Stray Cat

Chapter One

Phil was a positive person – it was just how he was raised. Always look on the bright side. If he broke a shoe lace, his mum would encourage him to think about the cool laces he could replace them with. If he dropped a snack on the pavement, think of the hungry squirrel that would enjoy it.

As a 22-year-old man, he still found himself trying see the world in this way, though it was hard to see the silver lining in his current situation. Phil tried to stop rubbing his eye, knowing that would make it hurt worse. He already had to take out his contacts and put on his glasses because he couldn't leave his eye alone. While he was distracted, someone slipped into the booth beside him; he was sitting at his favorite seat in Starbucks. He looked up in surprise when she made a sound in the back of her throat to get his attention. "Linda!"

She gave a slight smile. "Hello, Phil. I almost didn't recognize you in your glasses. Sorry I'm late."

"No worries," he said, though he'd been waiting for 30 minutes, and he hadn't gotten a drink while waiting to be polite. She hadn't responded to his texts either, but he pushed that thought out of his mind, melting in the warmth of her presence. Not that she was a very warm person – Phil would have loved to reach out and touch her, but he knew she would pull away, saying he was in her 'personal bubble'. Still, he enjoyed being around her, or just anyone at the moment, because he'd had a truly awful day and he needed some comfort.

Linda had picked up their usual drinks on her way in, and she pushed his closer to him. He took a grateful sip of the caramel macchiato while she looked at him. She leaned closer, examining his face, and he inhaled, trying to catch the scent of her strawberry shampoo, but he couldn't smell her over the overpowering aroma of coffee beans in the Starbucks. She leaned away after getting a good look at his eye. "Are you okay? How did you get a black eye?"

"It happened at work," he explained, mentioning the stationary store. "I was on the register today and this customer went nuts on me. He tried to cut in line, saying he was in a hurry, and when I wouldn't let him he grabbed a Terry's chocolate orange off a display and threw it at my face."

Her eyebrows knit together with concern, and the sight warmed his heart because he was very easy to please. "Poor baby. What happened next?"

Phil felt his cheeks get hot. "I might have sworn. Like, really. I cussed him out properly."

"Oh," she said, and he could tell from her expression that she'd figured out this wasn't just an anecdote and that there might be some serious news coming. Linda asked, "Well, your manager understood, right? Anyone would swear at a customer under those circumstances."

Phil frowned and broke eye contact. Unfortunately, Phil didn't have an understanding manager and he wasn't the best employee. While he was always cheerful and on time, he was naturally clumsy and he had knocked down so many displays that his manager had lost all patience with him. Also, this wasn't just any customer. Phil explained, "No, Linda, I'm sorry. It didn't go that way. This guy spends a lot of money in the shop, so when my manager came out of the back, things didn't go well. The customer said I'd provoked him, and I admitted that I'd sworn at him..."

Linda sighed in disappointment. "Shit, Phil. Why do you never stand up for yourself?"

"I'm really sorry." He tried to meet her eyes, but this time she looked away.

"You're sorry because you were fired, aren't you?" She sighed again.

He and Linda had been going out for about 6 months now, and Linda complained about her small apartment so often that they had recently started talking about her moving in, but the issue was that Phil could barely afford rent and Linda was still a full-time student. When he talked about living together, Linda said it wouldn't make sense for her to move in when his finances were so unstable. He always assured her that it would be fine... it looked like Linda had been right. Knowing her answer, Phil insisted, "This doesn't have to change anything. I'll find another job. I'd still like you to move in."