Page 43 of Keel

“I’m Frankie.”

“Nice to meet you, Frankie. I’m glad that old sourpuss has a woman living with him now. He always looks so serious when he comes home from work.”

Frankie chuckled. “Yes, well, he’s very nice.”

“I’m a little surprised. Though maybe it’s you who has turned him nice.”

Frankie shook her head. She knew that wasn’t the truth. Forest had told her time and time again that she made him mean. There wasn’t any way she could have made any man nice.

“I’m sure he’s always been nice, he’s just very intense.”

Sonja shrugged. “Probably. Thank you for helping.”

“Sure. Any time.”

Frankie wandered down the block, calling out for Mr. Wiggles. She passed by Sonja’s place, hearing her call from the backyard. On the second pass, Frankie spotted an orange cat.

“Mr. Wiggles, I have sardines.”

The cat stopped with one front paw up, contemplating his path forward before turning to her.

She waved the can at him. “Sardines. Do you want one?”

Mr. Wiggles side-eyed her, then sat down and lifted his front paw before licking it. Frankie chuckled and tapped the can, which made Mr. Wiggles stop licking his paw and contemplate her deeply.

“You know you want to go home with me and see Sonja again.”

Mr. Wiggles stood, and for a moment she thought the cat would run away. Instead, the cat came closer, so she started walking back to Sonja’s place.

The cat caught up and walked beside her. Mr. Wiggles was beautiful in person, and maybe not as haughty as she’d first thought.

“Did you like your adventure, Mr. Wiggles?”

The cat meowed like maybe he understood her words. She had never owned a cat since her mother had been allergic. Would Keel want a pet? He didn’t seem like a cat guy. Or maybe he was. She wasn’t really sure about him.

So much of her life was mired in bad judgments. She wouldn’t make any decisions about a pet, especially with Keel away. It wouldn’t be fair, and she knew pets could be a source of manipulation.

A shiver snaked through her. Forest had used his dog against her. When she’d first gotten with him, he threatened to not feed the dog if she didn’t behave. She’d almost forgotten about that. Of course, she’d done whatever Forest wanted. Letting a dog suffer because of her disobedience was cruel. The dog had run away, but looking back, she wondered if Forest had gotten rid of the dog.

“So, do you do this often?” she asked Mr. Wiggles.

A definitive meow was given as an answer. She had no idea what his meow meant, but she was taking it as a yes. She led Mr. Wiggles up the steps to the front door and rang the bell. After a long moment, the door swung open, and Mr. Wiggles entered like he owned the place.

“Oh, Mr. Wiggles. You came back.”

Frankie handed over the tin of sardines. “I promised him some sardines. You should probably give him some.”

Sonja nodded. “Would you like to come in for tea?”

She glanced around, worried about her safety. Could Sonja be part of Forest’s cruel plan? She let go of a heavy sigh. Sonja was one of Keel’s neighbors, not one of Forest’s pawns.

“Sure, thank you.”

Sonja’s house was nice. It was also immaculate. There was no layer of dust on the furniture or on the picture frames. The curtains were dated, but the woman obviously loved her home. With the decorations, it was almost like stepping back in time. Lace doilies and colored glass bowls were set out on multiple surfaces.

Sonja smiled as she ran her hand over a uniquely iridescent purple glass bowl and smiled. “My mother collected carnival glass and passed it down to me. Most of the pieces are over a hundred years old. She had some depression glass and a little bit of uranium glass. I used to love the uranium glass. She had Vaseline and jadeite uranium glass, but I keep that put away for most of the year, except close to Halloween. But I always wear gloves, and I’m careful with them. I’d never eat off the uranium glass, though some people say it’s safe. I think it’s way too dangerous to eat from. It’s for display only.”

“Oh, I had no idea there ever was glass like that.”