<span style="color: #FF8000">"A book club?  H-here?"</span>Blake gripped the side of the sink a little tightly.  Not that it was a bad idea, but he'd never heard of Cassandra being so eager to have company with him around.<span style="color: #FF8000">"That's a great idea,"</span>he quickly added,<span style="color: #FF8000">"I could see if any of the guys at work are interested, or their wives, even."</span>He was tired of being 'that guy.'  He'd been a shut-in for so long, and he didn't want to embarrass Cassandra more by hiding in his garage all day as he'd done in the past.  He eyed his box of tools, sorted somehow into just two boxes round the corner in the foyer.  He should get them moved.<br/><br/>He worried she thought he might be slipping.  Truth was, he worried the same.  He didn't want to say it was the house, but... he felt like it was the house.  He couldn't go into their bedroom.  There was something bad up there.  Something that made him go bad.  He wondered if Cassandra felt it, too.  She was, after all, asking if he would like time away from it all.  He hesitated about telling her that, though.  They had just bought this house, and he knew she loved it.  He didn't want to ruin it.  Not now.  Besides, there was no way it was the house- it was definitely him.<br/><br/>He heard a hiss from the front, and turned to look through the window.  Blake groaned loudly.  There were at least a dozen cats- not on the lawn or the property itself, but pacing along the sidewalk some few yards out.  They were all irritable, their ears folded back and their long tails swishing with annoyance in their direction.  Honestly, he thought, what was with these cats?  He picked up the repellant device again, searching for any settings to intensify it, but couldn't seem to find any.  Maybe it ought to go outside.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">"I'm starting to think this Mama Gina runs the cat mob,"</span>he grumbled.<span style="color: #FF8000">"You know, going out sounds really nice about now.  I'm fine it's just, these cats..."</span>