OCTOBER 31ST
Jim woke up and saw the time to be eight o'clock. As he turned over, he found himself face to face with the intense blue eyes that never seemed to blink, no make that nose to nose he thought as Little Miss touched noses with him followed by her motoring purr. In less than 24 hours she'd transformed from a little hellcat into a model citizen he had to admit.
Brass had anticipated a rough night with his new house guest but to his surprise things had done smoothly after Iris had left. Little Miss had caused him to laugh time after time during the course of the evening. She was a dainty eater but had growled warningly at him when he went to pour her some more kitten chow in the bowl, going so far as to place each paw in a possessive stance over the bowl. For all her bluster, he had merely pushed her back and she'd ended up winding herself around his legs demanding his attention.
Later on, as he was surfing the net on his laptop, he'd left long enough for the screen saver to turn on which was the Windows aquarium saver. He observed Little Miss to be totally engrossed by the fish "swimming" as she batted at the screen with her paw. Another thing he'd discovered about her was by accident when he'd been nearly tripped by a small ball on the floor. Exasperated, he'd kicked it to get it out of the way only to watch the kitten scamper off after it. To his astonishment, the kitten retrieved the ball and carried it back to him to set by his feet. Thinking this to be a one-time event, he rolled it again on the floor as the kitten raced after the ball and brought it to him. This happened three more times and Brass realized he had a feline retriever at least of balls. What other mysteries did Little Miss have waiting for him to discover he wondered.
"Okay, cat, er, Little Miss I guess it is, we gotta get ready before Iris gets here," he informed the kitten before he headed to take a shower and get dressed. Little Miss remained content to stay on the bed pillow she'd taken ownership of.
* * * * *
Iris again encountered Felicity as she exited her Bronco laden down with several plastic grocery bags. The older woman must do daily gardening Iris thought for she was again working in her flower bed. Felicity made her toward the Bronco as Iris made ready to take some bags to Jim's door.
"My dear you aren't a pack mule! James can help bring the rest in aside from what we take in," exclaimed Felicity without asking to help. She shouldered a few of the grocery bags and pointed Iris toward Jim's door.
"Really…I can…" Iris started to protest but Felicity ignored her.
Brass heard his doorbell ring and looked at his watch. Yup, ten o'clock on the nose and being punctual was something one could set their clock by with Iris because Jim had never known her to be late. As Jim opened the door with a great big good morning waiting to be said, he was surprised somewhat to see Iris and Felicity both on his doorstep.
"Your lass here tried to bring the whole Wal-Mart store in at once. Really, James, make yourself useful and bring the rest of the lot in," Felicity chided him.
His eyebrows cocked askew at hearing Iris being called his lass and he saw her frantic shrug and shaking head to the contrary behind Felicity. He said nothing and went past the women to "make himself useful" as he mumbled under his breath.
"What was that, James?" Felicity asked.
"Nothin', I'll get everything in quick," Jim replied, telling himself women had inherent sonar at their disposal for hearing. That ain't fair God, he thought.
Inside Jim's kitchen, Felicity and Iris were making quick work of Halloween and grocery items. Jim came in at last, huffing and puffing a bit, bearing the last of the Wal-Mart loot he jokingly called it. This elicited chuckles from Felicity and Iris before he told the women he was beating a hasty retreat to the attic to look for Halloween decorations. Iris found herself liking Felicity all the more as Felicity had told her about growing up in England and eventually moving with her husband to the U.S. and ending up in Las Vegas. They had moved into their home a mere six months before Jim had in 1979.
"You see, dear, Alex and I were childless. After he died several years ago, James began to look out for me as he would his own mother. He's become as dear to me as if he were my own son. I think he needs to meet someone special and I wonder if that could be you," Felicity said softly with a pat on Iris' shoulder.
"Felicity, Jim is a dear friend and I agree someone special would be blessed to have him that way," Iris agreed firmly.
After Felicity had left, Iris busied herself in Jim's kitchen and organized what she needed there after shifting the decorations to his living room. She could hear bumps and thumps in the attic and could only imagine what Jim was rummaging through to find his outside decorations. She'd decided to surprise him with a home-cooked meal during the afternoon, so she went out to the hallway where the attic ladder hung down.
"Hey, Jim?" she called up through the attic.
"Yeah, just a minute!" she heard him grunt and then a thud followed by a string of swearing oaths.
