Green Eyes

Coldham Fintan Noose III, nicknamed Fin, reeled back from the garbage bin.  Something was inside the bin and staring at him.

Was it a rat? Fin shuddered at the thought. Since he wanted to get at the bottom of it he approached the bin cautious.  Huge green eyes in a small red furred face were looking at him curious. Fin laughed relieved. It was a cat - to be precise a kitten. It meowed at him.  Fin picked it up and wrinkled his nose, when he pulled out the cat. It stank to heaven and the fur was sticky. Fin wondered how the animal had ended up in the bin.  Had it unnoticed sneaked in? Fin didn't think so. Holding it at arm’s length he set the kitten onto the ground and wanted to leave it to its own device. The cat had different ideas. It cocked it's head and then started brushing Fin's legs.  Fin sighed.  He got rid of his trash as planned, nearly knocking over the kitten, who was in the way.  Fin swore. The kitty was still trying to get attention and affection from Fin, who wasn't interested at all and didn't like animals specifically. Fin tried to shoo her  away, but the small cat simply followed. Fin didn't know what to do with the own minded creature. He tried to get as fast as possible into the house without letting the cat in. He wasn't quick enough. She managed to slide in between his legs, nearly making Fin trip. He had a swear word lying on his tongue again, but stopped just in time, when he saw his one and a half year old daughter Casey toddling towards him. His chance of avoiding to take in the kitten had vanished. It was love on first sight. Casey's eyes lit up with delight and she shouted: "Gad!" It meant cat. As fast as her short legs could carry her, she raced towards the red striped miniature tiger. The cat enjoyed the attention and didn't mind being squeezed hard. Casey wasn't bothered at all by the cat's smell or the stickiness. If Fin didn't want to break Casey's heart, he had to accept grudgingly he had now a pet. Since his wife welcomed the kitten with open arms too and mothered her, he didn't stand a chance.

Fin made it  clear he didn't want anything to do with the little intruder, so Frieda took the cat to the veterinary. It was a her and between eight to ten weeks old. She was healthy. The veterinary showed Frieda how she could get rid of the sticky stuff in the cat's fur.

Frieda and Casey named the cat Ginger. When she was a bit older she was neutered and received all necessary vaccinations.

Fin ignored Ginger. The cat really liked him, though, and won him slowly over. Ginger was always there, when Fin was sad or his emotions in turmoil. She had a sixth sense, when he needed undemanding company. Ginger liked to curl up on his lap. Stroking Ginger calmed Fin. Soon he couldn't imagine living without the new family member.

©2015

Just lying

This story  builds on Drivers, The Heirloom, Just checking, Just confirming, Talk inside the shed and Talk outside the shed.

Patsy Loesing was expecting new guests. Her son Kenneth had told her one of them was the brother of their former driver Coldham Fintan Noose III. Anna, Kenneth's wife, and Kenneth had met Allman Gregory Noose and his wife Frieda at a hotel in Scotland on a vacation two years earlier.  Now Allman, a psychiatrist, and Frieda were living in Seattle. The Loesings had a vacation home in Des Moines with direct access to the beach.

When Patsy entered the sitting room, which was furnished in a mix of contemporary and classic style, she was perplexed. The person, claiming to be Allman, was definitely Coldham Fintan. Patsy was sure of this.
She knew more about Coldham than she let on. Coldham had behaved too unusual for an average driver and had been secretive. Patsy's suspicion had been roused and she went to check out Coldham's living quarters. What she found there convinced her he wasn't what he claimed to be. A thorough investigation revealed Coldham owned a security company. Patsy combined he was there to protect the family and when she checked with Kenneth, he confirmed it. Patsy was wondering why Kenneth thought Coldham was Allman. She didn't blow Coldham's cover, but was about to say it was interesting how successful all the brothers were, when Frieda upended her glass into Patsy's lap. Patsy's gut feeling told her Frieda hadn't been clumsy and done it on purpose, even though she looked totally abashed and apologized immediately. It seemed genuine. Patsy went to change her clothing and was followed by Frieda.
Patsy was straight. "What do you have to hide?" "I didn't want you to unmask Fin." "What? Kenneth didn't engage Fin?!" "No, Burt Lewis, Tianna Loesing's son, had heard through the grape vine that Averall Loesing planned an attack against you. There were rumours he wanted to kidnap a family member. Officially Burt stayed neutral, but asked Fin to look out for you. He worked as your driver as long as there was a threat. Kenneth didn't know what Fin's real job was. Burt asked for secrecy, so Fin has taken on the identity of his second cousin Allman, who's really a psychiatrist. We would appreciate if you could keep quiet about the situation." It made sense. The Wallenstein branch of the Loesings had been always trouble makers, ruining even Patsy's wedding day. Patsy was glad she now knew the truth and promised to keep her mouth shut. Little did she know...

©2014