Nineteen Years Ago Today...

Nineteen years ago this July, a coworker's sister was trying to give away a litter of six week old kittens. The coworker confessed that if no one took them, they would all be taken to the animal shelter and put up for adoption. 

I only had Ricky at the time, a nine-year-old Tonkinese that was very attached to me. He was lonely and very vocal about it. He'd even sit at the front door and cry out for me whenever I threw out the trash at the dumpster no more than fifty feet away from my front door. We had other cats in the household prior to that day, but I knew my mischievous human food thief was better off with another partner in crime.

The next evening, I visited the coworker's sister's apartment to see the kittens. All but two were missing their tails, which freaked me out. One of the tailed kittens approached me, and when I held her she meowed a happy greeting. That was the moment I fell in love with Terri. Or was it Torrie? Assuming their personalities my best guess is that was Terri I held to my chest.

It was the perfect shit storm for all of us. These little girls needed a new home ASAP. Ricky needed another cat to keep him company when I wasn't home. My landlord only allowed two cats, but I couldn't picture breaking up both of these tailed cuties. 

I didn't care. I told the owner that I'll take both of them and figure out the rest as time passed. Within a few seconds both Terri and Torrie were in a towel lined pet carrier for the drive home.

I also had an empty heart that needed filling. In the couple of years prior, I had experienced some really bad things with a couple of women. Things I'd rather not talk about publicly. Things that make me question why I should even bother putting in the effort to be chivalrous or romantic.

That was on my mind when I heard Terri and Torrie crying in their carrier on the drive home. That stressful moment when a kitten realizes they're forever separated from their mother moved me into action. When we waited for the next stop light to turn green, I verbally promised them I would fulfill the role society says I'm supposed to do: I'd be their provider and protector until death do us part.

I'm proud to say I fulfilled that role to the best of my abilities for seventeen years. The picture above is Terri and Torrie's first night at my place, and if I counted backward six weeks it was May 18th. I never found out if that's their actual birthday, but I chose to celebrate May 18th as if it were. 

Happy birthday, my little girls!