Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
“Hey Joy, do you have a minute?” Roxie called out. “I have someone who needs some advice on adopting a kitten or a cat.”
It was music to my ears. I loved it when one of my babies could go to a loving home. I took a moment to look at the cages with our thirteen cats. The youngest one we had was four months old. The next youngest was about eight months old, and she had grown out of the kitten stage.
My eyes couldn’t help but turn to my favorite.
He was an older tabby cat that came to us when his owner died.
He was six years old and a love. His name was Rupert, and he could sit by himself for hours or sit in your lap and purr for hours as you pet him.
For some reason, people always passed him by.
They called him a ginger as if that was a bad thing.
After my dawdling, I hustled to the front of the clinic and found Roxie talking to a woman in her late thirties or early forties. She was pretty, but she’d be prettier if she didn’t wear her hair up in a tight bun and wear such baggy clothes.
“Joy,” Roxie smiled at me. “I want you to meet Glenda Pearson. She’s here to adopt a cat or a kitten. I was telling her that you were the one who knew all our pets the best.”
I walked around the reception desk and shook her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. Pearson.”
“Oh, please call me Glenda.” When she smiled at me, I realized I was right. Her smile was great, she was pretty.
“Okay, Glenda. I would love to match you up with a pet.” I looked over at Roxie, who handed me the intake form. Roxie was always very thorough with the questions she asked. She wanted to make sure our animals went to good homes.
I frowned when I saw that Glenda often had to work long hours and didn’t get home until nine or ten in the evening.
“What? Is there something wrong with my form?” she asked. I inwardly winced. I’d totally screwed up by frowning.
“No, of course not,” I prevaricated. I didn’t want her to think that we didn’t like her.
Everything else seemed great. She owned her own townhome, so she didn’t have to ask permission to have a pet.
Glenda didn’t smoke. That was never a deal breaker.
Roxie just made sure that she didn’t send an animal who had any kind of respiratory issue into the home of a smoker. Roxie was definitely protective.
“You said you wanted either a kitten or a cat. Do you really know which you would prefer?” I asked.
Glenda grimaced. “I guess I’m leaning toward a kitten. There’s just something about the idea of having a baby cat to love. I don’t have any kids.” She reached out and put her hand on my arm with a sisterly smile.
“A kitten needs a lot of attention to begin with, just like a baby. I see here that you work a lot of late hours. Is that likely to continue?”
Glenda nodded. “It’s definitely part of the job. I think that might have been part of the reason my boyfriend and I broke up last Saturday…” Her voice trailed off, and then she stared at me. “Wait a minute. Didn’t I see you at Louey’s last Saturday? Weren’t you singing?”
I felt my cheeks heat up.
“Yes, she was,” Ava said excitedly as she came down the hall from the break room. “Wasn’t she awesome?”
Glenda gave me a long, thoughtful look, then snapped her fingers. “What song did you sing again? It sure was a hit with everyone. You were amazing!” Glenda enthused.
I blushed. “I don’t know about amazing.”
“No, seriously! You killed it.” She laughed. “I wish I had half your confidence. What was the name of the song you sang again?”
“I Kissed a Girl,” I croaked out. “These two picked it out.” I pointed accusingly at Roxie and Ava.
“It was great. They did a good job. I was really having fun while you were singing,” Glenda gushed. Then she shook her head, and I watched her mood deflate. “It was a good night for a while. Too bad Rob ruined things...”
“Who’s Rob?” Ava asked.
“I thought he was The One,” Glenda answered. “We’d been together for over four years. He broke up with me that night.”
“Are you kidding me?” Ava gasped. “Did you have any idea it was coming?”
“None,” Glenda shook her head. “He seemed to really be enjoying the night too. I know he liked your performance, too.” She looked over at me and gave me a small sad smile.
“Him breaking up with me came totally out of the blue. It happened maybe twenty minutes after you sang.” She bit her trembling lip. “Oh well, his loss… right?”
We all nodded. “Absolutely,” Roxie said.
“Bet your ass,” Ava concurred.
“He didn’t deserve you,” I promised her.
She stood up straighter and gave us another smile. I admired her attempt to treat her breakup as no big deal, but it must have hurt like hell.
She looked around at all three of us. “So, does my paperwork look good enough for me to check out the cats and kittens?”
“You should come out with us sometime,” Roxie said decisively.
And that was why I loved Roxie. I’d been thinking the same thing.
