Title: Ryan's Cat
Summary: Ryan finds a kindred soul.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the cat.
Author's Notes: (1) Thanks for the reviews. (2) My alternate universe starts after Seth and Ryan's conversation at the beginning of "The L.A." Ryan and Marissa are broken up. Theresa's back in Chino. Seth and Ryan did not see Luke and Julie at the motel. This story takes place some time later. (3) As is probably obvious, I have cats of my own. One morning, I was lying in bed with one of my cats, and thought, "you know, Ryan really needs a cat".
Chapter 4
Ryan walked into the kitchen from the back yard. Kirsten, Sandy, and Seth were already at the kitchen table, and all the food from La Rocca's was in dishes on the table. Ryan headed for the fridge to get himself a can of Coke.
As she watched him walk to the fridge, Kirsten said, "How's Cat?"
Sandy told her how Cat hid under the bed when he went in to check on her and Ryan, before Ryan went shopping. Kirsten was concerned that maybe Cat was still under the bed, or did some damage to the pool house while Ryan was gone, or even ran out as soon as Ryan opened the door after he got back.
After grabbing his Coke, Ryan gave Kirsten a little smile and said, "Fine. She's eating her dinner."
Ryan was eager to start in on his own dinner. He was hungry. He hurried over to the table and sat down at the place that was set for him. For once, he was happy. Cat was going to stay. And like Seth said, since he broke up with Marissa, and Theresa went home, he had a clean slate. Angst-Free Ryan Month was working out great.
Ryan started filling his plate. Without being asked, Kirsten passed him the dish with the beef buritos, his favorite. She smiled to herself, seeing Ryan looking so happy.
Kirsten was also relieved to hear that Cat was doing OK. She made a mental note to go out there after dinner and check on her. Kirsten hadn't told anyone this, but she missed having a cat around. When she was a teenager, after her cat had to be put to sleep due to medical problems and old age, she had planned on getting a cat, or two, as soon as she had her own place. She had been disappointed to find out that Sandy disliked cats and refused to even consider getting one.
Seth was enjoying watching this whole thing unfold. He could see how happy his Mom and Ryan looked. He couldn't wait to see how things would turn out. He knew that his Mom always wanted to get a cat -- the way she used to talk about her cat Prince. So he wasn't surprised to hear that his Mom had talked his Dad into letting the cat stay. He also was not surprised that his Dad insisted that she stay out in the pool house.
Seth looked over at his Dad, who didn't look entirely happy.
Sandy wasn't entirely happy. He was already regretting agreeing to let that thing stay, anywhere on the property. It was going to be hard to keep it out of the house, since they all were used to leaving the French doors open, both in the pool house and in the main house. But he could see how happy Kirsten was. And, amazingly enough, Ryan. So, since it was staying, Sandy felt obligated to make sure that Ryan was going to take good care of it.
Sandy started right in, without any smalltalk, "Ryan. You know that this cat is your responsibility, right? Since it is going to stay with you, it is yours. You're making a commitment to it. You have to be the one to make sure it gets fed, every day, and has water, and a clean litter box. And you have to clean up any messes and fix any damage the cat causes. You'll also be responsible for taking it to the vet when needed."
During all this, Ryan and Seth exchanged amused glances. They've each been on the receiving end of many of Sandy's lectures. Lawyers do love to talk. Ryan also noticed how Sandy kept referring to Cat as "it". He kept wanting to correct Sandy that Cat was a "she", but since he didn't really know for sure that she was a "she", Ryan figured he'd better just let it go.
When Sandy paused, Ryan jumped in, "Yeah, no, right, I know. I'll take good care of her, don't worry about it."
Kirsten also reassured him, "Sandy, cats are low-maintenance. Ryan can handle it. And since I have experience, I'll help out."
Seth just had to say, "And Dad, Ryan's 16, not 6."
Sandy replied to Kirsten, "Cats are low-maintenance, but not no-maintenance." And to Seth, "And being 16 is sometimes worse than being 6." Both Sandy and Kirsten smiled at that one, and both Ryan and Seth rolled their eyes.
Sandy turned to Ryan and continued, "Yes, Kirsten can and will help out, but I don't want you taking advantage of her, of her generosity. The cat is your responsibility. Sure, there will be times when Kirsten, or Seth, will have to feed her, or whatever, such as when you are away. But don't expect it on a regular basis."
Ryan responded, "No, of course not. I'll take care of Cat myself."
Kirsten also chimed in, more gently than Sandy, "Ryan, remember to be gentle with her, and patient. Cats can be a handful. Since she's been out on her own, she may not be used to being with a person. She may scratch or bite you. Don't get mad at her, it's not personal."
Ryan nodded. "I'll be patient. I won't get mad at her... or well, at least, I'll try not to."
Kirsten continued, "And since she's an adult cat, it might be difficult for her to bond with you. It doesn't always happen. It is easier with a kitten."
Ryan replied, "We've already bonded."
Kirsten thought back to her visit to the pool house with Ryan and Cat earlier, and said, "Yes, I guess you have." Kirsten and Ryan both smiled at the thought.
Kirsten had one last thing she wanted to bring up. "The next thing we should do is to take Cat to the vet to get her shots and make sure she's healthy. I'll call Jimmy and get the name of the vet they used for Dustin."
Ryan responded to Kirsten, "Thanks." But he didn't want to think about the possibility that Cat wasn't healthy.
Seth was listening to all this, and now knew how things were going to turn out. The cat was staying. Permanently.
Sandy also could see that this was headed that way. He had a few more things he wanted to say, but he wanted to say them to Kirsten privately. So he changed the subject, "So, did anything else interesting happen today? Seth?"
