It was a few days later, and the large analog clock on the wall signified the noon hour as Mr. Cat stood at the kitchen counter, biting his lip in concentration as he stirred together tuna and mayonnaise in a large mixing bowl.

He and Kaeloo had finally gone to Smileyland together the day before, and had even joined Stumpy and Quack Quack in a game of prison ball, just for old time's sake. Of course, Mr. Cat had taken the opportunity to attack (and dismember) Quack Quack as much as he possibly could, and much to his delight Kaeloo had transformed and beaten him up for his transgressions. It was only as they were leaving Smileyland that Kaeloo admitted to him that she hadn't really been angry at him; she had been expecting him to do something like that, in fact, and was able to transform not from any real sense of rage but from simply an unspoken expectation that she was able to identify and control. Her pride in her accomplishment shone through in her wide smile as she told him this, and Mr. Cat could only grin back affectionately. That's my girl.

They had then gone to Samesville to visit with Kaeloo's parents again. Kaeloo was not quite as cheerful here, admitting to her parents the hardships she was facing in her career readiness classes. Her parents were supportive and encouraging, relating tales to her about how they had struggled to succeed in their youths, which raised Kaeloo's spirits considerably. They didn't stay for dinner, but Mr. Cat did ask Sherrie for her tuna salad recipe, which she happily gave to him.

And that's what he was referring to for the next day's lunchtime, carefully adding the precise amount of oregano, Dijon mustard, and celery that the recipe instructed, in order to get it just right.

Kaeloo was at her class again, from which she wouldn't return for a few hours. While she was gone, Mr. Cat was content to do his own thing—be that his own, erm, "side gig" of smooth-talking and selling random crap to the citizens of New Cross City… or, conversely, and what he was focusing on today, acting as the househusband. Or apartmenthusband, as it were.

Perhaps someday he'd take those same classes Kaeloo was, and attend sessions with her shrink as well. But… not now. It was a huge leap of faith to open up so much to a professional like that. And he lacked the courage Kaeloo had to do so. Part of him hated himself for it, of course. How she did all this work to support them and he couldn't make the steps towards legitimate adulthood like she did. But, on the other hand… he could take care of the apartment. He could clean and make the food and buy the groceries and do all those things while she was gone so that she didn't have to worry about them herself. It might not be much, but at least he could be good for something.

The tuna salad now thoroughly mixed, Mr. Cat dipped a finger into it and took a taste. Hmm. Pretty good. Not as good as how Sherrie made it, but not bad either. It would make a good lunch for him before tidying up his messes and maybe cleaning the kitchen again—a testament to how much use it was getting from him lately, for it needed cleaning more often than before.

But then, abruptly, the door to the apartment was flung open. Kaeloo stood in the doorway, her wide eyes desperate and desolate.

"Babe? What are you doing back so early?" Mr. Cat asked, surprised both at her sudden presence and her obvious distressed state.

Kaeloo stared at him for a few moments, lower lip trembling, before suddenly breaking out into a loud, sorrowful wail. "Oh, Mr. Cat!" she sobbed, tears gushing from her eyes.

Mr. Cat immediately set the mixing bowl on the kitchen counter and went to her, touching his hands to hers comfortingly. "What's going on? What's the matter?"

Kaeloo continued to wail for a few more moments, her sobs too great for any words to get through. Finally, with great difficulty, she gasped out, "You can't stay here!"

Mr. Cat stared at her, nonplussed. "Uh… come again?"

Kaeloo's words were still punctuated with loud, heaving sobs. "I went… to the housing office, to… to show them my progress report, and I got to talking with the housing officer… you know, like I do… and I… I mentioned you…" Kaeloo broke down again, weeping into her hands. "He said you can't live here!"

"What?" Mr. Cat spluttered. "Why not?"

"Because…" Kaeloo tried to compose herself, with only small amounts of success. "Because he said that these apartments are only… are only for people who are the recipients of social services… only them and their dependents… no roommates! He said… he said only a spouse or… or children could live here with me…" She wiped at her eyes despondently. "He said you have twenty-four hours to leave."

