Love Charms (31 page)

Pets.
 Pet food and cat litter and everything of that sort.  Dog bowls, toys, tiny
tins of cat food.  I don't have a pet, but I like this aisle because it looks
mostly untouched.  If I escape here for a moment, maybe I'll become untouched,
too.  I'll be regular and myself, Sadie once again, back to normal.

I
turn my cart down the aisle and start to look through the things.  It starts
with cat litter and some cat boxes, which look nice enough.  I don't know much
about those things, but I imagine they're necessary if someone owns a cat.

I
stop before I continue on because something's wrong.  One of the large bags of
cat food on the bottom of the shelf in the middle of the aisle is ripped open. 
Little nuggets of food lay on the floor, spilled out, almost like a small
puddle.  Hiding atop the bag of cat food is a tiny cat.

The
animal stares at me with slitted eyes.  I stare back at it, but I don't think
my eyes are slitted.  Do I look scary?  I must.  I'm one of them, afterall; not
a cat, but a zombie.  Does this kitten know that, though?

It
stares at me for half a second longer, then it jumps out and grabs a piece of
food and skitters back onto the bag.  It nibbles at the food, crunching loudly
on it, all while watching me.

I
don't know what to do.  Do I leave?  I don't want to disturb the kitten, but I
don't think this is any place for a kitten, either.  It, he, she, or whatever,
has food for now, but then what?

"Where's
your mother?" I ask.

The
cat stares at me oddly, meows, leaps for a piece of food, eats it fast, then
rolls on the floor, heedless of the puddled cat food mess, getting itself
dirty.

This
time it's my turn to stare oddly.  "What are you doing?"

The
cat keeps rolling and making a mess.

"Here,"
I say.  "Don't move.  I'll find you something good."

I
leave my cart at the end of the aisle and then stumble forward.  The cans of
cat food are at the other end, a bit past this silly cat, and I make my way
towards them.  My feet shuffle on the floor and I try to stay to the opposite
side away from the cat and its playing, but that doesn't work so well.  The cat
startles as I cross its path and jumps onto the shelf, hiding in the back.

"That's
not nice," I say.  "I didn't do anything to you."

Not
that the cat cares.

I
take a can of cat food from the shelves and turn it around in my hands.  For
everything that's missing, this place seems quite well-stocked in both wine and
cat food.  This one looks good, I guess.  Seafood dinner?  If I were a cat, I
think I'd like it, anyways.

And
cat food lasts forever, right?  Maybe not forever, but I think the expiration
date is a long time from now, at least.  I pull back the ring on top of the tin
then peel it open.  The cat stares at me, craning its neck to watch what I'm
doing.

"Now
you're interested, is it?" I ask.

The
cat meows.

"Come
here and eat it, then."

I
put the can on the floor, sliding it a little closer to the cat so I can
distance myself and not scare the poor thing.

The
cat watches me, curious.  I back away and sit down, leaning against the
shelves.  The cat slinks close to the ground, slowly making its way towards the
can of wet food.  Once it arrives, it stuffs its nose in the can, sniffs once,
then gulps down chunks of sliced meat.

"Are
you a boy or a girl cat?" I ask.

The
cat doesn't even look up; it’s too enthralled with wet food.

Will
my landlord be annoyed if I bring home a cat, I wonder?

Wait,
why is a cat in a grocery store in the first place?  Won't the manager be
upset?  I turn towards the front of the store and notice everything completely
disassembled and in disarray.  Blinking, confused, I look down at my hands and
notice them colored a pale blue.

This
cat doesn't belong here.  I don't belong here, either.  If I try to take the
cat, he'll scratch me, though.  Is it a he?  If he scratches me, I won't notice
it.  I'll know and see, but the pain will be so dulled and diluted that I'll
think it's nothing.  I might bleed and have scars on my hands afterwards.  I
don't want scars and I don't want to bleed.  I don't want marks like that.  I
want to be regular again even if I know I'm not.

