My fiancé beats me home by an hour on most days, so when I opened the door to our new apartment and found her already in comfy clothes curled up in front of the television I wasn’t surprised. I was, however, surprised by the orange bob-tailed cat purring audibly as it stood on her chest happily accepting purrs.

“Hey Sweetie,” I said by way of greeting. “Where’d the cat come from?”

She giggled as the cat rubbed its face on her outstretched hand and purred louder. “I don’t know!” she laughed. “He was in here when I got home. I figured he must have gotten in through a window or something. I was going to put him out, but he started purring and… his cuteness got the better of me.” She tickled the sides of the cat’s face with the fingertips of both hands. “Didn’t you? Didn’t your cuteness beat me!” she said to the cat in an exaggerated baby voice.

“Huh,” I said, crossing to the couch. The cat, spying another human to pet him, crossed down Amy’s torso and up her outstretched leg to the top of the armrest so I could pet him appropriately. Which, of course, I did. “He is adorable,” I admitted. “Unfortunately, there’s an explicit ‘no pets’ clause in the lease. The owner is meeting me here tomorrow after work to install smoke detectors – we can’t have Mr. Tabby here when the owner gets here.”

Amy gave me an exaggerated pout face, but then agreed, “Yeah, I knew we couldn’t keep him. He’s really healthy so he’s probably one of the neighbor’s cats.” She sat up and scratched behind his ears and started in the baby talk, “Aren’t you just the opportunist? Yes you are!”

“Did you get those Command hooks?” I asked, stepping over one of the as-yet-not-unpacked boxes.

“They’re on the kitchen counter,” she said, and I went into the kitchen looking. “Hey, can we keep him for the night at least?”

I turned back to her and the cat gave out a well-timed, “Meowr?” that melted any objection I could mount. “Yeah,” I said, “but you’re in charge of any kitty accidents in the night!”

“I’ll keep a wary eye on Senor Flufferbutz!”

When we woke up the next morning we could find no sign of the cat. Imagining he might have hidden in a partially unpacked box, we searched the small apartment looking for him. “He probably went out whatever way he got it,” Amy suggested.

“Agreed,” I said folding closed the lid of a kitchen box, “but I don’t want to leave him in the house if he didn’t. What time do you remember him getting off the bed?”

“I went to the bathroom at three and he was still on the bed when I got back.” She shrugged. “When the alarm went off two hours later he was gone. I don’t remember him actually getting off. Do you?”

I shook my head. “I also want to know how he got in here,” I said. “If he can get in here, what’s to say an opossum or a trash panda can’t get in here?”

“Now that’s a scary thought!” she said folding closed the last box. “Okay, officially not in the house.”

I hugged her and gave her a kiss.

When I got home that evening, the owner of the property climbed out of his black Mercedes just as I pulled into the driveway. And met me with a small toolbox and Home Depot bag in one hand and his other hand out to shake. “Amir,” he shook my hand warmly. “How was work?”

“Good, Mr–“ he cut me off with a tilt of his head, “…Dave. It was good. How are you?”

“I’m well, thanks! I hope this is an okay time for this?”

“Totally fine,” I said, reaching into the backseat of the car for my laptop bag.

“How are you guys liking the place? Are you totally moved in?”

“We absolutely love it! And, yeah, we turned in the keys to our old place on Monday.”

“Glad to have you two!” he said. “My mom loved this place, so I’m glad it’s lived in again.”

“Oh?” I asked, locking the car with the key fob. “She didn’t live here for a while?”

“No, she spent her last year in a nursing facility. I didn’t want to do anything with the place because we kept hoping she’d be able to come home to it.” His eyes took on a glassy sheen with the memory. “Wishful thinking,” he said, a slight catch in his voice.

“I’m sorry, Dave” was all I could think to say.

“Thanks,” he said, deliberately brightening. “Let’s get these things installed so you guys can enjoy your evening!”

We moved to the door and I unlocked it and opened it. I had texted Amy when I left work reminding her I’d be meeting the owner when I got home, so I knew she wouldn’t be surprised by the guest. However, as the door opened I saw the cat standing with an arched back languidly accepting a pet. Amy, froze mid-pet. I quickly turned around to block Dave’s view of the prohibited feline, but he had already seen the cat. What’s worse, his face had completely washed out and his eyes bulged.

For a heartbeat, I admired the tableau: Amy, her face a mask of guilt, the cat wondering why the petting had stopped, and Dave frozen with terror on his face.

I broke the silence by apologizing, “Dave, I’m so sorry, I know the no-pets policy. The cat found a way into the house…”

“That cat!” he stammered.

I appreciated that we were violating the lease, but I thought this flabbergasted performance might be a little of an overreaction…

“That’s my mom’s cat!” he said.

“Oh!” I said, relieved. “He probably came back to his old neighborhood… Was he staying with you or another relative?”

Dave finally took his wide eyes off the cat and moved his gaze to me. “That cat died five years ago.”

“Mrawr?”