It felt like forever before Angelina finally came out of the restaurant. At least she moved within hearing range before she asked her lunch companion if she would like to have some ice cream.
Merilee followed along behind them, occasionally sorting out the various scents that came her way. The artificial scent of Angelina, that didn’t quite cover up her natural smell, a scent that Merilee was surprised to realized that she actually recognized, at least at some level. The smell of hot concrete and stinky cars that lay like a fog underneath all the other scents.
Her eyesight wasn’t as good as a cat’s. Plus, everything always looked so different! She was so low to the ground, now, and much smaller. People seemed huge.
Angelina only turned back once to make sure that Merilee was following them. It took her a few moments to spot Merilee, and then, only after Merilee purposefully stepped away from the shadows.
It was good to know that Merilee wasn’t deluding herself—she really was more difficult to see in cat form, when she chose to be.
Finally, Angelina and her friend stopped at a cart that sold ice cream which was supposedly hand cranked. Merilee would still turn her nose up at it. There were artificial chemicals in it. It didn’t smell like cream and sugar.
Angelina and her friend walked off to a low bench that was under a tree, sitting and eating their treats. She came closer now, looking at them from a few feet away.
She had to be careful, though. The stupid humans walking down the sidewalk didn’t always notice her. She would be accidentally kicked if she wasn’t watchful.
“Whose cat do you suppose that is?” the friend asked Angelina.
“I’m not sure that cat belongs to anyone,” Angelina replied after a few moments. “She might be on her own.”
“Is she hungry?”
Merilee rolled her eyes. As if she’d deign to eat those yucky chemicals. Couldn’t they tell that their ice cream wasn’t as “natural” as they’d been led to believe?
“No, Sue, I don’t think so,” Angelina said after a few moments. “I think she’s pissed off.”
Merilee nodded. Yes, she was still pretty pissed off about everything.
“Is she someone’s familiar?” the friend—Sue—said after a few moments.
Merilee looked more closely at this Sue person. She wasn’t a witch. Merilee was certain of it. Why did she ask about familiars? Did she know about witchcraft?
“Maybe,” Angelina said, nodding, though she sounded uncertain.
“Oh! Do you think maybe she wants to be your familiar?” Sue asked.
Huh? How did Sue know that Angelina was a witch? She didn’t have any power! Merilee realized that she could smell the magic rolling off Angelina, the scent of summer thunderstorms, while there was nothing from Sue.
Angelina shook her head. “No, Sue, and I think that suggestion just pissed her off more.”
“Strange,” Sue said.
Merilee was just deciding to take a few steps closer to the women when another vaguely familiar scent made her twitch.
What was that? It was a human smell. Something she recognized but didn’t.
Merilee turned around in place, taking in her surroundings.
There. Striding purposefully toward Angelina. It was Thing Two, the smallest and possibly most scared of the three thugs. He had a determined scent around him, as if he’d drawn the short straw for this conflict.
Merilee moved quickly, out of the direct sunlight and into the nearest shadow, apparently vanishing. Or at least, she assumed that was what she did when Sue abruptly asked, “Hey, where did that cat go?”
Merilee watched Thing Two approach.
“Angelina Marquez? Got a message for you,” Thing Two called out with a show of bravado that was barely skin deep.
Really, she could smell the fear sweat that streamed down his back.
“You better do as you’re told. Or not just your sister’s familiar is gonna disappear,” he warned.
“Who are you and what are you talking about?” Angelina said, her usual anger tinting her words.
Merilee stayed where she was.
“Just ask your sister,” Thing Two said before he sauntered off.
While Merilee’s sense of smell had gotten better, her eyesight hadn’t. Still, she would bet that if she could peer close enough, she’d see Thing Two shaking as he left.
“What was that all about?” Sue asked.
Merilee came out of hiding, and deliberately sat in front of the women. She hissed at Thing Two’s back, loudly, her hackles rising again.
Thing Two glanced over his shoulder and started, almost tripping, before he scurried away.
Good. Put the fear of the cat into him.
Then she turned back to Angelina, who sat with a puzzled expression on her face.
“One thing’s for certain, this cat doesn’t like that guy any more than we do,” she said.
Merilee made her way over to the bench where Angelina and Sue sat. She looked up at them expectantly for a moment, then proceeded to lightly leap up between them.
“Sure, just make yourself at home,” Angelina groused.
“Who do you belong to?” Sue said, curious.
