Page 20 of A Mate For Matrix
Jana warily picked up Honeybun, keeping an eye on the other two kittens as they played with one of the cat toys she’d bought for them. She cuddled Honeybun against her and stared at Herman Marker with a frown.
Can this guy get any fuglier? she wondered.
“I do alright,” she muttered. “Is there a reason for your visit? I paid the rent last week and haven’t been late.”
Herman scraped the plate and licked his fork clean before setting it on the table. He picked up the glass and drank almost half of the water before he finally set it down. Jana was about to scream when he picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. She wondered if he would need to use the bathroom and take a nap before he answered her.
“I was thinking…” he finally began.
Jana’s mind immediately went into overdrive. Those three words had warning bells ringing like the church bells on Sunday morning. She warily sat back and stroked Honeybun while she waited for him to continue.
“About…?” she grudgingly asked.
Herman sat forward and placed his elbows on the table. Jana wished she could push her chair further back, but it was up against the wall, so she was stuck. Instead, she continued to stroke the kitten and hoped this wouldn’t get as bad as she thought it would.
“My wife has been dead three months, and I miss the company of having a woman around. I’m still a relatively young man. I just turned sixty-six. I think we would be a good fit,” Herman stated.
“A good fit? I’m twenty-four,” Jana said with a wrinkled nose. “Don’t you think you should look for someone closer to your own age?”
“No, no. Think about it, Jana. I have a little money saved up, and my kids are grown. Hell, my youngest is older than you!” He laughed for a moment before he drew in a deep breath and leaned back. “This could be a good chance for you. You’d have a place to live rent-free. I could come over a few nights a week. You could fix me some of this fine food and we can enjoy each other’s company.”
Jana knew her mouth was hanging open. It had to be. For a second, she was speechless as her mind replayed what he’d just said. The disbelief soon turned into outrage. He thought she would just jump at his offer of free rent for this crappy place that was falling apart in exchange for feeding him and….
“Are you saying what I think you are saying?” she asked, placing Honeybun on the floor and rising to her feet. “You think I would be interested in feeding you and… and… and….” Her voice faded.
“A man has needs, Jana,” Herman stated, rising to his feet as well. “Mary always used to say if you lost a few pounds, you could find a man who would be interested in you. I’m willing to ignore the fact that you are overweight. You obviously have an eating disorder if you name your pets after food.”
Jana’s mouth snapped shut, and she slowly counted to ten, curling each of her fingers until two tight fists formed. Only when she felt some measure of self-restraint did she speak again. The low, hissing breath she took should have been his first warning that she was royally pissed off.
“Get out,” Jana ordered in a barely audible voice.
Herman grimaced, but didn’t move. “It’s the truth. I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but someone should have told you a long time ago. I’m willing to ignore it. Think of how much you would save each month on rent. I’ll even throw in Mary’s car. It is in better shape than that thing you drive.”
“GET OUT!” Jana shouted, her fury vibrating the walls as she pointed towards the front door. “I would sleep in my old car before I’d ever sleep with a slimebag like you. According to the law, this is my house until next month’s rent is due. I won’t tell you again.”
Herman’s eyes flashed with anger. “You can consider this your eviction notice then,” he said, turning on his heel. He stumbled when one kitten ran in front of him. “I swear that looks like one of those damn kittens I put in a pillowcase and tossed in the trash.”
“You put them in the trash?!” Jana demanded in a harsh whisper.
Herman grunted as he turned to frown down at her. “Of course. They were a nuisance. I poisoned the mother—” Jana gasped in horror, “but she had already had seven damn kittens.” He looked at her with irritation. “I put them in one of our old pillowcases and threw it out. One of the garbage men must have found it and dropped it off at Wilson’s office,” he grumbled. “I hate animals.”
Jana had never been so angry in her life. She turned and reached for the fly swatter hanging from the hook by the back door. Gripping it, she turned back to Herman and waved it at him menacingly.
“Get out of my house,” she hissed. “Don’t you ever, EVER, talk to me again. If you do, I swear I will tell every old biddy within a thousand-mile radius what a horrible, horrible ass you are! Do you understand me?”
Herman’s lips tightened, and he took a step toward her. Jana didn’t stop to think. She didn’t want to. She wanted to beat the crap out of Herman Marker, then pick him up, and do it all over again. Instead, she started smacking him with the fly swatter.
“Ouch! That hurt!” Herman exclaimed, stepping backwards in surprise. “Stop that!”
“Never!” Jana growled, hitting him again. “Out! Out! Out!”
Jana followed Herman, smacking him anywhere she could reach until he was forced through the front door. They were almost to the edge of the porch when Herman turned and grabbed the fly swatter out of her hand. He raised it to strike her. A flash of blue fur sent him careening backwards off the porch and onto his back on the hard ground.
“What… What the hell is that?!” he choked out, terrified.
“Meet my newest pet, Linguine!” Jana growled, rubbing in her use of food names. “He’s named after one of my favorite foods. He’s big. He’s mean….”
“And he loves to rip out the throats of those he does not like,” Matrix added, stopping next to Herman where he lay on the ground.
