The Life and Times of Jeffrey Gordon - Part 2
written by SonicBlu
all content within this story is (c) 2001 SonicBlu. 
Any similarities with characters past
or present, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 

     I sat at my desk trying to think of the words 
to say to Sandra. From seeing Brandon cowering
in fear and from what Randy told me recently, I felt 
that I needed to do this. I stared at the blank sheet
of paper for a long while before I picked up my pen. 
I heaved a heavy sigh as I began to write:

Dear Sandra,

It has come to my attention that you are getting
way too out of control. You are hardly home 
to help raise our son and all you care about 
is your own activities. I wish there was 
another way to work this out, but I tried 
everything I can think of. The bottom line 
is that you don't seem to care about what 
goes on at home and you don't seem to care 
about my feelings. I will be contacting my lawyer
about a divorce and custody of Brandon. As far 
as I can tell, you are in no condition to 
continue raising our son as a family. I can't 
have that happen anymore. I am sorry for 
this. I hope you find it within your heart 
to forgive me, but this is something that 
needs to be done. It's the right thing to do. 

Regards,
Jeffrey

     I folded the letter, placed it in my coat 
pocket, and waited for Sandra to come home. To pass
the time, I contacted my attorney, Frank Garrett. 
He's one wolf I never want to get on a bad side with.
He always wore a three-piece suit, even when he 
went shopping. His head fur was always nicely
groomed, as opposed to the mess of tousled fur 
I've seen on other wolves of his breed. Even his tail
was clean and seemed smooth to the touch. As neat 
as he looked, his attitude around the office was
just the opposite. I've seen him handle other 
cases before where there was quite a lot of growl in his
voice and when he flashes his teeth at you, you 
better be either quiet or be gone from the room or else
you may be his next meal. Being a mellow and 
timid fox, I learned to tuck my tail between my legs and
not intimidate Mr. Garrett too much. Although 
he never would dream of doing that in the courtroom,
Mr. Garrett always did what's fair and what's 
right. He's honest as the day is long and that's 
one thing I admire about him. All I wanted now 
was for him to help me with this divorce.

     I dialed the phone number and reached his 
secretary. She told me that he had left the office for
the entire day. I left my message with her and 
decided to head to any of the local bars in the 
area to see if I could track Sandra down. I 
must've spent over four hours going from place 
to place, but nobody seemed to know where she 
was. I shook my head and finally gave up. Once 
I got home, I figured that the best thing to do 
was to wait for her to arrive. I had the neighbors 
watch Brandon for the weekend because I didn't 
want him around to see this. One thing I take 
great pride in is protecting Brandon in
any given moment and I was not going to put up 
with watching Brandon get scared. Not after what
happened last time.

     The front door eased open and Sandra walked 
slowly inside. She didn't seem as drunk as I
expected her to be, but she entered the house as 
if nothing ever happened.
"Where were you today?"
"With Jessie. We went to the mall."
"Uh-huh. Why did you just now get back?"
"I had dinner with her."
"I see. Ten o'clock. Pretty late dinner isn't it?" 
I asked, folding my arms and tapping my paw on the
floor.
"Jeffrey, please. Don't start."
"I can't handle your going off anymore. You're  
never home when you need to be and I'm not going
over this with you again." I pulled the sheet of 
paper from my pocket and handed it to her. She took it
gently with her paw and opened it slowly to read 
it. Once she finished, she lowered the paper and
looked at me with a blank expression.
"I'm sorry, Sandra. I have to do this."
"Jeffrey, you know I haven't stopped loving you. I..."
"You say that every time and you never take my 
words to heart. You still kept going out doing your
own thing. I can't carry you anymore." I placed 
my paw aside her soft, furry cheek for the final time
and with a saddened look in my eyes and a sense 
of emptiness in my heart, I heaved my final words,
leaving my lips like a gentle sigh.
"It....it's over."

