Chapter 1

It was a warm sunny morning on the square. Flora was just finishing a coffee at one of the outside café tables when she noticed a young woman about her own age walking slowly down the sidewalk calling, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Here kitty.” Sometimes the woman would stop at a shrub, bend back the branches, and peer in. When the woman reached the outdoor café, she stopped at Flora’s table and asked if she’d seen a kitten.

“No, I didn’t. Did it run away?”

“It must have. It was such a nice day I opened the window, and the next thing I know it was gone.”

“They can be devious,” Flora commented.

“Tell me about it. I’m Fliss by the way. I live just over there.” Fliss pointed down the street.

“Probably if you put a saucer of cream on the window sill, your cat will turn up. That’s what I’ve heard, anyway. What’s your kitten’s name?”

“Um ... She doesn’t really have a name.”

“So you just call it Kitty?”

“Well, actually she sort of has a name. My boyfriend gave it to her. My boyfriend gave me the cat, and he said her name was—I’m embarrassed to say—Clitty.”

Flora smiled. “I can see why you don’t want to go around calling that.”

“Right.” Fliss returned Flora’s smile. “Well, if you see her...”

“I’m done here,” Flora said. “I’ll help you look.”

Flora got up from her chair, and the two girls set off down the sidewalk. They had gone only a few steps when a small cat darted out in front of them. Flora and Fliss both stopped abruptly. The cat leapt into the air, right into Flora’s arms. Flora and Fliss both took half a step back, their feet tangled, and they tripped, falling to the pavement. Their faces were inches apart. “I didn’t let her go,” Flora whispered. And then, the cat crushed between them, they kissed.

The kiss was brief, only a second, lips barely brushing, parting the slightest bit, but it was a long, long second. The second kiss lasted longer. Ten, twelve, fifteen seconds. Until the cat meowed.

“Are you okay?” Fliss asked.

“I think so. How about you?”

“I think so. Maybe my ankle is a little twisted.”

“Mine, too,” Flora said. “But not broken, I don’t think.”

The girls helped each other up. Flora held onto the cat. “See what you’ve done?” she admonished.

“Maybe we should go to my place for some ice,” Fliss suggested. “Or some heat.”

They helped each other hobble down the street and then up the stairs into the apartment.

“We should take off our shoes,” Fliss said. “In case of swelling.”

“And our pants,” Flora said. “In case of swelling.”

Not long later they were naked, exploring each other’s swells and hollows.

In a quiet time, Flora said, “I’ve never done this before.”

“Me, neither,” Fliss said. “I’m glad my cat ran away.”

“Me too. And I’m glad I could help catch her.”

“Actually,” Fliss said, “that’s not my Clitty. I’ve never seen that cat before.”

“Really?” Flora said. “Then I wonder where your naughty little Clitty could be hiding.”

“Maybe here,” Fliss said, adjusting herself over Flora’s face. “Oh yes. There. Right there!”