Pepper turned around slowly, and so did the kitten cuddled up in the cradle of his mistress's arms. "Sal?" they said in unison.

But the said man only had eyes for Butter. He walked and then ran till he was in front of the witch and her familiar. "Hey, little one." His voice was soothing to the kitten's ears, reminding him of the balm his mum applied on his horse riding injuries when he was still human...when he had a mother.

"Hey, Sal," Butter said, looking up at the man who had won him over. "Thank you for taking care of the bill."

Pepper's lips fell open.

The kitten side-eyed his mistress. "It's alright, my lady. I trust Sal. He won't do anything to put you in a tough spot," he reassured her in a small voice, a testament to his deteriorating health.

"Thank you, Mr. Hart. I will transfer the amount-"

"Fine. Do it, but at least give me a chance to explain myself."

"Please, my lady," Butter pleaded. "Consider this your parting gift to me."

"Butter, you are not dying. I won't let you." A fresh bout of tears welled up in the witch's eyes. "You are immortal."

"I am like milk that's been kept out for too long, my lady. I will curdle before you know it. I have been with Woodgrips all my life. As a favor to me, for the loyalty I have shown to you and your ancestors, can't you hear the man out? I promise, if you want to walk away from him after that, I won't hold it against you."

"B, I hope this is not a trick to make me stay."

The doubt in his mistress's eyes hurt Butter. More so because he knew he deserved it. "No, no more tricks, just plain old truth."

"Fine. I am all ears, but let's get some coffee first."

Butter scrunched up his nose at the blue walls and dead-looking furniture of the place his mistress had chosen to have the talk. "Mistress, do we have to talk here? Can't we go back to the resort?"

"Absolutely not. The doctor has advised that you be kept under observation a little longer."

"But I am already-"

"Please, don't make me snap my fingers."

"Understood, my lady." Butter bobbed his head, and the motley group of three took a seat away from the counter. From the looks of the place, he could bet that the beverages on offer would be horrible. Yes, the kitten was totally judging the book by its cover, but his life as he had known it, was ending, he could get away with a little pessimism, could he not?

"I will get us coffee," Sal offered and left them, only to return minutes later with three steaming cups in a tray that reminded him of his bowl.

Once all three had sipped the terrible drink and Pepper commanded Butter not to have any more of his, Sal said, "Nine years ago, you saved a boy from drowning in an open manhole on your way back from school."

Pepper started tapping her left foot on the white tiles arithmetically. "Yes, I remember. But what's that got to do with us?"

"Everything. You never saw his face, did you?"

"No, Mr. Hart, his face wasn't the cleanest and I was in a hurry." The witch paused. "Wait, how did you-"

"That day was the first time I saw you and Butter."

"You were that boy?"

"Yes, but I didn't see your face either. I did see Butter, though."

"It could have been another cat."

"True, but he talks."

"You heard him talk!?"

"Yes. I guess little one didn't approve of CPR. He kept yelling something along the lines of: stop it right now, P. Or I swear to Lord Satan I will tell on you to mistress."

Pepper's eyes widened, her brows jumped towards her hairline.

"At that time though, I thought I was hallucinating." Sal shook his head, smiling.

Butter couldn't believe his ears. Had his mistress listened to him that day Sal would have died! He sent a silent thanks to Lord Satan.

"I thought you were a gonner."

"I would have died that day had it not been for you resuscitating me." Sal avoided Pepper's eyes. The tips of his ears turned scarlet.

Thump. Thump. Thum-

"I never told a soul about it."

Pepper blinked. "Oh...thanks."

Sal cupped the mug between his palms. "The next time I saw you was at school a week later. But, of course, I didn't recognize you till I saw Butter."

"It could have been-"

"I saw him talk... again."

"Oh, dear." Pepper avoided the man's gaze while Butter felt like a fool.

What was he thinking? Why had he not been careful about being heard by humans!?

"I was beyond happy to have found my savior. I wanted to thank you... maybe get to know you a little better."

"Are you the notes boy?" Pepper slid the horrendous coffee to her left and leaned closer to the man.

Meanwhile, Butter's eyes shone with joy...no, ecstasy. The aches that had him in shackles till now broke, setting him free.

"Ah... yes. Sorry, I realize now that they were probably cheesy."

"Actually, they were lovely, Sal."

"Thank you."

"I could have sworn they weren't for me. I saw"-the witch lowered her eyes-"I saw you-"

"I am sorry about that. I didn't kiss Olivia, I promise. She kissed me."

Pepper raised her brow. "I am pretty sure you were kissing her."

Sal sighed. "No, I wasn't. That day, when I finally gathered enough courage to confess, I left a note for you with my name on it. I even asked you to meet me in the school's gym at five. But you never received it."

"Was it Olivia who found it? The note, I mean?"

"Yes." Sal pinched the bridge of his nose. "When she saw me waiting, she just attacked me. I got to know later that she had a crush on me."