     Time seemed to drag on for months and months. 
Sandra and I spent our free time with Frank
Garrett and he seemed to favor more towards my 
side. He knew who was always in the right and he
even had to raise his voice in anger to get Sandra 
to stop complaining about her problems. It was very
obvious that she brought everything upon herself. 
We took the divorce to the courtroom shortly after
the final consultation with Mr. Garrett. Sandra 
knew that her foul language and pointless excuses
wouldn't get her anywhere. Surprisingly enough, 
she didn't seem to say much as she was being
questioned by the judge. I was fully prepared for 
her to get rowdy in the courtroom, but even Sandra
knew when to keep quiet. The judge ruled in my 
favor and I had the house and Brandon to myself.
Sandra moved out and that was the last I've heard 
from her in awhile. 

     Several weeks passed and she finally contacted 
me by phone for the first time. She was crying
on the phone while she talked to me and begged her 
for me to let her reconsider. I couldn't help but to
think that some people just can't take a loss as 
their own. I told her that she is only allowed to 
visit and that's it. Sandra was just going to have 
to take it or leave it. She eventually accepted 
and asked that she come over on that Saturday 
evening. I agreed to it and then hung up the 
phone. Just as I did, Brandon came home from 
school with a big smile on his face. He carried 
his books in his paw as he skipped
through the house and over to my desk.
"I'm home, Dad." he said merrily. My shaken 
feelings were put at ease just seeing the sight of
Brandon's happiness. I gave him a tight hug 
and ruffled his head fur.
"How was school today, sport?" I asked. Brandon 
had always liked the nickname Sport ever since he
started trying out for baseball practice.
"Excellent! I talked to Marie after school and 
she invited me to her birthday party! Can I 
go? Please?"
he said, his eyes widened with anticipation 
of my positive answer. My little boy is growing up fast
before my eyes and girls are starting to feel 
attracted to him. Who could blame them? Brandon 
still looks perfect to me in every way even 
though his looks did resemble Sandra, but I 
no longer saw that trait. He is my son and 
all I need to see is Brandon's looks as his own.
"Who's Marie?" I asked. Brandon smiled softly 
as he replied. "She's a friend in school. So can I?"
"What day is it going to be held?"
"This Saturday. I have the invitation here." 
Upon saying the word Saturday made me think about
Sandra all over again. I didn't want to turn 
him down from the party, but the law was the 
law. I knew how much it was going to hurt him 
and this was the first time I had ever told 
Brandon he couldn't go anywhere.
"Sit down, Brandon." I said. If I was going to 
be telling him anything, I knew it was going to 
lead into a serious discussion. He grabbed a 
nearby chair and scooted it over in front of me.
"Brandon, your mother called. She wants to see 
you this Saturday. I have to let he come over to see
you. I...." I hesitated with my next sentence 
because I knew this is going to hurt him. I 
turned my head and gulped, softly stroking my 
tail as I looked for the right way to break it to him.
"I'm sorry, Brandon, but you can't go to Marie's 
party." I said. A lump developed in my throat after
having said that to him, but I had to say it. 
Brandon's head lowered into his soft paws and his body
started to shiver slightly, which is an early 
sign that he was going to start crying.
"N...no, Dad. I want to go to Marie's party." 
Brandon wept. I placed my paw on his shoulder and
regained my strength enough to speak regularly 
again.
"Brandon, I wish there was a different way, but 
I can't let you go. I..."
"NO!" Brandon screamed and raised his head, 
casting a very angry glare from his tear-stained eyes.
"I'm NOT staying here! Don't make me stay here 
with Mom! I don't want to see her! I want to see
Marie!"
"Son, please, it's not entirely my decision."
"You just don't care, Dad! You're making me 
see her! I don't want to!"
"Son, I..."
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" he yelled and ran upstairs 
to his bedroom. The slam of his door echoed
through the entire house and really hit me 
hard inside my heart. Maybe Brandon was more scared
about seeing her as I thought he would be. 
I felt a tear forming in my eye and decided 
to make one quick phone call to Mr. Garrett. 
If Brandon is really too scared to see his own 
mother again, there's got
to be a way where the visitation rights could 
be excluded from our case. I quickly dialed his 
number and finally heard his voice echoing through 
the phone. I explained to him about Brandon's 
reaction to
hearing about Sandra's visit on the weekend, but 
there was nothing he could do. The judge's decision
was final. My heart sank as I slowly hung up the 
phone. I think it was just plain ridiculous for 
the law to allow such a thing to happen. I decided 
to wait a short while before talking things over 
with Brandon. I knocked softly and held my ear 
to his door.
"Brandon? Can I come in?"
"No!" Brandon sniffled and started crying again. 
I felt like my insides were dying when I heard him
react that way.
"Please, Brandon? I need to talk to you. Can I 
please come in?" There was a silent pause and 
then the door to his room slowly opened. I 
pushed it the rest of the way open and Brandon 
threw himself on his
bed, his back turned directly towards me. I sat 
down on his bed and softly stroked his back with my
paw. His entire body was shivering slightly as 
I pet him.
"Brandon, I'm very sorry about this, but the 
law says that she has to visit you. She's coming on
Saturday to see you and you have to be here for 
it. It's not my decision. If it was, I wouldn't 
let her see
you."
"Y...you wouldn't?" he raised his eyes to look 
into mine and his facial fur was matted to his 
cheeks with teardrops.
"Of course not. I know how you feel about your 
mother. You should be free to make that decision on
your own, but the law is making the decision that 
you see her. There is nothing any of us can do to
change that." I said and brushed the tears from 
his eyes. "She does need to see you because it's the
law."
"...but the party. I..."
"Brandon, remember what I told you about always 
doing the right thing:?" Brandon slowly nodded.
"You need to make some sacrifices in life to do 
what is right. It's not pleasant, but it must be done.
Understand?" Brandon nodded again and I hugged 
him softly. Brandon sniffled as he held his head
against my chest. My heart beat in a gentle pace 
as I rubbed him gently behind his ears. They flickered
slightly as I continued to rub his soft head fur 
with my paw and I came to the realization that 
perhaps he does really deserve the best things 
in life.
"Brandon....you can go to the party."
"I can?" Brandon said, a smile quickly forming 
on his muzzle. I nodded with an identical smile. He
hugged me tightly and I kissed his head softly.
"You can, but only if you can make it back here 
on time. I want you back here at four o'clock."
"O...okay." I decided that he needed to learn 
responsibility and this was the perfect way to 
put him to the test. Happiness restored instantly 
between us and I awaited the arrival of Saturday 
to approach.

