Ten

by Tia Fielding

  Makai felt like he was about to tear up, so he sat there with her until the next contraction passed, then got up and went to find something else for her to lie on. He grabbed two towels and a blanket, then gently moved her enough to be able to put them underneath her. He placed the T-shirt on top and watched as she made herself comfortable again.

  “Now that’s better. Let me go make coffee, okay?” He patted her and quickly made himself some instant coffee and a big sandwich. They would tide him over for a while.

  At the last moment, he remembered he might need his cell and got it from where it was charging on the kitchen counter. Nobody really called him, so he wasn’t attached to the thing like most people seemed to be these days.

  He looked at the time and decided not to wake up Doc Donovan unless he had to. For now, he sent a text, painstakingly typing with the tiny keys of his old-school Nokia phone, his fingers feeling like sausages, to tell the man that the cat had definitely gone into labor and that he’d call him if needed.

  A few minutes later he got a text back wishing them luck and to call if anything seemed off.

  Makai sat on the floor on another blanket, with his back against the wall, forming an additional shelter for Mouse in her corner. He kept one hand next to her, stroking her fur when she seemed to want it, and otherwise offering the comfort of closeness to her.

  He drank the coffee and ate the sandwich, then closed his eyes and listened to Mouse breathing and purring through the contractions.

  Everything snapped back into focus like a rubber band when she let out a pained mew. He wasn’t sure how long it had taken, but when he looked at her, she was clearly pushing.

  “That’s it, baby girl,” he murmured. His instinct was to pet her, but he didn’t want her out of whatever zone she needed to be in to get the babies out. “You’re a brave little Mouse, aren’t you?”

  He spoke to her in a low, soothing tone, and eventually a dark blob covered in slime emerged from beneath her tail. It was weird, watching someone being born and someone giving birth, but he had to. She’d chosen him, and he had the responsibility now to be worthy of her trust and love.

  Somehow she seemed to know what to do, and soon the first kitten was making the tiniest sounds known to man. Makai choked up a bit. Even the disgusting aspects like Mouse gnawing through the umbilical cord to set the baby free didn’t really shake that wonder he’d never felt before.

  She cleaned the first one that looked light in color as soon as she got it dry.

  “Gingery,” Makai murmured and grinned. Yeah, there wasn’t much question on the dad, especially if they had longer than average hair, but that wasn’t something Makai could tell from a newborn.

  The next two kittens arrived in good, surprisingly fast pace, and ended up being darker in color than the first one, even after Mouse was done with them.

  Although they didn’t seem to need much nudging in the first place, she nudged them toward the milk bar, and Makai reached to pet her. She headbutted him as much as she could and looked at him with what he could only think of as her proud “look at what I made” expression.

  “They are lovely, Mouse. So pretty. Are there more?” he asked and carefully ran his index finger across each of the kittens’ back, feeling the silky fur and tiny, trembly bodies.

  She concentrated on the kittens and rested, and Makai almost thought she was done. He went to make another sandwich and more coffee and came back to find her pushing again.

  “Oh, some more?”

  The last kitten was darker red than the first one, and Makai laughed. He sent a text to Doc Donovan, telling him the good news. It surprised Makai that it had all taken less than two hours, but when he looked out of the window, he saw it was morning now.

  He did need a nap, though, and to change the bedding under Mouse and her babies.

  He got up and went to find the large cardboard box he’d used for the stuff his mom had kept for him. It was clean enough, at least on the inside, so he cut a hole into one side, high enough for the kittens not to be able to crawl through anytime soon.

  Then he went and found another towel—thank deity he hadn’t tossed them out, because they’d come with the house—and folded it neatly on the bottom of the box. He then raided his T-shirt stash, sighed, and resolved to get himself some more things to wear next time he was in Mercer. Or he could just buy a laptop and order it online, he guessed.

  He took the box to Mouse and showed it to her.

  “Okay, little mama, we need you in the bedroom, not in the corner here. Besides, can’t be comfy on the big wet spot.” He took the kittens, two at a time, and placed them into the box.

