, Anna had been given the authority to take her trials home. It wasn’t uncommon for her to test them on herself either. Miss Roux always double checked, but Anna’s science was sound and she knew it. She picked up a vial and drank it straight, in an effort to give her a jumpstart on her transformation. After that, she poured two other vials into two glasses and filled them, and a third, will sparkling cider. Several minutes passed before she returned, carrying the three drinks. By then, Colette and Jazzmine were seated on opposite sides of the couch facing each other and talking about the old days of high school. Anna sat down in between the two, putting her feet up on the coffee table and joined right in. It was her goal to put as much time between her drinking the potion, and the other two, without having the changes start. It was Colette who leaned over grabbing a glass fifteen minutes later that prompted Jazzmine and Anna to grab theirs. “Colette, Jazzmine? Here’s to a relaxing afternoon and hopefully, the start of a carefree weekend!”

The three brought their glasses together and drank. Being as it was sparkling cider, all three downed their glasses in just a couple of gulps. A few minutes later Anna excused herself to the bathroom but instead, walked into her home office. There were a couple of notes she needed to write down and, already seeing her hands a bit thicker, thought now would be the best time to do it. Standing at her desk, she wrote one to Mike, who was Colette’s husband. As she finished, Anna found her feet becoming very warm inside her socks but resisted the urge to take them off, at least, for now. The second letter was to Gruvinder, Jazzmine’s husband. Finishing it quickly, Anna returned to the couch where she found Colette and Jazz both still talking, but also rubbing their own bare feet unconsciously. She also noticed them idly scratching their bodies and smiled to herself, knowing that hair was starting to grow in. “Hey you two, what did I miss?”

Neither of them noticed Anna walking a bit oddly, almost as though unsure on her own feet. When Anna sat down, she purposefully hid her feet under the table. Colette laughed as her hand rubbed the arch of her left foot, not noticing her toes were a bit more bulbous. “Not too much! We were lamenting about how summer was about to end and started talking about getting pedicures this weekend. Our toenails are starting to look rather beastly!”

“Yeah, and the bottoms of my feet are really rough too. They definitely need some attention!”

With a grin, Anna cleared her throat, certain the roughness was the pads beginning to grow in on their feet. With her skin starting to itch, Anna used all her willpower not to start scratching. “You both know I’d do anything for you, right? Like, if I could, I’d put both Mike and Gruvinder in their respective places for putting you both through hell.”

“I know,” Jazzmine said as she smiled. “But what can you do? It’s not like you can make Mike stop being physical or Gruvinder to stop being such a chauvinistic pig. Excuse me for a moment, I think all that food I ate is giving me a stomachache. Do you have any Pepto Bismol?”

“Sure I do! It’s in the bathroom in the cupboard above the sink.”

With Jazzmine leaving the room, Anna leaned over to Colette. “Hey Col, you remember those samples I get from work? Don’t hate me, but I slipped three different kinds into the drinks.”

Colette’s eyes widened and now, she took a better look at her feet. In addition, she could see a thin layer of hair growing over the tops of her feet. “I was wondering why my feet were so itchy. When was the last time I took one of those? Wasn’t it last year? It was kinda fun spending a few hours as a deer. What did you hit me with this time? OH! Wait a minute! Has Jazz ever had one?”

With a slight giggle, Anna shook her head. “I’m not telling you what you are turning into but I know you are going to enjoy it. As for Jazzmine, let’s make sure we try to keep her calm. Remember how freaked out you got when your feet turned to hooves? Besides, I have a plan that should help both of you out with your respective home situations.”

As Anna spoke, Colette could see Anna’s ears becoming rounder, pushing hair sandy blonde hair out of the way. Jazzmine closed the door to the bathroom and walked back towards the living room, scratching her arm. “Girls? I don’t know what’s coming over me but my whole body feels really weird. There wasn’t any alcohol in that cider was there?”

Anna patted the seat, inviting Jazzmine to sit back down. When she did, she noticed Anna’s ears. “Hey Anna? You… I mean to say, your ears are… kind of…”

Both Colette and Anna began laughing. “Listen Jazzmine, I want you to know that Colette and I are right here beside you. In fact, I’d like to try and give you both a bit of a spa treatment, just to relax you. How about a foot rub?”

“How are you going to do that? I count four feet and you’ve only got two… hands?”

