“Meow!” I declared, wiggling my butt to make my tail swish across the padded foam beneath me.
“Alright then, I’ll see where I can order them from,” Daddy said as he fed me another treat.
Blinking, I rolled over, chewing my treat while searching for Murry, who was seated at the table beside the shy kitty and his daddy.
“You were so enthralled by the swaying that I kept thinking you were falling asleep, then I’d see you lift a paw and lazily bat at it to make it swing again.”
“Mmmmmrrrrrr,” I hum-purred, still feeling fuzzy-brained and lazily blissed out by the motion and the gentle waving of the feathers.
“Maybe Daddy should give it a try,” he said, feeding me another snack before stretching out underneath one.
I sprawled out beside him so we could bat at them together; Daddy grabbed the bird hanging from the end of his and began swirling the rope in a circle. Now that was different, it made the tips of the feathers blur in soft streaks of colors and again I got lost.
“Oh yeah, definitely going to have to get these for the playroom,” Daddy murmured, his voice so low and soothing that it sounded almost like a song as he spoke to me. “It kind of reminds me of a kaleidoscope I used to have. I’d stare into it for hours, slowly turning it while my mind wandered. I’ve been meaning to find another one. The last one somehow got misplaced when I moved out of my old apartment.”
“Merrrrrrrrr.”
“Yeah, I know. Sad. It was the only thing I couldn’t find when I unpacked. What a strange thing to lose,” he said, still spinning the rope.
Rolling on my side, I rested a paw on Daddy’s stomach, wanting to comfort him over the loss of his kaleidoscope. Losing things sucked, especially when they were your favorite things. I’d lost more than my fair share in foster care; some I knew had been taken by other kids, but it always turned into aprove it belongs to youorlearn how to sharesituation when dealing with my foster parents, many of whom couldn’t be bothered to sort out issues between us kids. I’d never minded sharing when someone asked and gave back whatever it was but having possessions taken or go missing always sucked and made me feel less like a member of the family.
Scooting closer to Daddy let me peer right up into the swirls he made with the string, and I could bat at the feathers while cuddling with him, my mind drifting away from the sad thoughts that had crept in. He chuckled when I swiped at one and got my paw tangled in the rope, so much so that tugging wouldn’t free it. Daddy carefully unwound it and readjusted the cloth that had twisted around my fingers, kissed me on the nose, and slowly began spinning it again.
The room was filled with loud, exuberant pets, but here in our corner, the sound was dull and faded, like it was all happening blocks away. I loved that just being with him made everything softer and that I got to relax and not always have to be on guard. All my rough edges smoothed out in his arms, as safe as any place I’d ever been. The badass persona I’d picked up mainly through observing James, Phoenix, and other bouncers at the club as a means of getting people to back off me and Murry wasn’t necessary with him. I got to be his kitty, and sometimes his wickedly naughty imp, but always his kitty first, and I loved it.
Pressing closer, I nudged beneath his chin with my nose so I could nuzzle his neck and lick, contentedly purring so he’d know just how much moments like this meant to me. It was like being in our own little world of tornado feathers, especially when he started stroking my side. That I got to remain that way with him until I was ready to go play again was a special kind of treat. I wondered if he knew how much I enjoyed lazy, quiet moments like we’d just shared, and pressed my cheek against his in a show of thanks, leaving a smear of whisker paint behind.
He clearly didn’t mind at all and framed my face between his hands before rubbing noses with me, which meant he wound up with a kitty nose too. Chuckling, he kissed my forehead,and when I turned to join Murry and our new kitty friend, he scratched my lower back and over the base of my tail before I bounded away.
It only took a moment of observation to figure out the new game Murry and the kitty were playing. Murry was hiding little plastic Easter eggs, which attracted the unicorn we’d met at Daddy’s show. She sat on one side of the shy kitty while I sat on the other, pressing my paws over my eyes the way she did with her hooves, each of us waiting for Murry to give us permission to start hunting for them.
By the time he did, a puppy and a koala had joined us and we all headed off in different directions, seeking out the eggs. I spotted a glimmer of blue and went to investigate, only to discover that it was the rubber honking part on the end of a horn. There were so many places in here to hide things, and knowing Murry, he’d pick clever ones but nothing too difficult, since he wouldn’t want to frustrate anyone.
Ohh, yellow.
Scampering, I unearthed an egg that reminded me of sunshine, the tip barely peeking out from the edge of a blanket draped over the edge of one of the large, fluffy beds in the room that us pets loved napping and snuggling in. I carried it between my paws to where Murry stood holding the basket and was rewarded with ear rubs and a kiss on the cheek when I carefully placed it in there with the ball he was still carrying around. He did a happy cute hippity-hop too, then waved his paws at me as encouragement to go find another.
It took a little longer, while around me the unicorn found an orange one, the Koala clung to the purple one she’d found, and the shy kitty spotted a sky blue one he took to Murry, whorubbed his ears too, and made the shy kitty so happy he wound around Murry, brushing against his side. Warmth flooded my belly at the thought that we were helping him come out of his shell. He scampered off when Murry gestured for him to find another one, so I doubled my efforts to find a second one too, curious to learn just how many he’d hidden.
“Rrrrrfffff, rrrrffff, arf, arf, arf!”
I looked up to see the pup nudging an egg with his snout. Every few feet he’d let out a happy yip and bark, then run in circles around it so everyone could see what he’d found. His Mama soon appeared, with a great big smile, to rub his ears and kneel as she admired his treasure.
“What a good boy,” she said, as her pup wagged his tail, gleefully celebrating. “And such a pretty egg you’ve found, and it’s your favorite color too.”
“Yip, yip, yip!”
“Shall we go put it in the basket together?” she asked.
His answer was more yips and that frantically wagging tail he made a move by shaking his ass back and forth. Oh, now I could see clearly that it was a plug. I loved them for lounging around but not for playing in, but he must have found them enjoyable to be wiggling around the way he was.
He sat up and held his front paws out to her, tongue lolling out as she picked up the bright green egg and placed it in them, remaining beside him as he crawled to Murry, who lowered the basket so he could place the egg in it. Smiling, Murry held out his paw but looked first at the Mama to see if it would be okay to touch her pup.
“Of course he may have ear rubs,” she said, which was all the permission Murry needed to dole them out and make the pup very happy indeed.
He went bounding away the way the rest of us had when Murry motioned with his paws that there were more left to find. Scanning around, I tried to think like Murry and carefully approached the shelves of toys when something pink sticking out of the pouch of a stuffed kangaroo caught my attention. That was genius and such a Murry thing to do. His grinning hippity-hop dance was as joyful as ever when I carried it over to him and tucked it in beside the ball. This time, he caught my paw in his free hand and tugged me close instead of motioning for me to go find another. Leaning in, I rested my head on his shoulder to watch the puppy and unicorn racing for the same egg. The unicorn got there first, but when that sweet girl saw the sad-eyed look on the pup's face, she placed the egg in his paws and let him carry it back to Murry.
There was one proud looking Mama on the sidelines taking in the whole moment, and when her unicorn turned to look at her, the Mama made the shape of a heart with her hands and pressed it to her chest before blowing a kiss to her beaming unicorn. Playing here was amazing and not just for all the awesome toys and activities that filled the space. Everyone here was kind to one another and so happy to be playing as their authentic selves that the vibe in the room was pure joy.
