“Hi there,” Lisa said with a pretty smile, her eyes on Ellis. “You ready to meet Mr. Nugget?”
“I am,” Ellis said. With a glance at Cherry, she added, “I’m suddenly nervous.”
“Not unusual,” Lisa said and looked to Cherry. “Would you like your friend to come with you?”
“Please.”
“Absolutely. Leave the paperwork here and follow me.” Lisa led them through a door with a line drawing of a cat on it, and once the door closed behind them, the volume of overall noise was cut by a lot.
“Oh, that’s so much better,” Cherry said. “It’s loud out there.”
“You should try working in the dog wing all day,” Lisa said withwhat seemed to be an affectionate chuckle. “Barking never stops. Somebody’s always got something to say.”
“I bet.”
Ellis was quiet as Lisa led them to a room with windows looking onto the hall.
“Have a seat and I’ll go get your boy.” Indicating several orange plastic chairs, Lisa closed the door, and it was just Ellis and Cherry in the room.
“I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” Ellis said with another grimace. “It’s just a cat.” And then she swallowed audibly.
“Because you might be about to change your whole life,” Cherry said simply. “Makes sense to be nervous.”
“Well, I…” Ellis rubbed her hands together and Cherry looked at them for the first time. They were pretty hands. Long fingers. Tapered nails. Neat. “This is gonna sound weird, but I’m really glad you’re here. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Why did it seem perfectly natural to be here with Ellis, a person she didn’t know well at all? It wasn’t weird. Why not? It felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be in that moment, and that was a feeling she’d heard people talk about and that she’d read about in books. But she’d never experienced it herself. Ever. In her entire life.
The door opened, cutting off any more overanalyzing, and Lisa walked in with an orange cat in her arms. His eyes were a golden yellow, and he seemed to take them in, looking from Ellis to Cherry and back.
“Why don’t you have a seat,” Lisa said, “and we’ll see how he likes your lap.”
Ellis grabbed the closest chair and dropped into it, like an eight-year-old trying to win a game of musical chairs. Cherry noticed her eyes had widened just a bit, likely with excitement. “Hi, buddy. Hey. Hi there. Come here.”
Lisa handed the cat over and watched for a moment. “Okay. I’ll be right out there. Take all the time you need. I’ll check back in a bit.”
The door closed quietly, and Cherry watched as Ellis and Nugget looked each other over. Phone in her hand, she took a quick photo, then slipped it into her pocket.
“He’s so soft,” Ellis said, her voice quiet with obvious wonder.“And his eyes. Did you see them?” She spoke quietly, as if she worried about scaring him away by being too loud. “Hi, handsome.” She glanced back up at Cherry, then indicated the chair next to her with her eyes. “Here, sit.”
“He’s beautiful,” Cherry said, sitting as she was asked to, then gently nudging the chair so she was close enough that their thighs touched. It was the closest she’d ever been to Ellis, and that gave her a little thrill. Also made her antsy. And she could definitely smell her now. Apples. She smelled like apples, clean and fresh, and then she knew she needed to distract herself from this woman so close to her, because wow, she could get lost in simply smelling her, and how creepy was that? So she forced her focus toward the cat. She hadn’t been kidding. Hewasbeautiful. She’d always thought all orange tabby cats looked the same, but this guy was his own cat. His stripes were zigzag. His feet were massive because they had extra toes. “He’s polydactyl.”
“Yeah, that’s one of the things I liked about him when I saw him online.” Ellis stroked a finger across one of his paws. “Look at these mitts.” The cat blinked at her but didn’t pull his foot away. Instead, he lifted himself up and pushed his face against Ellis’s. She made a cute little sound of delight, and he did it again.
“He likes you,” Cherry said.
“I mean, that’s what that means, right?” Ellis blinked at her, the excitement clear in her voice. “A sign of affection?”
“Definitely. And his motor’s running like crazy.”
The cat nuzzled his head under Ellis’s chin, and she turned wet eyes to Cherry.
“I think you’ve got yourself a cat, my friend.” And the sight in front of her, this gorgeous woman holding a cat, with tears in her eyes and such love on her face…it put a lump in Cherry’s throat that she wasn’t expecting at all. She swallowed it down and tried to redirect things. “How old is he? Where did he come from?”
Ellis cleared her throat and took a moment, likely to gather herself. “Well, there isn’t a whole lot of info on him. The shelter said he’s been with a foster family for the past six weeks, but they just moved out of state so had to turn him back in.”
“Oh, man. Poor Nugget.”
“Right? Their paperwork says he’s the best cat they’ve ever fostered, that he’s loving and affectionate.”
