“Okay!” Nemo grabbed them and started hitting buttons on the computer, making sound effects while he did it. “Beep. Boop. Booper. Beepity.Done. That will be eighty-three dollars, please.”
A cough of surprise burst out of me. “What? How much?”
Another man entered the shop and came directly behind the counter. He was taller than Nemo, with light blond hair, wearing a hoodie. He looked downat the counter before lifting his eyes to meet my gaze. “Sorry about that, he’s still learning.”
The man in the hoodie looked at Nemo with such clear adoration that it made my heart ache.Damn.I might prefer the company of critters over people, but what I wouldn’t give to have someone look at me like that. Of course, I would probably have to spend more than a few minutes with a person, and that wasn’t something I did if I could help it. Despite the intriguing and endearing quality of the sweet man before me, I was about at my limit of peopling.
“I did good, though, right, Cory?”
The hoodie guy, Cory, I suppose, brushed his cheek gently. “You’re doing great, little one.”
Nemo pushed up and kissed the man. I averted my eyes, feeling like I was interrupting a private moment. I coughed again to clear my throat.
Cory straightened and offered me an apologetic smile before ringing me up at a much more reasonable price. I mumbled my thanks and left the two behind.Weird fucking day. First the ducks, thecloud, the drive, and now…Nemo? Maybe I was just hungry.
Looking for a place to sit where I wouldn’t get sand in my drink, I saw a partial wall behind one of the food vendors near a trash can. Sitting by the barrel was a skinny calico cat, clearly waiting for discarded food. She flinched when she noticed I was headed straight for her. Reaching into my bag, I tapped on one of the cans of food I had. Peas weren’t the only thingin my bag. I tried to keep a variety of options for different creatures I might encounter, though I rarely remembered to pack food for myself.
Food always made for a great icebreaker when meeting animals that didn’t know if they could trust me yet. When I tapped the can again, the cat tilted its head. What came out as a meow sounded like, “Food?”
I glanced around quickly, but it was just us back here, at least for the moment. As I carefully approached, I didn’t make a move toward it, but rather sat on the cement wall, pulling the cat food out of my bag. The pâté meat product was handy to have as it worked for a variety of carnivore and omnivore species.
“Yes. I have food for you.” With a pop of the lid, I set the open can on the wall near me. The cat snuck closer, curious and hungry, but still wary of a stranger. She squeaked out, “Safe? Is it safe?”
Being careful to show her my hands, I sat on them so she wouldn’t think I was trying to grab her. “It’s safe, I promise. I’m a friend.”
The calico put her orange and white paws against the side of the partial wall, stretching to peek at the can and back to me. “You understand?”
I gave her a non-threatening smile. “Yes. I understand.”
Her meow sounded a lot like “Wow,” making me chuckle. She jumped up on the wall and sniffed the food before looking up to study me. “Are you cat?”
Another huff of laughter came out of me. It was a common response as animals tried to grasp my ability to communicate. “No, I’m not a cat, but I can talk with many species. My name is Bowen.”
She let out a yowly meow as she tried to mimic the sound of my name. In a strange way, it reminded me of how Nemo had been practicing my name. For half a second, I wondered if there was something not entirely human about him, but I brushed that thought away quickly.Weird day.
“Yup, that’s me. Do you have a name?”
The cat bent over the canned food and took a tentative bite. She began purring and eating without restraint before answering between bites, “I am Royal Mother Catterine Spotted Lion of the West.”
I bit my cheek to hide my amusement. Every cat I’d ever met, whether pedigreed, domestic, alley, or big cat, told me they were of royal lineage. Perhaps they were. They did have quite a powerful history in ancient days, and it seemed each of them carried a piece of that even now.
She stopped eating to swing a glance toward the food vendors. “Humans call me, ‘There’s-that-damn-cat-again.’”
Coughing to cover my laugh, I schooled my expression and asked, “What would you prefer I call you?”
“You can call me ‘Cat.’”
I couldn’t containmy smile this time, but simply said, “It’s nice to meet you, Cat. Do you mind if I eat with you?”
She nudged the half-empty can of food toward me with her little pink nose. A very sweet gesture, considering how skinny she seemed. I pulled out the sandwich I’d just purchased. “That’s okay. I have my own. You can finish that.”
Cat let out a loud purr and continued eating. I ate my sandwich and drank my iced tea, staring out between the vendors toward the glimpse of blue ocean I could see.West. The ducks had been so insistent that I go west. Why? What was I supposed to do once I got here?
“Do you know the area well?” I asked.
“Yes. What do you seek?” Cats were fairly intuitive and smart; their thoughts were typically more complete than those of the ducks or other simpler creatures.
“I’m not really sure. Some friends of mine—birds—sensed some kind of danger and sent me west, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking for or where to go.”
