16. Emory
16
EMORY
Something soft brushed over my face.
It wasn’t Vinnie, though he was beside me.
I opened one eye. “Tippy.” She was all black apart from splotches of white fur on the tips of her ears. “You should be asleep.” I rubbed her head, and she purred before snuggling against me. “Don’t you know it’s Saturday?”
She pushed herself into the space between me and Vinnie, looking up at me expectantly.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s too early for F-O-O-D.” Her head bobbed up. “Oh, no. Don’t pretend you can spell.”
I closed my eyes, hoping she’d fall back asleep. She tapped my jaw with a paw. I lay still, not moving, hardly daring to breathe, but she didn’t settle. It was food or she’d continue to bug me.
“Fine.” She leaped off the bed and was out the bedroom door before I’d thrown the covers off. Vinnie didn’t stir, and I tiptoed into the kitchen where Tippy was sitting beside her bowl.
She meowed, as if to say, “Hurry up.”
“Okay, boss.” I saluted and grabbed the kitten kibble along with a can of wet food from the pantry. She sat beside my feet, not taking her eyes off me, while I spooned the wet food on top of the kibble.
“What a good girl, sitting so nicely.” I put the dish on the floor, and she tucked into the food.
“It’s funny hearing you talk about a good girl when it’s usually you telling me I’ve been a good boy.” Vinnie stumbled across the floor, yawning.
“Have you been a good boy?” I pulled him close, his morning wood evident though his bunny PJs.
“I try to be.” We shared a kiss, and he sat at the table in an ordinary chair, not his highchair. He yawned again and put his head on the table.
“Vinnie.” I used my Daddy voice, and he glanced at me.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“The table is for eating. If you’re tired, go back to bed.” We didn’t have any plans for the weekend, and other than me having to pump and supply milk to my regular customers, we had no commitments.
“Okay, Daddy.”
He staggered toward the bedroom while I made coffee. Knowing my boy, he’d want caffeine before taking a nap. I brewed two cups, and even though his eyes were closed, he sniffed and grinned.
“You know me so well.”
“That’s because I love you, and also, as your Daddy, that’s my role.”
Tippy joined us as we sipped our brew, and she almost upset Vinnie’s.
“Can we stay home today, Daddy?” Vinnie drained his cup and lay down.
“I don’t see why not.” It didn’t escape me that he called my apartment home. We spent most of our time together here and not just because I was Vinnie’s Daddy. Though we’d gotten rid of the clutter in his place, and I’d bought storage bins and shelving, we both preferred being at my place.
It made sense, as I’d been here longer and I had everything we needed when it came to cooking or laundry, watching TV, or reading from my vast array of books. Besides, my pump, sterilizing equipment, and mason jars were here.
“What if we stayed in bed all day?” He peeked at me. “That’d be fun.”
“What about food?”
He shrugged. “We can get stuff from the fridge and the pantry and eat off trays.”
Tippy stood on Vinnie’s tummy, and he cuddled her. “I love Tippy.”
“I’m sure she feels the same way.”
Vinnie took the kitten in his arms and sat up, holding her to his chest.
“Can she come to my place some nights?” He buried his face against her, and his voice wavered as he said, “I’ll miss her when she's not with me.”
He was talking about joint custody, and I didn’t have a problem with that. But it brought up an idea I’d been meaning to talk to him about.
“That’s fine. Tippy is as much your cat as mine, but remember, you’d have to feed her and clean out her litter tray.” We’d been taking turns to do Tippy’s food and the cleaning. Vinnie hated the latter, but that was part of being a pet owner: dealing with poop.
He made a face. “The poop, Daddy. I don’t like it. Maybe she should stay here.”
I put my coffee cup on the nightstand. “So even though you love Tippy, you want me to look after her?”
“No, but I have a thing about poop.” His ashen face and how he was clawing at his scalp told me he wasn’t exaggerating.
“No one likes poop, but how about we buy a self-cleaning litter box? That will make it easier for you to deal with.”
He flung himself toward me, almost squishing Tippy between us.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
I needed to broach something, and this seemed like the best time to do it.
“But what if we kept the self-cleaning litter box here?”
Vinnie furrowed his brows, creating the number eleven between them. “So I take the other litter tray to my place?”
I took both his hands and brought them to my lips. “What I’m saying is the litter box should stay here and so should you. For always.”
Vinnie didn’t say anything, and I could almost see his mind whirring as he processed what I’d said.
“You want me and the litter box to stay here.” He cocked his head. “With you and Tippy. For ever and ever?”
“That’s right. I think we should live together, and my apartment seems like the best place to do it. Unless you think we should move next door.”
I let that information sink in.
“Oh no! I love your place.” He grabbed a pillow and hugged it as he gazed around the room. “I’d have a drawer and a closet of my own.”
I took his hand and got him out of bed. Letting go of him, I slid open the walk-in closet I’d had built years ago and which was half empty since I didn’t have a lot of stuff.
“You wouldn’t be living in my apartment as a guest. This. All of it would be ours. The bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, and living room. All I ask is that you don’t rearrange anything in my office.”
Vinnie outstretched his hands and twirled around inside the closet. “I love it.”
I raised a brow and he giggled. “I love you, Daddy and Tippy, and I so want to live with you.” He leaped into my arms and wrapped his legs around me. “But I have a confession.” He lowered his voice. “I love the closet too.” He giggled, and I peppered kisses over his throat.
Tippy meowed and jumped onto a shelf.
“Okay, Tippy. Rule number one. No going in the closet.”
Vinnie carried her out.
“If you’re worried about poop, we have to make sure she’s never shut in there.”
Vinnie made a face. “Ewww. Kitten poop on my favorite shirt.” He kissed the top of her head. “I love you but not that much.”
We had to prepare the apartment for Vinnie’s arrival. Not that he had much stuff, but I’d lived alone for years, and I had to get used to sharing my home, our home, with my boy.
“Let’s get started with the move.”