“Fine, I won’t be much longer.” The nurse nodded and left, not bothering to pull the sheet back into place. Veronica used her free hand to reach over and cover Rose’s hip with the stark white linen. “Do you want me to stay for a while until you fall asleep?”


“No, that’s…” She was unable to stifle a yawn. “…that’s all right…I’m fine…” The powerful drug acted quickly, causing her head to loll to the side and her eyes to take on a glassy look. “Are you sure you’re not an angel?” She asked sleepily as her eyelids sagged. “You look like an angel…you…” Another yawn, “…act like…” Her eyes closed and the hand that had been holding Veronica’s fell limply to the side.


She waited several minutes until she was certain that Rose was asleep before standing up and tucking the blanket around the injured woman. “Sleep well, Rose,” she whispered.



Veronica opened the door and dragged the litter box, scratching post, and bag of toys inside.

“Tabitha, come on you little fuzzball, I’ve got toys for you.” She sat down on the floor and pulled out the various items. The orange and white kitten came buncing over to see what the tall human was up to. She sat back and watched as the packages were opened and fake mice, bagged catnip, and various toys were tossed into a pile. “There you go,” she said, fully expecting the feline to dive into the pile and play. Tabitha did what any cat would do, walked past the pile of cat toys and started batting at the empty wrappers. “Hey, the toys are over here.” She grabbed the little ball with the bell hidden inside and shook it to get the cat’s attention. “See? Toys here, garbage there.” Tabitha looked at it, looked at the wrappers, and went back to playing with the clear plastic.


“Fine, be that way, see if I care,” the dejected woman said, stuffing the wrappers into the plastic bag. “I got you a litter box too, think you’ll use that?”


“Mrrow?”


“That’s what I thought.” She stood up, tucked the bag of litter under one arm, the cat box under the other, and headed to the kitchen. “Seventy five bucks on toys and the stupid thing wants to play with the packages they came in.” She set the bag and box on the table. A note held to the refrigerator with a magnet told her Maria had left for the day along with instructions on how long to microwave the dinner she had prepared.


Exhaustion begged her to stop and rest but there were just too many things that had to be done. She quickly set up the litter box and put it in the mud room, leaving the door ajar so Tabitha could come and go freely. That task done, Veronica strode out to the living room, picking up the cordless phone and dialing the familiar number on the way.


“Cartwright Insurance, how can I help you?” The crisp feminine voice on the other end of the phone asked.


“Susan Cartwright, please.”


“She’s busy right now, may I ask who’s calling?”


“Veronica Cartwright. Interrupt her, this is important.”


“One moment.” She heard a click followed by the most boring hold music she had ever heard. Flopping down on her soft brown leather couch and kicking her shoes off, she tucking her feet beneath her. Tabitha bounded out of the kitchen and climbed up next to her.


“Mrrow?”


“What do you want?” she asked, reaching out with her free hand to scratch the cat behind the ears. “Let’s get something straight right from the start, okay? I bought a scratching post for you. The ten thousand dollar couch is off limits to your claws, got it?”


“Mrrow.” The orange and white feline laid her upper body across Veronica’s thigh and began purring.


“Ronnie, how are you?”


“Fine Sis, listen, I need you to add an employee to the insurance rolls.”


“Usually Human Resources sends over their paperwork once they’ve reached the appropriate service mark.” Veronica heard the clacking of the keyboard. “What’s their social?”


“She’s not in the computer yet, Susan. I need you to add her and push the paperwork through.”


“She has to be in the system. All employees are added once they’ve filled out their I-9’s and W4’s.”


“She hasn’t filled them out yet. She’s a new hire.” Veronica heard the clacking stop and the squeak of her sister’s chair moving.


“What department does she work for?”


“Um…she’s a clerk in the accounting office downtown.”


“An entry level? Ronnie, don’t you know they have to have six months service before we give them benefits?”


“I didn’t realize that.” She rubbed her forehead, drawing a protest from the purring pile of fluff on her leg.


“What’s that?”


“I’m watching a friend’s cat for a few days. Look, I hired her personally and promised her full benefits. Can’t you push it through?”


“It’s so rare that my only sister asks me for a favor. Of course I can. Fax me her forms and I’ll add her to the rolls.”


“Actually Susan, I need you to fax me the forms for her to sign. I also need you to give her the best medical plan we have and backdate it to the first of the month. Can you do that?”


“It’ll cost you,” the younger sister said in a sing song voice. “Dinner with Mom next Friday?”


“Can’t I just buy you a new car or something?” the executive groaned.


“Veronica Louise, you never spend any time with Mom. Jack and I are there every Friday night for dinner and Tommy is there on Sundays. She always asks about you.”


“She knows my phone number, Susan. I talk to her.”


“I know. We heard for two weeks about how you called her on her birthday. Funny, that was a month ago.”


“All right, all right. Fax me all the forms and I’ll get them back to you later tonight.”


“So we’ll see you next week at Mom’s?”


“Fine. I’ll be there, but don’t expect me to stick around after dinner while she goes through the scrapbook and tries to relive our childhood.”


