“What is that smell? The cat. The litter box. Again? I just emptied it.”
That’s what Laura was thinking as she grabbed the scooper and went to get the offending smell out of her office. The cat, a solid black shadow, sat in the corner observing with satisfaction as his servant took care of his leavings.
As she scooped the poop into a little bag, Laura’s vision blurred. The shit never stops, does it? She thought. It just keeps coming and never stops. She carried the little bag downstairs then out the back door and tossed it in the garbage can.
She stood on the deck and closed her eyes. The wind blew her hair back from her face. She should be back in her office already, working on that project for her boss. The deadline was approaching. The project though, was another kind of shit. Fixing a mess created by those who built the organization before she was ever part of it.
Why? Why continue to do it? What if… She wondered, what if she just stopped? What if she just gave it up? She went back into the house. What would she need to take with her if she left it all behind? She wandered around the house. She didn’t actually need most of the stuff.
She launched into a frenzy of inspired activity. She found her suitcase and filled it with a mixture of clothing. Then she took that out to her minivan. The cat, Felix, would need things. She found the hated litter box, his cat food, toys, and harness. All of that near the front door. Felix watched the activity with interest.
She went to her office and pressed the power button on the computer. It clicked and whirred as it shut down. She grinned. That felt satisfying.
There was a plastic storage tote in the closet full of winter stuff. She picked out one set of things then dumped the rest on the floor. Then she filled the tote with her favorite books and some empty notebooks. A package of pens followed and other random office supplies and stationery. She secured the lid and took that down to the van.
More and more things were neatly packed into the back of the minivan. But not too much, she wanted to have space left. Blankets, pillows, and the air mattress were last. Then she picked up Felix and put him in his carrier, grabbed her purse, locked up the house, and left.
One stop at the bank for a wad of cash and she was on the road. She wasn’t sure what would be next, but she opened the map application on her phone, found the nearest point she had saved as “want to visit,” and started driving.
Thanks for reading! This flash fiction is the result of the November writing prompt from Fictionistas. You can find out more on their Substack!
And, if you’ve enjoyed this, Subscribe to my Substack! There’s more fiction where this came from. I write mostly fantasy and science fiction but I never know what my muses will deliver through me.
Yay! The finished version. I have "hit the road with my cat" envy