Addy the wolpertinger (she was honestly just a fancy type of rabbit) sat in the local coffee shop, typing away on her laptop, trying to get caught up on her work. She was an English professor and was trying to grade her latest round of essays. Most of them were good, some average, while others you could tell they hadn’t even attempted to follow the instructions.Those were the ones that gave her the most difficulty, having to wade through the logic puzzles to make sense of tireless babble.
        With a sigh, Addy glanced up and sipped on her oatmilk latte, her eyes scanning the small front room of the cafe. Without thinking, her eyes landed on a male siamese cat a few tables over, also working on paperwork and mumbling quietly to himself. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Where had she seen him before? She took in the dark color of his spots, the creamy whiteness of his fur, his slim build snugly covered by a red turtleneck, and the brown leather jacket draped over the chair behind him. Sensing that someone was watching him, he glanced up, and his dark blue eyes met hers. He smiled and gave a little wave, jolting her out of her thoughts.
        Blinking, Addy blushed and gave a little wave back, before mouthing a quick “sorry.” With his smile still in place, the cat stood, gathered his things, and expertly closed the distance between them.
        “Mind if I sit here?” he asked, a soft purr to his voice, as he gestured to the empty seat beside her, “I do believe I’ve seen you around somewhere before….”
        Addy nodded, stunned into silence from his politeness, and quickly moved to clear him off a spot at her table. “I dunno, maybe. I come to this coffee shop a lot. And I’m the only wolpertinger in town.”
        “Wolpertinger.” He said the word as if he was studying it, considering every angle and sound and meaning. “And no, that’s not it. Don’t you work for the university?”
        Addy looked at him, alarmed, as he settled into his chair and straightened his workload on the table. Sensing her concern, he merely smiled and held his paws up, as if to show he meant no harm. “Relax, it’s alright. I work there, too. We both work in the Liberal Arts department. I recognized you the moment I walked in the door, Addy.”
        Although lop-eared, Addy’s ears perked up at the mention of her name. Her doe-eyed expression only served to humor the sly cat in front of her. He burst out laughing and shook his head.
        “Come on now, surely you know who I am. Bruce? The librarian?” When Addy blinked at him, he continued, “I came to your class last semester to teach your kiddos about the wonders of the library. If I recall correctly, you knocked me over with one of your wings when neither of us were paying attention.”
        The pallor under the blue fur of Addy’s cheeks was whisked away, replaced with a hot blush. “Oh my gosh. Bruce. Yes. I remember now. I’m so sorry.” She lifted a pink paw to her face and covered her equally pink muzzle with it. “How could I forget? Let me buy you a coffee to apologize.”
        “For forgetting me or knocking me on my ass?” Bruce laughed, then waved a brown paw. “No need. All is forgiven.” He paused, scanning over her work. “How’s the semester going? Is that little shit from last semester still giving you any trouble? I swear, I wanted to throttle the creep for the way he talked to you in class.”
	Addy shrugged and glanced down, tracing the rim of her coffee cup with her paw. “Things are going as well as can be expected. He tried to get me fired. Didn’t like my opinion on things and thought he knew more about writing than me. Didn’t help that his parents were friends with the dean. Had to go in and have a talk with Dr. Stoneridge about my ‘professionalism’ after I told the kid how privileged he was. He was sitting there mocking two other kids with learning disabilities. In a college classroom. In my classroom. I wouldn’t stand for it. Yet I was the one who received a talking to about professionalism…” Addy scoffed and took another sip of her latte. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Bruce’s claws lightly dig into the wood of the table.
        He shook his head, making a tsk sound with his tongue, then looked back at Addy, capturing her attention. “And that’s why I spend my hours in the back of the library. Nothing but  peace and quiet and the occasional question from the library aides. No bullshit. No arrogant children. Just books and words and silence.” He sipped on his own black coffee, then gave Addy a warm smile. “I do hope the rest of your semester has been alright. I was waiting to see if you’d invite me back to teach again.”
        “Oh. I um… well, after knocking you down and all…” Addy blushed again and trailed off, glancing nervously back towards her work.
        “As I said before, it’s quite alright.” Bruce paused, then glanced down at his coffee, an idea forming. “Hey, why don’t we forget about work for a while and go get something stronger?”
        “Stronger?”
        “Yeah, there’s a pub down the road a bit. We can walk there and have a drink. Maybe a spot of dinner, too.”
        Addy smiled and met his dark blue gaze again. “Yes, I think I’d like that.”