RedT Reads Randomly

Holloway's house has been invaded by a family of Fuzzies, who with the aid of Carl, entered at night through his doggie door.  Holloway woke up with a bed full of Fuzzies

" . . . resulting in his current contortionist position.

Holloway raised his head off the pillow and saw Carl lying on the floor next to the cot.  Baby Fuzzy had nuzzled into his side and was sighing contentedly in her sleep. Carl didn't look terribly comfortable, either.  He noticed Holloway looking at him and gave him a look with his eyebrows that said, Sorry, man, I didn't know.

'Idiot,' Holloway said and then dropped his head back down on the pillow.

Later Holloway was trying to work out the kinks in his muscles with a hot shower in the cabin's tiny lavatory when Baby Fuzzy pulled aside the curtain and got her first glimpse of naked, soap-covered man.

'Do you mind,' Holloway said, mildly. . . 

Baby turned her head and squeaked. Five seconds later, four other heads peeked into the shower, watching the funny hairless thing doing its incomprehensible water ritual. Now Holloway felt vaguely uncomfortable. . . 

Carl poked his head into the shower, as if to see what he was missing. Holloway turned the nozzle on the lot of them and smirked as they scattered.

Breakfast was likewise an experience. The Fuzzies, sitting on the kitchen table, appeared to be bored with their bindi and were far more interested in the massive sandwich Holloway was making for himself.

'Don't even think it,' Holloway said to them . . . 

He closed the sandwich on itself and turned to put the ingredients back into the storage cooler.

When he turned back, Pinto was standing in front of him,  eyes imploring.

'Nice try,' Holloway said. 'But you're not the cute one.' He picked up the sandwich.

Baby got up, walked over next to Pinto, and employed that same look. 'Oh, come on,' Holloway said. 'That's completely not fair.'

Baby walked over to Holloway and lightly touched his arm, eyes wide and pleading. 'Stop that,' Holloway said. 'Your evil mystic cuteness has no effect on me.'

Baby wrapped her tiny fuzzy arms around Holloway's arm and sighed, piteously and hungrily.

Two minutes later the sandwich had been sliced into six equal pieces, and each of the Fuzzies was enjoying its first smoked turkey and Swiss on wheat, chittering in delight with each bite. Holloway glumly looked down at his drastically reduced sandwich segment.

'Well, this sucks,' he said after a minute.

 Sensing weakness, Carl walked up to his master, eyes full of hope.

'Fine. Here.'  He handed over the miniature meal, which went down Carl's gullet in a single gulp. 'I hope you choke on it. You're all fur-bearing pains in my ass, you know that.'

Carl looked up wagging his tail, and licked his lips happily."

SCIENCE FICTION « The Art of Michael Whelan
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SCIENCE FICTION « The Art of Michael Whelan

I am really loving this book.