Chapter 15. Selfishness and Sleepiness
SELFISHNESS AND SLEEPINESS
SAWDUST
Maybe it was selfish of him, but sometimes Sawdust liked to have Whitney all to himself, like he used to. He was glad the other cats stayed in the living room when Whitney lay down on the bed with a book. He knew the book meant she’d sit still for a while. Hooray!
He stretched out along her outer thigh, facing her.
She reached down and ran her hand over his head, stroking his ears, removing it only for a second or two as she turned the pages.
He didn’t understand what was so interesting about staring at pieces of paper with odd symbols on them.
A stuffed catnip mouse or a jingly ball was much more fun. But to each their own.
After a while, he noticed she’d grown still and stopped petting him, though her hand rested across his back. He lifted his head and looked up at her. Her eyes were closed. So was the book she’d been reading. She seemed to fall asleep so easily these days, and napped much more often.
He mewed softly, hoping the sound would wake her.
It didn’t. He tried again. Mew? Nothing.
He knew he could rouse her by extending his claws and giving her leg a quick prick, but he reserved such extreme measures for emergency situations, and this wasn’t one.
Sure, he’d love more cuddling and petting, but naps weren’t a bad substitute.
He could ask for more attention when she woke up.
He lowered his head, settled back in, and went to sleep right along with her.