Clint stared down at the letter in his hand. Checking the calendar on the wall, again, he saw that, yes, it was the 3rd. And he was screwed.
This is what I get for checking the mail once a month, he thought to himself angrily. If he had just opened his mail when he grabbed it out the apartment's mailroom, he wouldn't be in this situation, but no. Instead he let it pile up on the table near the door until it finally tumbled over. That was the indicator he used to actually open the damn things, and it had worked out just fine until now.
Shit.
Checking the time, he saw that he only had an hour, maybe two tops. He needed a plan.
He paced back and forth, stopping only to down a cup of coffee, trying to think of a way out. Unfortunately, solutions weren't coming to him and he knew from experience that the landlord was a real piece of work. He shook his head with a sigh; he was going to need help.
Scooping up part of the problem, he walked out into the hallway, staring down the row of doors. Who was his best option? The neighbor right next to him was never home, so she was out. Two doors down was a complete psycho, screaming at someone all hours of the night. Pass on him too.
The neighbor across from him was new though, Clint remembered. He'd seen him in the hall and maybe getting his mail once or twice. Seemed like a decent guy, always smiled and said hello, though Clint couldn't remember whether or not he ever responded. Whoops. Oh well, he didn't have a lot of other options.
Arms full, he kicked at the door, hoping it sounded enough like a knock and less like a raid party trying to knock it down. It must have worked well enough, because the door opened a crack, the guy peeking out warily. To be fair, Clint thought, anyone in this building should look wary when opening their door. It wasn't full of the most savory characters.
The neighbor looked to be a few years older, and a few inches shorter than Clint. He was wearing a suit, tie undone like he was interrupted while changing after work. His hair was brown, thinning at the top, but he was cute and seemed friendly. Maybe not at this exact moment, Clint thought, but he had before.
"Hey" Clint said, putting on his most charming smile. "I'm Clint, your neighbor. I live right there." He gestured to the door behind him with his head. "I know this is awkward, and I should have introduced myself earlier, but –"
"You have cats" the guy stated, staring at the squirming felines Clint was holding in each arm.
"Yeah, about that. Listen, I may have accidentally, sort of, adopted five cats. And as it turns out, the landlord and some plumbers are coming in just a little bit to check some pipes in my apartment and if he sees the cats, he'll freak. And probably kick me out. We have a little bit of a history, but that's a story for another time."
"Okaaay" the guy said, looking at him strangely. Which, sure, he probably deserved.
"So, all I need is a place to stash these babies until the work is done. They're super low-maintenance and won't be any trouble, I promise."
"I don't know, I don't think it's –"
"Please?" Clint looked at him imploringly. "You don't know me, I know. But I don't ask people for favors often, especially people I don't know and, sure, haven't gone out of my way to be neighborly to, but I swear I'll owe you one and you'd be really helping me out. Look at these faces." He held the cats up to the neighbor's face, but neither party seemed thrilled.
"Fine" he sighed, "but it can't be for long."
"It won't, I swear. Here" Clint thrust the two cats into his arms, hurrying back into his apartment to grab two more. The third just followed him out, weaving in between Clint's legs and threatening to trip him. Wrangling all three in the door, along with the two his neighbor was now holding, Clint kicked the door shut behind him.
"Come on in" the guy said sarcastically.
"Sorry, I just didn't want anyone escaping. So, this is Shae" he said, nodding down to the white & tabby cat on the ground. "And this is Maze and Jinx" he continued, holding up the calico and tortoiseshell in his arms. "The two you have there are Hex and Grim." They were pitch black and nearly identical, aside from Grim's enthusiasm for food that left him with a few extra pounds.
"Uh, ok. Got it" he said, looking from one to another in bewilderment.
"I guess you don't really need to know all that" Clint admitted, feeling a little silly, "but it felt rude not to introduce them. Ok, well I gotta get back over there and hide all the evidence of these guys. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Placing the cats on the ground, he made a break for the door, slipping through while making sure that no one followed him out.
"I'm Phil, by the way" the guy said to Clint's back as the door shut.
"Nice to meet you! And thanks" Clint called from the hallway.
Phil hear the door across the hall open and shut. He looked around at the cats who were staring at him. No one looked very happy. And then he sneezed.
"Oh no" he muttered to himself. He really hoped Clint would be back soon.
Shutting the door behind the plumber, Cling sagged against the door with a sigh. Thankfully the landlord had left a while earlier, but they'd got a late start and it had been – he checked his watch – three and a half hours.
At least he'd gotten through the visit without the landlord sniffing out the cats' existence. But he'd promised…what was his name? Paul? Phil. He'd promised Phil that it was only going to be two hours at the most and he doubted he was going to find a very happy neighbor when he got over there. Or very happy cats, for that matter.
Knocking tentatively on the door, Clint was a little afraid of what he was going to find when it opened. None of the things running through his mind came close to what actually awaited him though.
