Chapter 10; Sweethearts

Andrea had sniffed with distaste the first time she saw the little brown kitten, but the house was still in perfect order, and Haru used only the kitty-litter tray, so she could find no fault in keeping the pet. Besides, her son liked it, and it was his house – there was little she could do.

Haru always sat placidly in Humbert's lap when he entertained his mother, a calming force able to counter his mother's exacting one. She did not, of course, stay a kitten. Haru grew to be a long, sleek cat, quite capable of jumping up the back of the chairs from the carpet behind and calmly walking down, her claws dug into the upholstery.

Every time she visited now, she brought an eligible young lady, and made the same suggestion she had with Jemima: courtship. Since these young women weren't relations like Jemima, or even always known to Humbert, he would usually have to go on at least one date with them, if for no other reason that to prove to his mother that they weren't a match.

Andrea always called the next day – after the date, to see how it had gone. Humbert had to explain every time exactly why he and so-and-so had decided to not pursue the relationship. The reasons varied from "we had nothing to talk about" to "she wouldn't stop talking" and once or twice it was "she already has/almost has a boyfriend". There were also the ones where Humbert had to explain that, despite he and the girl getting along just fine, he wasn't going to go on another date with her. There wasn't any chemistry between them. It was more like being just friends than maybe having something more than friendship, the way he felt about Louise. Andrea didn't seem to understand these explanations, and ranted at him for a while when he gave them, but he was getting better at putting his foot down, at least over the phone.

Louise had been right, she did get her father to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day, kiss her forehead and give her away to Greg. The ceremony was beautiful, and Louise looked more delicate and fey than ever. Looking surreptitiously about, he was sure that every other single man, and possibly a few who were married, wished they were the ones Louise was promising to love, honour and obey.

Humbert wasn't among them. He was too much of a music lover to want to hear her dusting every day for the rest of his life, and Louise was his friend. It didn't matter how beautiful she looked in that wedding dress of hers, kissing her would be like kissing his cousin Jemima: wrong, on a myriad of levels.

It was about six months after Humbert let Haru into his life that the young cat started yowling. He would have taken her to Louise, who seemed to understand the exquisite brown feline on some other level, but she had just left on her honeymoon. A trip to the vet was needed. Remembering the last time Humbert had gone to the vet, he made up his mind to find a female one – a woman, he felt sure, would be gentler with a female cat.

"You never had her de-sexed, Mr von Gikkingken?" enquired the vet, apparently patting and playing with Haru, though her gloved hands were gently exploring the cat's body.

"No," Humbert answered, surprised by the question. "Is that a problem?"

"Not really, but it's why she's uncomfortable now. Your little beauty here is in heat, with no males to satisfy her," the woman explained, looking up through her red-rimmed glasses. "You have three options, Mr von Gikkingken," she said. "One: You can find her a mate and wait for kittens. Two: I can neuter her now, and you'll never have to worry about this behaviour in her again."

"And option three?" Humbert asked. He didn't fancy the idea of a tomcat and piles of kittens, but the idea of rendering Haru barren wasn't very easy with his conscience either.

The vet shrugged. "Wait it out. There's nothing wrong with her, she's just going through puberty, she'll quiet down on her own."

"Thank you doctor," Humbert said. "I think I can handle that," he added, rubbing his fingers against Haru's cheek.

Haru did quiet down, and the next time she became moody, Humbert knew what the problem was. He let her sleep on his bed at those times, it seemed to calm her, and he didn't mind her small warm body purring near his face as he drifted off to sleep.