Chapter 7. The Clean Up

Ralph Hinkley answered the door to find his partner, Bill Maxwell, standing head down in the doorway. As he crossed the threshold, Bill bit his lip, and kept his eyes to the ground, almost as if he was ashamed of himself.

Ralph followed after him, scratching his head.

"Bill, what the hell happened here last night? Rufus was a mess. And, and... and what happened to all our soup? The house was a disaster! The garbage cans in the back were all over the place!"

Bill replied, very calmly. "The cat wanted some fish..."

Ralph shook his head, confused, as well as in disbelief. "Uh, Bill, should I go put the suit on, and see if there's a translation feature built in? The cat? The fish? What are you talking about?"

Bill held his hand up to his head, and sighed deeply. Annoyed at the whole situation, he mumbled to himself "... and that wasn't even my fish!"

Pam emerged from the kitchen, holding a tray of coffee. She offered a cup to Ralph, and then reluctantly offered one to Bill. She stared at him for a few long seconds; it was obvious by the look on her face that she was not happy.

"We spent the entire morning cleaning up, Bill," she said between gritted teeth. "You mind explaining what happened?"

Bill sat down on the couch, staring into space, as he slumped over, and cradled the hot cup of coffee in his hands. He didn't know where to start.

"Bill, for crying out loud! Didn't you even give out any candy?"

Bill inhaled deeply, sat up straight, then turned to Ralph. His eyes grew small, and his face turned angry as he slowly and calmly stated "You didn't leave any candy."

Pam and Ralph looked at Bill in amazement and disbelief. Bill's eyes followed along with theirs as they slowly moved their line of sight to an overflowing bowl of chocolate bars, candy and lollipops perched on top of the television set.

Bill stared at the bowl, released his body in a slump, then dropped his head in defeat, taking long, deep breaths. He tried to control himself, but he was having a difficult time.

Most certainly, a battle had been fought and lost in that house last night.

"Bill, I just can't believe you."

"I'm sorry, kids. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't. I cracked. The kids, the little kids. They just kept coming. The door bell. Then Rufus got out. And the fish, and the cat..."

Ralph and Pam looked at each other confused. It was clear that Bill was simply out of his element last night. Satisfied that he had been punished enough, they left him alone to contemplate all that he had done.

And the cat... Bill sat back on the couch, silently sipping his coffee as he went over everything in his mind.

All night, all this morning, he tried to convince himself that it was all just a dream. That she was just a dream. It was the only thing that would keep him sane, and save him from his own regrets. Anyway, there was no reason to think that she was ever there, or that she existed at all. There was no evidence, no proof, no reason to think that Bill had come across more than one black cat last night.

But if she did exist, he couldn't blame her for just walking away. After all, she wasn't the sort of woman who typically stood outside of strange men's houses on Halloween Eve.

By the time he returned, with Rufus in his arms, she was gone.

"Stupid dog," Bill muttered to Rufus, who was curled up at his side. "Who cares about you, anyway?" He knew he couldn't really blame Rufus, but he wondered what might have happened if he had not felt so obligated to run after him.

He wondered what might have happened with a few more moments under the Halloween moon.

Bill sighed deeply, considering all the bad luck that black cat brought his way. Finally, he silently confessed everything to himself. "Well, I guess it wasn't a tuxedo cat, after all."

A few long minutes later, Ralph rejoined his partner on the couch.

"Bill, well, we know you feel bad. I guess Pam and I really shouldn't have asked you to watch the house. Well, what I want to say is that we're sorry."

Bill nodded his head, still shell shocked and deep in thought. Finally, he looked up at Ralph.

"Well kid, if it's ok by you, I think I am just going to try to forget that last night ever happened at all."

With a smile, and a pat on the shoulder, Ralph answered with his trademark response "Works for me."

As he got up to join Pam in the other room, Ralph added "You know, Pam's suit was a big hit last night."

Bill just nodded, in silent acknowledgment.

"Oh, and one last thing." Ralph reached into his pocket, pulling out a small sheet of paper. "Did you happen to find a set of keys here last night?"

A bit confused, Bill looked up to his friend, and shook his head.

"Some woman came by, early this morning, thinking you lived here. She left her name and number, just in case you ever find her keys."

Bill reached out and snatched the piece of paper from Ralph's hand. He looked down at his best friend, Rufus, and smiled. Bill didn't seem to notice that Ralph was also looking down, smiling at his own best friend.

"You're off the hook this time, I suppose."

As Bill headed towards the door, he stared at the name and number, quickly committing it to memory. He didn't want to lose it. After all, his luck could, once again, change in the blink of an eye, or with the unexpected yowl of a pussycat all in black.

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THE END?