Gary leaned his head against the side of his couch as he patiently watched his soap opera on the living room television. He said,

“Oh, amazing! This is incredible. This is so much drama! Aggie, are you watching this?”

The white cat glanced up toward him from the hardwood floor, while Gary glanced back up toward the screen. It was all he could think about. “This is brilliant!” he said as he watched the show. The cat’s eyes widened as she stared up at the television set. With a twinkle in her eye, she turned to look at Gary. “You’ve gotta have seen this! You’ve gotta have seen this!” Gary sighed as he watched his soap opera the moment it was over. He stood up in a heap, looking at the screen. The white cat suddenly turned around and scampered into the kitchen.

“Where the hell did you go?” Gary asked.

The white cat responded by jumping onto the countertop and stared at the empty pizza box. She put her paws up on the edge of the counter, and she pressed her face up to the box. The other Gary peeked out at her from the box. Then she glanced up toward Gary, and she gave him a wink. She stared at Gary as she brought her face closer to the box, as if she were smelling something. She licked her lips, and then she turned to the side and licked her paw. Gary tilted his head as he scratched his chin.

“Aggie. What are you doing?”

The cat stared at him with wide eyes. She bit her lip with her teeth as she meowed quietly to herself. Aggie pulled her paw away from her mouth and she rubbed it against the edge of her whiskers. She stared at Gary as she glanced down at the pizza box once again. She licked her lips once more, and she uttered one last meow before turning around and leaping down from the counter.

“What the hell is your problem?” Gary asked.

Gary watched as the cat ran down the hallway, down the stairs, and out of the front door of the house. She raced down the driveway before dashing across the street, and she bounded into a neighbor’s yard. Gary sighed. He slouched back against the couch, and he stared blankly at the wall. He mumbled,

“That guy just doesn’t get it.”

It took some time for Gary to regain his composure. It was several days before he could return to his normal state. When he did, however, he could not help but chuckle as he glanced back at the window, where Aggie sat gazing up at him from the sill. Gary chuckled to himself as he remembered the conversation they had shared. He mused aloud,

“Oh man. How am I supposed to get my money now?”

His phone buzzed in his hands. He picked up the device and looked at the name displayed above the caller ID. He grumbled to himself as he answered the call.

“Hello?” Gary growled.

The other Gary replied,

“Hey man! I just wanted to let you know that they’re here!”

Gary asked,

“What do you mean? Who?”

“The soap opera — I’ll call you back – “

The signal died out between the two underneath the sound of a few voices cheering. Gary muttered,

“Shit!”

Gary hurried outside, stumbling into his driveway, and he spotted the man marching toward his house, dressed in a suit, carrying a briefcase in his hand. Another man, who wore a long trench coat and held a briefcase in his hand, accompanied him. Both men approached his car. Gary looked back toward the window, and he saw that Aggie had crept back into the house. He left the phone off the hook before dialing a new number, and he murmured to the voice at the other end of the line. An unexpected voice picked up at the other end of the line:

“Gary! Come inside, quickly!”

It was Leonard, one man from his soap operas. Gary gasped, and he turned around rapidly, and he ran back inside his home. There, he slammed the front door behind him, and he stared at the mass of people standing around his home: Leonard was sitting on his couch with a phone in his hand, Monica leaned against the kitchen counter, and Devonté stood at the end of the hall. Gary’s eyes lit up as he glanced between them.

“Is it done?” Gary asked.

Leonard replied,

“Yeah. You should have it by now. It’s finished.”

Gary nodded vigorously as he snatched the phone from Leonard and dialed the number that he had received earlier. He waited impatiently on the line for someone to pick up. After what seemed like an eternity, the line rang once again. Gary snapped the phone open, and he heard a familiar voice say,

“Hello?”

It was the voice of the man who had given him the skin. Gary grinned. He said,

“Hey, Cervantes. It’s Gary!”

Cervantes responded,

“Gary? Thank you! Thank you so much! I love it! It’s perfect! I’m gonna wear it every day!”

Gary laughed.

“Don’t be too excited, buddy. I need you to come to the shop right now. Come down here so we can talk. I want to give you something.”

Gary held the receiver away from his ear. He said,

“Come to the shop? What do you mean? Where is the shop? I can’t hear you, man. We’re on the phone.”

There was a pause before Cervantes spoke up again.

“It’s over by the hospital. I’ve got to go now. Bye!”

Gary shrugged. He said,

“Fine. Fine! I’ll see you soon then.” He hung the phone up.

“Alright. Now we’re talking,” Gary muttered before taking a deep breath. He walked toward the door and opened it. He stepped outside of his home, making his way toward the car parked at the curb. The two well-dressed men were nowhere to be seen. As he passed the front lawn, he glanced down toward Aggie. She stared at him, and she walked toward the front lawn. She crouched down — she walked toward him. Aggie stared up at him with wide eyes. She reached out toward him, and she rubbed up against his legs. He bent down to scoop her up, and he carried her inside the house.

