As far as he knows, Max has hated smoking. The first time he did it, it was for follow the crowd, do like the others. But for real, he has always moved away from tobacco, and its other opinions. Today, if he still does it, it’s to look busy. Plus, in spite of those thousands of its more or less nebulous particles, this smoke has a magic power: that of keep people away. Which is a significant advantage when he wanted to be alone.

And here, you wonder why do I tell you that? And what’s the connection with this story? Well, each time he goes somewhere, he takes a pack of cigarettes, and some fire. And here again, it’s exactly what he did. Intolerant to taste and smell, he quickly exhaled the smoke. The rod kept burning slowly with a glowing red. At least, this one warmed a bit facing the cold which stung the face. By expelling the smoke from his nostrils, the weasel suddenly felt his presence.

“Holy crap. I thought you were dead.” Max groused.

“Nope, I was just near.” Duster smiled at him.

“Well, either you were busy with the miss, or you were so beat so I wasn’t unable to get a word in edgeways.”

“Okay. And what do you want this time?”

“But nothing at all. Now that we’re in private, I wanted to talk to you again about this week. A lot of things had happened, and especially tonight, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, for once, you’re not wrong.”

“Of course. And then, I must say she doesn’t give a damn about you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, you know that as well as I do. You were just a puppet, and nothing more.” The panther come near to him.

“Stop…”

“And not only a kind word, a thanks, not even a little recognition…” The feline murmured in his ear, honeyed. “…Things seem like she doesn’t care about you.”

“SHUT UP!”

Although it seemed like anger, it was more than irritation Max felt about the panther.

“Of course, she wasn’t always very sincere. Of course, the solution to her problem was a near thing. But finally, I’m proud to have done it, because she honored her commitments, and now, she can be who she really is. Yeah, who is really is… And THAT, you can’t deny it.”

This time, it was Duster who showed his aggravation, by growling and showing his tooth. But before he could reply, one feminine voice exclaimed: “For goodness’ sake, what is that racket?!”

The mustelid returned around to see a deer in dressing gown, the open door. A bit awkward about this footing, he simply said: “Err… evening.”

“Evening. So, is something wrong, young man?”

“Well, I…”

By looking behind him, he noticed than the panther had still disappeared.

“… no, nothing’s wrong here. I just have a lot of my mind tonight, and I, err, I needed to ease on the pressure. I… I’m sorry.”

“You’re not local, am I wrong?”

“No, I’m a friend of the Watsons, if you know them.”

“Oh, yes, I know them. I’ve heard the daughter come back for holidays. How is she by the way?”

“She’s, huh, well, if you want to know.”

“Good. So, do you want I call someone or—”

“No, no, no, it’s okay. I’m a couple blocks from there, I can walk.”

“Alright, if you insist.”

“Sorry again for the noise.”

“That’s okay. Just avoid making too much in future.”

“Promise.”

“Well, have a good night.”

“Goodbye.”

Once the door closed, Max let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to draw attention; he did the opposite by rebuking the panther. “I wanted to be discreet, it’s missed. ¡Puta guta! At least, I hope it’s all right for Gill.”

*

In the dining room, the silence was good. While Gillian played with her fingers, her father rubbed his eyes. The evening was trying, and the next morning could be, too.

“So, now you know everything, how do you feel? Disappointed? Disgusted? Angry?”

“Ah? Well.”

Before silence grew too strong, he got going: “Honey?”

“Yes?”

“Did you remember when I said when you left the house for the first time?”

“Yes, you said: Whatever happens, I’ll always be there for you, and you’ll always be my little girl.” She took a low-pitched voice.

“Hey, I didn’t have this voice.” He retorted, vexed.

“Yes, you had.”

“And why then?”

“’Cause this day, you caught scold, and you have a hoarse voice you could barely speak.”

By looking up, he suddenly reminded, and let out, muddled: “Oh yes, I, err—”

“Oh dear, I don’t know if you realize, but that’s really serious there.”

“Yes, I’m sorry, Scully.”

Just by the sound of this nickname, she almost gagged, by rolling her eyes. “Oh man. It’s been so long I didn’t hear this name.” She complained by putting her paws on her face.

“And for what I see, you still hate it.”

“Honestly, I wonder it’s because of her and this series you’ve given this name.”

“Ah, it’s not me you can blame, but your mother who was a huge fan.”

“Heh, in both cases, it was obvious.”

Quite proud about this little wisecrack, and by smiling, the old weasel took over, quieter: “More seriously, honey, I… I’ve realized everything you’ve achieved in recent times, and how much you’ve matured. I’ve always told myself things won’t change much, but it’s clear you’re not the girl I’ve known before.”

