just follow the cat

Part 3 - mostly yes, but partly no

a few blocks north of

the only diner in Mars (Pennsylvania)

the day before the summer solstice

The ride to Charon's apartment took only a few minutes. They rode together in silence. Sam followed the directions that Charon gave him while she rested her head against the car's window. When they arrived, Sam said, "Let me know if you want me to stay. I'm okay if you don't."

She just said, "Please, if you don't mind."

At her apartment door, she fumbled the keys several times – dropping them once and choosing the wrong key twice more.

In a calm voice, Sam said, "I'm excited to meet your cats. I've always liked cats."

Then Charon closed her eyes. She looked at the ground and kicked a couple of tiny red pinecones that were next to her shoes. In the distance, she could smell a faint chemical aroma of the fire retardant being pumped into the old C. P. Wilson Mine. It reminded her of an acrid, sweaty smell that clings to a liar who has lied once too often.

The key clicked and the door open. "Here we are," she said. "Do you mind feeding the cats? The food is on the shelf above the sink. And do you mind giving me the keys to your car? I think I left something inside."

Sam nodded and handed her the keys.

As she sat in the car, she imagined him searching the nearly empty shelves above the sink for a non-existent box of cat food and then maybe looking in the bathroom, the closets, and possibly under the bed for the six non-existent cats.

At the exact moment that she imagined him walking to the front door with a confused look on his face, she tapped the steering wheel twice, started the car's engine, and drove away. She had to because this man was more than Mostly Yes. He was Absolutely Yes.

Truly truly absolutely.

And she couldn't have him be anything less than that. Not on the day before the summer solstice. Not on the day before her birthday after she had climbed to the crest of the mountain that represented her perfectly charmed life only to see that every step ahead of her was all downhill.

≡ ≡ ≡

three months later

on the morning of the Autumnal Equinox

The Earth's cosmic balancing act was overdue. It was only late by a few milliseconds, but the sun, the moon, and all eight other planets were aghast at the delay.

Mars complained the most. "It's not fair," said the planet. "I would be punished if I did something like this. It makes all the rest of us look bad, you know."

But seriously, to whom does a planet complain when they are embarrassed by another heavenly body? Surely not to the sun. After all, the sun has so many other things to worry about and what's a big ball of exploding hydrogen going to do anyway. Not much. (I can assure you of that.)

But the problem wasn't as bad as it seemed because the Earth had a plan. After so many years of feeling off kilter, the Earth (or rather all the living creatures on its surface and below its waters) needed a little shove. A push. A nudge to put things back in order. So, on the morning of the Autumnal Equinox, the Earth stopped for a few milliseconds and admired the sun hovering almost exactly above the equator. Almost exactly. But not quite.

"So beautiful," said the Earth. "For a burning mass of hydrogen, it really is beautiful." Hearing this, all the planets and all the moons swirling around them had to agree. The sun is truly an amazing sight.