Page 26 of Love at First Ink

“I would like to adopt Snowball.”

The woman grinned, her pretty face brightening. She clapped her black-manicured hands together. “That’s wonderful. Follow me, and we will get you and Snowball ready to go. Did you hear that, Snow? You have yourfur-ever home!”

Snowball appeared unbothered by her joy.

Marisol followed the woman out of the cat room, through a door she missed at the end of the room. It led to an office space with a few other volunteers and people adopting pets. The woman took the last available computer and sat down, gesturing for Marisol to take a seat on the wooden chair.

“Do you have your ID on you?” she asked.

Marisol shifted Snowball’s weight to one arm and dug through her purse until she found her wallet. “Yeah, here it is.” She passed the ID over.

“Marisol Roberts. That’s a pretty name,” she said. “I’m Stella. Been here for about two years volunteering. My partner says I like animals more than people, which is accurate. People suck. Pets give us undying love and devotion.”

“People can be…complicated,” Marisol agreed, which seemed like an understatement.

Stella passed Marisol a clipboard with things to sign and fill out. Most of it was simple. Her name, where she lived, if she ever had a pet before. The last page was an acknowledgment forresponsible pet owners, detailing exactly what she needed to do to care for Snowball.

“I’ll give you a copy of the last page,” Stella said once Marisol handed her back the paperwork. “It details Snowball’s diet and records. Like I said earlier, we don’t have any of her history before she came to the shelter, but we’ve been told she is roughly five years old, and we managed to get her up-to-date on all her shots. You’ll still want her to get into a vet soon for assessment. Do you live in the area?” When Marisol nodded, Stella searched through the messy desk until she located a yellow paper.

“Here, take this. These are vets and clinics we recommend in the area. It’s a good place to start if you don’t have one you like going to. Do you have any questions for me?”

“Yeah, what type of food should I be feeding her? Is one brand better than the other? I’m new to this,” she admitted reluctantly, afraid Stella would deem her incompetent and take Snowball away from her. She just met the little white cat, but already she was forming a bond with her. As irrational as it seemed, she was excited, albeit nervous, to take Snowball home.

“On the back of the ‘How to care for your cat’ paper, we wrote down what we have been feeding her here and potential wet food you could also give her. You really want to avoid artificial preservatives and carbohydrate fillers. The packages will list all the ingredients, but if you use the one we have been giving Snowball, you should be fine,” Stella assured.

There were so many other questions Marisol had, but she didn’t know where to start and didn’t want to overthink the situation. She would figure it out or enlist her sister’s help since Lola was the reason she was getting a pet in the first place.

Stella excused herself before coming back out with a box carrying case. There were air holes at the top, and Marisol washorrified when it was placed in front of her. The very first thing she would buy Snowball was a proper carrying case, because this just seemed inhumane. It wasn’t, but Snowball still deserved better.

“One last thing,” Stella said as Marisol placed Snowball in the box, saying a silent apology to her. She looked up just in time to see Stella hand her a neon-green paper. “I don’t usually give this to everyone, but you seem to have a way with animals that would be greatly appreciated around here.”

Marisol took the flyer and read the bold words at the top:Volunteers wanted.

“You don’t need to answer right now, but we would definitely love to have you on the team. You have the right vibes that would fit in with the rest of us, and clearly you have a way with animals.

“Our number is on the front.” She pointed to the contact information. “I’m here every Thursday through Monday. Just call and ask for me if you have any questions. Feel free to drop in too. I really hope to hear from you, Marisol.” Stella’s smile was genuine and friendly, reminding her of a gothic golden retriever.

It felt nice to be wanted, and that was nearly enough for Marisol to agree, but her father always told her to take time to think through decisions and not act on impulse. She figured that would apply to this situation as well. “Thank you. I’ll let you know soon.”

Stella seemed content with her answer and smiled. “Do you need help out?”

The offer was kind, but Marisol shook her head. “I got it.”

“It was good to meet you, Marisol. I hope we hear back from you soon. Just take this door here, and the parking lot will be to your left.” Stella went to open the door for her.

Marisol gathered the paperwork, hoping she remembered everything, and then grabbed Snowball, who meowed from the box.I know, I’ll get you out soon,she thought.

“Thank you for your help,” she said as she passed Stella.

“Happy to. Have a good day and enjoy your new family member!” Stella called before the door shut.

Walking quickly, Marisol fumbled for the keys and unlocked the door. As soon as she was inside with the AC on, she opened the box up. Snowball jumped out of it with an annoyed meow. She walked in circles on her seat before plopping down, looking regal and comfortable within her car.

Then reality sank in, and, holy shit, Marisol just adopted a cat.

“Fuck,” she groaned and reached for her phone. Her finger hovered over Lola’s number to call her and demand she help Marisol with everything Snowball would need. But then she scrolled back up and clicked on another name. She hadn’t seen him since their date, but they had been texting pretty much every day. So, calling him now wouldn’t be weird…right? Before she could talk herself out of it…

He picked up on the second ring. “Texting wasn’t good enough for you anymore, Princesa?”

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