Like Cats and Dogs

by Kate McMurray

  They stood there in awkward silence until Monique finished the bagel, wrapped it in deli paper, and put it next to Caleb’s coffee on the counter. He handed her six dollars and told her to keep the change.

  The thing was, Caleb still wanted Lauren. It was like his body was full of iron filings and Lauren was a big magnet. He wanted to touch her, hold her, kiss her right here with all the customers watching, but he also knew she would shiv him if he tried any of that now.

  And that was all she’d wanted the whole time. For him to come in here on his lunch break and greet her as if they were dating, and to be a solid couple. And he’d fucked it up by telling her no.

  “I’d better get back,” Caleb said.

  Lauren frowned at him. “You come in now?”

  “I just wanted to say hi.”

  “Right. Well, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

  So she was pissed. Would she even take him back?

  Part of him wanted to find out.

  He doctored his coffee and grabbed the bagel and walked back to the vet clinic. He should probably let it go. Avoid Lauren for a bit while the awkwardness subsided so they could work together again. Move on with his life and try to forget any of this ever happened. The timing was terrible, he wasn’t ready, and he couldn’t give Lauren what she wanted. He was doing the right thing here and resented Lauren a little for making him choose between something good and nothing.

  Better to get out before they both got in deeper.

  Even if it felt like agony to walk away.

  Chapter 25

  Diane cooed over the kitten pen. All but Giant had been brought to their forever homes, and Giant had been merely waiting for Diane to return from a quick jaunt out of town.

  “This little guy grew fast!” Diane said.

  “Kittens do that,” Caleb said. “They eat like teenage boys, too.”

  “I got that kitten food you recommended.”

  “Good. Let me know if he has any trouble with it. We’ve been feeding him that food here and he’s been doing okay, but if he stops eating or otherwise acts strangely, let me know. He may have grown out of his digestive issues, but if he hasn’t, we’ve got some options.”

  Diane picked Giant up. He rubbed his little head against her chin. “Aw. Don’t worry, Dr. Fitch. I’ll take very good care of this little guy.”

  Caleb was surprised to feel a swell of protectiveness over this little cat. Lauren would probably tell him he was a marshmallow after all, because he felt a little squishy inside as he pet the kitten’s head. He supposed he’d grown attached to Giant that night he and Lauren had saved him, and he was glad Diane was adopting him and could give regular updates.

  A cell phone rang. Diane said, “Here, hold him.” She shoved Giant into Caleb’s hands, so Caleb pet the kitten while Diane answered his phone. “Hello? Oh, hi, Lauren.”

  Caleb’s heart rate spiked. He didn’t want to feel this. He wanted to push it aside and move on with his life. Instead, he held his breath and leaned forward a little, hoping he could hear Lauren’s voice on the other end of the call.

  She sounded distressed. He couldn’t really make out more than a few words here and there, but he did hear, “…trying to shut down the café.”

  “I’m just next door at the vet clinic,” said Diane. “I’ll be right there.”

  And because he couldn’t help himself, when Diane hung up the phone, Caleb said, “What’s going on?”

  “You know that real estate developer who has been sniffing around here? Well, his squirmy little germophobe of an assistant has decided to bring an inspector from the health department to look at the Cat Café.” Diane sighed and pocketed her phone. “He’s trying to get the place shut down. I can’t tell if this is some ill-thought-out ploy to make me lose income and sell the building, or if that squirrelly little assistant is just doing this for spite. I’m sure Randolph has pulled stunts like this with a dozen other landlords. But this asshole has never had to deal with me before.”

  Without giving it much thought, Caleb put Giant back in the kitten pen and followed Diane back out to the waiting room. Rachel stood and asked what was going on, so Caleb said, “Something’s up at the Cat Café. I’m just going to make sure everything is okay. Be right back.”

  He and Diane walked next door. In front of the café counter, Lauren stood with her arms crossed as Newton stood right in front of her, his posture equally authoritative. Neither was speaking.

  Diane hurried to Lauren’s side. “What’s happening here?”

  Lauren gestured toward the counter. “Mr. Newton brought a health inspector. I keep telling him the cats are confined to the cat room and we’re following the letter of the law here.”

  Caleb could see through the glass that a man in a suit was kneeling behind the counter, examining the pastry case.

  “I’ll call the lawyer,” said Diane. She took a step away from Lauren and got out her phone. While she placed the call, Caleb looked over at Lauren, who was clearly distressed. She chewed on her thumbnail and watched the health inspector look through the pastry case.

  “Looks clean here,” said the inspector.

  “There’s no way they can have this many animals and not have a sanitary issue,” said Newton. “There’s a reason people can’t bring their dogs into restaurants. It creates unsanitary conditions.”

  “My lawyer’s on speaker,” Diane said, placing her phone on the counter.

  The inspector seemed disinterested in all of this. “I’m going to take a look at the cat room.”

  Lauren rubbed her forehead.

  “The law says no animals in places that serve food,” said Newton.

