Tessa was gone so long I thought that she was having some sort of issue, but then she came marching back with a huge grin on her face and a plate in her hand.
“There, now you can have another one.” She set the still-steaming grilled cheese in front of me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” she said, sitting back down. “Thanks for not eating all the fries.” She gathered a handful and started dunking them in the bowl, yes, bowl, of ketchup she’d gotten for herself.
The second sandwich was just as magical as the first and, when I was done, I had to sit back and take a breath.
“You want to take a little walk?” Tessa asked.
“Okay.”
I tied a knot in my skirt so it wouldn’t get wet and we removed our shoes and carried them in our hands as we strolled through the damp sand, the waves lapping at our toes.
Tessa had her phone out and it was kind of annoying, but then she spun and took a picture of me before I could react.
“How’s that?” she asked, showing me.
I was looking down at my feet, my hair billowing out behind me, and a soft smile on my lips. I wasn’t looking directly at her, but that was okay.
“It’s nice.”
“Are you kidding? You look stunning! You should totally use this one.” She sent me the picture.
“I’ll think about it.”
“I mean, who wouldn’t want to date you?”
I leaned down to pick up a shell. “I’m guessing lots of people. What’s that quote about being a ripe, juicy peach but there are still people out there who hate peaches.”
“Dita von Teese,” Tessa said. ”I still think anyone who doesn’t want to date you is wrong.”
“Well, you don’t want to date me, so what does that make you?”
“That’s because you’re my best friend. And I don’t like girls.”
She stopped walking for some reason, and I rubbed the shell between my fingers.
“Right,” I said.
A moment of... something passed between us, and then she abruptly started walking again, really fast.
“Wait for me,” I said, jogging to keep up.
AFTER WALKING ON THE beach, I drove Tessa back to the library where her car was. A tense silence had fallen between us, and I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
“I really think you should use that picture on your profile,” she said. “You looked really good.”
“Thanks, I’ll think about it.”
She looked out the windshield and made no move to get out and go to her car. Like there was something else she wanted to say, and it was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t get it out.
“Wait, what was that?” She turned and looked out the open window. “Do you hear that?”
I heard a very soft tiny sound. Tessa got out of the car and I followed her over to one of the bushes where the sound was coming from.
“Oh my god, look,” Tessa said, crouching down and pulling something out from behind the bush. I leaned down to see what she had in her arms and gasped.
“Hello little one.” Squirming in Tessa’s hands was a cat with completely black fur and huge blinking green eyes.
“Oh, you’re so little,” Tessa said, snuggling the creature close as it cried. “I’m guessing it’s a stray. No collar and I think it needs to be fed. Don’t you, sweet baby?” The last part was addressed to the kitty. “You’re skin and bones.”
“Can I see them?” I asked, and Tessa relinquished her charge. The little body was thin, and its eyes were a little crusty.
“We should probably take it to the vet or something.” I looked around, but there was no one nearby. The library was right on a main road, so I didn’t think it was fair to leave the poor thing, even if it had been in good health.
The little ball of fur trembled and then emitted a tiny buzzing noise of a purr.
“Aw, they love you.” I looked down into the kitty’s face and they blinked up at me and meowed once.
“Do you want to come home with me tonight?” I asked it. The cat meowed loudly again, which made Tessa and I laugh.
“Let’s go get you some food and water, you’re so fragile. Can you call the emergency vet and ask what we should do until we can bring them in?”
She got on the phone and held the cat in her lap as I drove home. The little thing cried for a little while and then curled up in Tessa’s lap. I hoped it didn’t have fleas.
Tessa talked with a vet tech and relayed the info to me on how to care for the creature until we could get to the vet tomorrow.
Once we got to my place, we immediately got the kitty some food and water. Tessa kept looking on her phone and looking back at the kitten, lifting its tail a few times.
“What are you doing?” I asked as the cat wolfed down food so fast I thought it was going to choke.
“I think it’s a girl. I think. I guess we’ll find out. She’s so thin.”
She was, and it worried me.
“I wonder if she was a stray or what her story is,” I said.
“Well, it says that we have to make a good-faith effort to find her owner, but I’m not returning a cat to someone who didn’t feed it,” Tessa said. She’d done a ton of quick research on her phone.
“We can ask the vet for advice.” I wasn’t going to get attached. Not yet. This wasn’t how I’d planned to get a cat, so it definitely wasn’t a sure thing yet.
“You’re very cute,” I said to the cat, once she’d finished drinking water. She meowed at me and I watched as she started to tentatively explore. I would have thought she’d be scared, but she seemed pretty adventurous.
I pulled out all the cat toys and bedding and other items I’d gotten in preparation.
“I think you overdid it a little, Ford,” Tessa said, looking at the pile of toys I’d laid out on the floor for the cat to choose from.
“Have you met me before? I’m always prepared.”
“Good point.”
We sat on the floor and watched her explore and then climb in the bed and fall asleep with a little sigh.
