Leaving Home (All Welcome)

[Leonardo]

"England....this changes things." Gary stepped back in relief, glad to be away from the dog for a while.

"What?" Frankie asked impatiently.

"I was hoping that thing wasn't a US collar. The metal is cheap and it don't mean a thing. I've run across British collars before and the metal is far more dense and higher quality. Which means I can pay you a higher price. Of course, Frankie would get a little piece, too, for the recommendation as always."

Frankie nodded. "Let's see what Miss 'albrook is lookin' at, fuyrst, den we can talk about my cut."

"A full medium bag."

Frankie was a little surprised at that. Realizing Adeline may be confused, he turned to clarify. "Rememba what I told you about Gary's ownah? Well, he makes frequent stops at da store. EVERY time he goes, he buys cat food. Of course, Gary 'as a surplus of cat food, an' 'is ownah can never rememba dat he 'as too much. So it jus' piles up, an Gary uses it to do business. Dere's almost no difference between cat n' dog food, but if you jus' can't stand it, we can trade it again, an' get you somethin' else." Frankie shrugged. "It's jus' 'ow we do on da streets." He looked to Gary. "10 percent."

Gary nodded and prepared to lead them to the pantry. "Miss Halbrook, you don't seem like you're a street dog. Were...were you a housepet, like me?"

[Frost]

When Adeline heard that she was going to get a full bag of cat food, she wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand, that is a lot for just a little collar, but on the other hand, she didn't know what she thought of cat food. When Frankie said that she could trade it, she decided that would probably be the best course of action for her to take.

Adeline was caught off guard when Gary asked her if she was a pet, but she knew that she should have expected it. "Yes, I was," she said, talking as if she'd been answering this question all her life. "But for reasons that I will not disclose, I am no longer a pet," she said the word 'pet' as if she despised it, but the truth was that she just didn't like the way the word sounded.

"If I were a street dog," Adeline continued, deciding to be a bit rude for once. "I believe that there would not be so much of you here," she smiled sweetly, as if she were completely ignorant of the effect her words would have upon the rotund cat. "Then again, there might not be any of you here," she said nonchalantly, as if she were having a pleasant conversation with somebody about the weather and had brought up the one time when the weatherman had actually been right. Adeline knew that the large feline would probably become quite nervous, and she waited for his reaction, sure to enjoy it.

[Leonardo]

Frankie smirked at Adeline's remark. She'd do just fine on the streets.

Gary was initially very confused about what Adeline was saying. Then his eyes widened angrily. "Oh, how rude. What kind of person insults the dealer?" Gary muttered and nervously trotted to the pantry. He pushed open the sliding door with great effort. Inside was the overwhelming aroma of high grade cat food, chew toys and meats, as well as vital herbs and natural teeth cleaning elements. Gary tapped a thick bag of specialized cat food. "Here it is. This stuff tastes great...and it'll fetch a great price if you plan to resale. But first things first...the collar--"

Frankie instantly bit down on the latch holding the collar in place, and Gary pulled, and with a light struggle, the collar widened and they were able to pull it over her head and onto the ground. Gary stared at it and nodded in approval. He then scooped it up and tossed it into a massive pile of other collars of all sizes.

Frankie sniffed the bag and smiled. He wasn't going to be hungry tonight. Or any other night this week. He rarely was though. "C'maan Adeline, let's drag this shit outta here. Thanks Gare."

Gary smiled weakly. "Any time. Thanks miss Halbrook."

[Frost]

When Gary called Adeline rude, her temper flared and she just about insulted him a second time, but she bit back the harsh words that begged to be said. The British are very good at keeping their calm when they need it most, and she knew that anymore sharp words to the ill-mannered cat might well get her in some sort of trouble.

The smell of cat food when the pantry was opened quickly found its way to Adeline and she almost wrinkled her nose at the smell. She'd never even liked dog food and she'd been fed meat and the occasional bit of table scraps all of her life. Deciding that the smell was worth it if she could trade it for better food, she bore the smell and stood still as Frankie and Gary loosened the collar so that she could slip out of it.

"You're welcome, and thank you as well," Adeline replied to the fat feline's thanks, then she took hold of the bag to help Frankie drag it away.

[Leonardo]

As they exited the house, and were far from it, Frankie said abruptly. "Gary's brothers and sisters were ripped apart by a group of stray dawgs when he was only 6 weeks old. The kittens were left in a box unattended for a few hours. He was neutered and adopted by a handicapped puyson aftah spending almost 6 months in a cage at da animal shelter. He suffahs from cataracts an' has t' deal with sleazy bastards on an' every day basis to run his business, an' take care of himself in ordah t' get the care he needs, because 'is ownah doesn't remembah t' do so. So forgive 'im if he seems a lil' - frazzled. And fat. He's had it rough."

It was at this point and time where Francesco started thinking about his wife. He wondered if she had made it back home...and was actually starting to worry. She actually never had completely run away before, and he was scared he had been a little hard on her...

