The Black Cat and the Guinea Pig

This little snippet came from a writing exercise.

***

The lead character finds the love interest in a compromising situation!

 

A collaborative project with a quirky veterinarian leads to something more.

 

It's revealed that a major character is pregnant!

 

 

 

“Hello?” I knocked on the glass more loudly, hoping someone within would hear me. Damn, no receptionist. Fred was languishing apace in his cage. I could buy a new guinea pig if this one died, but how to get matching spots? How do you explain death to a classroom of five year olds?

 

Tired of knocking and waiting, I tried the door to the inner examination rooms. I smelled dog faintly, but mainly that sterile smell you get in hospitals. But I could hear the dogs. Fred cowered deeper into his wood chips.

 

“Hello?” I called again. A shape shot past my feet, a black blur, and it was followed by an out of breath man in a lab coat. He dashed straight at me. I put up Fred’s cage to ward off a collision, but he managed to hook around me into the nearest exam room and slam the door behind him.

 

What on earth?  I heard knocking sounds, combined oddly with cooing. The banging stopped, which made the cooing sound louder. The man emerged with a black cat wrapped in what would be a straight jacket on a human, but probably had some euphemistic term in the veterinarian world. The man was a good looking man now that I saw him standing still rather than running about. His face was flushed from his athletic exertions, but I thought his face would be rosy in any circumstance. He was that kind of blonde. A curly strawberry blonde, in fact. His blue eyes looked like nothing I had seen before in real life, like the depths of an ice cavern in the Antarctic, or the blue of some exotic fish in a coral reef. Our eyes met and then we both looked away. It was a glance that ambushed me with a crackling sexual energy I had not felt in a long, long time.

 

The black cat started purring loudly. I gladly looked down on it, to distract myself from the feelings bubbling to the surface. Transferring the cat to the crook of his left arm, the man offered his hand.

 

“Dr. Givings.”

 

I took his hand hesitantly and felt the jolt of attraction again.

 

“I’m Clara Mindler. I called about the guinea pig?”

 

“Yes, yes, of course. I’m so sorry there was no one to greet you. Our receptionist came down with the flu. Let me put this fellow back in his enclosure and I’ll be right with you. You can go in room four.”

 

I placed Fred’s cage on the examining table and took a seat. There was a detailed medical illustration of  the flea life cycle that I looked away from quickly.

 

In a moment Dr. Givings was back, looking less tousled and harassed.

 

“Let’s see, what have we got here? What are the symptoms?

 

“Well, Fred hasn’t been eating all we give him any more and hasn’t been on the exercise wheel in the last day or so. He seems to be pining, in general.”

 

Dr. Givings gently removed Fred from his cage and placed him on the table, then began palpating him.

 

“Well, Ms. Mindler, I think Fred needs a new name, as he is pregnant.” 

Author's Note

http://www.springhole.net/writing_roleplaying_randomators/plotpunter_romance.htm

This is where I got my writing prompt.

Reviews

[Daniel Thomas Andrew Da..]

Didn't see that one coming. Would make a good entry for 'Short and Twisted' at Celapene Press (they look for short stories with a twist for their anthology). Well written, lively dialogue, action, paced well. Interesting events, funny ending. Good work.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

A most detailed piece that really strikes without the reader knowing it is coming, well done, good read.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Scarlet]

I wasn't expecting that at all. It was funny and enjoyable though. Good job.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was fun to write.

[Richard Charles]

Very well written and an interesting shift at the end. I really felt like I was there in that office. Thanks for the share.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for reading my little tale. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[C. Lee Battaglia]

This was a captivating story and it hooks the reader from start to finish! I didn't expect the guinea pig to be pregnant! You're an extremely talented writer/author!
Your writing is incredible and keep up the incredible work!
If you want to, could you read my story, "the blonde girl," you don't have to if you don't want to, I just felt like I should share it with you.

Your friend,

C. Lee Battaglia

[William Richards]

I liked this. Particularly how the little guinea pig hid in the wood shavings at the beginning, it was a cute image. And I was interested to see what happened with the characters as well. Good job.

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for reading and reviewing my little piece. I'm glad you were interested in the characters. :)

[alanwgraham]

I like stories to have this kind of ending - well done and well written. Does the jolt of attraction perhaps lead on to chapter 2?
Regards,
Alan

[SweetNutmeg]

Thank you for reading and reviewing. This was just a little throw away writing exercise. I do writing prompts when I don't have a big project going on.

[Haimaii]

But how did Fred get pregnant?
Does she live with other guinea pigs?