     Sandra arrived bright and early Saturday 
afternoon. I had just gotten lunch out of the 
way and I wiped the bit of mayonnaise from the 
corner of my mouth as I opened the door.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Sandra said 
and started to enter. I shook my head and closed the
door behind her.
"I didn't expect to see you so soon, Sandra. It's 
good to see you though." I said and offered her a seat
at the couch. 
"Good to see you too. Where's Brandon?"
"He's getting ready to go to a birthday party 
with a friend from school." Sandra started to shake her
head to oppose.
"Oh, no. I'm here to see Brandon, you just make 
him cancel. What were you thinking anyway? You
know I was going to be here to visit him."
"Don't worry, he will be back at four." Brandon 
raced downstairs and waved to us quickly.
"Brandon, aren't you going to say hello to your 
mom?" Sandra asked. Brandon froze in his tracks and
turned slowly. He walked over and gave her a 
tight hug while his paw clutched Marie's birthday
present in his paw. Once the hug was over, Brandon 
resumed his racing speeds and headed out the
door. 
"Four o'clock, Brandon. Remember!"
"I know!" Brandon hollered as the door closed 
behind him. I turned to face Sandra and decided to
engage in idle conversation until it was time 
for me to start on dinner.

     Brandon arrived home at ten minutes past 
four and I noticed a red mark on his white cheek fur. 
"Hey, Sport. How did it go?"
"It went really great. We had a magician there 
and everything. We all got free toys."
"What's this?" I asked, pointing to the red mark 
on his cheek, and upon closer inspection, I noticed 
it was red lipstick.
"Oh, that." he replied and let out a little chuckle. 
"Marie gave all of us guys a kiss and thanked us for
coming. She gave me an extra one because she thought 
I looked cute." My heart practically fluttered in
my chest when I heard him say that.
"So, my little boy has a girlfriend now?" Sandra 
said as she overheard our conversation from the
kitchen.
"Noooo, not really." Brandon said with a smile, 
becoming very embarrassed at the comment his mother
made. "We're just friends."
"Uh-huh. It might not be that way for long. Next 
thing you know you'll exchange phone numbers and
buying each other dinner."
"Mom, please. Marie is a good friend and..."
"You going to marry her?"
"Mom!" he shouted. I had about enough of that 
myself and I don't care if Sandra saw that as a joke or
not. 
"That's enough, Sandra. Why don't you help set 
up the table for dinner?"
"Can I help too, Daddy?" he asked, a wide grin 
developing instantly on his muzzle. I could never say
"no" to that. I had Brandon clean up in the 
kitchen sink instead of sending him up to the 
bathroom, and he hesitated to clean his cheek 
free of the red lipstick Marie left him.

     Dinner between us was a bit quiet, only a 
few words were shared between the three of us.
Sandra tried to find some conversation to have 
with Brandon, but he was in no mood for talking. Not
after what happened earlier in the kitchen. His 
replies were very short and his head always pointed
directly to the plate on the table as he played 
with his silverware. 
"Brandon? Are you feeling okay?" I asked.
"Yeah. I'm just a bit full from the party earlier. 
May I please be excused?"
"Alright. I'll just save the rest of your food 
for later if you want."
"Okay." Brandon loved his pork chops and I hated 
to see his pork chops put to waste, so I wrapped
his plate with plastic wrap and placed it in the 
refrigerator. I would put my money on a wager that
Brandon will eat the rest of his food after Sandra 
left and before he goes off to bed. I gave Brandon his
hug and had him do the same with Sandra. I could 
tell from his change of expression that he was not
thrilled about that, but knew that it was only right. 
He walked slowly to Sandra and gave her a gentle
hug.
"I'm sorry, Brandon. You know that I will always 
love you no matter what happens. You are my son
and I will always love you. Remember this, okay?"
"I know, mom. I'll remember." he said, his voice 
being muffled in Sandra's chest. He climbed the stairs
swiftly, leaving Sandra and I free to continue our 
earlier conversation.