He peered over the edge rubbing at his head. Iris gave him a combined look of concern and curiosity. "I hit my head on a beam up here."
"Sorry, I'd kiss it to make it better but it'd probably turn gangrenous on you," Iris tried to joke up at him.
She was awarded a cocked eyebrow and grimace from Jim who, still smarting from the close encounter with the wooden beam, responded snarkily, "Probably so…what'd you need anyhow?"
Iris' eyes dropped and she felt chastened somehow but tried to shrug it off inside. "I was going to make a little mid-afternoon lunch or early supper for us and wanted to ask where you kept your pots and pans."
"What are you making?" Jim wondered.
"Baked haddock almondine, roasted new potatoes, fresh green beans, and apple crisp dessert," Iris said without looking up at him.
"That's a little lunch or supper? Um, everything you need is above the stove, there's a stepladder just inside the walk-in pantry. Do you need any help?" Brass asked now feeling contrite for growling at Iris.
"I'll manage. What about you with getting your decorations down?" Iris now looked up at him but with a neutral expression.
"Same here," Jim replied as she nodded and he heard her footsteps heading back toward the kitchen. You idiot he berated himself for getting the chance to have a decent home cooked meal for once instead of eating out or having to nuke a TV dinner. He was looking a gift horse in the mouth and could've kicked himself.
Iris found the stepladder and positioned it by stove. She clamored up and opened the cabinet doors and noted what she wanted to pull out…
Jim was bringing the last of the decorations down the attic ladder when a red alert sounded in his brain. The stepladder had a bad top step that turned the opposite way when you started to get down. He dropped the decorations and sprinted toward the kitchen to warn Iris, hearing a frightened squeal as he rounded the corner. The treacherous step had caught Iris unaware, causing her to begin falling forward nearly four feet, her arms frantically windmilling like a flightless bird to keep a balance she no longer had. Just in time he caught her and her arms wrapped instinctively about his neck. Startled brown eyes met with laughing blue ones.
"Sorry, Iris, meant to tell you that top step is a doozy on the way back down. Are you okay? " Jim chuckled, noting she still clung to him.
"You did that on purpose to get me in your arms!" Iris fumed at him but she was bluffing and they both knew it.
"There's worse places you could be," Jim shot back cryptically.
She flushed a brilliant pink and promptly removed her arms from around his neck as he slid her to the floor. Iris barely made it up to his chin, making her by far the shortest person in the whole CSI department. She replied in a self-deprecating tone, "Yes, I'm fine, thanks for making sure I didn't put a dent in your floor."
Jim wasn't sure what she meant so changed the subject. "If you'll show me what you need for the cooking, I'll get it down for you."
Iris quickly pointed out what was required and Jim reached them effortlessly to hand her. She made a slight face at that, bemoaning the fact internally about her being vertically challenged. As she arranged the cookware, he came up behind her and said into her ear, "Sorry I was being a grouch."
Iris stopped and looked up at him sideways as a faint smile tugged at her lips, "Gone and forgotten."
Little Miss decided at that moment to make an entrance with plaintive low-pitched mews as she wound around Jim's legs before he scooped the kitten up into his arms. Her purring filled the kitchen as Iris scratched her under the chin.
"So how did last night go, Jim? Can she stay until I get a foster home lined up after Halloween?" Iris queried.
"I'm thinking I'd like to keep her, Iris. She really livened my evening up. You should see as she struts through the place like she owns it. If you'd asked me a week ago that I'd have a cat, I'd of told you to get your head examined," Brass grinned as he now held up the kitten's ball. "Here, watch what she does!"
Jim took the ball and gave it a gentle toss. Little Miss took off after the ball and approached it sidestepping with her back arched and tail whipping excitedly before she pounced on the ball and returned it to Brass. Iris was chuckling at the kitten's ferocious tackle on the ball and Brass found himself joining her laughter.
"I've heard of rare cases of kittens or cats doing this, Jim, but I'm totally thrilled you want to keep her. I'm not surprised to hear that she's already calling this place home. She's obviously attached to you," Iris said. "Look, I'm going to get started on preparing things for our meal. Can you do the outside decorations?"
"I'm on it," Jim saluted and went to get what he needed to start decorating outside.
"Jim, can I turn on the radio in here while I start cooking? Do you mind if it's country?" Iris stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Yes to the first and no to the second," he replied.
