The cat bumped its head against her shoulder insistently, and she shifted gears, coasting down a side street. "Yeah, I love you too, Gruesome. Now, settle down." At last, she pulled over.
Not a bad house. Water stains rose only a foot or so up the yellow walls, she noticed, slamming the door behind her. "Settle down in there," she called to the cat as she squelched up the garden path. Near the porch, inchoate purple and white forms butted through sodden soil, lured out by the flood. Too soon. The frost would wither them, she knew, but now the stalks looked pliant and brave.
"I know you're in there." She pounded on the door. "Don't ask me how I know. I just do. Come on, open up." She pounded again. "I'm not going anywhere until I see you." She glanced back at the jeep. Through the window, the cat stared at her, and she saw the mouth open in that silent cry. "No use pretending you're not home." Finally, she heard the metallic sliding of locks.
He peered at her from behind the chain. A mass of curls hung in a tangle over the bandaged forehead, and blue crescents mottled the flesh below his eyes.
"About time. Aren't you going to invite me in for coffee? Or don't you have water yet? Better still--get cleaned up as best you can, and we'll drive out the highway to the diner. Come on. Cops always know the best places to have breakfast."
"Oh." Tully's face barely focused. "It's you." The effects of medication still showed in his sluggish expression, and his clothes looked like he'd been sleeping in them. "Sorry. I don't want to go out...now." His laugh sounded like he was choking on ice cubes. "Or ever. Please, go away."
"C'mon. We'll sit and talk, listen to each other make plans. Maybe you'll help me figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. Maybe I'll help you." She grinned then, and it made her face feel strange. "C'mon. You can't just hide in there, you know."
He shrugged stiffly. "Why not?"
"Look. No, not at me, idiot. Look out there. The sun is shining. It's all over, and we're what's left. That's all. We survived. Right? So let's go. Time to move on. C'mon now." She tried to smile encouragingly. "Don't be afraid."