The large ornate clock that hung precariously from the bedroom wall rang out into the darkness four musical tones, confirming that it was still very early in the day. Cranking out the four tones, the clock then fell silent, it’s internal gears grinding away in the ever constant task of marking times relentless run.

     Sawyer slept quietly, nestled deep into her big canopy bed. With the curtain drawn and the silky velvet sheets tucked up to her chin, the world had faded away for her, replaced by the things of her dreams.

     Danny also slept, not more than a few inches away from his wife, her small hand still gently clutched in his under the sheets. Other than the gentile twitch of his nose or dreamy mumble, his world also had dissolved into dream.

     All was still in the felines home, all was calm.

     At the foot of the big canopy bed, the curtain parted and rustled slightly, as a small lump formed in the bed’s sheet. It wiggled and twitched, making it’s way up the bed toward Sawyers resting form. Stopping only to worm onto the sleeping female’s legs, the lump continued it’s steady climb up to Sawyer’s face.

     Still dreaming lightly, Sawyer felt small spikes of pain run up her leg and eventually cross her belly. Drifting slowly back into consciousness she twisted a bit under the cover, almost knocking the lump off her stomach. ‘Danny better not try and get fresh at this ungodly hour, or I am going to rearrange his face.’

     She forced her eyes open and tried her best to focus them in the darkness of the canopy. Her pupils expanded, trying to find any light in which to soak in, but she could still see only inky outlines. Instinctively, she turned toward Danny, ready to slap his grinning face as soon as it came into view, but as the bed began to take shape, she saw he was sleeping peacefully, hands to himself.

     The lump gave a good tug on the fur between her breasts and Sawyer had to fight back the urge to scream. Half for the pain of the tug and half for the sheer fear of having some unknown thing crawling on her while she slept.

     Giving one last tug on her fur the lump made it’s way to the top of the sheet and with a little squeak, popped it’s head out from under the velvet cover.

     Sawyer suddenly relaxed and smiled as she was greeted by the face of her seven month old daughter. “Felicia! How did you get out of your crib?”

     The baby only regarded her with a toothless smile, her big blue eyes looking right back at Sawyer’s. “Baaaa!”

     Placing a hand on the baby’s rump and sitting up, Sawyer gently cradled the infant in her arms. “You bad baby, you scared mommy.”

     Felicia still only smiled, peering up into the beautiful face she knew as her mother, her little eyes full of happy wonder. “Baaa! Bab ba!” She squeaked again.

     “I know, I know. Your hungry aren’t you?” Sawyer slipped the strap of her night gown off her shoulder and carefully lifted the baby’s head to suckle at her breast.

     Of all the responsibilities that came with being a mother, this was the one she cherished most. Nothing made her feel more important and feminine than when she nursed. ‘And to think, this is the fourth baby I’ve held here.”

     This thought, tough happy and full of pride in context, brought a sudden wave of sadness in her. ‘Fourth and the last.” She and Danny had decided that Felicia would be their final child, and when she was older, they would take the steps to insure it. It was not something Sawyer looked forward to, and it seemed to her an admittance that she was old. ‘Old and useless.’

     There was a creak in the bed and the mattress shifted as Danny slipped softly up next to her and looped his arms around her shoulders. Saying nothing, he squeezed her, and kissed Felicia’s forehead. Smiling, he placed his hand under the babies head to help Sawyer support her.

     “I didn’t hear her fuss. My ears must be going bad.” He finally whispered with his earmark boyish grin.

     “She didn’t fuss. In fact, I didn’t even hear her till she got up in bed with me.”

     Danny’s face contorted a little. “Again? Boy, not even a year old and already climbing over everything.”

     “Your mom said you were the same why when you were a baby.” Sawyer wisped smugly.

     He only shrugged. “Maybe so, but it looks like I’m going to have to pin up some chicken wire over her crib so she stays in it at night.”

     They both laughed in the darkness, and even Felicia, still drinking intently, smiled.

     “What time is it?” Danny asked, rubbing his eyes with the back of his free hand.