  “We worked with the city to make sure everything was up to code,” said a male voice from the phone. “Because, actually, you can bring your dog into some bars. The law that passed last year allows for animals in places that serve food as long as the animals are kept away from where the food is prepared. The Whitman Street Cat Café goes a step further to keep the cats separate from where the food is served. And given that the café brings in food from outside and doesn’t prepare anything except for coffee, there’s no violation.”

  Caleb looked around for Sadie and saw no evidence of her, not even the cat bed that usually sat in the corner. Lauren had probably recognized Newton was out to shut down the Cat Café and had made sure they were in compliance with the law. Not that he was bothered by Sadie having free rein of the café space as long as she stayed away from the food. But that didn’t appear to be the case here.

  The inspector walked back into the café space.

  “How frequently do the café tables get bussed?” he asked, hooking his thumb back toward the cat room.

  “Often, but everyone is up here dealing with this right now,” said Lauren.

  “Er, if I may,” said Caleb. “I’m a veterinarian from next door.”

  Everyone turned to look at him. Lauren look startled, like she hadn’t known he was there.

  Caleb took a deep breath. “Look, I’d be the first one to tell you there’s something a little crazy about a cat café, but I can tell you in the two months I’ve worked next door, I’ve never known Lauren to do anything but keep this place clean and adhere to the letter of the law. Mr. Newton may not like the idea of animals living in the same building as a business that sells food, but he doesn’t have to dine here if that’s the case. There’s nothing illegal happening here.”

  “I own this business,” said Diane. “And I concur. If I thought Lauren was doing anything less than keeping the safety of both the cats and her customers paramount, I’d shut this place down myself.”

  “All right,” said the inspector. He pulled a tablet from his bag and started tapping at the screen.

  When Caleb turned to look at Lauren, she was staring at him.

  ***

  Lauren
assumed Caleb had come in with Diane from the vet clinic, but it was still alarming to see him standing there. How had she not noticed him walk into the café? And was he defending her?

  “Do the cats ever walk around up front here?” asked the inspector.

  “Not on purpose.”

  She glanced at Caleb. It would be just like him to tell the inspector that Sadie hung out up front sometimes. After the first time Mr. Newton had threatened to bring in health inspectors, Lauren had put Sadie’s bed in the cat room and was better about keeping her in the cat room during regular business hours. It was the sort of bending of the law that was fairly common in the neighborhood, from what Lauren could tell. A lot of the restaurants let customers bring their dogs if they sat outside. There was a bar a few blocks away that let dogs in regularly. It was a law no one enforced as long as the customers were happy.

  “What does that mean?” asked the inspector.

  “Every now and then a cat gets out,” said Paige. “You’ve met cats, I assume. You can’t really tell them what to do. We always catch them and put them back in the cat room.”

  “Again,” said the lawyer. “Strictly speaking, the only thing the law requires of us is keeping the cats out of the area where the food is prepared.”

  The inspector tapped at his tablet screen a few more times. Lauren looked at Newton, who looked irritated, but Lauren didn’t think they were out of the woods. The inspector could still shut them down if he decided further investigation was warranted, or he could put them on probation and do random checks to make sure they were complying. A lot of outcomes could cause big problems for the café, especially if the morning rush crowd found another business while they were closed. That would be a hard thing to recover from.

  But she knew she was in the right here, that she hadn’t violated any laws. She’d be vindicated. Just maybe not with this Newton guy standing here.

  The inspector looked up. “You’re not using that kitchen in back?”

  “No,” said Lauren.

  “If you decide to, we’ll need to inspect again.”

  “Noted,” said Diane.

  “There’s no violation here, is there?” asked Caleb. “I’d be willing to vouch for—”

  “That’s not necessary,” said the inspector. “I don’t see any violations here. Know that we can inspect again at any time, but I’m signing off on keeping your A rating from the health department and keeping this place open.”

  “Thank you,” said Lauren.

  “I’ll send a copy of this to the email on file,” said the inspector. “I think I’m done here. Have a nice day, everyone.”

  “Are you serious?” said Newton. “There’s no way this is a safe situation. If a cat gets out and gets in the pastry case—”

  “That won’t happen if the café staff keeps the case closed.” The inspector leveled his gaze at Monique.

  “We always do,” she said.

  “You may not like it, Mr. Newton,” the inspector said, “but the lawyer on the phone is right. They’re adhering to the letter of the law here.” He slid his table into his bag. “I’ve got other inspections today, so if you’ll excuse me. Have a good day, everyone.”

  The inspector left the café. Newton looked furious. “If you think this is over—”

  “Let me stop you right there,” Caleb said calmly. Lauren looked at him, still astonished he was here.

  “We all see what your game is here,” Caleb went on. “You want to shut down the café so Diane has a financial incentive to sell. I think what you just learned is no one here is interested in selling and you can’t shut down the café as easily as you think. So go back to your boss and tell him nice try, but this building is not for sale.”

  Diane laughed, sounding delighted. “What he said. Please leave, Mr. Newton. You are no longer welcome here.”

  Newton fumed for a moment, and then stormed out of the café.

  Once he was gone, everyone cheered. Lauren pressed a hand over her chest, still not relaxed but feeling a bit relieved. “Thanks, everyone. I’m glad we got through that. For the record, we reserve the right to refuse service to Mr. Newton, should he come here again.”