The
cat devours all of the food, then he looks at me.  Creeping close, crawling
along the floor, head tilted to the side, the cat approaches.  He meows and
rubs up against me.

I
pat him.

He's
so warm!  Not as warm as Evan, but a nice little heat.  Warm and furry and
soft.

I
stare at the cat, thinking.  The others like me, do they know this?  Do they
know about cats?  I could grab it by the neck and squeeze it, strangle it, hold
it close, force its warmth into me.  I stare at the cat and the cat looks so
innocent.  Wide eyes now, no longer slits.  Curious and interested and hoping
I'll offer more food.

I
reach behind me and take another can of food from the shelf, but this time it's
one of the very small ones.  I open it and lay it on the ground next to the cat
and he starts to purr and licks at the top.

"You
can't stay here," I say.  "It's dangerous."

* * *

Evan
and Desiree walked arm in arm towards Alex's office.  It wasn't even arm in arm
so much as Desiree latching onto him, nuzzling tight against his body, and
every so often kissing the side of his neck.  He held her close by the waist,
squeezing his fingers into her side, gripping at the sexy curve of her hips.

Turning
to the side, offering her his lips, they kissed.  She savored the press of
their mouths together, licking at the undercurve of his lower lip and nibbling
on it lightly with her teeth.  Their noses touched and Evan looked at her with
fierce passion, entranced by her eyes and her touch and their bodies clinging tightly
together.

They
did all this while somehow managing to walk to Alex's office.  Evan knocked on
the door and after a brief wait and a gruff grunt, Alex said, "Who is
it?"

"Hey,"
Evan said, temporarily removing himself from Desiree's greedy lips.  "It's
Evan.  I was wondering if I could talk to you about something?"

"Yeah,
come in."

Evan
opened the door and let Desiree go in first.  Alex stared at the pair of them
curiously while Evan shut the door behind him.  And when he went to sit in the
exact same chair he'd occupied earlier, directly across the dining room office
table from Alex, Desiree immediately took up a spot in his lap.

She
wrapped one arm around his neck and moved close against him, laying her other
hand on his chest and caressing up and down atop his shirt.  Grinning, gleeful,
she snuck in and nipped at his earlobe.

"Alright..."
Alex said, half morbid and half laughing.  "What's up?"

Evan
grinned wide.  "I wanted to see if your offer for a few days of R&R
was still up for grabs."

"Change
of heart, eh?"

"You
could say that."

"Sure. 
We're good.  You two go fuck like rabbits or whatever.  Have fun.  I'll need
you both back to duty in a couple days, though."

And,
this was it.  Evan nodded, then kissed Desiree deeply.  Lips mashed together,
tongues slipping into each other's mouths, eyes closed.  Quick, fast,
passionate, and...

They
separated for a second.  Evan snickered and pushed her away, groping her breast
and squeezing for good measure.

"I
was thinking," Evan said.  "I'm fine in the woods, you know?  Do you
think it's alright if we take leave from camp, Alex?  I'm thinking that shack I
found sounds a little more private than my tent in the middle of everyone.  I
haven't gotten this out of my system in awhile and I'm kind of looking forward
to it. 
A lot
."

Desiree
giggled.  "Poor Evan.  All worked up and frustrated.  I'll fix you right
up."

Evan
smirked and licked at her lips.  "I bet you will."  Pulling himself
away from Desiree, he looked back to Alex.  "What do you say, though?  Is
that fine?  I don't want to bother anyone in camp, you know?  I'm thinking we
both might get a little loud... and often."

Alex
leaned back in his chair, watching them both with a goofy grin.  "You
two.  My God.  You two..."  He clapped his hands against the table and
burst into laughter.  "Wow!  Evan, this is great.  I'm glad you're really
getting into this.  I think it'll be good for you, too.  Yeah.  You guys can go
to your place in the woods and shack up for a couple days.  Just be careful,
alright?  Take a two-way radio with you in case you need to get in contact with
the camp, but besides that, have fun."

