Baby Cats

I have just met the new shuttle driver, and she is telling me about her son who also works at the lodge, and his fiancee Jolene, and their new baby.  The son and his fiancee are in their early 20s.  I ask the shuttle driver how they met.

"Well it's a funny story cause Jolene was actually married to someone else when they first met," she begins.  I immediately switch from listening out of politeness to listening out of genuine interest.  "Her husband now, he worked on the Slope, so he'd be gone weeks at a time.  And then when he was home he didn't do nothing with her, and Jolene's real active, she likes to go out and do stuff.  So he appointed Forrest as her substitute husband, because he was willin to go out and do stuff with her.  Sure enough, one thing led to another..."

"And they fell in love," I say.  That, right there, is why people tell me shit.  I didn't finish her sentence, "And they started having unprotected sex," or "And she started cheating on him."  I (outwardly) assume love.

"That's right," she says, nodding.  "But they didn't get together til after she and her husband broke up."

I nod, like, of course.

"And the thing is, she asked him to get her a dog.  She woulda been happy with a dog to take her on walks.  Jolene loves walks.  But her husband just kept bringing home all these baby cats."

I shake my head in dismay.  Baby cats?  For Jolene? 

"What's Jolene gonna do with a buncha baby cats?  They can't take her on any walks.  She needed a dog."

I nod again.
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Thoughts:
1. I really wish more strangers would tell me intimate gossip. 
2. If you name your child Jolene she will become involved with adultery.
3. As someone who needs more Alone Time in a relationship than the average person, and who adores baby cats, I think I should try to track down Jolene's first husband and see if we can give it a go.  Added bonus: most guys who work on the Slope make around $40/hour.
4. I really want to meet Jolene.  Her mother-in-law painted such a vivid picture of her.  Fingers crossed I run into her someday, and fingers crossed she's not a self-googler (although I feel like if you are willing to tell strangers intimate gossip you can't get mad when they put it on the internet, so if she should be mad at anyone for this blog post it's her mother-in-law).