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“I can’t keep the cat.”

Her voice falters and she speaks more rap-idly. “Well, I can’t place him if I don’t know where he is. What good does it do? I can’t tell someone to come over to meet the cat and then I can’t find him.”

Alex wonders what happened to all the elaborate cat security checks, the potential owner screening test, and the visits to the home. It doesn’t all seem to work. But he’s in no mood to argue. He’s tired.

“He can stay the night. If you’re not here by the time I leave in the morning, I’m putting him out. I can’t have him in here.”

She demands written instructions on how to use the digital pager. He scribbles down some codes for her so he’ll know if she’s coming or not without having to go to the payphone.

“Call when you’re on your way.”

She finally leaves. It’s past two. Alex puts down some newspapers. Maybe he does prefer to shit in the same spot most of the time. The cat snoozes, comfortable and full.

The cat looks familiar. Alex can’t place him. He knows he’s seen him before. That white fur, the pink around his ears where the skin shows through. That odd head. Then he remembers, years ago on the way home with some friends. It was a Saturday evening, and they were going to have a few drinks, maybe splash in the pool for awhile. Darren’s girlfriend, Samantha, was driving. Darren was an old buddy that Alex met in high school. For the fun of it they often raced when the streets were deserted, and that evening was no exception. Alex had been left behind at a stop light.

Alex had Darren’s sister with him, and Dar-ren and Samantha were ahead of them in her old green VW, but when Alex turned onto the street where he lived, Samantha’s car was in the middle of the road with the driver’s door open and the lights on. There was a full moon that night. Alex stopped and saw that the two were out of the car. Samantha was bawling her eyes out as Darren tried to comfort her. She looked like she might fall down. Alex stopped behind them and got out.

“What happened?” he asked. Samantha wailed something incomprehensible. Darren tried to soothe her. Darren’s sister went to Samantha, and Darren pointed to the curb. A cat lay in the grass, a white cat.

“She ran over the cat,” said Darren. Saman-tha wailed, sucking air as words garbled past her pulsating lower lip. The cat seemed incredibly calm in comparison.

“Is it hurt?” Alex knelt down for a better look. Its chest heaved steadily.

“She ran right over it, both tires. The car bumped in the front and the back,” said Darren. Alex looked at the Volkswagen. Darren knelt down.