[Frost]

Adeline felt bad for being mean to Gary after hearing of what had happened to him, but she justified it by telling herself that nobody should ignore any guests, especially not guests brought by friends. She hoped that she'd find something that she could do out on the streets without having to resort to stealing food from butchers and vendors. As far as she was concerned, stealing food was almost as bad as digging through humans' garbage for it, she'd met a few stray dogs who stole food before in London and she didn't like them at all. Thinking about London made her think about her humans and their house here, which she didn't want to think about.

Taking a break from her thoughts, Adeline noticed that Frankie seemed troubled. Being the well-mannered dog she was, she decided to use the least invasive query she could to find out what was wrong. "Are you alright?" She asked him, being sure not to seem like she was prying for information. She wondered why the quiet cat seemed worried, and she hoped that it wouldn't be anything big or life-threatening. As selfless as Adeline wanted her thoughts to be, she knew that she was mostly worried because she didn't know anyone else here in Brooklyn and being alone on the streets could be very bad.

[Leonardo]

"Huh? Uh, yeh. Sure." Frankie's concentration was broken at Adeline's sudden question. It was strange to him that someone actually cared enough to ask him how he was feeling--besides Leonardo of course. He was also shocked that she could tell through his expression and body language, given that he was naturally stone faced and very hard to read. But she was spot on, and he decided there was no point in continuing to pretend he was fine. He probably would never see this woman again, and he saw it as a good opportunity to share his thoughts and get the perspective from the opposite sex. Especially a dog. Dog's were far more honest than cats.

"It's just dat...I kinda had dis fall out wit my wife a lil' while back. Imma family man, see? Got kids. Three beautiful kids. My wife's a lil' unstable. She was mouthin' off t' me real bad, treatin' my like diyrt in fronna da kids, an' usually I can tawlk her down. But she's got dis weird illness, see? It's gettin' woyrse, an' she acts horrible sometimes. Anyway, she spat on me in fronna my girls...so I slapped her. Not da best judgment. But I come from a rough upbringing. Where I come from, you either become a pussycat, or a tomcat. I'm no pussy. An' I damn sure didn't want da kids seeing me gettin' spit at in da face. But I didn't wanna let them see me slap her, eitha. Now she's gone, run away in a frenzy of feah and angah, an' she hasn't been around. I want her back, not only to make up in fronna da kids, but to wholize my family once again. I search for her...but if I find her, I don't know what to say. I don't know how to see t'ings from her perspective. What do you think, eh?"

[Frost]

Adeline had always been good at reading emotions, it was one advantage that her vast intellect awarded her. She was a bit surprised when Frankie confided in her, she wasn't used to others trusting her with their feelings, but she listened carefully to do her best to evaluate the situation fairly. For a few moments, she tried to decide whether she was more on Frankie's side or more on his wife's side, but she quickly realized that she could and couldn't understand parts of both sides of the story. after a few more moments of deciding how to word her response to what Frankie said, she spoke.

"Well, I don't really know you or your wife all that well, so I can only offer a stranger's opinion," Adeline began. "But I can tell that you love your wife very much, and I'm sure that she knows that as well. She shouldn't have spit at you, and she shouldn't have been treating you badly, but seeing as how she's sick I think that a gentle approach might be best in times like that. Slapping her wasn't a good thing, but I'm guessing that you haven't done that before and probably will not do it again, you've shown that you know it was wrong, so don't beat yourself up too much about it. I'm sure that she'll be back soon, she probably just needs some time to cool off. I think that the only thing you could really say to her in this instance is that you're sorry and that you won't do it again, remind her that you love her, and respectfully ask her not to make you that angry again. Any way, that's my opinion, though it might not work, I don't have much experience with this kind of thing."

[Leonardo]

Frankie said nothing. He just thought about what Adeline had said. She was right. They both could have handled the situation better, but given that Lisa was sick, he should have had more patience. He stopped abruptly. "I need to go home." Something told him he needed to go. Go for that small chance he'd find his wife snooping around. Go for that chance to apologize, and unify his family. "Ms. Adeline, t'anks fuh da company and da really interesting evening. But I really have to find her now." He gestured up the street as he started to go on his way. "You can trade dat bag to a couple of gangstas residing in the parking lot up ahead. Tell 'em Frankie sent you. Dey'll give you a fixed price. It's good. Keep my cut. You've earned it. Thanks again, miss! I hope you find what you're looking for. An' don't be afraid to travel other places in Brooklyn. It's a big world out theah."

And then he was gone.

[Frost]

Adeline was glad that she was able to help Frankie and she nodded in acknowledgement as he told her where to trade the bag of cat food for more fitting food. She watched him go and she hoped that he'd be able to mend the torn bond with his wife quickly and easily. Taking a moment to think over the events of the day Adeline turned towards the bag of cat food she'd received. Zoning out for a moment, she decided that she would take his advice and do a little traveling before she settled anywhere permanently. First things first though, she picked up the bag of dog food and dragged it in the direction of the parking lot. Her first day on the streets of Brooklyn had proved to be very exciting and eventful, and she had the feeling that there were many more like it to come.