Jackson held the cat out in front of him. He had never had a cat growing up. Dogs, yes, but not cats. “I don’t think so?”
She giggled. “Hold her closer to your body. You can cuddle her. Like this.” She pulled another kitten out of the cage and held it close to her chest. It nuzzled into her neck before attempting to climb onto her shoulder.
He imitated her and the small kitten stared up at him with large blue eyes, slowly blinking and snuggling into his arms. He slowly pet her small head and soon her little body rumbled with her purr.
“I think she’ll want this one.” He dragged the back of his knuckle over her head. He huffed out a laugh. “Hell, maybe I want this one.”
The worker giggled. “Heck, you could get them all!”
Jackson looked up. That was an idea. What would Mia think if he came home with four kittens? She’d think it was amazing!
“I think that’s a good idea. I’ll take them all.”
The girl’s eyes widened. “I was just joking.”
“But it’s brilliant. Mia will love it!”
She would know exactly how much he cared about her. His mind whirled with possibilities. He would have to get a large enough box for all four kittens to sit comfortably, with enough breathing holes, and a large red bow on top. Each kitten would have to hold a red rose in its mouth for presentation.
Genius. It was all genius.
An hour later, Jackson’s truck was loaded with two cat carriers, each containing two kittens, a large bag of food, dishes, collars, tags for the collars, ten different toys since he couldn’t decide which ones they would like best, a large scratching post, litter boxes, and several bags of different litter in case the cats had a preference.
They meowed nearly nonstop the entire drive. By the time Jackson pulled into his driveway, he was questioning his life choices. He shut the truck off and took a deep breath. The little meows didn’t stop, so he hopped out of his truck and rounded it, opening the passenger side door and taking out the two carriers, one from the seat and one from the floor.
“It’s okay, babies. We’re home.”
Mia would be at work for at least another hour, which gave Jackson enough time to get everything out of his truck before she got back. He carried the kittens inside and set the carriers on the ground. Then he ran back outside and quickly carried everything else inside. He set the litter boxes up and added litter before sitting on the floor in front of the carriers and opening them.
The four little furballs walked out and looked around. They all immediately took off in different directions to check out their space. Jackson watched them for a bit before deciding to put together the cat tower. He moved the box to the living room and pulled it open and then went about assembling it. While he attached a pole to the base, one kitten came up and immediately started climbing it. He laughed and picked her up, moving her to the side before continuing. She again jumped on it and started climbing.
“Hey, little one, let me finish it first.”
He moved her, but she came back instantly. He chuckled and sat back, watching for a few minutes, waiting for her to get bored. When it seemed like she wouldn’t, he turned around to check on the other kittens and his eyes widened.
Two of them had climbed their way up his curtains and were hanging near the curtain rod. He sprang up and ran over to the window, trying to pull them down. Once one was safely on the ground, he grabbed the other, but he clung to the curtain like his life depended on it.
“Let. Go.”
He pried his claws off it just as he felt a stab to his leg. Another kitten was attempting to climb his pants.
“What the hell?”
He shook his leg, but it clung harder and meowed at him.
“Can’t you see I’m busy getting your brother off the curtains?”
The kitten only meowed in response. He worked toward getting the kitten’s claws out of the curtains before setting it on the floor and then pulling the kitten off his leg.
The two kittens began tackling each other, so he moved to go back to the cat tower when he found another kitten climbing the side of his couch.
“What in the actual fuck? Did you all multiply?”
He gently pulled the kitten off the side of his couch and held it against his chest. It immediately began climbing him until it was perched on his shoulder. It wobbled, and he tried to pull it off, but it clung to his shirt.
“Come on, kitty. I don’t want you to fall.”
He attempted to pry its claws off his shirt, and when he turned to find the other kittens, two of them were climbing the curtains again.
