THE CAT, AN ESPRESSO AND A BAG OF SUNFLOWER SEEDS

The old man shuffles into the room and takes up residence in the chair set beside her bed as he has done each night for nearly a year now.

"I'm told you're asking for a story again tonight." This statement is of course part of the nightly ritual that is played between the two of them. She smiles in answer and the old man lets out a sigh that to anybody else would have sounded like frustration, but she knows better.

"Alright then. Just lay your pretty little head down on your pillow there and let me try to think of a good one - one I haven't told you before. Any requests before I get started?"

"I wanna hear one about you and her. But no monsters tonight. I don't want to have any bad dreams."

"No, we can't let you go around having bad dreams, now can we?" She shakes her head no and the old man continues. "Alright then. I'm going to tell you of how a special woman changed my life. No, she wasn't a wizard. She had no special powers...unless you count the power of healing, because she was a doctor you see. Anyway it wasn't too long ago, well, it may seem like a long time ago to you, but to me, it's as if it happened only yesterday."

She nestles down in her bed. She can only fall asleep after hearing one of his tales. They sound so fantastic and hardly believable, but she knows they're true, she's seen the pictures after all.

"The day started like any other. After arriving late to the subterranean office, the office was in the basement, you see, so as to hide me away from all the other agents with "promising" careers. Looking back now, I don't recall any of them doing something so fantastic that they deserved such distinction. But what do I know? I'm just an old man that doesn't even walk so well anymore. Where was I? Oh yes, the basement. I had settled myself down at my desk to get working on some paperwork begging for my attention. We had been working together for quite awhile already and she knew me better than I knew myself it seemed. At least I liked to let her think that. Hehee..."

"Mulder, what are you doing?"

"Huh? I'm typing up this report for Skinner. He said he wanted it on his desk by eleven am."

"It's 10:45"

"I realize that Scully, so if you don't have any contributions that would aid in the writing of this report, please let me get back to it."

"Oh, by all means, don't let me interrupt you. I have got see you pull this one out of your ass."

"Sit back and be amazed by my reporting talents, woman."

"Of course, the report was all fluff, but I'd somehow pulled it off and all the inaccuracies went unnoticed by my Superior. Sometimes it really felt as if he were humoring us. He wouldn't have been the only one. The X-Files were somewhat of a joke in the Bureau. But again, I'm getting off track."

"I still can't believe he didn't question you on the things you had thrown down on that report!"

"Just admit it Scully, I am the bomb when it comes to writing reports for the Skinman."

"'The bomb,' Mulder? What are you, fifteen?"

"Just keeping up with the lingo being thrown around in today's conversations. I wouldn't want anyone thinking I've turned into some stuffed shirt."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Oh what? Did you take offense to that? Because it really wasn't said for you to misconstrue it into sounding however your insecurities might have you feeling these days."

"Keep it up Mulder. You're skating on thin ice there, buddy."

"How about you and me heading outdoors for a change and grabbing some lunch and taking it with us as we enjoy a leisurely stroll through the park?"

"A leisurely stroll through the park? You feeling okay, Mulder?"

"C'mon Scully. How 'bout it?"

"And leave myself wide open to more of your ridicules and insults aimed right at my poor, defenseless self?"

"Scully, I have never thought of you as being of the poor and defenseless variety. Let's go, G-Woman."

"We ended up doing just that. We bought our lunch at one of the sidewalk vendors and took a nice stroll through one of the many parks that adorns our nation's capital. The conversation got to be interesting, to say the least. If I remember correctly, which I think I do, it went something like this..."

"So Mulder, you really think that Frohike believes his latest theory about the government just being a cover-up organization to the real evil that's running our country into the ground?"

"I really don't think that his theories are so out there."

"So the US of A is not run by the House of Representatives, and The Senate that is in turn governed by the almighty President, but instead is ruled by some cat that sends telepathic messages to some underworld megaboss who then tells the Senators what to do and say to make it look like we're a nation following the rules of a democratic state?"

"It sounds so trite and, and just plain stupid when you say it."

"That's because it is stupid Mulder. Just remember that we work for that cat."

"Point taken."

"Let's not go back to work right away Mulder. Let's be daring and play hooky."

"I could go for a day of R&R. You're on Scully. I'll just give ole Walter a call on my cell phone and tell him we're investigating the Smith case by pounding the pavement and following up on leads."