  Mouse looked at him doubtfully, but he shook his head. “No, not getting them back. You need to follow me if you want them.”

  He got to his feet and carefully carried the box with the mewling babies to the bedroom. He chose the corner where Mouse could see the doorway if she peeked through the hole in the box, and placed it down.

  Meowing loudly, she came after him as if cussing him out for taking her babies.

  “I know. But this is better. Trust me.” He petted her, made sure she could settle down without squishing the babies, and then went to clear out the corner.

  He pushed the chair back in its place and took the soiled towels and things to the tiny laundry room. He’d had to buy a washer, too, but a drier he’d skipped altogether. He had space a plenty to put up lines for the little laundry he had. His list of things to get or fix kept growing, and he knew that realistically, he couldn’t really expect to be “done” in any way with all that in months, if not more.

  Deciding that he could nap the morning away, Makai went back to the bedroom and settled down. He listened to the sounds from the corner. The happy purring of one accomplished mama-cat, and the occasional tiny mew, he guessed when one of the kittens lost a nipple and expressed outrage.

  He fell asleep thinking that he wished he had Emil’s phone number to let him know the kittens had been born.

  HE WOKE up around midday and felt surprisingly rested.

  “How’s things, Mousey?” he asked without moving from the bed or looking at the box in the corner.

  She meowed at him, and Makai chuckled. He got up and went to check on her and the kittens. Since there were still only four, he decided she really was done with the labor and petted her.

  “I’ma go shower and make coffee. You must be hungry too,” he said to her, and she blinked at him slowly. Kitty kisses, he remembered someone calling the behavior. “Love you too, lady.”

  He woke up fully while doing the morning stuff, and ended up in the kitchen, putting wet food on a plate for Mouse while the percolator gurgled. He was about to go and take the food to Mouse, but when he turned around, she was there, waiting for her food by an old placemat he’d put down in an out-of-the-way spot on the kitchen floor.

  “Oh,” he breathed. “Well, suppose you can eat here if you want to.”

  He gave her the food and went to check on the litter box in the laundry room. She’d peed at some point during his slumber, so he cleaned the box and put the washer on while he was there. He’d hang the stuff later, since the weather seemed lovely.

  After breakfast, he decided to fix the dock. He had an idea of making a railing and adding a little bench so that he could sit or leave his towel there if he went swimming. It would also make it safer for Joie whenever they’d come around.

  He’d realized that his days could be filled with anything he wanted, so he’d driven into town or into Mercer on a whim a few times. That meant that now, a week since he’d arrived in Acker, he had a pretty solid foundation of things to work on and with.

  He’d gotten timber from a mill in Mercer on Friday, and now, on Monday, he finally had time to get to it. He hadn’t, however, gotten to taking down the boat shed. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, maybe inspiration if he was completely honest.

  At first he’d thought he’d paint the house on an overcast day and then use
a sunny day for the shed, but it had been too sunny to paint, and then he’d thought it was too nice to use the day to do sweaty manual labor, which taking a sledgehammer to the shed would most likely be. But at least the cottage was clean and nice on the inside now, and his bed and new couch had been delivered, along with a modest flat-screen TV. None of the items were brand-new: he’d gotten them from a secondhand shop in Mercer, and he itched to go somewhere bigger for new things like clothes and more electronics.

  Life was looking up, and frankly, he could use some of that.

  He’d also hit a used bookshop and even a regular one while in Mercer, and he needed to make his bookshelves sometime this week too.

  First, though, the dock.

  HE TOOK everything he needed down to the shore and put together a makeshift workbench to measure and cut the wood on. He had pen and a notepad, too, just so he could figure out the railing.

  While rummaging around the shed, he’d come across an old radio, and it now sat on a table corner, playing a channel that seemed to have some sort of a 2000s thing going on. It suited Makai fine. After all, he hadn’t gotten to listen to music much in the last decade, and he was enjoying the freedom to listen to whatever he wanted when he wanted while he worked. He didn’t like all the songs, but some of them made him bob his head, and a couple even got his hips swaying.

