Becoming a House Cat

Becoming a House Cat Part 5

Six thirty came around and I got out of my office, knocking on Cece's open door. She was sat on the floor, filling up a drawer with ten or fifteen pairs of short, and three whole pairs of pants I made her buy because the weather was going to get colder starting tomorrow. Today was probably the last day the creamery would be open for the season.

"I'm starting to think about dinner." I leaned in the doorway.

"What do you have in mind?" she straightened up licking her chomps.

"I'll have to check the fridge."

"What are you waiting for?" she got up.

"You." I cough in my fist. "I want your input on dinner."

"I'll eat anything as long as it's not poisoned."

She still followed me to the kitchen to stare into the refrigerator alongside me. All I had were milk, sliced cheese, four eggs, half a pack of bacon, potatoes and ... Sliced sourdough in the freezer amongst ice, vodka and two overly ripe frozen bananas.

"Breakfast for dinner?" she sat on the counter.

"If we only eat one egg each now, I can make us banana bread tomorrow."

"Sounds good."

"My pantry is pretty empty, too. I haven't made my winter reserves yet."

"You didn't?" She glanced at my ass.

"I mean food reserves, not fat. I don't actually hibernate." I grabbed the eggs and cheese.

She snuck behind me to snatch the bacon and potatoes.

"Potatoes?" I grabbed the bread from the freezer.

"Bread?"

"We can eat breakfast sandwiches."

"While the potatoes cook."

"How do you want them?"

"Surprise me."

"Fine, then, it'll be steamed and smashed."

Over the construction of our dinner, Cece listed all the meals she had eaten at Willa's cottage and her favorite brands of cat food humans would bring to her colony's territory. She became silent while eating. Then she asked what good restaurants were in town while waiting for me to finish eating. In between bites, I bragged about those I owned being the best, but we were not the only ones competing over the town's hungry stomachs.

"That fish Tommy cooked was exquisite. With cooks like that, how come the dining room was almost empty?"

"We arrived at the end of lunch service—"

"When does the lunch service ends? It was only one and a half."

"At two."

"That's thirty minutes. You can serve people in that time frame."

"The Pausa is not seen as a causal place for lunch."

"Doesn't help that the staff are dressed like they are going to serve a plate of pasta to royalty."

"You think it's intimidating?"

"I'll tell you something about fancy restaurants like yours. They always have the best food in the dumpster. But they are the ones that put the traps. Then your friends start disappearing. When some of them come back, they are mutilated. Like Willa's cats."

"They get spayed to avoid overpopulation."

"That's bullshit. Humans do that because they find us inconvenient. Don't go thinking for a second that they wouldn't do the same to you if they found out what you are. They'll call you dangerous and aggressive just because they are afraid of you. Even if it's not true." Her eyes were shining, and the breaths were quickening.