by Melanie Ting
“Knightley,” she cooed and extended her hand, but he didn’t come over. She waited, not wanting to startle him. She’d give him time to get used to her and then move in. Marty and Nate could grab him if he escaped.
“Shit. Did you see that ass?” Nate’s voice was low but audible. Did he think that because he couldn’t see her, she couldn’t hear him? “How could you not want to tap an ass like that?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Marty hissed. “She’s rescuing a cat, not putting on a peep show for you. Have some respect.”
Exactly. But Nate wouldn’t shut up. “The cat’ll be fine. He’s a cat, for fuck’s sake. Why are we doing all this work?”
“Why don’t you go inside and chill then? Even though this is all your fault. I told you not to take Knightley outside, but you had to show off.”
Nate kept talking, but Elaine wasn’t even listening any more. What a tool! Did he think that he could use a cat to get to her? That was so wrong. Maybe she shouldn’t have let them adopt Knightley. He would be better off at the shelter than here.
Then Knightley finally rose up and slunk towards her. She pulled one of the fishy treats out of her pocket, and he nibbled at it. Then she grabbed him and managed to shuffle-crawl out.
When she emerged into the sunlight, she must have looked fierce because even Nate took a step back.
“You okay, Elaine?” he asked.
“Yes. Let’s just get Knightley inside.” She marched up the stairs and into their house. The living room was plain and sparsely furnished with a big leather couch, a coffee table, a television, gaming consoles, and not much else. Nate followed with her purse. When he closed the door, she put Knightley down.
The cat looked around. He was a little dusty, but otherwise seemed fine.
“You might want to go the bathroom and get cleaned up,” Nate suggested. He motioned towards his face.
She nodded, took her purse, and went down the hall until she found the bathroom. She looked in the mirror. There were cobwebs all over her hair, and smudges of dirt on her cheeks. Her pink jacket was filthy too.
“Uh,” she groaned and then gave a little shriek as a live spider crept onto her cheek. She knocked it into the sink and began to brush her hair furiously. Then she washed her hands and face, and tried to clean off her jacket. The knees of her jeans were dirty and her shoes too. She just wanted to go home, take a hot shower, and get changed.
She came back out, and Nate was hanging around with a stupid grin on his face.
“Did you want to give me the tour and keys?” Elaine was trying to stay cool.
“Sure, I’ll give you the full tour, if you like. Including my bedroom....” He winked at her.
This was the last straw. “Stop it, Nate. I have to ask you—did you adopt Knightley because you wanted a cat or because you wanted to go out with me?”
“Oh, no. I love cats,” Nate protested.
She put her hands on her hips. “Prove it.”
“How can I prove it?”
“I want to see you playing with Knightley.”
“Okay, sure.” He walked over to a wicker basket in the living room. Elaine was impressed to see that there were already a few cat toys in it. Nate grabbed a fishing rod and walked over to Knightley, who was sitting by the couch and washing his face. The hockey player dangled the fake bait in front of Knightley and bounced it up and down. When Knightley showed little interest, Nate began to bump the cat’s head with the feathery ball. Now Knightley looked irritated.
Elaine let this go on for a minute before she stopped him. “It’s very clear you have never played with a cat in your entire life. This whole adoption was a farce. I’m going to take Knightley back to the shelter and get your fee refunded.”
“Aww, Elaine, you don’t have to do that. Maybe I did want to go back to the shelter to see you again, but is that a crime? Anyway, I like having the little guy around now. I don’t really play with him, but he likes to hang out with me when I’m gaming. His favourite is Grand Theft Auto.”
She rolled her eyes. “Knightley deserves better. I have a cat carrier in my car, and I’ll be right back.”
Elaine stormed out of their place and opened the hatch of her car. She kept a carrier in case of rescues. When she got back inside, Marty was there as well. He was crouched in the living room, the knees of his jeans as soiled as hers. Knightley was rolling on his back as Marty rubbed his tummy. Elaine’s heart flip-flopped at the adorable sight.
