Chapter Twenty-Eight: Hart to Hart
chapter twenty-eight
HART TO HART
Kitty
O
n Sunday afternoon I head back home. I definitely want to move in with Miles, but it means a lot of schedule changes and commuting out of the city to make my current client runs. It will take planning and possibly hiring another person. I can handle the bulk of the clients who are on the fringe of the city, and I have a handful I don’t want to give up, but I’m sure I can make it work.
The other, bigger issue is telling my mom. Especially since I just moved Hattie yesterday, and I’m aware that having two adult children move out one right after the other is beyond monumental. So I’m fully prepared to make the transition slowly, over several months if necessary.
I don’t want to abandon my mom, but I do want to start building a life of my own. One that includes Miles and Wilfred and Prince Francis. If I’ve learned anything since I met Miles, it’s that the people who hold you up are the ones you need to hold on to the tightest.
When I arrive home, my mother is pulling a fresh pie out of the oven. She stopped by Hattie’s yesterday to see the apartment. It’s the first time she’s driven into the city in years. Hattie invited me to come for lunch, and because her apartment is close to Miles’s place, it was easy for me to join them.
“Oh! I didn’t realize you were coming back tonight. I thought you’d be staying with Miles until the morning.”
“I have a couple clients I need to check on this evening, and I have early stops in the morning,” I explain.
“I was planning to have dinner with Marie.” Her expression reflects uncertainty. “Should I cancel? Or maybe you’d like to join us?”
I don’t want her to feel bad for having a life and living it. “That’s okay. You don’t need to change your plans on my account. It was a busy weekend, so I’ll be in bed early.”
“If you’re sure you’ll be okay on your own.” She still seems ambivalent.
“I’ll have Prince Francis to keep me company.”
He comes trotting into the kitchen and plunks his butt by his food dish.
“Okay. He’s definitely good company.” Mom bends to give him a pet, then unties her apron and hangs it on the hook. “Hattie’s new place looks great. I’m so glad she had you to help her.”
“It is. And she’s excited about this new job and living in the city. And it’s nice that her apartment isn’t too far from Miles.”
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with him lately. It seems like it’s getting pretty serious.” I can tell she’s fishing.
I decide to bite the bullet and tell her the truth. “He asked me to move in with him.”
She props her hip against the counter and smiles knowingly. “I wondered when that was coming.”
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“That boy is a smitten kitten. That was clear from the first time he came to pick you up. And you click. It reminds me of the way your dad and I were when we first met. You have the spark. Moving in together is the next logical step.”
“Mmm. It is, but it’s a big step.”
“What worries you about it?”
“I’ve never lived anywhere but here, and with anyone but you and Hattie, and Dad . . . until he passed. I’ve never lived on my own. It’s a big shift to go from living with family to living with a partner.”
Mom nods in understanding. “Everyone’s path is different, and ours hasn’t necessarily been the easiest one to navigate. There’s no right or wrong way to do this, Kitty. If you want to move into your own apartment first, then you can do that. But if you feel like this is the right time to move in with Miles, then that’s what you should do.”
“What about you, though? You’ll be in this big house all by yourself.” This is the part I’m having the hardest time with. “And Hattie just moved out, and now I’m dropping another potential move-out bomb on you.”
Mom covers my hand with hers. “Oh, honey, it’s not your responsibility to make sure I’m taken care of, and I realize that’s a
role you’ve taken on for a lot of years.” She sighs. “After your dad passed, I felt . . . lost and broken. My heart was in pieces because my partner was gone, and it felt like my soul had been torn in half. And there you were, making sure dinner was on the table every night when I was struggling to keep it together. You made sure your sister got to school every day and that she didn’t forget her lunch.”
“We were all grieving, and it was hardest on you.”
She smiles gently. “You don’t need to make excuses for me. I wasn’t a very present mother for a couple years. And I know you went to a local college so you could make sure Hattie and I were taken care of. You’ve spent so much time putting your own life on hold to make sure our family was okay. In a lot of ways you became both mother and father. And I’ve struggled to find a way to step back into those shoes. But I can do that now, for you. You’ve sacrificed more than enough for this family, Kitty. If moving in with your boyfriend is what you want to do, then you should, without worrying about anything but how you’re going to feel about someone else’s dirty socks being mixed in with yours.”
