Page 21 of Three Meows

“Good evening, sir,” Elijah said to the mystery person.

“Evening, do you have an update on my butterfly?”

I froze as I recognized the voice of my overbearing father.

“In a matter of speaking,” Elijah swallowed, then steeled himself. “We quit, sir.”

“What?! You can’t! Who will watch over my flower? I can give you more money. How much do you want? Five grand? Fifty? Done! Now be a good bodyguard and go back to your work.”

“With all due respect, sir, we made our decision and will not be bought.”

“Really? Everyone can be bought. If money doesn’t do it for you, how about being blacklisted from the industry, hmm?” my dad said smugly and I wanted to punch him. “Just a few words in correct ears and your little high-profile bodyguarding gig will crumble like a house of cards.”

I couldn’t take this anymore.

Before the men could stop me I snatched the phone and pointed the camera towards me.

“I thought better of you, father,” I said and saw him splutter. “And you shouldn’t make enemies of my newboyfriends. After all, you are going to see them for Thanksgiving.”

Not waiting for his response, I jabbed at the screen to close the call.

“Holy shit,” Chester whispered, awe in his voice.

“I guess it’s official now… Boyfriends?” Elijah asked shyly.

“Yours,” Rowan said and headbutted me gently, like his cat form did not long ago when Shadow wanted to show affection.

“I hope you will have time to drive a few states over for Thanksgiving?” I said, frustrated by all that raw affection. “It’s only two weeks away, so if you have other plans…”

“No plans,” Rowan shrugged.

“Don’t know if you have heard, but we are unemployed now,” Chester teased.

“Speak for yourself. I still have my books to write,” Elijah pouted.

“About that…” I bit my lip before I continued. “…if our work dates were only because you had to keep tabs on me and you would rather be left alone to work in peace…”

“No! No,” Elijah jumped immediately to hold my hands in his. “It’s honestly a delight to have you next to me when I write, or edit, or brainstorm… or anything, really.”

“Sometimes he would just stare at you, completely entranced,” Chester revealed, his eyes in mischievous crescents as he tried to keep his laughter in.

“You menace!” Elijah pointed at the man who had accompanied us many times in the form of a cat. “Betrayer! I’m not going to help you the next time you get your head stuck in a jar!”

“I don’t mind you staring,” I said, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks. “I have to admit I have caught myself appreciating the sight before me as well… especially when you bite your lip and look so focused on the story as if the whole world is replaced by the one that lives in your head and flows onto paper as your words.”

“Really?” Elijah asked.

We would be staring, getting lost in each other’s eyes for forever, if not for Rowan coughing to get our attention.

“Evicted,” he said succinctly and showed us the message he just got.

“The landlord is trying to evict you because no pets are allowed in the flat?!” I asked in disbelief after reading the short missive. “That’s bullshit! She saw Rowan with Cheddar in his arms last Wednesday and only cooed at the cat. She made no problem then, which means…”

We looked at each other in understanding.

“Your father,” Elijah nodded.

“Fuck, we have till the end of the day to pack our things,” Chester swore. “Damn, I like this flat and we just moved here a few weeks before you. It’s hard to find anything good so close to the university.”

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