Page 143 of Her Ex-Husband's Brother

We sign in, and a few minutes later we’re led through another door into the cat area. The noise from the dogs becomes muffled,replaced by smaller sounds: the scrape of litter, the occasional plaintive meow, a bell jingling as one kitten attacks a hanging toy.

Lennon slows as we pass the enclosures.

There are cats sleeping in hammocks, cats pressed against the glass, and cats pretending not to care that we exist, as cats do.

Naturally, she falls in love with all of them.

“That one has one eye,” she whispers.

“He appears to be managing.”

“Oh, look at the little black one. August, he has a bow tie.”

“It’s a patch of white fur.”

“It’s a bow tie.”

We reach the get-to-know-you room, where a volunteer lets several kittens out to play.

Lennon plops herself onto the floor before the woman has even finished explaining the rules.

Within seconds, she’s swamped.

The kittens can tell she has good creature energy.

I knew it too, the first time I caught a glimpse of her.

One climbs onto her thigh. Another attacks the drawstring on her blouse. A tiny tabby wedges itself between her hip and the wall, then immediately begins to purr as if Lennon is the one who has been selected for adoption.

Her grin stretches from ear to ear while little bodies tumble over her.

One kitten plants both paws against her stomach and kneads enthusiastically.

“He’s making biscuits,” Lennon says, delighted.

“I believe he’s destroying your shirt.”

“He’s helping.”

Another kitten climbs her shoulder and becomes briefly tangled in her hair.

She doesn’t care.

Within minutes she’s giggling, greeting each one as though they’re guests at a party thrown specifically for them.

“Hello, tiny ma’am. Hello, sir. Oh, you’re very fierce, aren’t you?”

The volunteer smiles. “They like you.”

“I like them.”

“That is becoming apparent.”

Then Lennon notices the pair in the corner.

The boy is pale and marshmallow-shaped, with white feet and sleepy amber eyes. His sister is smaller and fluffier, her fur a soft muddle of silver, cream, and peach.

They’re curled so tightly together they look like a single creature.