“Oh…” Marcy felt her stomach drop as she glanced outside. She’d always known they would leave. God forbid, she’d been so desperate for a slice of normal life some days that she’d hoped they would leave sooner rather than later. But now that Rico’s words were sinking in, she wished she’d cherished her time with them more. “But they might still come back, right?”
“They might. I don’t have my tracking device with me, so I can’t see how far they’ve gone. We only use those for emergencies and population count.”
“It’s such a strange idea that they might not come back.”
“I know. I feel a little sad too, but that’s entirely selfish on my behalf. If our job isn’t done today, it will be tomorrow or sometime soon.” Rico pointed to the measuring tape in her hand. “What are you up to?”
“I ehm…” Marcy stared at it, so out of sorts that she’d forgotten what she was doing. “I was going to make some shelves for Zoe.”
He walked over to her and gave her shoulder a rub as some awkward form of consolation. “Has she been complaining about the impracticalities of cave living?”
“No, she never complains but I want her to feel at home, so I thought I’d make some space,” Marcy said. “She’s here most nights and living out of a suitcase. That just doesn’t seem right.”
“And sleeping in a tent.” Rico chuckled as he eyed the tent that was still standing in the middle of the living space.
“That too.” Marcy rolled her eyes as she tugged at the seventies bedsheet. They’d had to rebuild it twice after the kittens had torn it down while they were playing. “I can’t wait to get rid of this, but first things first.”
“Want some help?” Rico asked.
“That’s very kind of you but I can manage.”
“It’s not a problem. I’d kind of like to stay here to see if they come back. I’ll get in the good books with my boss if I can finally tick the ‘successfully released’ button on the system.” Rico shrugged. “So, I might as well make myself useful while I’m here, if you don’t mind? I’m actually quite good at this stuff.”
“Okay, then.” Marcy had a feeling he was only trying to cheer her up, but admittedly, she could really do with the company and cutting shelves to fit an uneven wall was like solving a puzzle. “I’ll go get my tools. Do you know how to handle a concrete drill?”
72
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Zoe asked, rushing towards Marcy when she saw her sitting on the terrace in the dark, staring into the hills.
Marcy stood up and swallowed the lump in her throat. She was normally excited to see Zoe, but today she hadn’t even noticed her coming back from work. She had no idea how long she’d been here; she’d dozed off a couple of times in between phone calls to the ranger. “Nothing’s wrong. In fact, it’s good news. Tank and the kittens left last night, and they haven’t been back since. Rico said it’s safe to assume they’re not coming back.” She told herself to stop being so emotional. It was silly to cry over something that was always meant to happen, and besides, it was a great day for both them and the lynx population.
“Oh, babe. Come here.” Zoe cupped Marcy’s face, then pulled her into a tight hug. She held her for long moments and when she stepped back, Marcy saw she looked emotional too. “I know you’ll miss them. I will too.”
Marcy nodded and took her hands. It was good to have Zoe back after spending the night apart. Zoe had slept at her parents’ house last night as she had a big event on at work and didn’t want to wake her up. “This is stupid, but…” She fell silent and let out a sarcastic chuckle.
“What? Tell me. Nothing is stupid.”
“Well, Tank… She didn’t even look back.” Marcy pointed at the overgrowth at the foot of the hills. “She just ran, and they followed. I don’t know what I’d expected from her leaving. It’s not like she was going to cry on my shoulder and hug me goodbye, but still, it seemed so easy for her to leave.”
Zoe gave her a sweet smile. “Tank’s a wild animal. It means you did good, not letting her get attached to you.”
“I know.” Marcy sighed. “God, I sound pathetic, but I miss her.”
“You don’t sound pathetic, it’s natural to be sad after all the time you spent with them. I understand it’s hard, but all you can do is be proud that those two little healthy kittens are exploring the world because of your help.”
“And yours,” Marcy said. “You’ve been great.”
“It’s been a true pleasure and honour, and I’m so grateful you chose to share this experience with me; I’ll never forget it.”
“It feels like the end of a chapter,” Marcy said.
“To the contrary. I think a new chapter is starting for you tonight. You have privacy now, and you can use your house as a real house. I mean, you haven’t even tested the volume on that music system or the new coffee machine since Tank arrived.” Zoe winked. “Not to mention the bed; that needs a lot more testing now she’s gone.”
“That’s true.” Marcy laughed and realised Zoe had managed to cheer her up. Zoe always made her feel better, no matter what, and the mention of the bed brought a flutter to her core. “Let’s go inside, it’s cold out here,” she said, feeling the chill in the air. It was still warm for the time of year but too cold to sit outside for hours, even with the two hoodies she was wearing.
“Yes, winter’s kicking in.” Zoe closed the glass doors behind them for the first time in four months, and the sudden silence inside felt surreal. “At least we can have the heating on now.” She walked over to the radiator that was built into the bottom of the kitchen units and frowned when she saw there were no switches. “How does this work?”
“I have a remote.” Marcy opened one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out a small remote that regulated the hidden heating system in the cave house. It had been chilly at night lately, sleeping with the door open, and despite being a little down, she was also looking forward to living in comfort again. “Let’s see if it works.” She turned it on and waited for hot air to pour into the room. She was almost surprised when it actually worked, as she hadn’t tested it yet. “Bingo.”
