“Yeah,” I say. “That’s Solo.”
“Hi, Solo.” She reaches out and lets him sniff her hand before she rubs his head.
Solo closes his eyes and pushes against her touch.
“He’s so tiny.”
“Yeah, just a kitten.” I shift my weight and reach out to run my hand along Solo’s back. He mews and crawls onto me, and the woman smiles.
I don’t know how to take her. She seems perfectly at ease waking up in a stranger’s bed with a mangy kitten standing on her. She should be upset. She should be worried about my intentions or something, but she remains perfectly calm.
Maybe her brain hasn’t defrosted yet.
“What’s your name?” she asks.
“Bishop.” I look at her face. “Yours is…? Sorry, I can’t remember.”
“Netti.”
I narrow my eyes at her again. I can’t remember exactly what she had told me her name was before, but I am sure that wasn’t it. I consider calling her out on it, but I don’t know what the point would be. Maybe she’s more frightened than she’s letting on and trying to protect herself. Maybe she lied in the parking lot of Broken Toy’s Gas and Goods. Maybe my memory sucks.
I know it’s not my memory, and I decide to just ignore the change of name. I can’t imagine it matters much anyway. The storm can’t last more than a day or two, and I’ll drag her back to Whatì and forget she ever existed.
Chapter 5
Overnight, the storm hits. Wind whips around the cabin in great gusts, shaking the window and door. The temperature inside drops considerably, and I have to keep the fire blazing to ward off the chill.
“Where’s my backpack?” Netti asks.
“Never saw one,” I tell her, though I vaguely remember her having one at the gas station. “You weren’t carrying anything when I found you.”
“I guess they kept it,” she says with a long sigh. “It’s not like there is anything in there they could use. Just a change of clothes and my toiletries.”
“I have a couple spare toothbrushes,” I say. I always have extra toiletries on hand, but I don’t know what compelled me to offer them to her. Regardless, I can’t take it back now. I point my thumb over my shoulder. “Look in the box under the sink. There’s a working toilet in there if you need it.”
Netti thanks me and heads into the bathroom, closing the squeaky door behind her. Living on my own, I never bother with closing the door, and Solo apparently doesn’t like being shut off from the small room. He first sniffs and then scratches at the door until I swoop in and pick him up.
“I told ya women are trouble,” I whisper into his fur, “always lockin’ ya out of the places you want to be.”
I cringe when I realize I’m speaking baby talk and immediately change my tone.
“She won’t be around long, boy.”
Solo mews and rubs his face against my cheek. I’m not sure if he’s satisfied with my answer or not, but at least he’s content again. His loud purr vibrates against my skin.
Netti is in the bathroom only a short time before coming back out. When she comes out, she walks to the bed and sits on the edge with the blanket wrapped around her. Her clothing is still wet, so I find her a pair of my sweatpants and a long T-shirt to wear until her own clothing is dry, but she’s still cold. I’m not sure if it’s because of her exposure to the elements yesterday or if she just isn’t used to the temperatures here.
We’ve barely spoken since waking up, still wrapped around each other for warmth. I wouldn’t know what to say to her anyway. As I prepare milk for Solo, my whole body is tense, and I’m trying my best not to show it. I’m not exactly prepared for a guest and wouldn’t know what to do even if I were so inclined to have one. Margot came here exactly once, and that was just to bring me a box of extra supplies she had. I didn’t like Margot being here either, but it was better than being at her place where I felt like an extra, unwanted piece of furniture. It wasn’t Margot’s fault though. I just don’t do well in any kind of social situation.
“I emptied that drawer for you,” Margot told me after I had lived there for a month. “You don’t have to live out of your backpack.”
I shrugged, not knowing how to respond.
“Really, Bishop. It’s okay. You know you can stay here as long as you want.”
“Everything I own fits in the bag,” I said. “I don’t really need
to take up more space than I already do.”