Larry walked in just as I was cleaning the eighth litter box.\u00a0 He sat on the only chair in the room. I was in front of him on all fours. The glass windows helped him get his timing just right.<\/p>\n
This was becoming our routine. We volunteered at the shelter on the same days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere do you live?\u201d he asked me again. His slender hands searched for an anchor on the front of his wrinkled shirt when he spoke to me, working to enunciate each syllable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not really comfortable sharing that, Larry,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He nodded as his eyes followed an invisible ribbon making patterns around us.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you like sex?\u201d he asked loudly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m definitely not comfortable discussing that, Larry,\u201d I said, hoping I sounded relaxed and sex-positive. Why was that important to me? I wondered. Something to ponder later.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you married?\u201d another question.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not.\u201d This one I could answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, I do live with someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he do for a living?\u201d Larry asked, his eyes narrowing in scrutiny or suspicion.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a photographer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOhhhh,\u201d Larry slowly shook his head in comprehension, as if he had just solved a complex math equation that had been keeping him up at night.<\/p>\n
Now with a purpose, the casual questioning was over. He stood and waited for me to get to my feet, the final litter box clean. He said one sentence before he left the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever marry a tographer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Larry closed the glass door behind him, sat hunched over on a bench in the hallway, cats passing him by like tiny cars on a highway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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