“This sounds really weird, but can I stay tonight? I want to make sure she’s okay. I know she’s not my cat.”
“She’s not my cat either.”
Tessa grinned. “Not yet.”
THE CAT WAS ABOUT A year old, and other than being a little underfed, she didn’t have fleas, or any other issues. No microchip, so it was unlikely someone was looking for her, but you never knew, so we agreed to do our best to find if she belonged to someone. She hadn’t been fixed either, so if we couldn’t find her owner, and I wanted to keep her, we’d have to get that done as well.
Tessa came with me to the appointment and took notes on everything. She was more into this than I was, and it was kind of cute. She and the cat had already bonded, and I would bet everything I owned that Tessa was already trying out names.
The rest of the day was spent making up a little FOUND CAT poster and putting it on the various local groups who dealt with lost animals, as well as the local cat sanctuary.
“She’s just so sweet,” Tessa said, as the cat napped on her chest in the sun.
“She is.” I stared at the two of them and felt something warm bloom in my chest. “Don’t name her yet.”
“What? I haven’t even been thinking about names.”
“Liar.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. I have a list of potentials. But I really need to spend more time with her to figure out which one best suits her personality.”
Of course she did. Tessa could never do something as simple as name a cat in a few hours. It required serious study. Names were important things.
I SPENT MONDAY TOTALLY worried about the cat being alone at my house. Torn between worrying that something would happen to her, or that she would destroy my entire home without me around to stop her.
Relief flooded in when I got home and she ran to the door to greet me with a meow, and everything in the h
ouse seemed to be in order. I made some tea and she sat in my lap as I drank it.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” I said. She stretched out her paws and then curled back in like a little black ball.
Another text message came in from Tessa, demanding cat updates. She’d even gone so far as to go to my house during her lunch break to check on the kitty, which I thought was a little bit of overkill.
I sent Tessa a picture and went back to my tea and searching for new apartments. There weren’t a whole lot of choices in my area, so I’d have to be vigilant and jump on anything that opened up.
I pulled up the draft of my online dating profile that I’d been fiddling with here and there. I’d decided to use the picture Tessa had taken at the beach, so now I had to figure out how to talk about myself, which was an impossible task.
What did I say? What would be interesting? My life was quiet and mundane. Who would want to sign up for this? I’d also only ever been with TJ, so I might as well have zero dating experience, since everything with TJ had just been going through the motions. Fuck, I didn’t even know how to kiss.
How am I supposed to date? I have no idea what I’m doing. I sent the message to Tessa.
You think I know what I’m doing? I know nothing. That was true. Neither of us had much experience.
I wish there was some sort of class I could attend or something. Dating practice.
She sent back a laughing emoji. OMG, can you imagine? That would be hilarious.
Why is this so hard? Is this easy for other people? The kitty started twitching in her sleep.
IDK, it’s really annoying. Hey, why don’t we go on a fake date? Practice on each other.
I thought about that idea for a minute. It wasn’t a bad one. I was comfortable with Tessa, so it wouldn’t be awkward, but I could get out some of my jitters.
I’m in. When?
GETTING DRESSED FOR a fake date was easier said than done. I wanted to treat this as real as possible, so I started with picking out an outfit.
“What do you think?” I asked the cat that was now officially mine. No one had come forward to claim her, so by default, I had a cat now.
I’d laid out five different dresses on my bed and was hoping Kitty would help me pick. That was what I’d been calling her, since Tessa was still working on her name and I’d promised she could name her.
Kitty jumped up on the bed, walked in a circle, and laid down on the dress that I’d just bought. It was simple, with a high neck and a skirt that went past my knees in a beautiful shade of emerald. I’d seen it in an online auction and it just happened to be my size, so I’d taken a risk and snapped it up.
“Good choice,” I said, and then I had to shoo the cat off the dress and go at it with a lint brush. Having cat hair all over everything was something I hadn’t anticipated when I’d thought about getting a pet. Oh well, it was a small price to pay for having such a sweet bundle of love in my life.
Kitty loved to follow me around and “talk” to me. I would respond back and we’d have little conversations. She slept in my bed right next to me, and every morning when I woke up, I’d find her there and waiting for me to fill her bowl. The two of us had settled into a routine and I almost couldn’t remember what it was like before I had her.
“Are you going to be good when I leave and go on a practice date?” I asked her.
She stretched out her front paws and closed her eyes. I hoped that was a yes. So far, no destruction, other than a few things she’d knocked over here and there. She really was a great cat.
I put my dress on and did my makeup and hair. For some reason, I wanted to take my time and really look amazing. I hadn’t dressed up like this in a while. Probably since we’d gone to Savannah. TJ had never been into going anywhere fancy and considered anything besides jeans or work pants “dressy” and refused to wear them. If I ever suggested going anywhere nice, he would just grunt and suggest a local chain, or a bar, or staying home. Or he’d cancel the date for an unspecified reason.
