Thursday the 24th of December, 2015 – Ottawa, Ontario
Kitty, Katherine Price, sat crosslegged on a comfy chair in the conference room of the Burt Grande in downtown Ottawa. She closed her eyes and took in the sounds and smells of the Elmsley Christmas party. There was sweet and savoury foods, hot chocolate, coffee, alcohol, and the smell of wet carpets from the rain. The sounds were of people chatting, Santa talking to the kids, happy shrieks and the rat-a-tat-tat of rain on the windows.
It was warm and comforting. The whole thing made her sad. She didn’t have a family but this is what she imagined it would feel like. She’d lived a complicated life. Her body was born dead and her soul had latched onto her twin sister. As a part of her sister, Kitty had been stuck as an imaginary friend until five years ago when through a complicated set of circumstances, her sister died and gave her all her memories and her body.
It was strange living in a body that wasn’t yours, but she’d adapted, and with her affinity for illusions she could make herself look different. The hardest part was losing the only person who’d known her her whole life.
Her parents had been part of a strange cabal of wizards that wanted to create a new world. That was why she existed, but they had died before she could remember them. She’d attended her sister’s funeral in disguise and even considered talking to their adoptive parents, but in the end, Kitty knew she couldn’t explain what had happened.
The Elmsley Project was her only family at this point, and although General Stuart was a strong role model, she was busy with her biological family.
She had considered her first partner family but she’d been killed in action. Her second partner had turned villain and tried to take over the world using supernatural sapient goo just this fall.
The hard rain falling outside was unusual but paired well with her sad mood.
“Sleepy already Kitty?” asked MacKenzie Fairfield, her long brown hair in a perfect bun. It was quite the contrast with Kitty’s shoulder-length red curls.
“No, just taking in the whole scene, doctor, or do I say Major?”
MacKenzie blushed a little. “Thanks, and we’re technically the same rank even if you’re a civilian.” She sat in the chair across from Kitty and put down her empty mug that had been hot chocolate.
“Does that mean I have to salute though?” Kitty teased.
A woman with hair almost as bright as Kitty’s but with a perpetual sneer on her face walked up to them. She was one of the only people in uniform. “Director Price, Major Fairfield. Congrats on your promotion.”
With a sigh, Kitty said, “With all due respect, Director Lanthier, don’t you have some naughty kids to shove in a sack?” Lieutenant-General Lanthier was the head of the military division of Elmsley, while Kitty and MacKenzie had recently been promoted to co-directors of the science division. The two groups didn’t get along.
Adding a scowl to her sneer, which was quite the feat, she said, “You’ll get what you deserve, freak,” and then walked away.
“Why do you antagonize her?” asked MacKenzie.
Kitty thought about it for a little and said, “Because she’s the worst of us and it’s fun.”
“I can’t argue with you there.” MacKenzie picked up her cup and pouted when she looked inside. Putting it back down, she asked, “What plans do you have for the holidays?”
This was the question Kitty hated. Most people only asked to be friendly, another script of polite society. She still got in trouble when she answered without thinking. She’d worked out the perfect reply and used it, “I’m working. I need to review the information from the Project Paracosm tests and try to figure out what went wrong.”
“Oh… Um… What about your family?” MacKenzie asked.
“I don’t have any, not really. My twin sister died five years ago and my parents died when I was a baby. I usually use the holidays as a way to catch up on work. It’s quiet and I can focus better.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my twin.” The other woman sat up straighter and looked uncomfortable. ”I’m going to Westmeath. Two of my siblings live there now. We get together for a big family thing tonight. I’ll be gone until just after Boxing day.”
Kitty was curious, an attribute that had been mentioned enough to annoy her. She asked, “Why only then? You’ve had a packed year, you should take time until New Year’s.”
“I love my family but they are a lot. My siblings are happily married with kids, and my mom is always on my case about finding someone to settle down with. Between that and the fact that I can’t talk about anything I do, it’s just better in small doses.”
“I have no idea what that’s like, but it sounds fun and exhausting.” Kitty sighed looking over the party. Starting to stand, she said, “I should get some work done before… Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas Kitty.” It looked like MacKenzie was going to say something else but instead she picked up her cup and scowled at its emptiness.
As she walked away from the joyful chaos-symphony, Kitty couldn’t help but shed a few tears for what she was missing. It wasn’t Christmas, that was as important to her as the Civic Holiday, but the togetherness of family.
Read Part 2 (Friday the 19th of December)
Want to read more about Kitty Price?
Parasomnia
The Copper Tarnish
