JENNIE
Next morning, I'm still buzzing from Lisa's visit, but she is nowhere to be seen.
Jisoo tells me she has been called away for last-minute contract negotiations, and suddenly without her, my day turns drab.
But loose-lipped Jisoo does let slip that it's Lisa's birthday tomorrow, so we hatch a plan, and as soon as the clock hits five, I rush home.
When I open the front door, I find Rosie spinning around with a slightly freaked-out Louis in her arms.
"Who's the best-looking cat in San Diego?" she coos. "You are!"
Oh, God.
"Rosie. He's going home tonight," I say, dropping my bag on the couch. "It's Lisa's birthday."
Rosie just picks up his gray paw and waves at me. I already know what she is thinking. She did the same thing with our old roommate Stella's goldfish, Joo, when she skipped out on the lease to follow some crush to Belize.
"You cannot keep the cat, Roseanne!"
"Why not? Finders keepers."
"You didn't find him!"
"Correction. I actually did find him in my room! Plus, he slept on my bed all day. Exhibit A." She points to her bed through the gap in the door. "Very large patch of orange fur on my duvet."
"Rosie. Louis is Lisa's cat!"
"You let me keep Joo!"
"Stella absconded to another country. Slightly different scenario."
Rosie scoffs. "Louis doesn't like Lisa. He doesn't even want to go home!" she says, still arguing.
"Of course, he likes her!" I can't dispute her second point, so I march over.
"Hand him over right now."
"No."
"Yes."
"No. Ugh. You're so bossy, Kim."
She drops him in my arms and storms off. "And you owe me a cat!"
"Wh -... Rosie!" I watch her walk away and glance down at Louis, scratching his ear.
God, I'll need to buy her a few emergency rosés to calm her down. It might even be time to get that Dwarf Roborovski hamster she has always wanted. There's certainly no disputing that this little guy has brought a ray of sunshine (or gray) into our life.
I quickly place Louis in his carrier before he can dart off to one of his thousand hiding places. After I bathe and have a healthy, balanced dinner consisting of Doritos and some salsa of unknown origin hiding in the back of our fridge, my phone beeps.
Just like my very own secret agent, Jisoo confirms that Lisa is now in the office, so I snatch the carrier off the countertop and head out the door.
Unfortunately, I don't get the memo about the weather, and I run into a storm of epic proportions halfway there.
Wincing into the cold wind, rain slashes my face, and a downpour drenches me entirely. I stagger through the revolving doors with my hair plastered to my face and my t-shirt and jeans molded to me like a wet t-shirt competition.
After copping a sideways glance from an older security guard with dyed black hair, I fling myself into the steel box and jab at the button for the twenty-second floor. Only to be smacked in the face with my reflection.
Brilliant.
I'm a freaking disaster.
As for Louis, he's completely unfussed in his shelter and purring like a tractor. Well, at least that's something, I guess.
