Cass awoke early the next morning with an overwhelming feeling of not wanting to get out of bed. Whether it be how comfy the bed was, or the fact that this was the first time she's slept in a bed for years. She turned over onto her stomach, wrapping her arms around the pillow she rested her head on. The sunlight shone in from the window and down onto the carpet, dust slowly dancing around within the sunlight. Cass closed her sleepy eyes again, dozing off a little to try and get some more minutes of sleep in. Cars in neighbour's driveways started, birds sang, and leaves on the trees, which were just starting to turn into their autumn colours, rustled in the wind. Meanwhile, outside Cass' closed bedroom door, Dr. Gautron walked down the hall to the bathroom, where he did the same thing everyday; showering, shaving if he needed to, and making himself look clean, sleek, and professional for the day. Once there, he slipped off his clothing and headed to the shower, turning it on to a warm temperature and washing himself down.
Cass, on the other hand, having gotten another few minutes of sleep into her, woke up again when she heard the shower turn on. She rolled over onto her back, her body supported by her elbow near the edge of the bed. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with her other hand, then looked at Milo at the end of the bed. He was all stretched out now, his paws flexing and his ears twitching every now and then. Cass watched as his small stomach rose and fell as he breathed. She sat up on her bottom and carefully lifted the covers off of her. She stretched and yawned. Then, her attention turned to her jacket and hat on the floor. She slipped out of the bed and picked up her clothes, trying her best to fold them neatly. She placed them atop the dresser, staring at them for awhile. She took in her surroundings, everything from the smells, sounds and sights. Then, she heard the shower turn off.
'Just a few more minutes, and I could probably clean myself up if Dr. Gautron's okay with me using his shower. Augh... I can feel the refreshment already.' Cass fantasized. She walked up to her bedroom door and placed her hands on the door, tightening her fists against it.
The bathroom door opened, and out walked Dr. Gautron, cleanly shaven, and wearing a maroon coloured fleece bathrobe. He walked into his room, closed the door behind him and started to put on his clothes that he had set out for the day. Cass tiptoed out of her room and slipped into the bathroom. She walked quietly into the shower and turned it on to as cold as she could take it, towels for drying off and her dirty clothes laying on the foor.
Meanwhile, Dr. Gautron headed downstairs to the kitchen, still buttoning up his lavender dress shirt, the matching tie slung around his shoulders. He slipped on the carpeted stairs, but caught himself on the banister, before he could do any damage to himself. He carried on, walking towards the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup of coffee into a white, minimalistic mug, looking outside every now and then at the birds flying around and the squirrels scuttling up trees.
Cass finished washing herself up. She was wrapped in a white towel and was picking up her dirty clothes off the floor, placing them back in her room on her dresser. She didn't want to wear dirty clothes again after a shower, so she decided to go into Dr. Gautron's room and scavenge for some clothes that he didn't wear to work. Eventually, she found a pair of sweatpants and a shirt from an environmental organization, which was far too large for Cass, her being five foot seven and Dr. Gautron being much taller at six foot three. The shirt reached down to the middle of her thigh and almost covered her entire upper forearms. The sweatpants, on the other hand, were baggy and dragged across the floor. Cass rolled them up the best she could so they wouldn't tear while she was walking. Eventually, she made her way downstairs and joined Dr. Gautron for breakfast, this time sitting adjacent to him, unlike last night.
"Mornin', Gautron." Cass said.
"Good morning, Cass. I see you've picked out a nice outfit from my closet this morning, and you had a shower, too." Dr. Gautron observed.
"Heh. Yeah, I hope you're fine with that."
'Normally, I would flip out, but haha, yeah! That's completely fine with me.' Dr. Gautron thought sarcastically.
Instead of stating his opinion on the matter, Dr. Gautron kept his mouth shut. He instead asked Cass if she wanted anything for breakfast or not. She nodded. Dr. Gautron got up, leaving a half full cup of coffee behind on the table. He opened the pantry and reached for a box of Corn Flakes and a bowl. He walked over to the fridge, grabbed the milk, and made Cass a bowl of cereal. He placed it in front of her, almost slopping the milk on the tablecloth. Cass ate a little slower and more civil this time, but she was still pretty messy with her eating. The milk dripped down off of the spoon and onto the sweatpants she was wearing. Dr. Gautron sipped his coffee and scrolled through his phone - he was reading a political news article which he found quite interesting. If he hadn't have gotten his degree in the sciences, then he would've gotten into law and politics. He always loved a good debate and thought the concept of it all was intruiging.
"When do we leave, Gautron?" Cass questioned, interrupting Dr. Gautron's readings.
He looked at the time on his phone. It was 7:12.
"In around ten minutes. You don't have to rush on your breakfast, but I would make sure you've got everything ready to go, including Milo." he replied.
Milo. The name made Cass shudder - she had almost forgotten him. Was he still upstairs, cuddled up in the bed? Or could he have escaped from her open window? She doubted it, but it still worried her a little. She quickly finished her cereal, left her bowl on the table, then rushed up the stairs and into her room. Thankfully, Milo was still in the room, sitting up on the bed and grooming himself. Cass picked him up and cradled him in her arms, bringing him back downstairs. She placed him on the floor and walked over to the fridge. Dr. Gautron turned around and spied on Cass, making sure whatever she was doing didn't destroy his house. However, Cass was simply just getting something for Milo's breakfast. She ripped a piece of romaine lettuce off and set it in front of Milo, which he began to gnaw on. Dr. Gautron stood up and took his cup and Cass' bowl to the counter. He stretched and began to button up the rest of his buttons on his lavender dress shirt and tie up his tie.
"Are we going now, Gautron?" Cass inquired.
"Yes, we are, Cass. It's a little chilly out, are you sure you'll be okay without a jacket?" Dr. Gautron answered.
"Can I just wear one of your old jackets or something? Mine's all dirty and I just had a shower for the first time in a long, long time. I don't want to feel all.. gross again."
Dr. Gautron sighed, but then smiled.
"Of course. I'll just fetch one from the back closet.."
Dr. Gautron whisked away to the back closet where all the jackets and footwear was kept. It was beside the main floor bathroom, which was a strange place for it, but considering that Dr. Gautron had lived here for a majority of his life, he didn't think it was strange at all. He opened up the door, and grabbed a dark green fall jacket from the rack. He exited the room, closed the door behind him, and passed Cass the jacket. She slid it over her arms and zipped it up. Dr. Gautron put on his own coat and opened the door, leading Cass out to the car first. He locked the door, got in the car and keyed the engine. He pulled out of his driveway and made his way to another day of work.