"Aw, screw that," Mr. Cat said with a nonchalant shrug. Her explanation had completely excised any confusion or even worry from him, which seemed to completely flummox Kaeloo. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't you understand, Mr. Cat? He said you can't—"

"No, don't you understand that we have been given an extremely simple solution?" Mr. Cat countered, giving another light shrug. "Let's go get married."

Kaeloo blinked rapidly, her eyes still wide with surprise. "But… but I'm nowhere near finished even planning our wedding, let alone—"

"I didn't say let's have a wedding. I said let's get married. You don't need to have a wedding to get married."

"You… don't?"

"Of course not. All you have to do is go down to the marriage license office, make a few vows in front of a judge there, and sign some paperwork, and bam! Shackled for eternity with your special someone, no need for flowers or wedding bells."

Kaeloo continued to regard him with stupefaction, actually cocking her head a bit to the side. Impatient, Mr. Cat sighed. "Look, I'm not going anywhere. And it looks like our only options that don't involve either one of us getting in trouble is that you either marry me, or adopt me. And if you adopt me, there's going to be some really messed up oedipal shit going on between us. You shouldn't be my mother. But… you can be my wife. You should be. So let's just go and do it. Let's legitimize this and clear it with those bigwigs in the office. We can have that big wedding you want later. You can have plenty of time to agonize over all those little details without having to worry about the big picture, because we'll have already taken care of it. It'll be super easy. Let's get married today."

Kaeloo blinked a few more times before a shaky, roguish smile cracked through. "M-Mr. Cat, if you're going to propose to me, do it properly!"

"Propose?" Mr. Cat repeated, confused. "We're already engaged, what more do I need to propose other than going down to the office and just getting it done today?"

"Get down on one knee and sweep me off my feet—metaphorically, of course!"

"You're not going to say yes until I do?"

Kaeloo shook her head, still smiling.

"Fine, I'll play your game." Mr. Cat dropped to one knee, grasping Kaeloo's right hand in both of his. "Kaeloo, darling, love of my life, my light in the darkness, upon being faced with this horrible injustice that is the social services of this city threatening to tear us apart, please do me the honor of proceeding with me to the office wherein licenses are issued to couples such as us, merely wishing to spend an eternity with whom they love most out of everyone and everything else in the world."

"Come on, honey," Kaeloo chided, although she was still smiling and a fierce blush engulfed her face, "say it like you mean it."

"That's the thing, though—I do mean it, every word of it. But if you want it in layman's terms, then try this: please marry me today. I'll be a good husband and I'll love you forever." He squeezed her hand affectionately. "Do I need to continue, or is that sufficient?"

"That's… that's sufficient. Yes, I will marry you today!" Kaeloo fell down and embraced him, laughing joyously and letting her tears, now happy ones, wet his shoulder.

Mr. Cat felt his heart glow. He kissed the side of her face fondly as he wrapped his arms around her. "Shall we go now?" he asked her.

Kaeloo continued to laugh with glee, squeezing him tightly one more time before pulling away to look him in the eyes, a happy smile shining through her tears. "Yes, let's go. Let's get married!"

…

The office that issued marriage licenses was in the same building where Kaeloo's classes were and where she met with her housing officer. Kaeloo was a bit surprised at how well Mr. Cat was able to navigate the building, despite never having set foot in it until now. In what felt like no time at all, he'd found the room with "MARRIAGE LICENSES" marked above the door, and he placed his hand on the door handle, turning to Kaeloo expectantly. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

Kaeloo gulped nervously, but nodded, an eager smile still splayed across her face. "Yes," she assured him.

"Then let's do this." Mr. Cat smiled reassuringly at her before turning the handle and opening the door to the office.

The room was simple, with a few desks spread throughout and another door in the back labeled "COURTROOM", the beige color of the walls giving off an unobtrusive, inviting tone. Kaeloo gulped again as she took a step inside, trying to steady her nerves.

