Jillian in Space Part 5
Within a few hours’ time, the plane reached its destination and Jillian unfolded herself and stretched. “How’d you sleep,” Max asked, looking at her from the top of his ‘I heart humans,’ coffee mug. Hissing at him, Jillian stood up and stretched. Making her way to the lavatory to freshen up, she heard Max call out behind her, “A bit of a warning, someone really stunk it up last night. You may want to plug your nose.”
Ignoring him, Jillian marched through the bathroom door and slammed it behind her. As she did so, she couldn’t help overhearing him say to Cuddles the pilot who had just come out of the dog pit, “I guess someone’s not a morning person.”
“I guess that’s why they’re called cats and not dogs.” She replied with a grin. Jillian didn’t get, nor did she care. Dapping up her makeup, she walked out of the lavatory and past the two dogs with her nose stuck in the air. As she passed the perfume she had freshly applied, lingered in the air, causing them both to sneeze three times.
“Boy does she stink,” Cuddles said with a swipe of her nose. “I’m glad I’m not the one going to be stuck in a tin can with her for the next week.”
“Tell me about,” Max groaned, pinching the tip of his nose closed.
“Good luck buddy,” Cuddles replied, slapping the back of his shoulder sympathetically. “Remember you’re doing this to improve relations with the feline race as well as making history.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Max grumbled as he walked out of the plane and onto the tarmac. Here he was greeted by NASA personnel who took his bags and ushered him into a bleach white cement building. “This is after all why I signed up to be an astronaut, to leading stuck-up felines around,” he muttered to himself as he opened a dented yellow locker. Looking up at the picture of his owner on the inside door of the locker door, he whimpered to himself, “I’m doing the best I can my boy. Soon I’ll have won you the right to be truly included in the animal world, but for now I’m afraid that I’ll have to deceive you again as to my whereabouts.” Wiping away a tear, Max grabbed the fresh clothes out of the locker and closed it gently, fearing to wake the young pups that were sleeping in the next room.
