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“Jawa, huh?” I picked Jawa up and sat in the nearby chair, continuing to stoke it. “Is Jawa a girl or a boy?” I asked.
“Uh, girl,” Hailey said. She blinked in rapid succession as Jawa settled into my lap.
“She sure is friendly. I wonder who she belongs to.”
“Well, she’s kind of ours.” Hailey’s eyes darted here and there. “No one’s claimed her. I asked around. But no one I talked to owned her. I just feed her. There’s water and food over there.” She pointed to the place around the corner of the yard.
“Why do you feed her over there?” Jawa’s eyes were closed, and she was purring like a maniac. “She’s so sweet.”
“Well, uh, um.” She stood next to me and joined my hands in petting Jawa. “Vince, you hate cats.”
I looked up at her with astonishment, my brows furrowed in confusion. "I do?”
“Yeah. I’ve always liked cats, but you didn’t. You always said you were allergic to them. Sensitivity to their fur or something.”
“I’m not allergic to cats,” I said. “I know that for a fact. There was this stray cat in Uzbekistan that we kind of adopted.”
“Oh, my God,” Hailey squealed, slapping my arm.
“What?”
“You mean you lied about being allergic to cats?”
I looked up at her again. Her eyes weren’t filled with anger but humor. “I’m not quite sure. I don’t remember telling you that.”
“Uh-huh,” she grumbled.
“Well, I like her," I replied as I looked down at Jawa, who met my eyes with her soulful green ones. When I looked at Hailey, her lips curved into a small smile.
“I’ve never seen you like this before except with Chewie.”
“I may not be able to remember telling you I don’t like cats, and I might have gaps in this big head of mine, but I can tell you honestly, I like this little girl.”
“You sure it’s not because she’s named after a Star Wars character?” Hailey’s tone was playful.
“Jawas are actually a furry humanoid species. It’s not the name of one character but a group of beings from Tatooine. They were scavengers.”
“Glad you could clear that up for me,” she said.
I ignored her sarcasm. “I like the name,” I said. “Chosen well, you have,” I added in my best Yoda impersonation.
She laughed loudly. Jawa lifted her head, peered at us through barely opened eyes, and, unimpressed, lay her head back down.
Hailey pulled a chair over. I placed Jawa in her lap and went to the kitchen to wash my hands. I checked on Chewie and Hudson before heading out back again.
"Why do you like her?" Hailey asked as I slid the patties on the grill.
"You chose an endearing name.” I turned on my mental timer and considered Hailey’s question as I watched the furry visitor in her lap. I shrugged. “I suppose when I really think about it, I like her because she reminds me of something I recently learned. Life is full of surprises. Some of them good, some not so good. But I guess mostly it’s because sometimes the things we thought we didn’t like actually turn out to be the very things we need."
Hailey nodded and beamed with a beautiful radiance I would never get tired of seeing. At that moment, Chewie pawed at the door. “Is it okay for him to come out?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah. They get along just fine.” I let Chewie out and watched as he headed over to Hailey, sniffed at the cat in her lap, and settled his head on her knee. I looked in on Hudson, who must have just woken up because his eyes still looked sleepy. I lifted him and headed to the backyard again.
As I stood with Hudson, Hailey, Chewie, and our new furry feline, Jawa, my heart swelled with love. As the sun's warmth touched our skin, I was comforted by the simple joy that sometimes the most unexpected things bring you the most incredible happiness.
Chapter 20
Vince
