Evelyn cleaned up the room, flushed Roberta's blood, rinsed the bucket, and bleached it. She removed each of the tubes, set them aside, and put Roberta back on the chair.

"It will take a while to properly preserve your skin, Roberta." Evelyn said in a soft small voice, like she was afraid of waking her lover up. A tear rolled down her cheek, as now the weight of her actions began to haunt her.

She would work it out eventually, but Roberta was in her own class when it came to lovers. She was on equal footing with Tandy, and higher than Rachel and Eva. That is what startled her. How important that young woman became to her.

Evelyn carried a gallon bucket of the silicon up the stairs to her bedroom, and walked back down to get Roberta. Once upstairs, she spread plastic on the bed, laid her belly down, and began to paint her skin, long into the night.

She painted every crevice, every surface, and every strand of hair and fur. Only the hair on her head was shaved and painted over. Once her body was fully encased, and the pose set up, including gluing her eyes shut, Evelyn set her pose up on the chair, in that side reclined position.

If anyone were to see her, they would think she was asleep, until they realized that it was a silicon sculpture.

She was posed, and in her bedroom. Evelyn went down the stairs, verified that the store was locked, and went downstairs to finish the cleanup.

After a few hours, Evelyn returned to the upstairs bedroom, sat in a side chair, and started to sketch her beloved Roberta. Most were from memory, with a soft smile on her lover's lips.

"I should have waited a little longer." Evelyn finally said as she laid down. She moved onto Roberta's side, and inhaled her scent from the pillow.

"If I don't replace you quickly, I will go a bit crazy." She whispered.

After the tears she's spilled, Evelyn realized that maybe it was already too late.

* * *

Evelyn sat on her chair, and quietly sipped her tea. She could not smile, greet Eva, nor greet anyone. There was an unapproachable melancholy in her that could easily be seen from the street.

Evelyn had not picked up her pencils since she left her bedroom. The joy felt like it was sucked right out of her life. She now realized how deep Roberta had dug herself into her heart, and she missed her terribly.

When the 'cat' walked in, she didn't even notice. The 'cat' roved about, searched her sketches, looked at Eva quietly, and stopped in front of Evelyn. Surprised, Evelyn lifted her eyes.

"Where is Roberta?" The 'cat' inquired. Evelyn sniffed.

"Her memory is upstairs. Sleeping." She said softly. "Go see. On the right." Evelyn weakly gestured. She was too tired to care.

The 'cat' walked to the stairs, looked at Evelyn, then up the stairs. She disappeared for ten minutes straight before she came back down. She stopped in front of Evelyn again.

"She looks happy." The 'cat' said softly.

"She was." Evelyn closed her eyes. "At the peak of her happiest moment." She sniffed. "She was so wonderful, I didn't deserve her. I couldn't see how much I loved her until it was too late." The 'cat' nodded slowly.

"That makes sense. Only the greatest of art can be found in the deepest of love or tragedy." The 'cat' said, which drew Evelyn's gaze. "Eva was so happy, but before she came in here, she was on the brink of death every day. I do not know how many times I managed to get the blade out of her hand." Evelyn frowned.

"What? My Eva was..." Evelyn couldn't believe what she heard.

"Suicidal." She said softly. "Like Roberta. Who slept under the edge of a roof the night before you took her in. I saw her look at a truck as it passed, holding onto a signpost so she wouldn't jump in front of it." Evelyn sat up, her eyes blazing angrily.

"She....she wouldn't...." Evelyn stuttered.

"They were so miserable before they came to live here with you." The 'cat' turned and walked to the door. She turned back for a few seconds. "I couldn't believe how happy you made Eva the day you took her in. I saw the results in Roberta as well." As she turned her head, Evelyn caught a small smile on her lips.

"Jill hides herself well, don't you agree?" The girl disappeared, while Evelyn was left in shock. She stood up, and with determination, she went for her personal collection.

"My poor Eva." She whispered. It wasn't long before she saw the truth of the words said by that girl. Her sketches revealed it step by step, as did her own memories.

"I saved her." Evelyn whispered. She looked through Roberta's sketches, and shivered. The sadness that she thought was barely there, was not superficial. It was so deep and penetrating, Roberta was almost cold right to her poor broken heart.

Evelyn walked over to another box, and pulled out an envelope. She opened it cautiously, and quietly looked at the sketches.

"You poor darling." Evelyn said softly, and ran her fingers over the edge of Jill's lips, being careful not to smudge the sketch.

"I have some secrets to dig out." Evelyn said in a soft quiet voice. "But for now, I have to spend some time with my beloved Roberta." Evelyn walked back up the stairs, and sat on her chair near Roberta.

"I'm sorry, my love." She said softly. "I was able to preserve the beauty of your happiness, but I did not see the misery beforehand. I did not see it in Eva, and how close she was to the edge." She sighed sadly.

"If I did, I might have not met you. I can not regret preserving her beauty, though I missed her misery far too easily. I will forever remember our time together." Evelyn smiled gently, and started to sketch with a gentle look in her eyes.

"However, there is a heavy chested client of mine who needs to be preserved before she takes her beauty away from me." She smiled a little.

"And there is this young woman who seems to know about us, and what I am doing." She started to sketch more intensely. "She doesn't appear to be frightened by it either." Her small smile started to grow.

"I wonder if she might model for me too." Evelyn's pencil moved faster, and with some strokes to form the 'cat' in the background, watching, waiting.

"I wonder. I take, I save, and I preserve." She smiled. "I wonder what beauty I will dig out from you, my little frightened cat."

* * *

Evelyn watched from her chair, and she saw it immediately. Jill stopped outside the door's sweep, straightened herself, and flattened her clothes. Not only that, she adjusted her demeanor. There was something there, and it was not being kind to her friend.

Jill entered, her smile forced to her lips, and she looked around.

"Good morning, Jill." Evelyn said, her eyes trained on those lovely assets to see some details on how her shirt sat upon her flesh, and back to her paper.

"Hi, Evelyn." She looked around, a slight question in her eyes.

"If you're looking for Roberta," Evelyn said, and lifted her eyes. "She has moved on." Jill blinked.

"Oh." She said in a similar manner to Roberta's. "Wait, how is that possible? I know how deeply in love with you she was." Jill said, and noticed Evelyn's eyes revealed a trace of melancholy.

"Everyone noticed but me." Evelyn said quietly. She lifted her eyes, shining a bit from tears that threatened to fall. "Please sit with me, Jill. I would like some company." Her words trailed off to a whisper.

"I don't want to be alone."