Chapter 8 – Leon
Chapter Eight
LEON
“Ginger?”
“Too on the nose,” James said, shooting down Leon’s fifth good idea in a row.
“Garfield?”
“I never really liked that cartoon,” James said, shifting from foot to foot at the side of the exam table.
The vet tech had scanned the cat for a chip and, finding none, told them that after the waiting period, the cat would officially be theirs.
Or James’. The cat would be James’, possibly across the city if he chose to move into Aspen and Noah’s new apartment building.
Leon really had no fucking idea why he’d suggested that. James had just looked so stressed and anxious, and after his weird sort-of meltdown in Leon’s bathroom, Leon wanted to do anything in his power to make him feel better. Even if that meant suggesting he move across town with his new pet.
“Alright, we’re a little backed up today, so I sent the vet a message, and he put in an order for an X-ray. I’ll take him over for the scan, and the vet will be back to read the results and go over next steps,” the tech said.
She motioned for James to take a step back, and Leon used that as an excuse to wrap James up in his arms.
The tech wheeled the exam table out of the room, and the door quietly clicked shut behind her.
“Cheeto,” Leon said, and James shook his head.
“Nacho.”
“Oh my god.”
“Okay, you’re right, let’s go back to basics. Cheddar.”
James tried to turn around in his arms, but Leon held him steady. “Are you hungry? Is that what this is?”
“I mean, we haven’t had dinner, and I was a bit too wound up at Hailey’s party to eat.”
The muscles in James’ back tensed, and he stopped struggling. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay—”
“It’s really not. I feel like today was probably a lot for you with Hailey, then I came barreling into your place and dropped a cat and my mom’s big move on you. I’m really sorry.”
Leon hooked his chin over James’ shoulder and pulled him even tighter against his chest, until their bodies were lined up, knee to shoulder.
“You didn’t drop anything on me. You’re right here with me dealing with the cat, and, I mean, aside from you needing to move somewhere else, your mom’s move doesn’t really affect me.”
James somehow stiffened even more, his spine ramrod straight, really messing with Leon’s relaxed slouch. “Darlin’—”
“What if…I want it to affect you?”
Well, that wouldn’t be too hard, given that Leon’s chest was fighting a contentious battle between trying to collapse under the weight of James possibly moving farther away and that balloon in his chest expanding happily at having James in his arms. That was truly all he wanted right now.
To be able to come home after a long day of work or roll over in bed after a nightmare and pull his boyfriend against his chest. He just fit so perfectly in his arms, like they were two halves of a sort of anxious, sometimes ridiculous whole.
“What if I don’t want to move into Aspen and Noah’s new building or their old building or any building that’s not…yours.”
The balloon won out, inflating to the point of bursting at the idea of having James so close by.
“That would be amazing, darlin’. It might be a bit tricky to time a new lease with whenever you sell the house, but if you need somewhere to crash for a few weeks in between, you’re always welcome at my place.”
And maybe that in between time would be a good test to see if James would want to move in after his lease was up. It would also let the orange fluff ball and Yarmen get to know—
“Oh,” Leon said, adjusting his grip on James as he continued to remain frozen like a statue. “You said you’ll need the cat to stay with me and Yarmen? Is that because of the move?”
James nodded stiltedly, his eyes fixed on the faded white wall in front of him. “Is that…okay?”
“Of course, darlin’. I’d love to have him, and maybe…
” Was Leon really going to suggest this, in the middle of the vet’s office?
James hadn’t given any hint that he was ready to move in with Leon right now, but he had said he was open to living in the building with him.
Was there any chance he might be ready to move in by September?
“Maybe…?” James prompted, his fingers locking around Leon’s wrists.
Perhaps because of James’ stranglehold grip, or perhaps because no matter how far they got in their relationship, next steps would always be scary, Leon’s fingertips began to tingle. He forced himself to take a deep breath, then another, and then—just to be safe—a third, and—
The door opened, and one of the vets Leon had seen before walked in. He was a tall, wiry man, with kind eyes and an even kinder smile, which he was wearing as he wheeled their disgruntled looking cat into the room with him.
“So, I have good news and bad news,” the vet said, wheeling the cat to a stop right in front of James. He turned and clicked a few buttons on the computer while the cat flicked his tail in annoyance.
