Samir shrugged.
“I’m allergic to dogs for one. And can you imagine? A dog bookstore?”
I considered the idea for a second and then nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. I reckon dog pee and paper doesn’t go well together.”
He laughed.
“That, and I would prefer not to be covered in hives all the time.”
I chuckled, and I was about to ask him how he got the idea when we heard a loud but high-pitched meow from up ahead.
“Bingo,” he whispered, and we rushed up the road until we came up to a trash can.
It meowed.
“You don’t think…” I said and looked at Samir.
Samir hissed before forcing a smile on his strained face.
“You would be surprised,” he said.
“I mean, I’ve seen tons of crap from callouts with the fire department, but never this.” I put my hand around the lid and lifted it.
Immediately, three gorgeous, bright-eyed babies looked up at us and sang at us in sync, begging to be saved.
“That’s because they call us first before they call you in these situations. The last one I found was tied in a bag full of water. The poor thing almost drowned before I found it.”
Bile came up at the mere thought.
“Who the hell would do such a thing?”
“Assholes. That’s who. Monsters; that’s who.”
I was so disgusted, I felt like I was going to be sick, so I tried to instead focus on the kittens inside the trash can.
It broke my heart seeing them all weak and defenseless; their survival at the mercy of whoever stumbled upon them.
My heart tightened, and I grabbed my chest as Samir lifted the box they were in and pulled it out to a meowing choir.
All three looked up at him as if he were their salvation. Their hero. There was fear in their eyes, but equally a desperate plea for love, affection, and life.
My breath caught in my throat, and it took me a few moments before I could breathe again.
“Will you help me?” he asked, and I shook off a tear from my eye and helped him with the box that was too soggy to hold its contents for much longer.
We continued our way up the road and turned left to where we’d parked. I took a blanket out of the trunk and got into the car as Samir passed the box to me and placed it on my lap.
They didn’t stop meowing the whole journey back, and when we got into the bookstore, a new set of meows joined in. I followed Samir’s instructions, and he led me to the back to a cozy but small room that was full of cat toys, litter trays, and bowls before he shut the door so it was just the two of us and the rescues.
Samir took the kitties out of the box one by one and studied them closely before putting out some food for them and stroking them as they ate.
“Thank God they’re old enough to be weaned off,” he said after a while.
I sat down opposite him and stroked the cats as they ate too. They didn’t seem to be scared of humans.
“What do you think happened?” I asked.
