02

I shook my head, grinning. « I don’t know who’s crazier. You for answering me, or me for thinking that you actually answered me. » I continued petting him, loving the content purr that came from him when I pet him. He was such a spoiled little kitty.

To think that three months ago I was a die-hard dog-girl ; I never thought that cats were nice pets. They weren’t very affectionate and were very conceited. I mean, it’s not called a catwalk for nothing ! But I soon learned that Toby and I were just the same.

I walked around like I owned the world and I demanded love without having to express it verbally (I’d need a bit of alcohol in my system to achieve that cat mastery, but Toby didn’t need to know that.)

I still didn’t know how I got him, either. One day I woke up, hungover and tired as hell and there he was. Just sitting in the middle of my room, meowing at me lazily. I fed him some leftover food and he never left. He didn’t have a nametag and he was too cute of a kitten to just throw back out in the streets.

He never grew either. Just stayed a tiny little cat that I cuddled every night to sleep. I’d probably cry my heart out if he ever left me now. We were stuck for life ! « Right, buddy ? » I cooed at him, caressing his fur, « You’re stuck with me forever ! »

« Meow ! »

« I’m taking that as a yes, » I grinned, pushing my laptop to the side to lay down with him. Toby got up and jumped down from the bed and I pouted my lip. « I thought we had something, Toby ! Something real special, but no, as soon as I start getting in bed, you get up and leave ! »

I sighed, shaking my head dramatically and muttered, « Typical man ! »

He walked towards the window and jumped out to the tiny balcony to use the litter box.

« Ah, take care of business, then, big man ! »

I had just finished calculating my bills for the month and it just didn’t look good. I only had $24.98 in my account and rent was $150. I was $125 short and that didn’t include the money I needed for groceries.

It was a surprise that the money lasted this long, since I didn’t have the best lifestyle. Party every weekend and sleep most of the weekday. That was the life. I cuddled with Toby from Monday-Friday and then Friday night till Sunday, I partied.

I’m pretty sure that the reason my money lasted so long was because men got me free drinks everywhere I went and I did not complain – unless they got me some shitty drinks, then I’d definitely have something to say about that.

I mean, if you’re going to send a girl a drink, make sure it’s worth her time ! Not some cheap ass beer that tastes like water with flavouring ; get me something that’s gonna get me wasted enough to think you’re a ten instead of the negative three you are.

« You’re going to have liver problems, Dani, » I sang to myself as I glanced over at the clock on my nightstand. It was 2 :30 in the afternoon, which meant that Mrs. Maggie was walking into the complex any time soon and I was not going to let her walk up the steps with her grocery bags.

I jumped from the bed and slid my flats on. I grabbed my keys from the counter and turned back to tell Toby where I was going. « Toby, I’ll be back soon ! Don’t throw a party ! » I giggled at myself and locked the door, shaking my head as I walked down the corridor. « Silly, Dani, Toby won’t throw a party without you ! »

The thing about living in an apartment that was only $150 a month with amenities included was that the hallway smelled like pee, weed, and some homeless person sprawled on the floor. It was terrible, but that’s why I only went into my room or Mrs. Maggie’s.

The hallway was dimly lit and the lights flickered overhead, adding a bit of a horror touch to the vomit-green coloured walls. I was pretty sure that this building was an asylum before they opened the asylum to the public. You had to be crazy to rent a room in Harding Apartments – that or totally broke, which I was.

At least I lived in the third floor, which was where most of the sketchy, but quiet people lived. I was sure that the person down the hall from me was a serial killer, but I never walked past his door to find out.

The only person I knew was not crazy or psychotic was Mrs. Maggie. She was the best woman I ever knew. She reminded me of a sweet little grandma from Hallmark movies that wanted all their family together for Christmas.

She used to be a professional dancer when she was younger and even was part of the School of American Ballet graduates. She had travelled the world with a prestigious ballet group and was widely renowned in the ballet world. She loved living in New York swore that she would die there.

Her kids wanted to put her in a home, so they wouldn’t have to take care of her anymore, but they didn’t want to live in New York, so she told them that she’d live on her own for as long as she could.

Personally, I thought her kids were terrible because they never came to see her. I understood that they had lives of their own, but they didn’t even take time out of their day to call her and ask how she was.

If my mom had been as caring as Mrs. Maggie was, I’d never leave her side. Maybe it was because Mrs. Maggie had cared for me without knowing me and didn’t judge my crazy weekends, but I swear I saw her as a maternal figure.

I rushed down the stairs, totally out of breath when I reached the exit and hunched over, trying to regain my breath. Walking up and down these steps every day was the best and only workout I ever got. Especially on Sundays when Mrs. Maggie came from shopping for groceries.

« Hi, Mrs…Mag-gie, » I huffed out.

She laughed, pushing in her little cart and closed the door behind her. « Hello, Dani ! How are you today ? »

I straightened up my back, grinning at her and grabbed the four bags from the cart. Thank god, she shopped so often, so she didn’t need to buy lots of food because I was not the type to make more than one trip for groceries. Especially since it was three fücking flights of stairs and there was no elevator in this godforsaken place.

« I’m feeling pretty bummed, but nothing that a good nap won’t fix. »

She chuckled, shaking her head and pushed the cart into the corner. I was surprised people still hadn’t stolen the little thing, but I’m pretty sure they knew better than to steal from Mrs. Maggie. I’d feed them to Toby.

« What’s wrong, honey ? »

I sighed, slowly walking up the steps, making sure that she didn’t lose her balance. « My account is dried up and I need to find a job. »

« Do you need me to give you some money ? »

« No, » I quickly shook my head, « not at all ! I could never take money from you, Mrs. Maggie ! I need to find a job and get money on my terms. »

« Well, » She smiled sweetly, her wrinkles making her look adorable, « if you need money, you know I have a little bit saved up. I have to take care of my favourite girl. »

I couldn’t help but grin, this woman was a little angel and I was so thankful to have met her. « I’m the one that takes care of you, Mrs. Maggie, that’s just how things work ! »

Mrs. Maggie shrugged, grinning sneakily. « You’re right, you’re right. »

« Damn right I am, » I jabbed my chin up and she sighed, chuckling in surrender.

We continued walking up the stairs and she spoke about her day at the store and how much she loved walking the city. I loved listening to her talking about her day because she saw things in ways that no one else did.

She was sort of like a talking, walking camera lens. I saw things through the lens that no one else did and I loved capturing them. Ever since I stopped taking pictures, I sort of forgot the different colours of the world, but Mrs. Maggie always seemed to remind me.

She was such an old, beautiful soul, I loved spending time with her about as much as I loved my hidden bottle of Chardonnay.

When we finally reached her door, I was ready to let out a happy scream. The bags weren’t heavy, but my legs were killing me. I had run down the steps to get to her and then walked back up with more weight.

I placed the bags on the kitchen table and began to take things out of them. Once I was finished with them, I placed the bags all in another bag and then stored them underneath the sink for her to use later. I put all of her groceries away while she continued describing the colours of downtown New York.

« So, » Mrs. Maggie cleared her throat, clipping her white hair back with hair clips, « have you been searching for any jobs ? »