Page 8

She leapt to the ground and picked her way across the floor, her head and tail held high and her paws walking a line like a model at New York’s fashion week.

When she came to a stop, Ebi was at the feet of the other man, looking up at him as if she was expecting something.

Oh boy, Mari wondered, What is that little hellion going to do now?

She looked up to see the man’s face, and he seemed to have the same thought, looking down at Ebi as if he was waiting for her to attack.

Mari knew that if Ebi had been crouched at her feet, that might be a very real possibility, but the same cat who had shown her a kind of grudging acceptance, had also been completely magnanimous with others.

And while Ebi could be a little shit some days, she wasn’t stupid.

The man before her looked like he could more than handle a sassy little fur-missile like Ebi.

He drew in a breath and then sat up in the chair he was sitting in. Leaning forward, he put his forearms on the arms of the chair as he looked down at Ebi.

“What do you want?”

Mari couldn’t see the cat’s expression as she could only see a partial side-view of her face, but Ebi tipped her face up and opened her mouth, letting out a slow and indignant yowl of sound.

Mari didn’t know what to expect in a reaction from the man.

She knew he was upset and likely in pain, but he didn’t seem mean or cruel.

For a moment he sat there, looking down at Ebi, and then he leaned down further.

He reached out a hand and picked Ebi up by the scruff of her neck.

Mari winced at that.

She knew that you could safely pick up a cat like that.

She’d seen her father do it over and over when they’d first adopted Ebi, but she’d never been able to lift up the cat like that.

It always seemed so... awkward to her.

Bordering on inhumane.

But Ebi didn’t seem to care.

In fact, as he set the fat cat on his lap, Ebi leaned in against his chest, putting her cheek against his sternum, and settled in like she’d just gotten home and melted into her bed.

As Mari watched, the man put his hands down on the armrests at his side and let out a breath.

He didn’t seem upset.

Or put out.

If anything, he seemed calmer.

More relaxed than he’d been a moment before.

“Well, look at that.”

Mari turned her head to look at Missus Tamura.

The older woman was smiling sweetly at the sight. “He looks good like that.”

Mari’s instinct was to correct her. He’d looked good from the moment she saw him.