'Shut up, you slimy cat!' I screeched at the cat in my hands as he "mah-aw"ed louder and louder in shorter intervals.
Why did I keep bringing home strays just to release them back in their old location the next day? Why did my dog have to be allergic to the poor felines?
He meowed loudly, his first normal sound in the past ten minutes, his big eyes making contact with mine as he did and I almost hugged his tiny, slimy, wet body to my coat.
'Almost there, love. Almost there.' I expected him to claw at me like he did two weeks ago when I'd picked him up from the dumpster behind the library. 'Old Pete's gonna love you.' He continued complaining but didn't bother fighting me.
Once home, I walked straight to the tub and got to work on him, not caring that my gloves were soaked or that my bath was greasy. Cats hate baths? Then why does this one sit so calmly while I soap his body and wipe him down and then fluff him up?
Bathed, then fed, I placed him into the kitty bed I had set up in the small storage space in the front room. He settled in without a fuss and would no doubt start complaining again soon. Instead of waiting, I left the door open and went on to take my own shower, after cleaning down the tub.
Strays kept passing through my small apartment. Lots and lots of strays. Pete walked on over and sat down in front of the door looking as sad as a pup could look. He's going on two years now, which is as long as I've lived in this place. Got him out back behind the diner, down near the rubbles on my second day after moving in. That had been my first job and one I'd loved more than any other. Too bad the place closed down. Pete had been a stray then too but I was certain he could never survive on his own now.
Cat allergies aside, he loved his sofa.
WOO. AWOO.
He complained now, before lying there in the middle of the doorway, watching me scrub the bath. I shook my head at him laughing, knowing he wouldn't move until I left the room.
'Mumma has brought you another kitten. You seen him, babe?' I asked and Pete turned his head to the side. I laughed again at his moods. I had spoilt him but not too badly. He disliked having my attention shared, especially with something he couldn't approach.
We watched movies on the sofa after I'd cleaned up and fed him and myself. Romcoms? No. I spent the day working at the library with people who read about science and history and magic and vampires and romance and crafts and insects and nearly every genre there was. I didn't come home to bore myself with the typical dreamy eyed man that swooped in to save a female who was equally good-looking but seemingly helpless by role.
I watched cartoons and animations and anything that just wasn't real. I watched comedies some days but tonight, I just wanted to bask in the crazy world of make believe. Pete scratched his ears on his end of the couch before he laid down, resting his head on my lap and dosing off.
I found myself doing the same and you'd think that it was past ten in the night. In reality, it wasn't even nine yet. I'd just slipped off into dreamland when gunshots rang through what was seeming to be a calm night.
Pete sat up after the sounds had cleared, just as shaken and confused as myself. I knew the doors were locked and the windows closed but I quickly found myself picturing them. More shots rang through the night, causing me to panic further.
Despite Pete's allergies, we spent the night curled up in the first room, door locked, beside the cat who didn't seem the least bit bothered by the noise. He purred and slept in a ball while Pete and myself laid on the other end of the room, feeling safer in here because of the blocked windows. Afraid of what I might see outside and afraid of being shot, I never left the room. I wasn't sure of when I fell asleep but when I opened my eyes, there was light faintly streaming in from under the door.
Pete lifted his head as I sat up. The bundle of fur on the other end of the room that was lying on his back, rolled over and stretched before he hopped down from his bed and walked over to us on the floor. He sat down, looked me in the eyes and then began his complaining. He had slept quite well and now he was ready to be fed. Pete whined so I took the cat up and left the room, leaving the door open so Pete could escape safely.
The cat was fed, I showered and collected him. I fed Pete in my own bedroom before locking up and leaving the house. Pete's door was always open but he never used it unless he needed to poop. I was surprised he wasn't sneezing like crazy.
'Had a good night, didn't yah?' I asked the cat trying to keep my eyes on him rather than allowing myself to look around. I was still afraid of seeing dead bodies or blood anywhere nearby. He purred in my hands, clearly unconcerned about anything. 'I thought so.' I nodded at him.
The walk to work was as long as the work day itself. Short. I loved my job and though somedays were madly uneventful, it sustained me. Sure, as a teenager I had dreamed of being filthy rich and living in a mansion with celebrities on my contacts or even fellow highly paid professionals. That dream died long ago. I found myself more drawn to serenity than popularity and that's where I loved myself the most.
