Chapter 46
My ride drops me off, and Lincoln looks absolutely wrecked.
“I have flashlights,” he says, handing me one.
“Where did you park? Did you take your car?”
“Yeah I did. It's two blocks back that way,” he says, pointing behind him before we start the search.
“Do you think there's a chance he could have made it back home?” I ask.
“I've been checking the cameras regularly, and they notify me if there's any movement. I also left the window that you broke open a little bit, so if he gets home he can jump up and get in there. I contemplated leaving the door open but… this is New York. I lost my cat. I don't want to lose everything else.”
“No, I understand,” I smile sadly, walking alongside him.
“I’m becoming an expert at losing pussy,” he says, his face an impassive mask as he stares straight ahead.
I can’t help it. A giggle escapes me.
He chuckles too, a brief, hollow sound meant only to ease the tension.
We’ve been searching for nearlytwohours now, voices growing hoarse from calling Morris’s name, pausing strangers on the sidewalk to thrust a photo of the cat under their noses.
Aside from most people, who don't even want to talk to us, because nobody talks to anybody here, everybody tells us no.
That morbid thought in the back of my mind tells me that even if they did know and they are the ones who had Morris, they probably would just keep him.
If someone has him, I just hope it's for the right reasons.
Heavy clouds roll in as the blue from their trails bruises the skies.
Checking the weather, I see that there's a really bad storm on its way.
“It looks like we're about to get a really bad storm,” I let Lincoln know.
“Yeah. More reason why we can't leave Morris out here. Besides, I think that storm is supposed to roll right over us.”
On the third hour the rain is pouring, lightning crashing, and the storm rolled right over us all right. It rolled right over us and stopped right on top of us.
Lincoln and I have to run all the way back to where he parked his car.
Almost drenched, we get back in the car.
It's quiet for a while; the only sound is the rain beating on the windshield and every surface area of the car.
“I hope he found someplace to stay warm and dry,” Lincoln says, shivering under his wet clothes.
“I don't think you have to worry about that. Cats areextremelysmart. They're one of thefewdomesticated animals that are still fully capable of taking care of themselves in the wild. So long as we don't clip their claws, which you didn't do, so if anything he can climb and get himself to safety. Or squeeze through anywhere,” I try to assure him.
“Yeah… but the collar might get caught on something… or… what if he's not fast enough and—”
“Link? Don't start going down that road.Positivethoughts. It's the only thing that we have within our control right now.”
He nods slowly after a while.
Starting the car, he turns on the heat.
We both sit awkwardly trying to warm up our hands as the rain beats all around us, creating liquid curtains that flow and replace layer after layer of water upon the glass of the car.