Marty stared at the cat carrier. “What’s going on, Elaine?”
“Er, I’m taking Knightley back to V.I.C.E.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because Nate only adopted him so he could ask me out. He admitted it.” Nate was gaming and pretending not to pay any attention to the conversation. That only made Elaine angry again.
The big man sighed. “I know that. But what about me?”
“What about you?” Now she was wavering, which was unlike her usual decisiveness.
“Well, I’ve always wanted to get a cat, and Nate was the one who thought a pet would be too much work. But this was my chance.” Marty looked so worried that Elaine’s anger dissipated. He continued, “Knightley is having a great time here. He rules the whole place, and it’s so great to have him greet us when we get home. And even Nate is getting to be a cat person. Knightley is so friendly, he could convert anyone.” Nate nodded and gave Elaine a hopeful smile.
“Do you play with him?”
“Of course. He loves chasing things on strings.”
Elaine softened completely. Marty understood the little cat.
“You really like Knightley? You’re being totally honest with me?”
Marty nodded. “I would be real upset if you took him now.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I guess I jumped to conclusions. Even if Nate wanted to adopt Knightley for the wrong reasons, it could still work out. I’m sure people have had worse motivations.”
“So we can keep him?”
“Yes, of course.” Elaine wasn’t even sure if she was allowed to repossess a cat. She had acted out of anger and frustration.
There was an odd expression on Marty’s face. “Okay, let me give you the house keys and show you where the food and stuff is.”
He calmly showed her the routine. Knightley was especially helpful at pointing out the cupboard where his food was stored. At the end, she didn’t even bother saying goodbye to Nate, but Marty walked her out to the car.
“Thanks for letting us keep Knightley,” he said.
Elaine shook her head. “No, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I can see that he has a good home here. I have a bit of a temper, and I flew off. Maybe it was all the spiders.”
Marty’s eyes went wide. “Oh, are you afraid of spiders? I shouldn’t have asked you to go under the porch.” Again, she felt that sensation of safety and protection that Marty stirred in her. Which was dumb, because she was a very independent person.
He continued to apologize. “It would have only taken a few minutes more, and I could have gotten him myself. I guess I was worried about the little guy being scared under there.”
From the beginning, Elaine had assumed that professional hockey players were on a completely different plane than the usual guys she met. They must have women coming on to them all the time, and that kind of person didn’t interest her at all. But every Vice player she had met seemed very normal. And Marty and Nate’s home wasn’t luxurious or special.
They were just normal guys. And Marty was such a nice guy—who loved cats.
She took a deep breath. “Would you like to go out sometime? Maybe coffee tomorrow night?”
8
First Date Jitters
Nate scowled. “I can’t fucking believe it. I ask out Elaine about five million times, and she says no. Then she turns around and asks you out? Maybe she’s doing this to get back at me somehow.”
Marty put his hands behind his head and stretched out in his chair. “Guess I’m just
more attractive to women. When you’ve got it, you’ve got it.”
“No, seriously, what did you say to her? Women love me, I have never been poached by another guy in my entire life.”
“Your entire life? You’re twenty-one, so how long have you’ve been dating?”
“My first was when I was fourteen.”
“Your first date?”
“No. The first time I got laid. She was seventeen.”
Marty called him on this. “You are so full of it.”
“But that whole early warning system I developed, you’ve never used it. You’ve never even had a woman over. That’s why this Elaine thing is so unfair. I’m the one taking all the shots, so I should be scoring.”
“Maybe I’m going for quality over quantity.”
Jonesy took his cues from some stupid college movie. He outlined this whole system where you were supposed to put your tie on the doorknob if you had a woman over. Since Marty would never dream of walking into Jonesy’s bedroom without knocking, and especially if there was a possibility that a woman might be inside, he thought the whole system was dumb. It was more a way for Jonesy to brag that he was getting some. Luckily, Marty’s bedroom was not next to Jonesy’s, so he never had to hear what might be happening there. He had met a couple of women going in or out of the washroom in the morning, and it was hard to know who was more embarrassed.
