Chapter 2
Haru had lived alone once – right after her mother had given up fighting the cancer in her lung – but the peace of solitude had become like an oppressive prison, so she had invited Hiromi to live with her. That worked for a while, but then Hiromi had moved in with her boyfriend instead. Haru decided to move. Her tidy little house in the middle of the city, with an easy commute to anywhere, meant that she got a monthly income of about five hundred dollars – she had decided to rent it out, rather than sell it. Her new house, a big place that was almost in the country, had been more than a bit run down when she had bought it – ignoring the ghost stories that had kept it empty for the previous ten years. She had resolutely fixed it up herself – with help from friends when they had the time – and now it was a home for children, orphans to be exact.
They came to her, and she took care of them, loving them, feeding them, clothing them, giving them parties like this one. It was like a big family. All the children wanted parents of their own again of course, but until that happened, they all seemed to love their Miss Haru – even if they didn't all love sharing rooms or going to bed at eight-thirty, sharp.
Oh, they most of them went to school, yes, but there were still the ones that were too young for that, and then there was the after-school activities she was taxi-service to, so she made them go to be early so that she could have some time to herself. Even then, they interrupted her quite times a lot with the usual: nightmares, wet the bed, woke up thirsty, just couldn't get to sleep, monster under someone's bed, not always their own – monsters usually got the whole room full of children out of bed and up at her room.
Her room was in the attic. On the ground floor was the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room/TV room/play room, there was also a visitor's room, where Haru talked to couples and helped them with the paperwork. The second floor was where the boys slept and washed, the same for the girls on the third floor, and then Haru's floor, except that it was more like a tower room with extensions. There was a bathroom just for her – shower, tub, lavvy, sink, and a mirror-cabinet where she kept the strong medicines, the ones that had to be injected. The only medications anywhere else were the placebos (sugar pills) in the kitchen, and the prescription fillers on the very top shelf under lock and key where even Climbing Jun couldn't get to them. There were inhalers under the pillows of just bout every seventh child, but the kids knew better than to share those.
Also in her little tower room, Haru had a phonograph, a record collection – Hiromi had given her a hard time about those, suggesting that the brunette update her sound system. There was an old writing desk, three very comfortable chairs, her bed, a wardrobe, a bookshelf, and a window seat that had room for all sorts of her things. She loved just sitting on that window seat and reading while the world happened just beyond the glass. She usually got that hour's peace just after lunch, when the children who were still to young for school were taking a nap.
Now they were all in bed, after a long day of celebrating Easter – and chocolate. They had all gone down to church in the morning to learn about why they celebrated Easter, with an unusually stern mini-lecture before hand warning them to all behave. They didn't go to church every Sunday simply because Haru thought it would be too much for the teachers to deal with on a regular basis. She usually talked to them on Sunday mornings about God, though she wasn't ever really sure how much they understood and how much they were just learning by rote.
Now she had time to herself – Hiromi had gone home, the children were all asleep, and the brunette went to work getting the last of the mud off the statuette Yuko had found that afternoon during the egg-hunt.
"How many cats do you know that wear suits?"
Hiromi's words came back to Haru as she cleaned up the handsome cat gentleman, the secret smile returning also.
"Well, Lune and his Cat Guard were all wearing very smart uniforms, and Natori wore a long robe. Most of the court in the Cat Kingdom wore some kind of clothing, and then of course there's you," Haru said, talking mostly to herself as she wiped the last bit of brown off the orange gentle-cat's pale grey suit. She couldn't have given Hiromi that answer, the blonde would have thought she had finally lost her mind.
"I'd like to know what you were doing in my garden, covered in mud, if you please Baron," Haru said softly, padding barefoot out of her bathroom and into her bedroom. The woman set the doll on a high shelf in front of some books and turned to her wardrobe. Baron's presence or not, she fully intended to change into her nightgown and settle down in bed with the Agatha Christie novel she had picked up from the library two days before.
"I got lost," came the refined voice from her shelf.
Haru smiled as she heard him turn around so that he was facing the books rather than her changing.
"What a joke! I hope you will excuse me for not believing you Baron, but you don't get lost – even in the maze, you weren't lost," the woman said, reminiscing. Completely changed now, she took the living doll down from the shelf and let him down on her bedside table.
"No, Miss Haru," Baron paused, sitting down on the edge of the piece of furniture. "I was lost – I was lost without you."
Haru had just been lying down between the sheets and getting comfortable, but the feline's words had her sitting up straight again, staring at him in wonder.
"It took me a while to realise it, and I'm sorry for that, but it's true –"
"I still love you Baron," Haru said, interrupting him. Her words were completely candid and she seemed slightly surprised that they had come out. "I told you when we parted ways that I had a crush on you. I wanted to be with you, but that was impossible, so I re-made myself to be like you – I started this orphanage, giving help and hope and love. I would still rather be with you than just like you."
"Miss Haru, may I stay also? Muta has moved on, Toto just watches the world go by, the Bureau seems so empty and cold when I compare it to the warmth of the love that fills this place."
Haru smiled and got out of bed again, opening the window seat and searching through it until her hands found what they were looking for. Returning to her bedside table, she put a tiny hallstand beside her lamp – the kind that could hold a hat, extra layers of clothing, and umbrellas or canes. In her other hand was a pillow, which she lay down next to hers on her bed.
Her book she lay down on the shelf under her bedside table before rolling over in the sheets again.
"Of course you can stay, goodnight Baron," she said, covering a yawn as her eyelids closed heavily over tired, soft brown eyes.
"Good night Miss Haru," he whispered back, hanging his hat and tailcoat up before turning off the bedside lamp with his cane. Cat eyes were most useful for letting the lady sleep while he finished his preparations for the same activity. At last, he leapt lightly down onto the pillow Haru had allotted him, found it incredibly comfortable, and was soon purring in his sleep.