Population Miniscule

Chapter 3: Two Down; Home Free

Catherine inhaled a deep breath as she unlocked the door to her house. She plopped her briefcase on the couch and decided to change. She donned a loose pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt and crumbled to a lump in her favorite chair. The stress dissipated from her body for she had survived the last two days of the school year. Now she only had to tie up a few loose ends and clear out her classroom for the Summer. She didn't expect that to take all three days left in the week and she might eke out an extra day to prepare for her trip.

Catherine turned on the TV and listened to the evening news with her eyes closed. Kendon heard her enter the house and decided to take a break from the population documentation he was working on. His hand was cramped from the endless writing and drawing up of tables. He hoped he could switch the business over to computers soon. After all, it was 2014. It was high time he looked into doing things more efficiently.

Kendon saw Catherine reclining in her enormous chair. He listened intently to the news from the next room. He didn't want to startle her from her relaxed state. That confounded cat was perched at her right arm anyway and was just trouble waiting to happen. More than anything, Kendon wished they could talk. He took his time returning to his desk while keeping an eye on Turk. The tabby didn't move.

Catherine had brought Turk home from the animal shelter three months into the school year because of the mice. She had seen some evidence here and there where they had gotten into various food stuffs. She was determined to take care of the situation before it became a real problem. She had wanted a cat ever since the one she had growing up had passed during her Freshmen year of college. She felt guilty for years over leaving him at home with her parents, but she had lived in the dorm for the duration of her college career to save money.

The cat was long overdue, and Catherine enjoyed his company more than she had imagined. It never mattered what kind of mood she was in, Turk always met her with an optimistic meow and a gentle headbutt to one of her legs. He had gotten healthy and fat in her care, but she had seen no evidence that he had killed even one mouse. She couldn't bring herself to be too heartbroken about it. Cleaning out the litter box was quite enough. She didn't really want to have to dispose of corpses as well, especially partially dismembered ones.

Kendon ran his hands through his dark hair and stretched against the back of his desk chair. He loved working away the quiet evenings and wished that he had known what he had been missing all those years he worked nights. He could hear Catherine preparing a meal down in the kitchen and it smelled wonderful. He had eaten earlier and would be calling it a night soon. Perhaps he would catch a TV show or two with her before bed. It depended on if she watched anything or not. He figured she would since she didn't have to prepare for lessons the next day.

Kendon organized his desk into a few sloppy stacks so he could find his place in the morning. He turned off the light and made his way down the hall. Catherine sat enveloped in her chair with a large platter. It looked like she was having fish and fresh veggies tonight. She always kept a large variety of food in the house, and Kendon was thankful for that. He sat back and eyed the episode of Jeopardy on the TV. This was by far one of his favorite shows and he did well when he played along. He was thankful that Catherine's television interests so often paralleled his own.

She didn't acknowledge his presence. He wished she would say something. She hadn't received or made any phone calls for a few days and Kendon had no idea what was really going on with her. She didn't even glance in his general direction, but Turk had zeroed in on him. Another episode of Jeopardy ruined by that shedding beast. Kendon retreated for an early night. His mind was too busy to really watch TV anyway...or sleep for that matter.

“What is it, boy?”

Catherine hoisted herself up to peer around the arm of her chair. Turk had jumped to the floor and scurried off after some imaginary whim. “Those darn mice again?”

Catherine settled back in her chair. She really didn't care because she was home free. She was facing down a leisurely end to her week and a weekend of preparation for her trip. She felt tired and energized all at once. The excitement of the trip fluttered through her mind and she missed nearly the entire episode of Jeopardy. She caught Final Jeopardy before she decided to unwind with a lovely monotone show on the History Channel. She woke half way through the night, switched off the TV and moved to the bed. Turk had retreated to the plush comforter long ago. Kendon tossed and turned the entire night.