“Dick,” she says, and I laugh.
“We didn’t last,” I say dryly as the barista calls out her order. I don’t tell her that I still dated him for weeks longer than I should have, trying to convince myself that when he did shit like that he was laughingwithme, notatme.
“Can’t say I’m sorry about that.” She shrugs. “Good riddance to bad assholes.”
“Is that how the phrase goes?”
“If it’s not, it should be.” Kat has this smile that would be a grin on anyone else, but on her it’s this secret, quiet thing that feels like a privilege to see.
“How long are you in town for?” she asks once we’re outside, strolling back toward her office, sipping our coffee. It’s gray and cold and leafless, the same February in Virginia that I know so well.
“I’m leaving Saturday morning,” I tell her.
“Are you coming back?”
“Yeah, definitely,” I say before I can think about it. It’s true, though. “A lot, maybe.”
There’s that pleased, quiet smile again, and I realize that I like Kat a lot. “If you need a tour guide who’ll introduce you to everyone, you can call Silas,” she says, offering up her boyfriend’s services. “And if you need to know where you can buy a sandwich without ten minutes of small talk, you can call me.”
“Do you like it here?” I ask. The question gets the tiniest eyebrow twitch above the thick frame of her glasses. If she knows why I’m asking, she doesn’t say anything.
“I do,” she says slowly. “It’s definitely not perfect, but yeah. I do.”
Before I left,I didn’t quite think this through. I didn’t think through how it could be kind of strange to be in his apartment all day, working from home while he’s not here. I also didn’t actually think though telling my boss on Monday that I was sick and would be working from home the rest of the week when I’m really at my boyfriend’s house, five hours away from where I’m supposed to be. Thankfully there are no looming deadlines, but it’s a challenge to find an angle for video meetings that don’t include an oddity in his apartment.
When I’m not trying to keep Mothman out of frame—harder than you’d think, actually—I’m plying Zorro with cat treats because I’m not above bribery. By the close of business on Wednesday, he’s lounging on the table where I’ve been working.
Thursday morning, when I sit on a couch to drink some coffee, he jumps onto my lap and meows directly into my face. His breath is not good.
“He doesn’t even likemethat much,” Javi grumbles from where he’s standing in the kitchen.
“Of course he does. I’m just new and exciting.” Zorro slams his head into my chin, and I nearly spill my coffee. “Ow, dude. Aren’t you supposed to be stealthy or something? Sneaking around in the shadows?”
“I tried to train him to scratchZs into things, but it didn’t work,” Javi says.
“Do you not even know the alphabet?” I murmur to the cat. “Embarrassing.”
I get another headbutt, but I’m ready this time and my coffee is safe.
“Have you even stolen from the rich to give to the pooronce?” I ask him.
“That’s Robin Hood,” Javi calls, walking out of the kitchen to sit next to me. The cat abandons me immediately.
“I thought Zorro was Mexican Robin Hood, kinda? A folk hero?” I’m realizing that my Zorro knowledge consists of a few scenes of black-and-white television, maybe, and that one movie that came out when I was a kid. I’m not even sure I saw it.
Javi laughs, petting the cat, who seems satisfied and oblivious. It must be wonderful to be a housecat: dumb, warm, fed, doted on.
“Nah, he was a vigilante, so more like Mexican Batman. Except also not really Mexican, which I didn’t realize until I’d already named the cat.”
I tilt my head against the back of the couch and start laughing.
“Look, he was suave, handsome, and spoke Spanish, plus I hadn’t seen the show since I was a kid.ObviouslyI thought Zorro was Mexican.”
“I can see your confusion.”
“You do sneaky murders at night in disguise, don’t you?” Javi asks Zorro and gets the world’s loudest purr in return.
My scheme tobribe my way into Zorro’s heart is revealed later that day, when he vomits spectacularly as soon as Javi gets home. It’s not my greatest moment, but I made dinner since Javi has class tonight, so I am forgiven.
