Page 93 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘Where’s he taking you then?’
‘Who?’
‘Leo, of course!’
‘That new fish place in Rye, oh, what’s it called…’
‘The Purple Prawn?’
‘Yep, that’s the one,’ said Tori, nodding.
‘Fancy! It’s supposed to be lovely – gorgeous food and very romantic,’ said Rose, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
‘Oi! Stop!’ said Tori, making a face.
‘Oh, I’m pleased for you, you deserve a good night out with someone who gets your pulse racing.’
‘Hmm, well, don’t get too excited yet, let’s see how things go, shall we?’
‘It’s going to be great, I can feel it in my bones, and my instincts on these things are never wrong.’
‘There’s always a first time,’ muttered Tori under her breath. ‘Listen, Rose, there’s something I’ve not told you – I’ve had a message from Ryan.’
‘What?’ said Rose, sitting bolt upright. ‘When? What did he say?’
‘He commented on one of my Instagram posts and DM’dme.’ She fished her phone out of her bag and pulled up the message. ‘It just saysI miss you.’
‘Well, of course he does; he was a bloody idiot to let you go in the first place. Have you replied?’
‘No, I don’t even know what I’d say.’
‘How do you feel about things? Now you’ve heard from him, I mean.’
‘Even more confused. I was just starting to get excited about seeing Leo and then Ryan decides to slide into my DMs.’
‘Well, forget about him – for tonight at least. Go out and have a great time with Leo and see where your head’s at afterwards. You don’t have to reply to Ryan – it’s your call, Tori.’
‘Thanks. I think not replying is the best decision I can make right now. I’m just going to put Ryan and his stupid message out of my head,’ she said determinedly. ‘Do you think I should ring Grace again? It’s been over an hour since I spoke to Tara.’
As if on cue, Tori’s phone started ringing and she could see from the caller ID that it was Grace. She flashed the screen at Rose, who mouthed ‘Spooky!’
‘Grace! Any news? Is he okay, he’s not—’
‘Don’t panic, it’s good news – his bloods have come back normal, so I think dehydration might well be the cause of his episode.’
‘Everything’s normal, you’re sure?’ Tori felt her shoulders relax.
‘For a cat of his age, he’s actually in good shape.’
‘But dehydration, that still sounds bad.’
‘Cats can be reluctant drinkers, even when fresh water is on offer. If they’re eating a diet of mainly dry food, they can get dehydrated quickly. It doesn’t take much.’
‘And that could really have caused what happened today?’
‘Definitely. I can’t completely rule out anything else, but if there is something neurological going on, he’ll likely have another episode and if that happens, I’ll refer him on to a specialist.’
‘So, just wait and see and hope it’s a one-off?’