"Thanks, my dear Captain," Iris said with a slight bow and a hand over her heart with a quirky smile.
* * * * *
As the afternoon progressed, Jim was putting up the last ghost to hang from the eave by his entry way and stepped back to view his handiwork with hands on hips. The lights would come on near dark and add to the spooky but fun atmosphere he wanted to evoke. There were tombstones set in the lawn. More ghosts dangled from the two Arizona ash trees in the front yard. Vampire bats were also suspended from other tree limbs and were flying about as well. A life-size inflatable Dracula swayed in the breeze that Brass couldn't resist putting up as well.
"James, the little ghouls and goblins will be lining up to come here," Felicity said complimentarily through her open window.
"Thanks, it's been too long since I had this stuff up," Jim said. He'd forgotten that Halloween could be fun. Since his divorce years ago, he'd just stopped decorating the house altogether. Christmas had been the other time he liked to haul out decorations but again the years had marched past since he'd last tried to even remotely celebrate a holiday.
"I smell something wonderful cooking," Felicity commented as she sniffed the air as she came outside.
"Iris is in there cooking up a meal. Would you like to join us or I could bring some over to you," Jim offered as he walked over to her.
"I wouldn't dare interrupt your having a young lady over," Felicity nudged him with a knowing wink.
"Iris and I are friends, Felicity, that's all," Jim insisted with a weak laugh.
The older woman merely said before closing her window, "Tsk, tsk, I think you don't see the forest for the trees."
Brass shook his head with a mirthless laugh before going back inside. Over the years, Felicity had tried to match him up repeatedly – the mail lady, the woman who read the gas meter, the woman who delivered the newspaper, and even a Jehovah's Witness.
* * * * *
Iris was bustling around the kitchen with the radio playing in the background. One of her happiest times was getting the chance to cook for others and the team loved it when she brought in a spread for them. This time was no different as she checked on the baking fish in the oven, then lifting pot lids to season or check the consistency of the vegetables. The aroma of fresh breadsticks added to the flavorful smells wafting through the kitchen. She found herself singing to the song now playing on the radio:
(What If It All Goes Right – Melissa Lawson)
What if that road that you're taking's a dead end
What if love leaves you all jaded and broken
What if that limb breaks you're climbing out on
Yeah, what if it all goes wrong
But, what if it all goes right
What if it all works out
What if the stars line up
and good luck rains down
What if you chase your dreams
and it changes your whole life
Yeah, what if it all goes right
What if that road is a beautiful slow drive
what if that love ends up lasting a life time
what if that limb holds you, oak tree strong
what if this time nothing goes wrong
What if it all goes right
What if it all works out
What if the stars line up
and good luck rains down
What if you chase your dreams
and it changes your whole life
Yeah, what if it all goes right
What if you climb to the mountain top
and touch the sky
grab a cloud as it passes by
you might fall you might fall
but then again you might fly
What if it all goes right
What if it all works out
What if the stars line up
and good luck rains down
What if you chase your dreams
and it changes your whole life
Yeah, what if it all goes right."
As she finished singing the last word, there was clapping behind her and she turned startled to see Jim leaning against the door frame between the small dining room and the kitchen as he continued to applaud. Distracted, Iris pushed back at her fine bangs, feeling her cheeks getting warm but without a blush, as she smiled at him.
"Hey, I get dinner and a show," Brass chuckled.
"Take a seat, sir, Chez Iris is now open," Iris giggled with a flourish of seating Jim at his dining room table and presenting him with a cloth napkin.
In moments, she had the meal brought out and had Jim help her serve them. Jim's mouth was watering and the first bite of the baked haddock almondine literally caused a taste bud orgasm to occur. His expression of near ecstasy was the ultimate compliment to Iris as they continued to eat. Conversation was deferred to the meal and Brass ate till he thought he was going to burst.
A little later as he helped Iris clear the table and load the dishwasher, she commented, "Jim, you'll have plenty for leftovers here, maybe we could fix a plate up for Felicity."
"Great minds think alike because I wanted to do that for her," Jim replied appreciatively.
Iris had a generous plate and side bowl of apple crisp fixed up in a jiffy as she liked to call it. A look of alarm then flashed over her face. "Oh, my gosh, Jim!"
"What's wrong?" Jim asked.
"Do you have candy for the trick or treaters? I brought popcorn balls I made last night but I forgot the candy at the house!"
