Chapter 6
Chapter Six
On Saturday morning, Sarah drove around the corner and along the main street for the second time in five minutes. The bookstore already had a crowd gathering inside, and she slowed down, searching for a place to park.
“There’s a spot!” Riley pointed at the side of the road, where a small black car was pulling out ahead of them.
“Good eye,” said Sarah, pulling up to the car in front of the empty spot and concentrating on her parallel parking.
“Can we go see the kittens now?” Riley asked, opening the passenger door and climbing out before Sarah had even turned off the car.
“Whoa, wait a minute,” said Sarah. “I have to pay for parking first.” She climbed out of the car and locked it, then stepped up to the parking meter, glancing up at the apartments above the shops that lined the street.
She thought it must be nice to work so close to home, but escaping the office for a completely different part of town had its advantages too.
Riley shifted from foot to foot as Sarah glanced at her old Honda’s license plate—why could she never remember it properly?—and concentrated on entering it into the machine and paying for parking. An hour would do.
“Come on, Mom.”
Riley’s was almost whining again, and Sarah shivered.
She really hated that sound. But she reminded herself that snapping at her daughter would only start a fight, and instead placed her credit card into the slot to pay.
“Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of cats when we get there. It’s only ten thirty.”
“But I promised Sally I’d be here early. And now we’re late.”
“We aren’t late,” said Sarah, though of course she was half an hour later than she had promised Simon. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? Simon.
She had taken longer than anticipated because she’d tried on four different outfits.
The skirts had looked too feminine and carefree—she needed new clothes if she was going to look more distant and uninterested.
And the pants… everything but the jeans made her look like she was on her way to work.
Which sent the message that she was too unapproachable. Too formal.
Finally, she had settled on a T-shirt with a V neck that showed a bit of cleavage but not much, and the same jeans she had worn to the meeting. Would he remember? Did she care?
She replaced her card in her purse and fished the ticket out of the machine—probably more slowly than necessary, but the girl really needed to learn patience—and then Riley grabbed her hand and nearly pulled Sarah off her feet.
“I said I was coming,” said Sarah, laughing and falling into step beside her daughter. It was nice to see Riley excited about something, she reminded herself. Even if it was a cat, and even if it was a cat Sarah did not want.
The Bookworm by the Bay was even busier than it had appeared from the street.
The promise of a sale on books accompanied by the cuteness factor of cats and kittens seemed to be a big draw.
Sarah nodded to several people she recognized but didn’t take the time to stop and say hello because Riley was pulling her along to the back of the store where the displays were set up.
A large banner display near the science section read “Pages and Paws—Where stories find readers and cats find homes.” Sarah rolled her eyes at the advertisement, wanting to turn around and avoid the inevitable, but it was too late.
Riley had released her hand and was rushing toward her friend Sally.
In an area of the store usually reserved for patrons to sit and read, tables held either a Plexiglas enclosure, brochures and adoption applications, or books about cats and cat care.
On a shelf nearby there were products, ranging from mugs to stuffies to book socks and bookmarks, all featuring cats.
Several children, including Sally and Riley, were gathered around the largest enclosure—and there she saw the two fluffy gray kittens, their blue eyes filled with mischief as they wrestled and scampered around the space, pausing for breath and then starting again.
“Look, Mom,” said Riley, waving at her to come closer. “It’s Dot and Dash.”
“I see that,” said Sarah, smiling and edging closer despite her earlier reticence. When she got within a meter of the enclosure, she noticed Simon standing nearby.
“So what percentage are you at now?”
She looked at him, wondering what he was on about.
“With respect to your decision about whether to go forward or not,” he added, reminding her of their earlier conversation.
She looked over at Riley and Sally’s animated faces as they watched the Tumble Twins scurry around the enclosure, tumbling all over each other.
“I suppose I am now at ninety-nine percent,” she said, moving closer so they weren’t yelling across the room at each other. This was, after all, a bookstore, despite the mayhem around them.
“Have you given any further thought to asking for those in particular?” he asked, nodding toward the kittens.
“Well, they’re very cute,” she said, smiling in her daughter’s direction. “And if Sally and Riley each adopt one, it will give the pair some time together as they learn to live in separate houses.”
“So you’d be interested in a co-parenting arrangement of sorts?” asked Simon, his face suddenly serious. “I assure you I’m pretty easy to work with, and I was serious when I offered to help watch Riley some afternoons this summer.”
Sarah felt her shoulders relax for the first time since she’d dropped her mother at the airport earlier that week. Help. Though she hated to admit it, she could really use some over the next few weeks.
“And I can still return the favor by taking on the kids when you’re working in August,” she assured him, not wanting to be seen as someone who couldn’t hold up her end of a bargain.
Simon’s face broke into a grin. “I was really hoping you’d say that.
I took the liberty of grabbing a couple of applications when I came in.
How about if we head over there and fill them out?
” He pointed to where a pair of volunteers from the rescue center were stationed at the door, available to answer questions.