It had not been in her plans when she'd awoken this morning to get married that day. Perhaps if it had been, she'd prepared herself more for the giant step she was about to take. As it was, this was all so sudden that she could barely believe she was actually there. This felt more like a game than reality. Getting married couldn't be as easy as simply walking into a courtroom and signing some papers, could it?

Only one of the desks was staffed at the moment, and there was already a couple in line, two female ferrets. As Kaeloo and Mr. Cat approached the desk to wait in line, they heard the conclusion of the clerk's words to the couple. "…have two witnesses to sign the marriage license?"

Both ferrets' faces fell despondently. "We don't have any witnesses," the one with darker fur said.

Mr. Cat turned to Kaeloo, also looking a bit disheartened. "Guess we'll have to go to Smileyland and bring Stumpy and Quack Quack here."

But Kaeloo barely heard him, stepping forward boldly before he'd even finished his sentence. "We'll be your witnesses!" she announced, causing both ferrets and the clerk to turn to regard her with surprise. "On one condition—that you be witnesses to our marriage!" She grabbed Mr. Cat by the hand and pulled him closer to her.

The two ferrets' faces broke into relieved smiles. "Oh, that's so kind of you!" the darker furred one said. "Thank you so much! And yes, we'll return the favor and be your witnesses!" She jumped forward and gave Kaeloo a quick, grateful hug. "My name is Rosemary, by the way, and this is my fiancée Octavia!"

"You'll be trading in 'fiancée' for 'wife' in just a little bit!" Kaeloo exclaimed. She let go of Rosemary and back towards Mr. Cat, beaming proudly. "I'm Kaeloo, and this is Mr. Cat!"

"Are you really planning on calling your husband 'mister'?" Octavia asked.

Kaeloo laughed at that, first confusedly, then awkwardly, then finally trailing off into uncertainty.

Mr. Cat shrugged at that, also rather awkwardly. "She can call me whatever she wants," he said, "and I don't expect something like marriage to change her naming preferences. Isn't that right, froggy?" He winked at her.

The clerk, still seated at his desk, cleared his throat politely, drawing the others' attention. "Well, you're all in luck," he told them, procuring another marriage form and setting it on his desk. "Judge Miller is having a slow day and he'll be able to marry both of you couples, and if you're acting as each other's witnesses, then you might as well all go in together. So, erm… Kaeloo and Mr. Cat, could you step forward to the front of my desk, please? There's just a few things we have to do."

"Of course!" Kaeloo bounded forward, still pulling Mr. Cat along with her (who, to be fair, wasn't hesitant at all, but simply needed more time to process the request than Kaeloo had given him).

"Alright," said the clerk. "Both of you, please raise your right hands in the air. Do you swear to tell the truth and answer all questions to the best of your ability?"

Kaeloo blanched. She hadn't been aware this was going to proceed like a police interrogation. "Em… yes," she finally said awkwardly.

It was now Mr. Cat's turn to be the more composed of the two. "I swear," he said, quite seriously.

"Have either of you ever been married before, even if under a different name?"

Kaeloo barked out a laugh at that, despite herself. The question just seemed so ridiculous to her. Her, married? It was ridiculous enough that she was even getting married at all right now. "No, of course not," she said through her giggles.

Mr. Cat rolled his eyes at her. "Would you stop fooling around?" Turning to the clerk, he answered with a firm "No."

"Are you both capable of legal consent, ie being of sound mind and over the age of eighteen?"

"Um, my mind's pretty sound, I guess…" Kaeloo said, feeling a bit unsure. "Yes?"

Mr. Cat paused a bit at this question too. "Does 'over eighteen' mean the day after your eighteenth birthday or later, or the year after?"

The clerk's eyebrows rose slightly, clearly doing his best to hide his impatience. "The day. A better way to word it would be 'are you at least eighteen years old?'"

"That conveys a completely different concept than what you originally asked," Mr. Cat shot back. "But if that's what we're going with, then yes, I am at least eighteen years old. And of sound mind. For the most part." He smirked darkly at that.

"Mr. Cat," Kaeloo whispered to him, "weren't you just telling me to stop fooling around? Stop fooling around!"

