Page 70 of On A Rift's Edge
George and Winkie stopped dead at the sight of Flutterberry, who was lapping up a bowl of goat milk as Snow and his phoenix girlfriend took turns hopping on her back.
“You must be the alien cat who saved my son.” Kat’s mother clutched at her chest for added drama, and Flutterberry lifted her head up from the bowl and preened. “You’re so beautiful!”
“Yes, I am,” Flutterberry agreed. “Greetings, parents of Kat. Welcome to our monstertown.”
Kat next introduced Naomi and Jenny to the Goat Sisters, who could carry on goat-related conversations indefinitely, and then made his escape.
“So far so good.” Kat now had a chance to talk with Lyall alone. “At least for my side. What time is Gremory supposed to arrive?”
“Whenever she feels like it.” Lyall didn’t have to spell out his apprehension over one of his mothers coming to the monstertown, even if it was under a specific truce invitation brokered by the guardians.
Kat now knew that unlike him, Lyall didn’t find talking about his emotions therapeutic. He did like it when Kat acknowledged them, though. “Speaking of mother-son relationships, I need to find Remi and warn him that Giana accepted the truce invitation as well.” He glanced at his new watch, which showed both the time and a pair of vibrating antennae. Bug was quite excited to see Evangeline again. “It’s ten am. There’s no way Remi’s awake. The livestream isn’t supposed to start until noon.”
“I have years of experience getting that little rat’s ass out of bed.” Lyall pressed a kiss to Kat’s cheek. Jenny, who had not-so-subtly been watching their conversation, gave Kat a thumbs up. “You can find Kaveh and make sure he’s not getting cold feet.”
Kat grinned and gave Lyall a kiss back.
Lyall headed off, and Kat started looking around for Kaveh, but his sister Naomi pulled him aside.
“Everything good?” Kat asked, hoping there weren’t problems already. He was nervous about what he and Lyall had planned, but in more of an anticipatory way.
“It’s overwhelming here, but yes.” Naomi squeezed his shoulder. “I wanted to apologize again for how I reacted to Lyall when I first met him. Not to mention introducing you to a mafia boss who kidnapped you.”
“It’s not your fault.” Kat gave his sister a big hug. “You’re not the only one Ari’s conned, and Lyall didn’t exactly come across as friendly when he met you and Jenny. But if you want to make it up to me, I could use your help.”
He spent another several minutes telling Naomi the plan, then walked around the park until he found Kaveh.
Not surprisingly, his friend was hard at work getting everything set up, focusing on preparing outdoor grills for the potluck luncheon. Today was the six-month anniversary of the phantom attacks, and the town council had voted unanimously to mark the occasion with a “Peace Day at the Park” celebration. Invitations had gone out to the staff and any current guests at Moon Star Ranch, along with the various Riftworld clans in the area.
The phantoms hadn’t been invited, although Lyric could make an appearance if they felt like it, since the mysterious phantom fetus had created a mini-hellmouth in the park before. Zale’s petition for asylum in the monstertown was pending approval from the town council, and although the half-kraken had so far done a reasonable job of staying out of trouble, Kat was hoping he would miss the party to spend quality time alone with Lyric.
Speaking of trouble, the Saguaro Rift drakones had also been asked to attend, but only Tarasque had accepted, which meant Kaveh didn’t have to face the matriarch of the adoptive clan he had decided to leave.
On the positive side, a contingent of trash scorpions had sent a message through the guardians that they would attend, so cleaning up after the party should be a breeze.
Kaveh smiled as he caught sight of Kat. “Your parents and sisters are here. I’m so glad they decided to come.”
“I am too.” Kat came over to help his friend lift the bags of mesquite wood. “So, are you ready for this?”
Kaveh chewed at his lower lip, a rare sign of nervousness. “I hope so.” He patted his pocket. “I have it right here, and I have my friends around me for support, so I think I’ll be fine when Remi and I talk later on tonight.”
Kat smiled, mostly to himself. “I have a good feeling about that. Let me help you get the grills set up.”
An hour and a half of work later, Kat’s watch buzzed, and Bug emerged from the surface. It gave a series of excited trills and zoomed off.
Kaveh drew in a deep breath and wiped his forehead. “That would be Giana and Evangeline.”
Sure enough, Giana Gatti had arrived to the monstertown, dressed in a low-cut blouse, flared pants, and a hat the size of a bicycle tire. As Lyall stood with Naomi and Jenny on either side of him, arms folded, Remi and his mother engaged in a tense conversation that broke off when Kat and Kaveh arrived.
“Hello, Kat.” Giana had a knack for making the simplest introduction sound like an illicit invitation. “How nice to see you under more pleasant circumstances. Perhaps you could properly introduce me to the good doctor?”
“Good afternoon.” Kaveh removed his hat and shook Giana’s hand. “Thank you for accepting our invitation, and welcome to Cactus Flower Estates.”
“There’s a shortage of rich men waiting to be bamboozled here, so feel free to leave early.” Remi was usually good at cutting remarks, but he sounded stressed, rather than sarcastic.
Kat gave Naomi a pointed look, and she and Jenny came walking up.
“Hello, Ms. Gatti, I’m Naomi, and this is Jenny.” Naomi gave Giana one of her all-business handshakes, while Jenny made admiring comments about the mafia wife’s outfit. “We’re Kat’s older sisters. We’d like to thank you for helping our brother.”
