Two
night—letting Cheddar sleep on the foot of her bed next to Gator was a lost cause, and the alternative of kicking him out of her bedroom to have free rein of the rest of the apartment was just asking for trouble—Jasmine was back at the cat colony, dropping off food before the start of a new work day. Cheddar was once again in the space age backpack on her back, and he wasn’t hesitating to voice his displeasure at being enclosed.
“Cheddar, you’ve got to cut it out,” hissed Jasmine. “Someone is going to think a cat is being tortured and…I don’t know, call the police?” At the sound of an approving chirp, she shook her head. “Oh, that’s what you want, is it? Well sorry to tell you, honeybun, but I don’t think Istanbul has cat police or cat lawyers in a cat court of law. No one is going to rule the backpack as cruel and unusual punishment, and, in fact, they’re probably going to think it’s pretty sweet and nice of me—or some of them might think it’s idiotic and naïve of me—to carry you around like this.”
“Why can’t it be a little bit of all the above?” a deep voice came from behind the houses where the cats slept.
“Uh…” Jasmine stopped in her tracks, no longer moving towards the source of the voice. Sure, she was sleep deprived. But that didn’t tend to manifest as hearing deep, sexy voices coming out of tiny tom cats, did it?
But before she could ask, a figure materialized behind the cat house, a man coming to a standing position from a crouch, where he had apparently been scattering food or scratching a belly, judging by the meowing cats who were now forming a cyclone around his ankles.
“You’re not a cat,” blurted Jasmine, feeling her cheeks color.
The man cocked his head at her. “I most certainly am not. Human, in fact. Just like you, I believe?”
She nodded back, then turned in profile so that he could see Cheddar in his backpack. “I am. This one’s a cat, though. That’s who I was talking to, not you. I didn’t even know you were there. I thought…”
“You thought my voice was coming from a cat?” His face had split in a grin, and he was close enough that she could see his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Well, I think you either need to get some sleep because clearly you’re dreaming, or else…coffee?” He said the last word as a question, raising both the tone of his voice and an eyebrow.
“Oh, coffee is definitely a necessity,” said Jasmine with a nod. “I’m heading to work now to remedy the situation. It’s pretty dire, you know. If I don’t get my mind right and spend the day thinking cats are talking to me in sexy man voices, then I’m apt to fully lose my mind by the end of the day. If there was ever a city that should have a facility specifically for cat-related psychosis, it should be Istanbul, right? Strictly based on the size of the cat population, I mean. I’m not suggesting that anyone else in this city has this specific ailment…” She was rambling, she knew it. But as soon as the word “sexy” had slipped from the recesses of her mind and out her lips, dialing it down had been impossible. Perhaps the longer she kept talking, the less likely this stranger would be to pick up on what she had called him—or rather, his voice.
“Anyway,” she continued, moving so quickly to disperse the food she had brought for the cats that she spilled it all around the bowls, far more kibble on the sidewalk than in the bowls, still calling over her shoulder to the man. “I should be out of here. Got to get to work. And to the coffee. Sorry for disturbing you.”
“Wait.” That voice stopped her in her tracks. “You didn’t disturb me, quite the opposite. And I believe I invited you for a cup of coffee, if that would be agreeable to you.”
She turned to him, sputtering. “You…invited me? I’m pretty sure you just suggested that I see to caffeinating myself as soon as possible before I continue embarrassing myself in front of handsome strangers.” She clapped a hand over her mouth, shaking her head once. Then she turned to show him her profile again, with Cheddar in his backpack, suspiciously quiet now. “Plus, I’ve got this jerk with me. Can’t exactly take him into a cafe with me, now can I?”
“Well, no. But I’m sure he would be welcome at Kedi Cafe, would he not? I haven’t been in there myself, but from the name and reputation I would be surprised if they turned away any cats turning up for coffee.” He exhaled a small laugh with a soft head shake. “It would be a first for me, visiting that cafe. Likely a last, too, unless it defies all of my expectations of such a place. I gather from the fact that you are speaking English that you aren’t from around here. So maybe cat cafes and things like that don’t seem quite as strange to you as they do to me, but…” He trailed off, a frown wrinkling his forehead. “What is it?”
“Kedi Cafe is my cafe. My grandmother’s, actually, but it’s mine at the moment.” She jutted out her chin, ready to spin on her heel away from this man for the last time. “And I’m glad it doesn’t appeal to you. We certainly aren’t looking to appeal to the masses, just to the cat lovers. And if you’re so against the idea of having a cup of coffee while a cute cat sleeps next to you, then I’m sure you can find a different place to sit and feel better than everyone else.”
And with that, she was gone, ready to never see that man again. She didn’t even turn back to see how her burn had landed on him, so sure was she that she had ended him with just a few sentences.