     Sandra immediately tried to convince me to let 
her move back in, but I turned her down. She
did these things several times before, so what's to 
stop her from doing them again? Even though I felt
she did wrong when she lived with me, I still felt 
obligated to have her over for visits so she could see
how well Brandon was doing. That's all I felt she 
was allowed. I didn't care whether or not she learned
her lesson. I could still never let her move back 
in with me. Sandra used up all of her chances that I
gave her and nothing can change my mind. She 
admitted to me several times that she did wrong and
that she is trying to improve, but the past could 
not be changed.
"Sandra, we've talked about this before. I can't let 
you stay here. You're already a common visitor as
it is and anything more than that will only bring 
back memories that need to be left alone. What about
that husky I saw you with?"
"Which one?" she asked, displaying a blank expression.
"What do you mean 'which one'? I saw you with him 
when you came home one night."
"Nick? Well, he's cute and all, but he's married. 
We're just friends."
"How did I know you and he didn't have a few moments 
of intimacy while we were married?"
"I didn't do anything with him. Why are you accusing 
me of that?"
"What am I supposed to think? I see you pull up and 
I see this male husky with fluffy, white and gray
fur. I know you have a thing for fluffy fur. You used 
to always have me wrap my tail around you when
we were dating, or haven't you forgotten that?"
"Alright, I have a thing for fur, is that a problem? 
We're not together anymore. Just drop it. Nick is a
good friend."
"Maybe so, but I still used to lie awake nights 
wondering who you were with or what you've been
doing."
"Jeffrey, I don't want to fight. Please, we're 
supposed to be forgetting all about this."
"Best idea you've had since you started visiting 
here." I walked over to the couch and threw myself
down. I didn't want to lead into another fight, 
but as I expected it, she wanted to keep pursuing it.
"I'm coming back here tomorrow night. I want to 
see Brandon again."
"Oh, now you want to see Brandon. Why didn't you 
feel that way before?"
"Hey, why don't you try living months without him 
and see how you like it?"
"Excuse me? I wasn't the one going out to parties 
every night, coming home when I damned well felt
like it, so don't stand there telling me about this! 
You brought that upon yourself." I said, pointing an
angry finger at Sandra.
"I'm still going to see him. You can't stop me."
"I'll let you see him, but in your present condition, 
I would appreciate it if you got rehabilitated first.
You're still a damned drunk! You are not stable 
enough to take care of Brandon and you know it.
Sooner or later, you are going to have to clean 
your act up. When you get off the drink and you get an
attitude adjustment, I'll be more comfortable 
about letting you over here. I refuse to let 
you take him out of the house, though. When I 
know you've kicked the habit, I'll feel better 
about it, but until you get
your act together, I will have to limit your time."
"Are you insinuating that I don't see him at all?"
"No, I'm saying that this habit is destroying 
your future and it's still affecting Brandon's 
feelings. There are places you can go for help. 
There's rehabilitation clinics. You need to get 
off of the drink, Sandra. It's destroying your 
life! Brandon still gets nervous when you're 
around him. He was going to just run off without 
even saying 'hello' to you. He was fidgeting 
with his silverware while you were talking to
him. He doesn't feel comfortable around you. 
He's scared of you, Sandra! You need to get
rehabilitated, and you need to get a better 
outlook on life."
"When rehab becomes your concern, I'll ask you 
for an opinion. It's my life, Jeffrey, and it 
still involves our son. If you don't let me 
see him as long as I want, I will find a way 
to take him from you."
"What?" I yelled, taking a chance of waking 
Brandon from his sleep. "No, I don't think so. 
Nobody is taking Brandon away from me, do you 
hear me? Nobody!"
"We'll see. Good evening to you, mister fox. 
