Musophobia (Gunnar)

[Gunnar Frey]

Gunnar couldn’t help the hint of a smile that curled his lips at her lightning-fast dismissal of the offer to help her get acclimated to the rats. He had half-expected that reaction, but it was still interesting to see. Thankfully she settled back down quickly and he gave a polite smile and a dismissive wave of a hand at the repeated thanks. “It’s okay, no pressure. The offer’ll still be open if you ever want to make use of it.” Gunnar gave her a quick demo of just how secure the latch on the carrier was; whatever was inside would stay inside, there was no way that it was coming open without human intervention. “Did you or he want any particular colour rats, or do you just want me to pick out two nice ones?”

Rhea’s thoughts about Gunnar’s way of running things held a lot of truth. The health and welfare of the animals in the store were by far the most important thing to him, and he held no reservations about refusing sales to anyone he thought would not take the best care of them. Losing a sale mattered little to him; he didn’t need the money and had plenty enough in the bank to retire very comfortably. He ran the store because he loved the animals and he loved being able to help people find their new best friends… or the new best friends for their nephews, as was the case today. “Yeah, definitely. There’s a great range of wire cages we’ve just started to get in. Loads of room and climbing space for the rats, and you can get extra sections and connecting tunnels and such so you can expand it as big as you want and in whatever shape you want. I’m using the system upstairs for the retired breeding rats; it takes up half of one wall, and they seem to love it.”

Gunnar led the way over towards the cages, indicating to the display of the system, which currently housed a trio of degus. “Another great thing about them is you can hook all kinds of toys, ladders, treats and rope swings onto the bars, so the rats never get bored and you can easily change everything around whenever you want.”

[Rhea Hartman]

Rhea was growing more satisfied with this arrangement by the minute. “Just pick two nice ones,” Rhea said as she selected the pink carrier. Whatever a nice rat was supposed to be.

The cages were greeted with much more enthusiasm. “Man, look at all this stuff,” the police officer said as she examined a dangling rope and bell toy. “Haden will love this.” Rhea didn't seem to have a problem talking about the animals as long as they weren't actually present, and she asked many intent questions about which brand was the sturdiest, how you could rearrange the pieces, what kind of treats they would like the best. Her wallet expanded along with her good humor, and when it came to her nephew she spared no expense. She would take only the best supplies, and when two products were equally good tossed them both in her cart and asked if they came in bulk.

So it was that she ended up, very happily, with several bags of rat supplies and no rats. “I'll be back for them tomorrow morning,” she told Gunnar as she tucked the receipt in her purse. “Thank you again for your help!” She even added, “If I rethink the acclimation thing I'll let you know.” And with that, she heaved her purchases into her arms and trundled back to her car. Haden would love it. And she didn't have to think about the little critters for another twelve hours.