My Cardboard Balcony

by Belinda Roddie "Personally, I prefer pandas," remarked Jenny as she perused the teddy bear-patterned pajamas in front of her, neatly folded and tagged. Her sister, Gina, rolled her eyes. "Well, good luck finding panda pajamas in half a hour," she replied. "We need to meet up with Dad at the restaurant by six. No later. Remember?" Jenny lifted a sleeve of the pajama shirt before lethargically letting it drop. Despite her usual sass and wit, she seemed much more worn out than usual. She had taken on more hours at work, and the stress was certainly affecting her physically. Gina could almost swear that the number of bags under her sister's eyes had doubled since she last saw her. The restaurant that the two women planned to meet their father at was a childhood favorite, an independent little diner called Lassie's that always gave its patrons a free slice of pie if they ordered both a soda and an entree. Gina hadn't been able to ge...

Whose cat was perched on my windowsill? I tried to shoo it off, but it just sat still. I got a broom and shook it, but it didn't bat an eye. It just stood on the sill with its head to the sky. I tried to bribe with a meal, but it wouldn't budge. I couldn't reach the sill to push it, not even a nudge. Despite my calls and clamoring, the cat just wouldn't go. I guess I'll have to learn to love it, 'til it jumps below.