Next Door Neighbors (11 page)

              “I don’t mind it. I like what each season has to offer. I think the snow is so pretty.”

              For the first time since yesterday in his mom’s room, there was a sparkle in her eye. He was so glad to see its return. It told him she was perhaps passionate about snow and all that came with the winter season.

              Or that she was in fact warming up to him a little.

              Maybe both.

              Jill continued, “That’s why I wanted to get my furnace checked. I do that every year before a major snowfall.”

              “That’s actually very smart. Especially living by yourself.”

              Brian caught a glimpse at a small smile that formed on Jill’s face. His words were obviously taken as a compliment that made her feel good, which in turn made him feel good.

             
Progress made,
he thought happily within.

              The chai tea now gone, Brian gave Jill her mug back. “And speaking of your furnace, where is it?”

              “Sure. Just go down the stairs and go through the bi-fold door on the right,” Jill directed.

              “Great. It won’t take long. I promise.” Brian headed down the stairs to begin working.

              His genuine, sweet smile he left behind made Jill’s heart flip. He was so willing to give of himself to help, something she admired about him.

              She began to feel bad for leaving Elena’s house the night before the way she did. She never should have let something Elena said be taken so seriously. And Brian looking past that and still being willing to help her made her feel even worse.

              I was so childish and Brian doesn’t deserve that. I’ll have to make it up to him somehow.

             
Jill figured she might as well get dressed, but first wanted to check on Brian.

              “Are you good?” she shouted down the stairs.

              “Yes, ma’am!”

              “Okay. I’m going to go get dressed. I’ll be back in just a minute.”
              “Sounds good!”

---------------

              Brian wished Jill never told him she was going to get dressed. Now all he could think about was Jill dressing herself.
             
Come on, Brian. Focus!

              Yet despite his personal demands, focusing was proving to be hard. He continuously portrayed images of Jill in his mind, some of which made his pulse rise and body heat up.

              Slowly Brian got one thing done. Then another.

              He forgot to bring a new furnace filter over so he quickly went back to his mom’s house to grab it. Getting back, he put the new filter in and completed the remaining checks. “That should do it,” Brian spoke softly. He stood back up and made his way up the stairs.

              Jill was nowhere to be found so he slowly wandered over to the living room, anticipating her return. He figured she must still be getting ready, although a half hour or so seemed like quite an extreme amount of time to change one’s clothes.

              Then the sound of footfalls echoed down the staircase.

              She turned the corner and Brian noticed her hair had now been put up in a loose bun, which went well with the leggings and colorful sweater dress she changed into. Brian appreciated the bright colors. It was better than all the dark he saw people wear in the fall and winter months.

              He noticed she had splashed a bit of makeup on her face, something she absolutely didn’t need in Brian’s opinion. Either way, though, she looked casual yet stunning.

              “You should be all set,” Brian smiled proudly.

              Jill appeared distracted, as if she lost something and was on the hunt for it. However, once she heard Brian’s news she turned to him. “That’s it? That didn’t take very long.”

              “Yeah, that’s it. I checked everything over, gave you a new filter and even cleaned up after myself,” he beamed.

              “Oh, really?” she responded with a raised eyebrow. She knew that he was just being a little cocky again, but she liked that he was good at and proud of the work he did.

              Immediately she went back to searching.

              “Are you looking for something?” Brian asked curiously.

              “Yeah, my cat,” she answered shortly, getting down on her hands and knees to look under the couch.

              “Cat?” Brian questioned, confused.

              Brian had absolutely no idea she had a pet, but then again, she didn’t know that about him either. He felt the dog was more understandable, though, because he wasn’t around whereas the cat’s always been here and not once has he seen it or has Jill mentioned it.

              Flashbacks of some childhood memories that included a cat began running through his mind, the best ones leaving a smile. Cats were his favorite animal, and he missed having them around. However, his dog, Buddy, was more than enough for now, and he wouldn’t trade him for the world.

              “My cat, yes.” Jill moved over to the TV so she could take a look back there.

              When Brian hadn’t said a word in a while, Jill asked, “Well, have you seen him?”

              “Um, no. I didn’t even know you had a cat.”

              “Well, I do.”

              Brian could tell she was really distraught. “How do you even know it’s missing?”

              “It’s a he, and because he didn’t come running when I got out his soft food. I started looking for him and now I can’t find him.” She definitely seemed annoyed that Brian asked in the first place.

              Looking up at Brian, she pleaded for his help.

              “Yeah, of course. What does he look like?”

              Jill described the cat as a bigger-than-average one with a mixture of black, orange and white fur. “And his name is Marble,” she concluded.

              “All right. Where do you want me to go and look?”

              “How about you go downstairs while I quick recheck around here?”

              Brian headed back towards the basement, hoping one of them would find Marble. “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” Brian called out, glancing around the basement.