While Jazzmine spoke, Anna had brought her legs up and pulled off her socks. Being much wider now, a couple of holes had formed in them.  Sighing in relief, she bent and wiggled her toes, which looked an awful lot like hands. “Holy crap Anna! What happened to your feet?!”

Colette moved the coffee table allowing Anna to sit on the floor between them. As she sat, the other two noticed black hair pushing out quickly from her skin. “I’ve told you about my job before Jazz. Remember a year or so ago when I really, really wanted both you and Colette to come over? You couldn’t make it because you had to attend a wedding. Colette got to try out some of my work and, after hearing about what you two are going through, I thought it would be nice for us all to have a weekend retreat.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘try’ some of your work? You don’t mean…”

Anna brought a finger to her lips, her mouth slightly larger and face more rounded. “Relax Jazz, let me help you calm down a bit.”

With both Jazzmine and Colette’s feet dangling off the couch, Anna laid on her back, taking Jazzmine’s feet in her hands while her feet, now near replicas of her hands, gripped Colette’s feet. Methodically, Anna began massaging. Her hands and hand-like feet were very strong, allowing her to really press into their arches. Colette leaned over, rubbing Jazzmine’s thigh with a supportive look on her face. Looking down, Jazz could see that Colette’s fingers were shorter, and stubbier while her nails had grown longer. Though short and stubby, her fingers were thick and gradually enlarging in thickness. “Don’t worry Jazz, it doesn’t hurt at all. Just try to relax. If you tense up, it can become more uncomfortable. I learned that a year ago.”

“I’m going to turn into an animal?! But I don’t want to… I mean… wow Anna, that feels really, really good. What am I turning into?”

Continuing the massage, Anna cleared her throat. “Well it would be no fun to tell you, but it’s not a chimp! You and Colette aren’t turning into the same animal either!”

Anna laughed and when she did, it sounded like a mix between a female laugh and the chattering of a primate. Jazzmine closed her eyes for a few moments while Anna moved her hands up to her calves. Unknown to Jazz, Anna purposefully moved away from her feet, as they had thickened while shrinking in size. Colette exhaled deeply as her ears rounded out while her nose and mouth started to form a muzzle. “I gotta admit Anna, your feet feel just like a pair of hands and it feels so good! I can’t remember the last time I got a foot rub.”

Jazzmine broke out of her haze hearing Colette speak. Anna had moved back to her feet though it felt much different this time. Putting her hands on her knees, Jazz could see a thin layer of hair covering her short, stubby fingers while her nails had grown considerably. Holding her hands in front of her face, she bent her fingers and found it difficult to do so. They looked like paws! Pulling her leg up, Jazzmine confirmed the roughness she felt earlier were paw pads, and her feet were far more canine like in form. Looking at Colette, fur began sprouting out of her as well though she didn’t seem to mind. “Anna? Colette? Am I going to be able to still talk?”

Colette shook her head. “Animals don’t speak sweetie. Don’t fret too much though. You will still be able to communicate with us, as well as other animals of your kind! Honestly I found it rather freeing to not have to speak!”

Finishing the massage, Anna sat up on the floor and looked at Jazzmine. Jazz saw Anna’s body was covered in coarse black hair while she appeared a bit shorter. “Have you two figured out what you are becoming yet?”

“No but I think Colette is turning into a cat or something.”

Laughing, Colette shifted in her seat, allowing her spine the room to grow. “I was thinking that too. I’m not sure what kind of cat though. My paws seem really big to be a housecat. Maybe something wild?”

“You’re on the right track Colette! I think you will enjoy your final form. I have a couple wonderful ideas too for when we are all ready.”

Colette looked at Anna, then to Jazzmine. After looking down at herself she tilted her head. “Why is Jazzmine going more slowly?”

Anna’s response sounded very strange. It was apparent she was progressing very, very fast in her transformation. While she spoke, her height diminished inch by inch. “She’s never had one of these before. Remember how long you took the first time? Listen, I don’t think I’m going to be able to speak much longer and until you change, anything I say is going to sound like a chimpanzee, hooting, screaming and grunting. I have a plan to help both of you in your home lives. Once we all change, we are going to ooo-ooo aa-AAA-aaa!”

Jazz and Colette looked at each other and back to Anna, who was hopping up and down. Now only a few feet tall, she pulled off her clothing, exposing her hairy, flat chest and stomach. Colette laughed and reached over, placing a very large hand paw on Jazzmine’s thigh. “Don’t worry Jazz. Soon enough we will be able to understand her again.”