"No problem, I can run to Walgreen's and get it."
"Great because when you get back we've got to get dressed in our costumes!"
"You never did say what we were going to be."
"It's a surprise so hurry please."
Jim walked out to his car feeling a little pep in his step. Tonight was going to be fun he told himself and for once he wasn't going to have to be alone. He saw that Little Miss was in the front picture window watching him go and he saw her pink mouth open in a noiseless meow. He was amazed how quickly the little beggar had caused him to care about it. The Dodge Charger left the driveway with a faint squawk of the tires as Jim had to get there and back.
* * * * *
Iris was nearly done laying out the clothing articles for their costumes when she heard the front door open as Brass called out in a mock Bela Lugosi imitation, "Gooood eeeevening." He heard Iris giggling at him in the living room and headed there. Brass then saw the costumes on the couch and pulled up short.
"Are you kidding me?" he gaped. "I'm going to be Frankenstein and you the Bride of Frankenstein? I thought maybe with your fencing hobby you'd be a lady pirate or something."
"Hmm, a female swashbuckler sounds appealing but maybe next year. I think you'll like my choice though. I'll help you with the makeup! It's going to be a scream. The kids will love it!" Iris said animatedly.
"All right, I bought Walgreen's out in candy I think," Brass grinned as he pointed at several bags of candy.
"Come on, silly!" Iris gave him a playful shove toward the kitchen and indicated that he go sit in the breakfast nook where she had the make-up and wigs. Jim obediently took a seat to see what Iris had in store for them.
* * * * *
An hour later and Jim saw himself in the mirror as a convincing Frankenstein with green complexion and neck bolts looked back. Iris had found some wood blocks in Jim's garage he'd remembered having and she secured them to the soles of his boots with black Velcro strips. He then began practicing grimacing and making loud growls and doing the stiff lumbering walk of the monster with outstretched arms. Iris minced by in the sheet gown of the bride as she secured the beehive wig with a lightning bolt streak of white going from each temple to the top with bobby pins yet again.
Time was not on their side as they went through last-minute preparations before the early trick or treaters came. Brass popped in a CD with haunted house sound effects and other spooky noises to play by the door. Iris had made up a large bowl with assorted candy and small plastic bags containing her popcorn balls. Brass had reminded her that parents might be reluctant to accept the home-made treats for safety reasons. He'd seen Iris' sad look about that and her response that things used to be simpler when they'd been kids, he being only six years older than her.
Jim stepped outside long enough to set up a container up dry ice he'd bought along with the candy at Walgreen's to create a foggy appearance which would add to the atmosphere of the night. Felicity was on her porch putting up a scarecrow and spied Brass in all his Frankensteinian splendor. She gave him a wolf whistle and he responded with wiggling his butt her way as she laughed which was a throaty, raspy whiskey chuckle Jim had dubbed it before he waved at her and went back inside.
Jim was adding the last of the bags of the candy to the large black cauldron-looking bowl he had when the doorbell rang and they heard young voices chime the traditional "trick or treat."
"Showtime," Brass grinned Iris.
Through the course of the next three hours, Jim and Iris greeted their trick or treaters with Jim growling ominously as he literally burst through the dark door with a strobe light illuminating him for effect. The children's response was collectively squeals of fright, then Iris would step out hissing at Jim before telling him to mind his manners. Jim then lumbered out and immediately knelt with his big bowl of candy before their trick-or-treaters. One boy shyly touched the "bolts" on Jim's neck and asked if they hurt. Another little girl asked Iris what happened when "Mr. Frank", as she couldn't say Frankenstein, tried to drive a car did he scare someone and cause an accident. Kids right and left quickly overcame their initial scare and gathered around Brass to help themselves to the candy. The characters the children came dressed up as were just as varied: little girls arrived as Hannah Montana, Tinker Bell or Disney princesses, Jedi Padawan Asoka; young boys swaggered in as Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Batman, the Hulk.
One trio that caught Jim and Iris' eye in particular were in homemade costumes: one boy dressed as Dracula, another boy dressed as a ghost in shimmering white silk, and a little girl dressed like the wicked witch from the west with green facial makeup who convincingly cackled, "I'll get you my pretty" at Brass.
Little Miss unwittingly became part of the fun as she sat by a ceramic jack-o-lantern lamp in the picture window as children and parents spied the black kitten watching them. Her picture was taken as frequently as ones of Jim and Iris.
