Chapter 6
Chapter six
Nat
Nathaniel walked down the stairs with Thea’s empty soup bowl, his heart heavy. If only he could help Thea more, but there was nothing he could do except make sure she had water and anything she needed to eat.
She had to heal on her own.
But he had done what he could, so he should leave, even if he didn’t want to.
He glanced up at the stairs. Perhaps he should sleep on the couch tonight. If he was human again, though, would Thea be upset to come down and find him there?
His nose began to itch, and he sneezed. He rubbed his nose, the blasted thing itching like it was going to burst into flames.
Nat’s eyes widened. This was the same thing that had happened this morning when he turned back into a human.
Was he about to turn into a cat again?
He didn’t want to be a cat—and he couldn’t leave Thea vulnerable. He hurried over and locked the door, barely managing it before he grew drastically shorter. He groaned in annoyance, looking down at his orange paws.
Of course. At least he’d managed to get the door locked first.
Thea was safely upstairs and would have no idea that he was turning into a cat, which was probably for the best. He didn’t want her to worry.
He was doing enough worrying for both of them.
What would happen if he kept turning into a cat? He didn’t want to be a cat for the rest of his life. He wanted to be human. The fact that he could turn back into himself was a relief—but it almost made it harder.
If he was just a cat, he didn’t have to tell anyone what was happening.
The orphanage would run without him. His brother wouldn’t even notice his absence.
And Thea would merely assume that he had run away again, like he had all those years ago.
While he didn’t want her to think him capable of such a thing…
perhaps it would be better than having a landlord who turned into a cat with only a moment’s notice.
Nathaniel sighed and made his way to the fireplace, where Ginger was curled up in a ball. She poked her head out from under her paw and sniffed at him.
“Where have you been all day?” she asked. “Nathaniel was here. You should meet him. He’s nice.”
“I already told you, I’m Nathaniel,” he said a little sour about the fact that she still refused to recognize who he was.
But then again, she was a cat, and you couldn’t expect a cat to have logic.
“He fed us today,” Ginger continued, “which was good because Thea was sick.”
“Is Thea usually sick?” Nathaniel asked. He knew the answer, or at least he thought he did, but he wondered what Ginger’s perspective was.
“Not often,” Ginger said, “so it’s a good thing Nathaniel was here today.”
“I suppose it was.” If she wouldn’t accept that he was Nathaniel, at least it was good to know she had a favorable opinion of him.
“I like Nathaniel,” Ginger said with satisfaction. “He petted me a lot today. You should have been here.”
“I wish I had been,” Nathaniel said with a smile, if only to hear what Ginger thought of him as he had taken care of her all day. He would admit he had enjoyed imagining her thoughts while helping today.
Getting to know Ginger as a cat was perhaps the best part of this whole experience.
“Is Thea feeling better?” he asked Ginger, wondering what her perspective was.
“She’ll be fine tomorrow,” Ginger said. “She has to be.”
“Why is that?” he asked. Could she tell he was amused?
“She has to take care of me,” Ginger said.
A very practical answer. If he’d been human, his lips would have been twitching in the effort to not show his amusement. But since he was a cat, his face didn’t show that he was very close to laughing—or as close as a cat would be.
Which was probably a good thing, because he could only guess at what Ginger’s reaction would be to being laughed at.
“I think I shall go to bed now,” Ginger said, completely unaware of his difficulty in keeping a straight face. “You should stay tomorrow if you want food. Thea doesn’t like when we’re not in the kitchen with her.”
“Thank you for the warning. I shall be sure to be there.”
“You have to be right next to her,” Ginger warned, “or you don’t get attention.”
“That’s a good idea,” he said diplomatically. Perhaps he should give Ginger less attention when she tried to trip him in his human form.
“Of course it is,” Ginger said. “I always have good ideas.”
Nathaniel held back the laugh that threatened to trickle out, although part of him wished to hear what a cat sounded like when it laughed.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said.
“If you don’t disappear again,” she pointed out.
“If I don’t disappear again,” he agreed.
He wished he could assure her he wouldn’t, but unfortunately, he could make no such promises, and that was disconcerting.
If only he could know whether he would be a cat in the morning…or a human.
