Page 6 of Cats Never Fly

Eventually, my breathing slowed, and my heart rate returned to normal.

Isurveyed the messI’dmade.Bitsof fabric covered the sidewalk, the road, and the lawn.Theair blower stillhummed as usual, but only a sliver of fabric still wiggled in its breeze.

Uhoh.

WhathadIdone?

Ididn’t think anyone would be too upset about the inflatable man being gone.Gettingrid of the thing was a community service, right?ExceptIdoubtedLeviwould see it that way.

Itiptoed back to the shadows and looked up and down the street.Nothingmoved, but that was normal.WillowLakewas a small town.Thereusually wasn’t much activity on the streets in the middle of the night.

Iprayed to theEternalMagicno one had seen me.MaybeIshould call herMotherMagiclikeMamadid.Wouldthat help me gain her goodwill?

ThenIsent out a second prayer that no one ever found outI’ddestroyed the inflatable tube man, particularlyLevi.Asa minotaur,Levicould be a bit bullish.Idoubted he’d see the humor in the situation, at least not before firing my furry butt.

Andwhat would people think?

Everyonein town already gave me strange looks.Ididn’t need them finding outI’dlost control and attacked the tube man like a kitten high on catnip for the first time.Notonly would it make me more of a weirdo in everyone’s eyes, it might even cost me my job, and then what wouldIdo?Jobopportunities were scarce for a regular cat shifter like me.I’dnever survive picking up odd jobs here and there like my brothersCliveandWarrendid.Iliked the routine of steady employment.KnowingI’dget paid each month helped me sleep like a kitten each night.

Isighed asIcrept around the building toward the front office again.AsIshifted into my human form,Isucked in a couple of deep breaths.AllIwanted to do was run home and hide under my bed, butIliked my job and ifIwanted to keep it,Icouldn’t abandon the motel.

HowcouldIexplain this?Andmore importantly, what had come over me?

Italmost made me suspect the whistle was bad luck.

Almost.

Exceptit was too shiny and pretty to be bad luck.

No.Iknew what this greasy, slimy, heavy feeling was.Itwas guilt.Mybrothers always called me a sucker for falling forMama’sguilt trips, but it was what it was.Iwas whoIwas.

Thatinflatable tube man’s death was all about my guilt.

Isighed.

Ihad to tell the police what those wolves had said.Jakewas too nice.Icouldn’t sit back and let someone rob him again.Although…Hadhe even noticed being robbed the first time?Therobbery should have been the talk of the town today, but no one had said a peep.

No.Jake’signorance didn’t justify the robbery.

Ineeded to go to the police station and tell them whatIknew.Itwas the right thing to do.Inthe meantime,Ihad to write up an incident report about the tube man and hopeIstill had a job.Mybrothers didn’t have trouble telling a few white lies here and there, so maybeIcould do it too.

Ofcourse, their lies usually sounded like:

HaveIeaten?No, of course not,I’mstarving.

DoIwant my belly rubbed?Sure.

OfcourseIdidn’t turn up my nose at this same dish the last time you gave it to me.

Huh.NowthatIthought about it, maybe gaslighting was a better way of describing what they did.Unlikethem,Ionly lied when it was absolutely necessary.Iwas always too scared of getting found out.

AfterIfudged my way through the report,Iheaved out a sigh and went hunting for a rake and some garbage bags.Thefront desk clerk offered to help clean everything up, butIhad to do this myself.I’dmade this mess;Ineeded to clean it up.Ittook longer thanIthought to pick up all the little pieces.Afew fine threads of fabric still clung to the grass whenIwas finished, butI’ddone the bestIcould.Iwheeled the air blower over to the maintenance shed and shoved it inside.

ThenallIhad left to do was wait forLevito get there in the morning.

Theminotaur stomped into the office at seven with a large, insulated cup of coffee in his hand.Theside of the cup readHalfof whatIsay is bull.Healways used it when he bought coffee from theFlyingRowanCafé.Theway he flaunted things like that suggested he wantedParker, the human owner of the café, to discover he was a minotaur.I’dseen them flirt, so maybe he did.

Icouldn’t imagine trying to have a relationship with someone who knew nothing about supernatural beings.Theguilt over keeping quiet about the wolves stealing from the inn overwhelmed me;Icouldn’t imagine what it would be like trying to keep theEternalMagica secret from someoneIdated.