Cattitude by Edie Ramer

to jump up and claw Caroline’s face.
    Maybe she shouldn’t wait. Maybe she should
just do it. After all, Caroline had tried to kill her. Because of
Caroline, she was in this clumsy human body.
    Caroline stepped inside the room and headed
toward her. As she passed the dresser mirror, she glanced into it,
changing her mouth from a straight line to a smile. The smile
remained when she stopped in front of Belle.
    “Now that you’re rested, you must be eager to
go home.”
    Belle stared at her. She pictured claw marks
on Caroline’s face and a silent purr rose in her throat.
    “Do you understand English?” Caroline’s voice
raised and she curved toward Belle.
    Belle’s fingers cramped into the claw
position. If Caroline moved an inch closer, Belle would go straight
for her eyes.
    When Caroline straightened, Belle felt
disappointed but kept her fingers curled.
    “You can’t expect Max to take care of you
forever.”
    Yes, I can. Belle stared into
Caroline’s eyes. They were dark blue now, but Belle had seen them
change to the color of mud when she took out the round glass
circles.
    The blue eyes blinked. The smile disappeared.
“Don’t you have people who are worrying about you? A husband?” She
glanced at Belle’s fingers, and reached for her left hand. “You’re
wearing an engagement ring. There must be someone who— Ow! Why, you
bitch!” Caroline jumped back, holding her bleeding hand to her
mouth.
    Belle smiled and put her hand back on her
thigh. Finally she and Caroline were communicating.
    “I’m telling Max. Don’t think you can get
away with—”
    “What the hell’s going on here?” Max strode
into the room, two lines carved between his eyebrows. The same look
he had when Belle nibbled on leaves of his plants.
    Caroline waved her hand in the air. “She
scratched me!”
    “Is that right?” Max stood next to Caroline
and frowned at Belle. “Did you scratch her?”
    Belle set her mouth. She didn’t like the way
his voice sounded. If he wanted to talk to her, he should do it
nicely or she wouldn’t respond.
    “Look,” he said, his tone the same as when he
tried to talk Ted out of being a bartender, “you can’t stay here if
you’re going to scratch people.”
    Belle glared at him. This was her home. He
couldn’t make her leave.
    “I think she has mental problems.” Caroline
put her hand on his shoulder.
    Belle’s fingers curled again. She wished
she’d scratched Caroline harder.
    “What did you do that made her scratch
you?”
    “Nothing!” Caroline’s lower lip trembled and
she snatched her hand back. “I reached down to look at her
engagement ring and she sprang up and scratched me.”
    He rubbed his forehead. “She’s
disoriented.”
    “She’s engaged.” Caroline gestured toward
Belle, who thought how easy it would be to move forward two inches
and bite her fingers.
    Belle leaned forward...then back. Max
wouldn’t like it if she bit Caroline in front of him.
    She’d wait until he was gone.
    “Someone should notify her fiancé as soon as
possible,” Caroline continued. “He’s probably worried sick.”
    Max took Belle’s left hand and her fingers
uncurled. She’d always liked his hands and fingers. They were warm
and held her firmly. She wanted to lie on her back and let him pet
her chest and stomach, but she didn’t think humans did that.
    Humans missed a lot of good stuff.
    “Do you have a fiancé?” he asked.
    She shook her head.
    Caroline made a noise like she was coughing
up a hairball. “She’s wearing a diamond. Of course, she’s engaged.
She’s lying her head off.”
    Still holding her hand, Max stared into her
eyes. “You’re not engaged. Is that the truth?”
    She nodded. She knew what engaged was from The Love Chronicles . They got engaged and married all the
time.
    “You must have a home somewhere. There’s an
address on your driver’s license. Your car’s totaled, but I can
drive you there.”
    She shook her head. This was her home.
She was