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CAT'S EYE

Brian stared at the bulging bin liner on his door step. He recognized it all right, although there was nothing distinctive about this bag of rubbish he recognized it in the same way you recognize your car from just glimpsing a small part of it in a busy car-park. It was his bag of rubbish on his doorstep. Usually this wouldn't cause the momentary confusion and acute embarrassment Brian was feeling now as he opened the door with his key and stepped over the bag and into the hallway of his house.

"Kate?"
"Hello honey, good day?" came Kate's reply.
"Uh, yeah...you know I put that bag of rubbish in number 52's bin because we didn't have any room left in ours?"
Kate appeared from the kitchen wearing a frown, "Yes, honey?"
"Well," Brian allowed what he felt was a suitable pause, "It's back."
Kate's frown deepened into something more concerned looking and then wide-eyed she said "They saw you!"
"They couldn't have done! They were out!"
"Well someone must have seen you and told them!"
"Nobody around here likes them - they wouldn't grass us up to them?"
"Did we have any rubbish with our address on in the bag?" asked Kate.
"No. No, and the bag was still tied up, just the way I tied it," said Brian.
"Well, somehow they knew it was our rubbish..." Kate stood still, thinking and frowning, "In a funny way I am not surprised. They always seem to....know things."
A recent memory surfaced in Brian's head, "Oh, like after those strong winds blew your 'sexy time' under ware across all the gardens and she in 52 was the only person to bring some of it back?"
"Exactly!" Kate replied, "She couldn't have known it was my underwear - there is no way they could see our washing line from their garden."
"Well," said Brian as he removed his suit jacket and tie "They are both weird. What was it you saw her doing the other day?"
Kate continued to talk as she walked back to the kitchen, "Oh yea, I was just walking past their house on my way to the bus stop and their door was open and she was stood in the hall way holding their cat up to her face and talking to it. Nothing odd about that apart from the fact that she was giving instructions to vacuum the lounge, put out the recycling and turn the oven on at six o'clock!"
Brian slumped down on to the sofa and grabbed the TV remote control. "Poor animal," he chuckled to himself, "It probably can't tell the time!"
Kate's laughter drifted from the kitchen, "I still let their cat in though. It's not his fault his owners are mad! I would hate it if anything happened to him walking up and down by the road all day."
Brian was switching through channels,"Just stop that moggy from coming upstairs because it doesn't live here and leaves hair on our bed, and close the windows so it can't keep creeping in at night. The next time we're doing the business I don't want to look up and see a pair of evil green eyes watching us!"

Bob and Sue didn't trust their neighbors. This part of the city was too down market for them but since Bob lost his job as a surveillance technology consultant they were forced to move to number 52 Stratton Road where property was cheaper. Bob had time on his hands now while he was looking for work and decided to keep his hand in with his passion for computers and reconnaissance. As usual he got up that morning at about ten, made a coffee and switched on the computer. Images moved across the screen, wheels on cars, tarmac, a stone brick wall appeared and quickly sunk beneath the bottom of Bob's monitor screen. Sue's face appeared. It said "Vacuum the lounge, put out the recycling, and turn the oven on at six o'clock."

Learn more about this author, James Smart.
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