38. Cold Weather Companion

Cold Weather Companion

A week later, Hadley woke up freezing. She kept her apartment's heat system turned off for as long as possible, hating to waste money when she could just use an extra blanket, but this morning it felt like the temperature had plummeted. She sat up in bed, wrapping her blanket around her body, and let out a shiver. She slid off her bed with her blanket cocooning her, shuffled down the hall to the thermostat, and reluctantly turned it on.

Once it kicked into gear, she walked to the end of her hallway where the window was to check the weather and was delighted to see the first snowfall of the season. That explains the chill. She loved wintertime and the natural beauty of the season, even though she hated the cold. She stared at the sidewalks that were covered in the same fluffy white flakes that continued to fall steadily from the sky. Thankfully, the roads seemed wet but mainly clear. She stood in place, holding her blanket tightly, and lost herself in the beautiful scene. It felt, to her, like Dorothy was painting her world Snow White as a reminder to smile.

A few minutes later she returned her blanket to the bed and rushed into the shower, ready for the hot water to warm her body. She opted not to wash her hair since it took forever to blow it dry, and she knew she'd be that much colder if she left it wet. Instead, she wrapped her day-old locks into a high bun and threw on a gray cable knit sweater and a pair of faded black leggings. She slid her feet into an old pair of fuzzy pale blue slippers before she walked into the kitchen. She placed a small pot of milk onto her stovetop, deciding hot chocolate made a suitable breakfast on a morning like this.

She sat on her couch with her steaming hot mug, a blanket, and a copy of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. After she moved out she treasured the silence of her apartment and enjoyed weekends like these where she could relax in peace. She enjoyed knowing she could leave her empty mug on the coffee table all day and nobody would yell. She never actually brought herself to do it, but she could if she wanted to.

Lately, however, the silence felt loud. After weekly lunches with Meghan and several Girl's Night adventures, Hadley started to flourish. She still had no interest in drinking but had opened up to Cathleen and Helen and shared the truth about why. It was another weight lifted when they weren't at all phased. Turns out they could care less if she drank or not and simply enjoyed her company. Last week when the ladies rushed to her side after she found out Dorothy passed away, she truly understood the importance of a group of girlfriends and why her mom always seemed uplifted after those Friday night gatherings. Hadley certainly cherished it and had come out of her shell. So much so that now her weekends felt lonely. The silence and freedom she relished after moving away from her father, now taunted her.

Knowing she couldn't constantly surround herself with friends and could no longer call Dorothy to catch up, she decided she would find a companion. She definitely did not want to tackle the dating scene for the sake of companionship, but maybe she'd finally adopt the cat she'd been debating all year. As she swallowed her last warm sip, she decided the affection from a small animal was exactly what she was missing.

She placed her book on the couch to continue later and carried her mug to the sink. After washing and placing it on a drying mat, she walked down the hallway and into her bedroom toward her small bedroom closet. She reached to the back and pulled out a pair of lined black boots, checking that the treads were still present enough to keep her from slipping. Satisfied with the boots, she grabbed her bag and left for the shelter.

Twenty minutes later, Hadley pulled into the Hopeville Animal Shelter's parking lot. The building, a rectangle of gray painted bricks with three oversized blue painted paw prints, had a perimeter of shrubbery. As Hadley crossed the concrete sidewalk and approached the glass front doors, she took a deep breath in feeling nervous but excited. She wondered if she should have stopped first at the local PetLand for cat food and supplies, but decided she could stop on the way home.

Hadley walked into the lobby and was captivated by the hundreds of paper paw prints with names that covered the walls. She walked up to the first set to see the turquoise ones were for the names of pets who had been adopted whereas the purple ones held names of people who had donated money. Hadley smiled at the sentiment before she approached the main desk. There was no one behind the counter so she tapped her finger on the chrome service bell. While she waited for someone to appear, she went to the side wall to peruse the pamphlets on display. She picked up a lavender colored pamphlet with the headline Why Spay or Neuter? and began to read the information.

"Sorry to make you wait, miss." Hadley turned around and was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Hadley?"

"Josh? Hey, I didn't know you worked here."

"Oh, I don't. I mean, I do, I guess. I volunteer. On Saturdays," he said while organizing papers that were already pretty organized.

