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While the hot air in her car slowly took the bite out of Anna Beth, she flipped on the dome light and pulled back the coat to get a look at the kitten. It meowed weakly, never opening its eyes. She could make out stripes on its forehead and a white mask around it’s tightly shut eyes. Her heart constricted as she rubbed the slight body through her jacket, simultaneously trying to warm it and let it know it was safe.
“Hey, baby, what were you doing out there in the middle of the road? Are you lost? Or did some A-hole dump you?”
The kitten finally opened its eyes and lifted it’s head to look at her. The kitten released a raspy meow. Anna Beth hadn’t had a cat since before her parents passed, so she wasn’t sure if that was normal. Their family cat had passed a few months before her parents and when she’d moved in with her aunt, Anna Beth never bothered asking for another pet. Ian had been highly allergic to animals and couldn’t be around cat’s long, but she’d always wanted another pet.
She nestled the kitten onto her passenger seat, still wrapped in her coat. Once her seat belt was clipped in, she pulled the car back out onto the street and headed for her aunt's. Sarah would probably flip out when she saw what Anna Beth brought home, but there was no way she could leave it to die. If she had to, she would find a temporary place for her and the furry baby to stay.
Another weak meow came from her cold passenger and she crooned to the kitten. “It’s okay, honey. We’re almost there. I’ll get you inside and dry you off. Then I’ll get you some food.”
By the time she pulled into the driveway, the kitten was meowing loudly, and frequently, although it hadn’t moved from the safety of her coat. She turned off the car and swiftly picked up the wrapped kitten, before bolting for the front door as quarter size flakes came down around her, sticking to every surface she passed. She carried the cat into the house, mentally preparing herself for the explosion from her aunt. Anna Beth opened the door with one hand, the kitty clutched against her chest and stepped over the threshold.
With the door shut behind her, she leaned back against the wood and breathed a heavy sigh. What a night.
“Anna Beth? You’re home earlier than I expected.”
Here we go…
“Everyone asked about you today, but I told them you had to get your writing...done.”
Anna Beth straightened as her aunt came into the entryway from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her eyes immediately went to the squirming jacket in Anna Beth’s arms. “What do you have there?”
Anna Beth pulled the jacket back, revealing the kitten’s damp head. It looked around, meowing, its blue green eyes wide with fear.
“I saw her huddled in the middle of the road, getting snowed on and not moving. I couldn’t leave her. If you don’t want to have her here, I can ask Olive if we can crash with her, but it’s really coming down outside, and I’d rather not go back out in it.”
Sarah’s expression gave nothing away as she walked over slowly, her low heels clicking on the wood floor. To Anna Beth’s surprise, she tsked sympathetically and ran her hand over the kitten’s head, stopping to rub one of her ears.
“It’s a good thing you found her. Or him.” She handed Anna Beth the small towel she’d carried into the room. “Start drying her with that. I’ll go get some more towels. Head on into the living room and I’ll meet you there.”
Still in shock at her aunt’s calm reaction, Anna Beth did what she was told and sat down on the couch with the kitten in her arms. She turned the coat back and rubbed the towel over the damp fur, feeling the bones on its back and sides. She cringed at the obvious neglect the skinny creature had endured and her heart melted as she felt it purring against her hand.
“You’re going to be okay, little one.”
Sarah came in with two towels and a wide smile on her face. “Here we go. That hand towel is probably soaked by now.” Sarah opened the towel on her lap and reached over to take the kitten. She wrapped her up and started rubbing her all over.
“Poor thing doesn’t weigh much,” Sarah said, holding her inside the towel.
“She doesn’t seem to be hurt. Just cold and scared.”
Sarah’s lips thinned. “And starving. Someone probably dumped her and she was out looking for food when the storm hit.” Sarah rubbed the top of the kitten’s head until her fur stood on end. “Could you imagine neglecting such a sweet face.”
The high inflection in her aunt’s voice was new and a bit unsettling. “I thought you’d be upset. I didn’t know you liked cats.”
“Actually, I love cats. I used to have two. Sabrina and Linus. Sabrina was my favorite movie growing up and when they remade it with Harrison Ford? Mmmmhmmmm.”
Anna Beth blinked. Her aunt had just made a yummy sound about a man. Holy crap.
Sarah, oblivious to her disconcertion, continued with her story. “I adopted them not long after I moved into this house and they were good company. Linus passed away at fourteen, but Sabrina lived another five years. After that, I wasn’t ready for another pet. When I finally thought about it...well, the grim reality is, there is really no good ending when you have an animal. They die, whether you have them for one year or nineteen, and the pain is still the same. I decided I didn’t want to go through that again.”
Anna Beth still hadn’t adjusted to this softer version of her aunt. She sounded as though she was about to cry.
“I never knew that,” Anna Beth said.
“It was before you came to live with me and it hurt to talk about them.” Sarah met her gaze and the sadness in her aunt’s eyes hit Anna Beth harder than a punch to the gut. “I don’t love easily, as you well know, but when I do, it’s deep.”
Before Anna Beth could form a response, Sarah lifted the towel and the kitten looked between them, her blue-green eyes squinting.
“Let’s see what you are so we don’t have to keep calling you it.” Sarah lifted the kitten’s tail and laughed. “Definitely a she.” She covered her with the towel and continued drying her. “I bet you’re warmer.”
