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I kept the radio off and didn’t say anything as I drove us to my house. I was afraid if I said something that I would change my mind. I just had to keep driving. Mere minutes later I pulled into my driveway and shut off the car.
“I have cats. Just so you know. Three of them.”
“I love cats,” she said. “Your house is adorable.”
It was. That was why I’d picked it. I’d been thinking about a completely different place and then drove past this one and there was a real estate agent literally shoving a FOR SALE sign in the lawn. I took one look at the house and put in an offer.
“Don’t you want to see it?” the real estate agent had said, but I’d just shrugged and said sure, but it wasn’t going to change the fact that this was my house and I was meant to live here.
“Thank you,” I said to Echo. “I can take you back, if you want. Or you can come in and we’ll see what happens.” We both knew what would happen when she walked in the door. The air was charged with it. My skin prickled with the awareness of her, of her breath, of her heart beating in the enclosed space.
I looked at her under the glow of the porch light.
“Let’s see what happens,” she said, opening the door and walking toward the porch.
“This is a bad idea,” I said to myself, before I got out of the car and followed her to the front door.
The cats attacked me before they saw Echo, and then all three of them froze with the entrance of a newcomer.
“They’re all friendly and love people, but take a few seconds to warm up,” I told her.
“Hello babies,” she said, crouching down and holding her hand out for them to sniff.
Meatball was first, approaching Echo slowly and then sniffing her fingers. After a few seconds, Meatball gave Echo’s hand an experimental lick, and then rubbed her head on Echo’s leg. Spaghetti was next, and then Cupcake last.
“Aren’t you beauties, yes you are. Your mama must have to vacuum all the time,” she crooned to them in the cutest voice.
“That’s what robot vacuums are for. I have three. One for each cat.”
“Good plan,” she said, standing up and glancing around. “It looks just like I thought it would look.”
She took a few steps toward the living room and I watched her.
“You imagined my house?”
She nodded and turned around to face me. “Lots of times.”
I moved around the space, turning on lamps to give the space a soft glow. The cats ran from me to Echo, begging for attention. I got them fed and gave them fresh water. When I went back to the living room, Echo had made herself at home on my couch.
“Do you want something to drink?” I should offer her something, right? I mean, she’d brought me the horrible energy drinks and the crunchy things. It was the least I could do.
“Whatever you have. Or water.”
I just wanted water, but I also wanted to be fancy, so I poured water into wine glasses and added a slice of lemon on the side.
I brought the glasses over and handed one to Echo. She sipped and gave me a puzzled look.
“It’s water,” she said.
I pointed to my glass. “But classy.”
She laughed and took another sip. “I totally thought you were giving me straight up vodka or something.” She had taken off her shoes and pulled her legs up on the couch, as if she was getting cozy.
This wasn’t what I expected. I kind of thought the instant the door closed, she was going to start ripping my clothes off, but we were more in the position to have a lovely chat about the weather. Had she gotten cold feet? Had she changed her mind and was trying to be polite?
“You can go, if you want. I’ll take you back.” I set my glass of water down.
“I don’t feel like going home alone tonight,” she said, draining the rest of her water and putting her glass next to mine.
