Crimson Rose: The Crooked Man and the Crooked Cat

Chapter 5: Cat Supplies

The next morning, during breakfast, Annette made herself a delicious peanut butter and chocolate spread sandwich.

The black cat dined on salmon, purring happily as he munched on the pieces of the fish. Emily was munching on her favorite cereal while Helen was sipping her coffee and reading the newspaper.

Suddenly, the black cat jumped on the table and approached Helen.

Helen looked up from her newspaper and at the cat's golden eyes. The cat never meant to startle her but Helen gave out a little shriek and nearly dropped her coffee. "Annette, get that cat off the table!" Helen ordered. Annette carried the cat off the table and set him on the floor.

"Have you called the animal shelter?" asked Helen. Annette nodded. "Just this morning."

Emily sighed. "But I really like the kitty." she said somberly. Annette looked at her in surprise. She never thought that Emily would also grow fond of the black cat too! "You like him too? I thought I was the only cat lover in this household."

Emily smiled at her smugly. "I like cats too, so you're not the only cat lover in the household."

Annette couldn't believe it. She thought her bratty sister wouldn't care less about having a black cat in the household!

Emily often bullied the squirrels and ducks every time they visit the park. And she would also bully the neighborhood cats by throwing water at them.

Annette would often scold her for doing that. Now that Emily claimed that she loved cats, she began to grow suspicious. "Are you sure you love cats? You're not willing to bully or hurt them anymore, are you?" she whispered in Emily's ear.

"Of course not. I would never hurt another cat ever again." said Emily innocently. Or, what Annette heard was innocent. After breakfast, Annette and Emily took the cat to the animal shelter. "We would like to give this cat up for adoption, please." said Annette. The head director looked at the black cat.

"I'm sorry, but we can't accept this cat." said the head director. "Why not?" asked Emily. "Because black cats are the least likely to be adopted. But if you're planning to euthanize him...."

"Stop right there! We're not gonna euthanize him! Good day!" Annette said. She took Emily and the cat and left in a huff. "Annette, what does 'euthanize' mean?" asked Emily curiously. "It means that they were going to kill him in a humane way."

Emily's eyes widened. "Kill him?! But why?"

Annette bowed her head. "Because black cats are thought to be bad luck. People often associate them as witches' pets and devils in disguise." "Even during the Middle ages, thousands of black cats were killed because of those beliefs."

"That's so awful."

"Yeah. Very awful." said Annette. "Do you believe that our black cat brings bad luck?" asked Emily. "No, of course not. I think all that stuff about black cats is silly stuff. I think our feline friend here brings all the good luck we need."

The black cat purred with delight when he heard that. When they returned home, Helen saw the cat still in Annette's arms. She folded her arms across her chest. "Uh, oh." Annette thought. It's a sign that they're going to get a huge rebuke.

"Well? What happened exactly?" asked Helen. Annette gave her a sheepish grin. "The head director said that he couldn't accept the cat."

"Why?" Helen gave her a meaningful look. "Allergies. Cat allergies." said Annette. "Oh." said Helen.

"So can we keep him?" asked Annette.

Helen sighed. "Annette, I thought we talked about this. We can't have a cat in the house."

"And why not?"

"Because cats shed fur all over the place and they scratch at furniture." "So? I'll clean up after him. I'll buy him a scratching post, a litter box, a cat bed and everything."

"Taking care of a pet requires responsibility. And, well..." Helen shrugged. "You said I needed responsibility, right? Plus, I need a friend. Well, this cat is my chance."

The cat meowed, as if he agreed with her.

Helen sighed. "That girl, she's really headstrong." she thought. "Headstrong like her father." "Okay, fine. You can keep him. But if you have any problems with him, don't come crying to me. He's your responsibility now."

Annette beamed. "Thanks, Mom. You're the best! I promise you, you won't regret it!"

"We get to keep him?" asked Emily. "Yep. But we'll need some cat stuff if he's going to stay with us."

They went upstairs and entered Annette's bedroom. "What are you looking for?"

"My allowance jar." said Annette, looking underneath her bed.

"Allowance? What's an 'allowance'?" asked Emily. "It's money Mom gave me." Emily's eyed widened. "She gives you money?" Then she scowled. "How come she doesn't give me money?" "Ah, found it." Annette pulled out a big glass jar from underneath her bed.

She took out a calculator, a notebook and a pen. She dumped the money on the floor and started counting it.

"Let's see...Cat bed costs '20 francs'...Scratching post costs '34 francs'...Carry the 12..."

Annette pressed the numbers on the calculator and wrote down the equations. Then, she looked at the total cost on her calculator. Her eyes widened.

"Holy cow!" she exclaimed. "What?" asked Emily. "I didn't know those things I need would be that costly! I only have enough to buy 4 items!"

"What were you planning to buy?"

"Cat toys, an enormous cat condo, a litter box, cat food and a scratching post. But I only have enough to buy cat food, a scratching post, a cat bed, and a litter box. But that's okay. I don't need that much fancy stuff anyway."

She turned to the black cat. "You know, I almost forgot to give you a name. What name should I give you?"

The black cat held his paw in the air and meowed loudly. "How about 'Rocky?'" asked Emily. "Rocky? What kind of name is that?" asked Annette. The black cat meowed and shook his head. He clearly doesn't like that name.

"Should I call you 'Meow'?" suggested Annette. The cat shook his head. He meowed again. Obviously not.

"Oh, boy. Finding a good name is really hard." said Annette, scratching her head.

"Oh, so you don't want a name. That's okay. I think you already have a name and you want to keep it. So how about I just call you 'Kitty'?" The cat meowed, as if in approval.

"Okay! It's official. Kitty, it is!" Annette declared, proud of her choice.