Page 22 of Bewitched By the Sea Monster
“—ter. Cuterthan the cat.”
Melany gave an overdramatic gasp. “That’s it, love. We need to divorce. To say a racoon is cuter than this precious angel,” she tutted. Warmly.Jokingly.
The other woman gave aharrumphthat might’ve sounded stiff and snotty, if it wasn’t so basked in love and affection.
And I officially liked both of them.
“This your first time on the island?” I angled myself to face them.
“Babe.” Jackson pinched my arm.
“Yes.”Melany beamed at me. “It’s so exciting, isn’t it?”
Not the word I’d use. But… “Sure is,” I said. “It’s our first time as well, and Jackson’s been telling me there are some other creatures here. I thought it was just the Loch Ness Monster…but I sometimes live under a rock.” Truthfully, I hadn’t been interested enough to dig into everything the island offered. “Is there anything you’re really eager to see?”
“Babe, c’mon.” Jackson hefted our backpack a little more firmly onto his shoulders and twined an arm around my waist,pulling my back against his chest. “You don’t have to chat with everyone in line.”
“It’s just a little casual conversation,” I said.
At the same time, Melany responded, laughing, “At the moment, I’m obsessed with this cat. But if you ask me again in fifteen minutes, I’ll give you a different answer.”
“And you’ll get a different answer fifteen minutes after that.” Her partner chuckled.
“Right!” the cat chirped again, making several people squeal and giggle. “If I could have your attention for a moment?—”
Melany bounced. “Oooooh,look at its little mouth moving!”
“—so I can make sure everyone hears me.” The cat stood, dropped into a long, languid stretch, and meandered closer to us, his little paws padding silently over the rocky surface.
Jackson stiffened against me and hissed sharply through his teeth.
“Zohar didn’t tell you about the cat?” I whispered.
Jackson sniffled. “No.”
“Oh no. Heshould’ve, considering?—”
“He doesn’t know I’m allergic,” Jackson cut me off.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Jackson, you see, had some whopping allergies. Cats made him sneeze and break out in hives. So did dogs. Anything with dander, really.It was why we didn’t have any pets.
I had a bunny when we started dating. Good ole Roger (like Roger Rabbit, get it?). He was such a friendly, happy little floof, and I’d given him free roam of my one-bedroom apartment, which meant Jackson hadn’t been able to come over to my place. He’d start sneezing his head off as soon as he walked in the door.
Thankfully, Jessa had been able to take Roger when Jackson and I’d gotten the house together.If she hadn’t…
I mean, I would’ve kept him. For sure. My heart wouldn’t have handled surrendering him to a shelter. But poor Jackson would’ve suffered for it.
I twisted my head and gave Jackson a peck on the cheek, careful not to blast my foul breath over his face. “Your antihistamines are in the medicine pouch,” I said. “I wasn’t thinking we’d have a cat attendant, but y’know, I packedeverything.Just in case.”
“What would I do without you?” Jackson turned his lips to my forehead.
“Live in misery, I suppose.”
“Quiet, please.” The cat’s tiger-striped tail flicked as he circled our group.
