Brittany and Nathan sat on the park bench watching as Ryan and Riley played in a nearby sandbox.
While their fellow, human, toddlers were playing with plastic sand shovels and building small sandcastles, their kids (giants among the little people) were already big enough for the real thing. Armed with real, metal, shovels, the twins had quickly dug through the sand to the dirt underneath and were now digging into the soil beneath the play sand, likely much deeper than they were supposed to dig. "How far do you think we can go?" Riley asked her brother excitedly, the hole already up to her shoulders, while the other children and human parents in the park watched transfixed. They had likely never seen such proficient diggers of any age... let alone under the age of five.
"Did you love to dig so much when you were a kid?" Brittany, who was just as surprised as anyone else in the park, asked her husband with a raised eyebrow. She knew kids dug in sandboxes, of course, but Brittany couldn't remember watching two kids take such delight in simply digging a massive hole before.
"Yes, actually." Nathan responded with an almost wispy tone, as if reliving a pleasant memory. "My brother and I would have competitions to see who could dig the deepest hole in an hour. My uncle said we'd do great in the army building tank traps."
Brittany looked up at her husband quizzically, uncertain if he was jokin g or not. He'd never been particularly competitive and so the idea of him competing over anything, let alone anything seemingly as silly as hole digging, was a little hard to swallow. Yet, if Nathan was joking, he showed no signs of it. So, with a shrug, she turned her attention back to their children. "Maybe we're raising two more groundskeepers then." Brittany said, commenting on her husband's profession.
Mention of his career caused Nathan to cautiously check over his shoulder, looking for any park employees. He could only imagine his reaction if two kids showed up at his work and dug a massive foxhole right in the middle of campus. He'd already resolved to fill the hole back in when they were done, but was still a little nervous. Still, Nathan scoffed at the idea of his children following in his footsteps. "Hopefully, they pick a career that makes a little more money."
In spite of the complaints, Nathan truly loved his occupation, it was deeply rewarding to him to work the land and make something beautiful. Plus he had great fun playing with trucks and tractors all day; Nathan doubted he'd ever survive an office job. Yet, despite his general job satisfaction, he was often frustrated by the lack of cash he made. People might say that money doesn't buy happiness but, in Nathan's opinion, that was either rich people that didn't have money or poor people just lying to themselves. When money was what seemed to make the entire world go round not having any seemed to make you painfully aware of just how small you were in the grand scheme of things.
Nathan's frustrations with his salary were both relieved, but also exasperated, thanks to the small fortune Brittany was making with Lewd Brews. The magical sex shop had been such a runaway success that truthfully Brittany wasn't sure what her annual income was, but it kept their family quite comfortable several times over and Nathan knew it was many times greater than what he made. He doubted he made as much all year as she made in a week! On the one paw, his wife's success meant they never had to really worry about money, like countless young families had too. Plus, he was extremely proud of what Brittany had managed to accomplish. However, on the other paw, he felt bad putting almost all the strain of money making on his bride, no matter how many times she told him it was fine. Perhaps it was the mark of "old fashioned" or even simply out of date values, but Nathan had always hoped to be more of a provider for his family. As a younger man, Nathan had always wanted to provide his wife the ability to choose whether to work or not, like his father had managed. But his family would never be able to depend on his scant wage, and that bothered him... even if a part of him realized it was silly.
After Brittany's comment an awkward silence filled the air, the enchantress felt bad. She already knew the complicated feeling Nathan had about his job, why had she brought it up? She felt stupid, not to mention like an asshole and only hoped she hadn't ruined the afternoon. For a short time Brittany stewed in self pity,, trying to come up with something to say that would make Nathan feel better. Reassure him that the support of his paycheck was the only thing that had kept Lewd Brews going in its early years? Mention how she sometimes felt envious that he got to work with his hand and outdoors every day? Tell him how proud it made her when she looked down at the college campus where he worked and could see the evidence of all his hard work; especially in April, as the cherry trees were in full bloom? She thought about him working, getting all dirty and sweaty, using his muscular body to move plants, earth, and hefty materials like fertilizer and grass seed all over campus. Brittany smiled a little, and even bit her lower lip, remembering the time she'd visited her husband at work. Nathan, showing off a little, had moved an entire pallet of bags when some of his coworkers had struggled with only one. Just the memory was enough to get her a little hot under the collar, watching Nathan in his element and being the very best at something. Well, the very best in her eyes if none else. The memory sparked an idea in Brittany's brain, and she turned to Jessie with an idea.
"Hey Jessie..." Brittany said to their feline mate, who was sitting on the bench with them, reading a book. "Watch the kids, would you?"
The petite feline jumped with a start, she had been totally absorbed in what she was reading to pay attention to her two huskies. She quickly caught up with the conversation, though, and shook her head in exasperation. "Oh no! You aren't abandoning me so you two can sneak off and have... 'fun' in the bushes without me!" Jessie had hesitated for a moment, uncharacteristically censoring herself, taking note of the children and other parents around. Still, she didn't need an f-bombs to drive home the seriousness in her voice.
"Please?" Brittany pleaded with a desperate voice, not ashamed to use her own brand of persuasion. The massive husky managed to sneak one of her giant hands behind Jessie's back, rubbing her special spot just above the feline's tail. It was her special spot only the two women knew about... well, Nathan knew about it as well, he'd seen Brittany do it enough times. Yet, no matter how many times he attempted, Nathan just couldn't get the proper technique down that made Jessie shiver from head to toe.
