Her key slid into the lock of her front door as easily as she had hoped. It had been a long day, and it showed in her disheveled hair and wrinkly shirt. She let out a deep sigh as she opened the door. Stepping over the threshold, she tried to clear her mind, but it was proving to be a difficult task today. The door closed behind her with a quiet ka-thunk as she draped her blazer and purse over the dining room chair closest to the door. Slowly, and while grabbing onto the back of the chair, she slipped her left shoe off, and then the right. Her feet ached as she hobbled over to the couch under her west-facing window. She loved coming home to her apartment, her sanctuary in the evening. She reveled in the beautiful Colorado sunsets that she had the perfect view of. She loved to watch the sky change colors as the sun sank behind the mountains, and she loved how it painted the room different colors. Just as suddenly as she flopped down onto the couch, she heard an excited, “meow”, and the thump of her cat jumping off her bed. The girl smiled as she listened to the pitter-patter of the cat’s little feet, preparing herself to be pounced on.
In a flash of orange, her tabby cat leaped onto her stomach, causing her to let out a quiet, “oof”, as the cat settled in on her chest. The cat began to knead and purr loudly, waiting for the girl to greet it. The girl didn’t hesitate to cup the little orange face in her hands and give it a scratch behind its ears.
“And how was your day?”, she asked, “were the neighbor dogs quiet today?”
She, of course, knew the cat didn’t really understand her, but all the same, the cat gave a small meow, as if to say, “my day would have been much better if you had decided to stay home.''
She gave the cat a kiss on its head and asked, “Well, should we have dinner?”
The cat’s pupils dilated, and with an excited, “meow”, it jumped off of her and made its way to the kitchen.
She struggled up off of the couch in time to see the cat trotting toward the fridge excitedly. She made her way over, opened the fridge, and grabbed the most recent can of wet cat food. “Salmon sound okay to you?”, she asked, not expecting a response. The cat gave a quiet chirp as it rubbed against and between her legs. She opened her utensil drawer, grabbed a large spoon, and closed it again with her hip. It closed with a klunk as the silverware rattled around. She moved to the other side of the refrigerator and grabbed the cat’s bowl. Setting it on the table, she opened the can of food and scooped the rest of the food into the bowl. In the meantime, the cat was dancing around her, rather impatiently.
“Alright, here you go,'' she said, turning around and moving to put the food bowl back in its place. The cat gleefully began to chow down on its food as the girl turned toward the sink to rinse off the spoon and then put it into the dishwasher. “What should I have for dinner?”, she asked to no one in particular as she turned around and opened the fridge again. She stood looking at her baren shelves for a moment before deciding to heat up some leftover pizza. After placing the pizza on a small plate, her stomach grumbled. She couldn’t afford lunch today when everyone else had gone out, so she stayed behind at the office. She stared blankly at the counter while the microwave buzzed quietly in the background, and was only brought back to reality by its persistent beeping.
She pulled the plate out of the microwave and turned to sit down at the table. As she turned, she noticed the cat sitting on the table. “Listen,” she said, “you know the rules, get down”. It sat there, definitely flicking its tail. “I love you, but you need to get down,” she said as she gave it an encouraging shove. It finally jumped down with a quiet thump and made its way to the couch across the room. The girl sat down, reached across to her purse, and pulled out her phone. As she nibbled on the pizza, savoring it as best she could, she scrolled through Facebook. Two more people had gotten engaged this week, and 3 more people were announcing their pregnancy. Her mom had posted some unnecessary political opinions, which the girl didn’t read into. As she finished the last bite of her pizza, she put her phone down. She got up and put the plate in the dishwasher.
She turned around, and as she made her way to the couch, she asked, “should we call it an early night?” The cat looked up at her. “Yeah, I think so too,” the girl said, scooping the cat up. She turned around and walked into her room, pushing the door partially closed behind her.
