Page 29 of Vesper Martinis

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Marie had her kittens!” Mom squeals.

Marie is one of the cats she recently adopted. She texted me when she got here and then a couple of days later texted me that she was pregnant.

“How many kittens did she have?” I ask, sipping my glass of wine.

“She had seven.” she holds up seven of her fingers.

“That’s great. Are they all going to go out for adoption?”

“Yes,” she says slyly, and I look at her.

“What?” I ask, putting my wine glass down.

“Well, I’m just saying. You have a very nice apartment. Having a little cat there might be nice to keep you company. Unless you have someone living there with you now?”

Mom asks this every time. Despite my telling her I’m jaded from past experiences with romantic partners. But that might be changing. I’ve reconsidered a lot since Wesley and I got handsy with each other in my office. And that lunch we had, what I told him, has me thinking that I’m more into him than I thought. Because I trust him not to tell anyone what I told him. I had thought my ability to trust another person was gone.

Having said that, I'm going to tell my mother that right now.

“No. It’s empty, but that doesn’t mean I need a cat.”

“Come on. They're so cute. There’s one that’s black with a white patch on her toes and forehead. She’s so cute, and she matches your living room.”

We laugh at that hilarious comparison.

“Oh, good. Just what I need. To have an animal that will camouflage nicely in my place so I can’t see it ever.”

Mom chuckles softly as she goes back to her meal.

Maybe I could use a pet or something. I have the room, the money, and the time.

“I’ll think about it,” I tell Mom, and she claps her hands softly.

Just then, something catches my eye. I look up to see Wesley come in with his friend, Minnie. He catches my eye and gives me a small wave.

My mother looks over to see who I’m waving at and smiles.

“Who are they?”

“Uh, one of them works for me, and the other is his roommate.”

“Oh, wonderful! Let’s invite them over.”

Before I can say anything, my mom waves them over.

Wesley and Minnie look at each other before making their way over. I give them both an apologetic nod, but they wave me off as they greet my mother.

“Hello, my name is Margaret. I’m Pierce’s mother.”

“Hello,” Minnie says, shaking her hand. “I’m Minnie, and this is Wesley.”

“Hi,” Wesley says, also giving my mom’s hand a shake. “We don’t want to disturb you-”

“Oh, don’t be silly. Please, join us.”

We get two more chairs for them, and the waiter comes over to take their orders.

“So,” Mom says, “How did you two meet my Pierce?”

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