1. Theo

Going to the dumpster often resulted in finding pretty cool things—gross things too, but also the odd treasure. Unlike many people, I didn't mind the task. I considered it almost an adventure.

Over the years I'd found a mid-century modern lamp, and it fetched me $500 on eBay, a coffee table that I was able to fix up and use myself, and one time I even found a box filled with someone's complete set of hardcover fantasy books. That find was one of my favorites. I had countless hours of enjoyment reading between those covers. And then there was the day I found a person dumpster diving and nearly jumped out of my skin.

I considered myself ready for anything when I took the garbage out.

I was so not prepared for today.

Carrying three heavy bags, I didn't really see much of anything as I walked. I kept my eyes focused on the dumpster and called it good. That was a mistake. I tripped on trash someone was too lazy to put inside the metal box and toppled over.

"That's what I get for not looking," I grumbled, glad that the garbage I was carrying both broke my fall and was office trash, not from a restaurant.

I rolled off the bags to right myself and caught the corner of a box with my foot.

"Fuck." Could today get any worse? "Why are people so freaking irresponsible?"

I got my trash and what I'd tripped over and went to grab the box, intending to break it down and make sure no one else got hurt. Only when I opened it, four little balls of fur popped their heads out.

"What the…?" I scooped one of the kittens up. "Where is your mama?"

I set the little one back in the box and looked around for anything that would give me a clue as to who those little guys belonged to. Nothing. And no sign of their mother. Someone had abandoned them.

My knowledge of kittens included that they were cute and got into mischief. That was the sum total. I couldn't tell if they were old enough to be away from their mama. I looked back in the box for any food or water, but there were not even any remnants.

"Well, I need to find you a home." There was zero chance that I was going to leave them there.

I grabbed the box and went back into my office. I wasn't going to leave them in the garbage, that was for sure.

"I thought you were taking the garbage out, not in," Sarah, one of my coworkers, teased.

"Not garbage." I set the box on her desk and opened it up.

"People really do that?" She was every bit as appalled as I was. "The poor babies."

"Apparently. Do you know anything about kittens?"

"I know about puppies. They can't be that different, can they?" I was confident that they were very different. "Are you going to keep them?"

"No. I need to find someone to take them." I wasn't sure who that would be. There was a shelter in town I planned to call, but aside from that, I was lost. Fingers crossed they had room.

"Don't call animal control." She reached in the box and petted the most active kitten who was peering around, taking in the new surroundings.

I wasn't loving that they weren't moving around a lot. But then again, human babies slept a lot, right? Maybe they were just exhausted. Or maybe they were sick or dehydrated. There were so many possibilities, and until I found someone who could educate me, I was at a loss.

"Because?"

"Because they do a cost analysis to decide which ones are going to be given treatment, and it's kitten season. I saw something about it on the news."

I had no idea what kitten season was, but it didn't sound good.

"Okay, so no animal control." Even though it sounded like a rumor, I wasn't willing to risk it. "I'm going to ask Ken for the rest of the day off to deal with this."

He was probably going to be pissed, but oh well. What was the other option? To let them go hungry and die in the box under my bed while I organized the latest data? No, thank you. Not going to happen.

"Let me know how it goes. I'd offer to take them, but my apartment has a strict no-pet policy. They even gave crap to someone with a service dog and they can't legally do that. I can't imagine the fees that would rain down if I had four bundles of cuteness living with me."

She picked the little one up that she'd been petting and snuggled them close. "You be good, now."

She set the kitten gently back into the box, and I marched straight to my boss's office. The door was open, and he waved me in.

"Delivery?" he asked.

"No. I found this by the dumpster. Want to see what's inside?" I set it on his conference table.

"Do I?" Ken was already crossing the room to look.

"Maybe. It might make you sad."

I opened the box, and his face fell. "Those were thrown away?"

I nodded.

"Have you called animal control?"

I filled him in on what Sarah had told me.

"Take administrative leave and see what you can do."

Best. Boss. Ever.

Kittens in tow, I went to my car, and once they were settled beside me, I looked up the directions to the nearest shelter. It was closed one day of the week… today. Because of course it was. Thankfully there was a second in the next suburb over, and I pulled up the address.

I was expecting the kittens to be loud. They weren't. They weren't active either. Each mile I drove, that made me more nervous. When I pulled into the shelter's parking lot, relief flooded into me. Someone here would help them.

"I'm here with some kittens," I told the man at the front counter.

"No surrenders today. We're full." He barely looked up. Jerk.

"I'm not… They aren't mine. I found them by the dumpster at work, and I think something is wrong with them."

That caught his attention.

"You want us to put them down?"

"No!" Gods, no, I refused to let them do that. "No. Absolutely not. I want someone to take care of them and find them a new home."

He shook his head. "We have no room. It's kitten season. We're overflowing with them." And finally, I understood what the term meant. All the stray cats were having kittens. Ugh.

"What am I supposed to do?" I had no idea what my next step should be.

"Call around?"

A woman came out wearing scrubs. "I'm done for the day."

"See you tomorrow, Dr. Jan."

"Doctor? Are you a vet?" Of course she was. Who else would be called a doctor? But I was desperate.

"I am. Why?" She looked at me and the box.

I related the story, and while she couldn't get them into the shelter, she offered to take them out back and look them over. The hour she was there was so stressful. I had assumed it would be a case of ten minutes and done.

When she came back with them she was smiling. "They're healthy, but were they ever hungry. I fed them." She set the box down. "Here's a card for a rescue that should be able to help and instructions if you end up keeping them longer."

I teared up with relief. "Thank you so much." I took out my wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing. I'm a volunteer." She smiled. "But if you want to donate to the shelter, I'm sure they would appreciate it."

I did and brought the kittens out to the car. Unlike before, they were full of energy. They must've just been hungry.

"Okay, guys. Let's see about finding you a place to stay." I started the car to make sure there was some airflow for the kittens and called the cat rescue.

It rang and rang and rang, and after a weird click, someone answered. It was an answering service. Great.

"Hi, I'm Theo, and I found a box of kittens at my work's dumpster, and the vet at the shelter said you might be able to help."

"What is your message?"

"I need to talk to someone." I pleaded my case.

She asked me to leave a message.

I pleaded some more.

She asked me to leave a message.

I cried.

She gave me the emergency phone number to call, and when I did… mailbox full.

"Okay, little ones, let's get you out of here and into some decent light. It's time to take some pictures that no one can refuse." I wasn't going to let a full mailbox let me down.

Not when I could text them adorableness that no one could ignore.