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The kittens meow at my feet. I should put them in their playpen, maybe feed them a snack. What time is it?
I blink myself out of my stupor and twist my neck to look at the clock in the kitchen. Definitely snack time. Mindlessly, I go through the motions of feeding the kittens and putting them in their playpen, along with the litter box before remembering I offered one to Riley.
I want him to take Itty-bitty so he won’t be alone, but how, on such short notice? Maybe Linda can help. I call her cell. She answers on the third ring.
With rushed words, I explain the situation, leaving out major details, and ask if she can help.
To my surprise and relief, she has experience with this, too. Famous people leaving on a whim have had this problem before.
“I’ll have one of our mobile vets meet you at the airport,” she says.
“Uh. It’ll be just Riley. Not me.”
“Okay. Text me the information and I’ll send her off ASAP.”
“Wow. You’re insanely helpful.”
“Like I said, you’re not the first person to make this kind of last-minute request.”
“Thank you.” I end the call and assure myself I’m doing the right thing.
A minute later, Riley rolls his luggage out from the room. When our eyes meet, my body feels heavy with sadness that I’m sure is reflected in my stare.
“My driver is at the gate,” he says.
“Already?”
He nods.
“What about Itty-bitty? Don’t you want to bring her?”
“I don’t have the time to make it happen.”
“I took care of it—well, Linda is. Believe it or not, we’re not the first people who need a pet to leave town on a whim. She’s sending a vet to meet you at the airport. And she told me to send you with some supplies; she’ll bring the rest.”
I hurry and fill a bag with necessities for Itty-bitty as Riley watches me gather everything. I snatch a blanket and stuff it in one of the smaller boxes that Linda brought when we picked out the kittens. “You can put Itty-bitty in here, and when you text Linda your airport information—I’ll send you her number— she’ll have the vet meet you with more supplies and medicine to make Itty-bitty comfortable for the flight.”
“Nova, you don’t have to do this.”
“It’s done.” I stop, my heart pounding from racing around. We stare at each other for what feels like minutes but is probably only seconds.
He glances at Itty-bitty where she sits licking herself near her food bowl.
“I’ll get her.” I place her gently in the box, close the lid, and hand it to Riley. Heartbreaking meows sound from inside, making the moment almost unbearable. “This is hard.” I will myself not to cry.
Riley nods, his brows drawn as he glances from the box he holds in one arm to me. He opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again. “Will you tell Gigi goodbye for me?”
I nod, even though my instincts are to shake my head no. “I’ll go do it now.” Or else I might beg him to stay.
“Thank you, Nova,” Riley says when I reach the glass doors.
I stop and glance at him. “For what?”
“For helping me past my rut and showing me there’s more than what I had begun to believe.”
For one last time, I take in the beautiful man before me. The man who started a healthy change in me that I hope doesn’t leave when he does.
“Ditto.” I blow him a kiss and force myself to walk away.
