A Day In The Life Of A Cat

An excerpt from something I wrote a few years ago. I changed it slightly so it wouldn't sound like it was pulled right out of the middle of a story missing details and background.

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Someone bumped into Ian and he turned to look at them over his shoulder
"Excuse me," the woman said, touching his back as she contined past him.
Watching her a moment longer, they locked eyes, then he turned away.
Leo flashed him a fatherly warning look.
"That's trouble," he said.
Ian looked down at his glass.
"Don't worry, I'm not looking for trouble," he said quietly.

Leo didn't say it, but he had his doubts about that. Ever since Ian had broke up with his girlfried 4 months earlier, he'd been in a funk. At 33, Ian was a quiet man and had never been one to "talk about his feelings" very much. At some point he was going to have to deal with how he was feeling about the break up, but rather than talking about it, Leo had a feeling he was going to go on a dating spree to try and forget about it.

Leo wasn't at all sure breaking up with his girlfriend was what either of them wanted...he had thought they would get married since they *seemed* to be perfect for each other. And, Leo had never been clear on why they broke up, but he was the father and tried not to butt in. Maybe they'd realize their mistake and get back together before it was too late and one of them ended up in another relationship and out of reach.

Sitting there looking at Ian, Leo saw so much of himself. In his younger days he'd been tall and handsome like his son with the same glossy black hair and chiseled features. But now Leo thought he seemed to be shrinking, he had more gary than black on his head. What was once chiseled, was now rounded out. Sighing to himself, he got up and patted his son on the back.

"I gotta get going," Leo said. "I have a hot date!"
Ian looked over and grinned at his dad knowing his "hot date" was with a blow torch. Leo worked nights at a factory.

"Take care...I'll see you Monday for lunch," Ian to him.
"You bet. I never pass up a free lunch from my kid!" Leo said.

Ian had started taking half days from his job at the libray so he could take his dad to lunch on Monday's. Since his mother had died, he wanted to spend more time with his dad. They also met twice a month on Friday's at his uncle's pub for a drink after Ian got off work. Ian watched as his Dad stopped on his way out to say goodbye to his nephew who was wiping down tables. The pub was run by his uncle and all 7 of his kids. Nice Irish pub.

"Is anyone sitting here?"

Turning around, he was face to face with the woman who had bumped into him earlier. She was inquiring about the bar stool next to him. She was tall, had to be close to 6 feet he figured. Her hair was shoulder length, black and curly. She had a complication right out of an Ivory soap commerical and green eyes. The tight white dress she had on showed off her curvy figure.

"No," he said answering her question.

Sitting down, she looked over at the bartender who was mixing a drink. He gave her a nod, indicating he'd be with her in a minute. Looking back at Ian, she smiled sympathically.

"You look like you've had one of those days," she said.
Looking at his nearly empty glass, he stirred the ice cubes around with the little red straw. He wasn't sure he was in the mood for flirting...or talking for that matter, but she was already sitting down.

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that," he answered.

Rich, the bartender and Ian's cousin, came over and she ordered a whiskey sour then she looked at Ian.

"Can I buy you drink?" she asked.
She smelled great, her perfume was light and fresh.
"I get my drinks free," he said.

She looked at the bartender and Rich smiled as if to comfirm this.

"In that case, you can buy me one!" she announced.

Rich laughed and Ian smiled at her.

"You want another one?" Rich said to Ian, pointing at his glass.
"No, I'm good...thanks," he said.
"I'll be right back with your whiskey sour" he said to the woman, giving
her a wink as he walked away.
"So how is it you get your drinks free?" she asked curiously.
"I know the right people," he said.

She nodded and could see he was going to be a challenge to talk to.

"So you must come here a lot then?"

He shrugged neither confirming or denying.

"It's a nice place...been a while since I've been here," she said.
A minute later Rich came back over with her drink.
"Here you go, Beautiful - on the house," he said grinning.

Flashing him a flirty smile, she thanked him. As he walked away, Rich gave
Ian a descret nod of approval.

"You work around here? Looks like you came straight from work," she said.

It was true, he had come to the pub straight from the libaray where he was the head librarian. He didn't fit the image of a librarian at all and people rarely believed him when he told them it was what he did for a living. He thought for a second and lied when he answered her question.

"I'm unemployed."
Something about the way he answered struck her as unusual.
"If you're looking for something, maybe I can help. I know a lot of people...."
He shook his head.
"I doubt it."
"What? Are you a paleontologist or something?"
"I'm a preist."

She gave him a confused look and he silently wondered how the heck he'd come up with that and chuckled to himself.

"A preist?"
He looked at her. "Yeah."
"I didn't know preists could be unemployed."
He looked down at his glass and then back at her.
"Yeah, well, I'm not currently....preaching."
Surpressing a grin, she nodded.
"Preists are better looking than I remember" she commented.
He didn't respond.

"I'd have been at church every Sunday had I known," she added.

He noticed the gleam in her eye when she said that. Looking down at his glass, he could hear Leo's voice saying: "That's trouble". Sighing to himself, he thought about calling it a night and saying goodbye to the Pandora's Box that was sitting next to him, but something made him stay firmly planted on his bar stool.

"I'm Jenna," she said, tilting her head looking at him.

When he looked over at her, she ran her finger along her jawline and down the side of her neck. She smiled and he looked at her lips, they were glossy and the color of red grapefruit. Ian guessed she was in her early 40's, although she could have easily passed for early 30's. He based his judgement on her manner and demeanor. Plus, younger women generally were not this assertive.