Gary walked toward the living room. He set Aggie down gently on the floor, and she stared up at him. Gary made his way to the closet, where his clothes hung, and he grabbed his wallet. He went over to a drawer in the table near the window, where he kept his keys and his cell phone. Gary reached inside the drawer and removed his keys as well as his key chain from their hiding spots. He turned around toward the living room door. He closed it behind him as he walked through the doorway. Gary glanced down toward Aggie, who stood beside the couch. She looked up at him with a smile. He walked toward her, and he sat down next to her. Gary placed his wallet on the floor, and he reached inside to grab the key chain. He lifted it up and attached his key ring. Aggie gazed up at him with wide eyes.

“Are you ready?” Gary asked.

She nodded. Gary stood up. The man looked down at the window. He opened it, and he climbed out onto the roof of his home. The man looked down toward the ground below, and he ran down the ladder that he had lowered up to the edge of his home. He leapt off of the edge, and he landed softly on the soft earth. Gary jogged to the car parked at the curb, and he unlocked the doors. He hopped inside the vehicle and he looked up toward Aggie. She stared up at him with a smile, and she meowed loudly. Gary smiled back as he slammed the door shut and drove off.

Gary drove down the road as fast as he could without breaking the law. He was driving recklessly, weaving in and out of traffic — he continued to speed down the street until he came to a stop at a red light. Gary looked back toward Aggie and he glanced at her while he waited for the light to turn green. He mumbled, “I don’t know why I’m even doing this.”

He pushed on the gas pedal when the light turned green, and he sped off down the street once more. He didn’t slow down until he noticed a police officer approaching from behind him. Gary turned around to look at him, and he slowed down. The cop motioned for him to pull over to the side of the road. Gary sighed. He pulled his car over onto the shoulder of the road, and he stopped as the lights flashed behind him. The cop emerged from his patrol car and he approached Gary’s vehicle. Gary rolled down the window as the policeman got closer to his car. Gary said,

“Hi there. I was just heading to work.”

The policeman nodded. He said,

“Yes. You were driving well over the speed limit.”

Gary frowned, and he looked ahead toward the road. He said,

“I was just going to work. I’ve got a meeting to attend today.”

The policeman nodded. He pointed toward the sky as he spoke. “You know that you’re not allowed to drive faster than forty miles per hour, do you?” Gary shook his head. He said,

“No, I don’t. Is there any way that I could have gotten pulled over?”

The policeman said,

“That’s alright. Just keep your speed down, and everything will be fine.”

Gary nodded. He looked forward toward the road once more. He said,

“Okay. Thanks.”

As the policeman returned to his car, Gary sped off down the street once more. He looked out of his window and he smiled. He thought to himself,

“I don’t think that I’ll ever understand cops.”

Gary drove down the road for some time before he finally arrived at his destination. He parked his car in front of the building where he worked, and he climbed out of the vehicle — Gary crossed the street toward the entrance of the shop, and he stepped inside the building. He turned to glance back toward the door, and he smiled at Aggie as she remained seated by the window. She looked up at him, and she meowed softly. Gary chuckled as he entered the shop.

Inside the shop, he walked toward the counter, where Monica was waiting. She smiled as she greeted him, saying,

“Good morning, Gary! How was your night?”

He chuckled as he replied,

“It was fine. Thanks for asking.”

Monica smiled as she said,

“Well, I hope it was better than the other day.”

He looked around the shop. He saw the man who had spoken to him on the phone earlier, sitting on a stool next to a large vat of liquid soap. Gary walked over toward him, and he said,

“You must be Cervantes. You called me yesterday.”

Cervantes nodded, and he replied,

“Yeah. I just wanted to thank you again for the skin.”

Gary smiled as he replied,

“Thanks. You’re welcome.”

Cervantes said,

“Did you get it? Did you see it yet?”

Gary looked back at Aggie. He said,

“Yeah. I did. I’m really glad that you gave me such a magnificent gift.”

Cervantes exclaimed,

“Thank you! I’m glad that you like it!”

Gary said,

“I will tell everyone about it. So many people are interested in seeing it.”

Cervantes looked at him curiously as he said,

“Do you mind if I ask what it looks like?”

Gary shook his head as he replied,

“Not at all. Go ahead. I’d love to show you.”

Gary led Cervantes to the back of the storeroom, where he showed him the skin he had received. They walked past several rows of shelves filled with different soaps, and they reached the back corner of the shop. Gary placed his hands on the wall as he leaned against it, and he motioned for Cervantes to stand in front of him. He pointed up at the skin, and he said,

“This is the skin that I found.”

Godfrey chuckled,

“Thank you so much for the skin, Gary! I really do appreciate it!”

Sweat poured down Gary’s face as he turned back toward the man he believed to be Cervantes. Gary’s eyes jutted open. He glanced around himself – his breathing was heavy. He clutched his chest. He was in his home, laying down on his couch. On the coffee table just beside the couch, his phone began to buzz. Gary did not pick up the phone. Behind him, standing on the back of the couch, Aggie let out a quiet meow.