     “Early.” Sawyer replied with a sigh. She went back to watching the baby, and a silence began to form in the room again. With both Mommy and Daddy close by, Felicia felt reassured and safe, her little eyelids starting to get heavy.

     “Danny?” Sawyers voice cut the silence at last. “Can I ask you something?”

     “Sure love. What’s on your mind?” Her Tabby husband gave her another squeeze around the shoulders and kissed her cheek.

     “Do you remember Minerva Mink?”

     Danny’s brow wrinkled as he began to dig through his memory for the name she had mentioned. “Minerva Mink.... Hmmmmm.” Being in show business, Danny had met a multitude of people, and though he was naturally good with names and faces, it took him a moment to find her name among the others.

     Suddenly his brows lifted and he got another boyish grin on his face. “Oh ya! You mean blonde with the legs that use to work at the studio?”

     Sawyer jabbed him with her elbow in the center of his ribs. Not hard enough to hurt, only because she didn’t want to jostle the baby, but he got her drift.

     Danny laughed. “I was only being descriptive. She was blonde and had legs. You know you’re the only girl I have eyes for.”

     She knew this, but she also knew it didn’t hurt to remind him of it. “But as I was saying, do you remember we use to have her over for dinner sometimes?”

     Again Danny dug through his memories for what his wife was talking about. “Your mothers were good friends weren’t they? Yes, I remember now. Gosh, it’s been years since we last saw her. Why did you dig her up all of a sudden?”

     Sawyer shifted a bit in bed, trying to get comfortable again without upsetting Felicia. “Meggie said she saw her at work the other day, and it got me thinking that we’ve not talked to her in years. Perhaps we could have her over for dinner again some night?”

     Danny helped her get settled and adjusted, placing a pillow behind her back she could prop herself up. “Sounds good to me. I always like getting in touch with old friends.”

     Sawyer smiled and yawned. “Great. I’ll give her a call tomorrow and see if she’s game.”

     About this time Felicia put both her hands on Sawyer and pushed herself away signaling her midnight snack was over. She yawned too, and began to coo softly, rubbing her sleepy little eyes.

     Sawyer lifted her up to kiss her as Danny replaced her nightgown strap to her shoulder. “Guess I better put her back in her crib.”

     “I have a better idea.” Danny pulled one of the blankets up from the foot of the bed, and taking Felicia from his wife, wrapped her up tightly in it. Then, slipping an arm around Sawyer, nestled back into the pillows, placing the infant between them. “How’s that?”

     Felicia yawned once more and stuck her thumb into her mouth before finally falling back to sleep. Sawyer sighed happily, and moved her face over closer to her husband’s. “Perfect. I love you Danny.”

     They kissed in the darkness before falling back into the seductive drawings of sleep.


     “All done.” Terry tightened the last screw and, placing the screwdriver into his red toolbox tray, slipped down the stepladder and across Minerva’s garage.

     Upon reaching the far wall, he flipped the garage circuit breaker switch back to the ‘on’ position, allowing power back into small room. Though he had help build this garage back when he and Dee Dee were still dating, he hadn’t done the electrical work and that scared him. ‘There is nothing more dangerous than a boob who thinks he knows how to install wiring. That usually spells trouble for anyone who does any work on it later, like me.’

     Toggling the light switch up and down a few times the new ceiling lamp came on, shedding different color light out it’s stained glass exterior, and illuminating the room. “Excellent!”

     Collapsing the stepladder, then setting it and his tools off to one side, he swept up the little bits of wire and insulation that had fallen to the floor while he had worked, and tossed them along with the old wire and lightbulb combo that had been the garage’s original light source, into the trash. ‘A clean home is a happy, right?’

     Checking the light a few more times to insure that he had the voltage right, he slipped back inside the house and made his way through Minerva’s den, and up the flight of stairs.

     Minerva was working happily in her kitchen, whipping up a good lunch for Terry as a reward for helping with the light. Plus Dee Dee was at work, and she didn’t want him to starve on his own. “Tee-Hee!”

