Instantly they re-seized the beautiful creature, this time the young woman grabbing the back and the young man the front.
They stared at each other for a long moment, trying to decide what to say.
“I love cats,” she explained at last, not able to meet his gaze.
“So do I,” he cried.
“Keep your voice down.”
“Nobody can hear.”
They looked both ways on the road. There was no traffic.
She blinked at the cat, as if trying to find some revelation.
“My cat died.”
“So did mine,” he countered.
This softened their hold on the beast.
“When?” she asked.
“Monday,” he replied.
“Last Friday,” she said.
They rearranged their hands on the small creature and did not so much hold as touch.
There was a moment of embarrassed silence.
“Well,” he said at last.
“Yes, well,” she said.
“Sorry,” he said, lamely.
“The same,” she said.
“What are we going to do? We can’t stand here forever.”
“Looks like,” she said, “we’re both needy.”
For no reason at all he said, “I wrote an article for Cat Fancy.”
She looked at him more intensely.
“I chaired a cat show in Kenosha,” she offered.
They stood, agonizing on their new silence.
A car roared down the road past them. They jumped away and when the car was gone saw that they both still held the wonderful creature, carrying it out of harm’s way.
He stared off down the road. “There’s a diner down there, I see its lights. Why don’t we go have coffee and discuss the future?”
“There’s no future without my cat,” she said.
“Or mine, either. Come on. Follow me.”