RATED X

CHIMERA TORTOISESHELL KITTENS
AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!
MAKE SOMEONE VERY HAPPY THIS CHRISTMAS!
COME IN – ASK FOR LEAH

Gary did a double-take when he saw the sign on the marquee outside St. Thomas Methodist church. He’d always been fascinated by those distinctively mottled cats with an extra X chromosome. Gary supported humane societies and animal shelters, not pet stores. He knew people paid a lot of money for pets, especially the designer dogs some breeders ‘manufacture’ such as Labradoodles and Yorkipoos. Rescuing pets was more his style.

Not hesitating for a second, Gary walked inside and knocked on the open door of an office marked ‘Communities Outreach Program’. A pleasant female voice rang out “Come on in! I’ll be right there.”

Glancing around the room Gary noticed a large bulletin board full of colorful flyers about the church’s events: the weekly Advent wreath candle lighting ceremony, the upcoming Christmas pageant, a clothing drive for the homeless and a sign-up sheet to volunteer at a local soup kitchen.

“Hi! You must be Sam. The delivery is all ready for you.”

Gary found himself face to face with the most adorable woman he had ever seen. She was casually dressed in jeans, a Christmas sweater and a Santa hat; her short blonde hair barely brushed her shoulders. Dark-rimmed glasses couldn’t hide her luminous green eyes and her infectious smile displayed sparkling white teeth. Even without makeup she was radiant.

Somewhat dumbstruck, Gary said “Um, hi. I’m Gary, not Sam. Sorry but I don’t know anything about a delivery. I’m looking for Leah.”

“I’m Leah. Sorry for the mix-up. I’ve been waiting hours for a guy named Sam to deliver a truckload of groceries to the soup kitchen. I thought you were him.” Leah frowned.

“Actually, I’m here because I saw the sign about the kittens for adoption” Gary admitted rather sheepishly, wishing he was there for something more altruistic – like making a soup kitchen delivery.

“Oh, shoot! I forgot that sign was still up!” exclaimed Leah. “I’m sorry but the kittens were all snatched up except for the runt of the litter. Poor little thing – I took her home. She’s keeping my cat Othello company – not that he’s thrilled about it.”

Gary was visibly disappointed. “Oh, you’re kidding! Just my luck! I got excited when I saw your adoption sign. Well, I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I’ll get out of your hair now, Leah … unless you think I can help with something.”

Leah checked her watch; it was getting late and it looked like Sam was a no-show. Gary seemed like a trustworthy guy so she took a chance. Besides, he was wearing a Christmas sweater and a Santa hat, too; if you can’t trust a cute guy in a Santa hat, who can you trust? “Well, if you wouldn’t mind I could use a hand delivering those groceries.”

“Why not!” Gary answered – a bit too enthusiastically. “I don’t have anything going on tonight.”

“Great!” Leah answered – a bit too enthusiastically. “You’re a lifesaver, Gary! And I’m really sorry about the kittens.”

On the way to the soup kitchen, Leah and Gary chatted non-stop and discovered they had a lot in common. They were both friendly, outgoing people who enjoyed doing volunteer work, they loved animals and they were hopeless romantics. And they were both single. When Gary told Leah about his tabby Roxy who passed away 8 months earlier, it broke her heart and she could see why Gary was so disappointed about the kittens. What could have been a boring time turned into a really nice evening and they thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company.

When the delivery was done, Leah said “Gary, I want to thank you for all your help tonight. I know you were really hoping to adopt a kitten. How about we make that happen?”

Gary was caught off guard. “Leah, please don’t feel like you owe me anything! I didn’t help you because I was looking for something in return. I really like you and was happy to help. But if you’re serious about the kitten, then yes – that would make my day!”

“I really like you, too, Gary.” Leah blushed. “Let’s head over to my place so you can meet the kitty. I just have to warn you: watch out for Othello. He doesn’t like strangers and is pretty territorial. In fact, he barely tolerates me and that’s because I feed him!” Leah laughed.

To Gary’s ears Leah’s laughter sounded like crystal bells.

Arriving at Leah’s place, Gary was too excited to worry about Othello. He was speechless at the sight of the tiny chimera kitten resting on a blanket in a wicker basket. He gently picked her up and sat on the sofa cradling her in his arms. Leah’s heart melted watching the two of them.

“I’ll go make some coffee” Leah suggested. “You be nice, Othello!”

Out of the corner of his eye Gary saw a large grey cat in the hallway giving him the evil eye. “Ah, you must be Othello” he whispered. “Look man – please don’t blow this for me, dude. I’ve kinda fallen for Leah and just between us guys, I think she likes me, too.” Othello crept closer and sniffed Gary’s shoes. Placing his front paws on the sofa he stared intently at Gary, then nonchalantly jumped up and made himself comfortable leaning against Gary’s leg purring contentedly.

“Well, how do you like that!” Leah declared in pleasant surprise. “Othello’s taken a liking to you, too, Gary. I think we made a connection here tonight.”

“Yeah, I think we really did, Leah. And I have the perfect name for this little lady. Leah, say hello to Desdemona.”

“Ah, Othello and Desdemona, Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers – but this time with a very happy ending.” 

Leah sighed as she rested her head on Gary’s shoulder. “Thank you, Santa” she thought dreamily.

NAR © 2020