     There was a pot of tomato soup on the burner getting warm, and she kept a watchful upon it as she made two tuna fish sandwiches, one for both of them. ‘A girl has to eat too you know.’ Dicing up some sweet pickles, for Terry liked them in his tuna, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have to do this every day, either for her husband or, god forbid, her own kids.

     Tossing the pickles into the bowl with the tuna, she flipped off the burner and poured the steaming soup into two bowls, and placed them on the dinning table. “Wouldn’t be so bad, I don’t think. Heck, might even be fun. I like cooking for more than just myself anyway. A woman can not live on Chinese take out alone.”

     Stepping back into the kitchen, she filled the soup pot with some water to let it soak, and returned to making her sandwiches. She scooped out the tuna onto two slices of bread, covered them over with another slice, then cut them with her kitchen knife in diagonal halves.

     Then setting two of the halves each on it’s own plate, followed by a handful of potato chips, they followed the soup into the dinning room. ‘And one more thing to make it complete.’

     Opening up the dish cupboard, she pushed herself up on tippy toe to fish out two glasses from the top shelve. Setting them on the counter, she poured lemonade from a frosty pitcher into each, filling them just over half full. When returning the pitcher to the fridge, she got out a saucer that she had placed a few extra slices of lemon on when she had finished making the lemonade, and dropped a slice into each glass for extra zing.

     ‘Perfect! Mom would be pleased, it’s just like she use to do.’ She placed both glasses on the table, in just enough time to hear Terry’s footfalls on the den stairs. ‘Woah! That was fast.’

     “All done Minerva!” The big wolf came around into the kitchen to was his hands and started to sniff at the air. “Mmmmm, hey. What smells so good?”

     “Your payment for helping me with the light.” She said, slipping around behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist for a quick hug. “I really appreciate it.”

     The relationship between Terry and the three mink girls was an interesting one, if not all that complex. After his marriage to Dee Dee, Terry had been inducted into their childhood click, and dubbed the ‘big brother’ of the group.

     He had an honest quality that appealed to all three of them, and his personal complexities were no deeper than the poker face he used in business haggling.

     Nothing but honest, always helpful, pleasant demeanor, and a certain ‘boy scout’ attitude that hadn’t been cheapened with age. His eyes didn’t wander, nor his hands, and they were never worried if he was with some other woman on business trips, for he called often, but his voice would always betrayed the longing for his wife.

     This wasn’t to rule out the fact that he was also strikingly handsome, well built, always clean and neat, and with a little help from the girls, dressed with the trendiest clothing.

     There was also a stronger side to Terry that wasn’t often seen. He was slow to anger, but when provoked, could get very rough. Minerva had seen him sink a good punch or two into some thugs who tried to get fresh with Trudy at the mall. It was perfectly clear he didn’t care for jerks messing with his ‘Angels’.

     This though made Minerva smile and hug him a little tighter. “Terry’s Angels” was a phrase he had coined for them, and it was true. He was there for them when they needed him, and vise versa. A kind of family unit. Weird, but a family.

      “No problem Min. I needed something to do this morning anyway.” He wrung his hands on the towel hung by the sink and Minerva released him.

     “How long before you start your new job?” She asked leading him into the dinning room and to his lunch.

     They both sat down and dug in happily, Terry eating most of his sandwich in three big bites. “Not till the end of the month. I figure I owe Dee Dee some ‘Us’ time. She is going to try and squeeze out a week of work between now and then so we can have some time to ourselves.”

     Minerva nibbled at her food, popping a few potato chips into her mouth. “Oh? And is there going to be any time squeezed in for maybe, oh... a baby?” She grinned and sipped a little lemonade.

     Terry swallowed the last of his sandwich and pointed a finger at her. “Listen you, you and that red head just better cool it. We’ll have a baby when the time is right and no sooner.” He tried his best to keep a straight face, but broke out in a smile before to long. “Why such a rush anyway. Were still young.”

     Minerva acted shocked. “Duh silly! So Aunt Trudy and Aunt Minerva can have a cute little baby to spoil rotten, that’s why!”

     They both laughed for a bit before going back to their meal. A silence was born, and then grew until the food was gone. It wasn’t until Minerva started taking the dishes away did she remember why else she had called Terry over.