"And finally," the clerk continued quickly, apparently trying to cut them off before they devolved into more nonsense, "do you have two witnesses to sign the marriage license?"

"Yes!" Kaeloo and Mr. Cat blurted out in unison, Kaeloo accentuating her exclamation by motioning behind her to Rosemary and Octavia.

"Very well." The clerk handed a form to them. "Please print your names in the spaces provided on the top of the form. Don't sign it yet, though; you'll sign it after you've made your vows in the presence of the judge. Ladies, I have a copy for you to fill out too," he added, addressing the two ferrets, who quickly moved forward to the desk to insert their names to their own document.

"You can go first," Kaeloo said to Rosemary as she carefully wrote her name on her form. "You got here before we did, after all."

"Thank you," Rosemary said with a smile, handing her pen to Octavia after filling in her name. Kaeloo, after examining her name carefully to make sure it looked absolutely perfect and presentable, handed the pen to Mr. Cat.

"Did you think you spelled it wrong?" Mr. Cat asked her slyly, scribbling in his own moniker in an only barely readable scrawl.

"I just wanted to make sure it looked good," Kaeloo countered.

"Alright then," said the clerk. "That takes care of everything on my end. You may enter the chambers now."

Octavia eagerly grabbed the form belonging to her and Rosemary and bounded with her through the courtroom doors. Taking their own form from the desk, Mr. Cat held out a hand to Kaeloo invitingly. "Are you ready?"

"I… I guess so." Kaeloo gulped, forcing a smile. "I guess I just wish I'd had a little more time to prepare for this…"

Mr. Cat lightly rolled his eyes at her. "Oh sure, more time to stress out over all the details so that by the time the big day came you'd just be a complete wreck." He gave her an encouraging smile. "This way is better. We'll be done and married before you even know it. You won't even have time to get stressed."

"I'm already stressed."

"Are you getting cold feet?" Mr. Cat tried desperately to not look concerned, but Kaeloo could read him too well.

"No," she assured him. "I just—I just wanted this to be perfect. And this is all happening so fast and so sudden that I… I feel like I have no control over it. What if something goes wrong?"

"It won't." Mr. Cat glanced towards the open doors with expedience. "Although it will if we don't go in there soon. We're supposed to be witnesses to the ferrets' wedding, remember?"

"Oh! Yes!" The reminder of her duty was enough to overpower any feelings of inadequacy she was struggling with—she owed it to Rosemary and Octavia to march through those doors with Mr. Cat.

And taking his hand, she did so, neither one of them looking back.

…

Despite all the years she'd desperately tried to suppress it, there was no denying the truth—Kaeloo was a hopeless romantic.

And while she'd never have believed it if you'd told her before today, but even in this formal setting she could feel herself tearing up while Rosemary and Octavia recited their vows to each other and were pronounced married by the elderly, amiable Judge Miller.

True love… how could one not get choked up at such a beautiful display of it?

Indeed, she was such an emotional, blubbering mess that she could barely sign her name on the space provided for the witness's signature on the wedding certificate. But somehow she managed.

How she managed to hold it together for her own marriage ceremony, therefore, was really anyone's guess.

Mr. Cat, as usual, was the calm and composed one. Whereas Kaeloo had stumbled and giggled nervously through her repetitions of the legal vows, Mr. Cat had remained cool and unflappable, presenting himself as if he had been preparing for this day his entire life. This made Kaeloo feel even more self-conscious, unable to focus on anything other than how far short she fell of his proficiency, but somehow she'd managed to say the right things at the right time, and before she knew it the judge was pronouncing them married, they may now kiss, and Mr. Cat silenced any doubts she had by pulling her close and solidifying the union with the requested action, and the newly married Rosemary and Octavia's enthusiastic applause cemented the deal.

And just like that, they were married.

After the needed signatures and notarizations, and the congratulatory pleasantries exchanged between the two newlywed couples, Mr. Cat and Kaeloo found themselves standing outside of the marriage office door, Kaeloo clutching the signed and officially sealed marriage certificate in her hands gingerly, as if she was afraid it would crumble at her touch. "I… I can't believe we did that!" she breathed.

