Page 70 of Second Round

Ha. Famous lastwords.

25

Stacy’sMom

Leo

Iwalkedinto Jackie’s house and the place was complete bedlam. Two streaks of fur flew by, followed by Hannah andCharlotte.

“Hellooooooo, Papa,” she called out as she ran past me after Minx and Mao, her newkitten.

I proceeded into the kitchen where Jackie, Tristan, Wyatt, and Noelle were all giggling. The boys and the entire room were covered with tiny dots ofgreen.

“What the heck happened here?” Iasked.

Jackie sobered up immediately. “Uh, Tristan and Wyatt were making healthy smoothies, and they didn’t have the blender lid on properly. It exploded and scared the cats off. Sorry aboutthemess.”

I chuckled. “You don’t have to apologize to me. And you all look like aliens.” That only made themlaughmore.

“Are we set for our date?” I askedJackie.

“Yes, sorry. Let me get changed. Guys, you better start cleaning,” she said totheboys.

Much as I loved having Charlotte here, not getting any time alone with Jackie was brutal. Cuddling on the sofa while watching movies was nice, but it was no replacement for a good fuck. So tonight, I’d arranged for Noelle to babysit all the kids while I took Jackie out for arealdate.

In no time, she reappeared looking beautiful with no green spots at all. We took off and left Noelle incharge.

“I’m so, so sorry about the craziness you walked in on,” Jackie said as wedroveaway.

“Why do you keep apologizing?” I asked. “It’s your home, and I don’t mind thechaos.”

“Really?” She sounded shocked. “I guess I was used to Brent coming home and complaining that he couldn’t relax. He liked everything tobenice.”

“You forget. I grew up in a family of six. Chaos was a way of life for me.” I loved seeing Charlotte in the midst of the action, she was getting braver andbolder.

“But your place is so neat and organized,” sheprotested.

“Neatness does not equal being solitary. I’m tidy, but I enjoy people. Obviously, or I couldn’t be part of a team.” I reached over and squeezed her hand. “Please, stop apologizing. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and Charlotte this summer. Why would I care about a bit of green when you’re allhavingfun?”

“Wow. Sometimes I wonder if you’re for real or if there’s a factory in Quebec that churns outperfectmen.”

I laughed. “Not perfect, that’s for sure. How is the world’s ugliest kittengettingon?”

Jackie’s eyes widened and then she laughed. “You don’t say that to Charlotte, do you? She thinks that Mao is the sweetest cat on the planet. But I’ll admit I was surprised when you brought him home. I’m sure he’ll look better once hefattensup.”

Hannah, Charlotte, and I had gone to a bleak cement bunker in East Vancouver that turned out to be a cat rescue operation. Mao was a scrawny white cat with a variety of ailments, which meant he could not be adopted until he was healthy. He came with a full assortment of medications which he disliked taking, and I had the tiny scratches on my hands toproveit.

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. Once he’s better, I can take him back to the shelter, and he’ll get adopted by a realfamily.”

Jackie snort-laughedatthat.

“What is it?” Iasked.

“Oh, nothing. He and Minx have stopped fightinganyway.”

“Yes, Hannah assured me that she knew how to make the cats get along.” Since Mao needed various medications at different times, it was clear he’d have to commute from my place to Jackie’s. Once we knew none of his ailments were contagious, Hannah offered to train the cats to getalong.

“Hannah has an honorary degree in cat behaviour that comes from watching every single episode ofMy Cat From Hell,” Jackie joked. “Oh, did you forget somethingathome?”

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