Comari Dawn

Part One: A New Dawn - Chapter Six

It took more than a week to sort out all of the details of our new living arrangements and ensure I had somewhere I could leave Tracy when I went back to work. It had taken some quick talking, and a visit before my cousin Amanda would let me drop Tracy off at her home-based daycare to spend her time while I was working.

"Gah, Martin you're just like my dad." She'd exclaimed, "You'll drop her off early in the morning, while she's still trying to wake up and then pick her up in late afternoon, early evening when her day is winding down."

"Where did that come from Amanda?" I asked, "I know I've been about as social as a clam in the past few years, then again considering..."

"Considering what Martin?" She asked pointedly her hands on her hips. "I remember when we used to be tight... after all we're almost the same age."

I sighed and recalled how much Amanda and I had experienced together when we were younger. We'd done some pretty risky things before I'd attended university when I was eighteen which had nearly gotten us into trouble. When I'd returned from university in the neighbouring province we'd both settled down a fair bit, with her establishing her business and having a child. "Yes, I remember Amanda, and remember some of the silly things we did." I reminded her. "You're lucky Simon is your first." I pointed out, recalling a scare when we were younger.

She nodded, "Yes I do have to admit we did some pretty stupid things when we were younger, but I miss having you around sometimes." She replied stepping close to me and placing her hands on the sides of my chest.

I found myself smiling and hugging my cousin gently. No matter how often the thoughts of the scare intruded themselves into my mind there was something about spending time with which made me feel at ease. "What do I have to do to convince you to take care of Tracy while I'm at work?" I asked her, remembering why I was here.

Amanda sighed, with her head still leaned against my breasts before looking up into my eyes. "Martin, I need some help with Simon, he needs a father figure." She told me quietly, reminding me about the oldest of her two children.

I took a moment to consider what she was asking before nodding slightly. "I think I can help you there, though anything which I will do with him probably will have Tracy involved as well." I told her with a smile of my own. There were plenty of things which I wanted to expose Tracy to which she'd not yet been shown by her birth family due to their religious leanings.

Amanda nodded with a smile of her own, "Thanks Martin," She replied before standing up on her toes and giving me a gentle kiss on the pad of my nose.

Two days later I drove myself, through the light traffic of the late morning, down into the core of the city where I could get back to work. As soon as I pulled the car to a stop in my parking spot and hopped from the car I took a moment to rearrange my new blazer and blouse before rubbing the base of my tail with a hand. Prior to Chimera the seats in my '09 GTR had been rather more comfortable than they were now but it was entirely due to my new tail. Tracy also had complaints about the three car seats I'd ended up getting for her since they were even more close fitting than the sport seat in my GTR.

After getting the kink out of the base of my tail I grabbed my briefcase and headed towards the office where I'd worked for the past few years. A short time later I ducked through the door into the small reception area. Sitting behind the desk near the door to the main offices was Nancy, the company's receptionist, she'd been working with the company since it's founding, and she'd never really changed in all those years.

She looked up as I came through the doors and made a small grimace. "I'm sorry ma'am we don't have any appointment slots open for you today, we're booked up solid through the rest of the week."