The Conversation…

“Our relationship is no longer working,” he said.

She stared at him.  “What are you talking about?”

“You aren’t giving me your full attention.”

“Jeez, sorry abut that,” she said, putting a dish of food in front of him.  “I do have a life, you know.”

“One that’s supposed to be dedicated to me and to the rest of the cats.”

“Oh, is that how you see it.”

“That’s how it is,” he said.  “I don’t know what’s distracting you, but you’re not putting a hundred percent into me anymore.”

“You could ask me why, you know.”

“Okay, I’ll bite.  Why are you ignoring us?”

“I’m not ignoring you.  I’m here everyday and you come over every night.  I just don’t stay as long as I used to, some days.”

“Why?”

“I’ve been…busy, I guess.”

“Catmass is over, so there’s no excuse.”

“It was a good party, wasn’t it,” she said, thinking of the cats climbing the trees.

“It was a great party,” he agreed, but that wasn’t the question.”

“I’m tired.”

“You look tired and you’re probably not eating enough chocolate.”

“True.”

“We depend on you, you know that, right?  You  probably haven’t even heard about Jinx’s new girlfriend.”

“Tell me,” she said excitedly.

“She’s from Canada.”

“And?”

“What more do you need to know?”

“What does she look like?”

“Petite, pink nose, white fur with black spots.”

“Sounds pretty.”

“Jinx thinks so.”

“How are the heated beds working out?” she asked.

“Good.  Everyone likes them.  It’s getting colder each night.”

“Everyone can always stay with me,” she said.

“I know.  Over the next few days, they might, at least once the sun goes down.”

“The vet told me that everyone looks pretty good.”

“She said Terry’s ear is almost better,” he said.

“That’s good news,” she said, happily.  “I wanted him to stay at my place longer but he said he wanted to be outside.”

“Yeah, he’s been out a long time.  Hard for him to be inside a house.”

“Maybe you could talk him into a few more days, so I can keep an eye on his ear.”

“Maybe.”

“Are you still sulking?”

“I don’t sulk,” he said, sitting up straight.  “Ever.”

“Seems like you’re sulking,” she said, looking at him.

“Well, I’m not and you should be more worried about the cops killing guys in the street.”

“I am worried about that, but it seems as if it’s never going to stop.  No matter how insane, they just keep killing people.”

“You don’t really do anything to make any of the people in charge, change. You’re all a bunch of…”

“You’re right,” she said, miserably.

“I’m always right,” he said.  “I can’t understand why you just don’t get that.”

“Did you ever notice how one generation just starts dying out and then suddenly, they’re all gone?”

“No,” he said.  “I never noticed that.  Cats don’t bother with those things.”

“That’s good,” she said.  “But whether you know it or not, it still happens.”

“You’re like a little ray of sunshine,” he said.  “You know that, don’t you?”

“I just though you’d want to know.”

“Well, you’re wrong…again,”  he said.

“Did you register for the gardening class you want to take?” she asked.

“No.  I think I’ll just get a book that tells me everything I want to know about growing catnip.”

“That’s a good idea.  I can look for a book, if you like.”

“Thanks, but there’s an angora who lives down the street and she said she’d order it from Amazon, when her people were out,” he said.

“Pretty soon, the only place to shop will be Amazon.  Then what?  It’s scary to think about, she said.

“The only way to stop that is to stop buying from them.”

“You’re right.  So that’s one more thing that’s never going to change.  The new kids don’t even know what life was like without Amazon.  So, I guess I’ll see you tonight, then.”

“Yes.  We’re coming for dinner,” he said.

“Who is coming for dinner?”

“All of us, mostly.”

“Oh, then I have to go to the store before I go home.  I’ll pick up some fresh nip for all of you and some new fake mice.”

“Always fake,” he said, unhappily.

“Yes, always,” she said, leaning forward to rub her face against his.  “I love you.”

“I know.”

She ran her hands over him, then kissed his nose.

“Yuk, don’t DO that,” he said, running his paw over his face.  “Gross.”

She smiled, stood up, said goodbye and walked away.

“Watch out for cars,” he called, then curled into a ball and closed his eyes.