“I do not know. I wish I did.”
“I wish you did too.”
Pops and I talked a few minutes longer. The whole time I couldn’t stop staring at the engagement ring on my finger. Franklin needed one too.
“You should marry,” Pops said, and not for the first time I wondered if he could read my mind. “We could always hold a celebration ceremony later, when the situation calms. In the meantime, you should make your engagement official.”
I was beginning to think Pops was right. “I’ll talk with Franklin, but now isn’t a good time. This case he’s working on is taking all his time.”
“That is unfortunate.” Pops summed up my thoughts well.
“It is. Franklin will figure it out. He’s a good detective.” I had reason to be proud of my fiancé. I’d thought Franklin O’Hare was a brilliant homicide detective long before we became more than mere colleagues.
“He is capable. For a human.” It was the best compliment I could ever hope for.
“Thanks, Pops.”
“You are very welcome. Just in case there is a break where the two of you can say your vows, I will go ahead and send the wedding rings.”
I rubbed my aching chest while my lips finally tilted in a grin. “Franklin told me you agreed to make them. I know you’re busy and—”
“I am never too busy for my son, Erasmus. I was honored I was asked. Honored and pleased. Franklin O’Hare is very perceptive for a human.”
That drew a chuckle. “Wow, two compliments in one conversation. Franklin will be shocked.”
“I see no reason to relay those particular parts of this conversation.”
“No, you probably don’t. Regardless, I’ll be relaying them anyway.”
Pops grunted. “You may do as you like. Call me anytime.”
“I will. Love you, Pops.”
“As I love you. Take care, Erasmus.” Pops ended the call, leaving me staring at my phone.
“That’s how you end a conversation,” I said to my blank screen.
“I would never claim to love you.”
I jerked back, head swiveling until I found who I was looking for. Aurelia stood in the entryway to the kitchen. She had a bowl of something red in her left hand and a spoon in her right. When she brought the spoon to her lips, the red blob jiggled. The Jell-O was nothing compared to the dark brown tuft of fur sitting atop her head or the furless tail wound around her neck. The visual was surreal. Aurelia appeared to have one of those fur hats humans in colder climes wore. It covered her bald, tattooed head and the tips of her pointy ears.
I stared, mouth slack. In the end, all I managed to ask was a pathetic “Jell-O?”
Aurelia hummed appreciatively while sucking in the Jell-O. Her eyes slipped closed as she savored the flavor. “It is a marvel. Peaches has been true to his word and stocked his cabinets with it. He even taught me how to make it for myself. I have become very proficient.”
I didn’t think even I could screw up Jell-O but didn’t say so. Aurelia sounded very proud of herself, and I didn’t want to burst her happy Jell-O bubble.
She moved further into the living room while eating her treat. The bowl was rather large and was at least two-thirds gone. I wasn’t sure if she’d eaten it all in one go or if she’d been working on it for a few days. The furry cap on her head barely moved, mimicking a true—dead—fur hat.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the mound of fur. Now that Aurelia was sitting, I could just make out the rise and fall of what I thought might be a chest. Scuttlebutts were basically round balls of fur with tiny legs, a prehensile tail, and a mouth that opened 180 degrees and was filled with a double row of razor-sharp teeth.
Aurelia easily tracked where my attention laid. “Fuzzy Britches.” Aurelia placed the bowl of Jell-O down on the table beside her but shifted it closer to herself as if she were afraid I might reach out and snag it. Hands now free, she reached up and stroked the fur on her head. “She chose me,” Aurelia stated with no small amount of pride.
The scuttlebutt didn’t move, but it did make some sort of sound that sounded pleased. Maybe? I wasn’t fluent in scuttlebutt.
Fidgeting with my phone, I said, “Peaches called me.” I tilted my head in the scuttlebutt’s direction. “He, uh… He said this one seemed fond of you.”
Aurelia grinned. It was such a rare and disturbing sight that I shivered. “She is a very discerning creature.”