“Sigh… it’s true. But, in any case, even if I’ve changed a lot… you’ll always be your daughter.”

No longer able to hold his moods, the father stood up to hug his daughter. Surprised by this sudden sigh of affection, she gave him his embrace. Since she left the house, Mr. Watson hid his face, thinking everything will remain as it was. But as she already showed this night, she’s become a woman.

“Otherwise, what will you do with this boy?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”

“Also, can you tell him I apologize for err, tonight?”

“No problem, I’ll spread the word.”

“Well, I’m going to bed.”

“Okay, as you wish.”

“Laugh it up, but don’t stay out too late.”

“Yes, sir.”

While Mr. Watson went through the stairs, the young girl called him: “Hey dad!”

“Yes, honey?”

“Goodnight.”

“You too… Gill.”

And once her father disappeared from her point of view, she finally exhaled. Ultimately, this talk was far less aggressive from what she expected. “Phew! Well, more scared than hurt.” She thought, relieved.

Now the father-daughter talk achieved, time to look after her guest. She then took her phone, and send a message.

* *

Sensing cold biting him increasingly, the ferret quickened his pace. As he retraced his steps, he knew he wasn’t far away from his destination. He suddenly stopped because he felt vibrations from his pocket. So, he took his phone, and saw the following message: Hello. Where are you?

By improvising this little nocturnal walk, he almost forgot his customer, and her closet problems. Straight away, he wrote: On my way, coming soon.

Just a few seconds, he received the following answer: OK see u.

Time to walk past two houses, and in the end, he reached his destination. By holding keys with little difficulty, he opened the door, and made his presence: “I’M HOME!”

“SHHH! Be quiet, my dad’s sleeping.” Gill whispered.

“Oof, sorry.”

Closing slowly behind him, the ferret hastened to remove his coat, and his shoes. Then, he rubbed his paws to warm up. After, he went through the living room, in which TV was on. Max found again Gill, slumped on the sofa, beer in hand.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Before silence fell again, Gill asked him, showing other bottles: “Want one?”

“Hmmm… it’s very welcome.”

Once the bottle open, he raised the drink to his lips. And happily for him, it was at the right temperature. It was past midnight, but whatever. Post-midnight snacks are often the best. Multicolored lights flashed weary faces of two young, while clamors from TV were the only sounds, we hear in the room.

“So… how did it go with your father?”

“Well, he was undoubtedly upside down, but he was more curious than angry. So, he wanted to know every detail. Thus, I told him everything, even if I allowed myself to skip some parts. I clearly felt he wanted to cut me off, but he didn’t do it. And honestly, I could ever thank him enough for this.”

“So finally, that was better of what you expected, eh?”

“Yep. Much better. And now, I report it’s dumb to not ask you how you did yours.”

“No, that’s normal. You all feel down when we need to say something important to our old men. But let me reassure you, there is no magic bullet to come out of the closet You can anticipate everything, but there’s always one detail to bugger off. It’s like that, it’s life, deal with it.”

“And… how did you do?”

“Hmm, nothing special. But I’ve especially planned an escape plan with my boyfriend of the time, if things turn sour.”

“No, but it went really far, your t— So, I suppose it didn’t go as planned.”

“Not at all. Not only they were understanding, and they already knew something was up.”

“Ah yes?”

“Yeah. Generally, when we visited ourselves, we said it was for homework or play video games. And as we both always used the same excuses… you had to know there’s something on.”

“But no, and you even didn’t realize it?”

“We were in middle school, so we’re not very smart. But I’d tell you this little mishap actually helped for future.”

The weasel giggled after this conclusion. Even she cannot help but his plan a bit stupid, she found this anecdote pretty cute.

“In any case, I’m glad to have done it. I feel like I don’t have to hide myself, to wear a mask which doesn’t fit me. Be me… and nobody else.”

“Yeah. We all feel the same, when did it. It just needs to find the best timing.”

He felt a little like a hypocrite by saying this. He clearly forced the paw, in the current case.

“And now, what will you do next?”

“Well, I’ll have my paycheck, and wait for my next customer. After, I’ll probably hang around with my friends, getting around town, enjoy heat again. But for the rest, I have no idea. Life’s so unsure that I don’t know what to expect… So, what about you?”

“Since my holidays ends this week, I’ll return to my studio, and resume classes. Even I know Alice will be on my side… for the first time in ages, I’m as lost as you.”

“Join the club, I want to say.”

And both clink bottles to unsettled future. While people kept stirring up behind the screen, Max thought, morose: “Well, at least, they seem happy.”