Page 58 of Man Seeking Woman

“Well aren't you cute, where's your mama?” Scratching its head, the kitten kept purring and rubbing, purring and rubbing. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Whatcha got there?” I heard a man ask and looked up to see Jerry sitting in the car with the passenger window open.

“I just found him in the sewer drain right here.”

“You taking him home?”

“I don't know, what else can I do with him? I can't just let him go.”

“I can take him to the pound.”

The idea of that made me cringe. “Does August like cats?” I asked.

Shrugging his shoulder, his eyes moved between the mirrors. “I'm not sure, I've never seen him with one, but that doesn't mean anything.”

“Should I take him?” The kitten stuck its tiny claws into my shirt, crawling up on my shoulder and trying to hide itself in my hair. Pulling him off, I pressed him back into my chest.

“I think if you don't, he'll find you anyway.” Jerry chuckled, noting how attached the little thing seemed already.

Gently placing him (or her, I still wasn't sure) into my pocket book, he poked his tiny head out but didn't try to jump or resist. Climbing into the car, Jerry drove me and my new little friend back to August's house.

I wasn't sure if August would let me keep it or if he would make me bring it to the pound, but for the moment, I was actually excited. I loved cats, and this one reminded me of a stray that I used to feed when I was a little girl.

“What are you going to call it?” Jerry asked. “My kids wanted a cat once, they decided to name it Grouch, he was a bit of a prick, so it fit him well I suppose. The only thing about having that cat, it turned into my wife's, the kids didn't do a thing for it. But that cat lived for seventeen years, little bugger was a fighter.”

Petting his head, I stared at the gray fur ball in my purse. “I'm not sure, I don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, so I need a unisex name. What do you think of Dumpster?”

Jerry peered at me through his rear-view mirror, arching a brow. He didn't need to say anything, I already knew what he was thinking.

“Alright, not Dumpster.” Thinking for a second, I had the perfect name pop into my head. “I've got it. . .”

---