Cat

Cat scheduled lunch with Gloria and Dolores, their mutual friend. She figured that if she had more support, it would be easier to handle. Before leaving, she told Rabbit to call her immediately if anything happened while she was gone. He tried to nod, his neck servos whirring, but nothing moving. Finally, he said in his cartoony voice, "You got it."

She looked to Barry. "You just stay here and watch TV. I'll be home in about an hour. Don't open the door for anybody, and don't do anything you're not allowed to do when I'm home. Rabbit will tell me if you misbehave. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mommy," he said.

"Good," said Cat. She locked the door after she left, and for good measure, put all the devices in the apartment on lockdown, just in case he decided to play with the oven or something. As she rode down the elevator, she wondered if she was being a bad parent by leaving her son alone at home. She considered calling Conor, but figured he had his hands full at work. She didn't even consider her mom, knowing a wino off the street would have been a better babysitter. And probably less drunk.

Out on the street, the crowd all stopped and watched an ambulance zip by. Some took pictures of it. Cat walked on toward the café and kept walking. The sound of a loud motorcycle following the ambulance made her almost jump out of her skin. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and went on.

At the café, she found a small, empty table. She pulled out her phone and sent the others a message telling them she was there. She looked up at the café. It was beginning to fill with the early lunch crowd, so she was glad to have grabbed a table when she did. She saw an older Japanese business man with salt and pepper hair sipping a bubble tea, standing next to a much younger half-Japanese woman. She had the mannerisms of someone in the military, though the white and red (and was that gold?) braid of hair indicated something else, as well as the distinctive glow coming from under her skin. She sipped her own bubble tea with a stony look on her face, unmoved by the older man's banter.

The chime on the door rang. Cat looked up and saw Dolores at the door. She wore gold yoga pants and a matching cardigan. Cat waved to her. Dolores saw her, waved, and walked over, her gold pumps clicking on the linoleum floor. Getting closer, Cat saw that she was wearing some dermal patches on her skin, probably some health fad she had seen. They glowed, almost like that half-Japanese woman's subdermals, but probably did next to nothing, other than make some fly-by-night health and beauty company a few hundred nameros. Cat looked down to her own white jacket and her grey loungewear. She and Dolores were like chalk and cheese, but since their husbands were good friends in college, she sort of inherited her as a friend.

"It's nice to see you," said Dolores. "Fortunately, my zero-g pilates session just ended, and boy, could I go for something to eat." She grabbed a passing waiter. "Could you get me a chai latte, non-dairy, non-grain, non-lectin, half-caf and an avocado toast, hold the toast?" He nodded before walking away. Dolores sat down across from Cat. "So, what's the deal?" she said. "We haven't had lunch like this in ages?"

Cat nodded. She forced a smile, but Dolores was too busy looking at her reflection in her phone, checking her lipstick, to notice. "Let's wait for Gloria," she said. She was having second thoughts about inviting Dolores.

Before she could tell Dolores to forget it, Gloria had arrived. She sat down next to them. The waiter took Cat's and Gloria's orders before returning with Dolores' drink and a plate with a blob of green on it.

"So," said Gloria, "what is it you wanted to tell me?"

Cat swallowed, wishing she had ordered her drink when Dolores did. She could have used something to drink right about now. "Frank," she said.

Gloria's eyes widened.

"We just found out," said Cat. "He died. I thought it would be better if you found out from me instead of the police."

"But I just saw him last night," said Gloria. "We went out to dinner." A tear formed at the corner of her eye. "Are you sure?"

Cat nodded. 

Dolores took a bit of her avocado with a spoon. She swallowed the bit. "O-my-din," she said. "That's terrible." She took a sip of her drink.

Gloria started to cry. Cat scooted over to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered to her. Gloria hugged Cat back.

The waiter quietly set down their drinks and food before disappearing back into the lunch crowd.

"What am I going to do?" asked Gloria.

Cat squeezed her tighter. "We'll help you get through this," she said. "If you need anything, like help with the rent or anything, Conor and I will do whatever it takes to help you out. I promise."

Gloria looked up. Dark stains ran down the sides of her face. Cat handed her a napkin, and she did her best to wipe up the smears. "It's not that," she said. 

"What is it?" Cat asked. 

"It's just that," she said, looking down, resting her hand on the top of her stomach. "I'm pregnant." She started to cry again. "I was going to tell Frank tonight," she said.

Cat didn't know what to say.

"I'm just glad that my Archie works at the bank," Dolores said. "That's a low-risk job." She patted Gloria on the shoulder with one hand while sipping her drink with the other. "You should have known better than to get involved with a techie."

Gloria got up from the table and left, stepping out into the street. Cat glared at Dolores, but she didn't see, as she was checking her makeup again. Cat dropped a fistful of nameros on the table before leaving.

She found Gloria on the sidewalk. She had her arms clutched around herself. "I'm sorry about that," said Cat. "I regret inviting her along. I thought she'd make it easier."

Gloria shrugged. "You always were a lousy judge of character," she said in a quiet voice. Though she was still crying, when she looked up at Cat, she could see a smile on her face.

"I'm going to go see him," said Gloria. "Would you come with me?"

Cat nodded. She gave the police station a call and inquired about seeing Frank. She was given the number of the mortician, whom she called and explained the situation. After a brief conversation with the mortician, she and Gloria headed to the morgue.

The mortician was a large man with a quiet voice. He introduced himself as Dr. Lanius. He listened to Cat with quiet attention as she explained to him who she and Gloria were. He checked their identification and had them sign some documents, then he led them into the morgue.

"It's never pretty," he said to them as they walked through white hallways in a cold building. "But at least he's still recognizable." He stopped before a locker. He turned the handle and opened the door. A cloud of cold air escaped the refrigerated bin. Lanius pulled out the sliding tray. On it was a body covered in a sheet. "I have to warn you," he said, "he's entirely green."

He pulled the sheet away. Frank lay there, still. As Lanius had said, his skin was green, as green as the avocado paste Dolores had ordered at the café. His eyes were closed, and he almost looked as if he was sleeping, but there was definitely something uncanny about him.

"It's hard to accept at first," said Lanius, "as when we die, our muscles stop holding our faces in just the right way to make us recognizable. He might look a little different, but don't let that get your hopes up."

"Can I touch him?" asked Glora.

"Sure," said Lanius.

Gloria took Frank's hand in hers. It felt cold. She placed it against her stomach. "Surprise," she whispered. She set the hand back down on his chest. "Why is it glowing orange?" she said, pointing to the back of his hand.

Lanius looked at Frank's hand. "It looks like he missed his steps." He tapped the back of the hand. "That happens occasionally." He looked up at Cat and Gloria. "Do you need anything else?" he asked.

"No," said Gloria. Cat shook her head.

Lanius nodded. He pulled the sheet back up to cover Frank. That done, he sealed him back into his locker. "While it may sound rude, I hope to not see you again any time soon, you understand?"

Gloria smiled. "Thank you," she said. He led them back to the entrance where he shook their hands and wished them a good day.

Gloria gave Cat a hug. "Thanks," she said. "I know it's going to be tough, but knowing I have you here will make a huge difference."

Cat hugged her back. "Sure," she said. "If you need anything, you don't even need to call. Just come over. Now, I have to get back home before Barry finds out how to unlock the oven."

They waved to each other one last time before going their separate ways. Cat returned home. Barry way lying in the middle of the floor, snuggled under his blanket. Rabbit looked up at Cat. "Nothing to report," he said.