Fame Isn't Everything [Elvis]

Chapter 5 - The Elusive Black Cat in Elvis's Life

My husband and I just got a cat, so that's where I got the idea for this chapter. She's a grey tabby, not a black cat, but I owned a black cat growing up.

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Well, maybe I should humor him. But I would wait until tomorrow to do so. Knowing him, he would go out to the thorn bush and look at that flower and watch a petal fall. He would feel the time passing, as he thought. That wasn't me, it was just him focusing too much on the time he had left.

And what was I doing? Focusing too much on him. I should get my mind occupied. As I sat on the sofa in my apartment, I took up the paper and looked through it. I saw several things regarding Elvis. That figures. It was seeing an article in the paper that first sparked the idea of me helping him out a bit. I turned the page and saw advertisements. Something caught my eye.

"Four-month-old kittens for sale..." I read. "Huh. Four tabby kittens and one all black. Go to this address or call this phone number."

I looked around my apartment that was full of all my knick-knacks, then back at the paper. Maybe some company would be nice, and from an animal, one that was different from the rest of its peers, just like me. Plus, a cat wouldn't judge me.

I took up the phone that was made to look like it came out of 1910 and called the number. The lady on the other end said I could come and visit tomorrow morning at ten to see the litter. I made the appointment, and soon, the time came. I stood in front of my mirror. With a wave of my finger, my appearance changed. Gone was all the black. I couldn't scare these cat owners away and have them think I was some freak who loved to wear black. No. I would go "normal."

Loving that I could just go places without a car, I thought of the address and was there in a few seconds. I saw my reflection in the window on the front door of this little one-story house that looked like it was built in the late 1800s. My hair was long and brown, I didn't have makeup on, and I had on a white blouse and black pants. I couldn't completely forgo the black. Black slacks were classy on a man or woman.

A woman answered the door, and I saw that she was this sweet older gal that reminded me a little of my grandmother, even down to her white hair that sat on her head like a cloud. She gave me a wrinkly smile.

"Hello, dear. You must be Ignis, correct?"

"I am."

"Come in, come in."

She stood out of the way, and I went on into a house that very much looked like a grandmother's house with the dated furniture, phonograph, typewriter on a desk, both of which looked like they came from the early 1900s when this woman was most likely a young woman. I smiled. I was a fan of things from that time, hence my dated dresses and phone I used.

I heard little meowing coming from the hallway.

"Follow me," said the lady. "And my name is Mildred. I have to say... I have never heard the name Ignis before. How unique and lovely."

No one had called my name lovely before. "Thank you. My parents were unique people themselves. My name is Latin for fire."

"Is that right? Such a pretty name for such a pretty girl."

She was most likely just saying that to be nice. I didn't look horrible, especially without all my enchantress get-up. But I didn't think of myself as any real beauty. I learned that I could improve my appearance with magic, but I decided not to be vain and selfish and use my powers on myself.

We came to a door, and Mildred opened it. I instantly saw a room that was bare, aside from a few cat towers and scads of cats. A couple of them were grown, but all the others were smaller. They were the kittens. One was black while all the others were tabbies.