Marty might have sounded confident, but he felt anything but. He realized that this date meant a lot more to him than Elaine, but it was still a big chance.
He arrived at Elaine’s place to pick her up. She had wanted to meet him at the coffee shop, but he insisted. At least going to her place made it seem more like an official date. She lived in a small townhouse complex in North Burnaby. He parked on the street and walked up to the door. Just when he was going to knock, his phone rang.
“Hello? Elaine?”
“Yes, it’s me. I just wanted to tell you, I had to pick up my sister, so I’m running late. I’m not even home yet. Can you give me an extra half hour?”
“Sure. But I’m actually standing on your doorstep right now.”
“Really? You’re kind of early, aren’t you?”
“I guess.” He had been so keen that he ended up being ready an hour ahead of time. So he had stalled, but he was still fifteen minutes early.
“All right, I know this sounds weird, but can you please wait in the car? I’ll be there soon, and I’ll find you.”
“Okay, but why?”
“Because my family is a little, uh, I don’t know how to describe them. I just want to be there when you meet them.”
“Too late,” replied Marty. The sound of his conversation had attracted attention inside the house. The door was open, and three tiny ladies were looking up at him and smiling.
“Come in, come in. Are you Elaine’s friend? I am Izzy, her mother.” She was a pretty woman dressed in black and white and looked more like Elaine’s older sister. She pulled on Marty’s arm, and the next thing he knew he was inside a house full of furniture and women. “What’s your name? This is my sister, Alice, and our friend, Fernanda.”
He smiled and stood awkwardly in the hallway. “I’m Marty.”
The three ladies all fluttered around him. “He is sooo big. You are like a giant, Marty.” “I think his mother must have fed him well when he was a baby!” Alice patted his arm. “Grabe! Look at his muscles. You’re a strong boy.”
Fernanda squealed. “Oh look, Marty brought flowers! What a nice boy. So romantic.”
The ladies began to ooh and ahh. He felt a little sheepish. They were only pink flowers that he had picked up at the corner grocery, but he had wanted to do something special for Elaine.
Izzy smiled and led him to the kitchen. “I will get a vase. We just finished dinner. Have you eaten yet?”
“Yes, I did.” This was the first sentence he’d gotten out in the last five minutes, but nobody seemed to have heard it. Izzy pulled out a chair beside an elderly woman, who was having a cup of tea at a clean kitchen table.
“Sit here, Marty. This is Dora. Elaine’s lola—her granny.”
The lady gave him a smile and a nod. Then she said something that he couldn’t understand. Izzy laughed. “Dora sees the marks on your face, and she wants to know if you’re a boxer.”
Marty shook his head. “I’m a hockey player. But I have taken boxing lessons. Sometimes I have to fight during games.”
Izzy laughed again, and made a long explanation. Dora nodded and smiled wider. She put up her hands in boxing fists. “Like Manny,” she declared.
“Oh, Manny Pacquiao?” he asked. Elaine’s grandmother beamed.
“She’s a huge fan,” Izzy explained.
Meanwhile, Alice and Fernanda had been bustling around the kitchen, and then dishes began to appear on the table.
“But,” Marty protested. “I had dinner already.”
“Ahhh,” Izzy shook her head sadly. “It’s nothing. Only leftovers. We were saving a little food for the girls, but they hardly eat. Next time you come over, we will make a real dinner. We’ll get the seafood. Now, try my pork adobo.”
She heaped a huge portion onto Marty’s plate.
Fernanda slid a plate of fried noodles beside him. “Here’s the pancit. You should try it when it’s hot. Have you ever had Filipino food before?”
“No. But really, you don’t need to go to all this trouble.”
“What trouble? We love to feed people,” Izzy declared.
