NaNo :: Day 10 - 508 words. 17,744/50,000.
Day One. Day Five. Day Nine.
Day Two. Day Six.
Day Three. Day Seven.
Day Four. Day Eight.
Maria held the cat tight, rubbing a hand down her lanky back. Katarina easily made herself comfortable, paws draped over Maria’s shoulder, chin lifted in a regal, stately manner. Redd had named the animal after some great ancient warrior in history; one could easily see the poise and grace in that lengthy body and the strength in her bones, despite the softness of the purr and the complete lack of reservations when it came to receiving ear scratches. It was almost enough to inspire Maria to contemplate getting a cat of her own, but she knew all too well that something like that would only end in disaster. She was much better with a larger pet, one of the male persuasion.
They moved through the immaculate white living room into the pristine white kitchen, looking over the glittering lights of the City from a large wall of windows. “So,” Maria mused after a moment of distraction, caught by that view, “how about we just skip that ice cream and go straight to the booze?”
“I had a feeling you might say that,” said Redd, who was already opening one of the doors on the tall, fat refrigerator unit. She opened it to present two waiting drinks in long stemmed glasses. The bowls were shallow and wide, and they were brimming, much to Maria’s horror, with something very frothy and electric pink.
“So help me,” she said, “if you let anyone know I was drinking one of these.
“I take it to the grave,” vowed Redd with a solemn look but dancing eyes that betrayed her. She waited for Maria to set down the cat before handing her one of those hideous cocktails. The moment Katarina’s four paws hit the cool, pale marble of the kitchen floor, she yawned and arched her back luxuriantly, an extensive stretch to better allow her to twist around Maria’s ankles. Each of the woman tilted her glass forward, the sugared rims tinking together in a toast.
“To brief moment of relaxation and respite,” Redd offered.
“To the Realms with it,” countered Maria, and she threw the drink back. Only a third of it actually made it down her throat, a disappointing showing by her personal standards, but she had to make an exception here. “Gods damn!” she gasped. “What did you put in here, drain cleaner?”
“You’re not the only one fond of a strong drink,” said Redd, deceptively demure as she sipped her own. “It’s my secret deadly recipe, so I cannot say.”
But then Redd sighed a little, lowering her glass and casting her eyes down into the swirling pink clouds. “It’s just been a very long day.”
Maria snorted. “Try a long week,” she said. “And I’ve got a fairly strong feeling that it’s only going to get worse.”
“It always gets rougher before it gets better,” said Redd, carefully sipping her poison again.
Maria’s snort became a groan. “Don’t even start with the optimism routine,” she said. “You’re in your own home, Redd; no public here to pretend for.”
Or, as I like to call it, "Skylie was even busier Tuesday than she was Monday, so she got even less done on that day and now has a lot of catch-up to do even on today, and WTF, Life, being so busy." But at least there are scary pink cocktails? And I'm not too far behind...I have a long weekend ahead for a trip to Ann Arbor, and hopefully that'll give me some work time.
Day Two. Day Six.
Day Three. Day Seven.
Day Four. Day Eight.
Maria held the cat tight, rubbing a hand down her lanky back. Katarina easily made herself comfortable, paws draped over Maria’s shoulder, chin lifted in a regal, stately manner. Redd had named the animal after some great ancient warrior in history; one could easily see the poise and grace in that lengthy body and the strength in her bones, despite the softness of the purr and the complete lack of reservations when it came to receiving ear scratches. It was almost enough to inspire Maria to contemplate getting a cat of her own, but she knew all too well that something like that would only end in disaster. She was much better with a larger pet, one of the male persuasion.
They moved through the immaculate white living room into the pristine white kitchen, looking over the glittering lights of the City from a large wall of windows. “So,” Maria mused after a moment of distraction, caught by that view, “how about we just skip that ice cream and go straight to the booze?”
“I had a feeling you might say that,” said Redd, who was already opening one of the doors on the tall, fat refrigerator unit. She opened it to present two waiting drinks in long stemmed glasses. The bowls were shallow and wide, and they were brimming, much to Maria’s horror, with something very frothy and electric pink.
“So help me,” she said, “if you let anyone know I was drinking one of these.
“I take it to the grave,” vowed Redd with a solemn look but dancing eyes that betrayed her. She waited for Maria to set down the cat before handing her one of those hideous cocktails. The moment Katarina’s four paws hit the cool, pale marble of the kitchen floor, she yawned and arched her back luxuriantly, an extensive stretch to better allow her to twist around Maria’s ankles. Each of the woman tilted her glass forward, the sugared rims tinking together in a toast.
“To brief moment of relaxation and respite,” Redd offered.
“To the Realms with it,” countered Maria, and she threw the drink back. Only a third of it actually made it down her throat, a disappointing showing by her personal standards, but she had to make an exception here. “Gods damn!” she gasped. “What did you put in here, drain cleaner?”
“You’re not the only one fond of a strong drink,” said Redd, deceptively demure as she sipped her own. “It’s my secret deadly recipe, so I cannot say.”
But then Redd sighed a little, lowering her glass and casting her eyes down into the swirling pink clouds. “It’s just been a very long day.”
Maria snorted. “Try a long week,” she said. “And I’ve got a fairly strong feeling that it’s only going to get worse.”
“It always gets rougher before it gets better,” said Redd, carefully sipping her poison again.
Maria’s snort became a groan. “Don’t even start with the optimism routine,” she said. “You’re in your own home, Redd; no public here to pretend for.”
Or, as I like to call it, "Skylie was even busier Tuesday than she was Monday, so she got even less done on that day and now has a lot of catch-up to do even on today, and WTF, Life, being so busy." But at least there are scary pink cocktails? And I'm not too far behind...I have a long weekend ahead for a trip to Ann Arbor, and hopefully that'll give me some work time.