Trish's Halo

Trish’s Halo.                                By Anne Packingham

 Trisha was standing in front of her cottage when Andy arrived home from a night of clubbing. He was alone, as happened most of the time. His friends said he wasn’t aggressive enough with the ladies. He was Too laid back.

     Andy was a nice-looking guy but had an excellent relationship with work, which made him successful. Successful at work. He didn’t translate that, get it done and do it right attitude to his social life.

      He got out and walked the pathway leading to his and Trish’s Cottage apartments. Ahh, yes, quiet Trish and her Cat. He always thought she was a cute girl but closed off.  There was no more than a hello between them. 

    Everyone in the neighborhood knew and liked Trish, but her odd connection with her cat had stirred up some fun fantasy tales from the neighbors and neighborhood kids. They often referred to Halo as her familiar. A familiar was what witches often referred to their cats as.

    Andy always smiled at the weird tales; Trish would make one heck of a fetching witch on her broom at midnight. But he suspected her most mysterious spell was based around the care and feeding of her cat Halo.

    As he approached, he saw she was wringing her hands.  “Hey, you okay, Trish?” She nodded yes but didn’t stop wringing her hands together.  He looked her up and down. She was wearing these little cotton midriff jammies with short shorts. 

    He stopped and turned back to her. “Ugh, I know it’s warm and all, but if you are going out, maybe a few more clothes?” 

     She turned to him and looked at him with almost pleading eyes. “Have you seen my cat Halo? She always comes home in a few hours if she gets out. I haven’t seen her all night.”

 Andy mouthed a big Ohhhh. This explained a lot. The cat lady’s other half was missing. ‘Good God,’ he wondered, ‘what trauma was racing through her cat-loving brain?’

     He glanced around, and a very Suttle movement caught his eye. He glanced at the branch over his head.  He cleared his throat and asked. “ugh, five pounds? Orange with white patches?” She looked hopeful and desperate as she nodded affirmation. “Look up, Trish; Halo is playing a tease game.”

     Trish saw the cat, and she released a huge sigh, and then came the tears. Good god, the girl was crying because she had found the little devil. His heart did melt a little for Trish.

    The next thing Andy knew, he had his arms full of a crying Trish; she hugged him passionately. ‘Thank you, thank you. I was so scared.” She then grabbed his face and kissed him, taking his breath away.

     Her tongue darted into his mouth, and for a moment, he froze, and then he let the empty months of solitude melt into her gratitude and felt her fingers in his hair. She was tight against his chest, and he had to put his arms around her back; there was no way not to take that in completely. 

    He felt her legs wrapped around his waist, and he was feeling this girl’s massive relief. She had honestly thought the cat was gone for good or something to that effect. He let his hand dip into her long brown hair and kissed her back, tasting and exploring her.

     As they approached her open cottage door, the Cat was already there crying to get in. He watched her slide from his arms as she opened the heavy metal security screen. He felt the moment deflate, but he was wrong; she snatched his wrist and pulled him in. She resumed the passionate kissing and desire of a woman who had somehow recovered the last thing she had to lose. 

     She guided him into her room and pushed him onto the bed. She undressed him in the same blind release of relief. Her fingers seemed wizards at his buttons, and his belt slipped free of the loops on his pants with no hesitance.

     Surprised at the quick disappearance of his clothing, he had not realized that she was also now naked. She crawled onto his body which was more than willing to be used. He grabbed her hips and tried at the very least to pause her, “I don’t have; I mean, I am, ugh, No condom.” He exhaled his disappointment.

    She kissed him deeply. “I am on the pill; let me have this!”

      It was the last thing he imagined a girl would say to him. He pulled her face to his and kissed her deeply, tasting her sweet breath. He willingly lost himself in the pleasure of this extreme passion. His mind was so consumed by their need that he could not even wonder what was happening. “Oh God, so good, baby,” he murmured. she smiled and nodded yes. ‘God, did women do this stuff?’ He thought somewhere in his sex-fogged brain. Weren’t women supposed to say no till you broke them with some magic combination of guilt and pleasure?

As they reached their height of passion, Andy clung tightly to Trish.     He cried out as he fed her his essence, and she did not let go of him quickly but finally released and rolled off his body. He rolled toward her and pulled her into his arms. “My God, you are like no one I have ever met.”

     She smiled. “You were incredibly kind to me tonight. Without my Cat, Halo, I am lost.”

    He laughed. “Then we must ensure Little Halo is never gone from here.” 

    She laughed and nodded yes. 

He looked at her curiously. “Is there anything else you are so passionate about not losing or misplacing?” She had the cutest little look on her face as she pondered his question.

 She thought for a long time and pulled her keys from the nightstand. He snatched them from her hand and tossed them out the window. She looked shocked as she saw them sail through the window past Halo.

    Andy laughed. “don’t worry, I intend to find them for you. And anything else you may lose.”  

    Halo sat on the dresser by the window. The little orange ball of fur had completed a busy night’s work. Andy lay next to his new love and stared at the cat, wondering if it was all just happenstance or if that Cat was more magical than they would ever know.