"Oh god, Clio, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you." And even though Clio thought she was all cried out over her cat, she felt more tears coming, and stepped into Zeke's arms to take comfort from him. It was still over ten minutes until class started, and they were out in the hall, since the teacher hadn't arrived yet.

She felt Zeke's strong, familiar embrace, and smelled his well-known scent as she hugged him. He was her oldest friend, and had known Cina well. They had spent many afternoons playing with her when they were children, pretending she was Simba as they played "Lion King," holding her up as they sang the theme from the movie, or hiding as they let her stalk them.

"She was a really good friend, wasn't she?" Clio murmured into the front of his shirt.

"She was, she was," he soothed, smoothing her hair.

This was the way Archie found them when he turned the corner. He saw them and blanched, nearly dropping the coffee he was carrying.

Surely Clio wasn't dating Zeke? Not already?

Had she told him about what had happened in France?

Or worse, had Zeke broken his word to Archie and told Clio about what had happened at the party?

"Here's Archie, Clio, have you told him about Cina yet?" Zeke asked, releasing her reluctantly.

Clio shook her head as she stepped away from Zeke.

"No, I haven't talked to him," she admitted. "We, um, we broke up while we were in France."

"You what?"

Just then, the TA showed up, along with Joyce, who was smiling and smelled of spearmint gum as usual. How could someone be so cheerful so early in the morning? Zeke wondered with one part of his mind while the rest of his brain was trying to deal with the bombshell that Clio had just dropped.

Zeke looked back and forth between Clio and Archie, trying to glean a little more information as the students filed into the classroom. Clio was still sniffling, and Archie looked all kinds of awful, but both were silent as they gathered that week's study materials from the front of the classroom.

Joyce saw the look on Zeke's face as they were taking their seats and gave him a questioning look.

They broke up, Zeke mouthed, nodding in Clio and Archie's directions as he, too, sat down and got organized.

Joyce's eyes went round with shock, her mouth dropping open as she forgot to chew her gum.

"Because of those pictures? I saw some pictures from that party. Is that why she's crying?" Joyce whispered.

Zeke shook his head. "Her cat died," he explained as they got their laptops set up. Zeke was managing to keep up with the class by getting the notes he missed during lectures from Joyce, Clio and Archie, who had no problems following the professor somehow, and he hoped he'd do well enough on the tests to pass the class. Organic chem was required for his major, of course.

He wasn't able to talk to Clio for the next two hours as he tried to focus on the lecture, but he did notice that all of the talking and laughter back and forth that went on between Archie and Clio had disappeared. Normally both of them were taking notes and working on music or whatever at the same time, leaning close together to look at each other's screens, writing little jokes or making corrections, but not today. They were both sitting ramrod straight, completely focused on their notes, typing or writing as if their lives depended on it. Every once in a while Clio would grab a tissue and wipe her nose, and Zeke could see that her nose was very red.

Once, Archie leaned over as though he wanted to say something to her, but she leaned away and said something to Zeke at the same time, until Archie leaned back.

When class was over, Clio asked Zeke if he wanted to come over after school the next day to study. Zeke agreed, of course.

"Great, see you then." Clio waved and headed off to her next class.

"Can I talk to you?" Archie was waiting for him, of course.

"What in the hell happened? Clio looks terrible. Is this something to do with what happened at the--at the party?" Zeke asked. "Speaking of which, you don't look so good yourself, man. Have you talked to someone about it?"

Archie shook his head impatiently. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I haven't told her what happened, and please, please, I don't want you to, either, okay? You gave me your word you wouldn't tell anyone. I just wanted to remind you of that." Archie stared at Zeke, brows drawn together.

"What did you tell her, then?" Zeke asked. "How did you explain the pictures? Arch, at the very least, you should go to the campus police, if not the actual police, I think. I mean, those photos are evidence, aren't they?"

Archie shook his head again. "Evidence of what? That I had sex? They don't show me saying no or fighting anyone off, do they? I mean, maybe if they showed a man doing those things to me--" Archie broke off, not sure what else to say, but Zeke had heard the tremor in his voice.

"Jesus," Zeke said. "You need to talk to someone."

"I don't have time for this shit," Archie said. "I have to get to class. Just promise me that you won't tell her, yeah?"

Zeke rolled his eyes, but finally nodded. "Yeah, I promise, whatever, I won't tell, okay?"

Archie nodded. "Thank you. Is that why she was crying?

Zeke shook his head. "Cina died yesterday. The whole family's pretty torn up about it."

Archie closed his eyes. "Oh no. Oh man, poor Clio. God, I wish I could do something for her." He passed a hand over his eyes. "But she won't even acknowledge me anymore. Did you notice in class?"

Zeke nodded, giving Archie a look of sympathy. He wouldn't want to live anymore if Clio treated him that way.

Archie sighed. "I guess there's nothing I can do. And now I really have to go." He clapped Zeke on the shoulder. "See you later, okay?"

