"Hey, kiddos! I'm home! And guess what," Julie said as she kicked the front door closed. "Someone sent me an early birthday present!" She dropped the box on the coffee table, along with her purse and the rest of the mail.
Justin and Nick sniffed excitedly at her from their positions halfway up the cage wall. She laughed. "No way, that's my dinner! Oh, I suppose you can have some. Mind if I cook it first? No? Why, thank you!" The two rats perked up their ears at the rustle of the plastic bag. They crowded into the corner nearest the kitchen, each trying to shove the other out of the way in order to get the first - and best! - piece of the bell pepper their mom was slicing up.
"I'm starving. How about you guys?" Julie glanced into the living room. She frowned and put down the knife. "Hey, where's Brutus? Is he still sleeping?" She walked over to the cage. Brutus was absent from the pre-dinner wrestling match, all right, but the tip of a tail poking out from the bedding in the green plastic igloo they slept in told her that Brutus was indeed still sleeping.
"That boy," she said, shaking her head in mock disappointment. "I swear he wouldn't even wake up if I tossed him across the room. Not that I would do that, of course," she added. "But knowing him, he wouldn't mind a bit."
Julie bopped the pair of furry noses begging for dinner. They nipped at the pepper juice lingering on her fingertips. "Hey!" She snatched her hand away. "How many times do I have to tell you? I am not food!" She tsked at her boys and went back to the kitchen to finish making dinner.
***************
"Brutus, baby, you're really missing out!" Julie called to the narcoleptic rat, who responded by staying narcoleptic. She shrugged. "Your brothers are going to eat your pepper, you know." Justin and Nick munched away at their dinners, both sitting close enough to Brutus' piece to snatch it away quickly, yet sitting far enough away to seem nonchalant about it.
"So, should I open my present?" Julie grabbed the package and plopped down on the ground. It was an average-sized box, one that might have been used to ship a set of mixing bowls. The box was decorated with stickers - balloons, streamers, a birthday cake. A smiley face grinned at Julie from where the return address should have been written. "Hmm. A mystery! Maybe even a secret admirer!"
She ran a scissor blade along the flaps to break the tape. Inside the box was a large plastic container surrounded by packing peanuts. A large envelope was taped to the lid. "Gift first, I think," she said to her inattentive rats.
"What could it be, kiddos? It's cold, so something perishable, obviously. Oh, maybe it's a fruit bouquet, or some chocolate strawberries!" Julie pulled off the lid and frowned. "A rose?" She turned to the rats. "This whole box of ice for just one rose? Boys?" Justin and Nick were fighting over something by the igloo. She shrugged.
The envelope was plain white, unadorned by writing or birthday stickers. She tore open the flap and pulled out a sheet of printer paper.
You are so beautiful when you are sleeping.
"What? Wha-? No, no, no-" Julie bit her lip and willed herself to take a deep breath. "It's a joke. It's just a joke. Guys, did you- no, no of course you didn't. You couldn't. What are you- what's that? No, give it." Hands shaking, she pulled the cage door open. The two rats were engaged in a massive tug-of-war with what looked like a piece of thick, pink yarn. Julie reached in and yanked it away. She stared at the yarn - no wait, not yarn, not yarn at all.
Julie sat down hard, her head reeling with thoughts she never thought she'd think. The box - oh God the box - was Brutus in the box? She grabbed the box and, after tossing aside the frozen rose, started pawing through the ice. Her fingers touched fur. "Oh Brutus!" She brushed the ice from his body and lifted him out. She cradled him to her chest and stroked his matted fur.
"He was your favorite, wasn't he?"
Julie whipped her head around and stared at the figure in the doorway. "Sarah? What are you doing here?" She glanced down at Brutus. "You killed him, didn't you? I don't- Why?"
Sarah stepped into the room, her cheeks streaked with tears. "I remember when we would be sitting on the couch, watching a movie, or even just cuddling, and Brutus would scramble up and nose his way in between us. He was your favorite." She sighed. "I wanted to be your favorite, Jules."
Julie shook her head. "No! Get out!" She whipped her head around, looking for something - anything - to use as a weapon.
"I love watching you sleep. The way you twitch when you're dreaming. How your hair bunches up on the pillow." Sarah closed her eyes and brushed at her hair. She smiled at the memory. "I always imagined you were dreaming about me. But when you were awake," she said, her eyes snapping open, "it was all about him. I got to thinking; if it weren't for him, I would be the one."
"Are you kidding me?" Julie laughed. "You psychotic freak! I could never love you!"
Sarah lifted her hand. Lamplight glinted off the blade. "I know."