On the drive back from the little old clock lady’s house outside of town, we got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic yet again. Atlanta, I tell you.
We still had a few hours left to hit the estate sale circuit, but unfortunately didn’t find any more magicked items or residue.
“Hey, we got a hit today. That’s good progress,” I reasoned, but neither of the girls responded.
Amy and Kaye had tried to talk me into that kitty seatbelt again before we left the last estate sale, and I’d thrown a right proper conniption.
Really, they should have known better than to ask that again. And I should have known better than to make nice, only to get ignored for the rest of the drive back to our apartment safe house.
Back at base, Amy and Kaye busied themselves by preparing dinner, while I sat on a kitchen chair with my tail wrapped around my nose, listening to them chatter. The topic of the hour was the spells Kaye had performed first to fix the clock and then to wipe the old lady’s memory.
Frankly, I didn’t care to learn the particulars. All I cared about was staying comfortable and filling my belly once the delicious-smelling steaks finished cooking.
“Moss,” Amy murmured a few minutes later as she scratched the top of my head. Huh? When did she come over here? Why wasn’t she in the kitchen anymore?
“Time to wake up,” she cooed as if she hadn’t just given me the silent treatment on the other side of my glorious nap.
My purr box started up of its own accord. I coughed to cover the sound and did my best to act casual.
“Ah, lovely,” I said, pretending the embarrassing purring incident hadn’t just happened. It wasn’t so bad when I chose to do it. What I hated was when I had no control of what sounds my furry, little body made.
I hopped onto the table and examined my plate. “Aww, you’ve even cut up my steak for me. Thank you for the first-rate service.”
“Yeah, it’s really magical,” Kaye said with a wink.
“I thought you liked to save it up,” I said as I carefully selected my first morsel of medium-rare steak. Oh, heavens to Betsy! This was to die for.
Kaye shrugged as both women watched me with amusement dancing in their eyes. “A few small spells here and there help to keep it flowing. And today’s clock thing was a breeze compared to last night’s collar thing.”
I let that remark go as I eagerly sniffed at the potatoes, ultimately deciding to skip them in favor of more steak. “Any more?” I asked when my serving had disappeared completely.
“Do you like the gristle?” Amy asked with a grimace, indicating a few pieces of steak on her plate. “Because if so, you’re welcome to mine.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s the best part,” I cried with joy, realizing that I truly meant the words the moment they slipped out of my mouth. I hadn’t liked the gristle before I was turned semi-permanently into a cat, but now I’d take it over the finest cut of prime rib any day of the week—weekends, too. That probably wasn’t a good sign, but I was too busy feasting to give it much thought.
Kaye also moved some extra bits from her plate onto mine. By the time I finished, my belly was pleasantly round, and I hadn’t needed to touch a single vegetable to get it that way. Score.
I lapped some water from my drinking dish and sat back on my haunches with a very satisfied grin. “Wonderful dinner. My compliments to the chefs.”
I hopped down from the table and walked out of the room, swinging my tail back and forth, much to the girls’ amusement.
Thankful for the privacy, I then utilized the toilet between the bedrooms while the women were busy with dishes. Once done with that, I randomly got the biggest jolt of energy I’d ever felt in my life, cat or otherwise.
What? Holy crow! If I stayed in one place too long, I might explode!
My body lurched forward before I could tell it to stay put. I moved so fast, I practically flew through that apartment.
I jumped onto Kaye’s bed and pounced at the pillow. My tail wagged wildly behind me, and I imagined my fuzzy hind end turning into a wild mouse, eager to tussle with me, the biggest predator in the wild bedroom.
Rushing to the end of the bed, I clawed all over that imaginary mouse, then took a victory lap around the room. Under the bed, on the dresser, in the bathroom, and back out.
Fly, you furry beast, fly!
I didn’t know what drug this was, but if I could bottle it up and sell it on the streets, I’d never have to steal another day in my life.
Was it the steak?
Was it the catness?
WHAT WAS THIS AMAZING FEELING?!
“Moss?” Kaye called down the hall. “You okay?”
“I’m great!” I ground out as I barreled down the hallway toward her.
She stared at me with wide eyes as I launched up and onto the back of the couch, using my claws to propel me forward and my tail to keep my balance.
“Having four legs is so much more fun than two,” I cried as I pushed off the couch, aiming for the love seat across the way.
I didn’t quite make it and skidded across the top of the end table. Wheeee!
Falling over on my side now, I grabbed the chair legs and pulled myself around and around the table as fast as I could.
I panted hard, but still I found great heaping stores of energy somewhere. I kept going as Amy and Kaye stood in the doorway, staring at me with matching grins on their faces.
“Having fun, Mossy?” Amy asked, tilting her head in question.
“Oh, baby, you better believe it. Now out of my way!” I screamed as I sprinted full steam toward them.
They each leaped in a different direction, leaving an opening for me as I bolted back down the hall, into Amy’s room this time. Hers had a four-poster bed, which I happily scaled.
Once I was at the top of the wooden post with my claws sunk into the soft wood to keep me aloft, I stopped and looked down.
And just as fast as it had come, it went. All my energy evaporated in the blink of an eye.
“Um, a little help here?” I called toward the door, suddenly mortified by my behavior.
Amy and Kaye walked in and burst out laughing as soon as they spotted me.
“What happened, Mossy?” Amy teased. “Is kitty afraid of heights?”
I looked around, claws firmly planted, and tried to tug my paws away. If I could get out of this myself, I could still save face. But no…
“I may have miscalculated my abilities,” I admitted with a heavy sigh.
Amy grabbed my body while Kaye extracted my claws from the wooden post.
“You were having way too much fun,” Amy said as she snuggled me close. “Next time, invite me to play, too.”
Oh, sweet, sweet Amy. You have no idea.