A Pet To Keep

Bites Of Apple

Jack stands in the check out line at a local grocer, a small cart full of his usual foods. Mostly healthy, fresh stuff. Brown eggs and rice. Veggies and fruit stacked, firm to soft. Meat alone in a corner. There is a package of bread next to a box of coffee pods, and a bag of Cheetos. Jack holds a six pack in his hand that isn't rested on the handle of his cart.

He stacks everything onto the little conveyer, and digs his wallet out. Listening to the beep beep, as each item is scanned. Jack swipes his debit card, tapping in his pin code. "Paper or plastic?"

"Oh. Paper," he nods and pushes his hair back.
It has been a few weeks sense his birthday, and little has changed in Jack's life. The confusing, deeply lonely feeling, has not gone away. He has attempted to fix it by going out to a few clubs, trying to meet new people. Trying to hang out with people from work. He'd has made a few new friends, sure, but it wasn't fixing the feeling he had.

Someone suddenly squeezes into the small place behind him and the candy shelf at the check out counter.
"Whoa!" Jack moves his large body, not wanting to step on the slender figure that is crouched down at the bottom shelf, with no regard to the man.
"Alex! Get back here!"
The young boy lifts his head up, looking at the woman who has moved her cart behind Jack's. Jack sees the purple fabric around the dark skin of the boy's neck. He calms down, realizing it was just an excited pet. "Oh he is fine. I just didn't want to step on him," he chuckles and waves at the boy on the floor.
The pet tilts his head and waves back before slinking back to the lady.
"I am very sorry. He gets excited," she had an accent. Asian of some kind.
Jack gathers his paper bags, "well he seems nice." He waves again before heading outside to his car.

Once outside Jackson groans, setting his paper bags on the side walk and searching his pockets for his keys. He frowns and peers into his windows, trying to check the seats for the keys then he checks his pockets again. A sound behind him becomes more persistent, then the very clear sound of beer bottles knocking over and paper crunching.

Jack turns around afraid for his groceries, then gasps softly and freezes. Down on all floors, with one hand inside his paper bag is an exceptionally thin boy. His shaggy brown hair looks matted and hides his eyes. When the boy does look up, Jack could tell he was a pet. It was extremely rare to see a stray out on the streets as they were either quickly captured, or died if they stayed elusive for a week or two.

The boy just stares at Jack a moment, tense, eyes wide like a deer in the head lights. Jack stares back for a moment, too shocked to say something or move.. Finally Jack breaths out, about to form a word, when the boy bolts down into the short alley behind the grocer. "Hey hey! Don't run. Hey." Jack can see the pet hunker down in the shade of the grocery store's back wall, the other side of the alley has a dumpster, the end of the alley was blocked with a high wooden fence.

Jack fixes his bags and leaves them by the tire of his car while keeping an eye on the boy. He stands up,  watching the boy grunt and whine, struggling with something. Jack creeps forward, not wanting to spook the pet any more, then he sees he has stolen an apple, and was struggling to take a bite of the large fruit. Suddenly the pet brandishes his nails, long and thick, an average hu-pet characteristic. But the pet starts clawing at the fruit and gnaws on the shreds, making a mess of the fruit.

Jack's gut twists, a sick feeling at the starving creature fighting to eat, even with food in his hands. He kneels down so he is eye level, and shuffles forward. "Hey," he speaks softly. The pet had noticed him kneel, and watched him move forward with a suspicious look. "Trying to eat the apple? Hungry?" There was a long pause and then one small nod. "Apples are tough. Can I help you?" He offers and holds a hand out. The pet leans away and looks at his apple. "Promise I'll let you eat it all." The pet gives a tiny whine before giving Jack the apple. 

Jack bites off a large part, and breaks into smaller pieces with his fingers before holding them out to the boy. The pet snatches them from Jack's hand, and shoves them all in his mouth, struggling to chew and swallow. It causes him to choke some, breaking into raspy, angry sounding coughs. Jack cringes, the boy's thin frame looking like it might shatter as he coughs. "Not so much. Slow down. You can have the whole apple." He assures as the boy's coughs calm and he looks intently for more apple.

Jack does the same thing, biting off a large chunks, and breaking it to smaller pieces. This time handing the pet one piece at a time. As things were more calm Jack speaks again. "Where's your owner?" The pet looks up and shakes his head. "No owner, " Jack frowns. He wondered what series of events could lead to a hu-pet ownerless on the streets.

Soon the apple was down to core and Jack shows him. "Look. All gone. I have more apples. I got lots of food." The pet snatches the core from Jack's hand. He chews on it, mostly suckling at the sweet juice left on the surface. Jack nods when the pet doesn't move, "good boy. Stay," he says softly before standing. "Gonna grab some more-."

"Hey! Is that yours?" The older lady from inside comes up behind Jack, her pet on a leash now.

The stray looks up, eyes going wide then he squeals and takes off on his bare feet. "No no!" Jack calls and chases after him, thinking the wood fence would block the pet. But no luck, the boy dives and manages to wiggle under the small gap. It was a testament to his state of health that he could fit. "Damnit." Jack peers through a hole in the wood, watching the boy in run through another alley, take a sharp turn, and disappear.

Jack groans and smacks the fence. "That was a stray."

"Ooh, that's sad," the lady pulls her pet boy closer and kisses the top of his head. He smiles, having a sucker in his mouth from the candy counter. "You should report this. Catchers will find him and take him in." 

Jack frowns and looks over his shoulder at them, "what do they do when they find strays. Do you know?"

"Oh well, they check for microchip. If there is none, they go up for adoption or are sent to large foster families." She pets her pet's hair a moment then tugs the leash. "Come along Alexander." They both leave down the sidewalk then.

Jack stands there for a few minutes before he suddenly feels the weight of his keys in his hoodie pocket. He sighs heavily and moves back to his car.

When the groceries are put away, Jack sits on his sofa, apple in one hand, phone in the other. He looks up the number for the San Francisco animal control. He stares at the screen a moment before setting his phone down and taking a bite of the apple. Listening to the silence of his house around his chewing.

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