"See, I told you it would be easy," Mr. Cat said with a shrug.

Kaeloo peered over at him. "So… now what?"

Mr. Cat looked away from her, directing his focus down the hallway. "We should—"

"We should celebrate!" Kaeloo blurted out with excitement. "We should go out mini-golfing and then have sandwiches for lunch at a little café along the riverside and then stroll along the river hand in hand and then—"

"No," Mr. Cat interrupted her harshly, "we should go see your housing officer and show him this marriage certificate so he doesn't kick me out of our apartment."

Kaeloo blinked. "Oh." Right. She'd almost forgotten the reason why they'd gotten married that day.

Mr. Cat held out his hand invitingly, and Kaeloo grasped it as they ambled down the hallway. "But after that," he said with a fond, encouraging smile, "we can do whatever you'd like… Mrs. Cat."

Kaeloo giggled, unable to stop a blush from engulfing her face. "Don't call me that, Mr. Cat."

"Why not? Seems appropriate, given the circumstances." He squeezed her hand affectionately.

"What makes you assume that I'm changing my name? Maybe you should consider being the one to change your name. 'Mr. The Frog' has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" she said with a cheeky grin.

"You call me that and I'm never going to respond to you ever again." A grin accompanied these words, so Kaeloo assumed that he was joking. Probably. She decided not to chance it. Still, though, she smirked back at him.

"Why not? Seems appropriate, given the circumstances."

"Don't push your luck, babe." Mr. Cat stopped walking, looking directly ahead of him at the office door in their path. "Is this where all your legal mumbo-jumbo goes on?"

Kaeloo stopped too, once again shocked at how well Mr. Cat was able to navigate this building. "Yes, this is it," she confirmed.

"Excellent." He took a step back and motioned gallantly for Kaeloo to proceed before him. "Lead the way, dear wife."

Kaeloo smiled and blushed again, the form of address catching her off-guard. "I like the sound of that," she admitted.

"So do I," Mr. Cat said with a smile. "Now march in there and announce your new title to the social officers in there so that I'm no longer in danger of being booted to the curb."

"Very well." Kaeloo pulled the door open, stepping in and waiting for a moment for Mr. Cat to follow her. Upon entering this familiar office, it was now her turn to navigate, moving down the cubicles and other office doors to a cubicle near the end of the room. "Mr. Schmidt?" she called out.

A dog rolled back on his swivel chair. "Oh, hi, Kaeloo. I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon. What's up?"

Kaeloo opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, Mr. Cat stepped forward, holding the marriage certificate in front of him in an almost bellicose manner. "Hi. I'm Kaeloo's husband," he announced himself.

"Oh… okay." Mr. Schmidt looked towards Kaeloo questioningly.

Kaeloo simply shrugged with a coy smile. "He really, really didn't want to leave," she said by way of explanation. "So that's what we were doing just now… getting married."

"So this is enough, right?" Mr. Cat demanded. "I can keep living with her?"

"Sure," Mr. Schmidt said amiably. "I'll just need to scan in a copy of your marriage certificate into your file." He held out a hand for it, and Mr. Cat gave it to him compliantly. "A pretty hasty decision," Mr. Schmidt remarked as he ran the document through the scanner on his desk. "You must either be really attached to that apartment, or really attached to her."

"Oh, mostly her," Mr. Cat answered instantly, "although the apartment is very nice too, for its size. I especially like the little desk nook."

Kaeloo chuckled, somewhat surprised at how quickly Mr. Cat could turn on his 'charmer' mode. "We were already engaged," she quickly explained, "so it was just a decision of getting it done today, rather than getting married at all."

"Ah, I see," said Mr. Schmidt. "No reason to wait, I've always thought. Even if you don't have government bureaucrats breathing down your necks." He clacked away at his keyboard for a few more seconds, then handed the marriage certificate back to Mr. Cat. "Alright, you're all good to go. You won't be getting any eviction notice, Mr…." He squinted at the screen. "Um, Mr. Cat. You got a first name?"

