"Meow."
I nodded. "She invited me."
The cat gave me a look that said he wasn't sure whether or not he believed me. I was about to reassure him when he streaked off down the street, his tail in the air.
I sighed. That could have gone better. While a lot of cats liked me, there were always exceptions.
I let out a sigh and made my way further into the god realm until I got to Menhit's oasis. A smile came to my face as I thought back to last night. It had been a good choice on Ptah's part, and I'd enjoyed our date together, especially as it had given us a good amount of time to reconnect with one another.
Menhit stepped out of the entrance of the oasis. "Afternoon," she said.
"Hi. I didn't expect you to be waiting for me."
"Rufflebum told me you were coming," she responded, gesturing vaguely towards the trees.
"Rufflebum?" I raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged. "The cat you saw. That's what he calls himself. Who am I to argue with that?"
That answered the question about whether or not she could understand the cats. It was handy to know that we could communicate that way if we wanted to.
Not that cat messengers were particularly reliable.
"So, drinks?" she asked. "We can go to my house, or we can go to one of the bars."
"Are they open at this time?"
"It's the god realm, things are always open," she responded, gesturing for us to head towards the buildings that lined the street opposite her oasis.
I'd forgotten how different it was here, and the fact that everything was built in such a haphazard way. On Earth, an oasis would be in the middle of the desert, not right next to a row of shops and bars. But that was the beauty of the god realm, it was the place that had been used by gods and immortals as a safe haven away from the mortal world.
We arrived at a bar and ordered drinks before heading to a small booth at the back.
"So," she said. "How did it go?"
Heat rose to my cheeks. "Our date went well."
"I'd say." A teasing smile lifted the corners of her lips. "I thought you'd hold out longer given the whole being exes thing."
I sighed. "Honestly, I just sort of forgot about all of that," I admitted. "Have you never been around an ex like that?"
She shrugged. "Not really, my exes are all exes for a reason. You never did elaborate on what it was that broke you up in the first place."
I swirled the wine around my glass. "It was a timing thing. There was nothing wrong between us when we were together. There was just almost always something else that needed tending to. It wasn't just me, it was him too, and it just meant that we didn't get to spend enough time together. Eventually, we decided that it wasn't working."
"Has that changed?"
I frowned. "Why wouldn't it have done?"
She took a sip of her wine and looked as if she was contemplating what to say in response to that. "Well, you broke up for a good reason before," she said slowly. "Which means that you should make sure that you actually resolve it before you start moving onto the next stage."
I cleared my throat and looked away.
Menhit burst out laughing. "You already went there, huh?"
"It felt right to. Do you think it was a mistake?"
"It's not my place to decide," she pointed out. "I'm just saying that if you want your relationship to last, then maybe have a conversation or two about what broke you up in the first place. Beyond just being a bit sad about it."
