Chapter 5
Bastet
Jemima jumped onto the counter and lazily trotted her way over to me, knowing it would get her the fuss she wanted. She was so predictable like that. It was a shame that her age meant she'd likely never be adopted, she'd do so well in a family home.
I reached out and ruffled the fur behind her ears, getting a glorious rumbling purr in response.
"See, I don't need anyone but you," I said to her. "Especially not a god who is busy with his own life most of the time."
She let out a small meow, as if answering me, though really she just wanted attention.
"Yes, I know." I pulled open one of the drawers and grabbed a catnip-filled mouse.
The moment she saw it, Jemima's attention strayed from me, and she wouldn't be swayed away from the small toy.
I swung it in front of her and she reached out to bat at it. I let go, and the toy fell to the floor, sending her skittering after it. I shook my head in amusement. I'd never quite understood the fascination cats had with catnip, it wasn't one I had myself.
The click of the front door pulled my attention away from the playing cat, and hope filled me that it would be Menhit coming to spend some time with me. Though I knew it would be too soon for that.
But it wasn't her stepping through the door and into the sanctuary, but Ptah. The sun following him inside lit up his bronze skin and gave him a warm glow that perfectly matched the person he was.
"How did you find me?" The question fell out of my mouth before I had a chance to think about it.
"You didn't make yourself very difficult to find," he pointed out. "You literally named your cat sanctuary after yourself."
"Loads of people name cat things after me these days," I countered. "It doesn't mean that it's me behind it."
He chuckled. "That's fair. But I planned on turning up to each of them, one after the other, until I discovered which one you ran."
"How did you even know I'd be running a cat sanctuary?" I asked.
"I either know you so well that I thought it was the right calling for you, or you're terribly predictable. I think it's your choice which of those you'd like to go for."
A small smile crept across my face. "I think I'll go with terribly predictable," I joked.
His laughter filled the room with a warm sound, like a hug from a long-lost friend. How I'd missed that sound in the years since we'd parted.
"You always surprise me, Bastet."
"And yet you think I'm terribly predictable. You're going to have to make up your mind which it is."
"You're the one who said you were predictable, not me," Ptah responded, holding up his hands defensively.
"Hmm."
"But I didn't come to argue about that. I came to bring you these." He held out a small paper bag.
I frowned and took it from him, my curiosity stronger than my need to send him out of the room.
Which wasn't surprising. Curiosity killed the cat, and there was no denying that's what I was.
I opened the paper bag and was met with a sweet and sticky smell that reminded me of times gone by.
"Honey cakes?" I asked, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.
"They're your favourites, right?"
"Yes. Especially the ones..."
"...with dates in the middle." His smile had changed from confident to a little uncertain. As if this was a risk he didn't know whether to take.
"They're really hard to find. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I'm not sure how good they'll be," he said.
"Then why don't you come through to the kitchenette and I'll heat them up for us." They were always better hot, and I remembered how much he liked them too.
He raised an eyebrow, clearly not having expected me to make the offer. I understood where he was coming from. It wasn't like I'd planned this myself, and if anyone had asked me a few days ago whether I'd be entertaining my ex while eating honey cakes, my answer would have been a resounding no.
"Will you make sure the front door is locked?" I asked, pointing in that direction.
Ptah nodded and went to do as I requested without a word.
I hurried into the backroom, trusting him to lock up even without my supervision. I knew him well enough to be certain he'd do it right, and it was more important for me to regain my composure than to stand over his shoulder.
What was I doing? Inviting Ptah into my living space was asking for trouble.
"That's done," he said as he stepped through the arch that separated the front of the cat sanctuary and my space. "There's a cat running around after a toy like it's the best thing she's ever seen. Is she all right?"
"That's Jemima." A smile lifted the corner of my lips at how observant he'd been. "She's fine. She'll be busy for hours with that thing."
I turned on the small stove and got out a pan so I could heat up the honey cakes. I could have put them in the grill I kept on the side, but I didn't think that would be quite right, and considering these were the first honey cakes I'd had in years, I wanted them to be perfect.
The scent of warm honey and sticky dates filled the air, making my mouth water. If only I had some of the wine Sekhmet had brought with her left, that would have been the perfect accompaniment to the cakes.
