“I don’t know, Jade, can she eat that?” I ask, setting her on the ground. But apparently theshein question thinks the answer isyes. She attacks the bits of egg with an aggression that can only be described as terrifying.
Frowning, I pull out my phone and quickly search:Can kittens have egg?
“Kittens can have a little hard-boiled egg,” the first article informs me. “As a treat.”
Fine. A piece of yolk falls over the side of the dish, and the kitten quickly laps it up straight off the floor. “This is just a treat,” I inform her. “Do not get used to it.”
She ignores me.
By the time Justin returns—arms overloaded with shopping bags—the egg is gone, and the kitten has fallen fast asleep on the belly of the two-foot-tall stuffed bee Ashton gifted me. I’d completely forgotten about shoving the damn thing behind thebakery counter until she pulled it out with her teeth and decided it was a perfectly acceptable bed.
“Don’t worry, I got her arealcat bed for the stockroom,” Justin assures me, unloading the bags on the café floor next to me. It looks like he bought half the store. “And another one for your place upstairs.” He pauses, glancing at me sheepishly. “Just until we find her a forever home, of course.”
I sigh, staring at the kitten. She’s condensed herself into a tiny ball of fur, paws tucked against her belly, happily napping on Ashton’s bee. When I reach out to stroke her between her ears, she purrs and rubs against my fingers. Who am I kidding? I’m never giving her up.
“And I got some different types of food. The woman at the store said we should mix water into it in case she’s dehydrated. Speaking of! I also picked up a cat fountain.”
“What’s a cat fountain?” I ask.
“Cats like flowing water,” Justin explains. “At least, that’s what the woman told me. So it’s best to give them a water source where the water is constantly flowing. This one looks like a little koi pond, and it’s got fish painted on the bottom. Oh! I also grabbed some toys!” His grin is boyish, excited.
The kitten opens one yellow eye, ears perking up as he starts pulling out toys for her. He’s already removed the tags and plastic, I notice. Baby proofed. “Since we don’t know what she’ll like, I got a variety and?—”
The moment he pulls a small plush bee from the bag, the kitten sits upright, both eyes fixed. It looks like a miniature version of the one she’s sleeping on right now.
“Oh, you like that, do you?” Justin wiggles it at her. There’s a bell inside, jingling as he shakes it. “Is this a good one? A good toy?”
She trills in answer, making biscuits with her front paws. When he sets the toy down on the ground, we both move back a little to give her room to jump down and play.
She doesn’t. After she navigates her way off the giant bee, she steps forward, moving on the tips of her paws like a dancer. She gives the toy a single light bop with her paw and then picks it up in her mouth.
A loud purr erupts from her chest.
“Don’t you want to play with it?” Justin reaches out as if to take it from her, but the kitten scampers back, her purr morphing into a growl, back arching.
“You like bees, huh?” I muse. “Maybe we’ll call you Beatrice. Bea for short.”
“That’s so corny,” Justin groans. “Bea? Really?”
But the kitten purrs louder, falling onto her side with the bee still clamped in her mouth, and rolling onto her back.
“Okay, fine.” Justin raises his hands in defeat. “Beatrice, it is.”
“Hey, Justin?” I dig through one of the bags, frowning. “Did you only get toys and food?”
“Yeah? What else was I supposed to get?”
I give him a look. “A litter box, maybe?”
Justin freezes. “Crap. I’ll be right back!”
It takes him two more trips to get everything we need, but by the time he clocks out for the day, Bea has everything a kitten could ever dream of.
18
SYDNEY
“Excuse me,I’m looking for a Jade Lee and a Sydney Sinclair?”