  He measured and cut the boards while enjoying the music, sunlight, and freedom he felt just then. He knew one of his old favorite bands had made a couple of albums while he was inside and had a new one coming out. He would definitely have to get a laptop and probably that smartphone too.

  He had TV shows and movies to see and idly wondered if Kaos had seen any good ones lately. They’d talked about movies a lot while sharing a cell.

  They’d shared the love of old Disney, speaking about it in hushed tones after lights out, just because they knew what kind of reactions they’d get from the general population of the prison. Kaos had been hugely into Studio Ghibli and had made Makai promise to look into his favorites once he was out. That was another reason to get a laptop.

  He also needed to figure out what the song was that he had heard a couple of times while listening to his radio. It didn’t seem to have a normal structure but instead something else, and it fascinated him. It was the rhythm that had gotten to him first, but then on the second or third listen, the lyrics had made him pay attention.

  He wondered if Emil would know it and made a mental note to ask when he next saw the guy.

  He was on his hands and knees on the deck, hammering in some nails, when what could only be Brendon Urie’s voice drifted from the radio. He hadn’t been a huge fan back in the day but could still recognize the style of Panic! At the Disco and Urie’s voice.

  He listened for a moment, then grinned and continued to work, letting his body sway a bit with the music.

  “Why’d you stop? Come on, Emil!”

  Makai lifted his gaze and saw Emil and Joie on the path, heading his way. Well, Joie was trying to tug a seemingly frozen Emil into movement. Makai straightened and glanced down at himself. No, nothing weird there. White tank and ratty jeans. Some of his hair had escaped the tie, but that was fine. He was getting sweaty, anyway. Without thinking, he lifted the hem of the top and wiped his face with it.

  When he looked back at his visitors, Emil looked dazed and almost stumbled on some rocks as he followed Joie.

  “Hi, Makai!”

  “Hey, Joey,” Makai called back with less volume.

  The child was wearing jeans, the boots, and a T-shirt with some sports team’s logo on it. A boy day, it seemed. He also had a cap with Dory from Finding Nemo on it.

  “What are you doing?” Joey asked, bouncing on his heels on the shore, staying away from the table and tools, and never approaching the dock, something Makai appreciated.

  “I’m fixing the dock. There were a few rotten boards.”

  “Hey,” Emil said finally, coming to stand next to Joey.

  “Hi.” Makai smiled at him and took in the long-sleeved T-shirt and skinny jeans. Emil had a dark beanie covering most of his hair, and like the old man he felt he was, Makai wondered how he could wear such a thing when it was sunny outside.

  “Ooh, I like this song!” Joey squealed, startling Emil.

  Joey started to dance clumsily in his boots, and Emil smiled at him.

  “Is this P!nk?” Makai asked, because the voice sounded familiar.

  “Yeah, this is from her second to newest album. She had like five years between them though, so…,” Emil explained.

  “Another thing I have to add to my list,” Makai said as he got to his feet and carefully walked to take the hammer and extra nails to the table.

  “List?” Emil raised a brow at him.

  “Yeah. You miss a lot of stuff in ten years,” he explained, making Emil’s expression fall.

  “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “How is Mouse?” Joey piped up, coming to stand by the table but still not too close for comfort.

  “She had the babies last night,” Makai said and fought the urge to cover his ears when Joey shrieked again. “There are four of them. They’re really little.”

  “When can we see them?” Joey asked more quietly, having caught the side-eye Emil shot his way.

  Makai thought for a moment. “Okay, you can see them today,” he said, but lifted a hand to calm Joey down again. “But there are rules, and you can’t see them for long at all, okay?”

  Joey nodded vigorously.

  “Joey, you got to listen to Makai. It’s his cat and kittens, and his home, buddy.” Emil spoke calmly, and Makai could see how it affected Joey, who also seemed to settle down a little.

  “Okay!”

  “They’re inside, we can go now if you want to.”

