He Had Her from Meow

He showed up two years after Anna had lost her husband and hidden herself away in the treeless, cookie-cutter neighborhood.

Anna surely would have run him over with the lawn mower if he hadn’t said hello.

“Meow.”

How she heard him over the whirr of her riding mower she never figured out. But she did, and she flicked the power switch and was off the seat in a split second. Her heart pounded as she stared down at the little calico kitty. How little and half-starved he looked! Anna reached out to pet him then jumped back just in time. She had almost touched the flea-bitten fur-ball!

“Meow.”

Anna swallowed at the compassion welling up within her heart at the sight of him, so neglected-looking.

“Come on,” she said, reluctantly trudging up to the backdoor and swinging it wide.

The kitty slunk in with the air of a king assessing his new castle. Anna felt a sinking dread take residence in her heart at the realization that the cat felt he was taking up residence in her home!

Anna spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up his knotted fur, dabbing ointment on some sore spots. She finally placed a bowl of milk on the floor for him to enjoy. Anna glanced longingly out the window at her half-finished lawn, then down at the kitty, who was contentedly lapping his milk.

Up until then, Anna thought she had been extremely happy living out her retirement years in solitude, husbandless, friend-less, and definitely, cat-less. She cared for her lawn and she checked out more than her fair share of chick-lit from the local library. She was happy. Until he showed up. But who was she kidding? She wasn’t happy, she was lonely since she had been widowed. She hadn’t even found a niche in the little church she had joined. She sat alone every Sunday and slipped out in silence. Watching the cat respond to her tender loving care and stare up at her in gratitude that day opened Anna’s eyes to just how lonely she was for love and companionship.

Anna couldn’t just let that kitty go back to roaming the neighborhood, not after he stared up at her with those huge eyes.

Next thing she knew, she was at the pet store, cat in one hand, bag of cat food in the other.

“Anna, why, hello, how are you?”

Anna almost tossed the wallet she was struggling to retrieve from her purse when she heard that voice. She regained her composure just in time to smile before she turned.

“Mary, hello, how are you?”

And the cat had the nerve to jump out of Anna’s arms and saunter up to Mary, a choir woman Anna had met a potluck…

One year later, she was very, very glad he had. Mary had picked up the cat and declared him very handsome, then promptly asked Anna to join the book club she was beginning. Anna had soon found her niche at her church, co-leading the book club. She was extremely happy then. She had a wealth of friends, and a cat who had had her from meow.