Happy. Not rich. Fed. Not spoilt. Sheltered. Not out for nights and nights with people who would never stay.
I'd just left Nancy locking up when the gossip started. My co-workers and I all walked together to the diner on the corner. A newer place built where the old photo studio used to be. We met up with some other folks there and shared two tables most evenings. They'd almost all lived here most of their lives and had accepted me into their routine with ease.
'Heard the noise last night?' Benni asked, dipping his bread into his drink.
They'd just finished talking about Betty, the woman who worked my job before I came along. Someone from her "husband's" side told Gregory, who told Dorothy, who told Stephania's aunt Silvia, who told Giovani, who told Bobby, who told Gus, who told Grace, who told Anna who then told her husband Benjamin that Betty had ran off with one of the mafia's henchmen when they'd left.
The first news carrier had said that she'd lied about getting a job oversees and that her husband was actually one of the highest paid henchmen. That was big news since no one from around here who wasn't in the mafia's circle ever messed with or got involved with the mafia. Even the children from that end were seated separately in their classes and never mingled with regular folks in general.
Benjamin was Benni's big brother so Benni was talking as though he'd heard the news from the source itself.
'That racket kept me up the whole night!' Nancy exclaimed in a dramatic manner.
'Same here.' I put in my two words so it would seem as though I were actually here for conversation and not just for mini bits of gossip like we all were.
'I was surprised when I didn't see any bodies on the roads.' Felix sipped his tea, the old man quite readily looked more like a gossiper than any of us. We all nodded, none of us wanting to say that there was a chance someone had died.
We knew that someone would have died for sure with the amount of gunshots there were. We also knew that the mafia never left bodies or evidence of any sort. No one in the room knew what the mafia men looked like personally and we were afraid of being caught for something so simple.
'I've just got the news!' Paola yelled as she ran inside. The lady was twice my age, yet she ran twice as fast as I ever could. She took the only available seat, one we'd left open for her, and leaned over the table.
We followed her and did the same as she conveyed the news she'd just heard, whispering as loudly as she could manage without being heard by anyone walking beside us. She was quite enough that I couldn't hear her until I was hovering over the entire first table beside Lori.
'...man from across town decided to take a stroll on over and ended up getting lost out here some years back. Instead of helping him, the two Graziano brothers gave this guy a hard time and knocked him about a bit before letting him go. They somehow didn't know he was one of the Ortellis.
Sebastian said that Greta told him that Harry told her that someone told someone who told Didi who told him that the Ortellis came to town last night to settle the deed...but they did a little more than that. They took over one of the houses and somehow managed to chase down everyone in there until they found the two brothers responsible. At least eighteen of the Graziano family members are missing as of this morning. And the house, it's like the Ortellis were never even there.
Sebastian said that the Ortellis unknowingly made way for the Maarafis who took advantage of the whole situation. The gunshots this morning were the Graziano's defending their space. Apparently, some innocent captives got freed too and they got caught in the middle. Apparently the Maarafis were never fighting for territory but to get their brother back.
Sebastian said his sources say that they succeeded but now the Grazianos are hunting down the escapees so they don't leak their secrets.
It's a whole scandal right now! But you mustn't say that I told you. I don't want them taking me or my sources into captivity. God knows my beautiful self wouldn't last a day.' Paola stopped short of twirling her hair.
We all sat back after she was done, feeling fed and our food was only just arriving. We chatted some more. Gossiped more too, then we separated for the night.
The walk home from the diner was a little longer which may not have been such a good thing. It gave me more time to think about those captives and what might happen to them if they got recaptured.
I was completely lost in the thought of what might be when I caught the flash of white in the dark alley behind my flat, before I heard familiar whining. Thinking it to be a dog, I walked in, which I know is stupid. I couldn't help myself. I got closer and sure enough, it was Pete.
My shaggy boy looked a bit dirty but that wasn't what got me shocked.
He was lying next to an unconscious man who looked like he'd received bruises for day.
I rolled up my sleeves and spun my bag to my back preparing myself. I looked out the alley to make sure the coast was clear before I took in my biggest stray yet.
A full-sized-human-male.