The door swung open and Phil, or who he assumed was Phil, stood there looking absolutely miserable. His face was red and puffy, his eyes swollen nearly shut. And if Clint wasn't mistaken, every breath Phil let out was accompanied by a slight wheeze. The guy was a mess.
"Oh my god!"
"Hey" Phil said miserably.
"You're allergic to cats? Why didn't you say something? I'm so sorry!" Luckily, for him, not Phil, the cats seemed to have made themselves at home, so they were easy for Clint to scoop up and run across the hall. After the third trip, he let himself back in, walking over to where Phil was sitting on the arm of the couch and held out some Benadryl.
"Here, take some of these. It'll help. Is there anything else I can do? Vacuum or open a window or something? I'll get you a glass of water for those." He scurried over to the kitchen, opening cabinets until he found the glasses, admiring how neat and clean everything was. Meanwhile, Clint knew his apartment looked like a couple frat guys lived there. He filled a glass, bringing it over to Phil.
Rushing back over, he watched as Phil tossed back the Benadryl. He wiped at his watery eyes, sending Clint scurrying back into the kitchen, where he wet a hand towel with cold water and brought it to Phil.
"Here, put that over you face for a minute, hopefully it'll help some the swelling go down."
Phil did, mumbling something from behind the towel.
"What?"
"I said, I did try and tell you" he repeated. "But you interrupted me and –"
"Oh man, I'm sorry –" Clint caught the pointed look Phil shot at him, lifting the corner of the towel. "Oh…I just did it again, huh?"
Phil gave a soft laugh. "Yeah, you did. But that's ok, I could have told you again, or said no. But you just seemed so desperate. And it was kind of…cute, how worried you were about them."
"Yeah" Clint said gruffly, ducking his head. "They're my family. Which makes me sound like a crazy cat lady or something."
"No, it's sweet." Phil smiled at him, the cool cloth starting to make his face feel a tiny bit better. "So did you say you 'accidentally' adopted five cats? How does that even happen?"
"Well" Cling began, plopping down on the couch next to Phil, "I wasn't planning on having any pets. Too much responsibility and all that. But, I saw this little black kitten in the park. I tried to catch it, but it got away and I couldn't find it. So the next day I went back and saw it again. But this time I brought some food to try and win it over."
Phil nodded, listening.
"Still couldn't get it, so tried again on day three. This time it ran, but I followed it and came upon the other four living in this little ravine. I don't think they're all related and seemed to be different ages, but they looked like they all lived together, and I couldn't just take one and leave the others."
"No, of course not, I can see that."
"Right. So, it took me a few more days, and a lot of tuna, to win them over, but eventually I did and smuggled them all into the apartment. And we've been one big happy family ever since."
"Wow. Going from zero to five cats must have been quite an adjustment."
"It was, I guess. But truthfully, it was nice to have the company. My work is pretty solitary and I don't have much of a social life. So they're at least someone to come home to."
Phil nodded again silently, not sure what to say. Instead, he just patted Clint on the shoulder supportively.
"Sorry, not trying to throw myself a pity party here" Clint said, self-consciously.
"No, no, that's ok. You weren't" Phil said, trying to reassure him. "I totally get it. I don't have anyone to come home to either. I do have coworkers, but no one I'd hang out with voluntarily" he said with a chuckle. "I'm glad you have your cats though."
"Yeah, me too." Clint stood up awkwardly, feeling like he should probably get out of his neighbor's hair. He'd imposed enough already. "Well, thanks again for helping me out. And I'm so sorry about your allergies. I won't bother you again."
"That's ok, it was nice to meet you, even under these circumstances" Phil said with a shrug, gesturing to his face. He walked Clint to the door, opening it for him. "And it was nice to have some company for a little bit. The cats, and you." He gave Clint a small smile.
Clint felt some unexpected butterflies in his stomach as he turned to say goodbye. He knew that even thinking about getting involved with a neighbor was a terrible idea, but he was a little tempted. Phil seemed so sweet and…normal. It would be a nice change of pace for him.
"I'd invite you over for dinner sometime to make it up to you, but that's probably a bad idea with the cats and all, huh?" Clint said, just floating the idea out there.
"That's so nice of you to offer. But yeah, probably not a great idea."
"Yeah, yeah, of course not." Disappointment flashed across Phil's face.
"But, maybe if you'd like to come over here for dinner instead… I make a pretty good lasagna?"
"If I wouldn't be imposing" Clint said hopefully.
Phil's face brightened. "No, not at all. Tomorrow?"
"Sure, tomorrow would be great. 6:00? 7:00?
"How about 6:30?"
"Perfect."
"Ok, see you then" Phil said with a grin, watching Clint walk across the hall, turning to give him a wave. Closing the door quietly, Phil looked around the apartment, which suddenly seemed too empty.
But it wouldn't be for long.