Chapter Text
I tidied up my dining room table to make space for the next phase of my day. Jinx, my black cat was already in position by the front door. He knew what was coming.
Right on time the door clicked open and my eleven year old nephew walked in, dumped his school bag to be immidetly jumped on by the cat.
"How was school today, Jason?"
"Okay," was his non committal reply.
"Surely something interesting must have happened."
"Yeah, we had a fire drill. We were to walk calmly to the marshaling area. But a few of the kids decided to run. One of them fell down the stairs and broke his leg. Had to call the ambulance."
I sighed. "There is always one..."
Still with cat in tow, Jason invaded my fridge. "Have you got anything good to eat?"
"There is plenty of food."
"Yeah, but nothing good."
Dispite my lack of 'good' food. Jason still managed to fill a plate.
Both Jason's parents worked late, and I worked from home so we arranged for him to come to my place after school. It had started out as only a tempoary situation, but it had worked out so well for everyone that we saw no reason to change it.
It helped that Jason and I enjoyed each other's company. And my cat absolutely loved him.
First he ate, then he did his homework. Which wasn't easy sometimes as Jinx thought that he needed to be the centre of attention.
Then it was time to play. Today we decided to go to the park and kick a soccer ball. Yes the cat came too, riding in one of Jason's jacket pockets.
At 5.30 we stepped off the elevator onto our floor. My apartment was all the way down the other end of the hallway from the lift. My front door was actually hidden from view by being around the corner. The Appartment aross from me also had the same effect. If you didn't know those appartments were there, you probably wouldn't bother to look for them.
What you could see was a large door that opened up to the emergency exit to the stairs and ramp.
As we came to my door we saw a man and a boy unlocking the door to appartment across the hall. They had suitcases and a few boxes. That appartment had been empty for a while so logic dictated that they were moving in.
The man was tall, dark and serious looking. The boy looked a little younger than Jason.
It seemed the appropriate time to say something. "Hi, moving in?"
"Yes. What gave me away?" He had an American accent. That was different. He was softly spoken, but he had a piercing gaze that took in everything at once.
"Oh, the suit cases were a clue. My name is Deborah MacTavish. I live right here," and pointed to my door.
He reached out his hand. "Adam Mitchell, and this is my son Daniel."
I shook my new neighbour's hand. He had a confident grip.
Daniel looked less confident, but true to form, my nephew stepped up. "Hey, I'm Jason, Debbie's nephew. I let her borrow me after school. You can come over and play if you want. I'm here until six on a school night. Aunty Debbie has fun things to do. The food is terrible though."
I gave Jason a smack on the back of his head. A smack that was mostly air.
Jason completely ignored me and pulled the cat from out of his jacket pocket."Meet the cat. This is Jinx!"
Daniel smiled. "Can I pet him?"
I looked at Adam. "He's friendly."
Reassured, Adam gave his son the nod.
Within seconds Jinx was in his element being adored by the two young boys.
At that moment my older sister, Jason's mother, stepped off the lift and as we were all standing in front of the emergency exit, she took in the scene. I knew her brain was already jumping to conclusions, but thankfuly she kept them to herself. I would no doubt hear about them another time.
"Time to go Jason."
Quick introductions were made as Jason grabbed his school bag. Soon Adam, Daniel and I were left in the hallway. "Time to give Jinx back to Debbie. Daniel."
The little boy looked a little reluctant.
"If its alright with your father you can keep him to play with for a while. He loves cuddles. Just knock on my door when he gets too much for you."
"Thats very nice of you,"said Adam. "Say thank you to Debbie."
"Thank you Debbie."
You are very welcome." I looked again at Adam. "I hope you like it here.
There was a faraway look in his eye when he replied. "I hope so too."