Free Courting Alley Cat by Kathryn Kelly

find me,” he said, and walked out the back door.
                  Alley stood silently holding the little business card. She’d wanted his phone number and she got it. She’d wanted to see him and she had gotten that, too. She wasn’t sure why she had been peevish about it. After all she had slept all day and she was certain that he had lots to do. He was a veterinarian, for goodness sake.
                  Well, anyway, she wouldn’t contact him. She couldn’t now. It would appear too desperate.
     
                  Alley woke early the next morning after a restless night. She hadn’t gone back to work after Justin had left, but instead had gone to bed early. She woke up with the same mantra she had fallen asleep with, I will not call him. I will not call him.
                  She hated that she had to keep reminding herself that she shouldn’t call him. She hated that she wanted to.
                  Determined to get herself back on track, she went into the kitchen, put on a pot of coffee, fed Charlie, and sat down at her desk. She knew she could lose herself in the story she was writing. She read through what she had written yesterday, decided it sounded pretty good, and after retrieving a cup of coffee, dove into moving the story forward.
                  Two hours later, her mind on automatic pilot, she went to refill her coffee cup, but the pot was empty. She sat down the empty carafe, and looked out the kitchen window for the first time that day. There was no traffic at the Bark and Purr. Then she remembered it was Sunday. She hadn’t even picked up the newspaper. An image of Justin came to mind.
                  There went her focus on her story. Nonetheless, it was time for a break, anyway.
                  Maybe she should clean up... just in case.
                  Standing in the shower, she allowed her thoughts to replay the scene with Justin last night. He had come over to invite her to something today. All she had done was to be snippy with him. She couldn’t really remember why she’d been snippy. Except that she hadn’t seen him all day and she desperately wanted to. Why had she shot herself in the foot that way? He was standing there being friendly after a hard day’s work and all she did was snap at him.
                  She rinsed the conditioner from her hair and stepped out of the shower. Well, there was only one way to rectify this situation. She had to go over there and apologize. She wouldn’t call. It would just seem too strange. In fact, she would take Charlie over there with her with the excuse of having him make sure the little guy was doing ok.
                  Satisfied with her plan, she put on make-up and got dressed into a pair of denim capris and a cute little pull-over she’d picked up at JCrew. It was solid red, her favorite color and it make her feel attractive. She even put on matching red sandals with a little heel on them.              
                  She checked her appearance in Granny’s full-length mirror before locating Charlie. Reflecting on her appearance, she reflected on her situation. She looked appropriately dressed for a lunch date with the girls or even with a new guy. Whatever it was he wanted her to do, she would be dressed for it - not too dressy, not too casual.
                  She grabbed her handbag - with her cell phone, snagged Charlie from his perch in front of the back patio door where he’d been watching birds in the back yard, and headed next door to the Bark and Purr.
                  She was a little surprised when Mrs. York answered the door. With the exception of breakfast the day before, the older woman rarely seemed to be at home during the day.
                  “Come in, Alley,” Mrs. York, said, obviously glad to see her. “Don’t you look cute