This won me a smile and a slight softening of her shoulders. “I wonder where he came from?” Delphine asked.
“I’m sure he had some adventures before coming here. If you look closely, you can see a little knick out of his left ear.”
Delphine knelt on the floor next to her bag. “What tales could you tell us, Mr. Poe?”
Poe shifted, poking his head out to look at her. He blinked, as if to tell her something subliminally.
“I always wanted a cat, but my late husband was allergic,” Delphine said, sitting on the floor.
I felt I had no choice but to sit on the floor too. “They say to get two if you’re going to get kittens.”
“Why is that?”
“Something about single kitten syndrome. They can become overly needy and anxious, whereas, if they have a sibling or even a cat close to their age, they’re less lonely.”
“I could see how they’d be lonely if they’re suddenly sent to live with people they’ve never met after being with a litter of their brothers and sisters.”
The wistful tone in her voice surprised me. I hadn’t taken her for someone sentimental or soft-hearted. Maybe I was wrong. Still, she was the scariest woman I’d ever met.
“You could get a pair of kittens,” I said. “They’re low maintenance.”
“I don’t know. I’m pretty busy. And Annie’s always at school or practice. But wouldn’t it be fun to have a couple of kittens? Although, with my luck, I’d probably get a pair who hate humans and scratch all my furniture to bits.” She leaned closer to Poeto stroke the top of his head. Poe closed his eyes and started purring.
“He hardly ever purrs,” I said. “In general, he’s very grumpy.”
“Maybe he recognizes a fellow grump when he sees one?”
I thought it best not to comment.
“When did you start going to the grief group?” Delphine asked me.
“Almost a year now. After my friend died, I was … just really sad. He’s not the first of my Navy friends to lose his life that way. Some of us come home pretty messed up. Anyway, I saw the flyer for it at church the Sunday after his funeral. I took it as a sign.”
“And you’ve found it helpful?”
Poe climbed into Delphine’s lap, purring even louder.
I’d never seen him get close to anyone’s lap. He clearly had fallen for her the moment she’d walked in the door.
“I’m still sad, but yes, the group’s helped me,” I said, answering her question. “More than I thought it would.”
“Annie wants to go to the one for teens,” Delphine said.
“How do you feel about that?”
She brought her knees close to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. “If I tell you my initial thought, you’ll dislike me more than you already do.”
“Why do you think I dislike you?”
“If I were you, I’d dislike me.”
“Well, you’re not me.”
She was quiet for a moment, seemingly taking that in. “My initial thought was that I didn’t want people in town to know anything about us or how my husband died. I can’t bear the thought of pity or being talked about.”
“Again, we vow to keep whatever happens in the meeting between us.”
“And you believe them?” Delphine asked.
