old prose! almost 15 years ago?

 

Lucius

John was moving into his new apartment. His third since he got Lucius the squirrel. Lucius had been a gift from his ex-girlfriend, a break-up present if you will. It was all brown save for a "racing" white stripe that ran from the tip of his nose all the way to the tip of his short little tail. John figured he had a short tail due to an accident or something similar, it ended abruptly, as if his maker had ran out of bushy strands. He never asked Patty where she got the squirrel, he was more concerned about her leaving him than the squirrel, and always wondered if she had always carried it in her car, waiting for that moment. He could have let the squirrel go, put in a park or a sewer, and save himself a lot of trouble but something did not let him. John kept Lucius through the loss of friends and lovers and, after being thrown out of two apartments buildings, he had finally found an adequate one. It was a loft, with high ceilings and plenty of space for Lucius. "Perfect" john said as he moved in. All he had was a bed cover that was to be his bed, and one single pan to cook. Everything else he had was sold to make the down payment on the apartment. 

On the first night everything was fine. John slept cuddling Lucius and for the first time since he had met him, Lucius slept the whole night. The next morning john woke to find Lucius next to him still sleeping. He was so cute as he slept. His tiny snores rattled the windows. John was surprised also that for the first time Lucius had not grown anymore. Had he finally reached squirrel adulthood? For the past three months Lucius had been on a non-stop growth spurt. John was used to waking up and seeing a bigger Lucius than the one that went to sleep, and it was worrying him that if the trend had continued he would have problems again. John prepared all the lettuce and vegetables that he had hidden around the house so that Lucious would spend some time looking for it and pass the time a little easier while john left for work. 

John worked as an accountant/assistant for his would have been father-in-law. Now-a-days he was more of a copy boy more than anything. His salary had not changed so he didn't mind it so much. All he needed was to pay for Lucius' food, and everything would be all-right. That afternoon as he left work, anxious to see Lucius. he stopped by the supermarket to get some food. He took a cartload of cabbage, and another of lettuce. Finally he also decided to buy a third of a ton of planter's nuts. People murmured around him as he passed by and a little girl pointed at him while calling for her brother. She had pigtails and looked like a very mean little girl. John didn't care, he was used to it. Shopping for Lucius was always like that, a little ritual that cemented their love.

As he drove home, he started seeing cars accumulating. "A traffic jam? inside my neighborhood? I wonder...LUCIUS!" John got out of the car and started running towards his apartment complex. There was a throng of people gathered around the 15 storied building looking up. Where John’s new apartment window used to be was a gaping hole, and on top of the building was Lucius. Scared, twitching back and forth was the now-30 feet squirrel. John called out to him. "Lucius!!!!" but the squirrel didn't hear him. Lucius jumped up, as if performing a spectacular dive and then "FLAP!" it opened its legs far and wide and webbing between its legs seemed to open. It was a flying squirrel, and it finally left.