Tea and Coffee, Vol. 2

Tea and Coffee, Vol. 2

It's been five days since Coffee went missing. Without him, I keep Tea besides me as much as I can, hoping my presence makes up for the lack of his.

The digital clock on my bedstand reads 1100. It's around this time where I'd hear the sound of his feet scurrying across the hallway, followed by a shriek and a phump as he lands on the bed, or on unluckier days, me. I see Tea looking at me, as if she knows something has happened, just not what, or if it's bad, and how bad it is. She looks at me as if I know the answers.

I put her down onto the floor and stare emptily at the ceiling.

'I wish I knew Tea, I really wish I did'. Tea lets out a sound, halfway between a meow and a whimper. I rub behind her ears and for a while we stay that way, a moment of shared worry.

Getting up from the bed, I flounder around looking for clothes. A shirt from the closet and jeans off the floor. I stop to look in the mirror and adjust my unkempt hair, but give up shortly. Trying to create any sense of order seemed out of place in my bedroom. I pick Tea up, place her in my shoulder bag and leave the flat.

The pet store is a fifteen minute walk down winding cobblestone pavements. As I walk past a metal lamppost I lightly tap my finger against it. It was a habit I picked up in secondary school, where the carpet flooring and metal door handles were sure to give you a shock if you let it build long enough.
'The air's nice today, isn't it?'

As Tea bobbed up and down in my bag, I could feel her low purrs of agreement.

I swung the door open and entered the store. A girl sat behind the counter with dark crimson hair and pale skin, her green eyes buried deep in a novel. Murakami. 'She has good taste' I note. She looks up at me and smiles.

'Any luck?' she asks?

I smile back but shake my head. 'None.'

She glances at my bag and smiles coyly. 'At least you've been keeping her busy.'

'As much as I can' I awkwardly chuckle. 'Erm, sorry to bring her in here. D'you think it's okay, you know, with all the cat food laying about?'

She laughed and closed her book, folding the page in the corner. 'Tea's far too well behaved to cause any damage' she says, reaching into my bag and pulling her out. She holds Tea in her arms and kisses her lightly on the nose, before placing her on to the counter. She looked into the eyes of the kitten, deep in thought.

'You know, I could create some leaflets to tell people to look out for Coffee, if you wanted.' she said.

'Oh gosh.' I said, surprised. 'Lily that would be amazing. That would mean a lot to me.'

She looked away. 'It's nothing really. I know you're busy with deadlines at the moment. You can't exactly go into cat hunting mode.'

I nod silently. In between a part time job as a bartender and being in my final year at university, it was definitely not a good time to lose a cat.

'But still... these days it seems you help me out a lot. I'm starting to think there might be something wrong with you,' I tease. She giggles and looks at me, holding the gaze for a few seconds.

'Oh don't start getting any ideas sir,' she says, resting on that last word. 'I just want to help Tea get her play buddy back.'

At the mention of her name Tea looks up and meows softly. We both reach out to scratch behind her ears.

'What are you going to put on the leaflet?'

'Lost cat. Goes by the name Coffee. His fur looks like a cup of white coffee, with darker spots. Like where the coffee grains have only partially dissolved. Much more effective at waking you up than coffee though.'

I laugh. 'Thanks for this Lily. All in the name of customer service then?'

'You bet,' she says, her coy smile returning.