Junie had barely come to live with her new owners when ugly reality intruded on their idyllic world. Her search for a Master had caught the attention of a serial killer and she had barely escaped being his next victim. He was caught and facing trial; but now Junie had to testify. The whole idea of leaving her new home was more than she could bear to think about.
But she had to do it. Not only was there a subpoena, there was Monica. Her new friend, Monica, the only other woman to escape with her life, was a tiny fragile thing. Her body was barely healed from the horrific trauma of her assault and if Monica could be brave enough to face court and the man who had mutilated her, Junie knew she had to do it too, for Monica's sake.
Junie knew she was not going to have to do it alone. Her owners, Bob and Donna, were going to be there with her every step of the way. She knew she couldn't do it without them.
Chapter Six: Soul Searching
Junie woke in the middle of the night, her knees drawing up. It took a minute for her to realize that it was not morning, her bladder felt full, and a dull ache was in her belly. She slipped silently from the bed, careful to not wake her Master. As she used the bathroom, she decided this missing your period for three months in a row did not mean you were avoiding any of the bother or discomfort. This time the mood swings and the flow were much worse than usual and now she was having cramps. She took a couple aspirin and drank a tall glass of water.
As she crept on cat's feet back to bed, she noticed that Donna was once more sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed. Junie paused and looked down at the tiny mound under the blanket that was her Mistress and on impulse slipped under the same blanket and cuddled up close, wrapping her arm around the slender form, pressing her cheek against her warm shoulder blade. Donna sighed and mumbled something in her sleep and then was still again.
Junie woke to the touch of her Master's hand on her shoulder. She blinked and looked up at him. He held a cautionary finger to his lips, urging her to be silent and then beckoned her to follow. Once they were in the bathroom, he spoke softly, "Let's let her sleep for a while longer. I pushed her very hard yesterday and then we were awake quite late last night." He looked at her with a quizzical look on his face, "I was a little surprised to find myself all alone in bed this morning."
Junie bit her lip, "I don't know. I had to get up in the night and somehow when I saw her there all alone, I just had that same old feeling, not liking having her so far from me."
Bob shook his head, "Little one, did it never occur to you that my having her sleep alone may have a purpose?"
Junie's lip quivered, "No, Sir, I must confess that I probably was not thinking about that at all." She gave a little hiccup of a sob, "Master, I am trying so hard to try and stay honest, but I feel so out of control. I just have been having these feelings and they are so strong. I did not think. I saw Donna sleeping there and all I knew was I needed to be there too, not just with her, but with her there."
Bob stroked her face, "There is no fighting this is there? I cannot separate you two. You know Donna's disquiet upon her return from Portland is in many ways very similar to what you are experiencing now. There was something she needed so badly that she could not continue without it. I see now that you must join her on her journey." He smiled and then pulled Junie up to stand. "That being said, let's you and I get started on our day. Don't worry about dressing." He paused and glanced toward the form of Donna. His expression softened, "Unless you want to curl up with you Mistress once more?"
Junie giggled softly, "No, Master, I am wide awake now and I would kill for a cup of coffee."
"Well let's get started on our day."
Junie felt ridiculously happy to be making coffee, knowing she would soon join her Master and help groom their dogs when they returned from their morning walk. She knew that routine and organization was important to her and even the one day disruption to her daily routine had only emphasized her emotional turmoil of yesterday. His words of intending to include her in Donna's journey helped to soothe the nebulous sense of dissatisfaction and resentment that had haunted her throughout the day before.
Both Junie and Donna knelt at Bob's feet, their eyes met and both of them fought to suppress their gleeful grins looking at their plates on the floor. Bob had cut their pancakes up into bite sized pieces and Junie had sliced the fresh peaches up already. Bob had ordered them to clasp their hands behind their backs and to lean over and eat without their hands. Neither one was permitted to speak to the other so they were both speaking volumes with their expressions and their eyes.
As Junie leaned over and began to delicately nibble at the food on her plate she was painfully aware that her hair was hanging down into the syrup on her plate. She glanced up and felt a mild pang of envy for Donna's long hair so neatly braided up and out of the way. Junie made a mental shrug, there was little to be done about it now. She would just have to trust that eventually she would have a chance to wash her hair.
After they had finished their breakfast and dutifully licked their plates clean, Bob looked at their sticky faces and chuckled, "My, my, you two are such a mess. Go ahead and lick off each other's faces." It was hard not to giggle as they leaned close to one another and gently, lovingly cleaned off the butter, syrup and peach juice. Bob slipped a blindfold over each of their faces and then spoke again, "Okay, now I want you two to clean up this kitchen. No speaking and no peeking. I should be back before you are done."
The cleaning with the blindfold on was no challenge at all for Junie. She kept the kitchen so meticulously organized that she could put her hand on anything she wanted without looking. Without words she pressed a clean cloth into Donna's hand and pushed her to stand at the sink. It was kind of fun to help her Mistress learn the tasks without words and without vision, communicating only by touch. Junie had a fleeting memory of watching a movie about Helen Keller, and she smiled softly to herself well aware that her Master was forcing them to use different modes of thought and communication, giving them shared tasks deliberately. He was enhancing and exploiting the bond between her and Donna.
She gently picked up Donna's hand and slowly traced the letters I, L, O, V, E, Y, O, and U into her palm and then pressed it to her lips.
Junie could sense that the lack of vision and speech was weighing more heavily on Donna, but she was not surprised. Her Mistress seemed a more verbal person, less spatial, and certainly less patient. Without her eyes, Junie could hear the frequent small intakes of breath as Donna, over and over again, began to say some little thing and then caught herself with sigh of frustration. They were almost finished in the kitchen when they heard the door and their Master's steps.
"How are my blind mice doing? Are you about finished?"
