“She’s a miserable shrew who hates me and works to make my life miserable. And that’s when she’s there. For two thirds of the year she’s not, and gods only know what or who she’s doing.”

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to marry her?”

“Have you ever made a mistake? She’s mine. The only problem is that I’m stuck with her, forever. And you have no idea how long that is.”

“Can you see why I’m concerned for you? You’re obviously depressed, I don’t think you have many healthy inter-personal relationships, and you obsess over your cat.”

“My cat is the only one who understands me. She never judges me for what I do, or where I live. She’s always happy to see me. She never harps about how I’m the oldest, how I should rule where I want.”

“Don’t you have a dog? Does he get along with your cat?”

I nodded. “Cerberus. He’s more of a working dog. I give him a job and he does it, tirelessly for eons. He’s a good boy. I love him too, but it’s not the same.”

“Let’s get back to the girl from college.”

“Why? What’s the point?”

“The point is that you’re transferring the feelings you have for her onto your cat and maybe what you really want is to show Bastet how you feel.”

“Maybe.” I sulked.

“Well, is there any way you could contact her?”

“Hmm…I don’t know. Trans-dimensional, trans-religious crossovers can be kind of tricky.”

“Do you know anyone who knows her?”

“I used to be close with her uncle. We worked in the same field. We’d talk or maybe hang out if we saw each other at a convention.”

“Could you ask him to get in touch with her?”

I frowned. “Probably not. He got into some trouble with his people. Overthrew his brother and sister, probably where my wife gets the idea, and then took their place. Then he got overthrown by his nephew. He tried to go back to his old job, but his brother had taken his place. Come to think of it, I don’t know what Seth is doing these days.”

“Could you talk to his brother? The one who replaced him?”

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