Turning Tables ✔

Part 6

JENNIE

I wanted to eat a quick lunch before I picked up Lyla, but I wasn't able to. There were some things I had to get done around the house for my mom and time wouldn't allow it.

I didn't mind much. I probably couldn't eat, anyway. I was too excited to finally have Lyla back. My mother was relieved when I told her she'd been found.

I knew that obviously she was my cat now and I took all the responsibility for her, but I could see she still brought my mother a lot of comfort. She was a total cuddler, and she'd lay with me or my mom for hours. Which was nice on days where she had trouble getting out of bed.

I texted the person who found her that I'd be coming over soon and she gave me the okay, so around noon I got in my car and drove over to the address.

It was in a nice part of town. A little subdivision of small houses, none that were more than two bedrooms, but they were cute and it looked safe.

I parked out front and started making my way to the door. When I looked in the window, though, something I saw made my heart sink.

There was a small tortoiseshell kitten staring at me. But it wasn't my tortoiseshell kitten. This one was obviously a few months older, though the markings were very similar.

I thought for a second that maybe the person who called me got mixed up.

They had grabbed a different cat than mine and confused the two.

But that wouldn't make sense. It wasn't as if I put up flyers or anything.

The only way that this stranger would be able to call me was if they picked up Lyla themselves and called the number on her collar. They had to have her.

So this must just be another cat. Weird that the same person who picked up my cat would have a tortoiseshell of their own. I didn't really see them too often. At least, not as often as other colorations.

I rang the doorbell and waited patiently. It took a while before the stranger came to the door, though.

No, not a stranger, not a stranger at all. When the door opened up, I recognized the face immediately.

"... Lisa?" I whispered.

"Yeah..." she said quietly. "Hi."

She did not look nearly as shocked to see me as I was to see her. I was slack jawed, staring at her like I'd seen a ghost.

"You're... wait... You found Lyla?" I questioned.

"Yeah..." she said softly. "I did. She was in the parking lot of my work."

"I... Oh."

I was completely caught off guard. I had no idea what to say. She was the one person I was hoping I wouldn't run into and now I'd literally driven over to her house. Fuck.

"Do you want me to just bring her out to you?" she asked anxiously. "I mean, you can come in if you want."

I didn't know what I wanted. On one hand, I would have loved to sprint away from a situation this awkward but now that I was looking at her again... The last thing I wanted to do was walk away.

She was just as beautiful as she'd always been in my memory.

"I'll come in... If that's fine with you." I said.

She nodded awkwardly as I stepped inside.

It was a cute house. Not too big, but very well decorated.