Griffin
“So, what should we call her?” I asked on the elevator back up to Jake’s apartment. The cat -ourcat - had gone silent, but was staring angrily out of the carrier. She had no idea what was about to happen to her.
Jake stepped out of the elevator. “Preggers.”
“That’s not a name.”
“It could be.”
“I’m not naming my first cat Preggers,” I complained.
Jake flashed me a grin. “Mrs. P?”
I frowned. “No.”
“Tell you what,” he said. “If you pay for all the cat-related supplies we need, you can choose her name. How about that?”
“That seems like a fair deal,” I replied, amused. “As long as you respect the choice I make.”
“Deal.”
When he opened the front door, Skylar leapt to his feet from the couch. It seemed like he’d been waiting anxiously for a response the entire time.
“Where have you - ” He gasped. “Oh my god! Is that her?”
“Yup,” Jake said, holding up the carrier so Skylar could see the cat’s grumpy face. “Say hello to - uh, well, she doesn’t have a name yet. Oh, and by the way, she’s pregnant.”
For some reason, Skylar’s jaw dropped and then he burst out laughing. Jake looked embarrassed and rolled his eyes.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
Skylar wiped a tear from his eye. “Have youmetJake? He’s always talking about how much he hates babies and pregnancy.”
“I do nothatebabies,” Jake growled. “Don’t go around telling people that, geez. I just don’t want any coming out of my ass. And I don’t want to be near them. Besides, kittens are different than human babies. They’re fuzzy and warm and are all grown up in a year.”
“Okay,” Skylar said, still smirking. “Whatever you say.”
Jake shot him a glare, which lasted until our unnamed cat let out a pathetic mewl. “Oh, poor girl. Here, I’ll let you out so you can go pee on Skylar’s clothes,” he cooed.
“Hey!” Skylar protested.
“Right,” I said. “I should get those supplies before that happens, shouldn’t I?”
“Yes, please,” Skylar groaned. “I don’t need to get fired from my new job because my outfit smells like cat pee.”
“There’s a corner store down the street from our building that has basic pet stuff,” Jake told me. “Just grab a cheap box and litter, and maybe a can of food. I’ll get the rest on Monday.”
As I left, Jake was already ushering the pregnant cat towards Skylar’s bedroom, to the vocal dismay of the latter. The cool air hit me outside, making everything feel veryreal.This was happening. Even though I’d lied to Rafael about getting a cat, it ended up being the truth. Go figure.
As if in on cue, Rafael called me once I found the store and was picking up supplies.
“Yo, Griffin!” he said, his voice laced with anticipation.
I chose a shallow blue litter box and placed it on the counter, along with a hefty container of litter. “Hey, Raf.”
“So?” he asked. “How was your date?”
As I gave my card to the cashier, I paused, suddenly confused by Rafael’s statement. I thought I’d made it very clear to him that thiswasn’ta date - that was the entire point of the cat story.
