So finally she said,ôYouÆre right.ö
Scarlett blinked.ôExcuse me?ö
ôI said youÆre right.ö
ScarlettÆs smile was something to behold. ôCould you please repeat that, only this time IÆll record it on my phone?ö
ôDonÆt be such a smart-ass,ö she said, then rested her chin on her hand. ôIÆm not a very nice person, am I?ö
ôNo, youÆre not, but you are pretty funny.ö
ôFunny!ö she spat. ôWhat does that even mean?ö
ôIt means you always make me laugh, with your outrageousness.ö
ôFat lot of good that has ever done me,ö she muttered, staring before herself. ôItÆs justà I donÆt suffer fools gladly, Scarlett. And there are a lot of fools out there. And I do mean a lot.ö
ôI know,ö said Scarlett. ôBut maybe you shouldnÆt let them get to you.ö
ôIÆm simply too good for this world, thatÆs my problem.ö
ôOf course it is,ö said Scarlett with a grin.
ôNo, but itÆs true!ö After a moment, she returned her friendÆs grin, and before long, both women shared a hearty laugh. ôI donÆt know how you tolerate me,ö she finally said.
ôYeah, I ask myself that all the time,ö Scarlett returned.
Vesta gave her friend a light slap on the thigh, then both friends settled in as Scarlett turned on the television, and moments later they were watchingThe Good Wife.
Vesta soon found herself spacing out, though, AliciaÆs exploits not as gripping as usual. Could it be that Scarlett was right? That she lacked empathy? It certainly was a novel concept that you needed to empathize with people. She usually bulldozed her way through life, and so far it had been a winning strategy. Now, though, she wasnÆt so sure.
Definitely something to explore.
Chapter 16
As Dooley and I got ready to go to cat choir, Harriet and Brutus decided to join us. They seemed to have patched things up, for they were once again on speaking terms.
ôSheÆs agreed to cancel her Pettr account,ö Brutus told me in confidence as we walked along. ôAnd IÆve agreed to be more trusting going forward. After all, when youÆre in a relationship itÆs all about giving each other space, isnÆt it?ö he added magnanimously.
ôI suppose,ö I said, darting a quick glance to Harriet, who was walking next to Dooley, and telling him everything about her Pettr experience. Not that Dooley seemed to grasp the full gist of the Pettr concept, but that has never stopped Harriet before.
ôI mean, you need to give them that space, you see. It shows how much you trust the other person. And after all, when thereÆs no trust, what is there? Nothing, Max!ö
ôUh-huh,ö I said, finding this conversation passing into Dear Abby territory a little too much for my personal taste. IÆm not an agony aunt, and therefore not equipped to give advice to the lovelorn or even quarreling lovebirds like Brutus and Harriet.
ôSo IÆve decided not to check her Pettr account from now on.ö
ôI thought you said she agreed to cancel her account?ö
ôThatÆs what she said, but how do I know she isnÆt lying? But to show her how much I trust her, IÆm not even going to check.ö He lowered his voice. ôSo could you do me a favor and find out?ö
ôFind out what?ö
He frowned at me.ôIf she canceled her account, of course!ö
ôBut I thought you said you were going to trust her? Give her space and all that?ö
ôAnd I am giving her space. But that doesnÆt mean you have to give her space.ö
ôReally, Brutus? You want me to spy on Harriet for you? Is that what itÆs come to?ö
ôJust this once, buddy.ö He gave me a pained look. ôI need to know. IÆm going to go stir-crazy if I donÆt. So can you do me this one little favor? Just take a peek at her tablet for me?ö
ôOh, all right,ö I said.
ôDo it after you get back from cat choir. IÆve promised to take her into town, to the Hungry Pipe. I hear theyÆve got quite the menu lined up for us tonight.ö
ôThey have?ö
ôWell, not for us, specifically. ThereÆs a council meeting tonight, and several council members have gotten into the habit of heading to the Hungry Pipe for a late dinner. And you know what those council members are like. After a lifetime in politics, their digestive systems are completely screwed up, so thereÆll be plenty of leftovers for us to snack on.ö
ôFine,ö I said, though I quite liked the idea of snacking on some tasty leftovers. Then again, Brutus was my friend, and it sounded as if he could really use a helping paw tonight. ôIÆll do it. But what if she hasnÆt canceled her account? Then what?ö
ôI-I donÆt know.ö He eyed me uncertainly. ôWhat do you think I should do?ö
ôLetÆs not get ahead of ourselves. For all we know she has canceled her account.ö
ôOf course she has,ö he said, relaxing. ôHarriet wouldnÆt lie to me. I trust her.ö
Somehow, though, it didnÆt exactly sound as if he believed this himself.
As usual, cat choir was a pleasant enough affair. Shanille had a new song for us to try out. It was the theme fromCats, which is a musical about cats, apparently, and also a movie. I was fine with it, though some of our members werenÆt, since they felt that no human could accurately capture the essence of cathood and so we shouldnÆt dignify this Andrew Lloyd Webber, who was an Englishman to boot, by putting our not inconsiderate talent at his disposal. Apparently this was a case of blatant cultural appropriation, a sin akin to murder. The words æprostitutionÆ and ædegradingÆ were freely bandied about before Shanille finally said, quite rightly, I thought, ôIÆm the conductor here, soIÆm the one who decides, and IÆve decided that tonight weÆre singingCats,cultural appropriation or not!ö
ôArenÆt we always singing cats, Max?ö asked Dooley.
ôYes, but tonight weÆre singing cats that are singingCats,ö I said, earning myself a confused frown from my best friend. I didnÆt blame him. It was all very complicated.
For one thing, apparently in this musical it was actually humans pretending to be cats, by putting on costumes and wearing makeup and such. So now we were cats pretending to be humans pretending to be cats. I think no one could blame me for feeling an identity crisis coming on. It was the cultural appropriation of the cultural appropriation by the culturally appropriated, which probably canceled the whole thing out. Or something.
And then of course there was the murder case I was still struggling with. The identity of Valina FawnÆs murderer wasnÆt anywhere near being revealed to us, even after all the interviews Odelia and Chase had carried out. On the contrary. The more people we talked to, the muddier the whole thing seemed to become.
Then again, in this stage of the proceedings, that was often the case.
And weÆd just taken our positions, when suddenly a loud voice started tweeting in our rear.
ôHarriet, oh, sweet Harriet,ö the voice sounded. ôYou are mine and I am yours forever!ö
We all turned to see, and found ourselves staring at none other than Jack the sparrow, perched on an overhanging branch, and singing his heart out and serenading Harriet!
ôOh, not you again!ö Harriet cried, looking extremely embarrassed.
ôBut I love you!ö said the tiny brown sparrow. ôOur love is written in the stars!ö
Dooley glanced up at this, inspecting the stars for a sign of this unusual love.
ôI didnÆt know you had a new boyfriend, Harriet?ö said Shanille, who seemed to think the whole thing hilarious.
ôHe is not my boyfriend,ö Harriet said through gritted teeth.
ôI am your bird-friend!ö Jack cried. ôYour one true love!ö
ôOh, go away,ö said Harriet. ôGo tweet somewhere else.ö
ôI wonÆt be apart from you, Harriet,ö Jack replied, pressing a tiny foot to his tiny chest. ôFrom now on weÆll never be apart again. Our love will stand the test of timeùforever.ö
ôOh, God,ö Harriet muttered, closing her eyes.
ôI didnÆt know you were into birds?ö said Shanille, grinning wickedly.