33. Chapter 33
Chapter 33
I want to bring them all home. I understand why Ian does this every month. These poor little babies. Although, I must say, they are spoiled at this rescue. Ron and Beth treat all of them as if they’re their own pets. Walking in, I was expecting to see lines of cages and kennels, but I was amazed to see a series of small living rooms with more than one cat in each room.
Every room we passed on our way to see this white cat has a window, a couch, coffee table, and way too many toys, scratch posts, and cat trees. The front of every room is glass so you could see everything going on.
“This place is amazing!”
“Thank you. When I was a little girl, I begged and begged my dad for a cat. He finally gave in and brought me to the local rescue and my little nine-year-old self couldn’t understand how or why all the cats were in small little cages stacked one on top of the other. I spent weeks crying over the fact that he wouldn’t let me bring more than one home. He told me if I was so worked up about it, that I should change it. So for years after that, even when I moved out and got married and had kids of my own, my dad and I would sit for hours planning out what a rescue should look like. When he passed, I learned that he had taken a large amount of life insurance with the purpose of me being able to open a place like this. Hence why it’s called Jay’s Dream ,” Beth explains.
“Wow! That’s amazing,” I say in complete awe. I can see why Ian chose this place to help out on a regular basis.
Stopping at a door, Beth turns to me and says, “The set-up through these doors is a little different. Not every cat likes being with other cats. This room is set up a little bit more like what a PetSmart adoption center looks like. It’s where we keep our bonded pairs, new moms, and cats that just like to hang out alone.”
Pushing through the door, I see that Beth downplayed how much these cats are also living it up. Again each stall reaches from floor to ceiling and is about three to four feet wide. Every single stall has a window, overlooking a series of bird baths and bird feeders. I notice a few cats too enthralled by the bird show outside to notice us walk in. Again, each little cat apartment has toys, scratchers, and multiple beds.
“You clearly like your cats; they seem to be living the life here,” I say, making Beth laugh.
“That is certainly our goal. We have a great adoption rate and an amazing retention rate, meaning that very, very rarely do people return their cats to us after adopting them. I like to think it’s because our cats get used to living in home-like environments here and we have daily volunteers come in and play with them. Even the ones in this section get taken out of their stalls almost daily to go hang out in one of the sitting rooms we have on the other side of this door so they can get comfortable with watching TV or just sitting in a person’s presence.”
Passing by a few more stalls, stopping to play along the glass wall with a few of them, we finally get to the last stall at the end of the hall. It looks empty; it has toys, beds, food, and a water bowl, but no cat.
“Here we are. She’s a little shy,” Beth explains, opening up the door. “She usually likes to hide in this box, let me just try to get her down.”
Stepping aside to let Beth grab this cat, I turn to the stall beside it giggling as I see the cat rolling on its back juggling a small plush mouse in its front paws.
“Here we go. Why don’t we take her into one of those sitting rooms I mentioned.”
Following Beth through another door, I don’t spot the cat in her arms. Opening a door to a small room with some books, a couch, and TV, she says, “How about I leave you ladies here and go make sure the men aren’t making a mess of my supply room?”
Before I can answer, she deposits the smallest cat I have ever seen onto the couch and closes the door behind her. She can’t be more than five or six pounds.
“Well, aren’t you gorgeous,” I whisper, slowly raising a hand to let her sniff me. “Aren’t you just the prettiest girl?” I say, taking a seat on the couch myself as I keep whispering sweet nothings to her, hoping she decides she likes me too, because there’s no way I’m leaving without this cat.
We never had pets growing up—my parents were against anything with fur coming into the house. I had begged and begged for a dog after the thunderstorm incident, being too afraid to stay at home alone, but they never budged. I moved out from their home into a dorm room, so I couldn’t get a pet then, and then I moved in with Lucas. I pestered and pestered him for a cat, but he never budged, saying they were not the pet for him. I asked what kind of pet was for him, and he said none, that animals were dirty. At one point I just stopped bothering.
Next thing I know, she’s timidly walking onto my lap, settling down. She’s still a little tense, not fully relaxed, but that changes the minute I start rubbing her between the ears. It doesn’t take long before her eyes are closed and her head is stretched back, begging me not to stop.
“You are definitely coming home with me. But now, what to name a sweet girl like you?” I ask.
