Final Catcall by Sofie Kelly

Author:Sofie Kelly [Kelly, Sofie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2013-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

12

Hercules was asleep on the passenger side of the truck, with his head on one paw and the other curled around his nose. He lifted his head and gave a curious “Merow” when I got in.

“Marcus is a dipwad,” I said darkly.

He put his head back down on the blanket that covered the front seat. Clearly that wasn’t news to him.

There was no sign of Owen when we got home. I got Hercules half a sardine as payment for keeping me company and put out fresh water for both cats. Upstairs I grabbed my robe and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. I gave a squeak of surprise when I discovered Herc had followed me and was sitting on the top of the toilet tank.

When I started he jumped, almost losing his footing.

“What are you doing in here?” I asked, hanging my robe on the hook on the back of the door.

His response was to look around at the pale cream walls as though he was thinking about redecorating.

“I’m going to have a shower.” I put the shower curtain inside the claw-foot tub. “You can stay if you want to.”

I figured Hercules would leave as soon as the water started, but he was perched in the same place when I got out. Looking at him sitting there, I remembered Ruby’s invitation to see his portrait. “Ruby finished your picture,” I said. “She’s going to show it to me on Monday.”

He jumped down, making a wide circuit around any possible damp spots on the floor, sat in front of me—albeit far enough away that no stray drops of water would get on him—and meowed loudly.

“Do you want to go with me?”

He looked over his shoulder at the door.

“You’ll have to spend the morning at the library.”

He licked his lips.

“No,” I said firmly, shaking my head for emphasis. “I’m not buying you a breakfast sandwich from Eric’s.”

His shoulders sagged and he hung his head. He was the picture of cat dejection, except that I’d witnessed this little act before. Plus I could see one green eye watching me.

“It’s not working,” I said, pushing past him to go back into the bedroom.

After a moment he followed, rubbing against my leg as I put on my favorite purple sweater. Since the woebegone-kitty approach hadn’t worked, he’d decided to try sucking up. He hadn’t considered the body lotion Maggie had made for my dry skin. The rich cream was infused with lavender.

Hercules screwed up his face as he got a noseful of the scent. He sneezed and jumped because he always scared himself when he did that. He sneezed three more times in rapid succession, starting at the sound each time.

I made a shooing motion with one hand. “Go downstairs and get a drink.”

He glared at me and stalked out of the room. I heard him sneeze one more time on his way down the stairs.

When I went down to the kitchen, he was sitting by the refrigerator, washing his face with more vigor than usual.

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