Page 8 of Into the Mountains
“Maybe,” he says. But the look on his face gives me all the information I need to know.
“You’re really giving me no choice here, are you?”
“That’s the plan.”
“The plan, huh?” This time I direct my glare at Sky, because I know this is what they were scheming up over there on the couch.
“What? Plan? There was no plan,” Ethan scrambles, trying to backtrack as he grabs the cat from Charlotte. But it’s too late. Sky knew if he named the cat, I wouldn’t be able to say no. And she was right. He’s completely attached to her now and it would becruel to say no. That and I don’t really have a reason other than my general dislike of cats, but that isn’t enough. Ethan having a companion would be good for him and now we will have more space for an animal.
“Alright, E. But you have to be responsible and take care of her yourself.”
He starts bouncing in place, his energy palpable. “I promise,” he says, almost too loud.
“That means cleaning the litter box—”
“Yeah, I know. Cleaning the litter box, feeding her dry food, and wet food at least once a day, and making sure she has water. Oh, Dad, can we get her one of those harnesses cats can wear to go outside? And a collar, but it has to be a breakaway collar in case she gets stuck, that way it won’t choke her and we need lots of good toys to keep her stimulated—”
“How do you even know the word stimulated? And how do you know all of this?”
He just shrugs. “I’ve read a lot of books on cats.”
“I thought you usually stuck toThe Hobbit?”
“Well, yeah, but I like to learn too, Dad.” I hate that he says it like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. And maybe it should have been.
“Okay, then.”
He looks up at me with all the love in his little brown eyes and Sable looks up with her green ones, and I don’t think this is a decision I will ever regret. “Okay?”
“Yeah, let’s see what all we need and then we can go home.” I almost mention packing, but that’s a conversation for another day. Let him be excited for today and get used to one big change before tackling another. Before I have a chance to mention anything else, he gently runs up to Jacob and starts listing all the things he needs before we go. They disappear into the back room, taking the chatter with them as they go.
“I’m just gonna go see if they need help gathering everything up,” Sky says, pointing to the back. She disappears too and I have a feeling that was more so she could leave Charlotte and me alone to have a conversation neither of us really want to have, than to actually help Jacob and Ethan.
“So.” God, I sound so fucking pathetic.
“So,” she repeats like she’s ready to wait for me to go on. I’m tempted to see how long she’s willing to wait.
We both stand in silence for what seems to stretch on for hours, but the clock on the wall only moves a few ticks. Without the cat in her arms, Charlotte’s hands are absently fiddling with the fabric at her elbows, twisting until they can’t go further before letting it go and starting over again.
“So much for avoiding each other then,” she finally says.
“Yeah, so much for that.”
“Something tells me they’re doing this on purpose.”
“You don’t believe they want the whole design concept thing?” I ask, because I was fully convinced by what Jacob had said, but I’ve always been a bit more gullible and ready to believe things than most people. I don’t like the thought of there being another reason Jacob and Sky are wanting us to work together. Some other diabolical reason other than what they said.
“I mean, I do believe that,” she answers. “But two things can be true.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning,” she draws out, moving around the front desk to look over the blueprints. I suspect it’s just to have somewhere else to look besides at me while she’s talking. “Sure, they actually want us to work together because of the design thing. I do understand Jacob wanting the place to seem like one cohesive building when people walk in here, but I also believe they want to push us together because they want us to be friends or something.”
“Us…friends?”
She just shrugs. “Yep. Like that would ever happen.”
“Never.” We were friends at one point in time, so really, us being friends isn’t that far fetched.
