“Are two cats too many for you?” He seems almost nervous.
“I figured you would want one for your place, but do they allow cats?”
He shakes his head. “No pets, not even fish.”
We will never have fish. I’m not going to bring in some stinky, nasty, dirty pond-dweller into my house.
“My house can handle two cats,” I cave.
“Really!”
“But I’ll need your help to take care of them.”
“I promise I’ll be the best cat parent ever.”
“I know you will.” This is it. This is the time. “I think that means you’ll need to spend more time at my house.”
“Like I can sleep over more often?”
“How else will you take care of the kitties and how will I take care of you?”
His excitement dims. “It’s okay if you don’t want me over all the time. I understand you might need space.”
I grab his hand and smile at him. “This is all new to me, but I like having you in my space. I’m sure there will be some issues to work out, but I want you with me more often.”
“I want to be with you more often too.” He leans over and kisses my cheek. Then he looks around. “Are we going to my apartment?”
“It’s closer, and I’m getting tired.” But I have a special surprise in mind for my boy, and I don’t want him to see it until it’s ready. I need to make a ton of phone calls.
23
WHIT
“I was thinking we could go back to my place today,” Daddy says as we finish breakfast.
“Sure! I’d like that.” We’ve spent the last two days here. I don’t care where we are, but I left some of my craft things at his house and I’d like to work on a new painting. Izzy sent me a picture of the kittens, and I want to paint it as a present for him.
“Let’s clean up, get dressed, and we can head over.”
“Okay.” I rush to put my dishes in the dishwasher. I’ve learned that while Daddy likes cooking, he hates cleaning. So I make sure to help out with the chores since I don’t mind too much. Then I run to my bedroom.
“What do you feel like wearing today?”
“Jammies,” I say.
“Sorry, babe, but no jammies in public.”
“But my jammies are special,” I whine.
“They are, but they are just for Daddy to see. Would you like it if I went out in my jammies?”
My eyes narrow at the thought. No one can see Daddy’s pretties but me. “No,” I grump.
“That’s how I feel too.” He kisses my cheek. “Let me help you pick out something, and we can change into jammies when we get settled in at my house.”
“Okay.” I run and throw myself onto my bed, grabbing Dicky and snuggling him tight. Daddy chuckles and goes to my closet. When he comes over to me, he’s got a pair of loose jeans and a green-and-white flannel. “No underwear?” I ask, even though I’m not surprised. He seems to hate me in underwear.
“I didn’t find any.” He shrugs.