And that was the end of the family discussion about Cat. To Ryan's relief, everyone resumed their normal dinnertime smalltalk.
After dinner, Seth went upstairs to finish his homework, and Ryan went back out to the pool house to check on Cat and go back to his own homework. Sandy and Kirsten stayed behind in the kitchen to clean up. Ryan knew that they wanted to talk privately, and hoped it wasn't anything bad.
Once they were alone, Sandy started off, "You know, if this cat doesn't work out, we can take it to the Newport animal shelter. They'll find a good home for it."
"I really hope the cat will work out. Ryan's already attached. Please don't mention the animal shelter to him." Kirsten didn't want to admit it, but she was already attached to Cat too, or at least to the idea of having her around.
Sandy knew his wife well enough to know what she wasn't saying. But he just responded to her words, "I know. The idea of the animal shelter would upset him, that's why I didn't mention it at dinner."
"Well, I think he may already be upset, since I mentioned the vet making sure the cat was healthy. Did you see his face?" Kirsten hoped that Cat was healthy.
"Don't worry about it, sweetie. I'm sure Ryan's fine." Sandy kissed Kirsten on the cheek, to reassure her.
Sandy continued, "I think it's great, that you and Ryan share this interest in cats. It can be a good way for the two of you to get closer. I think you should be the one to deal with the cat issues from now on."
Kirsten smiled and put her arms around her husband. "You just don't want to get anywhere near the cat."
Sandy laughed and said, "That too. But I meant what I said."
"I know."
And husband and wife started making out in their kitchen.
While Kirsten and Sandy were talking in the house, Ryan was out in the pool house. When he walked in, Cat was resting in her already-usual spot on the bed. However, she immediately got up, jumped off the bed, and headed for the kitchen area. She stopped just inside the kitchen and looked back at Ryan to make sure he was following.
Ryan laughed and said to her, "I guess you want more food, huh?"
He followed her into the kitchen and put down the second half of the can of cat food that he had opened earlier. As before, Cat went right to work on it. Ryan sat down on the floor in the kitchen, leaned back against the cabinets, and watched Cat eat.
He went over in his mind everything that was said at dinner. He had already known himself everything that Sandy said. Cat was his responsibility, and he was prepared to take care of her. As for what Kirsten said, he pretty much knew all of that, too. He really hoped that the vet wouldn't find anything wrong with Cat. And if he did, Ryan hoped that Sandy wouldn't use that as a reason to tell him that he couldn't keep her.
Ryan saw Cat moving out of the corner of his eye, and it pulled him out of his thoughts. She had eaten some of the food, and now was moving over to the water bowl. She started lapping up the water the way cats do. Ryan was thinking that it was pretty cool how a cat does that. Unlike you'd might think, cats don't scoop up water on their tongues and bring it into their mouths. They have their tongues curled backwards. A cat puts its tongue into the water, and it absorbs the water. Then the cat brings its tongue into its mouth and sucks the water out. At least that's what Ryan saw on a PBS special, and it looked to him that was exactly what Cat was doing. Cool.
Ryan got up and went back over to his bed and settled down with his homework. After she was done eating and drinking, Cat followed and jumped up onto the bed next to him. She sat down and started washing again. Not the full cat-bath like last time. She just washed her face with her paws, both sides, and washed a little around her chest and front paws. Then she settled down right next to Ryan, curled up with her back against his leg.
Ryan continued to work on his homework, with Cat as company.
After she finished her talk and other things with Sandy, and finished cleaning up the kitchen, Kirsten headed out to the pool house to check on Ryan and Cat.
She knocked gently on the door a couple of times, and called out softly, "Ryan, can I come in?"
Ryan wondered why Kirsten came out to the pool house. He hoped that there wasn't anything that came out of her private talk with Sandy.
When Cat heard the knocking on the door, she picked her head up, and Ryan was preparing to comfort her, assuming that she'd get scared. But when she heard Kirsten's voice, she just put her head back down, and closed her eyes. Ryan thought that was interesting.
Ryan called out to Kirsten, "Come in, the door's open."
So Kirsten opened the door and entered, slowly and quietly, trying to not scare the cat. She was surprised when she saw Cat curled up next to Ryan with her eyes closed, not scared by her at all. She went and sat on the near side of the bed. Ryan was next to the far side of the bed, with Cat on his left. Kirsten leaned over and started to pet Cat on the top of her head.
Ryan said, "She likes to be scratched around her ears and under her chin."
Kirsten smiled a thanks at Ryan, and scratched Cat around her ears. Cat started to purr. Kirsten looked up at Ryan, and they both smiled at that.
Kirsten said, "So I guess she's doing OK. How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"Listen, about the vet's. Don't worry about it. I'm sure Cat's fine. I'm no expert, but she looks fine to me, and since she's eating and sleeping... And even if there is a problem, we'll deal with it."
"Yeah, no, I know." Ryan wondered how Kirsten knew he was worried about that.
"OK, well, I just wanted to make sure the two of you were all right. Have a good night and don't stay up too late. If you have any problems with her tonight, just let me know, and I'll see what I can do to help."
Ryan smiled and said, "OK. Thanks." Although he didn't really intend to wake her up, no matter what might happen.
Kirsten gave Cat one last scratch around the ears and headed back to the house. After she closed the pool house door, she stopped and turned around. Although she could no longer see them, since the shades were still down, she smiled knowing that Ryan was sitting on his bed doing his homework with Cat curled up next to him, keeping him company.
Kirsten was glad that Ryan and Cat had found each other.