"Sure I do. It's 'Mister'."

Mr. Schmidt, whose nameplate on his desk clearly showed that his first name was Frank, blinked a few times before finally shrugged. "Eh, I've heard stranger names. I'm going to actually spell it out in your wife's file, though."

"I don't care how you spell it, just as long as I don't get kicked out."

"Don't worry, that's not going to happen. Congratulations on your marriage, by the way." He shook first Mr. Cat's hand, then Kaeloo's. "I'll see you in a week for your next review, then."

"See you then! Thank you, Mr. Schmidt!" Kaeloo exclaimed happily.

As the two newlyweds walked away from the cubicle and back towards the main office door, Mr. Cat smirked at Kaeloo knowingly. "See? Didn't I tell you it would be the easiest thing in the world? All those tears you cried were for nothing."

Kaeloo sniffled once, realizing that there were still a few happy tears waiting to break free, but what actually came out was a sharp laugh. "My parents are going to kill us when they find out we got married without telling them," she said through her laughs.

"Why would they have wanted to see this part? This was the boring part. They'll still get to see the big ceremony, whenever it will be. Your dad will get to walk you down the aisle while you're wearing your perfectly fancy dress and the music's swelling…" Mr. Cat smiled warmly at her. "That will be the best part, seeing you like that."

Kaeloo smirked playfully. "And I'll get to see you in a tux. I want some eye-candy too, you know!"

"Aren't I enough eye-candy out of one?" Mr. Cat winked.

"Oh, Kaeloo! Fancy seeing you here!"

The voice stopped Kaeloo and Mr. Cat in their tracks just before they'd reached the main door. To Kaeloo's shock, it was the teacher of her career readiness class, Mrs. Perez.

"Oh! Mrs. Perez! G-good afternoon!" she spluttered.

"We missed you in class today," the slender deer said.

Kaeloo blushed. "Yes, well, I—I was taking care of a, um, predicament that arose—I'm married!" she blurted out joyously. "I just got married! Mrs. Perez, this is my husband, Mr. Cat!" she blabbed, motioning towards him. Mr. Cat smirked a bit awkwardly at her display, but still regarded Mrs. Perez with a friendly nod.

"Wow, really? Congratulations!" Mrs. Perez dug through her large messenger tote, procuring a blue folder. "I have something for you, but I'm afraid it's paltry in comparison to a marriage!" She handed the folder to Kaeloo. "You've passed the course. Your certificate of completion is in here. Congratulations… again!"

Kaeloo's eyes bulged, too surprised to take the folder from her. "I… passed? But… how? I thought I was doing a terrible job!"

"You were hard to place, but that certainly doesn't mean anything about your performance was terrible. I've included a list of places that are hiring right now, who are in an agreement with us to give special consideration to individuals who go through our program, and who I think could be a good fit for you."

Kaeloo's fingers were finally able to move, grasping the folder and flipping it open. "'Parkside Plunge'?" she asked, reading aloud the first entry on her list. "What's that?"

"That's the waterpark on the west side of town. You've never been there?"

Kaeloo shook her head. Mr. Cat winced. "Sounds like agony to me."

"Oh, but Mr. Cat, waterslides and wave pools are fun!" Kaeloo countered.

"They're so much fun that the park's had a huge influx of visitors this summer and is needing some more lifeguards for the season," said Mrs. Perez. "It'll only be a seasonal job, but given your propensity towards helping others, I thought this might be the good fit you're looking for."

Kaeloo drew in her breath, her body awash with hope and exhilaration. "I'll get to help save lives and make sure people follow all the rules? It's the most perfect job in the world!"

"You get to wear a sexy swimsuit, too," Mr. Cat added approvingly.

"Now, don't get too ahead of yourself," Mrs. Perez warned. "You still have to interview for the job before you get it. Just remember what you learned in my class and you should do just fine. And if not, there's other places you can apply on this list as well. If you need any more options or have any questions, feel free to give me a call. I've included my card in your folder. Good luck! And congrats again on your marriage!" With that and one last encouraging smile, she continued down through the office corridors towards wherever she had been headed.

