[Relationship] The Rosenhof Residence

[Narrator]

Eager for delicious tiny fish, the bell on his neck gave him away that he was coming, though with caution based off the patterned sound.

Under foot of the bird now, he twirled about with his eyes fixed upon the source of the smell.

"Ppprrrrrmmmeow?" He inquired.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette let out a little shiver as she felt that fluff against her bare leg. What a strange feeling, it was like a feather duster. She lifted a little saucer from the island and crouched down to place it on the floor in front of her, the sardines on display for the hungry feline.

"Oh, and such a lovely voice as well. You really are a special boy."

[Narrator]

He ignored the singing. He didn't exactly understand the babble of humans, but over his short life he had come to recognize certain sounds they made as significant. This thing made none of those, further lending proof it was not a human.

But it had food it wanted to share and he wasn't one to pass up a free meal, clearly. As the bird bent down with the food source he sat back on his haunches, anxious to get a better look at what it wanted to share.

After confirming it to be what he thought it was with his eyes, he barely gave the bird a chance to set it on the ground before digging in.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette took great delight in the ferocity with which the fluffy little monster attacked it's meal, even venturing so much as to gently stroke her fingers down it's back. Oh, she could see why people kept these things, this felt very nice. Different from the few plush animals she had as a child.

[Narrator]

Though skeptical of it at first (evidenced in his body language), he tolerated the bird touching him while eating without complaint. After a minute or so he actually grew to enjoy it.

Once he was done, he licked his chops and began headbutting the bird's hand in what some would think was affectionate, but what he knew to be territory marking.

This bird that brought fish belonged to him and no other cat, just like the boy, and the woman. but not the smaller woman.

The smaller woman was weird.

The bird was weird too but it gave fish so that could be overlooked. Also, by the amount of loose dander collecting on her hand, it seemed the bird could effectively groom.

Bonus. The boy nor the woman seemed capable of that.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Of course Colette mistook the cat's headbutting for affection, which made her pet it all the more thoroughly. Which made her hand almost as fluffy as the hairy little beast.

"Oh my, I thought that Basil left a lot of hair...." With the saucer cleaned of it's contents she picked it up off of the floor with one hand and walked toward the washing machine. Meanwhile in her other hand she balled up her fist, opening it to drop a compact ball of slightly-wet white hair into the trash can before she popped the dish into the washer.

[Narrator]

Contented where he was, he began to clean up his face while the bird ushered away one of the now soiled fancy stones humans ate food on.

What he did not see a need to do was to go somewhere else.

[Colette Rosenhof]

And neither did Colette. When she saw that the cat was still there when she turned around she smiled, and began to go about her regular day. When it was time to take the bus back to the school grounds she'd have to coax it outside, but otherwise the feline was welcome company.

[Basil Benson]

Most of the day went pretty standard and Colette was capable of shooing Dagonet out of the apartment.

Basil acted fairly normal at lunch, but the closer he got to home the quieter he got. By the time he passed the thresh-hold of their home, the cloud over him had returned. He seemed to be trying to be as quiet as possible as he unloaded his things on the table near the stairwell in their living room and when he was done he attempted to slink off somewhere upstairs.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette thought that Basil had been doing better, but with the adrenaline rush of being late having subsided coupled with the emotional labour of a day at work she wasn't completely surprised at Basil's demeanor. Disappointed perhaps, but not surprised.

"Tea?" She called out, not attempting to stop him.

[Basil Benson]

It did, even if it wasn't her intent.

He pulling his cell out of his pocket to look at the time.

"I suppose it's about that time, isn't it?" He replied wistfully, the melancholy heavy in his voice.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"If you'd like, you could take it in the study." Colette was already switching on the electric kettle, her things left slumped beside Basil's own. Symbolism.

[Basil Benson]

Basil didn't respond. Instead, he quietly slipped onto the couch and stretched out along the length of it. He stared at the ceiling with a quesy sort of expression, his hands folded across his chest.

[Colette Rosenhof]

As Basil laid on the couch Colette busied herself in the kitchen. Slowly the sounds of her progress began to filter in. The softly playing music, the subtle clatter of a knife against the edge of a plate. The woman took her time before she eventually approached and placed a round platter on the coffee table. On it sat a few scones (made more moist and buttery than proper British ones but some habits were hard to break) topped with clotted cream and jams, a little pot of creamer. Tea had already been poured into the mug placed before him but the pot was still set on the table all the same, along with her own cup. The pink woman took a seat in wingback chair and quietly poured for herself, adding the cream and sugar to taste before taking it back with her and silently sipping.

[Basil Benson]

Basil noticed she didn't offer to 'play mother', and tried not to read anything into it. She probably thought he wouldn't want her to. He took his mug and laid sprawled across the couch while clutching it to his chest, looking miserable.

He did seem to be tapping his finger against his mug to the beat of the 'chill jazz vibe' she was playing in the background, taking note of the timing.

[Colette Rosenhof]

It was a few minutes before Colette said anything, having taken about half of her tea and a crumpet respectively.

"What kind of cake would you like?"

[Basil Benson]

"Oh kitten..." He sighed

"I'm not hungry at the moment... don't go through that trouble."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Oh no, not for tonight. I am not certain if I want to make anyzing tonight... is is wrong of me zat we have zis huge kitchen and yet I still crave ze cheap microwave ramen on occasion?

"Oh but zat is beside ze point. I want to know what kind of cake you would like for your birzday. Surely by now I am making you sick of apricots."

[Basil Benson]

Basil had completely forgotten that it was only a handful of days until his birthday.

"I... hadn't really thought about it. There's... been a lot of other things on my mind.