Glenda hesitated. “Oh, I don’t know… I wouldn’t want to cramp your style.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Please. We’re all about women supporting women. We’re your new girl gang, Glenda. No backing out now.”
Glenda laughed. “Well, when you put it like that… count me in.”
With that decided, I took her back to the kennels. The dogs barked, but I was impressed by how Glenda didn’t flinch. She was calm, cool, and collected. I unlocked the area for the cats.
“Ooooh, look at this fella,” Glenda whispered. Her fingers slid across the bars, slow and deliberate. “She’s so tiny.” She turned to me. “She is a she, isn’t she?” Glenda’s tone was coy, almost flirty.
I nodded. “Yes, Rosebud is a girl.”
“She’s just so small,” Glenda said softly as she pushed her finger into the cage. “So defenseless.”
“Exactly. That’s why she’s going to need someone who can be there for her. Someone who can spend a lot of time with her.”
“I get it. Having someone who won’t hurt you. Someone you can trust and rely on is one of the most, if not the most, important things in the world.”
“What kind of personality are you looking for in a cat? I’ve been taking care of some of these boys and girls for over three months. I can give you the lowdown.”
“I’m looking for someone I can teach and train. I want a cat that’s young.”
I opened up the cage for the eight-month-old snowshoe Siamese cat. He was beautiful. I took him out and started to pet him. “How about this guy? He was brought in after I started. His name is Star because of the white spot on his forehead.”
Glenda pursed her lips. “He’s kind of old. Can you open this one’s cage?” Of course, she was pointing to Rosebud’s cage. The kitten. She poked her finger into her cage again.
“What about all the late nights you work?” I asked again as I put Star back in his cage.
“Oh, I don’t need to work those,” she said as she continued to push her fingers into Rosebud’s cage.
She was lying. I was sure of it.
“Glenda, if Rosebud is left alone a lot, she’ll act out.”
Glenda swung around, and her eyes met mine. “Joy, I would never want to do anything to harm a kitten. Trust me, I know how she feels, all helpless. I just meant that I would start telecommuting in the evenings.”
Helpless?
I tilted my head.
She gave a small, embarrassed laugh. “I know I’m being dramatic.
It’s just that I get it. What’s more, I would never lie to you.
You were there that night when Rob broke my heart.
He and I both watched you. I actually thought we were having a good time.
Getting back to where we used to be, you know? ”
I nodded. What else could I do?
“Then everything crashed and burned.” She shook her head.
I could see that her eyes were glassy, and I wanted to hug her.
“Joy, meeting you now, knowing you were part of those last good moments with Rob, having your friends say we could go out for a girls’ night.
This is like some kind of serendipity. I would never want to disappoint you by not taking care of Rosebud.
I know what it’s like to be taken advantage of, I would never do to this kitten what Rob did to me.
” She looked at me and blushed, then looked down at the floor.
My heart melted a little. Poor woman. She just needed a friend. Thank God she got away from Rob.
“That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard, Glenda. Let’s get you set up with Rosebud and get you the things you’ll need to take her home with you.”
She reached out and gave me a big hug. “Thank you, Joy. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“And then she hugged me,” I told Graham.
“Of course she did. Who wouldn’t want to get their hands on you?”
I slapped his chest. “You are such a man.”
“Guilty as charged.” I watched as he tipped back his beer. I loved being on his back deck, it was quiet and private, and it had the most comfortable furniture in his place.
He tugged on my ponytail. “What are you thinking about?”
“That maybe it’s time you went furniture shopping,” I grinned up at him.
“I knew this would happen. First, I let you into my pants. Now you want to redecorate my house.” He looked skyward. “Please, Lord, help me.”
I giggled. “I’m not the only woman who thinks that you need to have more than a TV and a recliner in your living room.”
He scowled at me. “I haven’t heard any complaints.”
That stopped me short. “I’m not talking about any of your other women,” I said softly.
“Hey, wait a minute.” He pulled me out of my corner of the couch and onto his lap. “You misunderstood me. I haven’t brought any other woman over here. Well, not on a date. You’re it.”
“You’re kidding.”
He cuddled me even closer, tipping my chin higher so that his gaze bored into mine. “I’m not joking. You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted to invite into my home. I’ve had friends over. Some of my work friends and their women—but not a date. What’s more, you’re much more than a date.”
I melted against him.
“You’re much more than a date to me, too. I consider you my man.”