“Yeah. Probably. It’s the constipated type of weather where you know it either wants to rain or snow or give you a burst of sunshine, and it just can’t decide.”
I stared at him for a few moments, and he stared back before I laughed out loud.
“What? What did I say?” he whined. His eyes went so small and his upper lip curled up. He looked positively adorable.
“Constipated?” I asked.
He chuckled.
“What? You’ve never heard that before?”
I laughed again.
“No. But I guess it perfectly describes the weather.”
The more I laughed, the more his face brightened until he was laughing too, and I forgot all about being cold and am far more concerned with my cheeks hurting.
“You’re so funny,” I told him when I’d managed to compose myself.
“Thanks, I guess.” He gave me the once-over and put a hand to the vent before he turned back to me. “Are you feeling warmer? Should I set off?”
I nodded, and he put the car in Drive, and we hit the road. As we got closer to the bay, we both kept an eye out for any small cat, but thankfully, either they weren’t there anymore, or they hadn’t veered out into the road yet.
“Did they give you a specific location?” I asked.
Samir shook his head. “We might have to go kitty hunting.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got a flashlight,” I said and waved my phone at him.
He pulled up at a parking spot and looked at me again.
“Are you sure you’re okay doing this?” he asked, and his lips looked so shiny and inviting, it took all my willpower to resist giving them a taste.
“Yeah. Of course.”
He sighed, and we got out, turned on the flashlight feature on our phones, and walked down the first alley that led to the bay.
“What do we do when we find them?”
Samir turned to me and raised an eyebrow.
“I mean, do we take them to yours? Do we take them to Duke’s?”
He lifted his chin up, understanding my question, and he smiled. “It depends. If they look okay, we’ll take them to mine and give them food, keep them warm, and take them to Duke’s tomorrow. If not, we’ll take them now and see what happens. He’s already on alert.”
“You two work together?” I asked.
“Of course. He’s a vet. I’m not. I always let him know when I have a report. Sometimes I go, sometimes he goes. Sometimes I keep them. Sometimes he does. Sometimes it’s someone else.”
I nodded and focused on the dark footpath instead of his wonderful, big eyes that only got bigger when he spoke about his cats and his calling.
We got to the end of the alley and turned left, then took the next one. We only passed a few people, but if they were curious what the hell we were looking for with both our flashlights on, nobody said anything.
“Why cats?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why not rescue dogs too?”