Looking at Colette, she hadn’t really shrunk too much, but her body was becoming thicker while her breasts were almost nonexistent. “Jazz, you’ve got to be burning up right now with all that fur under your clothes.”

It was true, though Jazzmine didn’t want to say anything about it. Lifting her shirt, Jazzmine ran her thick, fur-covered fingers across her belly. Looking down, Jazzmine’s eyes crossed. Her nose was long and thick. Standing up, Jazzmine ran over to the mirror to get a look at herself. The fur was long all over her and, seeing that there was no reason to keep them on, Jazzmine slid out of her pants, yipping as the pants caught on her tail. Her initial embarrassment ebbed quickly when it was obvious the hair was covering her entire body. “Colette. I’m turning into a… a sheepdog! This is surreal! My ears are moving up, I can feel them and my mouth, my teeth are getting bigger and sharper. Colette?”

Turning around, Jazzmine gasped seeing Colette’s body. Her legs had shortened, while her arms were longer and much thicker. Colette had pulled her clothing off as well though the golden fur hid all elements of her skin. With her chest and stomach becoming one solid body part, Colette opened her mouth to speak. “Jazz… don’t worry… everrRRRRything will be okay.”

The growl made Anna screech, jumping up and down in place. While Jazzmine stared, unblinking at the lioness sitting on the couch, Anna jumped up and ran her thick, rough fingers through Colette’s now golden mane. A string of hoot, growls, screeches, and roars followed. Although Jazzmine couldn’t understand anything, she assumed they were chatting. After taking a step, Jazzmine yelped, dropping to her hands and knees. It wasn’t painful, but very surprising. “Hey! I can’t stand back up! Anna? Colette?”

Both looked towards her while Jazzmine’s upper body fused with her torso. The fur on her grew longer as Jazzmine began to shrink. “Ooo ooo ahh long now. EeeeEEEE!!!”

Jazzmine’s eyes widened hearing the word ‘long’ when Anna was chattering. This was really happening! She rolled over onto her back bringing her legs and arms straight up in the air. While her legs shortened and thinned, her arms lengthened and became thicker. Jazzmine’s tongue lolled out of her muzzle, panting slightly. The room blurred for a moment, the growls of Colette and chatters of Anna ringing in her canine ears. As the room came back into focus, the growls and chatters became voices. “Welcome to the jungle Jazz! Come on over here and sit with us for a bit!”

The voice was Anna’s, though the tone was higher in pitch than Jazzmine was used to. Colette stretched out, her large pawed toes flexing outwards. “Yeah Jazz! Come on up! There’s plenty of room for ya!”

Padding over, walking on all fours felt natural to her. In fact, everything about her new body felt as though she had been in this body her whole life. She jumped up on the couch, her tail wagging, and was able to see just how big Colette was. Not only was Colette a lion, but a large lion. Unlike herself and Anna, she hadn’t shrunk at all. If anything, she’d grown a bit. Anna stood about three feet tall, looking tiny in comparison to Colette. Jumping behind Jazzmine, Anna began petting her. “See Jazzmine? That wasn’t too bad was it?”

“It was freaky at first, but you two really helped me stay calm! So what do we do now? How long are we going to be like this?”

“Usually, the serum lasts about sixteen hours but I wanted us to be able to really kick back. We won’t turn back until Sunday, just after six in the evening.”

“Today is Saturday so… we will be like this for the next thirty hours? What are we going to do?”

Anna looked at Colette who flashed a toothy smile. “First, we are going to head out back. It’s a short jaunt through the backyard to the forest area. I figure we will head there so we don’t end up getting picked up by animal control. Come on! It’s time to stretch those new legs of yours!”

Hopping off the couch, Anna walked to the back door and opened it. Jazzmine went first to look around and see if any neighbors were outside. Her nose rose upward, being assaulted by a litany of scents her human self would have never been able to pick up. To the north Jazzmine could smell the pine trees swaying in a gentle breeze. The wind swirled and her head turned to the left, where the unmistakable smell of barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs filled her nostrils. Taking a couple steps that way, her tail wagged uncontrollably behind her as Anna stepped outside. “Jazz? Jazzmine? Come back over here. Remember, you don’t have any identification. We have to stay incognito okay?”