He sighed as he settled into a comfortable place and began to knead the carpet with his paws. He laughed at himself. Of course, he was kneading the carpet. He’d never felt more like a cat.
Hopefully the cat instincts wouldn’t stay when he once again transformed.
If he transformed.
While Ginger might appreciate being a cat, he certainly did not, and right now he would give anything to settle into his own bed.
He missed the children and their antics.
Maybe he would go over tomorrow, whether he was a human or a cat.
But if he went over as a cat… Beth would definitely try to catch him, and she was fast. Probably faster than him.
He didn’t need to be caught by a five-year-old.
***
Nathaniel stretched as he blinked and the room grew brighter around him. It had been one of the best nights of sleep he’d had in a long time.
But then he opened his eyes fully and realized that instead of being in his comfortable bed, he was still on Thea’s floor, and he was still a cat.
If he had the words to say, he would’ve shouted, “Why?!” at the sky. Since he couldn’t, he just groaned.
Why couldn’t he have woken up as a human again?
A noise came from the staircase, and he turned to look as Thea slowly made her way downstairs. She gripped the handrail in a way that was unlike her, and he frowned as much as he could in his cat form—she should not be out of bed, yet here she was.
If he wasn’t a cat, he could do something, but as it was, he was helpless. It irked him, being unable to tell her to put herself back to bed, that he would take care of the café so she could sleep.
Not that she would want to let Nathaniel do it either way, but at least he had a chance if he was human.
He got to his feet as she made it to the bottom of the stairs and paused, gripping the handrail for a moment.
What was she thinking, getting out of bed?
“Good morning, kit,” she said when she saw him.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here yesterday. I wonder if anyone is looking for you.
I hope I didn’t make them miss you for longer because I kept you inside, unless Nathaniel let you out yesterday.
Was he surprised to see you? I’m sure he had no idea that I’d found you. I should have asked him about you.”
Nathaniel watched as Thea slowly made her way to the counter and began to prep for opening.
Her movements were slow but methodical, as she started by pulling coffee beans out of the pantry.
She usually woke earlier, so at least she’d slept in a bit, but now she would be behind, and she’d be frustrated at herself for that.
If he turned into a human again, maybe he could ask her to allow him to become her assistant. Not that she would.
Even though he’d done a fabulous job of being her assistant in Riyel.
Until he’d left.
No, she wouldn’t allow him to do so. But he could ask, and maybe it would inspire her to search for one herself. She shouldn’t be the only one here, day in, day out—not when the café was always so busy.
It would be one thing if it hadn’t grown in popularity over the years and she was still struggling to make ends meet.
But he knew better than that. He had seen the way the pantry was beginning to fill with a surplus of things she might need, in a way that he hadn’t seen since their days in the bakery in Riyel.
Thea was a good business owner, and he knew it had irked her to not have what she would have thought was a sufficient backup. The pantry filling up was a good sign.
“It was nice to see Nathaniel yesterday,” Thea mused as she began pouring ingredients for muffins into a bowl. “You don’t know him,” she said, turning to look at Nat, who was frozen in place, “but he is one of the most kindhearted souls I know.”
Part of Nat couldn’t believe he was actually hearing this…and part of him thought maybe he should leave so he didn’t.
Did it count as eavesdropping if you were cursed to turn into a cat?
“It would seem that hasn’t changed, given the way he helped me yesterday.” She paused, chewing on her lip as she measured something on the counter. “It does make me wonder, though…but I suppose it doesn’t matter what could’ve been.”
She took a deep breath and let out a sigh.
“You should have seen us before,” she said as she began whisking briskly, though her movements were slower than he remembered. Was it because they had both grown up, or was it because she was not feeling well?
“We were the best team in Riyel,” she said quietly, “and I knew that I could count on him no matter what.”
I know we were, he said, though she couldn’t understand him. You can still count on me.
“I haven’t let him be part of my team since I came here, but I got a taste of it yesterday, and I don’t know how I can go back.”
She sighed as she began scooping the mix into cups for baking.
“It is a pity,” she said. “I loved him then, and it would be far too easy to love him again.”
I never stopped loving you.
But she couldn’t hear the words under the meowing.
She let out a new noise as she brushed her hands off on her apron. “Well, that’s enough reminiscing. Let’s get these in the oven.”