"You got a name....or should I just call you Father?"

He didn't answer and locked eyes with her. Intuition took over and she knew he wasn't going to give very many answers about who he was. Truth was, she didn't really need to know. What he looked like out of his clothes was what she really wanted to find out about.

"Okay, "Father" it is" she grinned, not at all put off by his silence.

She took a sip of her drink.

"This is the best whiskey sour I've ever had," she said.
"Rich is a good bartender," he said.
"You know the owner? Is that how you get your drinks for free?"
"Yeah," he said and didn't elaborate.

There was a long moment where they just looked at each other.
"My sister and her husband own a bar in Texas. They have one of those machanical bulls like they had in that movie....what's the name of it..." she said tapping her finger trying to recall the movie title.

"Urban Cowboy" he said.
"Yes! That's it! They have a bull like the one in that movie...."

He nodded and was charmed at her ability to talk to somone who wasn't making it very easy.

"Did you ride it? The bull?" he asked.
"Yes, it was fun. The guys made it go real slow for me. I like it slow."

He raised an eyebrow at her and she put her drink down. She leaned over slightly.

"It must be hard for you to be in a place like this...being a preist."

He blindly gave his ice cubes another stir and kept his eyes on her.

"But I've got a deal for you.....if you're interested," she said softly.

Ian's heart took off into a gallop. This woman was about to proposition him, and the thing was, he suddenly wasn't feeling very opposed to it.

"We could go someplace quiet and...talk about it," she suggested.

They both knew talking wasn't what she had in mind. There was a moment of silence and she reached over and the tip of her finger caressed the top of his hand.

"Well there's the whole vow of celibacy thing to think about. Abstaining from sex and...everything." he said.

She smiled, undeterred.

"Ummm...yeah, that'd be a deal breaker for sure..."

That long curly hair, her smile, the way she smelled...she was damn sexy. Clearing his throat, he looked back at his glass.

"I think I better just call it a night," he said.

Jenna flashed him a disappointed look.

"You sure?" she asked, giving him a chance to reconsider.

Her eyes had a lust he remembered well from his gallivanting days.

"You're very tempting, but-"
"But?" she said, cutting him off quickly and smiled.

They locked eyes for a long moment.

"I can't," he said quietly.

"Can't or won't?" she asked.
"Both," he said.

That disappointed look was there again. However, she seemed to realize that he wasn't going to give in. Opening her purse, she fished around and found an old grocery receipt and a pen. She wrote something on the back of it and gave it to him after folding it up.

"It was very nice to meet you....Father."

Jenna stood up and stook a last sip of her drink and then looked down at him.

"I really need to start going to church more..." she grinned.

He couldn't help but smile.

She winked and sauntered away. Her hour glass figure was one no man could miss. Very voluptious. As she walked out the door, she paused for just a second and looked back at him. He was still watching at her. She smiled as if she knew he would be, then continued out the door.

...

Ian laid in bed and rolled over and looked at the digital clock on his night stand, it was 11:48pm. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, the clock said 11:56pm. He groaned, it was going to be a long night. Getting out of bed he turned a lamp on and went to his dresser and picked up the piece of paper Jenna had given him four nights earlier and read it again:

"Should you decide to fall from grace...458-2679"

He thought about it for a long moment before he called. She answered and he hesitated for a just a second.
"Jenna?" He said.
"Yes..."
"This is um...Father...the preist you met..." he said feeling ridiculous.

He knew she was smiling.

"What a surprise," she said.
There was a pause.
"I've been thinking about your....proposition," he said.
"Ummmm hummm...." she hummed.
"Are you busy?" he asked.
"No. Would you like to come over?" she asked.
"Yes."

...

He found her house easily and parked one house up and across the street. He sat there for a minute after he turned the engine off toying with his car keys thinking about what he was doing there. Something made him look up, and when he did, her porch light came on and her door opened. She stood there in a white night shirt that went to mid thigh and she leaned against the door frame looking in his direction. He finally got out of his car and walked across the street. When he reached her door, she stepped aside, inviting him in.

"I didn't think you were going to come in for a minute," she said closing the
door.

He quickly scanned the room. It looked like a woman's house. Rose wallpaper, victorian style lamps, porcelain dolls dressed up in lace dresses with matching hats. Somehow it wasn't what he was expecting.

"I was trying to talk myself out of it," he responded honestly, turning to her.

Jenna gave him a look that went from head to toe, then she walked over to him.

"I'm glad you didn't talk yourself out of it," she said with a friendly smile. "Let me take your coat."

Slipping it off, he handed it to her and she hung it on a coat rack that was in the corner by the door. Again, she turned and looked at him.

"So why the second thoughs?" she questioned.

He said nothing.

Walking back over to him, she put her hands on his waist. His heart thumped at the touch of a woman's hands on him again. She was very aggressive which he wasn't used to, but didn't mind. Leaning in, she kissed him. As a natural reaction, his hands went to her hips, grasping her and holding her snugly against him. Pulling back a little, she gave him a soft look. It was obvious he was aprehensive for some reason.

"A few Hail Mary's tomorrow will undo everything we do tonight" she wispered.
He felt her hand move between there bodies....checking out his "goods".

"I'm not really a preist."
She grinned.
"I know, honey."

He gave her a slight smile.

"Damn, you're good lookin'. I don't know what woman gave you up, but I'll make you forget her tonight."

Releasing herself from him, she led him down a long hallway, turning out the light as they went....