"That's so cool. How do you stop yourself from taking all the animals home?"

"Trust me, the temptation is real. If only my apartment allowed pets… it would be game over."

Hadley let out a small laugh and shook her head.

Josh cleared his throat before continuing, "Anyway, um, so you want to see the animals? Are you looking to adopt?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. I've been thinking about getting a cat for a while and this morning I was curled under my blanket, drinking hot chocolate, and the room was so quiet. Too quiet. I realized something was missing."

"You had hot chocolate for breakfast?"

"Yeah. Is that weird?"

"No, It's amazing. I love hot chocolate," Josh said with a wide grin. They stood awkwardly facing each other, neither knowing what to say.

"So, the cats?" Hadley lifted up and down on the balls of her feet anxiously.

"Right, right," Josh said quickly. He waved his hand toward the door to the back room and said, "Right this way, m'lady… I mean ma'am. Miss? Ugh… Hadley. Right this way, Hadley."

Hadley burst into laughter. "I never thought I would meet someone more awkward than I am."

"Thank god my sister isn't here to see this, she'd be on the floor."

"You guys seem close," she giggled as they walked into the back room.

"Yeah, I'm six years younger than her so I think growing up she treated me like I was her own baby. She always loved playing house."

"That's so cute."

"If you say so," he said as he chewed his bottom lip. "Okay, my suggestion is to walk up and down the room and check out all the cats. They have little tags on the crates with some basic info. If there's any that catch your eye, we'll take them out for you to hold. There's a pen around the corner for them to play in so we can set a few in there too for you."

"Awesome, sounds good." she beamed.

"I'll hang back but I'm here if you have questions." Josh leaned casually against the back wall. Hadley nodded as she started to walk down the room, looking at each cat and thoughtfully reading the related informational tag. A few times she paused to stick her fingers through the grates, but she stayed silent until she came across a crate holding two kittens.

"Ohmigod, these are so cute!" She turned around to get Josh's attention only to realize he was already standing right behind her. She stumbled slightly in place and let out a tiny gasp.

"Sorry about that. Darn quiet feet. Ahh, Daisy and Donald are the new babies of the shelter."

"Who neglects tiny kittens?" she questioned with sad eyes.

"They were actually found because a woman heard a weird noise coming from under her front porch, so she had her grandson stop by and check it out. Turns out it was these two lil' ones. We think the mom was a feral cat who gave birth under the house then ran off."

"Oh wow. I guess it's good she heard them crying."

"Definitely. Kittens these young need a lot of attention, so it was smart the grandson brought them here as early as he did. They're strong enough now to be adopted but we're trying to keep them together. They're bonded."

"They're like tiny little snowballs," Hadley gushed. "But I've never had a pet before so I think I probably should start with just one," she sighed.

"Yeah. Not to worry, I bet they get adopted quickly with those big blue eyes."

Hadley smiled and nodded. She continued her journey down the room and lingered in front of another crate. The orange cat purred against the crate as soon as she approached to read the name tag.

‘Littlefoot'

Female, Approx 3 years old

Loves milk & to sit on laps

"Littlefoot. Like the Land Before Time?"

"Yeah, exactly," Josh smiled. "Can you guess who was visiting when we got this little rescue in?"

"Amelia?"

"Ding, ding ding." He laughed.

"Wait, you get to name the animals?"

"Sometimes. We take turns." Hadley nodded before quickly returning her attention to Littlefoot.

Joshed smiled at the enamored look on her face. "Do you think you might like this one? We can take her to the play pen so you can interact with her without the barrier of the crate."

"Yes, please!" Hadley anxiously watched Josh unlock the crate. He carefully lifted Littlefoot who immediately rested against his chest. "Ohmigod," she melted.

Josh let out an awkward one syllable laugh as he carried the medium sized cat over to the pen. Hadley spent the next fifteen minutes sitting with her legs crossed in the middle of the playpen. Within the first minute, the cat had walked up and brushed herself against Hadley's leg. When she looked up at Josh, he nodded encouragingly so she reached her hand out and whispered hello. Littlefoot responded by pushing her head into Hadley's palm and within the next few minutes had found a home on her lap.

Josh chuckled as the sleepy purrs became rhythmic and the cat's eyes fluttered shut. "I think she likes you," he said softly. "But do you like her? We have a lot of other rescues we can bring out, too. It's a big decision."