“At least you’ll be there. That’ll make her happy.”


“Whatever. Fax those forms over, will ya?”


“They’ll be there in a few minutes. Wish you’d let me in on why you personally hired someone for an entry level job.”


“Sis, if I thought you needed to know, I’d tell you. Nice talking with you too, bye.” Veronica pressed the off button on the cordless phone and set it down on the coffee table. “Well Tabitha, that’s all set. How about you hop down and play with some of your toys while I take a nap, hmm?” She tried to nudge the feline but the purring pile of fur refused to move. “Fine, be that way.” She adjusted the end pillow and closed her eyes. At first the rhythmic purring annoyed her but within a few minutes Veronica was sound asleep, as was a very contented Tabitha.



* * *

Rose was awake but very obviously in pain by the time Veronica returned to the hospital. “Hi.”


“Hi, Rose. How are you feeling?” She set the attache on the floor and pulled the chair next to the bed.


“Everything hurts but other than that I’m fine,” she joked.


“Doesn’t the medicine they give you help?”


“It puts me to sleep, but yeah. It’s the only thing that touches the pain,” she replied, smoothing the blanket covering her.


“I brought some forms that I need you to sign. I filled them out as best I could but I didn’t know all the answers.” She pulled a manila folder out of the case and set it on the bed. “I never realized how many forms it takes to hire someone.” She held the pen out and was surprised to see Rose take it in her left hand. “You’re a lefty?”


“Yeah.”


“Me too,” she smiled. “The first three just need your signature. The others have some blanks that you have to fill in.”


“You know, I still can’t believe you’re just giving me a job, especially since I can’t even work,” Rose said, shaking her head. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”


“I do a lot of things that don’t make any sense, just ask my mother.”


Rose signed the forms quietly before handing the pen back. “Are you close to your mother?”


“Not really. We have different opinions on how I should live.” She hesitated for a moment before deciding to broach the subject that had tugged at her mind. “What about your family? Did you have a falling out with them or something? I mean, it seems strange that you wouldn’t want them to know that you were in the hospital.”


Green eyes turned away to stare at the venetian blinds that covered the window. “I was a baby when they died. A car accident. A drunk driver ran a stop light and hit them. That’s all I know.”


“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.” She felt bad for bringing the subject up.


“It’s all right,” the young woman said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I don’t remember them. I guess you can’t miss what you never had.” Rose tried to sound casual about it but Veronica suspected it was an act put on for her benefit.


“Who raised you?”


“The State. Sometimes foster families, but mostly I lived in state-run orphanages or homes. As soon as I graduated high school I got a job working as a cashier. I’ve been on my own since then.” Not wanting to continue the topic of her past, Rose changed the subject. “So how’s Tabitha?”


“She’s fine. She likes to purr a lot.”


“Mmm, that means she’s happy,” Rose replied. “You must be good with animals.”


“I wouldn’t know. This is the first time I’ve ever had one.”


“You never had pets when you were growing up?”


“No. My father was allergic to cats and my mother was afraid that a dog would wreck the place. How’d you end up with Tabitha?”


“Oh.” She reached for the water glass only to have Veronica help her. She took a long swallow of the cool liquid before answering. “I found her, or rather she found me. I was walking home one night and she appeared out of nowhere. Just skin and bones. Followed me home. She’s been with me since.” A fearful look came to her eyes. “The landlord didn’t see her, did he? I’m not supposed to have any pets.”


“Actually…he came downstairs while I was there.”


“Oh no.” A worried look covered the young woman’s face. “Was he nice?”


“Not in the least,” Veronica replied. “He seems to think the word fuck is an adjective and should be used every time he opens his foul little mouth.”


“What did he say to you?” The trepidation was evident in her voice.


“Nothing you need to worry about right now.”


“He kicked me out, didn’t he?” While the executive would never consider it a great loss, the young woman was obviously upset by the news.


“Rose, don’t worry about it, please? I promise everything will be all right.” She looked at her watch. “Come on, I think Jeopardy is coming up soon. We’ll sit back and see who gets the most questions right, okay?”


“I like Jeopardy,” Rose said, pressing the button to raise the head of the bed slightly. “There’s a TV in the employee lounge at work and sometimes my dinner break is at seven-thirty so I can watch it. I’m pretty good too, although I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay awake too long.”


“Oh, do you want me to leave so you can get some sleep?”


“No.” She reached out for Veronica’s hand. “Please stay.”


“Sure, just don’t get upset if I get more answers right. No one will play Trivial Pursuit with me.”


“Oh, do you have that? It’s such a fun game. I played it once down at the community center.”


“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll bring it in tomorrow for us to play and I promise not to beat you too badly.”


“We’ll see who beats who,” Rose countered with a smile. The Jeopardy theme song drew their attention to the television. “Ooh, it’s starting.” She settled her head back into her pillow to watch the show but before the first commercial break she was sleeping. The dark-haired executive gently tucked Rose’s blanket in and shut the television off. She sat there for several minutes looking at the large casts and the stitches that formed a line on the young woman’s cheekbone.