Evan
nodded.  Desiree moved to straddle him before he could stand up.  When he
stood, she wrapped her legs around his waist and made him carry her.  Putting
his hands under her ass, pulling her up, Evan brought her to the door while she
kissed and licked at his neck with Alex watching them, laughing.

Outside,
door closed, they kissed deeply again.  Desiree sighed, clearly enjoying this. 
Quietly, speaking into his mouth, she said, "I think I like this plan,
Evan."

Sounding
far less fervid than his kissing, he said, "Yeah, I can tell."

She
hopped down from him and snatched up his hand, pulling him along.  Holding
hands, arms swinging side by side, they walked eagerly towards his tent.

"You
have to promise not to tell anyone," Evan said.

"I
told you I wouldn't," Desiree said, smiling.

"I
know, but..."  He stopped speaking and walking.  "This is really
important, Desiree, alright?"

She
turned to face him.  In the light of the bright afternoon sun, her eyes
sparkled, happy.  "I know, Evan.  I know it must be because I'm sure you
wouldn't do this otherwise.  Just let me pretend for a little bit, alright? 
We're a couple until we leave camp and then you can tell me the rest."

He
laughed and nodded.  "Thanks.  Think you can calm down a little on the
affection, though?"

"Well,
I think you can just shut the fuck up," she teased.  "What do you
think of that?"

Evan
rolled his eyes.  "Go grab your stuff and meet me back at my tent in a
couple minutes.  I'm going to get a radio, then I'm good to go."

"I
love it when you talk dirty to me, Evan," Desiree said, licking her lips. 
"I'm good to go whenever you are, too."

Evan
laughed and let her kiss him one more time before she left and he shuffled off
to get a radio.

Maybe
this was a bad idea.  Probably it was a terrible one.  It gave him a couple
days, though.  And an ally.  He needed that, he thought.  He didn't know
exactly how this would work, but he trusted Desiree to at least hear him out,
to listen to what he had to say.  He already knew Alex wouldn't, so this was
his only other option.

* * *

Before
I left the store, I hid the cat inside of a large, dome-shaped litter box.  I
wish they didn't put those things on the top shelf.  It's really hard to reach
them.  I did it, though.  I sprinkled a handful of cat food on the bottom of
the litter box to keep the kitten amused, then hefted up a full bag and propped
it against the entrance to trap her inside.  I grabbed a bag of litter and did
the same, and I stuffed my cart full of canned cat food.

On
the way out, I found a couple of cans of soup, too; beef and barley.  They went
into my cart atop the oatmeal packet, and then the cat and I left.

We
walk out of the store with the cart and into the open air.

The
others see us.  I push the cart down the street, ignoring the signs in the
grocery store parking lot asking customers not to remove carts from the lot.  A
man shambles by me, clothes torn.  He turns his head to the side as I pass and
looks at me funny. 

He
can look at me funny all he wants, I think.  We all look funny and we all do
strange things now.  At least I don't attack people.  Oddly, no one looks at
anyone funny when they do that.  It's normal and allowed.  They consider it acceptable. 
This is a new place with new rules and that's one of them.

Apparently,
among the multiple new rules that exist--of which one is being allowed to
loiter in the middle of the street and lay down where any car might run you
over--hauling a shopping cart full of cat supplies, wine, two cans of soup, and
a packet of oatmeal is unacceptable.  I don't know why and I don't know who
makes these rules and I think they're dumb, but I keep pushing my cart anyways.

People
stare at me as if I'm the crazy one.  It gives me purpose and hope.  Yes, I
think, I'm crazy.  I'm trying to rescue this cat.  I want her to like me.  Is
that so wrong?  I don't think so.  Maybe the others would eat the cat or rip it
apart for its heat or just ignore it altogether, but I won't.

I
checked and my cat is a girl.  I've named her Cinnamon-Raisin, or Cinna for
short.