Gatsby seems to agree because he stands up on his hind legs and begins kneading his claws on the front of my scrubs.
“Do you suppose cats can get fat from eating spiders?” Meyer asks.
I look at her with wide eyes. “Eating spiders?”
“Well, this is going to sound strange, but once upon a time, there was a spider in my bathtub, and Gatsby came in and snatched it up and ran outside with it. And I’ve seen him do it a couple of times since, almost like he’s decided he can catch a spider easier than he can catch a mouse.”
“I mean, I guess, hypothetically, there are a lot of animals that survive by eating spiders and bugs, right?”
“It wouldn’t be so bad, but sometimes, he climbs up on my lap and tries to rub his face on mine and he’ll still have a leg hanging out of his mouth.”
I look down at Gatsby, and I’m pretty sure he’s smiling up at me.
“Well, the good news is you don’t have to call pest control.”
“I guess that’s true. And I guess the best part is that he’ll take them outside when he does catch them.”
I look at the clipboard to see the list of things she’s asked for. I do a wellness check and then proceed to give him his regular flea treatment while I ask Meyer to bring me up to speed on everything in her life.
“Kingston thought it would be a good idea to bring Paul over for a playdate.”
Kingston, Meyer’s brother, adopted a stray cat and named him Paul. He’s a biter. We’ve had some run-ins at our appointments, and he doesn’t like vaccinations. He’s an anti-vax cat. He probably has his own podcast about it somewhere.
I raise my eyebrows at that. “And how did that go?” I ask.
“About as well as you can expect,” Meyer says dryly. “It’s a good thing we love that cat.”
Gatsby bumps my hand for more loves, and I scratch behind his ears. He’s one of the friendliest cats I’ve ever been around.
“Soooo…how are you liking being in Green Valley?” Meyer asks as Gatsby purrs loudly.
Her face is innocent, but I have a feeling she knows exactly what Willa found out this morning.
“Willa texted you, didn’t she?”
Meyer smiles. “She called me on her way to work this morning. She was a little mad.”
Meyer’s putting it politely. Willa has the timidity of a tornado.
I sigh and tell her, “I didn’t mean for her to find out from someone else. It’s just that she’s had so much going on.”
“I know. I get it. But it would’ve been as easy as sending a text,” Meyer reminds me gently.
I nod slowly. “I know. I just was dreading sending that text. I didn’t want her to be upset. And the longer it went on, the easier it was to excuse not telling her. And now I’ve gone and made her angry.”
“Maybe you could just have her over. Extend the olive branch. Show her that you’re not trying to hide from her. Just like you said, she’s had a lot going on. You’ve been trying to give her her space.”
I scratch Gatsby as I mull that over.
“I do like that idea,” I admit. “My whole reason for moving here was to be close to her. But when she had that court case, it just became all-consuming, you know?”
“Of course. I get it. You’re the older sister, and you just wanted to protect her. But just so you know, she was super excited that you were moving to town. So don’t let her frustration come between you.”
“I can’t change how she feels,” I say softly. I’ve done my best to protect Willa and be there for her through our parents’ extremely dysfunctional relationship. I let her boss me around and ‘take charge’ in our relationship because it gave her a sense of control that I think she desperately needed, even though she’s the younger sister. But I can’t sacrifice my own sanity to fulfillher every emotional need. I don’t have that capability. She’s going to have to find that for herself.
Meyer’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t mean it like that. Of course not! I just meant that it’s Willa. She’ll probably storm around for a few days and then realize that her life was too chaotic for her to even have a conversation with you, and she’ll see that it wasn’t your fault either.” Meyer sucks in a breath after blurting all of that out. “Wow. I can be a rambler. Sorry about that.”
“No! Don’t apologize. You explained it perfectly that time,” I say with a smile. “Thank you. The last thing I want to do is hurt Willa. But I also know we shouldn’t live together. She’s too organized for me,” I add with a laugh.