Thank you so much for a thrilling evening."
"Fine, leave here, but you hear me out, Sandra. 
You harm one single lock of fur on Brandon's head and
I'll have you put away." Sandra stomped her paws 
down the walkway to her car. I shook my head in
disbelief as I saw the angry vixen get into her 
car. Her tail was the last part of her that I saw 
for awhile
and to be honest, I'm glad I didn't have to see 
it. For weeks on end after the last outburst we 
had, she made threatening phone calls to me. Her 
visits always ended up with a fight either between 
Brandon and Sandra, or Sandra and myself. One time 
when she called me, she threatened to kidnap Brandon
and take him away from me forever. I made up my mind 
to take the day off and contact my attorney. I
didn't care about my job, I needed this matter to 
be settled.
"Mr. Garrett? Are you free?" I asked as I poked my 
head into his door.
"Come in, Jeffrey. Have a seat." he said. I nodded 
and sat in the chair directly in front of his desk. He
raised his paw to rub the fur from the top of his 
head and he spoke and one could easily tell that he had
a rather hectic week.
"What's the matter?"
"It's Sandra. She's planning on kidnaping Brandon. 
You have to stop her."
"Do you have any proof of this?"
"She told me on the phone. Isn't that proof enough?"
"To you, yes, but it will never stand up in court. 
I will need a voice print of her threat to use as
evidence. Unless you have documented proof, either 
written or voiced that she's going to do this, I
can't do anything about it."
"Alright, so I'll just tape her calls from now on."
"No, Jeffrey. You can't do that unless you tell her 
outright that you will be recording the call. 
Otherwise it will be illegal."
"But if I tell her I'm recording the call, she 
won't threaten me because she knows I can take her to
court."
"I'm sorry, Jeffrey." he said. I hung my head 
into my paws and hid my eyes. I wanted to do everything
I could to hold the tears from falling.
"Tell me something, have you done anything to 
lead Sandra into threatening you?"
"Of course not!" I answered in a snappy tone.
"Alright, so she openly threatened you."
"Yes. She forced herself onto my property and 
didn't like my idea of limiting her visits."
"What happened before the threatening started? 
Did you get into a fight?"
"Puh, did we ever! You should have heard her, 
Mr. Garrett. We were talking..."
"I'm not concerned about her at this time, was 
there anything you said to her that might have 
provoked her?"
"Me? What would I say to provoke her? All I told 
her was that I didn't like the way she was 
living her life because it has a great impact on 
Brandon's feelings, and then she left my house 
with a threat about taking Brandon away from me. 
That's when it first happened. Then she started 
with the threats by phone. I wanted her to drop 
it, but it led to her forcing herself onto my 
property to see Brandon. I had no problem with 
her coming over to see him, but I didn't want 
her to just show up at any given time. I
let her come over three times and she wanted 
to stay longer, but I only allowed two hours 
and that was it. That's all Brandon can handle 
before his nervousness got out of hand."
"Ah, I see. Well, you know, she does have 
visitation rights."
"Yeah, I know that. She thinks I'm taking that 
away from her but I never said she can't see Brandon at
all. I told her I would let her see him but 
she would be limited to the time they spend 
together. She's still a crazy drunk and I don't 
feel safe around her with Brandon. She put words 
into my muzzle and told
me that she will take Brandon away from me." 
Mr. Garrett removed his glasses from his eyes and
placing his paw beneath his chin.
"I'll see what I can do about Sandra, but as 
your attorney, I must hear her side of the 
story too. You know that, don't you?" I nodded slowly.
"Good. Until then, try to take it easy and don't 
get yourself worked up too much. Try to rest if you
can."
"Thank you, Mr. Garrett." I said. He extended 
his paw to me, but I was in no mood to shake 
it. I didn't want to be rude, so I swallowed 
my pride and shook it anyway.

