Note: The Groomer is a series ranging from a lot of topics, please peek at the tags to be sure it’s something you want to read.
Another happy customer pulled out of the parking lot, a young woman giving Steve a wave with the big white fluffy riding in her lap matching that motion with his hoof. It was a cute job that involved a lot of fluffy-safe curling irons, but that’s a story for another time. Right now, Steve was on a mission to get through his queue of clients quickly and effectively while they were still waiting like good fluffies.
Steve went to the front corner of the store opposite of the entry door where he had set up a spot where all the fluffies waiting their turn could watch a TV together, playing cute little fluffy shows and quiet music. The little sky blue fluffy was an older colt, just at the transition of becoming a stallion. He looked up at his deep violet eyes and matching tail and mane, the tail swishing excitedly behind him.
“Is it Fweddy’s tuwn?” he asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he held his front hooves to his chin, keeping his voice down to a whisper.
Steve smiled softly at him, curiously looking over to confirm his suspicion: the other two fluffies were fast asleep in their carriers. This one was polite. That went a long way with Steve as he lifted it up and brought it over to the counter, opening the door.
“That’s right buddy, it’s Freddy’s turn and it’s very nice to meet you! You’re a very nice fluffy for being so quiet and considerate of those two. I’m Steve and your mummah has arranged for us to have some fun together today,” he told him, reaching in and guiding him out with a little zig-zagging scratch along his mane.
“Hewwo Mistuh Steeb! Fweddy knu sweepies am vewy speshul! Fwuffies ‘n hoomins wif good sweepies hab happies!” he explained excitedly, clearly rehearsing something his owner had taught him as he reared up onto his back legs at Steve’s beckoning, those big arms wrapping around his wildberry poptart-looking body for some huggies and snuggles to start their interaction.
“That’s right, Freddy. Sleep is very important. But today, I’m going to help you with another very important part of your health, okay? Did your mummah tell you what we’re doing today?” Steve asked, sliding one arm under him and holding him like a baby.
“Umm… mummah said Fweddy hab icky teefies, mummah wan Fweddy tu hab pwetty teefies!” He smiled wide, baring his teeth to Steve for a few seconds before relaxing his jaw. Sure enough, they were a bit stained and had a few things stuck in the gaps.
“That’s a pretty rare request for owners, but I understand. It’s a job that takes lots of patience,” he told Freddy, taking him over to a pair of fluffy chairs. “Do you want to lay on your back or your tummy?” he asked, setting the fluffy down between them and going over to the counter to get a handful of supplies.
He paused, squinting as he parsed the question and looked back and forth between the two chairs a few times until he lifted his head back up to make eye contact with Steve. “…Fweddy nu kno. Which one betta fow Mistuh Steeb?”
“I prefer laying on your back, it makes it easier for you to hold your head up,” he responded, picking him up and laying him down as he turned a few dials to adjust the chair to Freddy’s body, giving him good support and letting him relax. “There we go… perfect. You’re a very good boy, Freddy,” he said, smirking when he heard the thumping sound of a happy tail after turning away to pull out a little length of floss.
“Alright, Freddy. First, I’m going to use a special thin rope called floss,” he began to explain, turning on a soft light with a narrow focus that would shine into Freddy’s mouth, but not into his eyes. “This goes between your teeth and just slides along painlessly to pull out anything hiding between them. Can you open your mouth nice and wide for me?” he asked, wrapping both ends around his pointer fingers and leaning in close.
Freddy tensed up at first, but relaxed at the assurance it wouldn’t be painless. He happily obliged, opening his mouth wide with a learned ‘ah’ sound. Steve was quick and practiced, gently sliding the floss down into the little spaces and inching it along between his fingers. Little bits of kibble, apple, and of course, spaghetti were coming loose as he went.
“That’s all of your bottom teeth, buddy. Do you want to rest your jaw for a moment or are you okay?”
“Fweddy otay! Mistuh Steeb nu gib Fweddy huwties! Tankyu Mistuh Steeb!” he answered quickly, settling a little more into the chair and opening his mouth nice and wide again. The rest of his upper teeth went quickly.
“Alright, Freddy, that’s all of the flossing. Now I’m just going to brush your teeth. I have a special brush just for fluffies, it’s nice and soft,” he told him, getting said brush and showing it to him. It was a dark color, the bristles made from bamboo charcoal. “See? Nice and soft,” he told him, demonstrating by rubbing it on the tip of his nose, prompting a giggling fit and wiggling limbs. “Fweddy smeww-pwace hab tickews!”
“You’re cute, buddy,” Steve told him, taking a little syringe of homemade, spaghetti-flavored toothpaste out and putting just a little on the bristles. “Open wide for me again, buddy.”
“Ahhh…!” said the fluffy, holding wide once more as Steve gently and patiently brushed along his teeth, cleaning them up and trying to avoid the tongue that quickly realized how delicious the toothpaste was.
“…Silly Freddy, I need to use that to wash your teeth! Keep your tongue still.”
“…Oh! Sowwy Mistuh Steeb!” he said, flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s okay, I have more,” he said in a happy tone, grabbing the syringe once more and then brushing along the rest of his teeth. The tongue was still clearly tempted as he moved along with little spiraling strokes, but managed to stop itself every time it wandered.
“That’s all of your teeth, they’re nice and clean now! Just need to rinse,” he told Freddy, gently picking the fluffy up again and bringing him over to the sink. He sat him down on his hooves at the edge, turning the water on and lifting up a little bowl. “Can you take some of this water into your mouth for me and then close your mouth and shake your head around? I need to rinse all of that stuff away.”
Freddy parsed the directions for a few minutes, his tiny brain doing it’s best to remember the instructions as he began to drink from the bowl, filling his mouth and then shaking his head from side to side as water and bits of food went all over the counter. “Wike dat?!” he asked, his deep violet tail swishing behind him as he expected to be praised again.
“…It’s good enough, I’ll clean it up,” Steve said with a soft laugh, getting a brush from the wall and slowly combing through Freddy’s mane for a minute. “With that, you’re all done, buddy. Your owner didn’t ask for anything else. Do you need anything while you’re here?”
Freddy thought about it for a few seconds before looking back up at him confidently, nodding his head once and flatly stating “Huggies.” before standing up on his hindlegs and lifting his front legs.
“Aww… we can certainly do that again, buddy,” Steve told him, smiling softly as he lifted up the colt and embraced him warmly, slowly walking back over to the carrier.
“Ready for naptime?” he whispered into Freddy’s ear.
“Yis. Tankyu Mistuh Steeb,” he said, nuzzling into the crook of his neck before he was loaded into his carrier again, settling into the rolled up blanket as he got comfortable. Steve slowly carried him over to that special spot in the corner again, setting him down silently by the other two. When he leaned forward to peek inside, Freddy was already fast asleep like the others.
He smiled as he stood up and went back to the desk, filling out a receipt and writing in a line entry for an excellent behavior discount before picking up the phone, slipping his finger into the 8 first, slowly watching the numbers rotate around. It was a fun phone to use, but not quick or efficient.
“…Ah! Miss Lansing? This is Steve from Look Pretty, Feel Pretty, I wanted to call and let you know Freddy is ready for pickup… Yes, he was a very good boy, I’d be happy to have him again anytime!.. Okay, see you in a little while. Bye!”
Steve leaned back in his desk chair and stretched out, looking over at the three carriers and pulling out his lunchbag. Now was a good time for a break.