Before all this even."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"You do not have to make a decision at zis moment, zere is plenty of time. Unless I have to reserve a location, and zen time is of ze essence."

Colette went back to her tea and snacking before she spoke again.

"Would sorting out some of zese ozer matters help you to zink about it?"

[Basil Benson]

"Oh probably, but I'm not sure that they can be." He observed, still just staring at his mug.

"How do you sort out the matter of daddy issues when you're not even sure who your father is?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

There was a clatter of china and some wet sputtering from over in Colette's chair. An unfortunate side effect of her more convincing human-form imitation abilities was that she was now more subject to their shortcomings. Spittakes, for example. She patted her hand to her chest in her attempts to drink up the tea out of her blouse and into her "skin".

"... pardon?"

[Basil Benson]

"Yes, that was a close approximation when I made the realization too." He stated, sitting up a bit to rest his mug on his chest. He hadn't been looking at her. By now, Colette knew this was Basil's way of getting through a hard to discuss topic.

"In Bubbe's living room, on her cabinet of photographs, there's one with my mother and a very sleek looking man. Do you remember which one I am referring to?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette furrowed her brow in thought. "I... perhaps? Zere were many pictures. Were zey wearing a hat?" She continued to pat her chest, very little of the brown wetness apparent on the white fabric now, nothing that couldn't be taken care of in the wash if her natural absorbency didn't get to it first.

[Basil Benson]

""MMmmhmm. And a common style of sunglasses called 'Wayfarers' which go in and out of fashion.

They're standing next to each other like they're a couple... but that man isn't George Benson.

His name is Edmond Dantes Jules Spencer. His mother must be into 19th century French novelists. I feel like her husband was trying to throw some English poetry influence in with that first name, but I guess I'll never know because he's already dead.

Seems Lord Caldwell Spencer liked them young. He died of a natural death at seventy six, when his wife was just shy of her own forty-fifth birthday."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette thought for a moment. "So, you mozer had a friend? I do not zink zat is so unusual. Spencer, Spencer... why is zat name familiar? Oh, ze novelty store perhaps."

[Basil Benson]

"Sure, if by a friend you mean 'a man who was schtupping another man's wife and may have accidentally on purpose put a baby in her' then yes, my mother had a friend." Basil replied in a detached sort of tone.

"And his name is familiar because if I'm correct in my assessment, other-Jezabelle was schtupping other-me, apparently." He added. After a moment, he let out a wry cackle.

"You know, when Bubbe told me that fraternizing with gentiles would cause my undoing, I didn't really expect that undoing to be coming from everyone not my actual self. Irony is such a fickle mistress. "

[Colette Rosenhof]

It was a little much for Colette to take in at first, so she had to contemplate it.

"Well, she has good taste." Was her first observation.

"I am sorry Basil. I cannot begin to understand what you must be feeling right now."

[Basil Benson]

He rolled onto his side, his mug pressed into his chest partially to keep it from spilling, but also because it was warm and he needed something to hug.

"I would never betray you. Not like that. Never knowingly." He explained, as if he'd already done something wrong.

"I belong to you for however long you'd have me, and only you may utilize me in such a fashion. I am a one woman man."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette smiled softly, leaning in her chair enough to gently stroke Basil's cheek with her fingertips.

"Now you are telling me zings zat I already know."

[Basil Benson]

Basil shut his eyes and allowed Colette to 'pet' his face, sighing slightly in relief from her touch.

"I don't know what to do. Mother admitted I was right, but when I tried to question her where he was now she told me she didn't even know if he was still alive and to stop asking questions or I won't like the consequences."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette let out a deep sigh. "My poor matou... what do you zink? How important is ze truz to you?"

[Basil Benson]

Basil was thinking again, evident in the silence that fell over him, along with his invisibility.

"It's...

I don't know how to explain it. I suspect things feel different when your parents love you. You don't go looking for something to fill the void, even if it's just answers for why they didn't. " Was all he could think to say.

[Colette Rosenhof]

If Colette wasn't teary-eyed before, she was now. "Oh Basil, I am so sorry...."

[Basil Benson]

In an instant, Basil had placed his untouched mug on the table and was on his knees infront of her chair. She would feel the shorn side of his head placed gently in her lap.

"Don't cry, Madame. Please. Not over me."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette gently stroked her fingers through Basil's hair as easily and naturally as if she were able to see him.

"I cannot promise zat Basil. I care for you, you are important to me. How cold would I have to be to not empazize wiz you when you are so distraught?"

[Basil Benson]

Basil was silent for a moment, but Colette would feel his fingers brushing against her calves. A few more moments and she would start to feel the dampness of Basil's own tears on her thighs.

"Well I have an answer for that question but I'm slowly coming around to the realization that it might be related to why I have my face buried in your lap right now." He replied in his sardonic fashion, choking over his words a few times.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette stroked Basil's head in as reassuring a fashion as she could, letting him express himself. "Matou, you know how deeply I care for you, and how much you mean to me. But zere are some zings I cannot be a distraction from forever. If you feel zat you need some closure, zat you want to know ze entire truz... then you must know zat I will support you and be by your side zrough it all."

[Basil Benson]

Meanwhile, Basil's hands found their way to wrapping his arms around her waist, hugging himself closer.

"The only thing I can think of to do is to confront his family about where he's disappeared to... and I don't know if I've that in me."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette leaned forward to return the little embrace, resting her chest against Basil's head in the process.

"I zink zat you are stronger zan you realize. And if zat is not enough... well, perhaps I will go and have a word wiz zem. It would not be ze first time I have made a family gazering awkward wiz my unannounced presence, no?"