Because today was a good day. She wasn’t going to let herself get pulled down by the situation she was writing about, which had happened more than once over the past several weeks. But not today. Today, she would pick up Nugget. There were apparently some final medical and housekeeping things that needed to be done by the shelter before he was cleared for adoption, which was why she couldn’t take him home with her yesterday, so she did just what Cherry had suggested after they’d eaten. She’d taken time to get everything she needed for him—food, litterbox, bowls, toys—and now everything was ready for her to bring him home.
Her phone beeped then, and as if she’d been privy to Ellis’s thoughts, it was a text from Cherry.
Got a cat yet?Except the wordcatwas replaced by a cat emoji.
Ellis smiled. She couldn’t help it. She typed her answer immediately.Headed there now!She watched the bouncing dots, telling her Cherry was responding.
Jelly over here.Followed by a jelly jar emoji.
Ellis typed again as she gathered her bag and keys.U2 could have a cat.
Told u. No time. Rather live vicariously thru u.
She typed without overthinking, sent without editing.Any time u want to come over and play u let me know.
The dots bounced, stopped, bounced some more, stopped. Ellis watched them as her heartbeat pounded in her skull. What the hell had she been thinking, sending that? She sighed, slid the phone into her back pocket, and reached for the doorknob. The phone beeped again.
She stopped, swallowed hard, and pulled the phone out slowly and carefully, as if it was a bomb that might go off with too much jostling.
How bout 2nite?
She blinked. Refocused on the words. Blinked some more. Cherry wanted to come over. Like, tonight. She typed her response, holding her breath.
Perfect. We can order pizza.She sent a time and her address, and Cherry’s happy response came complete with several smiling emoji and another couple cats. Of course.
A moment of breathing was needed then. Why did this make her so nervous? She’d dated before. Here and there. Nothing had ever really stuck, but that was because her focus had always been on Michaela and her situation. Getting her into the right facility. Making sure she had what she needed. But now, those things were taken care of. Hearts and Hands was exactly what her sister needed. She was well cared for. Close by. And the reality of it all was that it would be where she was until she died, whether next month or twenty years from now. Michaela was settled and not going anywhere, so maybe—just maybe—it was okay for Ellis to start thinking about her own life now.
She glanced around her tiny apartment. It was small, but neat. She didn’t really need more than a bedroom, bathroom, small kitchen, and living room, and that’s exactly what she had. But it was nice. The hardwood floors were in good shape. The kitchen appliances were fairly new. The countertop was granite. She was in the back corner of the building, so she had windows on two sides and got lots of natural light. She liked it here.
Setting her bag and jacket down, she did a quick fly through theliving room, cleaning up books and fluffing the throw pillows on her couch. Her cereal bowl was in the sink, so she washed it, dried it, and put it away. Then she gave the place a last look, nodded once, and picked her stuff back up.
Time to bring Nugget home.
* * *
Ellis didn’t get super nervous until the doorbell actually rang. Then, it was like the sound triggered all the nerves in her body. Like an electric shock. Like she’d been tased. Her heart began to pound. Her palms got sweaty. With a glance at the open cat carrier on the floor, she asked, “Ready, Nugs?” The cat blinked his big yellow eyes at her, and she had to swallow down a lump three times before she felt calm enough to depress the talk button on the intercom.
“Hello?”
“It’s me, ready for kitty lovin’.”
Ellis stifled a laugh at the possible innuendo as she buzzed her in. She lived on the second floor, so by the time she opened her door, Cherry was halfway up the stairs. She carried a paper bag and wore a gorgeous smile, and watching her approach did things to Ellis. Made her feel happy and nervous and anticipatory all at once.
It also turned her the hell on.
“Hi,” Cherry said as she reached the doorway, slightly out of breath. “You didn’t tell me I’d have to climb a thousand steps to get to you.”
“A thousand or sixteen. I see how you’d get them confused.” She grinned and stepped aside. “Come on in.”
Cherry passed her, leaving the scent of…was it vanilla? Caramel? Something sweet and warm, and Ellis felt her chin lift slightly as she inhaled when Cherry walked by.
“There he is,” Cherry said and dropped everything so she could kneel down in front of Nugget’s carrier, and her voice went up about three octaves as she began talking to him. “Hi there, handsome. You’re home. What do you think? Are you gonna come out?” And with no further coaxing, Nugget stood up and walked right out of the carrier where he’d been sitting for the better part of an hour.
Ellis gave a small gasp. “He’s out. How’d you do that?”
Cherry looked up at her with those big brown eyes and shrugged. “I just talked to him.”
Well,I’dgo wherever she asked me to, so…