Both of us look to the door when we hear the handle jingle to see Ian softly walk through the door. Once again, my breath catches and butterflies flutter low in my belly at seeing him. He’s mine, I know he’s mine, yet I can’t help but react every time my eyes land on him after any amount of time apart.
“Hey there, Pretty Girl.” And with those four softly spoken words, I feel my cheeks redden and smile curve my lips. “I see you girls are getting along,” he remarks, coming to sit next to us, putting an arm around my shoulders.
“I’m bringing her home,” I say, making him laugh.
“Is that so? Have you asked her if she’s okay with that?”
Before I can even answer, the cat turns her head towards Ian and lets out a long meow.
“I think she answered that for you!” Ian says, letting out a soft laugh as I fall more in love with my new best friend.
“All I need to do now is find her a name,” I say pensively.
“At this rate just ask her what she wants to be named, she clearly knows what she wants in life,” he says, softly putting his hand out so she can give him a sniff. “What did you have in mind?”
“As a kid I always said if I ever got a pet I would name them Hazel, but I think she looks more like a Daisy What do you—”
Again, we’re cut off by a long meow, making us both laugh.
“Looks like she agrees,” Ian says, running his fingers down her back. “And it looks like she’s just as feisty as Hagrid. You’re in for a treat.”
A soft knock rings off the door just before Beth pokes her head through spotting all three of us cuddling on the couch. “I see we’re all getting along here! That’s perfect! Is it safe to say she’s your cat?” she asks with a big smile beaming across her face.
“Oh, I am definitely taking her home!” I say, without a doubt.
“Oh, I’m so happy to hear that!” she says, with tears in her eyes. “Don’t mind me, I always shed a few tears when I know one of my babies is getting a forever home.” Wiping at her cheek she says, “I need to fill out some paperwork before you take her home and it’s usually customary that I keep them here for twenty-four hours after you’ve agreed to adopt her. I find it gives people time to change their minds if need be and to get everything in order before they bring their new family member home. It also gives you time to go over the pamphlets on how to introduce your new buddy to their new home, etc,” Beth explains.
“That’s okay,” I say, scratching Daisy under the chin, just a little disappointed that I won’t be bringing her home right this moment but understanding her position. “I do need to get her a few things before bringing her home.”
Squeezing my shoulder, Ian leans in to whisper in my ear, “How about we stop at Levi’s and grab you an overnight bag and you try out the tub I have in my ensuite at home? Then we finish our Harry Potter marathon and snuggle with Hagrid, or we scour the internet for the best cat stuff to go buy tomorrow morning?”
“Perfect! Did you pick a name out? If so I’ll place it on her stall so we know what to call her until tomorrow afternoon?” Beth asks.
“Daisy.”
“That’s the perfect name. I was really afraid that whoever was going to adopt her was going to give her a corny white cat name like Cloud.”
“Oh God, no!” I agree with her.
Ian and I follow Beth back to the front of the rescue where she gets me to fill out a form so she has my contact information, etc.
“Do you need anything else?” I ask her, hanging her back the form.
“No, that’s all there is to it. Here is the pamphlet I was telling you about,” she says, handing me a few papers. “And the adoption fee is to be paid before you leave with her tomorrow. Oh, if you need a carrier, you can borrow one as long as you bring it back within forty-eight hours, but it’s best to get your own for vet visits and such.”
“I’ll make sure to grab one at the store tomorrow,” I tell her with one last wave before Ian grabs my hand, leading me back to his truck.
“I have a cat!” I suddenly say excitedly, as we pull onto the road.
“I know,” Ian says with a laugh. “Are you excited?”
“I cannot wait to bring her home! But I need so much stuff!”
“Don’t worry, we can figure all that out tonight,” he says, laying his hand on my thigh. “How about I take you home, we order some pizza, and make a list of everything you two are going to need while we finish our Harry Potter marathon, since it looks like it’s going to rain?”
“That sounds great!”
“Perfect. Home it is then.”
Home. It’s the second time he says home when referring to his place and I can’t say that I mind. I could easily see it being my home. Not just because the house is gorgeous, but because Ian is my home. I’ve fallen in love with myself again as I’ve fallen in love with Ian. He’s my safe place to grow, explore and learn. He’s where I feel the most confident. With that thought, I settle into the passenger seat of his truck as he drives us to his place.