Work passes by on autopilot. Trying to not be suspicious just makes me paranoid, so I keep my head ducked down and try to make as little waves as possible. Basically, I pretend like I'm still underneath Sharon's wrathful supervision. Nicole calls me out on my quiet behavior and I wave her off, telling her we'll talk tomorrow at poker night. Rachel hasn't let me skip a week unless I'm on death door. At least I have a shift at the shelter to look forward to.
Barks and meows, whines and whimpers, and the unmistakable smell of wet dog buried under layers of all-natural citrus cleaners greet me when I walk into the Gremory Animal Shelter. "Oh, thank god," Vicky exclaims with a sigh of relief when she sees my face. "Can you go help out with the seniors? Moose is having a day and won't let anyone near him. Already scratched one of the day shift volunteers," she huffed. "But he needs a good brushing before he mats. Please and thank you," she trails off as she wanders down one of the many aisles of cages, her clothes rumpled and covered in various shades of fur.
"No problem," I said mostly to myself. For someone so small, she moves so fast. Making my way to the feline room, I dip my head in and find it relatively calm. There's a few litters of kittens as always, but half seem to be dozing. Moose is aptly named. As best we can tell, he's mostly Maine Coon. It's the only thing that would explain the size, but he's mixed with something else because his decreased amount of fluff doesn't send me halfway into anaphylactic shock. Still, I dosed myself up on allergy meds before I came.
His disgruntled graying face stares me down through the metal bars. He's still a pretty, chocolatey brown despite the tuffs of gray trying their best to show his age. We estimate somewhere in the double digits, but it really depends on the day what age he shows us. A bit of a curmudgeon at first, he's really sweet and cuddly once he warms up to you. If he decides he likes you. Thankfully, I have made the short list. I've thought about adopting him a time or two, once my life settles down. If it settles down. With the guys back in my life, who knows when that'll be.
"Hey handsome," I coo. His tail flicks the cage as he watches me with his suspicious gaze. I cast my eyes side to side before returning to him. "Don't tell the others, alright?" He brushes his body against the side and waits for my fingers to scratch right above his tail as he bends down to make it easier to reach. After a few moments, I open his cage and let him out so that I can begin trying to brush out his tangles. I sneak him some of the treats he's been pawing at in my pocket and love on him despite the itch in my nose and the tickle in my throat.
My time at the shelter ends a few hours later. With some last-minute smooches from Moose and cuddles with the kittens, I wave goodnight to a harried looking Vicky and head back to my apartment.
Flopping down on my bed, I look over at the burner on my nightstand. Nothing. Dario told me they'd be staying mostly radio silent, but I can't help holding out hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm in a much better mood today and surprise Nicole with a coffee I picked up on the way in.
"Thanks bestie," she quips before side eyeing me suspiciously. "What's the occasion?"
"Can't I just do something sweet for my best friend?" I ask breezily as I put up my purse and jacket.
"You should and often," she rolls her eyes, "but there's more going on here." She waves her hand in a circle, gesturing at me. "You're not a morning person, but you were up early enough to get us both coffee? Yeah, I call bs. What's his name?"
"Moose. He's geriatric, likes tuna, and dislikes most people," I deadpan.
"Fine, don't tell me. I'll have back up tonight," she grins, rubbing her hands together like some old school villain tying a lady up on the train tracks.
"One, don't ever do that again," I shudder, shaking my head. "And two, seriously it was a cat named Moose. Scouts' honor," I swear, fingers up in some bastardization of the girl scout's pledge.
"Please tell me you have pictures."
"Of course," I squeal and then proceed to gush over this sweet cat that I'm half in love with, but can't take home. It's not fair to him, despite how I wish otherwise.
Work is tolerable, but tense. The loan officers are huddled in their offices with their heads down, doing their best to make sure their numbers are correct and paint them in the best light. No one is talking in the break room and our manager, James made everyone count down their drawers three times before he allowed us to leave. He also stressed heavily the importance of our timely and professionally dressed arrival tomorrow. HR approved language for show up early and don't look like utter shit. Got it.