Pepper pursed her lips. "Understandable."

"Really?"

"Ya,"-Pepper nodded-"half the girls in our class liked you."

"I...I never knew that...Anyway, that's when you saw us. And before I could explain, you ran. When I tried to follow, I tripped on air."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to do that-" Pepper stole a glance at Sal, worring her lip. "Actually, I did mean to do that. I wanted the note-boy to be you. You always smiled at me... you were the only one who treated me like...You were the only one who saw me. I don't think you remember, but once at school, you blocked a ball that was headed straight for my face. And I thought, maybe the mystery boy was you."

Sal reached out and held Pepper's hand. Of course, Butter approved.

"I waited for you at school the next day, but you never showed. When I asked around, they told me you had transferred due to personal reasons."

"I lost my mother that day." A lone tear slid down the witch's cheek.

"I am so sorry, Pepper."

Butter recalled that day. It was as if no time had passed at all. He couldn't remember everything he had experienced in his lifetime, but he did remember all the times he had lost his mistresses. His tiny heart ached for all the Woodgrips he had lost.

"I can't help but think"-Sal broke the silence, pulling Butter out of his remorseful memories-"that if you would have just stayed, we would have found love long ago."

No one had anything to say for a few minutes. As the coffee grew cold, Butter wondered if this was the reason his mistress had never told him about Sal then. Grief had buried her young love.

Pepper wiped her tears away and smiled. "Let me guess, you saw me next while I was following you during your concert in Baltimore."

"Yes, but it didn't feel like the right time to approach you. Also, that's when I realized we belong to different worlds."

"You saw Butter speak again. Am I right?"

"You got it. And the little one hadn't aged a day since I last saw him." Sal's eyes zeroed in on the furball, who was so engrossed in the revelations that he had turned into a statue. "Rumors about you being a witch began to make sense. And I made it my life's mission to find the truth."

Butter looked at his mistress. "My lady, before judging me, please remember: it was because of my loud mouth that this young man recognized you."

Pepper's eyes shone with happiness. "Fine, just this once, I will let you off the hook."

"Great. And since I plan to retire anyway, moving forward, you won't have to worry about me spilling secrets about our people."

The witch nodded. "I will consider it." Glancing at the human, she continued the tale he had started. "After your vow to find the truth, your fame rose to new heights, and even the magical community took notice. Or, should I say, you made them take notice."

"Yes. But I assure you, nothing happened between my guests and me. You can use True-lit if you don't believe me."

"You know about that!?" Pepper drew back. "How?"

"What do you think I did on Get-to-know-your-Sal-better events?"

Pepper shook her head.

Sal bit back a laugh. He reached for the witch's hand. "I tried to select magic folk...truth be told, those meet and greets should have been called get-to-know-Butter-and-Pepper's-world-better, instead."

"What!?" Both the witch and her familiar gasped.

Sal shrugged. "B is pretty famous among your people. Anyway, it was all part of my plan to get to know your world so someday I could be a part of it."

The blush that covered the witch's cheek could put Rudolph's nose to shame. "I suppose that makes sense when you put it like this. But that still doesn't explain what I heard you say to your manager about wanting alone time and getting invited to a big-shot private party to keep the paps at bay."

Sal left his place and joined the witch on her side of the table; Butter scooted closer to his mistress, lest he miss out on any juicy details.

"Does it not?" Sal held Pepper's hand. "Think about it. How would my manager have reacted if I told him that instead of attending an award ceremony, I was gate-crashing a party just to hang out with the witch I have been in love with for nine years?"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

By now, Butter was so immersed in the conversation that he wasn't sure if it was his mistress's heart he was hearing or his. It didn't matter. Sal was in love with his mistress!

"You are in love with me?" Pepper's voice was a whisper.

To Butter, it sounded uncertain and fragile, but above all, hopeful.

"Does it not show?" Sal asked, moving closer.

With barely inches between the man and his mistress, Butter could guess what came next. A better familiar would have given them privacy. But he was not better; he was Butter. He had slogged his golden butt off to see this love reach its pinnacle. And by Satan, he would see it bloom.

Thump. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP!

"I don't know..." Pepper smiled.

Butter thought his mistress looked positively giddy. The love bug had her bad.

Sal laughed, leaned close, and said, "Then let me show you."

It was as if time had slowed down. As seconds ticked by, Butter waited anxiously for the next step: the kiss; he glanced at the clock. It was midnight. He wondered if it would snow and turn this union into a white Christmas like the ones he had witnessed a million times in holiday movies. After all, it was the twenty-fifth of December.

Unfortunately for the kitten, just when Sal's lips were about to meet Pepper's, he heard a snap.

He knew what it was.

Darn it! The Woodgrip familiar muttered and fell asleep.

Yes, Butter was four hundred, but he was also just a kitten. So, obviously, the most awaited kiss had to be censored.

Chapter word count: 2060