"A really big decision," Hadley swooned her response to the cat instead of Josh.

"However…"

Hadley looked up at Josh with a big smile. "It is a big decision," she debated. She glanced back down to the sleeping animal on her lap as her smile grew. "However, I think she's perfect."

"I think you guys are a great match."

"Me too!"

"Littlefoot's a lucky cat, that's for sure."

Hadley looked up again and laughed, "We'll see. I've never had a pet before so I might mess this up."

"I doubt that. Come on, you can carry her to the front if you'd like. We have a little pen by the desk she can lay in. There's some paperwork for you to complete before you take her. Normally we ask for a reference but if I had to guess you'd write Meg's name and I already know how much she loves you."

Hadley laughed. "You're correct, that was my plan."

"Okay, we can skip that step. Plus, I'd gladly vouch for you, too."

"You would?"

"Of course," he smiled. They walked together up front before Hadley handed the sleepy cat to Josh to put in the pen. He gathered the application and a clipboard and handed it to her. Hadley took a seat in the lobby and worked on completing the questionnaire. She thought she'd be more nervous, but she felt completely content. She felt like this decision really solidified how far she'd come with her freedom.

Hadley answered the last question and signed her name. She brought the clipboard back to the desk and slid it over to Josh. His eyes quickly browsed her responses before he nodded his head in approval. "All set then. Do you have a carrier?"

Hadley's eyes dropped to her hands. "Um, no… I wasn't sure if I was actually going to pick a cat, so I didn't stop at PetLand yet. I don't have food or a litter box either. Oh my god, maybe this is proving I'm not a good fit after all." Hadley slapped her forehead.

"Oh," he said, surprised by her lack of confidence. "Please don't worry, you wouldn't be the first person to adopt a cat or even a dog without having anything ready. Here, we have a carrier you can borrow. Would that work?"

"Are you sure? You probably need that…"

"We can do without it for a few days. You can bring her in the carrier right to Pet Land and have some fun picking out what she'd like. We, or I mean I, I guess, can send you home with a few samples of wet food, too."

"Thank you so much!"

"I normally recommend mixing the cans of wet food with dry food. Or doing one in the morning and the other in the evening. Cats like the variety and also the dry food is a bit cheaper and lasts longer."

"That's a great tip, thank you so much. I'll make sure to bring back the carrier as soon as possible, too. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"What about tonight?"

"Oh, yeah… sure. I can make that work. How late is the shelter open?" Hadley wasn't expecting to have to come back so quickly but didn't want to seem unappreciative.

"We close at 4, but um–"

Hadley glanced at the clock. "I'm not sure I could make it back in time," she worried, interrupting his thought. "I'll hurry though and try."

"I actually didn't mean to bring it back here."

"Oh?"

Josh started to busy himself collecting the carrier and cans of food before picking up Littlefoot. Avoiding eye contact he continued, "I meant maybe dinner? Like, I could take you to dinner? And you could bring the carrier then."

"Oh." Hadley froze, her eyes growing big.

"You don't have to," he rambled. "I just thought this way I could get the carrier back and we could spend more time talking about Littlefoot and what to expect, and whatever else."

"Oh." They stared awkwardly at each other.

"Super casual," Josh tried to convince.

Hadley smiled, just now realizing she hadn't said much of anything. "That's. Yeah, okay. That sounds okay."

"Really?" Once Hadley nodded, he released a deep breath. "Do you want me to pick you up? Or meet you at the restaurant? Whatever you prefer?"

"I can meet you there."

"Ah yes, a solid plan in case you need to flee the scene."

Hadley laughed, "Exactly."

"How about seven o'clock at McCafferty's." Hadley nodded and smiled. Josh walked the carrier and plastic bag of food samples around the corner and handed them to her. "You're all set. I'm so excited for you and Littlefoot."

"Me too," she beamed. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later," he said with a goofy smile.

Hadley made her way to the exit, as Josh leaned against the front of the counter, a smile still plastered to his face. She looked over her shoulder at him, so he'd see her hands were full, but instead he waved dumbly.

"Could you give me a hand?" Hadley laughed.

"Whoop…yep, I'll get that," he said as he jogged to the door.

"Thanks, see ya."