The Unexpected Mate

Chapter 3 : Ginger Cat Owner Issues

The lunch break was only so long that it ended with her phone call. People spill into the room with rushing footsteps towards the chairs. Elinor placed her phone back onto the desk, face down so she wouldn't be tempted to check the latest updates about other people's social lives. Her computer screen reflected on the rimless glasses until her eyes were a red hue.

It was painful, and the only solution was in her desk. Since it happened way too often, every employee was given a few bottles of eye drops to nourish the eyes. Elinor absolutely hated her boss when he passed down those bottles months ago for the first time. She thought, why not just give them holidays or let them leave at the designated time?

Those questions never made it to the director's office.

Elinor took off the glasses and poured one drop of the eye drops into each eye and squeezed them to relieve the burn. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes. They were watery and red, which made Elinor look like a pitiful college graduate who was conned into working for a company that didn't pay well.

Elinor's story was the case of many such young people who were stepping into the real world for the first time.

It was around eight at night when Elinor left her office building and stepped out into the bustling streets. Thursdays were the hardest of the entire week.

Groceries were almost over or rotting in the fridge, the entire week's load was extra heavy on the last two days of the week. Eight pm sounded like the worst overtime ever, but for Elinor it wasn't that big of a deal because there were times when she and her team of employees worked until the next morning to finish off their pending work.

She strove hard towards those year-end bonuses every day.

At home, Ruskin was having a good time jumping on the couch. Cat fur littered the entire couch, leaving no space for Elinor to sit. Throwing her bag aside, she collapsed on the floor next to the couch.

Ruskin sensed the bad mood of its owner but made no moves to console her. The cat had the attitude of those cats that were worshiped in ancient Egypt. The cat did not understand that the woman who was raising it barely survived paycheck to paycheck and still somehow managed to get him premium cat food every week.

Elinor gathered a little energy, picked up a lint roller and started picking up the cat fir from the couch. Being a cat owner was one hell of a job. Sometimes she regretted having a cat, but most of the time she was glad for the little company at home. Although the cat was a judgemental b***h sometimes, it was still soft and warm to cuddle during sleepless nights.

After most of the lint was gone, she went back into her bedroom and took a shower before changing into a night suit. Today was one of the days when Elinor had more work at home than she did at the office. She took out her laptop from the bedroom, logged into it and opened the pending work. She played her favourite sitcom on TV while doing so. It was good background music.

Eventually, Ruskin jumped onto her lap and let Elinor stroke its back for comfort. Elinor didn't know who was more comfortable, the cat or herself. It was a noisy night that brought immeasurable peace to her. Around midnight, Elinor fell asleep on the couch. While her eyes were closing into the night, she felt as if something important slipped out of her mind.

Elinor had a habit. It was a useful habit that saved her countless times at work and her personal life. It was to set an alarm for everything.

Every important event had to be set to her alarm clock. From the deadlines at the office to getting groceries or watering the plants or even getting Ruskin's shots. Everything had a dedicated alarm.

When Ginny called yesterday, Elinor had added it to her list of alarms with a note that said - PICK GINNY FROM THE AIRPORT.

Elinor's sleepiness vanished when the alarm rang next to her ear. The cat that was being squished to death screamed and jumped out of the couch, then grabbed onto the old pajama shirt of its owner. Elinor shut off the alarm and looked at the label. Only then did she remember that Ginny was about to arrive today.

The cat glared resentfully at Elinor. The glare continued until it was presented with a bowl of cat food and water. The mighty cat sat on the floor with it's hind legs folded, it bent its spine with elegance as it licked its bowl clean.

By the time the ginger cat was eating its food, Elinor tidied up the apartment. Since Ginny was going to stay for two weeks, Elinor had to clean up the house well. She didn't want Ginny to go back and spill the tea about her messy lifestyle to their relatives.

Once the house was looking good enough, Elinor took a shower to look fresh. It was a long night and she'd rather soak herself in cold water than show those puffy eyes to her cousin.

The airport was an hour away from the apartment. Elinor owned a small car, one that was still eating up a part of her salary in monthly installments. It was a small Toyota that was used for daily necessities. However, she didn't use it for commuting from home to the office. Fuel was expensive.

These days, the car was used to get huge amounts of groceries and other things that Elinor couldn't carry by herself or if she had to travel for a long time and didn't want to take the subway.

Ginny's fight details were sent to Elinor's phone early in the morning. It was supposed to land at ten am, and guessing that she'd take a while to get her luggage, Elinor still had more than enough time to get there. Since that was the case, she stopped by a small bakery to get her morning coffee and a cupcake for Ginny to snack on.

The airport on a weekday was not too crowded, but the number of people coming to Seattle was not reduced. Elinor picked up her phone to look at the time. It was a little past ten, which meant she was perfectly on time. She stood by the pick-up area and scanned through the crowd of passengers for Ginny.

About fifteen minutes later, she finally found Ginny. On many occasions, Ginny reminded her of her ginger cat. Ginny had ginger hair and a freckled face. She wore thick black glasses and had a peculiar fashion sense. Her colorful clothing stood up among others and her bright blue suitcase grabbed most of the attention.

Elinor grinned and waved at the girl who was also looking around for her cousin. Ginny saw Elinor waving at her and rushed forward with her suitcase.

"Careful!!" Elinor laughed when Ginny catapulted herself on her body. The suitcase was barely caught by her. Ginny was fourteen and already as tall as twenty-four year old Elinor. Younger ones grew up too fast...

Elinor hugged Ginny tightly before letting go. She took Ginny's backpack and led her to the car with a huge smile on her face. Ginny's rainbow shirt managed to blend into her ginger shirt, yet it was attention-grabbing. Elinor loved her vibes. The carefree teenager who's biggest concern was their semester results. Paying bills was way too far to be worried about.

Elinor was slightly envious, and at the same time she wanted Ginny to enjoy this phase as long as she could. Ginny's chatter was loud and exciting. She bounced on her heels on their way to the car as she narrated her journey from home to Seattle.

The suitcase was stuffed into the small trunk and they got into the car.

"I almost lost my luggage! That guy was so annoying! He kept on insisting that it was his bag when in fact it was mine! It has my name and favourite band stickers on it!!!"

Elinor laughed, "You got it back in the end. What's the use of talking about it now? Just forget about it."

As she said it, Elinor started the engine and simultaneously handed her the box she had brought from the bakery. Ginny's face lit up at the sight of it. Her eyes held pure admiration when she looked at Elinor.

"I will forget about it eventually," Ginny opened the cupcake box and giggled, "Look, I already forgot. I don't remember. What guy? What bag? Only cupcakes matter..."