The Spotted Tail

“That car is circling, isn’t it?” Paxine said, noticing why her grandma was distracted. “It’s a different color than the last time.”

“Just someone looking for a parking space,” her grandma said, but Paxine didn’t believe her.

“There’s plenty of parking and that’s the second time they circled.”.

Her grandma unwrapped her sandwich. “Can you see with the binoculars?”

Paxine pointed the binoculars up, pretending there was a bird in the trees. The car came around in front at the far end of the park. She dipped the binoculars and just like the last time, found herself staring into the eyes of the man who chased her.

“Grandma, it’s him.” In her excitement, she dropped the binocular and pointed. The car turned and sped away.

“Next time don’t point,” her grandma said, hiding her face with her sandwich. “Take it easy and remember others can lip-read too.”

Paxine put her hand over her mouth. “Sorry grandma. I just got excited.”

A cat jumped down from a tree at the end of the park and ran down the street the car had disappeared.

“There’s another cat.”

Her grandma nodded

“Why do I keep seeing cats?” Paxine hoped she would finally get an answer.

“Because you need one.” Her grandma put her sandwich down. She hadn’t taken a bite.

“What?” Paxine didn’t know what her grandma meant.

“You’re in trouble.” Her grandma looked up as if watching for birds.

“What did I do now and why am I in trouble?” Paxine felt exasperated. What was her grandma meaning?

Her grandma lowered her eyes to meet hers. “The cat you saw at school that warned you of the man, it was gray, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. I sort of thought it was Tinder, but it wasn’t a kitten.”

“Tails can project out their presence during times of danger.”

Paxine shook her head in confusion. Her grandma always referred to her cats as Tails. “Grandma. What do you mean?”

“You are in danger.” Her grandma almost sounded like some character being dramatic on TV.

“Why?” Paxine said in a meek voice. She knew her grandma wasn’t kidding around and it scared her.

“I don’t know.”

That was the first time Paxine had ever heard her grandma say those three words. She always thought her grandma knew everything.

“What do I do?” Paxine had the feeling being in the park was a bad idea.

“Eat your lunch.” Her grandma bit into her sandwich.

“Oh, act normal. Do you think they’ll be back?” She bit into her sandwich, but didn’t feel any better about being out in the open.

“Not the same person. Maybe someone different.” Her grandma spoke behind her sandwich. “Might be a good time to teach you how to be discrete.”

They ate their sandwiches in silence.

Her grandma finished her lunch, putting all her trash into the box. “You do have good instincts, but now you know if you see a cat, you need to be careful.”

“Why can’t I get a cat now? One of those kittens?”

“In time.”

“What time?” Paxine said in exasperation.

“I need to get Tinder trained,” her grandma said, changing the subject.

“Why does Tinder need training?”

“When you play a game, all the players have to agree on the rules, right?”

“Yeah.” Paxine felt some excitement that she was getting an answer.

“Well, Tinder and I are learning the rules and the trainer helps us both understand what the rules need to be.” Her grandma held a napkin to her face.

“But what does that mean?” Paxine took the hint and held the bottled water up to her lips.

“If I point at something, what do you do?”

“Look.”

“Exactly. Well, I need Tinder to realize that when I point, she needs to look, and what the reason is for looking.”

“Okay, but why?”

“Tinder is always with me. She needs to understand what she can and can’t do, especially in public.”

“Why do you take her everywhere?”

Her grandma laughed. “It’s hard to explain until you experience it yourself. You will have to wait.”

“How long?” Paxine said with a moan.

“As long as necessary. Done with lunch?” Her grandma rose.

“Just my water and my cookie. I can eat them in the office.”

The lady with the stroller, who had seen the Waterer, was crossing the street over to the park.

“I wonder if she’s still looking for her robot.”

Paxine giggled.

“Let’s not find out. And remember not to trust everyone.” Her grandma rose.

“I can’t see her as a spy,” Paxine said, gathering up her trash.

“Those are the best kind.” Her grandma led her not toward her office, but to the cleared area on the other side of the park. She tossed out her cube.

“Where we going?”

“Learning to be discrete means, not letting anyone know where you are going.”

Paxine didn’t understand, entering the cube. The lady didn’t seem to have seen them, still looking around bushes as she pushed her stroller.

The cube door opened, revealing her grandma’s office.

“Oh, we didn’t want them to know where we were going.” She felt a little frustrated that she hadn’t gotten what her grandma meant.

“Exactly. Hey Greta. Paxine will be here for a while.”

“Hi Paxine. Like lunch?” Greta was sitting at her desk.

“The best.” She patted her stomach.

“News of Patricia?” Her grandma headed into her office.

“The lady with the expensive shoes?” Paxine checked out the window to see what the lady with the stroller was doing and to see if the car returned.

“Yes, the lady with the expensive shoes. The one and only,” her grandma said.

“She is doing well. Everything seems to be under control.” Greta said.

The lady with the stroller was at the fountain, looking like she was picking money out of the water.