A mother who was dressed up herself as Mary Poppins got her digital camera out as she gushed, "You two look just fabulous! Can I take a picture of you two kissing as the ultimate monster couple – a real gruesome twosome?"
Jim looked at Iris. "You game?"
"Prepare to lip lock," Iris said with a challenging raise of her eyebrows.
They tentatively leaned toward another and slightly brushed lips as the woman snapped a picture. The woman then frowned slightly. "Surely the spark hasn't gone out of your marriage, you can do better than that?"
Jim cleared his throat and bit off a sarcastic response but Iris came to bat for them. "Honey, we can be more convincing, can't we?"
Brass said, "Let's make it count then, shall we?"
Iris found herself gently embraced by Brass, her head tilted just so as their breath mingled before his lips took her own. The kiss was intended to last a few seconds but instead lips parted as a more open-mouthed version resulted. Iris had closed her eyes without thinking about it and when they opened Brass was giving her little nose rub as the kiss ended. He hugged her to complete the effect for the woman taking pictures but whispered in Iris' ear, "You're a very good sport."
Iris was glad for the green facial make-up she had on with blue for shadow effects because she was blushing to beat the band.
It was now close to nine o'clock and it's been a while since the last round of trick or treaters when the doorbell rang and Jim made ready to growl and do his schtick again. Iris was poised to follow behind him. When Jim suddenly yanked the door open, there stood Felicity dressed up as a gypsy fortune teller. "Trick or treat! For a treat, I will tell your fortune. A trick on a gypsy foretells ill luck."
Jim's deep laugh was heard as he ushered in his neighbor. They had a dinner plate ready for her and Iris went to fetch it while Felicity seated herself at the dining table with Jim. Being serious about her part, she took Jim's right hand palm up and peered intently at it.
"I see many things happening in your future, James. Two females will vie for your affection soon," Felicity intoned in a reedy old Europe-sounding accent.
"Me? Two women at once, huh? I'll believe it when I see it," Jim snorted in disbelief.
"Watch, James, the future unfolds as it wills," Felicity insisted as Iris kept a neutral face when she returned with the plate for Felicity.
The older woman stood up slowly and Jim immediately rose to help her.
"Thank you, dear, I'll be on my way. I hope you two young people spend the rest of the evening together in a magical way," Felicity smiled benignly as Jim held the plate and walked with her.
"Iris, I'm going to make sure Felicity gets home okay and I'll be right back," Jim said before closing the door behind them.
* * * * *
Iris sighed softly and looked at the leftover candy. Her popcorn balls had proved to be nearly as popular as the candy but a few were left over. She quickly went to the kitchen and placed what she was taking home with her inside her purse backpack. As she was removing the beehive wig and patting her own hair back into place, Iris heard the door open and Brass walked into the living room.
"That was a lot of fun, Iris! I can't remember a better Halloween," Jim went so far as to give Iris a fond hug for emphasis.
"Well, my dear monster, it's time to get this makeup off and let some normalcy resume," Iris directed as she sat him in an overstuffed chair, got out some cold cream and proceeded to remove the makeup from Jim's face after he took off the flat headpiece that defined the Frankenstein monster. When his face was back to normal and to Iris' satisfaction, she told him she was going to go to the hallway bathroom to get her own green and blue face paint off and freshen up.
Jim had changed clothes after washing up and was seated on his couch when Iris came back with her backpack purse. Little Miss sat his lap but purring away contentedly. He looked relaxed when he didn't have to work and Iris liked seeing him this way. She went to pick up her denim jacket when Jim gave her a quizzical look.
"You're leaving?"
"Well, I know it's only 9:45 but I assumed you might be ready to call it a night."
"Stick around."
"What did you have in mind?"
"We could watch some horror movies I picked up at Blockbuster yesterday."
"Hmm, okay, what titles?"
"Lets see we have the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" and the "Saw" series, "Resident Evil" trilogy and for laughs "Young Frankenstein."
Iris plopped down beside him. "You know I don't turn into a pumpkin at midnight but there'll be talk if I'm here all night on this movie-thon and people see my Bronco in your driveway."
Jim mulled this over a moment before he leaned over at her with a suggestive raise of an eyebrow. "Let 'em or should we really give them something to talk about?"
"You silly rabbit," Iris giggled.
