Redemption (Sempre 2)

Gavin walked over when the man scurried back to work. He handed her a scrap of paper with an address and phone number scribbled on it.

“Thanks,” she replied. “What did you say to make him apologize?”

“I just told him who you were.”

She tensed at those words. “Who am I?”

Gavin’s eyes met hers. He stared for a moment before answering, his eyebrows raised as if that question surprised him. “A friend of mine, of course.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, you want me to go with you?” he asked. “It’s not far, just about a block back the way you came. We can walk.”

She glanced at the address on the paper. “I don’t want you to have to leave work.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “I was about to leave anyway.”

* * *

A few hours later, the two of them sat in flimsy blue plastic chairs in the busy waiting room of a walk-in emergency animal clinic. Haven fidgeted anxiously, her backside starting to hurt from the hard seat.

A nurse eventually called Haven’s name and she jumped up, not bothering to wait for Gavin as she made her way to the back.

“The kitten’s going to be fine,” the lady said. “We’ve cleaned him up and dressed the wound—just a small gash that should heal right up. He had a horrible case of fleas that we’ve taken care of, but there was nothing majorly wrong. You can take him home now.”

Smiling with relief, Haven signed the heap of paperwork before taking the cat and rejoining Gavin. They left the clinic, the animal fast asleep in Haven’s arms as they headed back out into the street. The sun had started to set, most of the day having faded away.

“So what are you going to do with the cat?” Gavin asked. “Keep it?”

She frowned. “I don’t think I’m allowed to have pets.”

“You can try to find it a home,” Gavin suggested. “Put out an ad.”

“But what if someone bad responds, like that guy you work with?”

Gavin sighed. “I don’t know. I’m out of ideas short of me taking it home.”

Haven’s expression lit up. “Would you really?”

He blanched. “What?”

“Would you keep him?” she asked. “I know you’ll be nice to him.”

Gavin stammered, opening and closing his mouth a few times, before shrugging and letting out a deep sigh. “Fuck it, why not?”

Haven smiled, holding the kitten up and waving its paw at Gavin. “Snowy thanks you.”

The clinic was near her art building, the students all gone for the weekend when they strolled past. “So it’s kind of a long walk from the construction site to my school,” Haven mused. “What in the world do you do up here all the time?”

“It’s not that long of a walk,” he said. “Ten, fifteen minutes at the most. I came up here that first day to hit up a deli nearby.”

“And what about every other day?”

He shrugged. “I come for the company.”

Despite herself, Haven blushed at that.

They chatted casually as they walked—about the cat, about school, even about the weather. It took nearly a half hour for them to reach Haven’s neighborhood, although she usually made the walk in half that time.