Leon was a little worried for the safety of James’ spine based on how tightly wound he was, but Leon wasn’t doing much better. The tingling had turned to numbness, and his chest was starting to ache.
What was the bad news? Were they going to lose their— no, James’ new cat before they’d even really had him?
“The good news is that nothing is broken. Given that she allows me to touch her leg like so—” The vet gently ran his hand down the injured leg, and only when he neared the bottom did the cat pull away.
“—it looks like a sprain. Because we don’t know when she injured herself, and assuming she wasn’t able to adequately rest in the wild, I’m going to prescribe some mild anti-inflammatory medication. ”
“Wait…she?” James asked, speaking Leon’s thoughts aloud.
The vet’s lips turned up at the sides. “Yes, that is the bad news. Or, not bad necessarily, just contradictory. I know you told the receptionist and vet tech the cat is a boy, but she is, in fact, a girl. Sorry to disappoint you if you'd already picked out a name for a male cat.”
“I thought orange cats were always guys?” Leon asked, lifting his chin off James’ shoulder. He didn’t go far; he just tipped his head to rest against James’.
“Ah,” the vet said, running a gentle hand down the cat’s back.
She seemed a lot calmer now, potentially because no one was trying to scan her, X-ray her, or figure out her gender.
“That’s a common misconception. Most orange cats are male, but some twenty percent or so are female.
It requires both the mom and dad cat to carry the gene responsible for the orange color. ”
“So, she’s a lucky girl?” James asked, tipping forward in Leon’s arms to reach for the cat.
“Well, she managed to find the two of you, didn’t she?” the vet said.
Leon ducked his head and released James so he could go to the cat. “I do my best for Yarmen.”
“And from everything I’ve seen, he is a wonderfully happy, healthy cat. So long as he doesn’t try and eat your plants at two in the morning.”
Leon laughed, but with all the bullshit happening in his chest, it came out sounding like one of the yippy dogs he could hear down the hall.
“Does she need a splint or a cast or a brace or anything?” James asked, both of his hands buried in the purring kitty’s fur.
“She needs rest more than anything else. Try and block off any cat trees, windowsills, or beds she might try to jump up on. Will she be living with Yarmen?”
“For the time being, yes,” James said, his eyes fixed on the cat.
Leon stepped forward and put a hand on James’ back. “Or possibly forever.”
The vet, who had a rainbow “safe space” pin on his white coat, inclined his head. James didn’t stiffen so much as he collapsed over the side of the table so he could wrap his arms gently around the cat. She began to purr so loudly she sounded like a motorboat.
“Purrsephone,” Leon said, overemphasizing the beginning of the name.
James made a choking noise, and the vet ducked his head, only somewhat hiding his wide smile as he pressed a few more keys on the computer before darkening the screen.
“I’ll have the front desk give you some information on introducing cats to each other, but you can find some pretty good tutorials online.
If she doesn’t show improvement in the next three days, you can bring her back to your primary vet, or if she begins showing signs of distress like hiding, panting, or refusing to eat, bring her back in here at any time. ”
“Can we give her a bath? Or is that going to be too stressful?” James asked.
The vet removed his gloves and tossed them in the large, metal trashcan.
“I’d recommend not trying to fully submerge her in water or bringing her to a groomer this week.
It can be very distressing, and she’s also at a heightened risk of slipping on the bottom of the sink or tub.
You can give her a light sponging down, and they actually make dry shampoo for cats. ”
Leon pulled out his phone and started a new note.
He jotted down everything the vet had said and underlined dry shampoo.
He was pretty sure he had some he had gotten for Yarmen after the whole plant debacle, but after that frantic vet trip he seemed to have learned his lesson and had left Leon’s plants and soil alone.
“Thank you so much,” James said, releasing Purrsephone to offer a hand to the vet.
“You’re very welcome. Please take care, and congratulations on your new forever friend.”
James glanced over his shoulder at Leon but didn’t say anything.
Leon had really taken a chance using a word like forever, when they hadn’t even figured out what they were going to do come September, but as he stared at James and his new pet, he knew he meant it.
Purrsephone was a little less cooperative on their way out of the vet than she had been going in. She squirmed around, smacking James in the face with her tail with pointed accuracy.
“We have those cardboard cat carriers you get at shelters,” Theo offered as he handed Leon a final receipt along with an ungodly number of pamphlets.