“I have a caveat,” she said. “I have to go to Ontario in August to see my sister’s new twins once they’re born.
I’m not sure I can avoid that trip.” Though she wanted to—avoid it ,that is.
Not because she and her sister didn’t get along, exactly.
It was more because when she saw her mother and sister together, she was reminded of their strong bond—stronger than the one she had with their mother.
Sarah had always been her father’s daughter, and with her father gone, she was reminded of how alone she was now.
“I’m confident we can figure it out,” said Simon, grinning wider still.
Sarah couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm.
He seemed nearly as excited as the girls, and she found herself feeling a twinge of excitement too.
Better to enter this arrangement with enthusiasm than to be pulled into it.
No one liked a wet blanket. The kittens were cute.
And, really, how much trouble could a small bundle of fur be?
“Let’s go adopt us a pair of kittens,” he said, beckoning for her to follow him to the front of the store.
“Lead on.” She threw her objections aside.
As a lawyer, she knew that once you made a decision to go in a direction, it was best to keep going.
Confidence was contagious. And it was also very attractive, she was reminded as she followed Simon, who seemed as confident as one could be that they could adopt this pair of kittens.
When they were done filling out the forms and discussing logistics, they approached the table where Raven Johnson was now sitting.
“Hello again,” she said as they approached. “You were at the presentation at the school last week.”
“Yes. I’m Simon. And this is Sarah.” Sarah nodded at Raven. “When we spoke to you at the school, you mentioned that if we made sure the Tumble Twins would see each other often, we could be considered as their adoptive families.”
“Yes, I did.” She took the forms that Simon handed her and glanced down at them. “I haven’t had anyone come forward looking for a pair yet.”
The girls appeared, as though from air, a moment later. “Hi, Dad. Did you see the kittens?”
Simon turned toward his daughter, and his eyebrows rose.
“Sorry,” Sally said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Are these the girls who are interested in the kittens?” asked Raven.
“Yes, Dot and Dash,” said Riley. “They’re so cute.”
“They’re a bonded pair,” said Raven, speaking to Riley and Sally as though they were grownups. Sarah appreciated that. “That means they’re used to being together, and separating them too much could be stressful for them.”
“What if we brought them to see each other a lot?” asked Riley. “Sally and I are always together. Grandma says we’re two peas in a pod.”
“Well,” said Raven, looking at Riley very seriously. “That could work. But what if you and your friend here…”
“Sally,” said Riley. “I’m Riley.”
“What if you and Sally fight and don’t want to see each other anymore?”
Riley thought for a long moment. “You mean like a divorce?”
“Yes, I suppose.”
“We would have to do what was right for the cats,” said Riley, looking up at Sarah. “Right, Mom?”
Sarah smiled sadly at Riley, who, she knew, missed her father horribly. “Yes, I suppose you’re right about that.”
“We could do that,” Sally piped up, earning a smile of approval from her father. “We can be grownups.”
“Well, I will take this into consideration,” said Raven. “We’ll take the papers today, and I’ll send you an email by tomorrow evening to let you know our final decision.” She looked up at Simon and Sarah. “This looks like a win-win solution for the twins as well as you. Thank you.”
“Does that mean we get the cats?” asked Riley, looking Raven straight in the eye. The child was like a dog with a bone, and Sarah sighed heavily.
“What this means is that when I go through all the applications we receive today, I will keep you in mind for the twins. Would you still be interested if we found different kittens for you?”
Sally and Riley looked at each other. “We both want a kitten,” said Riley, “but since the twins need to go to one family, we could do that. We are like sisters.”
“Thank you,” said Raven. “I’ll be in touch by the end of the day tomorrow.”
Sarah thanked her, and she and Simon ushered the girls away from the table.
“Now what are we going to do, Mom?” asked Riley.
“We’re going to wait for the decision,” said Sarah.
“I think we have a good chance,” said Simon. “Meanwhile, do you want to spend any more time with the cats? Or maybe go upstairs and get your face painted? I saw a sign over by the stairs. I’m going to get a book. It’s summer, and I can finally dive into a new sci-fi I’ve been waiting to read.”
Sally and Riley went back to the cats, leaving Sarah alone with him again. “I should go soon, but I’ll leave you my phone number in case you hear from Raven before I do.” She took out her business card and scribbled her personal cell number onto the back.
“Thanks,” said Simon, taking it and placing it into his pocket. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Yes.” She gazed into his eyes just a little longer than necessary then stepped back. “I also wanted to grab a book while I’m here, and maybe one about cat care. I’ll talk to you later.”
They dispersed to different parts of the store, and once Sarah had grabbed her book and chosen one on cat care that was appropriate for an eleven-year-old, she told Riley it was time to go.
Riley looked a moment like she was going to argue, but when she saw the book her mother was going to pay for, she seemed to think better of it. Sarah smiled inwardly. The kid was learning to pick her battles. A good lesson to learn.