Summer 1998
We’d settled in to the new apartment. The living room was painted a bright red and the ceilings felt like they went all the way up to the sky. Our kitchen didn’t have the same spacious feel. Instead, we both couldn’t fit into the kitchen at the same time. Even with one of us in the kitchen it was practically impossible to open the door on the narrow fridge. Yet, we were happy and young and in love. So our naive youth helped to make the place a home.
We also worked full-time, went to school full-time and tried to balance a relationship. It was hard, but at the end of the day we’d sit in the living room (with no furniture in it for the first month) and talk. It was simple and good.
One night I got home after working a double shift at the restaurant and he was waiting for me. He had a look of excitement running across his face and his body seemed to be energized. It was like a kid on Christmas morning, who finally gets the present he always wanted. I couldn’t help but catch his excitement when I walked through the door. Even though I had no idea why he was so happy.
I asked him, what was going on?
His answer caught me off gaurd. I am not sure what I expected him to say, but I wasn’t expecting him to say what he did.
His answer, with a smile as wide as the ocean, was “I got you a kitten!”
It turns out during the day he had gone to a friend’s house. There they had a litter of kittens in need of a home. He knew I had missed my pets at home & when he saw the littlest one of the bunch he couldn’t help but have his heart melt for her. And so that week he took me to pick up the runt of the litter. She was calico and had squeaky meow that sounded just above a whisper.
I feel in love with her. And with him all over again for seeing the beauty in the runt. In the smallest, the weakest, and it turns out maybe the craziest cat ever. With Persephone we saw our little place in the world grow a little bigger and warmer. More of a home by the minute. A life being woven together.
[this is part of my “how I met your father” series]
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! My house didn’t become a home until we got our wonderful dogs–they shed, they’re loud, they’re big, but they help us fill up the space!
Stopping by from SITS
http://www.mommamaybemad.blogspot.com
What a sweet memory. Thank you.
That is such a sweet story. Here you had a tiny home, both leading really busy lives and yet you had room in you hearts for a little runt.
same with us—when we finally got our dog (mini Poodle), it made the house more of a home (hubs is allergic to cats). Love that he chose the runt of the litter—so sweet!
Aww so cute, I’m a sucker for the littlest kitten too. When we move I don’t think it’ll be long until we get one. So hard to resist!
sweet story