“Sure. If she’ll let you. Taylor can be a little feisty.”
Daniela stuck her lip out and made a pouty face at me, then she turned her attention back to Taylor and picked her up. Taylor meowed in protest but didn’t scratch.
“See, she’s fine!” Daniela said.
I smiled, skeptical how long that would last. When I looked over at Hunter he was focused on his phone.
“Hey Lorrie, Gary wants to come over. That cool?”
“Why not?” I said.
He shrugged and tapped a reply on his phone. “I don’t know, just checking.” He put his phone in his pocket. “Now where’s Rampage?”
I shook my head and laughed. “If I didn’t know better I’d swear he’s the only one you ever pay attention to.”
Hunter walked over to the box and found a kitten with a white patch that went from between its eyes all the way to the base of its neck. He was a little sleepy but crawled up to him anyway and rolled on his back. That was typical Rampage.
Hunter scooped him and up and held him in his hand, the kitten’s head cradled in his fingers. He tickled Rampage’s belly and the little guy squirmed in approval, trying to grab onto Hunter’s finger with its tiny paws.
“I have enough love to go around,” Hunter said. “But just look at him? He’s just so adorable.” He held the kitten up for us to admire. Then Hunter’s face fell and he rushed to the litter box.
“God damn it Rampage!” he said.
“What?” Daniela asked worriedly. I already knew the answer .
Hunter plopped Rampage into the litter box, then got up to go to the kitchen sink. “He pooped on me!”
I giggled when Daniela turned to me in horror then down on Taylor. “They aren’t trained?” she asked me.
“Daniela, these kittens are little babies. Of course they aren’t trained. They’ve only been able to use the litter box at all for a few days.”
“So she could poop on me at any moment?”
“Yup,” Hunter said from the kitchen. “I don’t know how kittens so small can poop so much, but they do.”
Daniela wrinkled her nose.
“Hey Lorrie,” Hunter said, “can you come help me with the kitten milk? It’s just about time for them to eat.”
“Sure,” I said.
I got up at the same time as Daniela, who was gently putting Taylor into the litter box. Apparently she didn’t want kitten poop on her hands. I walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out the kitten formula while Hunter finished washing his hands. When I closed the door I saw Hunter had pinned a drawing to his fridge with a magnet.
It was the sketch I had done of a man with a fly’s head. He had said he liked it, but I didn’t realize he liked it enough to put it up in his apartment. The fact he had put it up made me feel good, both about my artistic abilities and about Hunter’s feelings toward our friendship.
As I stood looking at the drawing, I felt him come up behind me. The warmth from his body made the light hairs on my arms stand on end. I felt my skin prickle at his presence.
“We didn’t leave any syringes in there, did we?” he asked.
“No, I think those are in the cupboard with the bottles.”
“Okay. Are you alright?”
I blinked and turned to him. His eyes were narrowed in concern. “Yeah, I was just admiring this awesome drawing on your fridge.”
His face relaxed into a smile. “Oh. Yeah, the artist is really something. I look forward to seeing more of her work.”
“I think she’s working on a series involving kittens.”
He grinned. “Sounds cool.”
“But if she’s going to continue that series, these kittens need to be fed,” I said, stepping around him and going to a cupboard to look for a sauce pan. We needed to boil some water to warm up the kitten milk and sterilize the rubber ni**les.
I found one and got the water going on the stove. We returned to the common area to find Daniela gingerly petting another kitten. Judging by its fur it looked like Bones.
“Good lord,” I said. “It’s just kitten poop. You’re petting that thing like it might sting you.”
She turned to me and frowned. “I don’t want to get it on my sweater! This is dry clean only.”
Hunter scoffed. “I can get you a hoodie if you want to wear it while feeding them. Or a blanket maybe.”
“You’re the one who yelled when he pooped on you!” she said.
He shrugged. “Yeah, it kind of sucks when something poops on you. I do stuff all the time knowing it’s going to suck every once in a while. Doesn’t mean I don’t do it for the awesome parts.” He walked over to where Rampage had plopped down next to the litter box and picked him up. “Isn’t that right Rampage?”
He held the kitten and walked over to Daniela, waving Rampage around like he was flying. Rampage didn’t seem to mind. “Raaaammmmmpppaaaagggggggeeee!”
He tried to set Rampage onto Daniela’s head, still holding onto him, but Daniela shot up and ran away. Hunter chased after her laughing. “Rampage is going to get you!” he yelled then turned to Rampage and softened his tone. “Aren’t you Rampage?”
Rampage meowed and we all laughed. He looked a little annoyed that he was flying instead of sleeping.
Gary came over while we were waiting for the water to boil, then he helped the kittens. Daniela eventually braved the potential for kitten poop and fed one of the cats too. She came away poop free. Gary wasn’t so lucky, but he was a champ about it.
The whole evening ended up being a very pleasant time. Hanging out with the three of them was so comfortable and fun in a non-stressful way. I was beginning to look forward to enjoying the rest of the semester with both old and new friends.
Chapter Fourteen
CUPID
The beginning of February came and went. Before anyone knew it, we were at that dreaded mid-February holiday. I sat at a table by myself on the second floor of the Barnyard looking idly over the railing at the bustle of student activity below, trying not to gag from seeing all pink and red Valentine’s Day decorations around me. I’d finished my lunch and was waiting for Daniela to meet me after class.
I spotted her in jeans and a forest-green sherpa jacket through the fifty-foot glass windows long before she reached the entrance. I waved to her and she came up the stairs with a smile. “Hey girl, what’s wrong?” she said, setting her backpack down and taking a seat across from me. “You don’t look so hot.”