You Adopt This Cat?

By Greag Culdesac

Max: Neutered 9yr old male. He's really affectionate but jealous and slightly naughty. He does get along with other cats but likes to be the center of any human-cat interaction. He's also one of the most powerful forces in the universe!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781329847774

Book preview

You Adopt This Cat?

You Adopt This Cat?

To my sister,

whose life in NO WAY

is even remotely similar

to the contents within these pages.

…enjoy

Copyright © 2016 by Greag Culdesac

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2016

ISBN #: 978-1-329-84777-4

,

You Adopt this Cat?

2

It’s a cheery bright day and you arrive at the address listed in the classifieds as simply Apartment for Rent, Cheap, Nice cat. You chuckle and figure, How could there be anything wrong with that?

You are Jane, a youthful and adventurous woman, and feel like taking the risk. Anything to get out of the city and away from its annoying people. The congestion, the fast paced frantic need to get here and there, and never feeling like you’ve accomplished anything. More specifically, you can’t stand to hear some of your relatives jabber on about things you should be doing. Its all nonsense to you, and you needed to get out. Now!

It’s a second, no, third floor apartment of a house whose style looks like a giant set of stairs, the apartment is the one at the top and you can get there from the three levels of whitewashed decks leading to its door. A variety of potted flowers dot each deck in several places. Some wrought iron work is used for hanging plants or the odd vintage signs for soda, cigarette ads, Stay off the Grass. and No Smoking.

The door looks antique, its thick curly textured glass obscuring what’s inside takes up a good third of the frame and the door handle appears to be brass but was painted over a few times by the white exterior paint used for the entire house. To the side of the door is a little flat metal silhouette of a cat playing with a ball of yarn.

If you reach down to pick up the metal cat, go to 3

If you decide to knock on the door first, go to 4

3

The little metal cat fascinates you, so before you knock on the door you pick up the flat metal cat in both hands, it feels heavier than you would expect it – WHAM! Something black in your periphery slammed into the glass from the inside, startling you.

You drop the little cat and clumsily try to set it back the way it was as a man’s agitated voice from inside yells. You can hear his feet pounding towards the door.

Just as the door swings quickly open, you whip your body upright and stare directly at him.

Next

4

The man at the door is an elderly Asian man with a worn tank top undershirt, and gray khaki pants. He has very little hair on his head and no facial hair.

He is also taking in your appearance, bright red sneakers and casual jeans, Ramones T-shirt, though from his body language you’d think he was looking beyond what he sees, peering into your soul.

You jokingly wonder if he’s going to teach you some kind of martial arts, not disrespecting his race, but more so that he carries himself in a manner an old wise man might in those movies. And right now, he looks a little apprehensive. You are like a student in his eyes.

You come about apartment? He asks in an immediate tone.

Yes, I...Uh...Hi, how are you? I’m Jane. And he invites you in quickly to have a look around. It’s a single bedroom apartment, simply furnished. The living room is big enough for a few people to lounge around in and the furniture is a very old style but clean aside from corners being scratched. The kitchen is nicely tiled with small white octagons and squares over the entire floor and a counter top curving around to the living room where two people could sit on stools by.

Walking over to the hallway you notice two doors, from the living room he says that’s the bathroom and single bedroom. His hands are on his waist. Is this some kind of challenge? You think to yourself.

You take the door on the left. Go to 5

You take the door on the right. Go to 6

5

You see yourself!

Your reflection in the mirror of the bathroom’s medicine cabinet startled you there for second. It could be the bright red hair. This room has even more white octagon and square tiles and an old-fashioned wall mounted sink with metal bars to hang a hand towel are on either side. To the right of the sink about three feet away is a claw foot tub, which also serves as a shower. To your immediate right is the toilet and towel rack above. It’s small but functional, as it’s just you who will be living there.

The old man keeps it pretty clean, but he also knew you were coming, didn’t he?

Go to 7

6

You open up the door to bedroom. The floor has been carpeted unlike the rest of the apartment’s wood flooring and tile. Its cozy, the carpet feels new and soft. Windows bookend the bed and a single nightstand with lamp are to the right. As you walk in, to the left is a bureau and beyond it the closet. You check the view from the bedroom; through its lace curtains show a good deal of this side of the small town, trees interspersed throughout and more woods beyond. Just as you lean out some more you bump the nightstand and the windup alarm clock falls. It goes off and you reach down to stop it quickly.

As you stop it from ringing and pick it up, your face is right up against the puss of a big cat suddenly on the bed.

Mow? He says to you and purrs while rubbing his head on your nose before jumping away and into the hall.

You are pretty satisfied with the apartment; you can definitely imagine yourself relaxed and carefree here. But standing there musing all this you get the sensation that maybe you’ve spent enough time in what is still the old man’s bedroom.

Do you go check out the bathroom? If so, go to 5

If you’re sure it’s nice enough, go to 7

7

Going back out into the hallway to the living room, you glance over the bedroom, its door left slightly open, and consider everything you’ve seen so far. It’s very nice Mister uh?

Qiaokeli. Thank you. I’ve had this for many years, since I was as old as you I think."

He smiles now and you relax, hoping this means he’ll let you take over the apartment.

I used to be the landlord of this building but I since sold it and became a tenant. I told the new landlord that I would personally take care of getting the new tenant and be sure they were right for the place. He explained everything about the rent before hand, you like, yes?

Yes I do, I can’t help but admire how nice you’ve kept everything down to the antique furniture.

It was new when I bought it! He laughs quickly and you give him a polite chuckle.

Now, he says, the apartment is furnished so all this staying. It’s yours if you want, including cat, Reaching down to pull up the big purring black cat, which looks very happy to be held.

Aww, well I… and you start to wonder if you really should, and think about what it might entail in keeping him. Looking into his curious and gentle face you decide he’ll be good company and too cute. And it’s a free cat after all, ...ok!

He hands you the paperwork, which he says, is just a formality around here. That much was true from what you’ve experienced so far. The current landlord practically ensured the apartment was yours over the phone. You just had to get the current tenant’s approval. You go over the other odds and ends and about the utilities and such as you fill it all out.

Once the paperwork is signed, he folds it up and stuffs it into his back pocket.

I’ll take this down to Mr. Dan’s office. I’m all ready packed, so here’s the key.

My, this is all so fast. Thank you so much! When you take the key, he also hands you the cat, which snuggles up to as best a cat can and looks at you.

You will hold this cat, indoors only, yes? You look into the eyes of the cat and get somewhat mesmerized. His face is perfect, almost like he’s smiling or at least saying, There’s got to be some canned food around here yes?

All right. And you give him a polite smile. Mister Qiaokeli gives a great sigh of relief and appears somewhat less energetic and older than he was a moment ago. He tells you to take care and goes out the door, closing it behind him. You sit down on one of the stools at the kitchen counter and in a few minutes you can see him from the window walking the sidewalk heading farther up the road. The road is perfectly straight towards the distant woods. He seems to be heading that way, and every once in a while he waves his arms frantically around him, as if there’s a bee or something attached. You look back at the cat still in your arms and shrug, and then look around.

NEXT

8

Now what? You ask yourself and the walls of the apartment, which are covered in wallpaper with an old repeating medallion pattern.

You counted on getting this apartment, brought everything you could and crammed it into your little car. Luckily it worked out so smoothly, a little odd too, but smoothly all the same. It still surprises you how fast it was, and you’re all moved in within a few hours of showing up to see it too.

Of your belongings were clothes and toiletries, a bag of paperbacks ready to burst, some