“Wouldn't she be an adorable companion?” He asked, though it wasn't really a question. But I was still thinking of the Princess of Siam.
I left him to play with the kittens and asked an Animal Care & Control staff to see the stray Siamese cat. The minute I was let into her cell, she jumped off her chair and rubbed her head against my foot. She weaved around my legs while speaking in her strange, raspy voice, sounding like both a crying baby and an old chain-smoker.
The staff lady brought us to a larger room with a bench and some cat trees. The Siamese princess moved stealthily about, exploring the room, but all the while, she circled back and rubbed herself on me. When my husband found us, she had jumped on the bench next to me. She sat tall on her hind legs, with her tail wrapped neatly around her front paws. I imagined that she must have felt confused, scared perhaps, but she held herself regally.
As we watched her, I got a shortness of breath, that feeling you get when a realization hits you and you know it to be true through and through.
“Please, can we take this one home?” I asked, holding my husband’s hand tightly.
He may still have been thinking about the kittens, but he laughed and wiped my sweaty palm with his cool fingers.
“What if she doesn’t learn to use the litter box? What about all those spontaneous trips you want to take?” He asked, his eyes teasing.
I said nothing as I looked into the Siamese cat’s almond-shaped eyes, like large aquamarine gems. I felt no fear, but a fierce willingness to get to know her.
My husband laughed, sounding as happy as I felt inside. He said, “What should we call her?”
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