“Sixes”

M.D. Doyle

I originally wrote this last July. I edited it a little bit here and there and I’m pleased with the changes. I hope that you enjoy it! The FBA and Barton Rouge belong to Buck Hopper.

Age 6

The first time that Alaina Marie Castillo remembers tasting alcohol was when she was six years old.

Of course, the townsfolk all joked that the Castillo clan put bourbon in their pups' bottles and gave them a spoonful of moonshine with breakfast from day one to keep them sleeping through the night. They were also rumored to use alcohol to cure whatever ailment was bestowed upon the five pups that Jed and Melinda brought into the world, from rubbing their gums when they were teething with bourbon, to mixing whiskey and tea together when the pups were older and came down with colds. It wouldn't be a shock. The Castillos were known for owning one of the largest and most successful breweries in the region as well as one of the most successful bars in Blue Ridge.

That may have been true and explain a lot but, according to the coonhound, if you ask her that is, the first time that hooch passed her drooping jowls was when she was six years of age.

Being the middle child, with two older brothers and two younger brothers Alaina spent half her time running around with the big dogs and the other half protecting her younger pup siblings. While Pastor Davis down at the rickety old church that Mrs. Castillo insisted on bringing her pups to every single Sunday said that the five Castillo children were nothing short of angels, the Castillos knew better.

Alaina, being her Pa's Pup would spend hours following the older coonhound around, listening to his stories of brewing and running the bar. She knew how to pour beer from the tap with the most minimal foam by the time she was five and her Pa would secretly bring her behind the counter to help out when the bar was quiet, much to her Ma's protests that her only daughter was there with the drunkards that frequented the bar. Yet there was never a fight. Jed made sure of that and only once did Alaina see the silver pocket knife that her father kept in his front right pocket just in case of emergencies.

Still, out of all the pups, even against his first born son, Jed swore that Alaina would be the one running the family business.

Her Pa had a bathtub in the old tornado cellar on their property that, under no circumstances, were the pups allowed to play in or around. This did not sit lightly with the Castillo pups. It was Alaina’s oldest brother, Beau, who convinced her that if she went into the bathtub, her fur would be the softest and shiniest in all of Blue Ridge. Shoot, if she was in there long enough, her fur would be the shiniest in all of Georgia.

Jed found her an hour later, according to Beau. She doesn’t remember the entire situation completely but apparently she was mumbling something or another about how that was the best bath she'd ever had before and then proceeded to be sick all over the bathtub.

The next day, Jed installed a lock on the cellar door. It took a week for the smell of alcohol to come out of her fur.

To this day, Alaina is secretly wary when it comes to drinks that come in mason jars and may or may not have been made in bathtubs.

Age 16

She never forgot the knock on the door one rainy April night. The police bloodhound, Officer Kenswick was standing there with a solemn look on his face. For once, Alaina wasn’t in her room reading. She had wanted to keep her Ma company while helping her younger brothers, the two twins, with their Algebra homework as her Pa was away in on business in Dalton.

Pa was always the one who helped with math homework.

Alaina knew Officer Kenswisk well. He came in every Wednesday evening after his shift as far back as she could remember and asked for a pint of their seasonal. He'd always have some sort of sugary sweets for the Castillo children and would pull Alaina up on his knee when she was smaller and younger. He would sip at his beer as he talked to her father about the horse races and whether or not Jeremy Colton, the young, promising Thoroughbred colt from up the road would make it to Nationals or not. He would jokingly warn Jed about how his daughter was going to grow up to be a heartbreaker.

It was always a good night when Office Kenswick came around and Melinda always made sure that he got home safe, but never without a slice or two of her peach or pecan pie.

Except that night.

This time, there were no sweets.

There was no pie to be had.

He'd asked her for her mother, his voice shaking as he tried to keep his own emotions in check. It was always harder when it was someone that you knew well.

There had been an accident. It was fast. It was quick. He needed Melinda to identify the body. Just for procedure of course. He instantly knew who the bloodied black and tan was the moment he saw the crucifix and the medal of Saint Augustine around his neck and the silver pocketknife in his right pocket.

Ironically, Jed wasn't the one who had been drinking.

The funeral was crowded as the remaining Castillos were embraced by those in Blue Ridge and beyond; those who had enjoyed Jed's company, his demeanor and most of all, his drink. Liquor flowed freely as guests gave their sympathies to Widow Castillo, the older sons Beau and Cody, the twin pups Jackson and Jethro and Alaina, the only daughter of the Castillo clan.

The only one of the Castillo clan who didn't shed a tear during the funeral.

The next time that Alaina saw Officer Kenswick was two years later when he was putting cuffs on her paws and a muzzle on her maw for attacking that Colton boy from up the road when he slide his hoofs onto her breasts at the school dance. Her Pa didn't raise her to be that kind of a hound and she wasn't about to start now that he was gone.

Apparently he didn't make it to Nationals that year.

Not after she slashed his side with her Pa’s pocketknife.

Age 26

The final swish.

The roar of the crowd.

That was it. The Biloxi Mudpuppies were now, officially, the Southern Division champions.

GM Alaina Castillo stood there on the sideline of the court, a smirk playing on her jowls as she watched the team fall upon each other in whoops and hollers. Not a bad way to end her first season of being a general manager of one of the oldest and one of the greatest and, in her opinion, the most talented team in the Furry Basketball Association.

Not bad at all.

Of course, her rise to even becoming the GM was met with controversy. She expected it from the day that rumors of her taking over began to spread. There were shouts of how she was too young, how she had no way of standing up against the other female GM's of the league who were “older” and “wiser” than she was or ever will be, how she was too inexperienced, how Pharaoh Redd, the previous GM who had taken her under his guidance once she began to intern with the Mudpuppies after she'd graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Sports Management was insane for retiring at the end of last year, giving the young black and tan coonhound the helm for one of the FBA's oldest franchises.

She stood there in her business suit, her paw reaching up to caress the golden crucifix and St. Augustine medal around her neck, something that her Ma gave her when she moved to Mississippi. Just a little reminder of home. The other reminder from her brothers stayed hidden in her right pocket, something that never came out unless absolutely necessary. She wasn’t sure how they got it from Officer Kenswick but she wasn’t going to ask them.

She caught the eye of Barton Rouge, the red fox point guard, the two-time MVP, and chuckled softly to herself. She remembered how charming he acted when she first met him with his Cajun accent as thick as the swamps that he came from.

It disgusted her how much she liked him.

She tolerated it now, though.

Perhaps part of her, if one could get her drunk enough to admit so, actually somewhat enjoyed their little game of give and take. How she really enjoys their meetings in her office. How their quick and secret sex sessions were sometimes the highlight of her day.

She smiled once more as she took a sip from her silver flask given to her by her Pa back when she was six years of age. Back when he told her how, one day, the family business would be hers and he would be there by her side when she brewed her first beer and how he would be the first one to taste it.

If only.