“Will you be able to carry the house on your own?” The mortgage is paid off, but the cost of running a house on a single income might be more than is reasonable. I don’t want my mom to lose this tie to Dad, and I don’t want her to have to work more hours to make ends meet.
Mom nods. “I have things covered. And I have it on good authority that there’s a unit in Marie’s subdivision coming up for
sale soon. I really love it there. With Hattie already in the city and you potentially moving in with Miles when you feel the time is right, it’s probably a good time for me to consider downsizing. This is a great house for a family, but you’re right that it’s a lot for one person.”
“Would you sell the house?” I’ve lived here my entire life. Every first took place inside these walls. And maybe that’s another reason I haven’t taken this step, because moving out would mean leaving behind so much of my history.
Mom taps her lip. “It’s a hard balance to strike, isn’t it, letting go of the things that hold so many important memories for us?” She takes my hands in hers. “For a long time, I needed the comfort of the memories, but I allowed them to take over. I see that now. And as much as I love this house and the memories we made here, they’re all tucked safely inside our hearts.” She squeezes my hands gently. “Sometimes, we have to let go of the past to make room for a brighter future.”
She pulls me in for a hug, and I feel her love like a balm to my heart. We’re all moving forward, leaving behind the hurts of the past so we can embrace what’s coming next.
After we shed a few tears, I usher my mom out the door, telling her to enjoy her night with Marie. Once she leaves, I plop down on the couch with my laptop. Prince Francis joins me, so I move the laptop to the neighboring cushion. Prince Francis kneads his sharp claws into my legs until I’m tenderized and curls into a ball in my lap. He’s wearing a sweatshirt that I’m pretty sure my mom made for him out of old baby clothes.
It’s awkward to check my social media when my computer is sitting next to me. I only do this every couple of days now, but I’m grateful that it no longer scares me the way it did after the meme situation. People still love to share their feelings, and they don’t always sugar-coat them, but I’ve learned to put what Miles calls my Lego armor on before I do that: a temporary shield that I can put on or take off when I need to. I remind myself that there are always going to be people who like to tear each other down, and when that happens, I’ll take a break and let someone who doesn’t have the same emotional connection to my audience deal with it. Sometimes an impartial observer is the best way to go.
I go through new tags first, thanking people and commenting on posts, before I switch to my email. I start at the oldest ones first, scheduling responses to go out first thing in the morning so I don’t get replies in the middle of the night on a Sunday.
There are several new client emails. There’s now an integrated form so people can provide details up front, including days and times they would be looking for cat-sitting services, whether it’s long or short term, and the age and personality of their pet. That way, when we’re looking to pair them with one of the Kitty Whisperer staff, we can assess who would be a good fit before we’ve even had a chance to meet.
As I’m working through my emails, one in particular catches my attention. It’s from a prominent and well-known animal rescue association. I click on the email and read the contents:
Dear Ms. Hart,
As longtime fans of Brit Sheers and her heavy involvement in cat and animal rescue initiatives, we watched your segment on your cat-sitting and training service business, and we love what you’re doing. We’re currently in the process of developing a new initiative in Toronto that focuses on cat rehabilitation and pairing cats in need of special care with loving humans. With your knowledge and experience in the field, we feel you would make an incredible addition to our team. Your gentle approach would make you a fabulous leader for our carefully selected staff. We would love to meet with you to discuss this further at your earliest convenience. You can find out more about this pilot project
HERE
.
We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you’ll consider joining the A Place for Paws Team.
Best,
Mary Jane Felt
CEO of A Place for Paws
I read the email over at least six times before I finally click on the link. And my heart melts. The proposed initiative is to create a training and adoption program for cats that have various exceptionalities with a focus on integration and regular visits from the staff at A Place for Paws while the adopted cats transition into their new homes.
It’s essentially my dream job. And they want me to help lead the pilot project.
My stomach does a few flip-flops as I compose a response. I pause to scratch Prince Francis’s head when he butts it against my thigh. “I feel like everything is falling into place. How much would you love to be the older brother to a whole bunch of kitties?” I give him a scratch under the chin, and he yawns widely. “I see how it is. You’re playing it cool. What an amazing opportunity. I have to go for the interview.”
Prince Francis meows his agreement.
I hit Send on the email.