I took Phoebe to Rosebud Cafe again this morning. As I was leaving the building, we ran into his babysitter from while I was on vacation. He told me that Phoebe actually was friendlier to his girlfriend than to him when they came by to check on the animals. I said that Phoebe can be arbitrary in showing affection.

We briefly stopped by the park next to our building. There was a squirrel in a nearby tree, and the two animals eyed each other for a couple of minutes.

At the cafe, there was a small line of people indoors, so Phoebe and I sat outside until it cleared out. But a bunch more people arrived, meaning that we wouldn’t be able to see our cafe friends for a while.

Sometimes, Phoebe can be insistent that we go inside immediately. Today, he was content to sit outside and get head scratches. He also climbed down onto the table; the only thing I had to play with was a napkin. So he tossed the napkin for a little while.

Today, he got plenty of visitors. People stopped by the table to ask about Phoebe and talk to him. He also showed off by hopping around on the tabletop.

At some point, Phoebe climbed onto the back of the metal chair that was next to the cafe window. By that time, the line had cleared out and it was ideal for visitation. I tried to get Phoebe to step up, as we wouldn’t be able to go inside if it got busy again. But he stubbornly wouldn’t do it. He probably thought it was a ruse to get him to go home instead.

I did something risky: I left Phoebe on his chair while I went inside. I did it briefly at first, just stepping inside the doorway and then going back. But after Phoebe refused again to go with me, I went inside all the way.

In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have left him outside. Any number of dangerous things could’ve happened. But it seemed reasonable to do this for a few reasons: I could get to him in seconds from where I was; we were at a familiar space that was unlikely to startle him; the outside area was calm; and there was a guy sitting just to the right outside who had been watching Phoebe the whole time and who could’ve intervened in an emergency.

Anyway, Phoebe was on his own for only a couple of minutes before I rejoined him. I brought back one of his favorite toys: a cardboard sleeve that goes over the coffee cups. He loves to run around on the tabletop and toss the sleeve. More accurately, he loves to make me fetch the sleeve for him.

While he was playing, he again received a lot of visitors. Two women stopped by and fetched the sleeve for him. I’m always worried when people want to play with Phoebe because even I have gotten my fingers bitten when Phoebe is in play mode and I’m not fully anticipating his moves. But Phoebe was very careful not to bite his playmates.

A couple of his friends who work at the cafe also stepped out on their breaks to play toss with him. He was a little weird with Stephanie, who he knows well. He was slightly standoffish, and cautiously let her pet the back of his head like a dog.

Even after he shredded the cardboard sleeve almost entirely, Phoebe still didn’t want to leave. But after more than an hour at the cafe, it was time to go home.