"Coffee," I said. "And my head examined." I couldn't help it. I kinda liked her. Her sunny nature was warming up my cold, dead heart.
"Meow." Introduce me.
I looked down at Grumbler. "Really?"
"Meow." I never say things I do not mean.
"Fine. I'll tell her." I pointed at the calico sitting next to my feet. "This is my familiar. Her name is Grumbler."
"Aren't you beautiful, Grumbler!" said Gretchen.
The cat tilted her head. "Meow." You have stated the obvious, but thank you.
"You're welcome," answered Gretchen.
"You can understand her?"
"Of course. It's one of the perks of being the Willowstone fairy grandmother."
How did my morning get so weird? "I should probably feed her," I said in an attempt to extract myself from Gretchen's presence. "She's hungry."
"Me, too," said Gretchen. "I haven't eaten since I got off the bus this morning."
"You took a bus?"
"How else do you expect me to get here?"
"An airplane?"
"I hate airplanes. Worst human invention ever."
