**A Lucky Gift**
“Oh, what a nightmare!” Lila glanced at her watch and quickened her pace, though she was already nearly running. “If Im late, hell”
The bitter November day was anything but inviting. Sleet and grime coated the pavement, the sky a dull, oppressive grey overhead, spitting a miserable mix of rain and snow. The overnight frost had turned the puddles into treacherous sheets of ice, and Lila, huddled in her scarf, winced each time her feet slipped. Then it happenedright by the bus stop, she went down hard, biting back a curse as she landed in the slush.
“Blimey! My mum always said swearing in publics not ladylike.”
A boy, no older than ten, smirked down at her.
“Need a hand?”
Lila shook her head. What good would it do now? Her cream-coloured coatchosen for style over sensewas ruined, soaked through and filthy. The puddle had been shallow, but deep enough to wreck her plans. Jonathan would be furious.
“Guess youre not in a hurry anymore?”
The boy didnt seem keen on leaving. She clambered up, brushing uselessly at her coat, the cold seeping through her trousers. Annoyed, she shot him a glare.
“Dont get cross! Didnt mean to offend. Justhere! Take him, yeah? Ive got school, and hell freeze out here. Cant keep himweve got dogs. Already missed first period. Mums clever, but if I skip the rest, shell tan my hide.”
A tiny kitten shivered as the boy pulled it from under his jacket.
“A money cat,” Lila murmured, reaching out instinctively to stroke its fur.
“A what?” The boy blinked.
“Money cat. See his colours? All mixed up. They say cats like this bring luck, happinesseven wealth.”
“Perfect! Hes yours, then! For luck!”
Lila shook her head. “I cant. Ive no time for a pet.”
But the boy wasnt listening. He thrust the kitten into her hands, waved, and bolted onto the arriving bus.
“Hell bring you happiness! Promise!” His voice faded into the din of the street, leaving Lila standing theresoaked, muddy, and now holding a kitten. She was late everywhere, with nowhere left to rush.
“Well.” She huffed a laugh, recalling his remark about swearing. “Guess the days not so dull now. What am I supposed to do with you, eh, my little luck charm?”
She cradled the shivering creature, its tiny body quivering against her. “Never had a cat before. What do you even eat?”
The kitten mewed pitifully, and Lila sighed. Couldnt just abandon it. For some reason, she felt sorry for them bothherself just as adrift, unwanted since Mum passed.
Her phone buzzed, and she tucked the kitten inside her coat. “Warmer now? Right.”
The screen flashedJonathan. Her stomach knotted.
“Where are you?” His tone was glacial.
“Near home, at the stop. I fell.”
“What did you do?”
“Slipped. Fell.”
“Right. Cant even stay on your feet? How much longer?”
She exhaled, calculating the time to clean up.
“I asked you a question! Mumll be livid if were late.”
“I” A tiny pink nose poked out from her coat, followed by a sneeze. Lila fumbled the phone. “Jonathan, I dont think were going today. Im soaked, filthy”
“Are you hearing yourself? Is this a joke to you? We planned this for ages! Mums gone to troubletables set, shes expecting my fiancée! And you!”
“But weve met her already. She knows were engaged.”
“And that excuses this?!” His voice sharpened with fury.
Lila stayed silent, staring into the kittens oddly intent gaze.
“You listening? Whys it gone quiet?” His tirade sputtered outtypical. Rage first, then calm. At first, she hadnt understood his temper. Jonathan was her first serious boyfriend; she had no frame of reference.
Her own upbringing had been gentle. Mum, Gran, Grandadnever a raised voice. Dad died when she was tiny. Mum buried herself in work, caring for Lila and her elderly parents. A late-in-life child herself, Mum had Lila at forty-three.
“Why so late, Mum?”
“Stupid, wasnt I? Chose career first. Surgeons lifealways on call. Couldnt step away. Shouldve had you sooner, love. More of you.”
Lila would press a hand to her mouth. The fear in Mums voicelike she knew her time was short. Each milestone Lila reached, Mum exhaled in relief.
She hid her illness until the end. Only then did she sit Lila down.
“Darling, Ive done all I can for you. Now youre on your own.” She hugged her sobbing daughter. “Dont cry. Well weep together later. Listendocuments are in the folder. Flat, car. Youre a catch now. Choose carefully. Dont rush. Watch him. If he puts you first, marry him. Be happy.”
“How will I know?”
“Let me tell you about your father.”
Theyd met at uni, barely acquaintances. Both broke students. When Mum fell ill with pneumonia in their dormempty, term endedDad found her. Three days feverish, starving. He sold his mothers ring to buy medicine, chicken for broth.
“This one?” Lila touched Mums wedding band.
“Yes. He bought it back, slipped it on my finger after we married. And we hardly knew each other, love. Thats the sort of man you want.”
Now, staring at the kittens unblinking eyes, Lila remembered. She lowered the phone. How had she forgotten? Was Jonathan anything like that? Did love mean enduring this?
No.
It wasnt love. You didnt speak to someone you loved like this. Jonathan had proposedbut never said he loved her.
“I dont understand!” she said aloud, then flushed. Lifting the phone, she cut off his rant. “Do you love me?”
Silence. Then
“Whats wrong with you? Im here lecturing, and you ask that? Expect an answer?”
“Yes,” Lila said simply, stroking the kitten nestled in her coat.
Jonathan said nothing. She hung up.
The kitten watched as she trudged home, coat heavy with meltwater, tears freezing on her cheeks.
“Scratch me if you must. Isnt that what cats do when things are bad?”
At home, she peeled off the ruined coat, sank to the floor, and sobbed. Two yearsgone. Why hadnt she remembered Mums words sooner?
“Because I was afraid to be alone!”
The kitten arched, hissing.
“Sorry, strange little gift.”
She cradled him. “Youre scrawny. Lets feed you.”
He gulped milk like hed never eaten. Watching him, Lila realised she was starving too. She poured herself a glass.
“Talking to a cat. Rock bottom.” She smirked. “Or maybe youre my only company now.”
The kitten blinked slowly, unnerving her.
“Youre odd.”
She washed up, then scooped him into the bath. “No fleas allowed, lucky charm.”
Later, with him purring beside her, Lila flipped channels absently. Jonathan hadnt called back. Good. But it still hurt.
The next dayher day offshe cleaned fiercely, then sat cross-legged with her laptop.
“Youre a bad influence.”
The kitten batted her hand, flopping onto his back.
“Youre making me think strange things.” She scratched his belly, opening browser tabs. “Maybe its time to change everything.”
Shed wanted to leave her joba small furniture showroom where clients always chose bland designs over her creative ones. At home, shed filled folders with unused ideas.
A contest ad caught her eyebut the kitten pounced on the keyboard.
“Oi! Saboteur!”
She flailed, hitting a button. The screen flashed: **Registration**.
“Blimey.”
Her fingers hovered. “What if my ideas are rubbish?”
The kitten stretched, paw in the air.
“Fine. Point taken.”
An hour later, she hit **Send**.
“Done. Terrifying.”
The kitten sneezed.
“Yeah, yeah. I know what you think.”
Two weeks later, the reply came.
Shed met Jonathan onceto return his things. Oddly, he hadnt raged. Just a stiff, hollow chat.
Now, hands shaking, she opened the email.
She screamed. The kitten fled under the sofa.
“I got