“Okay but those smell so amazing! You think we might be able to find some of them? I’m hungry!”

Laughing, Anna looked around while scratching Jazzmine’s backside just before her tail. “I’m sure we can. Let’s get Colette out of the house first though.”

With the coast clear Anna motioned for Colette to come out. Colette jumped off the couch, her long claws clicking on the hardwood floor. As she walked out of the house Jazzmine couldn’t help but notice how massive her form was. By comparison, Jazzmine felt like a corgi, even though she was a sheepdog. Shaking her mane out, Colette bounded quickly through the backyard. Her strides were nothing short of graceful and when she jumped over the back fence, Jazzmine couldn’t stop thinking how majestic Colette looked. Anna gave the new sheepdog a gentle smack on her backside, snapping Jazzmine out of her fixation. “Well? What are you waiting for Jazz? Go catch her!”

Tail wagging, Jazzmine sprang off the back deck, gaining speed as she approached the back fence. The feeling of the wind blowing through her fur felt freeing, and her jump cleared the fence with a foot to spare. To any humans, a flurry of barks was heard as Jazzmine bounded through the wooded area though Anna giggled hearing the sheepdog yelling out ‘this is amazing! Wait up Colette!’ Getting on all fours, Anna ran through the backyard as well. Though the slowest of the three, Anna scaled the nearest tree, swinging from branch to branch in order to catch up. The three ran around, enjoying nature and their lean animal bodies all the way until nightfall. Anna got the attention of the other two. “Okay ladies, it’s time for the next part of my plan. I just need to stop by the house for a moment.”

Gruvinder pulled up the driveway to his and Jazzmine’s home. Shaking his head, his wife’s car was not in the driveway. Muttering to himself about her work, he walked up to the front door. Noticing an envelope on the ground, Gruvinder bent down, picking it up. The envelope wasn’t sealed, but had his name on it. Figuring it was some kind of neighborhood he opened the door and went inside. After popping open a beer and settling down on the couch, he turned on the TV, wanting to catch the end of the football game. An hour later, and a horrible call by the referees later, he opened the letter, holding the envelope in one hand while his eyes scanned the handwritten letter.

Gruvinder,

You know, Jazzmine is a wonderful woman who has worked her tail off to provide for both you, and your family as well. Your words have struck her so deeply, she’s become unhealthy thanks to your demeaning attitude toward her. I would highly advise you to cease and desist. Otherwise, it won’t be your car that’s disfigured next time.

“My car?”

Confused, Gruvinder opened the front door and walked out to his car. About five feet from it, he gasped, dropping both the envelope and the letter. On the driver’s side door, the words ‘I AM A PIG’ were scratched into the paint. Along with that, four large scratches ran from the back door all the way to the back of the car. At first, Gruvinder thought his car was keyed, however stepping closer to the car, there was something on his back window. What he saw made Gruvinder stumble backwards, falling on his backside. There were two massive dirty paw prints on the window. Looking towards the grass, he could clearly see the indents of the paw prints, along with the long claws.

Michael rolled up to his driveway, dead tired from a long day at the construction site. Not seeing Colette’s car he cursed loudly, now wishing he had just stopped for food on the way home. Slamming the car door hard, he lumbered to the front door, fumbling with his keys. Cursing again as Michael dropped his keys, he bent over, picking them up, along with an envelope addressed to him. Opening it outside, he began to read.

Michael,

What you’ve done to Colette is reprehensible. Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners? How dare you lay a hand on a woman?! She is unable to defend herself against you and I will not stand for it! The problem is, you aren’t exactly the kind of guy that is able to look introspectively and reflect on his actions. Let me put it a different way. If you ever touch Colette again in any way other than out of love, I will come back and I will not hesitate to take care of you.

Michael laughed out loud. “Who the heck is going to take care of me? I’m one of the biggest guys around!”

A low growl was heard behind him, making Michael stop laughing. Turning quickly, Michael’s eyes widened as two yellow eyes stared back at him. Frozen in place, the two eyes narrowed and reared back, leaping through the air. The scream that came out of Michael’s mouth was less than manly, and more like that of a ten-year-old girl. Slammed back against the door, Michael was pinned to the door by a very large paw belonging to an even larger lioness. Clawing at the paw, Michael found himself helpless, far weaker than the beast holding him in place. The lioness snarled, revealing her large, pointed teeth and chomped down right in front of Michael’s face, eliciting another girly scream. Colette gave an ear-splitting roar before releasing Michael. Though free, Michael slumped to the ground, one hand clutching his chest and the other covering his eyes. “Please! I swear I won’t ever touch her again! PLEASE! Just let me be! I will change my ways I SWEAR!”