In hindsight, there were boxes full of red flags that I ignored because I was stubborn and I’d set my mind on having a husband. Thinking about how much time I’d wasted on him made me want to throw up, so I tried not to.
“Okay, no more maudlin thoughts,” I said to my reflection in the mirror. I did a little twirl and took a few mirror pictures to document looking so nice. Not that Tessa would be impressed, but still. It felt good to look pretty.
There was a honk and I ignored it, figuring someone was just being rude and hogging a parking space downstairs. Then there was another honk and my phone dinged with a text message.
Hello, I’m here to pick you up.
What?
I went to the living room and peered out the window and saw Tessa’s car parked across the street, but she was nowhere to be found. Then there was a knock at the door.
I skipped the few steps and opened the door and nearly smashed into Tessa.
“Hello. I am here to pick up Montgomery Ford for a date?”
I stumbled backwards and nearly fell over.
“You’re wearing a suit.”
“Yes, I am, what do you think?”
“You’re wearing a suit,” I said again. I’d never seen her in a suit before. I didn’t know she owned one. Where did she get it from? When did she get it?
“I figured since this was a date, I should dress up. Is it bad?”
Her face fell and I shook my head.
“No, it’s not bad at all.”
The jacket and pants were a dark blue that was nearly black, and she’d paired it with a crisp white shirt that was cut a little low in the front. Her curls were still all over the place, but I could see that an attempt to tame them had been made.
Her eyes were smoky with liner, and she’d put some sort of highlighter on her cheeks.
“You look incredible, Cin,” I said. “Seriously, wow.”
“Thanks. I got an ad on my social media and got it on a whim. My mom had to do some stuff to the jacket and the pants to make them fit, but I think she did a good job.”
I was having trouble swallowing. “She did.”
“And look at you! Holy crap, Ford. Is this the one you got last week? Show me the twirl.”
I did and when I came back around, her face and ears were scarlet.
“You look really pretty,” she said in a soft voice.
“Thanks.”
A sound at our feet made us both look down.
“And you look pretty too, my dear,” Tessa said, reaching down and picking up Kitty. She was obsessed with Tessa. Every time she came over, it was like I didn’t exist.
“Does she have a name yet?” I asked.
“Should we tell her your name?” Tessa said, talking to Kitty.
“Yes, please.”
Tessa made a fake drumroll sound with her mouth and then announced, “her name is Persephone Pumpernickel Ford.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I said.
Tessa looked up at me. “Persephone Pumpernickel Ford.” She said it slowly.
“Persephone Pumpernickel Ford,” I repeated.
“Yes.”
“Can I ask why?” Persephone Pumpernickel Ford looked at me and yawned.
“Persephone, obviously, from Greek mythology. You know, married to Hades, rules the Underworld? It just seemed right.” Okay, that made sense, knowing how Tessa’s brain worked.
“And Pumpernickel?”
She shrugged one shoulder “It goes with Persephone.”
I found myself laughing. “Fair enough.”
“Are you ready to go? As much as I want to stay and talk about Persephone, we have reservations.”
This was news to me.
“Reservations? Where are we going?” Tessa had insisted on being in the driver’s seat for this little venture, so I had no idea what we were doing or where we were going.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out when we get there.” She set Persephone down and held her arm out to m
e.
“Do...Am I supposed to do this?” I asked.
“You can do whatever you want to do. This is a first date and we’re figuring this out.”
“But you wouldn’t hold out your arm to a guy. I mean, I guess you could.”
Tessa kept holding her arm out and I saw her face fall. “I figured this first one could be more for you, and the next one can be for me.”
Oh. I hadn’t known that was what we were doing.
“Are you sure? I don’t want everything to be about me.”
Tessa sighed. “Ford, when is anything about you? You never want to be the center of attention or feel like you’re taking something away from someone else. For once, just let me do this for you.”
I almost opened my mouth to argue with her, but then I clenched my jaw shut.
“Okay. I’ll allow it,” I said.
“Good.”
I grabbed my bag and took Tessa’s arm as we walked down the stairs and out to her car. I looked up and down the street, hoping no one was watching. Of course, it was early evening in the middle of summer in a tourist town, so literally everyone was wandering around, going to dinner themselves, or dipping in and out of the various shops.
Tessa opened my door for me.
“Why thank you,” I said as I got in and arranged my skirt under me. She hopped in the driver’s seat and handed me her phone to pick the music.
“You mean I can pick anything? Anything?”
Her eyes narrowed as she turned into traffic. “Yes, anything.” She said the words through gritted teeth.
“A person could really take advantage of this kind of power,” I said, scrolling through the options. “But I’m going to be nice.”
I selected a generic playlist and I could feel Tessa breathe a sigh of relief when the first song came on and it wasn’t something she hated.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We reached the edge of town and she turned left to take us toward the highway to the south.
Who We Could Be Page 16
