"Sofi said to give these to you," he said and reappeared just as suddenly. He stood near the windows and had in his arms a stack of clothing. He set them down on the chair near the desk. "She's grounded too, but I can just pop in and out. If she leaves, then Pierre tells Dusty, and we all get yelled at. It's totally not fair. So, what's your cat's name? It took me forever to get it out of the closet in your apartment."
"Sunny," she managed.
"She matches Dusty's condo."
She nodded, trying hard to recover from the latest surprise. He was right. Sunny was black and white, just like the rest of Dusty's world.
"I'm Darian," he said. "I'm not allowed to shake hands with humans. Bad things happen. Sofi told me your name is Bianca. She said to tell you not to worry, you'll adjust, okay?"
"How can you just up and disappear?"
"Dusty can do it, too. It's so much cooler than, like, walking somewhere." While he looked to be in his early thirties, he spoke like Jonny and Kyle. If she closed her eyes, she would have guessed him to be no older than her brother.
"Who's Sofi?" she asked.
"She's my sister-in-law. She's pregnant!" He did a small dance, eyes glowing. "I gotta go before Dusty finds out I'm here. Bye, Bianca."
He disappeared again. She waited for a long moment in case he came back. When he didn't, she rubbed her face, wondering what exactly she'd been dragged into and if her heart would explode if he reappeared. She retrieved the clothing, judging that Sofi had been the one to pick the original clothes out. She'd gotten the sizes right and even remembered matching socks and lounging clothes.
Bianca put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Darian's popping in and out stressed her out, and she turned up the TV, trying to lose herself in a movie as she calmed. Sunny found her courage and emerged from the bedroom a short time later, meowing as she stood on her thigh, staring at her.
"Don't ask me," Bianca said. "I have no idea what's going on."
The sunset drew her gaze to the wall of light, and she watched the sky darken over the beautiful Miami waters. She shooed Sunny away from her half-eaten pancakes and paced the living room until light faded completely from the horizon.
Someone knocked at the door before she could turn on more than the living room lights. She crossed to it, doubting the locks would cooperate with her this time, either. To her surprise, she opened the door with no problem. A tall, toned woman who looked like she did Pilates for a living stood in the hall in tight black leather pants and a tight pink T-shirt that drew attention to her large breasts.