     Something had scratched her bare back, poking out from her jean pocket. “What the...?” She reached back to pull it out from under her blouse, and retrieved the magazine article she had put there while getting dressed this morning.

     “Well, I guess I better be on my way.” Terry put his dishes in the sink and headed toward the door.

     “Terry wait!” Minerva pulled the article from her jeans and handed it to him. “What do you think of this?”

     The wolf started to read, his big blue eyes scanning the words and graphs, lips twitching slightly as he was lost in thought. When done, he handed it back to Minerva and whistled.

     “Well?” She felt a nervous shiver run up her spine. Terry had made a living out of start up businesses, and if he felt it was an unattainable goal, that would pretty much settle it before it had begun.

     “Are you seriously considering doing this Minerva?” He cocked his head to the side and flicked the corner of the paper with his big fingers. “This is a pretty ambitious project.”

     “Well..... ya actually, I would like to do it.” The little mink felt an unnatural wave of fear in the pit of her stomach. ‘Can I even do it?’

     The wolf itched his chin a moment and then placed both hands on Minerva’s shoulders. “Then, I think you should go for it.”

     “Really?!”The sudden nervousness shot out of her as she almost jumped off the floor with excitement. She had half expected him to have tell her she was nuts to even consider it, and his approval lifted a huge weight she been unknowingly under.

     “Sure. The only thing I would suggest, would be doubling the starting price they have listed here. Just in case of any trouble, you have a little insurance cash.”

     “But that’s going to be a problem. It’s was going to take all my saving just to come up with the original price they mentioned. Where would I get the rest?”

     “That’s simple. All you have to do is get some stock made up, and sell it to any investors that are willing to take a risk with you.”

     Minerva scowled at this remark and Terry easily noticed it.

     “I didn’t mean it that way Min. Any business venture is a risk. There is never any grantee that you’ll succeed. But, it’s a free market, and you have the ability to make a business in the first place, and there are people out there looking for a new investment opportunity. It’s what makes our country work.”

     She mulled this for a moment and nodded her agreement.

     “Okay then. If your serious about this, and I think you are, just do what I said and come up with the other half in stock. You’ll have to split the business with the shareholders, but it’s a lot less trouble than getting a business loan and you wont owe the bank a dime. It’s how I got my first business started.”

     “Who did you get to buy stock from you Terry? I mean, am I going to have to really dig to find people?”

     Terry blushed at this and rubbed the back of his neck with a big hand. “ No, there will be investors crawling around like roaches, the trick is finding the right ones. To be honest..... I sold my stock to friends and family. The idea of having a bunch of people I didn’t know or trust telling what I could and couldn’t do in my own company was unnerving. So, I was able to sell enough to the people I knew to get the company started, then bought them back out the price of the stock, plus some extra for their help. No policy problems, no dealing with conflicting personalities.”

     Minerva pondered this with her hand on her hip. ‘Hmmm, so I guess what Terry is saying is that I need all the trustworthy people I can get here. Duh Minerva, these stock holders will own half the company, so you don’t need some kook in there telling us we need to make see through skirts or something.’

     Slipping an arm around Minerva’s shoulders Terry stuck her head up against his chest and lightly ground his knuckles into her hair. “I’ll even tell you what. You write me up a proposal, and I’ll be your first buyer. I think with you at the helm, your business will be a household name in no time.”

     “Hey! Stop! You're mussing up my hair you jerk!” Minerva wiggled free from his grasp and did her pest to slug him in the arm. “Do you know how hard it is to get it looking this way.”

     He only shrugged and opened the back door. “Probably longer than I want to know. Take my advice Min, and bring me a proposal sometime this weekend. It isn’t hard and if you need any help, I’m just across the pond.”

     Without letting her respond, the big wolf was out the door and trotting down the path to his house, sending back to Minerva a casual wave.

     She sighed and leaned up on the doorjamb watching him go. “Terry, you goonie.” But there was no spite in it, only amusement.

     Their conversation had been the final green light for Minerva. There was no longer any reason to worry if it was the right decision.

      It was almost time to go money hunting!