The Universe's Mixer

Jen sat on the couch, curled up with a book that she'd found in the library. She'd gone with non-fiction, because after the whole Hannibal Lecter thing, she hadn't wanted to peer into any lives that she might run into in the future, or find out about anybody she already knew. So she was reading about different kinds of butterflies and their growth cycles.

Long ago, she'd installed a button outside that Jake could push to get in if he went out. There was a matching one on this side of the door, too. It read Jake's paw print and wouldn't let anybody else in by that route. How it worked, she had no idea. But the guy at the housewears store had told her about it when she'd gone to find a cat door. It just seemed wrong to have a cat as smart as Jake cooped up in the house all the time with no way to get out. And she couldn't - as an officer of the law - just leave the door open.

So she wasn't at all surprised when the door swung open wide enough to allow the cat in. She just turned from her book, smiling.

"Hi Jake."