"Okay, I'm all done packing!" Orli exclaims triumphantly as he strides into the kitchen. "It took me all morning, but my torturous task is finally complete. I got everything -- clean underwear, relationship journal, passport, swim trunks, toothbrush, sandals, and so on."
I smile at him. "Good. Did you remember to pack socks?"
"Fuck, I forgot about socks!" His eyes widen in horror. "I don't even know if I have enough clean ones to take with me!"
"Relax, love," I chuckle. "I know that you always forget to pack socks, so I made sure you *did* have enough clean ones yesterday. They're all in the dresser, just waiting to be packed."
A look of immense relief comes over his face, and he walks over to sit down on my lap. "You are the absolute best boyfriend. I don't even want to *think* about what I'd do without you."
"Well for starters, you'd go off to film 'Troy' without any socks."
Orli laughs and kisses me, his arms sliding around my neck. "And that would have been a disaster."
"I'm sure you would have survived," I tease him. "They do sell socks in other parts of the world, you know."
"Don't mock me," he pouts.
"I would never mock you," I say solemnly.
"You're mocking me right now."
"You're right, I am." I kiss his nose and he grins widely, pulling me down for a much longer kiss on the mouth.
"I'm going to miss you so much, Vig. I hate that I'm leaving tomorrow and then we'll be apart for another three months."
"We're going to see each other in New Zealand for reshoots," I remind him, trying to coax a smile out of him. "That's only two months from now."
"I know." He rewards me with a small smile. "I don't mean to get down, I just feel like an arse for flying off like this every six months--"
"Orli, you're building a career," I interrupt gently. "This is what you have to do; trust me, I know. And besides, you love what you do. You've had the time of your life on every movie you've worked on, and I would never take that away from you. So don't feel bad about this. You're about to go back to London, and then to Malta and Mexico to film an epic movie about ancient history -- there is absolutely no reason for you to feel like an 'arse'. I certainly don't see you as one."
"Yeah, but you're gonna miss me, right?"
I chuckle. "Of course I'm going to miss you, love; I hate it when we're apart. But I manage to get through it, and you're never more than a phone call away." I lean forward for a kiss. "Don't beat yourself up, okay?"
He smiles again, but this time it's much wider. "Okay. Listen, there are some last-minute errands I need to run today, so I'm gong to head out and do those now."
"Like what?" I ask as he disengages himself from our embrace.
"Just a few things. I thought I'd stock up on Maude's dog food because you can never remember exactly what kind she needs," he teases. "And I should take those videos we rented back to the movie place, because otherwise you'll forget to do that."
"How on earth did we function without each other? You can't remember your socks, I can't remember to return rental videos . . . we're fine when we have the other person to look after us, but we're hopeless otherwise."
Orli laughs. "It's sad but true. Is there anything you need me to get for you while I'm out?"
"No, I'm fine. Enjoy your errands." I pull him down for a goodbye kiss, then watch with a smile as he collects the rental videos and his car keys before bounding out the door.
*****
"Need a hand with the dog food?" I ask as Orli staggers through the front door with a massive bag.
"No, I got it," he assures me. "Remember, I'm a big, strong, macho man."
"Of course you are. How could I forget that?"
He laughs and dumps the heavy bag down in the kitchen. "Okay, now stay here. I have a surprise for you. I just need to get it from the car."
"A surprise?"
"Yeah," he says, trying to catch his breath a little. "Trust me on this, Vig. You'll love it." His eyes have that michievous glint that I love. "I'll be right back."
"I'll be waiting." I put the dog food away as he runs back out to the car, wondering what he has in store for me now. Knowing Orli, it could be anything.
"Okay, close your eyes!" he calls when he reenters the house.
I dutifully obey, hearing the door close and his footsteps approach. A heavy weight is placed on the kitchen table, and Orli guides me over and sits me down in front of the table. "Can I open my eyes yet?"
"Not yet." I hear the click of some kind of latch, and I jump as something that's *moving* is deposited in my lap. My eyes reflexively shoot open and I'm shocked to meet the curious gaze of a tiny black kitten.
"What . . . why is there a kitten in my lap?!"
Orli grins and kneels down next to me, stroking the kitten's head. "This is our new cat, Viggo."
"Our new cat?" I look down at the kitten, who's now rubbing the side of its head against my stomach in a play for affection. Unable to resist smiling, I reach down and assist Orli in petting the creature, earning a purr of satisfaction. "Hi there," I laugh. "You're a friendly thing."
"Do you like him?" Orli asks earnestly.
"I love animals, Orli. I think we can definitely handle having a kitten around the house. And I can't imagine that Henry would have a problem with it."
"Oh, I already cleared it with Henry. He was the one who went online to research the animal shelters for me."
My eyebrows raise. "You really planned this thing out, huh?"
He blushes and scoops the kitten up, petting it behind the ears. "Well, once I got the role in 'Troy', I thought you could use some extra company around the house for when Henry stays with Exene. Maude would probably get jealous if I even considered getting another dog, so a cat seemed to be the perfect solution."
"So this is the newest addition to our family?" I chuckle.
"Exactly," he says, his eyes lighting up as he realizes that I really like the idea of having a cat.
"Please tell me that you bought things such as cat food and a litter box."
Orli grins. "Of course I did. They're in the car; I'll go get them and let you two get acquainted."