Alice laughed as she brought two more plates to the table. “Feeding Marty would be a challenge, I think. Sorry we have so little.” The table was now covered with mysterious dishes that all smelled wonderful. Marty dug in. Everything tasted great. He complimented every dish, and the ladies laughed and piled more food on his plate.
“So nice to have a man here. Men have the best appetites,” Fernanda said.
“How did you and Elaine meet?” Izzy asked. “My daughter doesn’t tell me anything.”
“We met at the cat shelter. The hockey team is doing a calendar with photos of cats and players.”
All the ladies nodded. “Ahhh. Elaine was always rescuing animals, even when she was a tiny girl,” said Izzy. “She always loved animals. Back at home, she had a cat, but we can’t have any pets here.”
“Remember, Izzy, she made that pet cat out of cardboard and toilet paper,” said Alice, who hadn’t stopped smiling since they’d met. “So cute! Maybe you still have photos of Elaine with him?”
“I can look. Would you like to see Elaine’s baby album, Marty?”
“He would not like to see my baby album, Mom.”
Elaine was standing in the doorway of the kitchen with her arms crossed.
Elaine blew out a breath, and the stray hairs flew up from her forehead. Exactly what she feared had happened. She hadn’t even gone out with Marty yet, and he was already firmly enveloped in the bosom of her nosy family.
Of course she loved her mom and her aunties, but it was so irritating to have them constantly asking about boyfriends. Why did she not have a boyfriend? When was she getting a boyfriend? Was she too fussy to get a boyfriend? Why wasn’t she more like Camille, who went out all the time?
What she wanted most was to make her own decisions—free from all outside opinions—and chose the right boyfriend. The pressure of an audience on her relationships made her want to retreat back into her dating shell, and not go out at all.
“Ahhh, Elaine. You finally home,” said Fernanda.
“Sit down, girls. Dinner is all ready,” their mother said. There was more bustling around the kitchen as fresh drinks and more food appeared. Elaine wasn’t hungry now, but arguing that she didn’t want to eat would take longer than having a few mouthfuls of food. Auntie Alice made a big deal about vacating the seat beside Marty, but Elaine deliberately sat across from him and began to eat.
Camille plopped down next to Marty, and started helping herself to the noodles. “I’m Camille. You’re a hockey pl
ayer, right?”
He nodded.
“I love hockey,” she declared. “When’s your next game?”
“It’s on Friday. We’re playing the Moose.” That statement resulted in a lot of giggles from the aunties, as if he was taking on real moose.
“Cool,” said Camille. “You should give Elaine tickets. I’d love to go.”
“Camille!” Elaine scowled at her sister.
Marty interjected, “Hey, it’s no problem. I’ll get tickets for everyone, if you want to go.”
But the older ladies politely declined. They could read Elaine’s foul mood a lot better than her sister. Or perhaps Camille was just ignoring her.
“I’m done. Thanks for dinner, Mom.” Elaine stood up and took her plate to the dishwasher. “Let’s go, Marty.”
“Pero, you hardly ate a thing,” her mother said. Marty stood up too. He picked up his clean plate, and there was murmuring among the ladies praising his good appetite. Seriously, all you had to do to make points in her family was to eat a lot.
Fernanda jumped up and took the plate from him. “I will take care of this. You two go out and have a nice time. So nice to meet Elaine’s nobyo.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Elaine wanted to shriek, but she settled instead for a sigh that could be heard across the room. As Marty trailed after her, he turned and thanked all the ladies. “That food was delicious. Everything was great. Thank you very much.”
“That was nothing,” Alice assured him. “Next time, we’ll cook a real meal for you.”
Once Marty and Elaine were alone in the car, the silence was a marked difference from the atmosphere in the bustling house.
“I’m sorry about all that,” Elaine said. She gazed out the window as Marty drove. There was a slight drizzle now.
“You don’t have to apologize. Your family is awesome.” Marty sounded sincere, but Elaine had trouble believing that being force-fed and fussed over by her family was fun.