A Demon's Regret

At first, Andy had been very resistant and anxious when I brought up leaving the apartment. Apparently I needed to stay literally within a few feet of him, or our contract would come to an end. I reassured him that I’d be careful, but he had been beside himself with worry that we’d be separated.

At last, after I pointed out that our contract was modified from his usual (and would only be nullified if we were separated before a month’s time), and promised him I’d sign a new one, he conceded. It made me start to realize that maybe Andy really was serious about… whatever, exactly, he felt about me. I knew he couldn’t feel love, so perhaps he hadn’t exaggerated when he said I tasted different? Maybe it was a form of addiction?

Before we left, Andy had insisted I go to the bathroom, putting up a huge fuss! I suppose I hadn’t thought about how public restrooms were separated by gender. It made me wonder how many times Andy had accidentally ended a contract because one of his women needed to piss during an outing...

The other thing I hadn’t considered was how the hell Andy could just walk around without being noticed. But after I came out of the bathroom, I found he had tucked his tail down an uncharacteristically loose pair of pants, and he was wearing gloves. Sexy, clever man!

I decided Andy might enjoy Carol Ann’s Carousel and the Pichler Fountains. They were a decently impressive tourist-y type attraction.

It was cute, how he had offered me his arm in such an antiquated fashion, to walk me to my car. Once I had let on where we were going, Andy had gone over how I wasn’t to stray far yet again, and insisted we ride adjacent animals.

I’d been able to get decent metered parking pretty close to Anderson Pavilion, which was a plus. I couldn’t remember the exact hours of the carousel, but I remembered that they changed seasonally, and sometimes it closed pretty early.

Luckily, it was early enough that it was still running when we arrived. When Andy had seen it, through the big glass windows, he had seemed so happy! He declared he wanted to ride the strangest animal, and his hand was actually shaking with excitement in mine.

After getting our tokens and getting in line, Andy had begged me to ride the praying mantis, asking if I would mind riding the black horse behind it, as it seemed close enough to the big, wooden insect. I’d replied I preferred the pig that was next to the bug over the comparatively plain horse, which Andy simply couldn’t comprehend. He had said he didn’t understand why a woman of my, 'grace and beauty,' would want to ride an, ‘ordinary, domestic hog,’ which made me snicker.

We were lucky, and Andy got to have his ride on the praying mantis, while I enjoyed my hoggy steed. It had been adorable, watching him appreciatively finger the caterpillars and butterflies decorating his praying mantis, and I snapped a photo with my cellphone right after the ride was over, as everyone was getting off. It would be something I could remember him by, after he was gone.

Afterwards, we went over to the Pichler Fountains. Andy wasn't terribly impressed by the them, though he liked the view. I wasn't really surprised, I figured he'd probably seen all the world had to offer in terms of waterworks, and the lights weren't on yet. Andy didn’t really know much about Cincy, it seemed, so I pointed out North Kentucky and a few other spots we could see from there as we walked around.

When I had asked if Andy was up for seeing a movie, he had looked at me guiltily and admitted that his nerves were frayed at the possibility of our separation, and that he actually wanted to go back to my apartment. The moment was so strangely touching, and unexpected. I’d felt my heart melting as I looked into his stunning, cerulean eyes. They had shined brightly when I said that going home was just fine, and he’d kissed my hand and called me, ‘generous beyond measure.’

On the way home, I went through a Taco Bell drive-thru. Andy had been skeptical at the idea of ordering any food for himself, but I had the feeling he’d want some later, so I just doubled my order. Just as I’d expected, Andy was sniffing curiously at the bag before I even got home. After we were inside, he watched me enviously as I opened the container for my cheese quesadilla, and was full of praise when I proffered him one of his very own.

We spent the night eating our Taco Bell and watching Netflix while we cuddled. I’d never had such a great vacation!

Notes

Carol Anne's Carousel:



Pichler Fountains: