Chapter Six
B y the time a month had passed, I was pretty used to both cats in my life.
Shadow diligently attended to me outside of my flat and, after the scare of the mugger, he orbited noticeably closer to me, sometimes trotting only a few feet from me, or, on one notable occasion, using my shoulders as a springboard to jump onto a roof.
Cheddar, on the other hand, got all in my business, squeezing through the gap on the balcony to jump in through the window, or meowing loudly until I opened the balcony door if the window was closed. He was as shameless as he was cute, and the challenge wasn’t getting him to come close, but to leave me alone for even a minute. I had no recourse but to buy him cat toys and entertain him. He was so spoiled!
But I guess I had only myself to blame when I kept the door to the balcony open, hoping to entice him to come. I sent a glance at the neighbor’s part of the balcony and froze.
There was a cat there, lying in a sunbeam.
The problem was… it wasn’t Cheddar!
Did they get a new cat without telling me?! Betrayal!
“Hiii, kitty!” I said in my softest voice, half leaning over the partition separating the balcony.
The cat startled from his reverie, his ears swirling up and back as he whipped his head around to look at me. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights as I stretched my hand towards him slowly in the hopes he would take in my smell and come closer.
The white ball of fluff settled slowly and gave my hand a sniff. When I tried to pet him and the cat didn’t shy away, I mentally patted myself on the back. With a last look at the slightly open door to his flat, the Persian cat came to a decision. A second later I had a practical demonstration of how much of the cat was just fur as it squeezed through the gap to come meet me.
After that, luring him into my apartment was easy. Unlike Cheddar, whose favorite method of exploration was running around like a headless chicken, the white Pers investigated the room carefully and with grace. At some point I started narrating the exploration as I followed after the curious creature.
I opened the door to present my inner sanctum for the inspection. The cat hesitated and looked at me with his blue eyes, so I sketched a bow, inviting him inside.
“Here’s the bedroom, Your Fluffiness.”
The cat walked inside and gracefully jumped onto the bed.
“May I suggest this throw? It’s soft and extremely comfortable and made just for you,” I presented the fabric decorated with, yes, you guessed it, kitties, but the cat turned his nose at it. Instead, he focused his gaze on My Shame.
The problem with being an animation fanatic from my teenage years was that everyone around me had an excuse to present me with the most embarrassing gifts. My friends made it into a Tradition with a capital T to gift me animation themed merch on my birthday. And sure, the Calcifer lamp, the Shrek boots, and various princess t-shirts were cool, but there were the other gifts I had to contend with.
“Not throwing you away was a mistake,” I said to Goku, whose face was now obscured by a cat happily sitting on it, leaving the naked pecs and abs of the Dragon Ball character painfully visible.
It was surely my imagination that the cat was laughing at me, but something in the motion of the fluffy white tail was giving me sassy vibes.
“You are right. I don’t need this pillow to hug at night,” I nodded sagely while steadily creeping closer to the bed. “Because… I have you!”
The cat was too slow to escape my clutches and was left blinking at me as I lay on the bed, contentedly wrapped around my newest squeeze toy. His Fluffiness admitted defeat with grace and nuzzled at my chin, settling himself in for the long haul.
The nap we took together was just what I needed after the long day of studying and working on my personal projects. It came to an end when there was a knock on the door.
“Hey, Lisa. Have you seen Elijah?” Chester asked.
“No. But I have seen your white cat. It’s in there—” I turned to point at the bedroom only to see the white tail disappearing through the balcony door. Huh, the cat probably sensed his feeding time approaching. “Well, he went back to yours. What’s his name? Shit, is it a boy? And why were you keeping him from me?”
“Um, Marshmallow? He is a boy. And he is… uhhh… new?” The questioning answers did not inspire confidence. “Anyway, I have to go! Thanks!” Chester spooked at my narrowed glance.
I watched as the door next to mine opened and Elijah peeked outside before Chester barreled in and the door closed behind them.
“Dude, you left the door closed from the inside!” I heard Chester exclaim before I closed my door as well with a shake of my head.
The three men were weird, but, more importantly, they were entertaining.