Chapter 39: Home Life

As Ethan and Nikki returned from work, they were greeted by Jade at the door. "Hey you two, I finally figured out where I've seen that big orange cat before."

Nikki asked "You mean the one that has been hanging around inside our house for the last couple months?"

Jade nodded. "Yes that one. Why are there other orange cats in the house? I'm pretty sure its just the one, because from what I've observed, he doesn't move very fast or hardly at all come to think of it."

Nikki shrugged. "I'm just making sure we're all on the same page."

Ethan asked "What orange cat?"

Nikki laughed. "OK well maybe Ethan's in a completely different book, let alone the same page."

"I'm in a book? Did I get something published without my knowledge?"

Jade continued "Anyways I was thinking really hard about it and I've seen that orange cat before back at your parents house mostly face down in the cat food bowl. That was why I had trouble recognizing him up until now. I'm kind of surprised that neither of you had recognized him if he belongs to someone in your family."

Nikki scratched her head. "Now that you mention it, he does look a lot like, Garf the family cat. But what is he doing out here?"

Jade thought about it for a moment. "As near as I can tell, we first started having Garf sightings as soon as we got back from the last family holiday at your parents house. Maybe he climbed into the truck and rode back without us knowing."

"We packed that truck pretty tight, I'm sure we would have found him if he was in there" Nikki added.

Ethan joined the conversation finally. "He could have hid in one of the secret compartments I had installed back when I was into international smuggling and espionage. No body ever checks the secret compartments."

Jade's eyes suddenly got very wide. Nikki asked "What's wrong?"

Jade pointed at the glass door behind Nikki and Ethan where there was a semi-curly hair man with a puppy dog look on his face staring intently through the glass. "Who is that and why are they staring through the glass like that?"

Ethan and Nikki both said "Oh crap, I forgot" at the same time.

Jade groaned. "OK one at a time guys, you, explain" she said as she pointed at Ethan.

"That's Jim. He's agreed to move into the empty room at the end of the hall and pay us some rent. He's a nice guy, friendly, easily spooked though. He's not been the same since the war." Nikki nodded as Ethan explained.

Jade looked at them suspiciously. "There's no way he's old enough to have been in any wars, past or present."

"Shh he might here you." Nikki said whispered. "So can we keep him?"

"Tenants are a big responsibility. Do you think you can handle it? You have to feed them every day and take care of them or they curl up in the corner and die. I'm not going to clean up your mess for you if you get bored with him. We're going to take him to a field and let him go if that happens, so promise me you're going to be responsible, both of you."

Nikki and Ethan nodded at each other. "We promise!"

Jade sighed. "Alright, you can let him in, but he better not make a mess on the carpet."

Ethan and Nikki turn and give each other a high five before letting Jim in. "It's about time someone opened the door for me. I've been standing out here forever. Now which way to the room I'll be staying in?"

Jade points down the hall. "Go through the kitchen, last door on the left." Nikki and Ethan follow him excitedly into the other room discussing who gets to brush his hair first. Shaking her head, she comments to herself "Those kids, let me tell you."

A moment later, she becomes aware of Garf who has wandered into the room and has sat about a foot away from her leg. He sits there quietly looking up at her with a straight emotionless face.
Finally after a few minutes of staring back and forth, Jade speaks up. "What?"

Garf stares back another minute before coughing up a hairball on her shoe. Only then does he turn slowly and walk away.