Merilee gave a soft growl. She didn’t belong to anyone. She was her own person. While she might have said that she was her own cat, she was still a person.
Were all cats people? Did they consider themselves as such? Was that why they always appeared so self-possessed?
Someday, she’d have to find a normal cat and see if she could ask.
“Huh,” was Angelina’s reply.
“What was all that talk about Merilee’s familiar?” Sue asked. She reached out a hesitant hand for Merilee to sniff.
It didn’t surprise Merilee that Sue knew her name, as she appeared to be good enough friends with Angelina that she’d probably heard her talk of her sister.
Merilee could smell the fish tacos the woman had had for lunch, along with the too-sweet tequila drink. Sue wore too much hand cream to get a good sense of the scent of her. Merilee would say, though, that Sue was on the lighter side of things, not quite an airhead but along those lines. She was older than Merilee would have guessed, the makeup hiding the wrinkles that Merilee’s nose told her were there. She wore a peach-colored blouse that went along with her dyed black hair, her eyes a faded hazel.
Merilee only considered stepping onto the woman’s white skirt with her dirty paws briefly. She wouldn’t actually do anything like that. Not unless Sue actually did something to piss her off.
“Merilee doesn’t have a familiar,” Angelina said exasperated. “She doesn’t have the power.” Then she paused. “But you have something to do with Merilee, don’t you?”
Merilee turned to look at her sister. She stared solidly into Angelina’s steady dark-brown eyes.
I am Merilee
She thought those words as loudly as she could.
Angelina stared back, then suddenly shook her head, breaking the contact, sitting back.
“No,” she said. “That can’t be.”
Merilee put her paw gently onto Angelina’s arm. Her claws slid slightly out of their sheathes, not enough to scratch or pierce, but just enough to get her sister’s attention.
Reluctantly, Angelina turned back to Merilee, gazing into her eyes again.
I am Merilee
“What is it?” Sue asked.
“The cat—she…she claims to be Merilee. But why are you in cat form? Why don’t you change back into human form? Have you been trapped? Are you cursed?”
Merilee shook her head. This was going to take some time. Particularly since all Angelina was now focused on was her, and not on Thing Two and the threat he’d issued.
“Mrrow,” Merilee said loudly. She looked in the direction that Thing Two had gone, then back to Angelina. Then she did it again, hoping that Angelina would take the hint.
“What, you want to go? Sweetie, I can’t. I need to go back to the office for the afternoon. And the office has a strict ‘no pets’ policy,” Angelina said.
Merilee couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was certain that she would have dropped everything if Angelina appeared at her door, with need.
“You can’t just leave her here alone,” Sue said.
Maybe Merilee did have an ally here. She gave a nod of approval.
“Your sister’s been turned into a cat. Probably against her will. You’re going to have to take care of her this afternoon,” Sue continued.
Merilee leaned back in Sue’s direction, sliding her body against Sue’s arm.
“See? She agrees with me!” Sue said. She put a tentative hand up and stroked along Merilee’s back.
By the goddess, that felt good! Even if Sue was hesitant and obviously didn’t know the first thing about petting a cat. She had nice nails though, that made up for it. Until they were too much, and Merilee moved away.
“I suppose you’re right,” Angelina sighed. “I’ll get Frank to transcribe Mr. Hendrickson’s deposition. And maybe Janice can look over the McGully contracts.”
“And I’ll cover for you as well,” Sue said. “You just have to promise to tell me everything afterward.”
Merilee gave a disapproving “Mrrrrow” at that. This was between her and her sister. It was witch business. She didn’t want everything aired to a gossipy mundane.
Sue immediately modified her request. “What you can tell me.”
Merilee nodded in approval. That was much better.
“Fine,” Angelina said. She turned her attention back to Merilee. “I don’t suppose I could get you to wait for me in my car or something, could I?”
Merilee bobbed her head in laughter. The gesture was lost on the two humans.
With a heavy kitty sigh, Merilee hopped to the ground. She turned around once, slowly, making sure that no one was watching. Then she looked back at Angelina.
See you at your home. Your home.
The portal formed quickly. Only Angelina gasped—Sue couldn’t see a thing. Merilee hopped through it, glad that she’d had an early start, knowing that it would take several such jumps to get her back to Angelina’s house.
She came out in a quiet park that she’d stopped by on her way to Angelina’s office, then stepped through again and again, making her way to her sister’s.
Hopefully, Angelina would actually meet her there quickly, and not get unavoidably detained at work, as usual.