Serves Me Wright

She meowed, looking up at me with the biggest blue eyes in the world.

“I think she approves.”

“I approve,” he said, drawing me back to him. “I approve of us. This family.”

“Family?” I asked carefully.

“She’s ours now.”

“I like that.”

He smiled. “You spend so much time here, and the other cats don’t need as much love. I thought it’d be nice to have an indoor cat who only partially hates us but might sometimes love us.”

“That’s about as good as you can get with a cat.”

“You, me, and Tilla. One big, happy family.”

I stared down at the kitten and sighed. “I feel like I belong here.”

“You belong with me.”

Our fingers interlaced, and I realized that he was right. That belonging I’d always searched for, I had now. I had it here with Julian. He knew about all my deepest, darkest secrets and accepted me for who I was. I knew about the struggles he had with his dad and his family. And we fit—not despite the issues, but because we were overcoming them together.

And now, we were a little family here. A forever, all wrapped up in one little tortilla. One day, we’d want more, have more, but for now, this was right where I belonged.

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