     My nerves were shot as I wandered back to 
my home. I didn't even feel the strength enough to
start cooking for Brandon by the time he came 
home. I took the liberty of ordering a pizza 
for us and I watched a little TV with my son 
before I sent him up to bed. I even had a 
neighbor over to help calm my nerves. Her name is 
Jennifer and she was feeling a bit lonely as well, 
so I invited her over for pizza and a movie. 
She gladly accepted. Jennifer was a very sweet 
ferret, but she wasn't looking for love. I
didn't really try too hard to ask her about it, 
she was a good friend and that's all I ever saw in her.
After Jennifer left and Brandon went upstairs 
to his room, I finally got time to relax. I 
needed to get Sandra on the phone to let her 
know that my attorney wanted to talk to her, 
so I picked up the receiver and dialed her 
number. After four rings, I grumbled to myself.
"Great, no answer." I said. I never thought 
I would've said that about Sandra, but I needed 
to fix the situation as soon as possible. I 
placed my paw pad on the hook button to free 
the line and then released
it. I let the dial tone echo into my ear as I 
thought of who to call upon next. I needed 
someone to talk
to, someone to stay with me to make sure I 
wouldn't turn crazy, and I figured Randy would 
still be awake. After hearing the phone ringing 
a couple times, Randy's voice came through the line.
"Hello?"
"Randy, it's Jeffrey. Are you available?"
"For you? Anything. Just let me throw on some 
clothes and I'll be right there." He didn't even 
give me time to say goodbye before I got the 
sound of a dead line. I shrugged and placed 
the receiver back onto the cradle of the phone.
"I wonder what's eating him." I thought. 

