TweetyGram

20 - #Playroom

Well, I guess you learn something new every day.

"These aren't just for Princess Tortie." Jake tossed different kinds of canned cat food, including ten cans of Cat Royale's Delicious Paté for Adult Cats and ten cans of Gourmet Loaf with Goat Milk for Kitten, into the shopping basket.

"Wow. That's a lot of canned cat food." As Jake grabbed a jar filled with fifty tubes of creamy cat treats, I continued, "And cat treats."

"You should see the stuff I buy here on the first of every month," he replied, his eyes glittering with excitement.

Once his shopping basket was full, we went to the cashier to pay for the goods. While helping him cram the pet food into his backpack, I asked, "Why are you buying food for kittens? Princess Tortie isn't pregnant, is she?"

"Nah, she's spayed. She can't have any more kittens."

He didn't answer my first question, and I had a feeling he wasn't going to. Even so, I had a few ideas about where we were going next. Judging by the amount of cat food he'd bought, he probably would take me to feed stray cats like his grandma had used to do, or visit an animal rescue center to persuade me to adopt a cat, or maybe visit one of his friends whose cat had just given birth to a litter of kittens.

About twenty minutes after we'd left the pet store, we pulled up outside a brown-painted house with a gated backyard in Castle Heights. The carved wooden sign hanging from the post on the front lawn read PURREVER HOME, decorated with small, white paws around the words, and a smaller sign below it said ADOPTIONS THIS WAY with an arrow pointing to the house.

I smirked. Oh, Goldilocks. You're so predictable.

"Isn't it a little too late to visit an animal rescue center?" I asked as we walked to the front door. "I'm pretty sure they're closed."

"It's okay." He pressed the bell next to the front door. "I've called earlier to let them know we're coming."

A moment later, a woman in her mid-twenties opened the door. The tall woman had a beauty mark above her lip and long, dark hair that was tied in a simple ponytail. I recognized her as the pet food taster photographed with Jake in one of his TweetyGram posts.

The woman's thin lips curved into a smile. "Hi, I've been waiting for you."

"Hey." Holding up his bag, Jake said, "Bought something for the guys."

"Oh, thanks. Come on in." The woman stepped aside to make way for us to enter. As I followed Jake into the house, she teased, "So, who's your friend here?"

"Mabel, Lindsey. Lindsey, Mabel."

"Hi," I greeted her with a smile and extended a hand to her.

"Hi." She returned the gesture with a friendly shake. "It's nice to finally meet you, Lindsey. Jake has told me so much about—"

Jake cleared his throat. "So, where's everyone?"

"They're in the playroom. I just finished feeding them, and you know how they get when their bellies are full." Mabel led us past rooms labeled Grooming Room, Exam Room, Nursery Room, and Cat Room #1 to #3. "Oh, and good news. Your friends just finished up Lola's adoption papers. They're going to pick her up tomorrow, so if you want to say goodbye, now would be a great time."

"Right." Jake nodded.

Mabel stopped in front of the room marked Playroom and turned to look at me. "Some of these guys tend to get a little too excited after dinner. Don't let that scare you, okay?"