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As soon as James stopped, I threw myself out of the vehicle.
“I think I saw a cat.”
Slowly, I moved along the side of the road where I saw it, looking with the flashlight on my phone. “Here, kitty! Here, kitty!”
I heard the faint sound of a cat meowing.
“Come on, kitty.” I turned to face James, who was still sitting in the car, driving it slowly as I walked, so he could stay close by.
He smiled. “You're crazy. The cat will be fine. It probably belongs to someone living in the houses down below us. Come on, get in so we can get back to the city.”
There was no way I was leaving this little cat. “No, I’m not leaving without it. It could die, starve to death, get eaten by another animal, or get injured.”
James stopped the car. “Alright, where is it?”
Quickly he moved around the vehicle in long strides, phone in hand and flashing it in the bushes as the tiny meowing sounds kept coming.
“I think it’s over here.”
It took a while, but eventually, after much calling and coaxing, a tiny, white kitten with dirt all over it came out of the bushes. It was so small, no more than a year old, and its pretty blue eyes immediately captivated me.
“Don’t touch it. It might be diseased. We will drop it off at a shelter or something. I think I saw a box in the trunk, hold on.”
James grabbed the box, but I wasn't going to let it get away, so I grabbed it up and wrapped it in my shirt, exposing my belly a little.
“Hey, little….” I turned it over, guy. Look at you. How did you get here? It’s okay. I’m going to make sure you're okay. What an awful thing that you were left up here all alone.”
James opened the box and put the kitten in. A musty old shirt sat at the bottom.
“Somebody left this box in the trunk, so obviously they don't need it anymore. Maybe the cat wandered up here on its own. Just because it’s out here in the dark of night, so small and looking like a dirty mess, doesn't mean someone doesn’t care about it.”
I sat back in the car, listening to its soft meowing sounds as he drove down the road. “Yeah, well, it’s no secret that many people dump animals, and when they do, they use places like this — vacant properties, farmland, or any open space to abandon domesticated animals, as if they are an elephant that needs to be returned to the wild. It’s crazy. You take an animal that was bred for the home and hasn’t been in the wild at any point in its life, and just toss it out here like they know what they need to do to survive.”
We spent the next hour trying to locate a shelter or rescue that would take the cat. When none were found, I had to go out on a limb and keep it at the hotel.
“James, we have no way of getting him to a shelter tonight. They are all closed. We will just keep him until morning?”
“I don’t think we can just bring some random animal into the hotel. It could have worms, or rabies.”
“Fine, then stop the car. I’m getting out with my new friend here and you can go. I’ll stay with him until morning, and then you can take that stupid flight back to California and find someone else to help you.” I lifted my chin, prepared to challenge James, however long it took.
“I’m not stopping the car. We can use social media to find its owner.”
“So, we're just going to hang out in this rental car until we find the owner? You're being ridiculous.”
“I’m being ridiculous? You're the one who made me stop to pick up some dirty cat that could bite one of us. Seriously, whose nuts?!”
“Fine.”
When we stopped in front of the Made Hotel, I got out and started walking.I put pictures on social media, but it could take a few days, and that’s all I need.
The upset I felt because James was being so uncaring and inhumane gnawed at me. I didn't know what to do but decided to go to my hotel room with the cat.
He said nothing, stood up, took the box, and kissed my hand. Suddenly, nothing mattered anymore as I stared into his darkly mysterious eyes and smiled.
As we walked to the elevator, went up, and walked down the hallway to his room, I felt the urge to pull him into the bedroom. I wanted to show him what I could do with my mouth when he excited me, but my mind was too preoccupied with caring for the little kitten.
He must have anticipated my thoughts and feelings because he smiled.
