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“Are you sure you can’t stay and chat a little longer?” Rhonda asked when I stood to go.

She glanced out the window again and I looked out, too. Clearly, we’d been sitting together for quite a while, because dusk had already begun to fall across the rolling landscape. No wonder I was starving!

“I’m sorry. I really need to get back to my parents,” I said with a shrug, hating how childish it made me sound.

“That’s wonderful that you’re so close with your family. Very special, indeed,” Rhonda said, stroking her cat absentmindedly as she watched me prepare to leave.

By some miracle, Octo-Cat returned to his carrier willingly and without complaint, presumably because Grizabella was watching. Man, if I’d known finding him a girlfriend would be the ultimate bargaining chip, I would have played matchmaker a long time ago.

“So,” I mumbled as I carried him back through the three cars on the way to ours, my Bluetooth placed perfectly. “Do you always go gaga for Himalayans, or is there something special about Grizabella in particular?”

He sighed blissfully.“I’ve never been in love before tonight. It’s like a whole new plane of consciousness has opened itself to me.” It seemed his first crush had turned him into Shakespeare. I didn’t blame Grizabella for finding his affections so wearisome.

I rolled my eyes.“Just remember, we’re not on the train for that long and you probably won’t see her after we get off at our station. Or actually, Rhonda said they’d be getting off first…” It took me a moment to make sure I had recalled that detail correctly since I had to wade through hours of cat stories to get back to the beginning of our conversation.

Suddenly, I felt very sorry for my poor kitty. Not only did he not stand a chance, but he’d probably never see his crush again. “Just don’t get all heartbroken over this,” I warned. “I hate to see you hurting.”

“Love always finds a way, Angela,” he said sagely. Although in this particular case, I had no idea how things would work out, considering the object of his affection actively disliked him.

Also they were cats. Could cats even fall in love? It seemed like maybe they could. I hoped one day Octo-Cat would find a lady who would return his romantic longings. I was also incredibly happy that he was fixed, given his complete lack of modesty when it came to… well, everything.

“Does this mean you’ll be more accepting of me and Charles?” I asked, hoping that my feline’s own brush with love might get him to stop referring to my boyfriend as UpChuck.

He said nothing, but a giant purr rolled up from the carrier in what I had to assume was the kitty version of humming blissfully while thinking of one’s beloved. Wow. He really had it bad.

Speaking of having it bad, I returned to my seat only to find my parents wrapped even tighter around each other as they both stared at my mom’s laptop with rapt attention.

“What are you guys watching?” I asked, noticing that they were sharing a single pair of earbuds.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two,” my mom answered without removing her eyes from the screen.

“Ugh, you guys! Why are you starting with the last one?”

“Well, we need to know it has a good ending before we invest in such a long series. Don’t we?” my father asked with one raised eyebrow.

Personally, I hated spoilers. They took away at least half the fun. At least my parents were giving it a try, though. I had to give them credit for that.

The aspiring writer I’d met before stopped typing and seemed to watch us from his peripheral vision. Was he waiting for an opening to tell me about his novel again?

Looked like I had a choice to make. I could either cuddle up with my already too cozy parents and pretend to watch the movie or I could go off exploring again. After the chat with Rhonda and Grizabella, I needed some alone time to recharge, which meant I had to get out of there before the conceited writer guy launched a second attempt at conversation.

“I just needed to grab my jacket,” I said, hoisting the lightweight denim from the seat and draping it over my shoulders. “Oh, and before I go, do you have something I can eat?”

“As the Boy Scouts say, always be prepared.” My dad picked up his travel bag and tossed a granola bar my way, still not removing his eyes from the movie. Well, at least they really seemed to like it.

“Thanks,” I called over my shoulder, already making a getaway. We’d already found the dining car, and it was probably too soon to go back if I wanted to avoid a second get-together with Rhonda. Perhaps I could find the viewing car and hang out there for a while.

We passed through the three cars between our seats and the dining car, then four more to find the empty glass-sided carriage with seats arranged down the center to face the giant walls of windows on both sides. Only the very top of the ceiling was covered in metal, providing a panoramic view as far as my eyes could see, just so long as I didn’t tilt my head up or down.