  “Yay!”

  They started the short trek to the cottage, and Joey bounced ahead of them.

  “Sorry we interrupted your day,” Emil said when Joey was out of earshot.

  “I need a drink anyway, so might as well let him see the babies if that’s fine by Mouse,” Makai murmured.

  The shed doors were open, and Emil couldn’t seem to not peek as they passed it. “Wow, you keep it well organized,” he said in an awed tone. “Very nice.”

  Something inside Makai preened a little at the innocent comment. “Thanks.” He smiled and gestured at the shed. “That’s my job. Or will be, I hope. Carpentry.”

  “Oh, makes sense.” Emil nodded. “I mean, starting with the dock and making sure the shed’s in order.”

  They got to the door and Joey was already there, waiting not-so-patiently.

  “Okay, rules,” Makai said, and the boy snapped to attention. “First, I’ll go in alone to check out the cats so that Mouse doesn’t get startled. Next, when I come to let you in if she seems okay, you can’t run. At. All. You need to walk really carefully and be really, really quiet.” He looked at the boy seriously. “Sound okay so far?”

  “Uh-huh,” Joey almost whispered, making them hide their smiles. “I promise.”

  “Good. And while you’re walking and being quiet, you’re going to do exactly as I say so that we don’t scare Mouse or the babies, right?”

  Joey nodded vigorously.

  “Okay. I’ll go in and come back in a bit.” He went inside and moved quietly to the bedroom. Mouse was in her box, but she looked like she knew something was going on outside.

  “We have visitors, mama. Do you think you’re up for some friends to come by?” She let out a tiny mewr sound, then purred loudly as he scratched her under the chin. “I’ll take that as a yes. How’s the babies?” He gently petted each of the kittens that were attached to their mother’s nipples and didn’t seem to care about being touched.

  Makai got to his feet and looked around. He tossed the blanket over his bed and deemed it all suitable for visitors. He wasn’t the neatest, but he also wasn’t a slob. Even with having a place of his own and having gone on a bit of a shopping spree,
he still didn’t have a lot of stuff. When you’re not allowed much for a decade, you learn to cherish the things you have. Makai huffed and went back to the front door.

  “All right, remember what we agreed on?” he asked Joey, who was practically vibrating.

  “Yes,” the boy whispered, and Makai let him in, then left the door open for Emil and smiled at him. “Same rules for you.”

  Emil ducked and shook his head but came inside anyway.

  “Through here.” Makai escorted their guests to Mouse. “Now, she’s a nice cat, but you can’t touch the kittens yet, okay? You can just touch her if she lets you, and you can look at the kittens. We don’t want to scare Mouse, right?”

  “Okay,” Joey whispered, and Makai moved to sit on the bed so that Emil had enough space to go see the cats.

  Emil seemed to understand what he was doing and quietly talked to Mouse and Joey, and kept the boy in check when he tried to get too loud, just because the kittens were “soooo cuuuuute.”

  “I’ll go get that drink,” Makai said after a while, when he had reassured himself that Emil knew what he was doing. “You two want anything?”

  “No thank you,” Joey said, and Emil shook his head too.

  “Okay.”

  Makai was about to stand but then realized if he walked around the bed, he’d probably startle Emil. Instead, he rolled his body across the bed smoothly and got up on the other side. Joey was still engrossed by the kittens, so he didn’t notice, but Makai made sure not to look at Emil for a reaction, either. Why, he wasn’t exactly sure. He also chose to ignore the light flush on his own cheeks as he went to search for that drink.

  Chapter Six

  EMIL SWALLOWED hard and concentrated on petting Mouse when he noticed Makai was about to move from the bed. Every inch of his body felt Makai’s presence, knew how close exactly he would have to come to get past where they knelt on the floor in the corner of the bedroom.

  And then Makai aborted the movement he’d obviously been about to make and rolled over the bed instead. Emil couldn’t help but turn to look at the guy when he strode out of the bedroom. What the fuck? How is this guy even real?