Nic Tatano - The Empire State Cat’s Christmas Gift

Socks raised her head as soon as the man closed the door. With all the attention she’d had today, there hadn’t been enough free time to thoroughly explore her new surroundings. The room wasn’t nearly as interesting as the one in which she’d been raised. But at least it was quiet. After all the commotion last night, she needed a peaceful sleep.

But something captured her attention behind the bookcase, and being as curious as any other cat, she had to investigate. She easily fit between it and the wall and saw the open vent that was dimly lit, then heard a voice coming through it. Her ears perked up. It was not her person, but a male voice.

She decided to follow it and entered the vent.

A noise caught Spencer’s attention. He looked up from his notes and turned to Ariel. “You hear that?”

“Your stomach growling? Yeah. Let’s head out for dinner.”

“Not that. Something’s in the wall. Listen.” He cocked his head in the direction of the sound. “Aw, hell. Probably a damn rat. That’s all we need.”

She turned her head toward the bookcase. “Yeah. It’s coming from over there. Well, it is New York City. Though I wouldn’t expect rats in this building.”

Then they heard the meow and saw a cat emerge from behind the bookcase. “Well, I’ll be damned.” Spencer got up and crouched down next to the cat. “Where did you come from?” It meowed again and nuzzled his hand. Spencer noticed it had a red collar. “This isn’t a stray.”

Ariel got up and looked behind the bookcase. “Oh, I see what happened. It obviously came through the vent. They must have forgotten to put the covers back on when they did all the remodeling on this floor last month. And since the bookcases are built-in, the vents are gonna stay open.”

“I guess it’s somebody’s office cat.”

“Someone has an office cat in the Empire State Building?”

“Hey, why not?” He picked it up and looked at the collar, turning it all the way around to see if there was an ID tag. “There’s nothing to identify the owner. But obviously it’s gotta be someone on this floor.”

“Sounds right. Can’t imagine a cat can climb up or down in a steel vent.”

He looked at the cat. “You hungry, kitty?” It meowed.

Ariel headed out the door. “I’ve got some cans of tuna in the break room. And milk for coffee. I’ll go get it.”

Spencer sat down and put the cat on his lap, then started to stroke its soft fur. He was rewarded with a purr. “Y’know, an office cat is not a bad idea. So who do you belong to?”

Ariel returned with some food for the cat, putting a saucer of milk and some tuna in a dish on the floor. “See if she’ll eat something.”

Spencer put the cat near the food. It ate about half of the tuna, drank a little milk, then took off behind the bookcase. “Well, that was a quick visit. So much for trying to find her owner.”

“She must know her way around.”

“Maybe so. Guess I’ll pick up some cat food in case she drops by again.”

Ariel shook her head as she shot him a smile. “You crack me up.”

“What?”

“I know what you’re thinking.”

“You do, huh?”

“Now you want an office cat, don’t you?”

“Not terribly practical for a law firm, but if that one likes to hang out here I won’t complain. We always had cats when I was a kid, and to be honest I’ve been meaning to get a pet.”

“Well, don’t spoil her. You can’t get a reputation as the lawyer who stole someone’s cat. There are laws against that, you know.”

“What laws?”

“Catnapping.”

Tish saw that her three closest friends had already arrived at the restaurant. Normally they went out on the weekend, but in light of the situation with her house, Rory, A.J. and Madison insisted they get together for moral support on Tuesday evening. Tish couldn’t help but agree; being literally driven from her home in the middle of the night was beyond stressful. Even though no one had been hurt, living in Madison’s guest room on weekends for a few months and a Manhattan hotel during the week while her home was being repaired would be disorienting. Her home had been a second office with everything impeccably organized; now it was a water and smoke-damaged disaster. If she hadn’t had a hanging bag of a few outfits she’d just bought in her car, she would have had nothing to wear.

Of course, Tish had no choice but to count her blessings. She had adopted a cat who had literally saved her life.

Everyone got up to hug her as she arrived. “Thanks, guys. Really appreciate all your help.”

Madison, the tall redheaded network television reporter who had given her Socks, patted her on the shoulder as they all sat. “You’re good to go in our guest room. Nick’s got everything squared away. He took your clothes that survived to the cleaners and hopefully they can get the smoke out of them. I’ve got some outfits for you in my car, enough to get you through the rest of the week. Y’know, since the insurance company is going to buy you some clothes, you might consider jazzing up your wardrobe a bit.”

“Nice try. Anyway, your fiancé is a saint. I’m jealous. But I hate that I’m cramping your style moving into your love nest on weekends for a few months.”

“You’ll get used to Madison screaming,” said Rory, Madison’s best friend who lived across the street and worked at home as a copywriter. The slim brunette flashed a wicked grin.

“Yeah,” said A.J., the petite New York Italian gal who ran the family delicatessen. “So much for keeping the windows closed during sex to keep it a secret.”

Madison started to blush. “Stop it. Anyway, Tish, my network wants you and Socks sometime this weekend, probably on the Saturday morning show.”

“What for?”

“Cat saves owner’s life, film at eleven. It’s an incredible tale. Or tail, as the case may be. And you know the story of my litter of orphaned kittens refuses to die. The dominoes of their effect on people continue to tumble. They’re a bunch of furry good luck charms.”

“No argument here.”

“Besides, you can throw in a plug for the local shelter and talk about pets that need adopting.”

“Sure, I’ll do it.”

A.J. handed Tish a business card. “My cousin Angelo says he should have you back in your house around Christmas. He pulled some of his guys off another job and got the insurance company out there already. He said everything is covered and you get replacement value. Don’t worry, they won’t cut corners. Your house will actually be better than new. He’ll be getting in touch with you to pick out paint colors, flooring and that sort of stuff.”

“Thank God you’re related to a contractor. This means a lot, A.J. Thank you so much for getting him over so fast.”

Madison leaned back as she studied a menu. “So how’s the furry little lifesaver doing in her new weekday home?”