  She took a step to go back toward her office so she could collect herself, but Caleb hooked his hand around her elbow. “Hey. Are you okay?”

  She looked him over. Given how foolish he thought the café was, it was strange for him to defend it. He was probably defending his own livelihood; he’d mentioned that, if Randolph bought the building, he could very well level it and put the vet clinic out of business.

  Except the singular thought in Lauren’s head was, What the hell is he doing here?

  “I’m fine,” she said. “A little shaken up. If he had been able to shut us down just temporarily, the losses would be very hard to recover from.” She realized his hand was still on her arm, and she looked at it, not sure how to process what was happening.

  He pulled his hand away. “Diane and I were checking on Giant when you called. I overheard that the inspector was here so I thought I’d try to help.”

  “And I appreciate that, but Caleb, we’re not—”

  “No, I know.” He smiled ruefully. “We’re not even friends right now. That doesn’t mean I can’t worry about what’s happening to you.”

  It wasn’t that Lauren wanted Caleb to leave. She found his presence somewhat comforting and she was touched that he’d defended her. But now that the dust was settling, she felt awkward, and if Caleb didn’t want a relationship, they had nothing to talk about.

  Softly, she said, “Nothing has changed, has it?”

  Caleb pressed his lips together. “I don’t—”

  “Right. You probably have patients.”

  “Yeah. Diane, should I put Giant in that carrier you brought down?”

  Diane was on the phone, but she said, “Many thanks, Stuart,” and hung up. “Yes, get Giant ready to go, but let him play for a few more minutes. I want to chat with the café staff. Then I’ll be right over.”

  “All right.”

  Caleb left. Monique went back behind the counter and busied herself with wiping down everything. The customers had cleared out when the health inspector came in, so the only other people in the café were Paige and Diane. With a sigh, Lauren dropped into the nearest chair and put her head in her hands.

  Diane reached over and pet her head, then sat in the chair across from her. “You did great, Lauren. And I told you guys I’m not selling. I meant it.”

  Lauren sat up. “Thanks. I know. Just… I worried that inspector would shut us down. I knew intellectually we’ve done nothing wrong, but all it would take is that one inspector who is allergic to cats and having a bad day. You know?”

  “I do.” Diane smiled. “That man cares about you a lot.”

  “Who, Caleb?”

  “Really?” said Paige.

  “Think about it. As soon as he heard you might be in trouble, he came right over. He defended you against the people who want to shut this place down. And he checked to make sure you were okay. He cares. A lot.”

  “What the hell is happening, then?” asked Lauren. He had defended her, even though he thought the café itself was silly. “Last week, he told me he didn’t want a relationship. If he cares about me so much, why doesn’t he want to be with me?” And then Lauren put a hand over her mouth because she couldn’t believe she was saying all this to her boss.

  But Diane was no ordinary boss. “Honey, I’ve been through this before. My relationship with Winnie got off to a rocky start. Why doesn’t he want a relationship? A lot of reasons. He just got divorced, for one.”

  “So he keeps saying.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t feel ready to commit. He’s still too hurt from the divorce. Maybe he doesn’t trust you. Maybe he doesn’t believe he’s worthy of you.”

  “That arrogant b
astard?” Paige said. “Ha.”

  “I’m serious. I think that’s a man who views his divorce as punishment. He may think he did something or he is a certain way that makes him unworthy of love. I mean, I’m just spitballing, I don’t really know. I do know you were right: When he first started here, he was grumpy and closed off, but I’ve seen him soften in the last few weeks. He even smiles sometimes now. And he’s very protective of that little kitten, Giant. It’s like he doesn’t want to let him go. It’s very cute. Surely you agree.”

  Lauren rubbed her head. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. She just knew the facts at hand. She and Caleb were great together, but he didn’t want a relationship. He’d just told her nothing had changed. For her own sanity, she had to assume that was true.

  Page shook her head. “He broke her heart. We don’t like Caleb.”

  Diane laughed. “I wouldn’t rule him out just yet. That’s all I’m saying.” She stood up. “Now I’m going to take that little kitten home. Assuming no one else tries to shut us down today, I’ll see you all at the staff meeting tomorrow. Hang in there, Lauren.”

  What Diane said rang in Lauren’s head long after Diane left. A little later, when she was bussing the tables in the cat room, Paige said, “I hate to say it, but I think Diane is wrong. There’s no point in waiting around for Caleb if he doesn’t want a relationship.”

  “I’m not waiting around.”

  “No, I know. Just… I don’t know why he was here today, but he’s a bigger scumbag than I thought if he’s going to jerk around your heart like that.”

  Lauren laughed. “Thanks, Paige. I appreciate it. I’m just…ugh. I don’t know what’s going on with him. But I’m not going to sit around pining for him if he’s not interested in me. So don’t worry about that.”

  The words sounded more confident than Lauren felt. The more she thought about it, the more puzzling she found Caleb’s behavior. It was likely he did care, but he thought he couldn’t be in a relationship for whatever reason.

  None of this mattered. If he didn’t want to be with her, he didn’t want to be with her.