"I'll get the first DVD going. Can you make us something to drink and bring in something to snack on besides your yummy popcorn balls?" Jim asked as he went to his entertainment center to put the DVD in and get the TV on.
"Yes, O captain, my captain," Iris intoned before heading to the kitchen.
As they sat on his couch watching "Dawn of the Dead", the lights were off and during the genuinely scary parts, Iris would startle and found herself hanging onto Jim's arm for dear life. He chuckled at her as she crinkled her nose at him.
"Iris, we see this kind of gore everyday at work, what scares you?"
"It still spooks me and I guess I'm glad it does. I never want to be the point it doesn't affect me because when it doesn't, then that's when it's time to go in a different direction career-wise."
"Yeah, I feel the same, Iris."
During the second movie, this time "Young Frankenstein" for some levity, Brass found himself reminiscing. "You know Iris back in the day I'd be going to the local movie theater in Newark with a young lady on Halloween to go to the upper balcony with although watching the movie was the last thing on my mind which was focused on going for treats not tricks."
Iris saw his sly grin as he wandered down memory lane. "Like now?" Iris asked with a coquettish air.
Jim cocked his head at her as if seeing something different about her for the first time. "You know that was some kiss we swapped earlier tonight."
"You're a great kisser, Jim, not that I've had extensive experience mind you but it was very pleasant. I rate it a 10+," Iris said softly.
"I'm up to being back in Newark, you want to join me?" Jim said in a low, husky voice.
"Um, this could lead to something, Jim, and I have to admit I'm not against the idea," Iris said as Jim started to stretch out slowly and pull her along with him.
"I've had pretty vivid off-work related thoughts about you for some time but held off acting on anything," Jim said to her while placing a hand on her chest just below the hollow of her throat. He could feel the quickening of her pulse and the acceleration of her thudding heart.
"Me too," Iris whispered as he saw the sparkle in her eyes. "Let it be known, Jim Brass, that I'm not a one-night stand nor are my affections to be trifled with."
"Who's trifling?" Jim murmured against her throat.
"Why did we wait, why didn't either of us say something, why…mmpfff," Iris wondered but her line of thought was disrupted as…
Jim didn't give her the chance to finish her thought as he cradled her to him and let his lips tell hers exactly what he thought. Several delicious moments of this non-verbal communication followed including Jim discovering Iris had a vampiress side to her as she attacked his neck. Little Miss who'd been observing from the top of the couch opted for an interruption and pounced on Jim's side with a loud but strident meow.
"Jim, you taste like my popcorn balls. Hey, I think she's jealous, she won't allow you to be affectionate to another female," Iris laughed then gulped.
"What's wrong?" Jim wondered at the surprised look on her face.
"I just realized what Felicity said earlier and it struck me as odd given the moment," Iris replied with a furrowed brow.
"Oh, what she said about two females vying for my attention. Yeah, kind of strange now that you mention it," Jim said with a glance at Little Miss.
"She's a little mystery," Iris commented as she reached up to stroke the kitten's back as it arched under her hand in pleasure.
"That's it!" Jim said as he leaned up on one elbow.
"Um, I don't follow," Iris was confused.
"I've been turning it over in my head about what to name her. Little Miss was okay but she's going to need a name to grow with. Our jobs revolve around solving mysteries and how she came to be with me is always going to be one, so how about the name of Mystery," Jim said as the kitten nestled between them.
"I like it, Jim, pretty original name," Iris agreed as Mystery looked at her. "You both have very intense blue eyes."
Jim sat Mystery back up on the top of the couch and stretched back out beside Iris. "I think you're casting a spell on me, Iris."
She grinned up at him and replied flirtily, "A love spell?"
"Could be…now where were we?" Jim bent his head down to Iris as their non-verbal exchange resumed.
Mystery jumped off the couch and padded over to the picture window ledge where she hopped up by where the ceramic pumpkin gave off a soft glow and sat beside it. A large harvest moon hung low in the night sky and Mystery began to purr and caused Jim to glance at her. At that particular moment, it looked like a greeting card picture to him as Mystery and the pumpkin were centered within the background of the gold-orange moon. He could've sworn that the kitten actually winked at him with an ice-blue eye.
"Jim, everything okay?" Iris stirred beside him.
"Yeah, Iris, it's all good," he hugged her close, enjoying the simple contact of having her there with him.
Mystery's purring continued with its soothing cadence as if she approved of the couple who eventually dozed off on the couch.
END