Lonely Monsters

Nine

Monique sat at the table waiting for Meela to come and join her for dinner. After she washed the bathroom, Meela changed into a fresh tank and some leggings. Their cats, who had been avoiding Meela like the plague as of late, were mewing and rubbing up against her calves for attention. She crouched, cooing and petting them softly. 

The black short hair Remmy, used a volume that would be considered yelling, to get Meela's attention. The tabby Jenkins mewed softly, head butting her ankle before rolling onto his back to pur loudly. Alex, the black long haired cat with white paws, trilled and chuffed when he got no attention.

 She rubbed their heads, then moved to the sink to wash her hands. "It's spick and span. Cleaner than when I went it."

 "Great." Monique said from her seat at the table. She flipped on the television and went through the playstation to turn on youtube. "What do you want to watch? Play throughs, or a movie?"

 Meela yawned, sliding into a chair. "Whatever you want to watch." she said, serving herself up pork adobo and white rice. There were some vegetables, and some dish with bitter melon that no one had really touched. 

 Alex whined, so she scooted back and pat her thighs. The cat jumped up and settled in, staring at her bowl as she ate. He didn't beg, or try to grab anything, just sat and watched. 

 Meela ate with her hands, a process she had learned from childhood by the method of bunching rice with her finger tips and pinching it tight to give it a shape. 

 She looked around, noticing how clean everything looked. "...Does Keenan know there's food?"

 "How'd your date thing go?" Monique asked, not looking at her sister. Meela shrugged. "We'll find them."

 Alex chirped, then settled to sleep on Meela's lap. "So.... I'll be moving out by the end of the month." she said nonchalantly. "I have enough savings to get out of here. And I'll find a job where I work all night." 

 With her claws she delicately pulled the cooked pork apart, separating the fat from the actual meat.

 "...You'll be okay out there?" Monique asked, reached over and pouring juice into a large mug. Alex mewled from Meela's lap, begging to sniff what was in the mug. When he caught the scent of citrus his nose bunched and he sneezed. 

 "I'm a big girl." she said, "How's everyone doing lately? Haven't seen them much." 

"Mom's been stressed out... she hasn't been sleeping well." Monique offered the mug to Meela. She accepted and drank the entire cup. 

"Keenan's been doing school work....Uncle called. Asked how you were doing." 

 "I'm okay."

 "They want to know what you're doing for your birthday." Monique said, looking up from her bowl. Meela had her fingers at her mouth, looking back at her.

"...I was thinking of going to visit Genevieve. Then pack my stuff and head out." 

 Monique frowned. She was about to argue with her sister but shook her head. The door to the upstairs opened and Keenan came down. He scratched his head, yawning loudly.

"Yo." Meela waved at her, nudging a clean bowl in his direction. 

 "Bell peppers?" he portioned out the vegetables onto his serving of rice and adobo. 

"Bitter melon." Meela said, finished with her food. She clicked her tongue and Alex jumped off her lamp. She walked over to the fridge, pulling out a glass bottle. It was reishi tea that she had boiled and steeped hours before, then bottled in large amounts for herself.