The kitten docilely allows itself to be handed off to me, and I can't help but smile as I look at the creature. Once again, it rubs up against me, and I oblige it by stroking its back. "You're very easy to please, aren't you?" I chuckle as he purrs loudly. "Then again, you're probably just happy to have a home."
Just then, Maude comes trotting into the kitchen and immediately spots the black furball on my lap. Thinking that the kitten is in some way a dangerous aggressor, she starts yapping her head off, startling the poor kitten half to death and making him flee my lap. What follows is a fairly farcical chase of me pursuing a dog who's out to defend her homestead by pursuing a terrified kitten.
"What the hell is going on?" Orli cries as he comes into the living room to see the chase in full swing.
"I don't think Maude was expecting a cat to join the family," I explain as I make a lunge for the normally very sweet dog, completely missing her and ending up on my ass.
"Maude, stop it this instant!" Orli yells. Yeah, like *that* will accomplish anything.
Finally, I'm able to recapture the kitten, who's trembling like a leaf in the wind, the poor thing. This isn't a wonderful first impression for him to have of the household. "Ssh, it's okay," I tell the kitten softly.
"That's a bad dog," Orli scolds Maude. "That cat is a part of the family now, and you'd better get along with him!" He drags her over to the couch, where I've sat down with the kitten. "Now, play nice."
The kitten struggles in my grasp as it sees the vicious killer Maude approaching, but I hold him firmly. "It's okay," I say again. This is slightly absurd, but this house is crazy enough without a pet war. Maude nudges the cat with her nose as a type of canine apology, and the cat appears to calm slightly, gently poking Maude's nose with his paw. All seems to be forgiven.
"Welcome to your new home," Orli tells the kitten, leaning down to give it a kiss on the head.
*****
"We still haven't given him a name," Orli obseves as we watch the kitten leap up gracefully onto the bed. "I'm not going to leave you alone tomorrow with an unnamed cat."
I laugh and scoop the cat up in my arms. "Alright. Maybe we should coordinate it with Maude's name -- make it alliterative. Like Mortimer and Maude, Maximilian and Maude, Merlin and Maude."
He makes a face, taking the cat from me. "No, let's not do that. What about some nice cat names, like Archie or Walter?" The kitten chooses that moment to wriggle out of his arms, and we both chuckle. "I guess he doesn't like those choices."
"Well, since you got this cat because you're going off to film 'Troy', we could always go the Greek route," I suggest. "I'm sure the cat wouldn't mind being named Icarus or Apollo or even Zeus."
"We will not be naming our cat Icarus," Orli tells me. "If you remember the tale, Icarus dies, and I don't want to jinx the kitten."
We watch with bemusement as the kitten slinks around the bed, using his paws to poke at our legs through the blankets. "He's very curious," I observe.
"Aren't all cats supposed to be curious?"
"I guess this one is especially curious," I laugh. "Do you notice how he pokes at everything with his paws? It's like a little kid who needs to tough everything that he can."
"I got it!" Orli exclaims, startling both me and the kitten. "Pokey!"
"What?"
"We should name the cat Pokey. You were just saying that he likes to poke at things with his paws, so we should call him Pokey."
"Pokey?" I look at the sleek black kitten who has resumed his exploration of the bed, and contemplate whether the somewhat goofy name befits such a beautiful little creature. When I realize that he's somewhat goofy himself, batting at everything in sight, I grin. "Actually, I think Pokey is the perfect name."
"You shall be Pokey the cat," Orli declares as he picks up the kitten again. Pokey looks unaffected by the fact that he has a name. He nuzzles Orli's neck and purrs loudly; Orli leans back against the pillows, cradling Pokey carefully. "He might want to sleep with us tonight, Vig," he whispers, as if Pokey would be upset by hearing the words. "He might be scared to sleep alone in a new place."
I struggle to keep myself from laughing. "Why don't we let him decide where he wants to sleep? He seems to be a fairly intelligent cat, and I'm sure he'll make a wise choice."
"Are you mocking me again?" he asks, his eyes narrowing.
"Yes."
We both laugh, and I lean in for a long kiss. Orli makes a noise of discontent, and I understand why as a paw bats at our faces. "Is there something you want?" Orli laughs, looking down at Pokey, who's still perched on Orli's chest. The kitten meows in response. "I'm sorry, I don't speak cat," Orli tells him.
"I think he just wants a little attention," I chuckle, reaching over to pet Pokey's head. Sure enough, Pokey purrs in gratitude and snuggles against my palm.
"Well, the menagerie is all here," Orli says as Maude comes into the room and plops down next to the bed.
"Two pets is hardly a menagerie."
"Close enough," he shrugs.
To our great amusement, Pokey spies Maude and immediately scampers off of us, running over to her and circling the dog warily, remembering this afternoon's chase scene and its resulting truce. When Maude makes no move to attack, Pokey joins her on the floor and curls up right next to her. Both pets close their eyes and decide to call it a night.
"Okay, *that* is cute," Orli laughs.
"That's adorable." I look at him and grin. "Thank you so much for the gift of Pokey."
"You're very welcome. I hope he'll be good company for you while I'm away."
"I'm sure that he will be, but you're not gone just yet. Care to have some mind-blowing goodbye sex?"
Orli rolls on top of me. "I thought you'd never ask."
