20
Pretty Kitty’s love note
“It’s silly,” Derek warned me as I poked through his white kitchen trash can. “That’s why I didn’t give it to you.”
I found the crumpled note near the top of the receptacle. It didn’t appear to be covered in any mystery gunk, so I held it up, feeling triumphant. Derek’s cheeks were flushed. Suddenly wondering if I was overstepping, I said, “I won’t read it, if you reallllllly don’t want me to.”
The fact that I offered that when I was dying to read it should have told Derek how much I cared about his feelings. I waited with bated breath while he debated. When he finally said, “It’s okay,” I whooped with joy. “Just don’t laugh if it’s stupid,” he pleaded with me.
“I’m sure it’s not,” I reassured him as I used his table to smooth out the paper. I immediately n