The lioness stepped backwards, giving a final, loud roar before turning and running away. Shaking, Michael watched her run across the street, meeting up with a sheepdog and a chimpanzee. All three stared at him before the chimpanzee ran across the street towards him again. Standing a few feet away, the chimp reached behind herself and then screeched, before making a throwing motion. Michael gagged, vomiting on the porch while scraping at his face to pull the stool off his face. While pulling the stool off, Jazzmine jumped up on the porch and lifted her leg, urinating on Michael. All three animals ran away, leaving Michael petrified, and smelling of feces and urine.

The three spent the rest of the night running around, careful to stay away from populous places. As animals, getting food was easy, and Jazzmine was quick to pull open the garbage can from the house that was grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. As for Colette, she was able to hunt down a deer in the forest area. Anna took a more civilized approach to food, opting to go back to her house and munch on the copious amounts of bananas she had purchased, knowing what she was going to turn into.

Now the late afternoon, Anna, Colette, and Jazzmine sat in the living room of Anna’s house. It was Anna who began to change back first. Her body began lengthening while the thick black hair covering her body receded back into her body. While her face slowly became softer, and human. Before she stood up, Anna waited for her feet to turn back to normal, human feet. Once that was finished, Anna put an outfit on and sat down between Colette and Jazzmine, scratching behind both of their ears. “It’s going to take a while before you two fully change back. Oh, why am I even talking right now? You guys can’t understand me.”

Fifteen minutes later, Colette and Jazzmine began shifting back to human. Colette’s transformation was a bit faster than Jazzmine’s but not overly so. Though Colette seemed at peace with her change back, Jazzmine was a bit panicked, whimpering and barking loudly. Anna pulled Jazzmine’s head into her lap, petting her while the hair pulled back into Jazzmine’s body. “It’s okay Jazz, it doesn’t take as long to transform back. Just relax, we are here for you.”

Colette’s body reformed first. Her breasts grew back while her arms thinned out. Colette’s feet were the last to change, the massive paws shifting into small, human feet. Dressing back up in the clothing she wore over to Anna’s house while Jazzmine slowly reverted as well. When Jazz finished changing back, Colette handed her clothing to her. “Well Jazz? Did you have a good weekend?”

“Oh my God it was so much fun! I felt so strong and alive! Thank you, Anna, for this!”

Hugging Anna tightly, Jazzmine released her grip and walked to the door. Stopping, she turned back around, blushing a bit. “Hey Anna? Do you have an extra toothbrush? I don’t really want to go home smelling like hamburgers and hot dogs! Gruvinder might start up again.”

Nodding, both Jazzmine and Colette went to the bathroom to brush their teeth. When they came back out Anna was holding a vial in her hand. “Tell you what Jazz. If Gruvinder says anything, you just let me know okay?”

“I will Anna. Thank you for everything!”

Arriving home, Jazzmine held her laughter as she looked at the driver’s side of her husband’s car. Gruvinder met her at the door. “Hey Jazzmine? I ummm… I’m really sorry for how I’ve been treating you. I know you work hard and I should have been more supportive of you. Can you possibly forgive me?”

Colette slammed the car door and walked to the front porch. The faint smell of urine lingered on the door making Colette giggle to herself. When she opened the door, Michael was sat on the couch in the living room. He barely looked up. “Hi Col. How was your weekend?”

The tameness in his voice was something Colette had never heard before. Giving a little half-smile, Colette cleared her throat. “It was a lot of fun! Anna, Jazzmine and I had a girls’ night out and I didn’t think it would be a good idea to drive home. How was yours?”

“It… was something different for sure. Do you want to maybe go out to eat tonight? Maybe somewhere really nice?”

Michael stood up and walked towards Colette, embracing her tenderly, with a touch she hadn’t felt in a long time. Looking up at her tall husband, she nodded. “That sounds wonderful Michael. The night seemed to drag on forever. I’m as hungry as a lion!”

Still in her arms, it took every ounce of willpower not to laugh when she felt Michael’s knees go weak and his body shake. “Everything okay Mike? Oh and, why does our porch smell like urine?”