     Five minutes had passed before I got the 
knock on the door. I opened the door and noticed
that Randy was standing at the door wearing a 
pair of khaki shorts and a tight gay pride 
T-shirt which made his chest muscles bulge through 
the fabric. Randy's white chest fur was peeking 
out of the neck of the shirt. Of all the years 
I've known him, I never thought for a moment 
he was gay. He never told me and he never acted 
it. He never even bragged about his sex life. 
I always thought he was completely celibate. 
My mouth was held open for a couple minutes, 
frozen with shock 
"Jeffrey? Are you alright?" he said, swishing 
his tail slowly back and forth.
"Huh?" I said, snapping myself out of my trance. 
"Oh, right." I said, shaking my head and held the door
open and invited him inside. I offered him a 
seat on the couch and poured us a glass of iced tea.
"So tell me, what's up with this?" I asked, 
pointing to his T-shirt.
"What?" He asked, looking over at me with a 
perplexed expression to his eyes.
"You're into gay pride?"
"Oh! That, well I usually don't open up about 
this, but yes I am gay. That...that's not a 
problem, is it?"
"Um, no, of course not! I just never knew. I 
mean, I've never seen you with anyone except when
you're off with your friends."
"Well, I'm in no hurry to settle down with 
someone. I'm sure the right guy will come around."
"What's it like?"
"I like it. It makes me very happy, but 
listen, we're not here about me. I'm here 
for you now. What's up?" I lowered my head 
slightly, remembering the words of my ex wife 
returning to my mind.
"Sandra's threatening to take Brandon away from 
me. I don't know what to do."
"What? Why?"
"I don't know."
"Well, if you ask me, she's being just plain 
impossible."
"My attorney can't do anything until he hears 
her side of the story."
"I'd like to say not to worry, but I don't know 
that. I'll tell you what I do know though. You 
will always have me for support. I'm your best 
friend, aren't I?"
"Of course you are, Randy. I...well...I just..."
"You never knew your best friend was gay?" I 
nodded slowly.
"It's perfectly alright. I get that reaction all 
the time."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Out of all your friends 
and you're still a single tiger?"
"Afraid so. I'm sure someone will come around. 
Don't worry too much about me. Just keep Brandon
safe, okay?"
"Alright." I said as I nodded. I thanked him 
for coming over to visit me at such a late hour 
and escorted him to the door. I extended my 
paw to show him I wasn't at all against him for 
being gay and that I was
still truly his best friend no matter how he 
chose to live his life. He looked at my paw and 
then looked at the expression on my face and 
noticed I was still worried. He shook his head 
and held his arms open to me.
"Do you mind if I gave you a hug?" he asked. I 
stood there with a confused feeling rushing 
through my veins. I needed a hug so much, but 
I never thought I would be getting one from 
another guy. I figured that since it came from 
my own best friend, it was his way of showing 
his appreciation towards me. I opened my arms 
and accepted him into my embrace and we held 
each other at the door for a couple minutes 
before I let him go.
"I'll call you later if you want." Randy said 
as he started to stroke my furry cheek with 
the back of his paw. I jerked my head back 
suddenly at the gesture, but only because 
I was nervous.
"I'm sorry. I just....I wanted to..."
"I understand, Randy. You're just being concerned 
for me. I really appreciate that."
"I care about you, Jeffrey. I never had a friend 
like you before and I don't know of anyone else 
that is just like you. Just take care, okay?" 
he said and proceeded to rub my head fur. This 
time, I let him touch me. It's the least I 
could've done. He's always been a great friend 
and he appreciated my friendship. He also honored 
my heterosexuality. This was the first time since 
I was nine years old that I
let him touch me, but I never was in a situation 
like this before. I needed the comfort and my own 
best friend was all that I had, other than Brandon. 
I might not have much anymore, but at least I 
have them. I
thank the heavens above that I'd at least have 
my son and my best friend no matter what happened. I
also had Jennifer right across the hall anytime 
I needed to hear a gentle voice of understanding. 
She, herself, went through an abusive relationship 
and she helped me greatly through the times I had 
lived with Sandra. Although Jennifer and I are a 
lot alike, we never felt the obligation to take 
our friendship to the next level. We were happy 
enough being friends, and I was happy enough to 
have just that. The only worry on my mind was 
Brandon. I had to keep him safe from Sandra, but 
I knew the matter was out of my paws. I stood in 
the silence of my foyer thinking of what to do 
next. I had to keep my son safe, but how? Only 
time will tell.

End part 2