By John Clise
After a short struggle to rotate the couch in front of the window the old man laid down with his beloved feline Prince Julip.
The two were snuggled up warm watching the snow out the window. Prince Julip was once a neighborhood scrapper of a cat handing out beatings like candy. He was missing half of his right ear. His nose and face were heavily scarred from the epic dark alley brawls he’d been in over the years.
He’d gone missing for a week or two when the girl across the hall found him in a dumpster with severe infection in his left leg. Kasie had brought the brawler to the old man in tears not knowing what to do and having no money for medical care. He rarely said no to anything for Kasie as she was his favorite neighbor. Maybe it was because she was quiet, polite and occasionally brought him homemade chili or her mother’s BBQ. Or maybe it was because she checked on him daily to be sure was “still breathing.” As a bonus she made him laugh.
She’d been feeding the cat for a while. The old man loved her “big heart.”
They loaded up the brawler in a box with a blanket and went off to an emergency hospital for animals.
It was a $500 deposit for services which brought Kasie again to tears. The old man handed over five $100 bills. They took the cat back and handed them a chart to fill out. They didn’t question the money again.
Name was the first question. After a short discussion Kasie suggested Prince and the old man liked Julep… Prince Julep it was. There wasn’t much more they could fill out. Turns out he wasn’t in bad shape aside from the leg injury.
Prince Julip lost his leg due to the injury and became an indoor cat from then on. He was no longer the mad scrapper. He was now a cuddle bug living the life of pampered royalty.
Back to the story. There was a bird, sitting on a fence, chirped seeming displeasure at the weather conditions. Prince Julep took notice. Not so much as a predator, as much as a nosey neighbor spying on people and things.
The wind was blowing hard. The bird hunkered down looking around for a place to hide probably. He kept watching the bird until the need to sleep overtook him.
He slept on the old man’s chest as they laid on the couch. Prince Julep couldn’t ever get enough pets, rubs, scratches, or treats.
They were heavy sleepers. So much so that when the old man woke up Kasie was sitting on the recliner asleep herself.
They showered Prince Julep with much love. He purred and rolled on the couch as they gave him pets and scratches. Obviously two hands were nice, but four hands were even better for pets.
He was living the high life splitting his time between Kasie’s apartment and the old man’s. He had the best of both worlds going for him now, and he was going to enjoy it as much as he could.
Clise's Cornucopia 