Wistful Smile or Wishful Thinking

Chapter 3: Rescue Me

Chapter 3: Rescue Me

Jason handed Jenna the keys to the rooms. He was sweating profusely even though the thermometer read only 60F.

“One of my kids suddenly got the sore throat, and my wife can't go to the ER with my kid. I gotta go. Take care not to let Pebbles scratch Barney or else there'll be a ruckus”. And off Jason went.

Curtis blinked his eyes as if he remembered something. He pointed to the key absentmindedly.

“You do have a thing for ginger tabbies,don't you, Jenna?”

How much does he know about me? “Yes, I love ginger tabbies. I love tabbies and all short-haired cats.”

“Gotcha.”

Cassandra looked about as she saw a husky by the left wing of the building, whimpering. She went to the dog, knelt down and began to talk to it. The dog's ears began to stand up as he looked up at the lady in front of him. Then, looking at Cassandra with those sad, puppy eyes, the husky crawled near her as he continued to whimper.

“Oh, this just breaks my heart. Chase loves dogs so much. But our apartment doesn't allow pets. I wish I could take this back with me to Boston.”

“I could have him in mine, if you want to,” Conrad said as he was observing a Siamese cat who hissed when he looked at her. “This one's a bad kitty.”

“I didn't know why I decided to come inside with you guys. If you'll excuse me, I'll head out,” Tyler said as he shiver in disgust. He just hated animals, be it as harmless as a cat, or as exotic as a Komodo Dragon.

Meanwhile, Jenna went to another part of the building where her favorite sick cat, Magnus, was confined. She didn't know that Curtis was following her. And so it almost gave her a heart attack when she stepped on his shoes as she was carrying the seven year-old ginger.

“Why are you following me?”

“You used to follow me. So don't ask if I wanted to follow you all the way here. It's even better since no one would know if I fucked you here.” Curtis said as Jenna's eyes began to widen in fear.

“I'm just kidding,” he added. A shove was hurled at his chest.

“That's not funny.”

And so Jenna went to the windowsill and caressed Magnus while humming a tune. The cat hugged her and was purring contently, his eyes smiling. Jenna leaned her head on the cat's head and began to dance slowly, walking to and fro while tears were starting to form in her eyes.

“I wish I could bring you home with me, baby,” she crooned. The cat meowed in response.

“Why don't you adopt him?” Conrad asked as he approached his two friends.

“My landlady won't let me. That's why I come here to ease my loneliness.”

“To ease your loneliness? Go find a boyfriend already,” Curtis said.

“Not all loneliness in the world can be cured by a man. There is a void in one's heart that only animals can cure,” Jenna said as she scratched the cat's nape. The purring came about loudly and the cat smiled even more.

“Really? Wow, Jenna, I can't believe you've replaced a man for a pet when it comes to your heart! That's probably why you are still a virgin!”

“Curtis, I don't know what your problem is, but I'm not in the mood to fight with you. Now back off before I have Pebbles tear your face to pieces.”