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“Ilya, I want to talk to you about something.”
The Russian didn’t even bother looking up from his phone before responding. “If you leave me, I will stalk you for the rest of your life, and then I will stalk your ghost.”
Shane sighed and then settled deeper into their king-size bed. His fingers played with the edge of the top sheet as he stifled a smile. “My ghost, really?”
“I think I would make very sexy Ghostbuster. Busting makes me feel good, Shane.”
“Oh, my God. Good night, Ilya.”
Ilya’s arms chased him then, his phone discarded on the nightstand. “I’m sorry, Solynshko.” His arms circled Shane’s shoulders, and he placed a light kiss on his temple. “What were you going to say?”
Shane leaned into the warmth of his husband’s arms. “I was thinking maybe we could get Anya a sibling.”
Ilya’s breath caught in a joyous gasp from above Shane’s head. “Really? Another dog?”
Shane decided to turn on the charm then. He ran a hand over Ilya’s bicep and trailed luxurious kisses up his neck. “I actually had something else in mind.” His lips were just below Ilya’s left ear, and his oceanic eyes closed at the sensation. Ilya’s free hand found a home on Shane’s hip.
“Whatever you have in mind, answer is yes.”
“What I really want is a cat.”
Ilya’s eyes popped open animatedly. “Anything but that.”
Shane had anticipated this pushback. While Ilya loved most animals and they loved him, he had a strong aversion to cats and their unpredictable nature. Shane was undeterred.
“Why not?” Shane put on what Ilya had coined as his yearning face. It was one of the few tricks Shane had up his sleeve to get his way, and it had yet to fail him. Ilya agreeing to his last two real estate acquisitions served as evidence.
“Put those bottom eyes away!” Ilya moved to the opposite side of their bed. “Anya would eat the cat alive!”
They both cast a glance to their residential fur ball asleep on her bed in the corner of their bedroom, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth.
“She’s a real killer, Rozanov”, Shane sassed.
“That’s Hollander-Rozanov to you!”
Shane decided to switch tactics and retrieved his own phone, pulling up his camera roll. “I think I found one that might really suit us.”
“You went to look at cats? Were you going to buy secret condo for it to live in? Some cat house few streets away?”
***
It had been an ideal Summer morning for Shane.
A slow morning with Ilya and Anya followed by a quick wardrobe fitting for an upcoming photo shoot on the other side of town. Shane felt so light and happy leaving the fitting that he made a plan to pick up a sweet treat for Ilya from a nearby Russian bakery when he saw them.
A pack of gold and blue balloons on a nearby sidewalk and a sign with “pet adoptions” written in bold below it. Shane didn’t hesitate to pull into the parking lot of the Ottawa Animal Services Center and allowed himself to be led to The Cattery by a nice volunteer named ‘Lisa’.
Shane had always loved cats but his youth hockey schedule and his parents' own busy lives didn’t leave much room for a pet in the Hollander household. He allowed himself to dream of having one but his career always came first. His relationship with Ilya had made him truly believe that anything was possible.
The Cattery was full of kittens all meowing and reaching through the bars of their enclosures, vying for his attention. It wasn’t until he passed by a particularly spirited pack of Calico babies that he spotted him.
His fur was pitch black, but he had a white spot on his chest, and his paws looked as if he was wearing tube socks. The nameplate on the exterior of his cage read ‘Timothy’. He looked up warily at Shane with a singular eye the color of a Citrine.
“That’s our resident grandpa”, Lisa said brightly. “He’s 9 years old but he’s been putting up with the babies that filter in and out of here for a few months now.”
Shane reached out to let the one-eyed cat sniff his hand through the bars. “He’s been in here for months?”
“Sometimes it’s harder to get the older cats adopted, especially if they’re missing an appendage or two”, Lisa admitted sadly. “His owner passed away a few months ago and no one from her family was prepared to take him.”
Shane felt his heart crack as Timothy reached a paw out to him. He remembered those first few years when he was on his own. He had his parents, of course, but they didn’t know about who he truly was. Once he was out and living with Ilya, life became practically idyllic. He woke up every day surrounded by people who knew who he was and loved him. A home where he was wanted just for who he was.
He turned to Lisa with a determined look. “Lisa, how does the adoption process work?”
“I’d be happy to tell you, Mr. Hollander.” She met him with a megawatt smile. “If it’s not too much trouble, I would also love an autograph.”
Shane left the Animal Services building with no less than 10 pictures of Timothy and a link to the online adoption application.
***
“First of all, I wouldn’t buy real estate without asking you, and second of all, I didn’t want to do anything without talking to you first.” Shane pushed his phone towards his husband. “Do you want to see him?” The camera roll was settled on a particularly pitiful picture of Timothy reaching towards the camera.
“No, I don’t want...This is him?” Shane’s phone had Ilya’s rapt attention now.
“That’s Timothy.”
Ilya scrolled through the photos. The only noises he made were coos that sounded like they were caught in his throat. He looked towards Shane, who was wearing a look that bordered on smug. “You don’t play fair, Hollander.”
“That’s Hollander-Rozanov to you.” Shane attempted to reclaim his phone, but Ilya gently swatted his hand away, still looking at the pictures. “I’m serious. We don’t have to adopt him if you don’t want to, but...I think he needs us. If we don’t take him, I would at least like to donate to Animal Services.”
“When can we bring our boy home?”
Shane was flummoxed. “Our boy?”
“Yes, Shane. I want him.”
A face-cracking smile broke on Shane’s face. “I’ll call them first thing in the morning.”
Ilya gave him a firm but brief kiss and left their bed. “Good.”
“Where are you going?”
“My husband is so forgetful. My baby, Timothy, is coming to stay. I’m going to find best place for cat tree in the living room.”