Val pulled into his driveway and put the car into park. He made no move to get out. He liked the song that was playing, and he was no rush to go inside, anyway. There was no one to greet him. No one to be excited that he was coming home.
Maybe he should get a dog. Would a dog be happy to share a home with six cats? And an owner who was now travelling more and more for work? Gavin hadn't done much travelling when he was a lowly store manager, but the senior executives in his company had taken a newfound shine to Val, and were sending him here, there and everywhere.
The song ended, and he turned off the ignition. He glanced at the passenger seat and saw his speeding ticket and license still sitting there. He'd ignored them for the past ten days, but today was pay day, so he should probably pay the fine while he was still somewhat flush with cash. He was making an effort to save money this year. He hadn't touched a cent of his raise, but it got tempting to dip into the extra money when unexpected bills arose.
Muffin snuck out from under a bush and wound herself around Val's leg as he tried to make his way to the front door. He cursed the stupid animal under his breath as he unlocked the front door and walked inside.
He glanced at the speeding ticket to see what he owed. Only wait, it wasn't a speeding ticket, it was just a handwritten note.
Aimee will be at Miles' house this coming Saturday. She still talks about you a lot. It might be worth coming along.
p.s. slow down arsehole. You'll kill someone sooner or later
The note had been written ten days ago. The party had already come and gone. Val swore under his breath. Goddamnit. Why had he not looked at the paper Oliver had given him? He could have just shown up to Mile's house, 'accidentally' run into Aimee, and possibly explained himself to her. Apologised. Asked her to forgive him for treating her like she was nothing more than a potential mother for his baby.
Val pulled out his personal phone - the screen was still smashed - and texted Oliver. He apologised for not showing up on Saturday.
Oliver's response came quickly. He must've been awake and off duty.
Val, there's no polite way to say this, and I'd rather you hear it from me. I thought you weren't interested in her. I took her home on Saturday night. Sorry mate.
Took her home for what? Sex? Games? Val took a deep breath. He resisted the urge to peg his phone at the wall. It was a small community. Incestuous was a good way to describe it. Everyone slept with everyone else. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary to have a friend sleep with an ex-partner.
He frowned. The bigger question was; what was Aimee doing at Miles' house? Why had she gone there on her own? Val picked up his phone and asked Oliver that very question.
She wanted to know what it was about
Val put the phone down and walked away. He couldn't deal with that. Not when he'd put so much effort into keeping her ignorant, in the - stupid - belief that she wouldn't be interested. He'd been so scared of frightening her off that he hadn't given any thought as to what she might want.
He kicked his shoes off, went to the bedroom and climbed into bed. Depression was a bitch of a thing to deal with, but it taught him this; he could do a hell of a lot of sleeping if he wanted, and sleep was a bloody good way to avoid dealing with life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aimee parked her car and checked her make-up. She didn't normally wear make-up during the week, but she was wearing it this afternoon. Why? Because irrespective of the fact that they'd broken up several months ago, she wanted to be pretty for Val.
'Excuse me!'
The voice rang out as Aimee was getting out of her car. She locked the door and turned to face the woman who was calling out.
'Did you want me?' Aimee asked.
The woman nodded. She carried a plastic bag. She looked angry. Aimee looked around, wondering what the hell was going on.
'Here,' the woman said, shoving the bag into Aimee's arms. 'Give your goddamn boyfriend his goddamn cat.'
Aimee looked in the bag. She shouldn't have. Pink Panther lay unnaturally still in the bag. There was vomit around his mouth. Aimee gently placed the bag on the ground and felt the feline's soft fur.
'He's already dead,' the woman said. 'The rest will follow.'
The woman stalked back across the street. Aimee wanted to get in her car and run the stupid cow down. How dare she? How fucking dare she?
Without thinking, Aimee picked up a rock and threw it at the woman. The rock connected with her head, and she fell forward. Aimee waited to see if the woman was badly injured. She wasn't. She was, however, furious.
'No, don't you start on me you stupid fucking mole,' Aimee yelled. 'You stay over there, and you keep away from the cats. You come over here, or you touch one of those animals, and I'll fucking kill you. I don't care what birds they kill. I don't care where they shit. If you touch one more goddamn cat, I'll fucking kill you.'
The woman stood, stock still, and stared.
'Fuck you, bitch,' Aimee swore. 'Turn around right now, or I'll call the police.'
Aimee won the stare-down. The other woman walked back to her house, muttering. Aimee watched her head inside and shut the door behind her.
Shaking with rage and adrenalin, Aimee walked up to Valery's door and knocked. His car was parked in the driveway, so she knew he must be home. He didn't answer. She tried knocking again. The result was the same; no answer.
Aimee knelt down at the door and opened the plastic bag. Pink Panther's body was still soft and warm, but there was definitely no heartbeat. How could anyone be so heartless? Pink Panther loved people. He loved killing birds, too, but Aimee had always forgiven him for that small sin.
The door swung open. Valery stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes.
'Val,' she said. 'The woman across the road poisoned Pink Panther.'
Valery look at Aimee, the cat, and the house across the road. He looked confused. Sleepy. He must have been having a nap when she knocked on the door.
He knelt down beside her and touched his cat. 'He's dead.'
She nodded. 'I know. The woman across the road said she poisoned him.'
He stroked the feline's fur reverently. The juxtaposition between his strong hands and the cat's delicate body made her heart skip a beat. She remembered the first time she laid eyes on him. She'd been so intimidated by him. Then he'd smiled, and invited her home, and the next thing she knew she'd fallen wildly in love with an outrageous man who cooked naked, had a horde of cats, and gave outstanding cunnilingus.
She'd loved his smile. Loved the way he smelt, the way he touched her, the way he made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.
Water dripped onto Pink Panther's orange fur. Aimee glanced up, and was shocked to see Valery crying. She'd thought maybe he'd storm across the road to confront the woman. Maybe yell and swear and threaten. She'd never expected him to cry.
'Sorry,' he muttered roughly, picking up the cat. 'It's not a good day. And I try to keep the stupid animals inside, but they always bolt out the door when I try and leave for work.'
She followed him inside his house. It smelt the way she remembered; cat, naphthalene and coffee mixed together. He put Pink Panther on the kitchen table, brushed his hands on his shirt, and asked what she was doing here.
'I wanted to give you the money to have your phone fixed. I'm sorry it's taken so long. Christmas was a nightmare, and I had a bit of time off having the hysterectomy... it was the hospital parking, and takeaway while I was recovering that really cost a lot, actually... sorry. Here it is.'
She reached into her purse, withdrew the cash and held it out. She'd rung a phone repair company a few weeks ago to find out the cost, and had cut every budgeting corner she could to come up with the money.
Valery shook his head. 'I don't want your money. The phone still works.'
'Please take it.'
'No.' He took the cash and shoved it in her handbag. 'Aimee, I know why you looked through my phone. I would have done the same thing. I wasn't angry with you, I was just angry that Linda's bullshit was still causing problems for me.'
She bit her lip. 'Are you sure?'
He nodded. 'Can I get you a coffee? Or do you need to be off?'