              His first area was the utility room where he just spent the last half hour. He was pretty certain the cat wasn’t there because, no matter how distracted he might have been thinking of Jill, a cat would have definitely been noticed.

              “Marble! Here, kitty!”

              Brian heard similar summoning from Jill on the floor above as well. Both of them were having no luck.

              After the utility room, Brian went to the other room in the basement, one that apparently wasn’t used for anything. Flipping on the lights quickly revealed nothing was hiding in there.

              Marble was not in the basement.

              Suddenly a light bulb went on in Brian’s head.

             
Oh, shoot!

              Realizing what he did, and where Marble might actually be, he sighed in disgust.

              Brian ran up the stairs to find Jill to deliver the news. The sooner she knew, the sooner they could work together to get him.

              “Jill? Jill, where are you?” he called out on the way up.

              “What?” Her voice was coming from one of the bedrooms off of the hallway next to the living room.

              As soon as Brian got through the kitchen, Jill was there in front of him.

              “What?” she repeated. With hope she asked, “Did you find him?”

              “No,” Brian began. He sighed and put his hands up as he continued, “Please don’t be mad at me…”

             
Oh, no, I don’t like where this is going!
Jill feared.

              Brian noticed Jill’s eyes suddenly look dismayed, but he kept on.

              “But I think I know where Marble might be.”

              “Where?” she desperately wanted to know.

              “You see, I forgot to bring a new furnace filter over here when I started working so when it was time to put a new one in I quick went next door to grab it.” Scared of how Jill would react to the next part he flinched, “And I might have left the door open.”

              “Brian, you didn’t!” Jill shouted frustratingly.

              “I’m so sorry, but I’ll help you get him back.”

              “You better!”

              As both of them rushed to the side door, Brian couldn’t stop thinking about how he had let Jill down. He felt for sure that any ground he had gained with her was lost.

              The first view they had out the door revealed no cat lingering around the house. However, they heard a dog barking consistently as if wanting something.

             
Buddy!

              Immediately Brian grabbed Jill’s hand, leading her to where he was certain Marble was. “This way,” he stated.

              Right between Jill’s and Elena’s houses in the back yard stood a tall, mature tree that housed only a few remaining leaves. Buddy was at the bottom looking up. As Brian followed his dog’s gaze, there was the large cat.

              Taking her hand back, Jill said, “Great! How are we supposed to get him down?”

              This wasn’t the first time Brian has had to get a cat out of a tree. Growing up, there was one cat that always tried sneaking out of the house. One time he actually did, and he was found in the tree in about the same position as Marble was in.

              “Don’t worry. I’ll get him down. I’ve done it before.”

              “Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

              “Do you have any cat treats?”
              “Yeah.”

              “Go get them. I’ll climb up there, but hopefully those treats will entice him to want to come back down.”

              Jill listened to Brian’s orders and went inside to grab some treats.

              Meanwhile, Brian grabbed Buddy by the collar and brought him back in the house.

              “Mom?” he began shouting. “Buddy can’t be outside right now!” He took a mental note to remind his mom that while Buddy was here he would need to be on a leash.

              A major threat out of the way, the next step was to get a ladder. Brian opened the garage and grabbed the tallest one. By the time he got it set up, Jill had made her way back out of the house.             

              Shaking the bottle of treats, she called, “Here, Marble! I’ve got a treat for you.”

              “Good. Just keep doing that,” he instructed.

              Brian made sure the ladder was securely in place before making the climb. One thing he was grateful for was the time of year it was. Less leaves made Marble easier to find and there were far less obstructions.

              At one point Brian about lost his footing, but quickly regained composure. All the while Jill anxiously watched everything take place.

              Marble meowed on and off again the closer Brian got. It sounded like a mix between a cry for help and a sound of distrust. As long as the cat didn’t bite Brian or fight with him to get him down, he didn’t care what sounds reverberated from the cat’s mouth.

              Brian noticed the cat move a little further away so he realized he would have to get on the branch itself to grab him. He sat down and silently hoped the branch would hold his weight as he maneuvered forward.

              “Careful, Brian!” Jill cautioned.

             
It’s nice to know she cares
, Brian thought.

              The cat dared go no further as Brian slowly inched closer.

              “Come here, Marble,” Brian spoke softly and tenderly.

              He leaned further with arms stretched out and gently picked the cat up to himself.

              “You got him!” Jill cheered.

              Before making his trek back, however, Brian made sure he had a firm grip on Marble. Moving back on the branch was a bit tough, but he just went slow and steady. Eventually he found himself back by his ladder where he took a few moments to contemplate how he wanted to get back on without losing the cat.

              Gingerly stepping down, Brian noticed Jill’s anxious yet excited demeanor. Every step closer to her made her smile bigger and bigger, which in turn made Brian happier and happier.

              Finally, the two of them were back on the ground safe and sound. Jill ran over to them, grabbing her cat.

              “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she beamed, not even looking at Brian. She was too excited that her cat was safe in her arms.