Women In War

13

~~|February, 1946|~~

"Olivier! We're going to be late!"

"I'm coming!"

Maggie sighed. "We're going to come back in two weeks! What are you packing?"

"Necessities!"

"You do this every time we visit Brooklyn!"

"J'arrive, j'arrive! Calmez-vous, maman!"

Just like every other time Olivier accidentally called Maggie 'mom', it went unacknowledged.

Maggie sighed again. She glanced at the frame above the mantle. Months ago, she'd gotten the sketch coloured in. The original was folded up and jumped from pocket to pocket of the clothing Maggie wore.

"I can't believe you left me alone with the kid," she told the photo, "he's driving me nuts."

"I'm not driving you anywhere," Olivier said as he walked in with a crate. The white mass inside hissed and clawed at the bars.

"Oh, that necessity. Hello, Alpine, did you bite Olivier?"

"Not today, surprisingly. Come on, we're late."

"Excuse me, hijo!" Maggie yelled, following him out of the apartment, "you're the one who took two hours to lock the cat up!"

"You could've helped, Mags."

"You never asked! I didn't even know you were bringing him along!"

"Mags. Alpine is your cat."

Maggie scoffed as she locked the door. "He's a bitch."

Olivier sighed. "Will you at least carry the crate?"

"Fine."

~~||~~

Maggie was thrilled to see who had come to get them from Howard's private airstrip. The man got richer and richer everyday.

"Becky!"

Becky squealed and hugged Maggie.

"Did you bring the bitch?"

"Yeah, Olivier is here."

"She meant the cat, Maggie."

Becky grinned and leaned down while Maggie lifted the crate. "Hey, Alpine! How was the flight, little bitch?"

The snow white cat hissed at Becky.

"Wow, he actually responded to you," Maggie said with a laugh. "How bout that?"

"The bitch loves me. This is my peak. I will never rise further."

"Or maybe he wants to kill you," Maggie said, passing the crate to Becky and taking her bag from Olivier. "I wouldn't be surprised if Alpine started an uprising and won."

Becky lifted the crate and tapped the gate with her nails. "You're not gonna start an uprising, are you, Alpine?"

"Pretty ring," Olivier commented, nodding to Becky's hand, "mean something?"