I blink, trying to process. “Trainer?”
She giggles, stirring the straw again. “Of course.”
I frown, struggling to follow. “Not a teacher?”
“Well, I guess you could call her that. She teaches them tricks and whatnot. But really, she’s responsible for making sure?—”
“Hold up. Tricks?” I lean forward. “Are we talking about human kids or…?”
She blinks at me. “Well, they’re my children, but no. They’re Sphynx cats.”
“The hairless ones?”
She nods, beaming. “You’ll love them. They’re so?—”
The airhorn blasts, signalling the next move.
Thank God.
Crazy Cat Woman winks at me. “Make sure you preference me, stud.”
I force a weak smile, standing and heading to the next table.
Well, that’s too weird, even for Hollywood.
A quick glance tells me I only have one table left before I reach the end of this bizarre night and my real goal—Molly.
I settle into the chair at the next table, offering a hand to the woman across from me.
“Hi, I’m Josh.”
“Elena.” She gives me a demure smile. If I had to describe her to a costume department, I’d say stereotypical librarian—complete with horn-rimmed glasses and a string of pearls.
She holds out a hand expectantly.
“Uh, here.” I tear my sheet off the clipboard and hand it to her.
She glances down and frowns. “It’s handwritten.”
“Yeah, I was a last-minute addition, so I’ll need it back—it’s my only copy.” I flip her sheet on the clipboard to read her answers. “Says here you like football. What type?”
She places my questionnaire on the table and gives me another warm smile. “What kind doyoulike?”
“I mean, if I’ve got a choice, soccer’s my preference. The games are interesting, you know?”
She giggles prettily, and I find myself relaxing.
“You like children?” Elena asks, leaning forward.
“Of course. Kids are hilarious.”
Her smile freezes. “Hilarious?”
I rest my arms on the table. “Yeah. They’re like tiny drunk dictators running around unpoliced. What’s not to love about them?”
“Unpoliced?”
“Well, within reason. I mean, you can’tforcea kid to wear shoes if they don’t want to. But you can bribe them.” I add a wink.