A large delivery van pulled up, blocking Paxine’s view of the park.

“Delivery truck. Looks like they are coming here,” Paxine said.

“Paxine, come on over here.” Greta danced over to take her arm and puled her toward her desk.

“Delivery,” Greta said into her grandma’s office, but her voice sounded too sweet.

Paxine felt as suspicious as when her parents were hiding something from her.

“I’m on the phone.” Her grandma sounded irritated.

“Crate,” Greta said, as if that explained everything, but only confused Paxine more. “This is our conference room.” She ushering Paxine in and shutting the door.

Paxine wondered how anyone could understand Greta when she only spoke a single word, but the sound of her grandma out in the waiting area told her that the word had been enough.

“Wait right here. You can draw on the white board, here are some markers.” Greta left.

Markers? Draw on the board? What was she, a kid?

Her grandma and Greta sounded excited. Why wasn’t she allowed to see the delivery? So no one knew she was there? Or so she didn’t see what was delivered?

She moved to the door, pushing it open a crack. The door didn’t open far, something was blocking it. She thought she could see part of a pink watering can. No six-legged stool was going to keep her trapped in a room. She pushed harder, but the door didn’t budge.

“I’ll make the facilities ready and call the trainer,” Greta said, her voice coming down the hall.

“Excellent,” her grandma said. The door to her grandma’s office shut.

Ding.

A cube?

“Hi Greta.”

Her mom was here?

“How’s the house business?” her grandma said.

Her mom must have made a face.

“That bad, huh,” her grandma said.

“They’re going to refund half the cost, but that doesn’t do much for all the time it’s going to take sorting through the mess. At least with boxes, you can set them aside and do later, but they dumped all the boxes. Not a box in the house, and stuff blocking doorways,” her mom said with irritation.

“I have Paxine’s birthday present,” her grandma said.

Her birthday present? Was that what was in the crate? She pushed harder against the door, but the Waterer wasn’t budging.

“Paxine is going to be twelve. She needs to have one,” her grandma said.

One what?

“That’s not going to be fun. And Doug,” her mom said.

What wasn’t fun about a birthday present and what about her dad? A Room? She was getting a Room? That wouldn’t go well with her dad or her mom.

“Just blame it all on me. It’s that simple,” her grandma said.

It had to be a Room. She could play her games for hours.

“Hard to give up a gift once it’s given,” her grandma said.

You never gave up a gift. Why would she?

“Trained?” her mom said.

“No, but well started. She is going to have to be in on some of the training,” her grandma said.

Training?

“You coming to dinner on Sunday?” her mom said.

“Of course I’ll be over for dinner on Sunday. I need to see your lovely new house. Do you think you’ll have it organized by then,” her grandma said with a laugh.

“No, but feel free to help.”

The Waterer moved, heading down the hall, allowing Paxine to open the door.

“Hi mom.” She tried not to look rushed when she came down the hall.

“What is that?” Her mom eyed the Waterer.

“Waterer. Takes care of the plants,” her grandma said in explanation.

“Is it fixed yet.” Paxine watched it head for a plant.

“We’ll see.”

The Waterer tiptoed up to the first plant and tipped its watering can. Water flowed, giving the plants a long needed drink.

“Yep. It’s fixed.” She wondered if she could ask why she got locked in the conference room.

“I thought I was going to have to water them myself,” her grandma said, pretending to exaggerate the task.

“Well, let’s go, Paxine. We’ve got lots of work to do.” Her mom stepped back into the cube.

Her grandma winked at her and waved goodbye.

Paxine thought the day would never arrive. She ran to the living room to make sure it was really happening. Today was her twelfth birthday, and her dad’s gift to her was a Room for the day. She loved electronic games, especially her virtual reality games.

Kirt, her dad’s security advisor stood in the living room tapping on a box to finish the programming that changed their dining room into a Room.

“Are ya done yet?” she said.

Kirt ignored her.

Paxine glared at him. Above her head were balloons and ribbons, and on the counter was her cake, but she could care less about them. She wanted Kirt to hurry up and finish the Room setup. He seemed to be taking his time. She thought about cursing him in Spanish since he only knew English, but she didn’t want her dad to hear. The only thing she could do was glare.

Kirt tapped the box one last time. “Finished, sir. It’s good till 6P.M,”

“Thanks,” her dad said with a nod. “All your’s Paxy.”

Paxine was glad she hadn’t curse. Her dad had been standing behind her the whole time. She rushed into the Room to setup her game.

“This is a big security risk, young lady,” her dad said, signing some papers for Kirt.

“I know Dad, but this is the best present ever, to have a Room for playing games all day.”

She slid on her virtual reality goggles, turning on the system to test everything worked. In a couple of hours, her friends from school were coming.

“Your guests are here,” her mom said, tapping on her shoulder.

“What? Already? They’re early,” she said, expecting her mom to say she was joking.

“No right on time. You’ve been in there for two hours.”

