The coffee shop was relatively empty. We decided to sit on the second floor next to the picture windows where we could watch the rain. There was a vintage radio playing Parisian music behind me, and a few board games piled on top of each other, while behind him there were few books that people could read when alone. I was drowned in the ambient, the music, and the aesthetic. The decorative light bulbs that showed dim yellow light were all over the ceiling. The waiter brought our order. Few crispy chocolate cookies were brought in a wooden plate and two hot cocoas were placed in front of us smelling divine. My beating anxious heart had calmed down.

"I don't know your name," I said to him trying to catch his gaze but he was back to being quiet and sleepy. He stared outside at the raindrops on the window.

"Thank you once again for helping me out. And for paying for the hot cocoa." I tried to make conversation, but he seemed uninterested in the conversation.

"I said it's fine." He murmured.

We were so quiet and the waiters gave us curious eyes, but for the gratefulness of him saving my cat, I put up with the awkwardness of staying silent.

"Your cat..."

Oh, he started talking.

"Your cat is a Turkish angora right?" He asked and finally made eye contact with me.

"Yes." I nodded. "Momo is my youngest and I always wanted angora so we..."

His eyes glinted with excitement. "You have more than one?"

Encouraged that we were finally talking, I ranted. "My oldest cat Pierre is a ragdoll. My brother and I kidnapped him from a pet store when we were little and refused to give him back even when our parents grounded us. Pierre is such a nice cat, we didn't have one single scratch when we were growing up. And Dorian Grey..."

"Dorian Grey? Oscar Wilde's Dorian?" He smiled from ear to ear.

I shook my head smiling. "He used to stare at himself in a mirror every day and stare for hours and hours so we named him that."

"Is he a ragdoll too?"

"He is a Norwegian forest cat."

"Noo.." He covered his eyes and smiled. His smile was so adorable I could feel my heart exploding from my chest.

"Tell me you have pictures." He asked.

I pulled out my phone and started showing him videos and pictures.

"This is Pierre." Pierre was a ball of white and yellow fluff. " Here he is sleeping. Oh and this one here, he's cuddled his tail to sleep..."

I scrolled through the pictures.

"This is Momo and Pierre sleeping together. They always sleep together like this. And Dorian Grey sometimes gets so jealous so he cuddles with me or my brothers for revenge."

I found a picture of Grey and showed it to him. Instantly the guy dropped back in his chair and then came back and snatched the phone out of my hand staring at the picture. If his eyes could turn into little hearts they would have.

"He is adorable."

"I know."

He passed the phone back.

"Do you have cats?" I asked enthusiastically and just like that his face soured up and he was back to his grumpy mood.

"No."

"Sorry, I just assumed because you knew about the breeds.."

Great. I just had to go and ruin that.

He was quiet again.

I mustered up the courage to open the subject again.

"If you could have a cat, would it be a Norwegian?"

I could see him trying to hide the smile. "Yes. A giant black Norwegian cat."

I smiled. With his black hair and piercing eyes, they would be twins.

"It will suit you."

The moment I said it I saw the look on his face. "I mean... sorry." I slapped my mouth a few times.

He leaned on the table and cracked another smile. "It will suit me wouldn't it."

Thankfully after that even though we didn't say anything it did not turn back to the awkward silence but it was rather peaceful.

A few hours later he dropped me off home and I wasn't sure what to say.

Was I ever going to see him again?

"Thank you again for everything," I said.

"Take care and say hi to Dorian for me." He gave me a smirk that made me very cautious all of a sudden, but with nothing said after that he drove off.

No name and no contact, the stranger and I parted ways.

I ran back home sheltering myself from the rain and then paced into the living room where Kai was petting the cats on the couch.

"Francy, what happened?" He jumped from the couch looking at me worried. "I saw the spilled paint in your room and Momo was gone, the cats were distressed..."

I opened the carrier and Momo got out lazily.

"She pushed the paint while I was painting my room and I ran to take her to the vet."

"It's October, you crazy idiot. Why would you paint your room now?" He yelled at me and when Kai yelled, I always got upset.

"Why do I have to do what you want?" I yelled back. "If I'm crazy that's my business."

Seeing my reaction Kai calmed down and crouched next to Momo to pet her.

"She seems fine."

"The vet said she'll be fine. She gave me prescriptions just in case." I calmed down as well.

"She? Didn't you take her to Jefferson's clinic?"

"No. That stupid Ace didn't pick up his phone and there was no one to take me there." I dropped on the couch. "I got Mrs. Welsh to drop me off at Walter's bridge and I went to look for Ace in the devil's den. I knew it was around there somewhere so I went looking for it."

Kai's face went pale. "Hey hey, you know Ace made us swear to never go there. He said he will burn everything in my room if I ever step foot there or let you and Rehan go. Do you want to get me in trouble?"

"It was an emergency," I complained. "I was panicking and he wasn't picking up his phone so I went there to look for him."

"And?" Kai sat next to him. "What did he say when he saw you?"

"He didn't. It was crazy over there. They were gaming drinking and...Then another guy there offered to help me and we took Momo to a nearby vet."

"Another guy? You went with some stranger?" Kai shook his head. "Francy..."

"It was an emergency," I repeated. "Thanks to him Momo is still alive."

"So what's his name. How are you going to repay him?"

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. "He never told me his name. And he didn't ask for anything."

Kai had an expression that pointed out how annoyed he was with me.

Then the door opened and Rehan and Ace entered the house together.

"You," I yelled at Ace. "Are dead to me."

Kai instantly pulled me back and whispered in my ear. "Don't tell him you went there. It will be war if you do."

I bit my lower lip. I knew I couldn't tell him, because Ace was pretty clear about us ever going there and Kai was scary when he was mad.

"What did I do?" Ace asked annoyed.

"Momo fell in paint and I called and called so we can take her to the vet." I gritted my teeth.

He pulled out his phone. "Oh shit. Sorry Francy, but we were playing and...then something happened..."

He then looked at my clothes. "Again? You painted your room again?"

"Momo seems fine." Rehan picked her up to pet her.

"So did you take her to the vet?" Ace asked.

My mind scrambled for the answers. "Mrs. Welsh drove me there. Momo is fine, she just needs to take some medicine. But you...Momo could have died and you were the only one with a car. "

"I said I'm sorry, but it's your fault you let the cat inside the room that you were painting in OCTOBER!"

I took a pillow from the couch and threw it at him.

He caught the pillow and threw it back in my face.

The ungrateful ... I took the pillows and started throwing them at him.

He grabbed one and came closer hitting me with the pillow. I hit him back with equal strength. Next thing we were pulling each other's hair and Rehan and Kai were pulling us apart.

"What is going on here?" Mom was standing at the door with the groceries looking at the crime scene.

A fist full of hair, four raging children, and the fumes of the paint were enough for every mother to go into a frenzy.

"Everybody.on the couch. Now!" She said dropping the groceries.