“Oh, Nick, you poor thing,” Yolanda said. “What’s the spat about?”
I kissed her and ruined everything between us and now I know she doesn’t want anything to do with me.
“It’s nothing. We just . . .” He didn’t know how to finish his sentence or why he was even responding. He didn’t want to get into what was going on with him and Lily. It was too complicated.
Henry and Yolanda stared at him expectantly. Nick prayed for a subject change. Then his phone vibrated in his hand, and Lily’s name flashed across his screen. Nick blinked, wondering if he was seeing things. But no. Lily was calling him. His heart pounded as he quickly answered. He barely had a chance to say hello before Lily started talking.
“Hey, I’m so sorry to be calling you if you’re busy,” she said. “Are you home?”
“Yeah.” Nick immediately stood and walked across the room for his shoes. He didn’t like the slightly frantic edge to her voice. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Tomcat. Twenty minutes ago, I fed him and got showered and dressed and he was fine. But when I came back into the kitchen to look for my earring, he was lying on the floor moaning. I’ve never seen him like this before. And I don’t know if I should take him to the hospital or if he’ll be fine. The internet says so many different things. I don’t know what I’m doing, and Violet isn’t here, and I didn’t know who else to call.”
He slid on his sneakers. “I’m coming over now. Don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay,” she said weakly.
He ended his call with Lily and quickly turned to Henry and Yolanda. “I’m so sorry, I have to go. Lily’s having an emergency with her cat.”
“Lily?” Yolanda said. “Oh yes, that was the young lady’s name, wasn’t it?” She turned to Henry and nodded, like his assessment of Nick’s situation had been correct after all.
Nick didn’t answer, already halfway out the door, but he heard Henry say, “Yes, that’s her.”
Nick sprinted down the three flights of stairs to Lily’s apartment, unwilling to chance waiting for the elevator. He knocked on Lily’s door and she answered right away, looking distressed.
“He ate his normal mix of wet and dry food,” she explained, leading Nick inside. “And now he’s lying here like he’s in pain. He won’t let me touch him.”
Nick followed her into the kitchen. Tomcat was lying on the floor, watching Lily and Nick alertly. He didn’t look like he was in pain, but when Nick crouched down closer to him, he let out a weird moan.
Nick glanced up at Lily, who was wringing her hands together. He noticed then how beautiful she looked. She was wearing dark red lipstick and a black short-sleeved minidress. She obviously had plans. He wondered what they were, but he forced himself to focus on why she’d called him over.
“Could he be allergic to anything in the food?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’s the same thing he eats every day. Should I take him to the animal hospital? I’m afraid to move him because what if it’s something wrong with one of his organs? You know that’s why they didn’t move Princess Diana’s body after her accident? They have this rule in France that after someone is injured in a car accident you shouldn’t move their body in case you make things worse.”
She was blabbering. Her brown cheeks took on a slightly pinkish hue. Nick returned his attention to Tomcat, who was moaning weirdly again. Nick didn’t know shit about cats—other than the fact that some liked to bite ankles—but Tomcat looked wretched, and Nick knew that if they didn’t do something, Lily might regret it.
“Let’s take him to the animal hospital,” he said. “I’ll move him.”
Lily bit her lip, uncertain.
“It’s okay,” Nick assured her. “I’ll be careful.”
“All right,” she finally said. “I’ll get his carrier.”
While she raced down the hall, Nick stared at Tomcat, who continued to groan.
“Fuck me,” he whispered to himself. His old fear of cats was nearly causing him to break out in stress hives. “Tomcat, please don’t scratch, bite or attack me, all right? I just want to help you.”
Tomcat’s alert gaze turned slightly wary when Nick gently slipped his hands around Tomcat’s torso. The cat moaned louder, and Nick froze, but Tomcat didn’t swipe at him. He lay motionless in Nick’s hands as Nick picked him up and cradled him to his chest. He was terrified to hold the heavy cat so closely to him, but Tomcat was more or less docile in Nick’s arms.