The door opened again, and another couple of people walked inside. They were in mid-conversation and it gave me a moment to get a good look at them. One was a surfer boy, with golden blond hair and bright blue eyes. He reminded me of the guys that the Cat had mentioned were wolves. Yet, he gave off a different energy that I could feel from behind the counter.

The woman he entered with was the opposite. She was dangerous. She had dark hair and eyes, with a body to kill for. Each step she took reminded me of a predator in a forest. Bright golden eyes reflected power around the room. The guy I’d swear was also a wolf sitting at the wooden table glanced at them, then glanced away. He muttered something to the rest of the table before waving at them.

The guy waved back with a bright smile. Then they headed in my direction, still chatting. “I can’t believe it worked. They agreed to the schedule of runs through the neighborhood, and to the howling at night.” His chatter kept up as they moved closer. “It’s amazing how the kids in the school have improved. Like, attendance problems have dropped to zero and all the kids are coming in well rested.”

“It’s an amazing program you put together, I’m proud of you,” said the woman. She smiled at me, but her look grew a little puzzled as she glanced around. “No menu?”

“Welcome to Meow, and just let me know what you want. I can usually make it. We also have some cookies and brownies.” I motioned toward the register. That’s when I saw the Cat staring at the guy.

“I’ll take a hot chocolate. Joey, what about you?” she asked.

I moved to get started on the milk for her drink. Then I found Joey looking at the Cat.

“Woah, that Cat is like the Dog…” Joey’s head tilted to one side as he studied the Cat. The Cat moved a little closer, and Joey held out his hand. “Ummm, I’ll take a coffee. I mean, a latte.”

I shook my head, watching the scene as I made the drinks. “For here, or to go?” I asked.

The woman glanced back and forth between the Cat and Joey. “To go, please.”

“Hey there, buddy.” The Cat sniffed Joey’s hand and Joey smiled. “I know I must smell weird. Sometimes cats hate me. It’s all that dog smell, but I don’t chase cats.” He kept his voice low and smooth.

The woman melted next to him, her eyes softening as she looked at him. They had to be a couple. I finished up the drinks and set them on the counter. The Cat nudged his hand once and let the blonde dude pet him slightly. Then turned away toward the register.

“The drinks are on the house. The Cat approves.”

The Cat’s tail flicked in the air.

“Oh, thanks!” said the woman.

“Come on, Joey, we don’t want to be late.”

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That snapped him out of his daze with the Cat. “Of course, love. Let’s get moving.” He turned to look at me with a smile. “Thank you for the drinks.” Then they headed out of the coffee shop.

The Cat padded across the counter, back to his drink. “He smelled like an old acquaintance.”

“I didn’t know you were friends with a dog…”

“I wouldn’t say friends, just… It’s complicated.” He cut his sentence off like he would say more, but couldn’t.

I didn’t press and instead sipped my drink. We were quickly approaching lunch time, and the place was still busy. “I’m thinking sandwiches for lunch, since they’re easy to eat while working.”

The Cat nodded. “You make a good sandwich.”

I resisted asking if he had eaten other sandwiches before mine. Then again, who knew? The Cat was strange, and I didn’t understand him most of the time. “I’m gonna pop back into the kitchen to pull them together so we can eat whenever we’re hungry. Holler if someone needs help.”

Taking my drink with me, I headed into the kitchen and pulled what I needed out of the fridge. We had ham for lunchmeat, and cheddar cheese, plus some tomato, mustard and a little mayo would make a great easy sandwich. I had almost forgotten the lettuce, but remembered we had it at the last moment. Then I sliced the three sandwiches diagonally and set them in the center of the island. I brought one triangle with me to the front.

The Cat sat next to the coffee machine with someone standing across from him, talking. It was someone with almost perfect skin, and I swore they glowed. “I’d like a large coffee, black, please.”

The Cat nodded then turned to look at me. “You heard?”

“Yep, I can get that. Do you want it for here, or to go?”

His blue eyes practically twinkled as he smiled at me. “To go, please.” He leaned against the counter, and I’d have sworn he batted his lashes at me.

I almost leaned closer to him, but forced myself to focus on the coffee. It was an Americano, but I figured that was close enough. I set it on the counter, careful to keep my hands away from him.

He seemed surprised at my sudden movement as he went to grab the cup.

The Cat moved closer to him, and I could feel a change in the air. His eyes narrowed, glaring at the guy.

The guy chuckled, quickly paid, then left. As soon as the door closed behind him, that feeling from the Cat was gone.

“Fucking angels,” muttered the cat.

I looked at him in shock. The Cat had sworn. The Cat never swore. Then the words reached my brain. “You mean, like that Carter guy?” Remembering the only angel person I had met so far.

“No, Carter’s a decent guy. That one was slime.”

“He used some sort of persuasion, didn’t he?” My mind raced, thinking of how I wanted to lean closer to him. “That Beings of the Tree book mentioned they naturally have it.”

The Cat nodded and finished his latte.

I picked my sandwich triangle back up and took a bite out of it. Tasty, but simple. I didn’t know if it was the food or what, but the little purple dragon dashed across the room, drawing attention. She had her little MP3 player in her claws and headphones on.

The two Elven girls gasped at her cuteness, but Indigo didn’t even notice. Her eyes were on the sandwich in my hand.

“Yours is in the kitchen. It has extra ham and no cheese,” I said, pointing to the kitchen.

She chirped in joy and flew faster toward the hallway behind me.

I glanced down at the Cat. “You might want to go eat yours as well. You know how she can get.” The Cat jumped off the counter and was gone. “Make sure you leave the rest of mine alone!”

Things calmed down after that, with the afternoon slowly passing as people finished drinks and headed out. Within a few hours, the shop was empty and I could only guess what we’d accomplished. I hoped we’d done whatever we were supposed to. I had to admit that I was starting to agree with the Cat on this one, days where we didn’t know what we were supposed to accomplish were definitely a pain.