Alan wasn’t sure what to do with it when he first saw it. While he was work, his wife had texted him what he would name a gray tabby cat. Alan had responded that he wouldn’t name the cat anything because it wasn’t his. He didn’t hear from his wife for the rest of the day after that.
Naturally, when Alan was on his way home from work, he a little skeptical and a little nervous about what he was going to go home to. He was hoping that he would make it home and no one else would be there except his wife and maybe some dinner on the table.
So, when he walked through the front door of his house and a small kitten lay at his feet, he had no idea what to do.
Alan craned his neck to look at the small creature. The kitten sat nicely in front of his foot, the animal was probably the same size as Alan’s shoe, if not smaller.
Then the kitten squeaked.
“What in the world was that…?” Alan muttered. Cats were supposed to meow, not squeak.
“Oh, good! You’ve met!”
Alan looked up and noticed his wife poking her head into the living room from the kitchen.
“Hailey, what is this?” Alan asked pointing to the kitten. It squeaked again and Alan looked down at it embarrassed for the poor thing.
“He’s our new addition to the family” Hailey replied. She walked away back into the kitchen.
Alan opened his mouth to reply, but he didn’t want to shout. So he stepped over the cat and as if on cue, he started following Alan. He groaned and picked up the kitten holding him in front of his face.
“If I accidentally step on you, you will get crushed and Hailey will certainly divorce me.”
The kitten squeaked one more time and Alan rolled his eyes. He made it into the kitchen with the cat into his arms. Before he could say anything, Hailey cooed at the two of them.
“Oh, you’re bonding! That’s so nice!”
“No,” Alan said putting the cat back down on the ground, “we are no bonding. Hailey, why did you get a cat? And without talking to me about it first, no less,”
“I knew you’d say no.”
Alan pinched the bridge of his nose. This was why his kids had been so difficult growing up. They took after their mother.
“Now that the kids are all grown up and out of the house and you’re working all day, the house was a little quiet and a little lonely.” Hailey continued. “I thought about getting a dog, but I knew you would make it take it back. I figured a kitten was a good starting point.”
“Starting point…?”
“Yes, once we get used to the kitten then we can get another one. Or maybe a dog. We’ll see how their personalities are.” Hailey explained.
Alan groaned. He sat down at the kitchen table shaking his head. “We can’t have a cat, Hailey…”
“Yes we can, and we do.” She said stiffly. She hadn’t once looked at him. She continued making dinner. It was almost as though she had been preparing for this moment all day. “Besides, I did tell you.”
“You asked what we should name it… That’s not exactly talking to me about whether we should get a cat or not.”
The kitten, sitting right beside Alan’s shoe, squeaked again.
“See?” Alan pointed to it. “You didn’t even get a real cat. I think it’s broken.”
“Oh, Alan,” Hailey scoffed. Now she turned around and glared at him. “Chester’s just a kitten!”
Alan leaned forward. “Chester…?”
“Well, I tried to give you the option of naming him and you wanted no part of it.”
Alan looked down at the cat. They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before the kitten squeaked again.
“I’d name him Smokey.” He said.
“That’s a bear, dear.” Hailey replied.
Alan narrowed his eyes at his wife behind her back. He stood up and sighed. “Okay, I’ll be upstairs… “
“Dinner’s in five!” Hailey shouted after him.
Alan walked back into the living room and climbed the stairs not realizing Chester was right behind him. When he made it to the top of the stairs, Alan heard the kitten mewing and squeaking. He turned around and noticed Chester attempting to get up the first step, but he was too small.
Alan sighed. He walked back down the stairs. He scooped Chester up in his arms and walked him up the stairs.
“Just don’t let Hailey know I think you’re cute…”
Words: 773
Sunday Morning
An abandoned house. A heist. A new puppy. Lost Love. From unbelievable to true-to-life, this flash fiction collection will take you to many places and get to know various characters. With no two stories alike each is thought-provoking, emotional,...
