On one hand, she was glad it was missing. That meant she hadn’t been forgotten, technically. Maybe she’d find her phone and it’d be full of texts from Magnus. More sweet pictures of Lady C, whose pregnant belly was swollen with kittens. Or Lady D, curled up against his leg while he worked. More of the simple I miss you, I wish we could talk messages that melted her heart.
As long as her phone was missing, there was still hope.
It wasn’t in her room, though. Edie searched everywhere, and then searched the entire place again. When that turned up nothing, she backtracked her steps. Maybe the library? The gardens?
She ran into Gretchen in the main kitchen. She had a large knife and a cutting board out, and was dicing shallots. “Hey Eeeds,” Gretchen called out happily as she appeared. “You in the mood for quiche for lunch?”
“Sure, whatever. Hey, have you seen my phone? I’ve lost it.”
“Oh. Your phone?” The look on her face was a little too wide-eyed. “Gosh, I don’t know.”
Edie paused. A familiar cat-sticker-covered case was on the counter next to Gretchen’s cutting board. “That’s not it?”
“This?” Gretchen held it up innocently. “Is it yours? I found it in the library.”
Edie did her best not to snatch it from her friend’s hand. “Thank you.” She plucked it away and then ran a finger over the screen immediately, looking for new texts.
Nothing. Her heart sank. “Has it been ringing?”
“Nope,” Gretchen said. “So. Quiche? Do you like mushrooms?”
“Mushrooms are fine,” Edie said, pulling up a barstool and sitting at the kitchen island. She didn’t understand it. Not one text from Magnus? Really? She stared at her texts, willing something new to pop up. When it didn’t, she sighed and reduced the window on her phone.
Something on her phone . . . was different. She paged through the list of apps, then realized there was something new on the last page. The icon was the picture of . . . a cat head. Edie glanced up at Gretchen. “Were you using my phone?”
“Me? No. Why?”
“There’s a new app on here—one I didn’t install.”
“Gee, that sure is weird.” Gretchen’s face was the picture of innocence. “What is it?”
Edie clicked on it, then made a face at the cartoony title that came up. “Cat Lady Café? Seriously? Is this a joke?”
Gretchen just gave a high-pitched giggle.
Okay, that was totally fishy. She peered at her friend, then clicked on the Start button of the app.
Immediately, a loading screen appeared. As it did, it flashed up messages.
Did you know that there are thousands of pet-friendly apartments in New York City? Click here to find one!
Next, came a picture of a sweet-looking tortie cat with a bow on its neck. An adoption profile for the cat came up, and it was cleverly set up to look like a dating profile.
Name: Fiesta
A/S/L: 6, Female, Midtown Café
I’m a sweet, furry girl looking for my forever lap. Could you be the man (or lady) of my dreams? I’m open to Mr. Right Now as well as Mr. Right. I’m a sucker for seafood dates, long naps in sunshine, and a scratch behind the ears. To speed date me, go to the Midtown Café and come say hello.
Edie smiled at the screen, wondering at the mysterious Midtown Café that was mentioned. Then, the game started, and Edie was offered the ability to choose her cat lady. One had two braids like she liked to wear her hair, and she picked that one, a niggling suspicion starting to form in her mind. The game started, and as Edie thumbed through the controls, it seemed to be all about matching up cats to prospective owners through the use of puzzles, blocks, and trivia. As the screen loaded to the next level, she was shown another “dating profile,” this time for a beautiful Turkish Van cat named Moxie that only had one eye. Edie played a bit longer, but she eventually failed at the level, and instead of another cat picture, this time, she was shown a picture of a café.
Want to speed date a kitty or just come in for a cup of coffee? Feel the need for some feline company? Come check out Coffee N’ Cats, the first chain of cat cafés in NYC. We have two locations open and four more opening next month. Come in for coffee, pet our feline friends, and take an adoptee home with you. Coffee N’ Cats—Peace. Love. Paws. Coffee.
The logo of the café flashed up, and then was quickly followed by a Sullivan Games logo as the app closed.
Edie’s heart squeezed, hard.
Was this . . . Magnus? She looked up at Gretchen, her mouth open in shock. Gretchen had a ridiculous, huge smile on her face. Oh. Oh . . . This was him. This was Magnus proving that he loved her. Her game wizard was showing her that he was in this for the long haul. Her heart gave another squeeze again, and she felt like laughing and crying at the same time. Instead, she loaded the app once more, watching as profiles of different cats paraded through the game. The cats were never kittens, but older or “special needs.” Her heart felt as if it was going to burst in her chest when the Sullivan Games logo pulsed onto the screen again.
She looked up at Gretchen, her eyes misty and full of wonder. “When can we go?”
“Now, if you want to,” Gretchen said, and then gave a girlish squeal of excitement.
Edie felt a little like squealing herself. Instead, she just hugged her phone to her breast.
Chapter Eighteen
Coffee N’ Cats was located on a busy street corner, a temporary sign hung over the awning. It was easy to tell where it was—a crowd of people peered into the windows. A sidewalk chalkboard proclaimed the specials of the day, some of it coffee, and a picture of today’s “cat of the day.” Edie moved toward a window, peeking in. Sofas and tables were everywhere, and the place was crowded. Cat perches and carpeted cat jungle gyms filled the window, and everywhere she looked, there were cats. Cats being petted, cats lounging in the window appreciating the sunlight, cats chewing on a small flowerpot full of cat grass, and employees supervising things. As she watched, an employee in a Coffee N’ Cats T-shirt showed a toddler how to pet one of the cats while the mother took pictures with her phone.