"Th-thank you! Thank you very much!" Kaeloo called after her, her lower lip quivering happily.

"Nice job, babe," Mr. Cat said with a soft smile, kissing the side of her face. "Here, let me put our marriage certificate in your folder too, so it doesn't get bent."

"Can you believe how perfectly everything is working out?!" Kaeloo exclaimed. "Now we have to go celebrate our good—"

"No," Mr. Cat interrupted sternly, "not yet. Now we need to go to this waterpark and get you in for a job interview."

"Oh, right." Kaeloo laughed at herself, not even this reminder of her duties enough to deflate her optimism and cheer in the slightest. "Why do you have to be so responsible?"

"Yeah, something's seriously wrong when I'm the responsible one in this relationship," Mr. Cat teased her, pushing open the main office door. "Let's get you employed so that the scales tip back in your favor. Plus, I want to see what your work uniform will be." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Kaeloo gave him a severe smile, following him out of the office. "Behave yourself, Mr. Cat!"

…

The "Acing Your Job Interview: Giving Your Best Impression and Getting Your Best Job!" video that had been shown in Kaeloo's career preparedness class had not been the most adequate form of preparation for this particular interview. That video had featured polished young professionals in classy attire, giving poised interviews in a conference room, talking up their skills to the even more professionally dressed team interviewing them and answering any questions they had.

But no, this interview was held with only the head lifeguard, a personable and casual otter named Bonnie who didn't seem much older than Kaeloo, and instead of a meeting in a sterile office at a round table, they were seated on plastic chairs near the edge of the dining area of the largest restaurant in the park, the two of them having to pull their chairs a bit farther away from the table to be able to hear each other over the chatter of the end of the lunch rush. And instead of being fed a series of questions from a form, Bonnie simply started things off by asking Kaeloo to tell her a bit about herself, and after some initial faltering and searching for words, Kaeloo was off, throwing herself headlong into how and why she'd ended up in New Cross City and all her trials upon arriving there.

"…and I felt so overwhelmed in that class sometimes, because it was hard to articulate all of my strengths—oh yes! I do have strengths! I should probably mention those!" Kaeloo blurted out with realization. "I'm a very hard worker, I'm punctual, I'm very organized, I'm a quick learner, I—"

"Can you swim?" Bonnie interrupted.

"I—oh, yes. Yes, I can swim." Kaeloo blushed awkwardly, feeling silly for forgetting to mention that important skill.

"Good. That's the most important thing. Everything else will come later." Bonnie grinned at Kaeloo. "And I have a feeling everything else won't be a problem for you. Have you ever been here at Parkside Plunge before?"

Kaeloo shook her head. "No, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Oh, you'll love it here. All of our guests are repeat customers, and our staff—they all have fun too, and have a camaraderie that just can't be beat! So—" Bonnie pulled out her cell phone, scrolling through what was evidently a calendar. "It looks like we have lifeguard training and certification Saturday morning, real early, at seven o'clock. It'll last for four hours. Can you be here for that?"

Kaeloo nodded eagerly.

"Alright! I'll see you then." Bonnie slipped her phone back in her backpack and stood up to leave.

"Does—does this mean I'm hired?" Kaeloo asked anxiously.

Bonnie laughed. "Yes, contingent on your passing the training and certification on Saturday. But that shouldn't be a problem. Unless nothing catastrophically wrong happens, you can start working here bright and early on Monday!"

Kaeloo's face broke into a giant grin, and it took everything in her to not burst into happy, relieved tears right then and there. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! I'll be an asset to your team, I promise!"

"I'm sure you will! I'll see you here bright and early on Saturday, then!" And with that Bonnie took off, the duties of the head lifeguard apparently ever present and always demanding.

Kaeloo found it difficult to move for a few moments, too overcome with emotion to be able to even stand. Was… was this day even for real? Was this really happening to her? Her, Kaeloo, the weirdo, the unlovable freak, the awkward and volatile failure at everything, had somehow managed to get a husband and a job both in the very same day?!