"You were right about how many cats you have," Ptah said with amusement.
I glanced over at him to find him still standing. "You can sit down, you know." I gestured to the sofa.
He smiled at me and took a seat, though I could tell from the way he was moving that he wasn't as at ease as he wanted to be. One thing that was becoming clear was that neither of us had any idea how to navigate this situation. Or knew what we wanted out of it.
I flipped over the honey cakes and turned my attention to the kettle. "Do you want some mint tea? I have some leaves from Morocco that will go perfectly with these." I'd gained a taste for it while travelling the world.
"That sounds good," he replied.
I left the pan alone for a moment, confident it wasn't going to burst into flames. After a few minutes of bustling around the small kitchenette, I had everything ready and placed a pot of steaming tea on the low coffee table, along with the glasses to drink from and the plates with the honey cakes.
"These smell amazing," I said, inhaling deeply to make the most out of them. Even though I hadn't started yet, I was already regretting the end of the deliciousness. "Thank you for bringing them."
"You're welcome."
We ate in comfortable silence, both savouring the taste of years gone by. In the years since, I'd forgotten what it meant to be at one with my past. I mostly ignored it unless I couldn't avoid it.
I glanced down at my empty plate, feeling a pang of loss over the honey cake already being gone. But I didn't think that was all it was about. There was something I couldn't name stirring up within me. Or, more accurately, something I didn't want to face.
I set my plate down and leaned back in my seat.
Ptah picked up the pot and poured us each a glass of tea. I normally used mugs, but when it came to mint tea, it always felt nicer to drink it out of Moroccan tea glasses.
"Here," he said, holding one of the glasses in my direction.
I reached out to take it from him, our fingers brushing as I did. The whole world felt as if it slowed down. I became more aware of how close the two of us were sitting, and how natural it seemed to be for us to be doing it.
It shouldn't be a surprise. This had never been our problem. Finding the time to spend together had been where it all fell apart. Maybe I was being too stubborn with my assurances that nothing could happen between us.
Maybe this time it would be different.
The expression on his face suggested that he was thinking hard about something, and the hopeful part of me wondered if it might be about the chance of us giving our relationship a second chance.
I wanted to dismiss the notion. It was only going to lead to heartbreak.
"I didn't just come to bring you honey cakes," Ptah said after a moment.
"I guessed as much." I sat back in my seat and blew across the top of my tea.
He cleared his throat, indecision warring on his face. "I know you probably don't want to..."
"Yes, I'll go on a date with you," I blurted before realising what I was saying. It wasn't like I hadn't been thinking about it almost constantly since I caught sight of him at the Jinx speed dating event.
"I was going to say there was no reason we couldn't be friends." He grinned widely. "But I much prefer your ending."
I chuckled in amusement. "Why don't I believe you?"
"I would have been happy to be friends rather than not have you in my life," he admitted. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too. But that was always the issue."
"Mmm, true. But maybe this time it can be different. I don't know about you, but I don't have much going on these days," he said.
"I just have my cats." As if summoned by the mention, one of the tortoiseshell felines found their way into the room and hopped up onto the sofa without being invited.
I shifted so I was sitting in the right position for her to sit on my knee, but she headed straight for Ptah and curled up next to him instead.
"It seems like I've got their approval," he mused.
"We both know how important that is," I joked.
"Especially if you want to convince a goddess of cats to date you."
"Shh, they don't know that's what I am."
He raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Do you really believe that?"
I let out a soft laugh. "You may have a point. I'm sure they've already figured out I can shift into a you-know-what, though I try not to do it in front of them."
"Of course they can tell. You're the one that always told me I needed to give cats more credit and that they knew exactly what was going on."
"You've spent time around them, you know I'm right."
"I certainly know one cat whose intelligence is unrivalled," he said.
The way he looked at me filled my stomach with a fire that hadn't been there in a long time. Or for anyone else.
"She certainly picked up on your awkward flirting."
He laughed and shuffled around on the sofa so he was facing me. "I don't hear you complaining too much about that."
"Then take this as your complaint," I teased. "You're going to have to do better than that on our date."
"Oh, I will," he responded. "You'll see."
The promise in his voice made me certain I wasn't going to be satisfied with just one date.