"It was?"
"YES!! One cat on the way there... Three, no wait! FOUR cats on the way back..."
"Two cats there, Mummy. You saw two cats on the way over." We had walked Rissa over to her friend's house.
"I did?"
"Yes, the long-haired dark grey one and a tabby."
"I can't believe that I forgot the tabby! You're right, there was that tabby, too! It must be all the other wildlife that's throwing off my counting."
"All the other wildlife? What did you see?" Like any other child raised watching Zoboomafoo, in Rissa's mind I was walking hand-in-paw with a panda bear who, in turn, had a duck-billed platypus riding upon its back, with a couple of cabybaras thrown in on the side.
"Some crazy-ass squirrels, and you remember that basset hound that you and Daddy wouldn't let me veer off course to pet? Him. We somehow just managed to walk down that street to come home, I don't know how it happened, it's like I have some sort of freaky furry radar. But before we got to him, there were three other cats." I have now morphed into an addict who got an unexpected fix.
"Three other cats?"
"Yes. One on the one side, close to the basset hound. But then there was another one on the other side of the road - kitty corner to the basset hound. There was one cat on the sidewalk that I went over to talk to, "I was all, hey cat, how you doin?" And then a second cat came from the backyard, rolled onto its back and demanded that I pet its stomach! Plus, the other day - bunny right on the sidewalk!!"
"Plus a bunny?"
"No, the bunny was the other day, but up until today, that had been my best petting spree because there was the bunny, which didn't let me pet it, but did let me get really close to it, but then there was a cat, plus two other cats who all let me pet them - all on the same block. It was a magical block. But then today - BOOM - record broken! Because on top of the all of those animals - that same long haired dark grey cat was still out and ran over to meet us when we came around the corner!!! He ran, from his house, all the way to the corner when he saw me!" I'm holding my hands out - soaking up the feline spirit into my palms. Eyes closed, thankful for the gifts I have been given.
"So, you like animals, I guess?" says Rissa's friend, who up until that moment had been standing slack-jawed at my rant.
I run back the soundtrack from the last minute and a half in my head. Crazy Cat Lady ALL over it. I shrug, now playing at nonchalance. "Yeah. You know. Whatever."
"So the same dark grey long-hair came to you?" Rissa asks.
"HE TOTALLY DID!!!"
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