"Okay." Zeke looked after his friend, his gaze troubled.

Joyce was waiting a short distance away. "Everything okay?" she asked. "You ready to go?"

"Everything's definitely not okay," Zeke answered morosely. "But yeah, I'm ready to go."

Together they headed off to their next class.

🌹🦋🌹🦋🌹🦋🌹🦋🌹

Somehow Clio made it through her classes that first day after winter break, though all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and die. Sitting next to Archie, which used to be the highlight of her day, had become abject torture for her. Knowing he was next to her, that the person she had loved and trusted was sometimes just inches from her body was just awful.

Every time she thought of him, she thought of his body lying under that nameless person, she of the round breasts and gleaming hips, in the act of rocking on top of him. Had he felt pleasure, more than when she, Clio did the same thing to him? Clio knew that she did not have what was considered to be a voluptuous body. She was slender as a reed, all long legs, small breasts and angular proportions. She knew that some people liked this, considered it attractive, even, and had never really worried about it, though she also knew that some people preferred other types of bodies; after all, there was a reason why women had breast augmentations and even buttock implants and things like that. Her own sister was an example of this other type of woman; she wasn't called "the body" for nothing.

But to see Archie taking his pleasure with this type of woman had devastated her. To see his eyes closed in ecstasy as she rode him hurt Clio as almost nothing else could have. And then to have him mock her by calling it a game, well, how stupid did he think she was? She had given him her heart and soul and body and he had thrown it back in her face, taken the gift she'd wrapped with care, labeled with love, and turned it into a gift wrapped container of filth.

Clio hurried home, wanting to be with her family, wanting to put on her comfortable clothes, eat Oreos and hold her baby brother in her lap.

And that's just what she did, resolutely leaving her school books and piano books in a pile and watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with him, laughing and crying as Charlie Bucket found his golden ticket and got to tour the factory with his Grandpa Joe.

And as always, she wept when Gene Wilder quietly said the great line, "So shines a good deed in a weary world."

"Weo?" Finn made her smile by calling her this sometimes, the way he used to say "Clio" when he was a baby and couldn't say her name. He was sitting in her lap as they lay on the sofa together, watching the movie and eating the cookies straight from the bag.

Francie, Lottie, and Brina were also draped all around the living room, eating various snacks, sharing everything with Della, of course.

"Yes?" Clio gave him a squeeze, smelling his wonderful, dark curly hair, so like their father's.

"Why does that part always make you cry?"

Clio thought about it. "Because it's nice, and true. The world can be tired, and when someone does something nice, it glows, I think."

Finn looked up at his sister, whom he considered to be one of the most beautiful people in the world. "I know you've been sad lately, and I wish I could make you glow."

Clio hugged him fiercely. "Oh god, Finn, you do, you do, just by saying things like that."

And Pete, who was working on some lyrics in the small room that opened off the family room, had to stop and wipe his eyes, as did his wife, Daisy, who was on her laptop at the kitchen table.

Just then the in-house phone buzzed in their foyer.

Francie rose and answered it, returning to announce that a box had been delivered for Clio downstairs.

"Are you expecting something, topolina?" her father asked.

Clio shook her head, mystified.

Pete began putting on his shoes to go get it, but Francie said that Freddy was bringing it up.

They weren't left waiting for long as the elevator rang moments later, indicating that someone was coming up.

Freddy called out a greeting as Clio went to retrieve the box.

It had holes in it, indicating that whatever was inside was alive.

"Could it be a plant or something?" Brina hazarded a guess.

"Maybe fishies?" was Finn's contribution.

But Clio was shaking her head. "It's moving," she told everyone.

She set the box down and opened it to reveal two kittens, a ginger and white shorthair and a black and white longhair.

"Oh my god!" Daisy gasped. "Look at them!" She was immediately on her knees next to the box, picking them up and putting them in her lap as Della crowded in, wanting to sniff the newcomers.

The baby kitties hissed loudly at the dog, which made the entire family laugh. Della pulled back in surprise at the funny noise.

"Stop, Della, you're scaring them!" Lottie admonished, trying to body block the huge dog.

"Look, Clio, there's a card," Francie pointed out, handing it to her sister.

Clio opened it, though she already knew who the kittens were from.

"I know nothing, no kittens, no matter how adorable, can take Cina's place, but these two needed a home, and surely you wouldn't say no, not someone with a heart as big as yours? They are an orphaned brother and sister who need a loving family. Please love them and fold them into yours, it is an amazing one."

"Mom? Dad? We can keep them, right?" It was really to her father that she spoke, for her mother was already in love with the tiny babies, that was clear.

Pete looked from his eldest daughter to his wife, then at each of his children in turn. "What kind of father do you think I am?" he finally asked with a laugh. "Of course! But they need names! Let's order pizza for dinner and think of some, hm?

"Topolina, whom do we thank for these gattini, hm?"

Clio shook her head. "Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it."

And she wondered how she could thank someone she no longer wanted to talk to or acknowledge in any way.