"We spent a couple of hours dividing our attention between watching an intense game of basketball and a lighthearted game of baseball being played on the fields shaded by trees. Soon after the games ended, we had abandoned the park and began walking back towards the Hoover building when we happened to loiter past a Starbuck's."

"Oh! An espresso. I haven't had one in ages! Redeem thyself for your earlier transgressions against my person and buy me an espresso, Mulder?"

"It's July, Scully. The thermostat is reading the current temperature at 98 degrees. Why on earth would you want an espresso?"

"Because it's a sinful indulgence. One that I have not partaken in so long that I am craving it on such a blistering hot day as this."

"Well, do not let me stand in the way of a woman and her cravings. One espresso coming up."

"We sat at the sidewalk table watching the tourists shuffle back and forth, trying to squeeze in as many objects on their itinerary as possible before having to give it up to the falling sun. Our conversation ping ponged back and forth between our current caseload and whether or not Walter Skinner was dating his secretary. Our relationship was not the only one to have caught the attention of the betting pool. And even though we would never stoop so low as to contribute to the pools themselves, we did enjoy gossiping about all of the relationships to grace the FBI's rumor mill. An espresso, a tea cake and an ice tea later, we decided to pack it in for the day, head back to the office to pick up our belongings and agree to meet back on the following day with more earnest intentions of getting some work done."

"Oh damn! Wait a minute, Scully. I just remembered that I'm out of sunflower seeds. I'll just stop at the 7-11 on 9th Street on our way back and pick up a new bag."

"What would you do if all of the stores in the immediate surrounding area were to run out of sunflower seeds?"

"I don't see how it could ever happen."

"Let's just say it did. What would you do? How would you survive?"

"I'd order my own stash to be delivered to my apartment monthly and never worry again."

"You can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because it just so happens that the shortage is not contained to this area alone like we had previously thought, but is actually a worldwide epidemic. There are no sunflower seeds to be found. Now what?"

"A worldwide epidemic? C'mon Scully, the cat theory is starting to sound a little more believable."

"I just want to know what Fox Mulder would do if he couldn't get his hands on a bag of sunflower seeds."

"I guess I would need to come up with a new oral fixation."

"And that would be what?"

"Luckily, I don't have to worry about it tonight, because I've been saved by the stock boy gods of 7-11. Here's my bag of sunflower seeds, the cat can go back to being a theory, and we can now go home for the evening."

"And that's just what we did. We returned to our respective apartments, arose with the shrilling of our alarm clocks, walked bleary eyed into the office and tackled all the tasks we had ignored the day before."

She sits up in bed and asks the question she's been dying to ask since the story began. "How did she change your life?"

"What's that?" The old man asks.

"How did the special woman change your life?"

"Oh, forgive me for leading you to believe that something extraordinary was going to happen. The special woman changed my life just by being there. Just because she showed up to work on that day in July, took a stroll in the park, watched a couple of games, indulged in a sinful delight and walked with me to buy a new bag of sunflower seeds. It was just the plain ordinariness of the day that made it so extraordinary, and as such, it is a day I will never forget."

"Do you ever see the woman anymore?" She asks.

"She comes for a visit every now and then. Although, I must admit that her visits are getting farther and farther apart. And when she does drop by, each time the stay is shorter than the last."

The old man looks over to see that she has fallen asleep and is grateful for the reprieve. He takes the quietness of the moment to reflect back upon other ordinary days that could only be seen as extraordinary to him and a special woman. He's not sure how much time has passed when he hears her stir from her slumber. He glances up and sees that the cloudiness has dissolved, leaving her eyes a crystal blue once again.

"Mulder?"

"Yeah, Scully?"

"I saw something just now, and I had to come back to tell you about it."

"I'm listening."

"Everyone is there waiting for us. It looks to be a really wonderful place to spend eternity. I'm so tired. This world weary body can't hold on anymore."

"Then go ahead and go. I'll be along shortly, I'm sure."

"Yes, I saw the first few glimmers of your light slipping through the folds. It won't be too much longer now. I'm not sure how long exactly, but it's nothing compared to the time we'll have together once you get there. But Mulder, can you hold me? I don't want to go without you holding me in your arms."

The old man climbs into the bed beside his special woman and holds her close to his heart - right where she's always been.

"I'll be waiting to guide you the rest of the way when your time comes. I'll be waiting with the cat, an espresso and a bag of sunflower seeds."

End

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