Sundae knows that humans know much, much, much more than fluffies, almost everything there is to know, no matter what Boss-Mummah always says about humans really not knowing anything. But one thing Sundae does know for sure is when things are different, or when things are going to be. Before, in the bad times that still come to her in her sleep-pictures sometimes, that had been the most important thing a fluffy could possibly know, because all the days were always the same. Now she lives with her nice Boss-Mummah, who takes good care of her, but she still knows. So she isn’t surprised when Boss-Mummah tells her that she has something to talk to her about.
One of the things Sundae likes best about Boss-Mummah is how hard she works to help Sundae understand. She takes her time and finds the right words and lets Sundae ask as many questions as she needs to and almost never gets mad at Sundae. And even if she does, she doesn’t give Sundae hurties. Sometimes she yells, but Boss-Mummah is just kind of loud, anyway, so that’s not as scary anymore. And most of the time when she yells, it’s not even at Sundae. Like the time when Sundae got sooo sickies, and made terrible poopies everywhere. Boss-Mummah had yelled a lot, but had kept stopping to tell Sundae that she was a good fluffy, and that Boss-Mummah knew she hadn’t meant to make bad poopies.
Now Sundae is sitting on the saferoom floor and rolling a ball from hoof to hoof while Milly and the babbehs have outside-time. Sundae loves outside-time, but ever since she told Boss-Mummah about her feelings, she has been thinking about them more, and it makes her want to be quiet a lot. She glances up when she hears Boss-Mummah’s footsteps, and wags her tail a little, but looks back to the ball as Boss-Mummah comes and folds up those big long human legs to squat down beside her, putting them as close to the same height as possible.
Boss-Mummah says, “Sundae, baby? Do you remember when we talked about you wanting to stop being scared of special huggies?”
Sundae nods, not looking up from the ball, because thinking about this makes her feel not-pretty. “Sundae wemembew.”
“Well,” Boss-Mummah says, “I thought about that, and I asked some people, and it turns out that there’s a place that helps fluffies who feel like you do, and we can go for a visit if you want.”
Sundae does look up now, because she’s excited and happy and scared all at once, and has one very important question: “Boss-Mummah be dewe wif Sundae?” She knows Boss-Mummah is good, but the bad humans from Before would take her places and then leave, sometimes, and it took her so many forevers just to learn that it’s safe to stay at daycare for a little while, and to trust Miss Honey to stay in the house with her when Boss-Mummah has to go away, she knows she can’t learn anything about not being scared in just one visit, even if it’s long.
“Of course! I’ll be there the whole time. We’ll stay for a week. That’s this many,” she says, holding up all five of her fingers, as many as Sundae can count, “and just a little more.’
That is a long time! Sundae knows she’ll learn something if she tries, and she tells Boss-Mummah that she wants to go, hugging the ball in excitement.
Sundae doesn’t know how long it is until she and Boss-Mummah leave, but it isn’t right now and it isn’t forever. She’s excited and nervous and has heart hurties, because Milly cries at being left behind, but Miss Honey promises to give her extra huggies and treats and FluffTV, and Boss-Mummah says that she’ll be fine, and Boss-Mummah is always right about Milly, so Sundae hops into her travel box (it has clear sides, so it’s not a sorry-box) and Boss-Mummah carries her out to the vroom-vroom.
They must go a long way, because Sundae falls asleep and wakes up twice, but the second time, everything outside is green and pretty and smells good, and there are lots of trees and pretty flowers. She coos and trills about how pretty everything looks and smells, and tells Boss-Mummah all about it.
“We’re almost there, kiddo,” she says. “Glad you like it.”