“You’d better praise him,” said Claire.
“Of course.Can I pat him?”
“Sure.He loves taps on the butt.”When he glanced at her, she added, “I know.Don’t we all?”Then she laughed.
“A woman after my own heart.”Unable to stop grinning, Nick gave Mortimer a few little taps.
The cat’s tail shot up.
“Is that bad?”he asked.
“No, it’s good.When a cat shows you his butt, he’s really saying, ‘I like you, so you can smell me.’I think you’ve won over the Manager, Nick.”
“Look at that.”He stroked Mortimer’s back.“I’m petting a cat, Claire.I’ve never done this before.”
“Aw, well, now you have.”
“Michael and Eli won’t believe it.”
“They will.”Claire pulled out her cell phone from her pocket.“May I?”
“Sure.”He smiled.
“There.”She took the picture and showed it to him.
“I can tell you’re a photographer.It’s a good shot.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Would you mind texting that to me?And to my brothers?”
She sent the texts.“Done.”
“I’m going to forward it to everyone I’ve ever known.”
“You do that.Would you like to brush him?”
“Yeah, I would.”Nick didn’t even need to cajole Mortimer.As soon as the cat saw the brush, he fell into Nick’s lap.“Whoa!”
“He loves getting brushed.”
They sat in silence for a few moments as Nick brushed his new pal.As for Mortimer, with each brush stroke, he grew heavier and heavier.Little by little, his eyes started to close.
Nick’s heart swelled.He was thrilled to have this experience with a cat for the first time in his life, but even happier that Claire had given it to him.As a new warmth cocooned them on their bean bag seats, Nick spoke in hushed tones, so as not to disturb Mortimer.“Thank you.This is awesome.”
Her smile made his lungs feel too big for his ribcage.“You’re welcome.”
“Could we do this again sometime?”
“You know where to find me.”
“Yeah.I do.”
Within minutes, the familiar sounds of the crew arriving for work interrupted their reverie.Outside, car doors were shut.Someone cranked up a radio, and pretty soon, the sound of work boots stomping through the hallway met their ears.
“I guess I should get to work on your office.”
“Yeah.I just need to grab my laptop and a couple of things.I’ll put Mortimer back in his kennel.”
