Page 5 of Fruit
“Okay…” I say unsurely, feeling the pinch of guilt inside.
“We partially fund treatment of stray and feral cats ourselves, but…”
“I can cover the rest,” I say at the same time Sebastián says, “I can pay.”
I frown up at him. Even with my heels on, he’s taller than I am.
“I can cover it,” I insist even though I’m already worrying about the cost.
He shrugs. “All right.”
The vet moves to the counters fitted to the length of one of the walls. “Great. Let’s see if she takes food from a syringe or if we need to fit a feeding tube in.”
“No IV?”
“No. It’s better to stimulate her digestion, anyway.”
“Okay,” I say, even though the thought of a feeding tube is pretty horrific.
I hold my breath as the vet prepares a syringe and lifts the kitten’s head gently, opening its mouth and placing the syringe against its tongue. I let out a breath of relief as the kitten twitches and starts licking at it weakly.
“There you go,” the vet encourages. We watch her as she feeds the cat with the syringe for a while before moving onto small balls of a mushy paste. “Perfect, she’s swallowing without difficulty.”
“She’ll be okay?” Sebastián asks, taking the words right out of my mouth.
“Seems so. We’ll give her some shots in a day or two, and the shelter we’re affiliated with will get her up to a healthy weight.”
I press the palm of my hand against my chest. “Great,” I say as Sebastián nods.
“Let me transfer her to one of the cages, and I’ll be with you in a second, okay? You can wait in the waiting room,” the vet says.
“Okay,” I say, but I approach the cat before she can pick it up.
“Get better, okay?” I tell the kitten, stroking its fluffing fur for a few seconds before stepping back.
Sebastián and I file out of the exam room as the vet takes the cat in the opposite direction. I look at her retreating form.I can’t take care of a cat right now.I can barely take care ofmyself.
“We can go Dutch on the cost,” Sebastián says as we reach the waiting room.
In the glare of the fluorescent lights, I can see his arms, bare from mid-bicep down, are covered by the black-and-white and muted colours of tattoos. His hair is cropped short, the material over his shoulders slightly damp from the rain. There’s a stillness to him, a deliberateness to his movements, that’s almost comforting. Predictable.
“It’s fine. I found her, so…”
“Yeah, but—”
“Seriously. It’s fine.”
Truth is, I probably can’t afford this, but I feel a sense of responsibility to Dumpster Kitten. And it feels weird to take money from a stranger, especially a man, no matter the reason.
“Okay,” Sebastián says, although he doesn’t seem happy about it. I don’t really care.
Despite my insistence, I wince as the vet tells me the cost.It’s not as much as it could be, I tell myself as I fit my card into the chip reader. I’ll just mooch food off Joaquin, my best friend since childhood, and his boyfriend, Ezra, for a while.
“Okay. Well, thanks,” I tell the vet. She nods and says goodbye. I hesitate for a moment before turning towards the door, Sebastián behind me.
I can’t adopt the damn cat. Where would I even get the money?
“You want a ride home?” I’m snapped out of my internal struggle by Sebastián’s words. I look around, realising it’s stopped raining. The air has been left warm and humid, but I’m slightly chilled in my wet dress and hair.
