“He’ll be fine.”
“He’ll be annoyed and blame you. Rightfully so.”
Jax brushed away the comment. “He’ll be thrilled. It’s time. Besides the lady at the shelter said Lucy was very sweet-natured and affectionate. You have to admit, she’s gorgeous.”
“She is.”
The problem wasn’t Lucy’s appearance. She was a stunning Ragdoll mix with blue eyes and a cream-colored coat with darker ears and tail. She’d been friendly when they’d met her at the shelter, but Jax hadn’t gotten the cat for her kids or even herself. She’d gotten the cat for Ramon.
“It’s been a lot of years since he lost Sam,” Ryleigh couldn’t help pointing out. “Maybe he’s okay not having a cat in his life. He’s around people all the time. He’s not lonely.”
“We’re different from cats.”
“Thanks for sharing,” Ryleigh said quietly.
Jax shot her a look. “I’m saying that Ramon needs something of his own.”
“Get him a stuffed animal.”
“A living something of his own. He adored Sam and he’s going to be happy about Lucy.”
“Are we taking monetary bets on that, because I’m willing to put a hundred dollars on the ‘no cat’ marker.”
“Wait and see. You’ll be regretting that in no time.”
They reached the bookstore. Jax pulled around in back and parked. While she collected the cat and a tote bag, Ryleigh picked up the very heavy bag of litter and headed inside. They’d barely made it a quarter of the way to the stairs when Cheryl hurried over.
“Oh, is that a cat? Did you adopt it for your two? They’re going to be so excited.”
“It’s not for the kids,” Ryleigh told her as she put the litter bag on the floor and stretched out her arms. She really needed to think about working out a little more than she was. Once-a-week yoga was doing nothing for her upper body strength.
Cheryl frowned. “Then who is it for?”
“Ramon,” Jax said cheerfully. “For companionship.”
Cheryl’s recoil was so abrupt, it was almost comical. “A cat?You bought your parrot a cat?” Her voice rose with every word. People around them turned to stare.
“I believe the technical term is weadopted,” Jax said, sounding only a little defensive. “And it’s fine. He likes cats.”
“He’s a bird. He’s prey. The cat is a predator. He’ll instinctively feel threatened and be afraid. Why would you do that to him?”
“Once a teacher, always a teacher,” Ryleigh said with a smile. “See how she got in a few facts, all the while scolding you. It’s a gift.”
Jax ignored her. “I understand your concern, but it’s not like that. When I was getting ready to go off to college, I was worried about leaving Ramon alone. He was still going to be here at the bookstore, but it wouldn’t be the same. So we got him a cat. It took a couple for him to find his match, but when we did, he and Sam were inseparable. They played, they snuggled. Ramon was devastated when we lost Sam eight years later to a fast-growing cancer. He was depressed for weeks. For the past couple of years, I’ve been going to the shelter and looking for a cat to audition for Ramon.”
“She does this every three or four months,” Ryleigh added helpfully. “It’s not working. Oh, I know.” She smiled at her sister. “Remember that train wreck we were talking about the other day?”
Jax shook her head. “This isn’t that.”
“This is exactly that. You’ll see.”
“What about the cat that refused to even acknowledge he was in the room. He treated Ramon like a houseplant. That was fun.”
“This won’t be like that.” Jax returned her attention to Cheryl. “I’ll keep Lucy in my apartment for a few days until she’s settled. I’m here for the week, so we’ll hang out together. When she’s comfortable, I’ll introduce them.”
“This is a very bad idea,” Cheryl said. “But I suppose you know your parrot better than all of us.”
Just then Ramon flew up. Jax held out her arm but instead of landing on her fingers, he settled on a shelf and stared at the carrier.