“Virtual reality. Cool,” Marcus said, nodding with approval at the room setup. He handed a box with Happy Birthday wrapping and a red bow to her mom. A bag with goggles and gloves hung from his arm.

“Whoa.” Paulie tossed his present on the table, following Marcus, who handed him gloves and goggles.

“Cool.” Mia handed over her gift, then slapped hands and tapped elbows in greeting with Paxine. She had her long brown hair braided with ribbons. She also had a bag with goggles and gloves.

“Thank you, Mrs. Cushing,” said Alice as she politely handed over her gift. The curls in her red-blonde hair bounced as if she wasn’t used to them. Then she lunged after Mia to get her goggles.

Her mom juggled the presents onto the kitchen table, catching one before it hit the floor. Paxine wasn’t concerned, shutting the door. The center of the room was clear with everything pushed against the wall.

“Mom wasn’t thrilled with her newly arranged dining room being rearranged for my party,” she said.

Paulie laughed. “My mom thinks we’re playing stupid party games like pin the tail on the donkey.”

“You got the disc, Marcus?” She opened the game box.

“One Emersion de Resistance,” he said, slipping in the disc.

“I’ve got five other games to play when the two hours are up,” she said.

For some reason only known to the creators, Emersion de Resistance could only be played for two straight hours before the game would end. Perhaps because it was an exhausting game.

“Ready. Set,” Mia said, her hands in the air.

Clap.

The view in Paxine’s goggles changed from the dining room to a cityscape. The avatars of her friends stood nearby. Marcus looked like a hulking monster. Mia was a gun-slinging cowgirl in a short skirt. Alice liked being a macho guy type with black streaked under his eyes. Paxine chose a Kung foo character.

This game was different from all her games where everyone played against each other. This game required you to cooperate and work together. You played against an unknown enemy that you identified and neutralized. No one died. Most weapons stunned or weakened the enemy. There were always allies to identify and incorporate into your strategy. This was a thinking game. Marcus was their leader.

“This way,” he said. “Let’s get undercover.”

They knew this part of the game even though it changed every time. There were weapons to get. Allies to find. Fuel and supplies to the enemy to stop.

“I thought there was a party today?”

What? Oh, her grandma’s voice coming from the kitchen.

“Watch it Paxine,” Paulie said, pushing her avatar away from a truck racing around a corner.

“In the Room,” her mom said, but that was all Paxine caught.

The game ended.

“Whoa. That was the furthest we’ve ever gotten,” Paulie said.

“I can’t believe that was only two hours. Felt like we just started,” Mia said.

“We reached the point that next time, we won’t have to waste time on weapon retrieval,” Marcus said. “We just might make it to the next level.”

“So what’s next?” Mia said.

“How about Virtual Back Ally Racing?” Paxine said, pulling out the disc.

“My fave,” Alice said in a deep voice, mimicking her macho avatar guy.

Marcus changed discs.

Paxine’s character jumped into her virtual car.

“I miss the noise of her previous parties. Now all they want to do is play in The Room. Well, they have fifteen more minutes.”

Her mom again. Did she say fifteen minutes? Time for one race. She revved her engine. The starting dude dropped his flag and she hit the accelerator.

“Cake and ice cream haven’t even been touched. Although, I think they would rather starve than quit playing,” her mom said.

Paxine tried to block out her voice while she took the first corner She was behind Paulie. He was good at this game.

“And open gifts,” her grandma said, breaking Paxine’s concentration and she skidded past a turn. She spun the car around in a full circle to get back on track.

“Oh, dear. I forgot to warn Doug,” her mom said, sounding worried.

Her dad? Why did her mom have to warn her dad? She knew her dad was upstairs on a conference call. That always annoyed her in the past, but today it didn’t. She had the Room.

“I think it’s time,” her mom said.

Paxine passed Mia, gaining on Paulie. The finish flag was coming. They were on the fast stretch. She hit her jet propulsion button.

The game ended. The dining room lights turned on.

“Awe Mom,” Paxine said with a moan.

“Time to fuel up your engines. There is cake and presents to be dealt with. Your grandma is here.”

“But I almost had him,” she said, giving Paulie a glare.

“No way. I was already in jet mode,” Paulie said, removing his goggles.

“I was on your tail,” Mia said, tossing her gloves onto a chair.

“I guess a little cake won’t hurt,” Marcus said.

“Let’s hurry,” Paxine said, thinking they could bolt down ice cream and cake and get back to the games. “Hi, grandma…”

A strange sensation filled Paxine. Caution? Hope? Pinch me because I’m dreaming? The gift bag by her grandma’s chair had a furry head sticking out of it. She dropped to her knees. Could it be? The whacky tail kitten? The kitten hopped out of the bag and his tail whacked it away. He spun around as if someone was trying to sneak up behind him. Only to spin around again at her touch. He was real. His coat was silky and it glittered. He had black rosettes with dark chocolate brown centers. His big yellow eyes met hers.