I move in slowly so that I don’t startle her before pressing my mouth to hers in another lazy kiss. “But I’m going to need copies of these pictures sent to me as soon as possible. Think you can do that, Marce?”
Her breath of laughter fans across my face and lights up my dark soul like a damn Christmas tree. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good girl.”
22
Marcy
My phone vibrates as soon as I take it off airplane mode. Anthony set up a group chat when we were first introduced. It includes me, Sway, and him, and it's blowing up with messages.
Sway: We’re almost there! Just hanging out in Taffy. Let us know when you land, and we’ll pull around to the pickup spot.
Anthony: And when Sway says Taffy, she means her car. It’s a white Honda Pilot. Figured it might be a good idea to translate Sway’s verbiage for you.
Sway: OUR car. What’s mine is yours, babe. ;)
Anthony: OUR car. Happy now, Sway?
Sway: Definitely. Especially because we’re texting each other even though we’re sitting side by side.
I can almost see Anthony rolling his eyes in the driver’s seat, but I keep reading.
Anthony: Better hurry up, Marcy. This girl is dying to see you and Little Miss.
Sway: He’s not wrong. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
“What’s so funny?” Ben interrupts while assessing my big, dopey grin.
“Anthony and Sway. They’re one of the funniest couples I’ve ever met. Apparently, they’re here, so once we grab our luggage, we should be good to go.”
“Perfect.”
Quickly, I type out my response.
Me: I’m hurrying! Ben and I are just grabbing our luggage. Then we’ll meet you out front.
Sway: Mmmk. See you soon!!!
After making a quick stop at the bathroom, we grab our bags and bring them to the curb outside of the airport. It’s late, and I’m exhausted as I wrap my arms around myself and search the pickup area for a white Honda Pilot that is apparently named Taffy.
“Over there,” Ben murmurs, pointing to my left.
The car is still running as Sway flings the front passenger door open and rushes toward me with open arms. Her pink hair rustles in the wind before she pulls me into a monster bear hug. “You’re here!”
“Hey!” I greet her with just as much enthusiasm. “We made it.”
“How was the flight? Were you uncomfortable or anything? Oh, and are you guys hungry? I know it’s late, but we can pick something up on our way to your hotel.” She continues to pepper me with questions while Ben puts our luggage in the rear of the SUV before guiding me into the back seat. Sway follows and hops back into the front without missing a beat as she waits for me to answer her.
“We had a big meal before getting on the plane, but thank you. As for the plane ride, it went by fast, and was pretty smooth too, so no complaints here.”
“Says the girl who never complains about anything,” Ben razzes next to me.
I stick my tongue out at him as Anthony tosses in his two cents. “Ya know, he’s got a point.”
Gasping in mock outrage, I clutch my chest. “Excuse me?”
Ben laughs and squeezes my knee. “It’s not a bad thing, babe. We just want to make sure you’re comfortable, that’s all.”
“Well, I am, thank you very much.”
“Then we wouldn’t have it any other way,” he returns before planting a quick kiss on my forehead. I kind of love when he does that.
“Speaking of being comfortable….” Sway turns in her seat and stares straight at Ben. “Is there any chance you’re allergic to cats?”
Confused, his gaze bounces back and forth between Sway and me. I give him a shrug before he answers, “No?”
“Perfect. Anthony and I foster cats.”
His head cocks to the side, convinced he heard her wrong. “I’m sorry, you…foster cats?”
“Don’t worry. I thought it was weird too,” Anthony pipes up from the front.
“Whatever, Anthony. You know you love them.” Sway smacks his shoulder then explains, “When the shelter isn’t able to find them any homes, they usually have no choice but to put the cats down unless they can find a foster home, which is where we come in. They stay with us until we can find a permanent home for them.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. When I found out in high school that I couldn’t have kids, I decided to put my nurturing instincts elsewhere and become a vet. It didn’t take long for me to realize how shitty the neglected animals are treated when there’s a huge lack of resources, so I started donating my time to help spay and neuter the animals. Then one thing led to another, and I wound up with thirty cats in my house.” She snickers as Ben’s entire face blanches. “I know. It’s crazy. Don’t worry, though. We’re planning on curbing the numbers once Little Miss is born so we can get into a routine. But right now, we’re pretty packed with cats, and we didn’t want to bring you by if you had any allergies, which is why I brought this up in the first place.”
“I’m sorry…did you say thirty cats?” Ben repeats, still hung up on the number.
Anthony interjects again, “Our record is thirty-seven, but only because two of them were pregnant when they were brought in.”
“It’s chaos, but we have a pretty good system,” Sway tells us as if she’s had this conversation a thousand times before. “Honestly, you probably wouldn’t even think much of it unless we gave you the actual numbers. That being said, I know cats aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, so if you’d prefer to go out instead of coming to our house for dinner, we get it.”
“Honestly, you’ve piqued my curiosity,” Ben replies. “As long as Marcy doesn’t have to change any kitty litter, I think we’d love to come check it out.”
“Kitty litter?” I pipe up.
Resting his hand on my knee, Ben explains, “Cat litter can contain a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis infection, and since you’re pregnant, you can pass it onto the kid if you get it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Don’t worry, though. Anthony lost a bet. He’ll be cleaning the kitty litter for the next month, so I won’t put you to work…this time.” Sway winks.
Enthralled, I ask, “Lost a bet? Well, now, I gotta know the terms.”
“Anthony’s grumpy old cat, Jasper, refuses to sit on anyone’s lap but his. Anthony started getting a big head about it, so I made him a bet that I could get Jasper to sit in my lap by the end of the day. Anthony didn’t believe I could actually pull it off, so we bet that the loser has to clean the litter boxes for a month, and guess who got Jasper to sit in her lap?” She looks over at her husband with the cockiest expression I’ve ever seen. Hell, she’s practically daring him to disagree with her, and it doesn’t take long for him to do exactly that.