Nic Tatano - The Empire State Cat’s Christmas Gift

Ariel looked up and sure enough, the tuxedo cat emerged from behind the bookcase. “No one would believe this.”

Spencer shook some treats into his hand and held it out. The cat quickly gobbled them up, then nuzzled his arm. “Hey there kitty, how was your day? You want a few more?”

“Y’know, that cat is going to get fat enjoying the smorgasbord between you and her owner, who has no idea someone else is feeding her.”

“I’m just giving her a few treats, that’s all.”

“Right, that’s how it starts.” She noted the pure joy in his face as he fed the cat. “And I cannot believe you’re actually sacrificing part of a billable hour to spend time with a cat.”

“It’s just a little while.”

Ariel looked at the clock and leaned back in her chair. “Spence, speaking of time, what the hell are we doing here still working after nine o’clock?”

“We’ve got a lot to do.”

“Not what I meant. We don’t need to kill ourselves anymore. And frankly, I’m sick of eating dinner out of a Styrofoam container or a pizza box at my desk. Listen to me for a minute. Look, you left the District Attorney’s office and I quit the pro bono world of Legal Aid to start this firm so you could make enough to take care of your father. But you got him the expensive medical care, he’s cured, you even bought him a house, he’s retired and happy… I mean, we make a ton of money working normal hours. Why are you still in that mindset that we have to take every client who walks in the door and need every dollar we can possibly make?”

“Because it could happen again.”

“Your dad is fine and you got him the best health insurance money could buy. And the doctor told you his illness was a one-in-ten-million thing.”

“One of us could get sick.”

“And we’re both covered by the same insurance. Besides, I’d always take care of you and you’d do the same for me.” She sat back and looked at him. “Have you forgotten why you wanted to be a lawyer and why we took the first jobs that we did?”

He slowly nodded but didn’t respond as he kept petting the cat.

“Y’know, Spence, that cat makes you look like your old self.”

“Huh?”

“Relaxed and happy. You’ve got that same look you used to have when you helped the good guys win at the DA’s office. Can you honestly say the people we’re representing in this case are the good guys? Would you even want to be in the same room with them if they weren’t clients?”

“Not really. To be honest, I can’t stand them personally.”

“Hell, I feel like I need a shower every time they come by. Spence, this kind of work is making us a lot of money, but we’re not really making the world a better place. And I know that’s why you became a lawyer.”

He looked back at the cat. “I guess I’ve kinda gotten away from what I used to believe.”

“You still believe it. Money, and the people you help with it, is just clouding your memory.” She pointed at the cat. “While your furry friend there is a perfect example of what makes you happy. Yesterday you said you’ve been meaning to get a pet. That means taking the time to be with it. Time away from this office. You can’t just get a cat and leave it alone in your apartment all day. When you adopt a pet you make a commitment to be part of its life. It’s not an accessory. It’s a living creature that needs love and attention. And if we don’t slow down you won’t have the time. But if we do then you’ll be able to enjoy the unconditional love of a cat.”

He turned to look at her. “I’m sorry, Ariel, but once you go through something like my dad’s situation—”

“I know and I understand. You’re terrified it could happen again. But you can’t go through life worried about what might lie ahead. Take some time to smell the roses. Or play with a cat. You make a lot of money, so it’s time you started enjoying it. Even your dad says you work too hard. Hell, you haven’t taken a vacation in three years.”

He exhaled and nodded a bit as he scratched the cat’s head. “I guess we could…scale things back.”

“Good. Let’s start by not taking any more clients and that will take things off our plate by attrition.”

“Sure. No new clients.”

“And even better…let’s send a few clients to some other firms and add a few pro bono cases to replace them. You know that helping desperate people is what makes you happiest, so let’s get back to that a little.”

“You’re right, Ariel.”

“Meanwhile, the hell with ordering in. Let’s go to dinner, relax, have some wine, and then actually go home. Maybe once we clear some of these cases we might be able to eat dinner before the sun goes down instead of like a bunch of vampires.” She pointed at the cat. “Meanwhile, you gonna call the little furball Kitty?”

“Well, there’s no name on her collar. I’ll come up with something. I guess we need to find out if it’s a boy cat or a girl cat. Do you know how to tell?”

Ariel folded her arms. “Do I look like a veterinarian to you?”

Spencer moved back to his laptop and did a search. “Hang on a minute. Okay, here we go. How to sex a cat.”

“I hope you don’t get arrested. If the Feds look at your search history and see that, God knows what they’ll think.”

Spencer chuckled and continued reading. “It says to look directly under the tail. If it looks like a colon, it’s a boy. Upside down exclamation point, it’s a girl.”

“Well, I’m not doing this punctuation search of a cat’s nether regions. Knock yourself out.”

He picked up the cat and took a look. “Our guest is a young lady.”

“Well, you do need a nice girl on your lap.”

“Very funny.”

“Speaking of which, you want me to track down the name of that lawyer with the great eyes who turned your head? I mean, if you think you can sacrifice the billable hours in order to actually go on a date with her and have a social life.”

He offered a slight smile. “Okay, okay, you’ve made your point. But yeah, it would definitely be worth it.”

By Friday morning, cabin fever, or rather hotel room fever, had set in. Tish hated living out of a suitcase and couldn’t wait to get to Madison’s house for the weekend. Her friend had offered her the chance to stay there all the time, but the commute would take too many valuable hours away, especially in light of her lost client. She needed every minute to dredge up new business and work on her big case if she was to get her law practice back on solid ground. The only good thing about living in a hotel was that it was very close to her office. She determined the only way to make the next few months livable was to spend as little time in the hotel as possible.

The early morning jog along the river had brightened her spirits. She had fallen out of an exercise routine and though she had maintained her one hundred and forty pounds on her five-eight frame, she had gotten a bit soft and out of shape sitting at a desk or in a courtroom all day. Time to get toned again and getting away from the hotel was a good incentive. Besides, it was a pretty fall morning, sunny and unseasonably warm. She finished her run, out of breath and soaked with sweat, hair matted to her face. She was parched as she spotted the soda cart in front of the hotel. She made her way over to get a cool drink, finding herself behind a man in a suit who was talking on a cell phone.