Gossamer

Part 12: Fairy Dust

Emily picked up a retinue on her way home that evening. Half-wild alley cats, truly-wild feral cats, and a few fat and sassy ones with bells on their collars.

When she glanced behind, she chuckled at the gossamer threads tracing each cat's path from under shrubs and porches, like tributaries to her river. "I'm not bearing tuna, nor kibbles, nor even any catnip. What, do you all suddenly have a yearning for French bread?"

Fresh from the bakery, the loaf left its own trail through the air, though not visible even to Emily.

Three houses down, she could hear the two-jingle ring of her phone. Her pace slowed. It wasn't Margret. They'd had a long chat at the corner grocery.

Emily mounted the porch steps, paused a moment, then went for her rocking chair instead of the door. She set down her netting bags beside the rockers.

The notch-eared cat leaped to the railing. The fat cat curled up near her feet. Two others had a hissing argument out on the lawn which the remainder watched in fascination until struck by sudden boredom. The gathering dispersed, trailing wisps in all directions.

A cat had recently prowled the porch, Emily saw from the fading shimmer. Footsteps, she noticed, petered out into fairy dust, like fine glitter. With a bemused smile she watched her own foot prints disintegrate.

Emily rocked in time to the phone's bell. The gossamer tendrils from her hands to the shopping bags didn't lose brightness as quickly as footprints did, nor did they break apart into fairy dust.

There. An older thread stretched from one hand to the watering can which she had used hours ago. Thinner perhaps. Certainly paler. But not broken.

At last the phone quit ringing. Emily sighed in relief and went in.

Halfway through making supper, it rang again. She gave a different flavor of sigh and picked up.

"At last you're back. So, how did the interview go?" Clarissa demanded.

"The position was already taken."

"Good! You're too old and frail to go back to work, Aunt Emily!"

"My health is doing fine, thank you."

"Not if it takes you all day for one appointment!"

"More than one. I browsed help wanted ads at the library, had a delightful lunch at a diner, and—"

"You must be exhausted," Clarissa broke in. "Let me move in, and I'll drive you wherever."

"—and spent a couple hours at the cemetery. All within easy walking distance."

"Cemetery? Whatever for?"

Emily sniffed. "What do you think? Visiting my husband's grave."

"I didn't know you were married!"

"He died a long time ago."

"You must be so lonely! I'll move in and keep you company."

"We've tried that. Didn't work out for either of us, remember? I need my sleep!"

"But Aunt Emily," Clarissa wheedled. "I've lost my job and can't pay my rent! Please help me out!"

So that was it. Emily took a very long breath. "I'll give you one month's rent. Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, that's it for this year. And you, my dear, will be spending that month doing job interviews!"

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prompt word: interview