Happy Wednesday! It’s been quite a week. The kids’ concert went well, followed by a busy, exhausting weekend. One painful lesson I learned this week: Stay off social media in the wake of a large event. The arguing, nastiness, and political posturing were more than I could handle.
The other thing I learned this week, far less painful and more amusing: I am officially “old.” I took my teenager shopping at Hot Topic for a birthday gift for his BFF. The only other person in there over age 25 was the other mom shopping with her teenager. At least the employees are very nice and helpful, and there’s plenty of good geeky fandom merchandise (which is why we were there).
Anyway, enough of that. Time for my WIPpet. Since the (ahem) cat is out of the bag, I can post from anywhere in this manuscript without fearing spoilers too much. So I’m going to post about the other cat in this story, an orange tabby with an attitude.
WIPmath: 1/25/2017 = 25th = 2 + 5 = 7 paragraphs.
The cat showed up the day before school started.
It was an orange tabby, strikingly handsome and as cool as you please when he perched on the stoop staring up at the open door with his unblinking green eyes. Micah had only gone to retrieve the mail, but there was the beast. It opened its mouth and offered a meow in greeting.
Amused, Micah replied, “Hello to you too.”
He reached down to see if the cat had a collar and was rewarded with a whap of the cat’s paw. Fortunately, the thing kept its claws retracted. Micah straightened up and crossed his arms, glowering down at the cat.
“No need to be so touchy. Not going to let me see who you belong to, then? Fine. Maybe if I feed you. Wait here.”
He retreated inside the house and went to the kitchen. Inside, he pulled out a bowl and began rooting through the fridge to see if there was anything cat-friendly. The most he found there was last night’s leftover casserole, which didn’t seem appealing for his guest. He finally located a can of tuna in the pantry and dumped the whole thing into the bowl. As he turned around to cart it back to the stoop, he nearly dropped it when the cat leaped up on the counter next to him, purring.
“Holy hell, you scared me,” Micah muttered at him. “Thought I closed the door. Please, feel free to make yourself at home.” He nudged the cat, who jumped off the counter and wound himself around Micah’s leg.
Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!
How did my cat end up in your novel? 😉
I like this very much. It’s good to see Micah doing normal life stuff.
😀 Orange tabbies are my favorite. Next time we get a cat, I’m holding out for one.
This scene really happened, only there were children involved, LOL. We had a stray, and I was trying to find out who it belonged to so I could return it. I went to get some water, and next thing I knew, the kids had let it into the house! We did return it to its owners, though. Micah gets to keep this one for a while.
Cat people have told me orange tabbies are the friendliest, and I’ve got to say the experience so far suggests they’re right.
I love how cats just come on in and make themselves at home. 🙂 It sounds like Micah got a little visit from heaven when he needed it most.
In my experience, yes, orange tabbies are the best. Not sure what it is. They’re also very cute, LOL.
Cats do seem to settle in and take over. 🙂 And yep, Micah and the cat need each other at the moment.
Awwwww. This is a really nice moment
😀 Thank you! I do like writing about this particular kitty.
Haha, I had a very similar experience! Though this one darted through our living room and made itself at home in our linin cupboard, rather than startling us in the kitchen. You’ve got the cat behaviour downpat here. 😀 And I love orange tabbies, too.
I love writing about cats. They fascinate me. I think dogs are more straightforward in their behavior. I always get the impression my cat is laughing at me behind my back whenever she does this stuff. 😀
My husband would have a fit if he caught a cat on the counter, but our two (both white, fluffy babies) do have their “high-spaces” they can sit and talk face-to-face with us. Glad Micah gets to spend some time with this new friend.
And Hot Topic! Oh, my… Have you ever heard the song by Le Tigre? (I also love their Nancy Drew)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0idmTWxFs1A
Oops, sorry… Nancy Drew was by Tuscadero. Sorry
Yeah, we get our cat down whenever she tries to hop up on the counter. My sister once left a pumpkin pie on her counter, and the cat got up there and ate a perfect hole in the center of the pie!
I have never heard that song before, LOL.