Things really were turning out alright for her.

The sudden glee and jubilation that these thoughts stoked were enough to make Kaeloo able to move again—indeed, she practically shot out of her seat like a firecracker. "Mr. Cat!" she called out joyously, scrambling towards the restaurant ordering window. "Mr. Cat!"

While she had been in her interview, Mr. Cat had taken the opportunity to grab some lunch from the lunch stand, as their 'get married and find a job' detour had interrupted his lunch at the apartment. He sat at the opposite edge of the eating area from Kaeloo and Bonnie, near the ordering windows, because this was the closest spot to the condiments. Indeed, as Kaeloo was bounding towards him like a gleeful torpedo, he was taking another large bite out of a hotdog, lathered in ketchup and mustard.

"Mr. Cat!" Kaeloo shrieked, rocketing into him, nearly knocking over the chair they were now both on and sending ketchup and mustard flying everywhere. Somehow Mr. Cat managed to keep a hold of his hotdog and keep it from falling to the ground.

"So," he chuckled once he'd gathered his composure, "I take it you got the job?"

"I contingently got the job, yes!" Kaeloo cried, beaming with happiness and pride.

"Contingent on what?"

"On passing the training and certification. That's this Saturday morning. But if I pass that, then she said I could start on Monday!"

"Excellent." Mr. Cat grasped her and lifted her off of his body, although he was flashing her a genuinely proud smile. "Hopefully once you're an employee you can get some employee discounts on the food here. For coming from an overpriced grease bucket food stand in an overpriced park, this hotdog's pretty damn good."

Upon seeing his mostly eaten lunch, Kaeloo's stomach growled noisily. "Goodness, I haven't eaten anything since breakfast," she realized. Breakfast hadn't really been that long ago, true, but it sure felt that way. After all, at breakfast this morning, she didn't yet have a job. Or a husband.

Mr. Cat motioned towards the table. "Say no more, babe. I've got you covered." And there, indeed, was another hotdog, untouched, with a large drink by it.

Kaeloo eagerly lunged for it, squeaking out what felt like her hundredth "thank you" of the day. She wolfed it down as Mr. Cat finished his, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin and smirking at Kaeloo.

"So… lifeguard Kaeloo, huh? You're right, it's basically the perfect job for you. Although I'm a little disappointed in the swimsuits the lifeguards here wear. They're pretty frumpy looking." He licked his lips at her sensually. "I'm sure you'll still look astounding in it, though."

Fortunately, Kaeloo had already swallowed the bite of hotdog in her mouth at that statement, so the embarrassed chuckle that escaped her lips wasn't cut off by a choke. As the sound faded, however, she didn't take another bite, instead looking down at her lunch and trying to convince herself that her focus, if even on that, was real and concrete. Because there was that feeling again… dizzy, lightheaded, as if she was walking in a pleasant mist of a dream rather than reality.

"What is it?" Mr. Cat asked her, concerned.

Kaeloo lifted her gaze to him. "I'm just… in a state of shock and disbelief, I guess. Did I really get a husband and a job in the same day? Am I really this lucky? Is this even real? Or is it just another game?"

Mr. Cat's worry melted into a warm, sincere smile. "It's real." He leaned forward, placing a hand on her knee and squeezing it affectionately. "That means that we now have two things to celebrate today. Do you still want to go out on the town and celebrate?"

Kaeloo nodded eagerly. "Yes, of course!" The motion nearly knocked the hotdog out of her hands, and she quickly and awkwardly grasped it before it fell out of her grip entirely. "Once I finish lunch, that is. And only if you want to."

"Of course I do." He smirked playfully. "Lead the way, my goddess of fun and joy, and I'll follow. I only ask that you preferably lead the way to at least one place with booze so that—"

"Mr. Cat, this is not the occasion to get drunk!"

"I never said I was planning on that. But some celebratory drinks and a toast to your imminent employment—even you can't object to that, right?"

It was Kaeloo's turn to break into a playful smirk. "When you put it that way, I might have a celebratory drink myself."