Heart Themed Canvas [UsUk]

Catsitting

It didn't start out all that weird. Alfred needed a job, any job, so when he found an ad in the paper for someone to "take care of my cats" and "water the plants" for a couple of weeks, he jumped on the chance. Admittedly, the first phone call was a little weird.

"Hi, my name's Alfred, I saw your ad in the paper–"

"Oh, right. Yes, I'm leaving tomorrow, so if you could start Monday, that would be brilliant."

Alfred paused. "Uh, you don't want to know my qualifications or anything?"

"Not at all. You sound like a nice enough chap. You're the only one who has called, I'm afraid." A sigh on the other end. "Does twenty dollars a day sound fair?"

Alfred's eyes lit up. "Yeah! I mean, do you want me there every day? What do I have to do?"

"Look, would you mind if I called you back in an hour or so? I'm in the middle of packing."

Alfred didn't see what was so important about packing, but he didn't really have anything else he needed to do. "Sure."

"Great. Thanks."

The phone went dead and Alfred frowned at it. "Man," he muttered to the phone, "I really hope you're not some crazy British cat lady . . . person."

Three hours later, Alfred hadn't gotten a call back. He didn't want to be rude, but if this guy was leaving the next day, he really needed to know what he was supposed to be doing.

The phone was picked up almost immediately. "Hello?"

"Um, yeah, hey, it's Alfred again. I was wondering if you could tell me what I need to do, and stuff." Alfred winced at how awkward he sounded.

"Oh, thank goodness! I was worried I wouldn't be able to get hold of you. I'm terribly sorry I didn't call you back, but I forgot to ask for your number."

"Oh. Oh yeah." Alfred wondered if this guy was older than he had first thought. On every phone he knew of, it was easy to find the number of the last person who had called you. Maybe he didn't know how to really use his phone – or, even worse, he had a really old one. He said his number nice and slow, and the British man read it back to him every few digits. The British man then gave Alfred his address, which luckily wasn't too far away.

"Alright," the man said, sounding relieved. "The first thing I need you do is make sure the cats have food and water. It's all arranged in the kitchen – it isn't hard to find." Alfred nodded. "Now, they're indoor-outdoor cats, so there's a litter box in the bathroom, but it shouldn't need to be cleaned very often. They would probably appreciate it if you spent a little time playing with them, though. They can get a bit lonely."

"How many do you have?"

The man on the other end hesitated. "Well, two, but you might not see both of them very much. The one with the spots isn't very social."

"Ah, okay."

"The only other thing is my garden. If you water everything once a day in the evening when it's starting to cool off, that should be enough. I'll leave the spare key under the doormat, and I'll pay you when I get back, alright?"

Alfred grinned, though he knew this man couldn't see it. "You can count on me!"

There was a slight smile in the British man's voice. "Alright."

"Oh, wait! I forgot to ask for your name."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." He sounded very embarrassed. "It's Arthur Kirkland."

Alfred grinned. "I'm Alfred Jones. Nice to meetchya."

"Nice to meet you too, Alfred." The phone went dead.