Chapter 26 Gwen - Pspspspsps #2
“O-M-G, it’s a kitten! Gwen, it’s a baby kitten!” Penelope jumps up and down beside me, trying to pull at my arm. I bend down to her level so we both can get a closer look.
This teensy thing is young, probably too young to be away from its mama, and my heart cracks at the thought. There’s no collar. I haven’t a single clue on how to tell whether it's a boy or a girl, but it has the poofiest black fur sticking up every which way, except its little paws are white like—
“He’s wearing little slippers!” Penelope cries out. Yep, just like that.
“He is, isn’t he?” I coo as I snuggle the kitten. “Wait, we don’t know if he really is a he. What made you say that?”
“I dunno.” P shrugs. “Just a guess.”
“Hmm, well, what the heck do we do with a kitten?”
I keep Penelope close to me as we walk up and down the alley, peering into any small nook and cranny looking for this baby’s mom or the rest of its litter with no success.
I have no issue with a kitty cat trotting through the cafe, but without the proper licenses, the Department of Public Health does. I opt to use the spare key for the apartment and guide us all up the stairs.
Penelope keeps a constant stream of facts and questions about cats going to fill any chance of silence. I love listening to her brain pick things apart.
Something tells me Miller isn’t going to be thrilled with the prospect of a temporary roommate in the form of a feline, but too bad, so sad for him. I’m certainly not throwing this baby back out on the streets.
I find a small bowl to fill with water and place it down on the floor in the bathroom, plopping the kitten in front of it so it knows where to find the water when it needs it.
I need to stop calling it an it. That’s rude.
“We’re just gonna keep him in here for now.” I quickly scrub my hands and arms and then shut the bathroom door behind us after we leave. “We have to head to the store for kitty litter and some food, okay? At least until we know what to do with him,” I tell Penelope.
“What do you mean? We’re keeping him! He’s our baby now!” she declares.
“You do remember you have a dad who has told you no every single time you’ve asked for a kitten?” I raise an eyebrow at her.
“That was before you. Daddy never wants to say no to you. Plus, the kitten found us.”
Kind of hard to argue with that logic.
I blow out a breath and bring Penelope into my side. “Alright, we’ll cross that bridge later. First, The Store. Let’s go.”
“No way.”
“Fix the attitude before you walk through that door and disappoint her,” I tell Miller with a hushed voice at the top landing of the staircase. The door is closed, and I’m giving Miller a quick heads-up about what he’s walking into.
“Gwen, you texted me and told me you’re harboring a fugitive cat in my apartment. I’m telling you it’s getting booted.”
“He’s just a baby! He shouldn’t even be without his mom yet. We practically saved his life. We have to give him a home.”
Am I laying it on a little thick? Sure. But in the past two hours, Penelope and I have bonded with this kitten. He has a name and a family with us, and I’m not letting grumpy Miller Caswell burst our bubble of love and fun.
“Him, huh?”
I shrug my shoulders. “P thinks it's a boy. We won’t know for sure until his vet appointment tomorrow but…”
“You already booked a vet appointment?” he asks. Miller steps into my space and gently tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.
I scoff. “Of course I did. He needs to be checked out. He needs vaccines and to be chipped in case he ever gets lost again. And we do actually need to confirm he’s a he.”
Miller presses his forehead into mine. He’s melting in front of me, and I’m fucking living for it. “And does he have a name?”
“Of course, what kind of monster do you think I am? But I’ll let Penelope tell you.” I sneak a kiss. “She loves him so much already. I knew there was no way you could say no.”
He grumbles something inaudible into my mouth, but I get the feeling that he’s conceding. He steals another kiss. “I don’t remember saying yes.”
“But you’re going to, right?”
“One condition,” he states.
“Always with the conditions to our deals, Miller. Aren’t we past this?” I let one finger trail down his chest slowly. His breath hitches, but he doesn’t back down. “Fine, lay it on me,” I say.
“You’re staying tonight. I’ll take the couch, and you can have my bed. But I’ve done the first night with a newborn before, I’m not doing it alone again. Even if it is for some furry four legged thing.”
He’s teasing, but there’s real and raw honesty there.
I don’t want to make his life harder, only brighter.
I nod my head over and over, the smile growing across my face.
I don’t think he means for this to feel like a test, but I think the universe does.
I’m in this. I’m so in this. With him. With them.
Miller pulls me back into him by the nape of my neck, and I sigh with contentment when he kisses me until I’m breathless. It’s not long, maybe a minute, but I let myself get lost in him. When we pull apart I reach behind me, opening the door into the living room.
“Daddy!” Penelope exclaims from her spot on the couch. The poof is curled up in a little ball, wrapped in a blanket, sleeping peacefully in her crisscrossed lap as her hand gently pets down his small back. Well, he was until two seconds ago. “This is Ladybug!”
“Ladybug?” Miller questions, side-eyeing me.
“Yes,” I declare, ready to back Penelope up five hundred percent on her name choice. Miller kicks off his shoes, drops his work bag, and walks towards the couch. I continue, “Ladybugs are good luck. Plus, we were watching A Bug’s Life and the ladybug is a boy.”
“Isn’t he so cute and perfect, Daddy?”
“Yeah, isn’t he, Daddy?” I joke.
Miller pets the kitten behind his ear and looks over his shoulder at me with heat blazing in his eyes. He stands and gives Penelope a kiss on the head. “He’s adorable, Penelope. Can’t argue with that.”
“So we can keep him?!” The amount of hope in this tiny girl’s body is enough to make my heart shatter. If I didn’t convince him before he walked through that door, there’s still no way he would have won this battle.
He sighs and takes Ladybug off of P’s lap. Miller holds his tiny body up like Rafiki holds Simba in The Lion King and then pulls him back to rest against his chest. “Yeah, P. We’re keeping him.”