With a bit of time to spare before poker at Rachel's, I heat up some frozen samosas in the air fryer and relax on the couch while British people bake on the tv. A full course meal it is not, but girl dinner is the only thing I'm surviving on and I don't see myself changing anytime soon. Changing into some leggings and a light sweater, I quickly raid my pantry for some snacks to bring over. Offerings are sparse since I still need to hit the grocery store, but with life being unpredictable and the very real possibility of me being in jail this time next week as an accomplice to some unnamed crime, my motivation has been next to nothing. Still, I manage to gather a mix of alcoholic seltzers and some chips. It's not much, but it'll do.
Arriving at Rachel's, I walk in to the usual subjects for our Thursday night game. The past year has brought a lot of changes and with Colton's death, came the expansion of my circle. They were already there, but I no longer feared letting them in. Maya, still dressed in her scrubs, is nursing a soda can and tossing down her hand with an amused half smile. Nicole is grabbing snacks from the kitchen and a bottle of whiskey at Rachel's behest. The queen herself is laying down her cards with a satisfied smirk and raking in the chips while humming along to the Fleetwood Mac playing in the background.
"If it isn't my favorite niece," she greets me.
"That might mean something if I wasn't your only niece, or living family member," I quip.
"Semantics," she brushes off.
"Can you at least do me the favor of drinking some water while I'm here? Your vitals are already going to be skewed tomorrow," Maya sighs as Nicole pours the amber liquid into Rach's glass.
"Only because I like you better than the last few aides they've stuck me with," she concedes.
"You ran them all off," I point out.
"Details," she hums into her glass. Her storm grey eyes don't miss a thing, trailing over my face like a treasure map. "Out with it," she urges as she deals out the next hand.
I haven't even made my way to the table, but she's already dealing me in and pushing a pile of chips to my seat. A silent conversation passes first between my aunt and my best friend before looping in to include Maya who's become almost like an annoyingly wise and bluntly honest older sister over the past year. "You know I can see you guys, right?"
"Yeah, but unless you've suddenly turned into Professor X, I think we're safe," Nicole shoots back. "What? James McAvoy was hot in that one," she shrugs before tossing a poker chip into the center.
"I was always more of a Patrick Stewart girl myself," Rachel throws in.
"Maybe this is just how my face looks," I deflect and quickly toss my own chip in.
"Your nose is twitching," Maya points out helpfully with her face in her cards as she adds her own chip.
"So, there's this cat at the shelter-"
"Moose?! Oh my god, y'all have to see the pictures Callie was showing me at work. He's adorable," Nicole squeals. I pass my phone with the pictures pulled up over to her and Maya while Rachel arches a perfectly plucked eyebrow at me. It's most likely Maya's doing since her own hands haven't been up to that level of detail in a while, but she still looks amazing.
Despite seeing clear through me, she doesn't press. Still I spend the rest of the game on pins and needles as we battle it out for bragging rights. We gave up on playing for money when we realized we were faithfully giving our money away every week to Rachel like a tithe.
Maya bows out an hour or so later after a panicked text from her husband. Apparently, their toddler attempted to draw pictures on her arms like her daddy. With permanent marker. Two baths hadn't taken it off and school pictures were tomorrow. Just another reminder to thank horny brained Callie for getting the birth control implant. No crotch goblins for me.
"I've got to head out too. This beauty needs all her sleep for tomorrow's walkthrough." As if I needed the reminder. "Maybe I'll end the day with a sugar daddy," she waves breezily as she leaves.
"I like that girl," Rachel smiles serenely. "Reminds me of a younger me."
"A menace, both of you. Seriously, it's nothing. Just a little stressed about tomorrow. Everyone at work is a bit on edge and who knows? Maybe I'm still a bit freaked out about what happened last year." It's close enough to the truth.
Her shrewd eyes take me in before she sighs. "I trust you to make the right decisions for you as long as they cause no harm to others," she says pointedly. "Have a good day at work tomorrow." She kisses both my cheeks and hugs me tightly before sending me off.