"Hey! Chester!"
Startled, Mary turned to the source of the voice. A brown-haired man in a green jogging suit came dashing toward her and the cat. He scooped him up in his arms and turned to Mary.
"I'm sorry if Chester's bothering you," he apologized. "He doesn't usually stray when we go jogging."
"Oh, it's okay," Mary said, a bit squeamish. Chester continued to stare at her, and she thought she heard it growling softly.
The cat began to stir in the man's arms and he took notice. "I guess he's a bit feisty today. I haven't taken him out in a while. Would you like to walk with us?"
"I'm...not very good with cats," Mary stammered. The man seemed nice enough, and normally Mary wouldn't hesitate to accept the offer, but she couldn't get her mind off running from that cat. Besides that, what if he noticed something about her wasn't quite right?
"Ah, well, I'm sorry," the man looked disappointed. "We'll get going. It was nice meeting you, uh..."
"Mary."
"Mary, I'm Steven," he responded. He paused for a minute. It looked like he was offering her a moment to change her mind. "Have a good walk," he finally said before he began to move away with the cat in his arms.