November 10, 2011
TBC
His name is Toby (though I secretly call him Tobias when TJ isn't home) and he's a little white and gray tabby. He has a little cold which makes him sneeze and sput a bit, but other than that he has a great personality. Mellow enough to be a lap cat yet feisty enough to chase after his toy mouse and try to tangle himself up in the computer and tv cables. I like him, have probably held him more than I should, and have already taken countless pictures with my Pentax.
When we walked into the woman's house, my breath immediately began to falter and I closed off my nose to the smell. I knew she had animals, but I didn't realize she fostered them, which became obvious as soon as a pack of little dogs came scrambling under our feet. While TJ and I waited in the living room with all the canines nad the woman's daughters, she disapeared in the back and returned with the little guy. And boy was he little, the runt of the litter, a 4 month old kitten that looked no older than 6 weeks. I was intrigued and she handed him off to me. Since it would technically be TJ's cat and not mine, I gave it to him. He studied for no more than a moment and handed him back.
Uh oh! He didn't like him. We drove all the way over here and we were going to have to tell the lady that we didn't want to take him after all. I kept looking over at him for reassurances as the kitten climbed over my shoulders- it was his cat after all- but TJ was pretty quiety, nodding at me. We made small talk with the woman. I inquired about her fostering and she told me alittle of her life. Every once in awhile TJ would stroke the cat behind the ear and I would look up at him again, silently asking and he would simply nod again. Finally, it was time to go and I asked him out right if he wanted it or not. We could look at other cats if he prefered, but he said that he liked this one and that was all she wrote. We paid up the cash, packed the car with the food and litter she gave us, and headed out with the kitten sitting between my legs.
That's when TJ decided to give me the full force of his excitment. He loved the cat! It was the most adorable thing ever. He kept talking to it with a baby voice, scrathing his head all the while. When we got home, he threw the little blue mouse we had bought around and was delighted when the kitten would chase it. He set up the litter box, made room for the food dish, and we watched as the little guy explored room by room, soemtimes trotting back to climb up our legs and across our laps. I think watching TJ play with that cat, his first pet, made me fall in love a little bit more. I took lots of pictures and pray that the light was bright enough for my flashless manual.
We didn't come up with the name Toby until today. He went through a few names last night but none of them seemed right. I didn't really offer any help, only nodding to the ones I liked and throwing out the ones I didn't. My favorite that he came up with was Badger. I don't know why I like it, but I felt that it fit. But in the end he chose Toby, which reminds me of a dog, so I'll happily call him Tobias when it's just the two of us. I have a feeling Tobias and I will be spending lots of time together.
It's almost strange that we actually went out and did it. He's been talking about cats for awhile, but I never thought for a moment he would actually get one, let alone drag me into it. But I think it was a nice experience for us to share together. Later, late last night before we went to bed and after he tried a few new delightful things out on me, we settled down together and he began talking to me. I don't recall how the conversation began, but somehow we ended up talking about couples. Perhaps he was talking about a woman he works with and how her marriage is rocky. Her and her husband are going through counseling and have to pretty much log everything they do and talk all day long. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. There's no room for trust and I think it's going to end badly if they keep at that. TJ commented on how some guys just can't commit to someone and I said that you're either with someone or your not- it's not that difficult. I truly don't remember the whole of the ocnversation, but I remember falling asleep feeling satisfied. I think this thing between us is going to work out. I think it's going to be a good thing. I do, on the other hand, remember asking him why he doesn't like kissing all that much because I love kissing. Apparently, he feels as if he has matured out of kissing. He just doesn't find it all that interesting. He said he's a hugging and touchy feely type of guy rather than a kissing type. Then he said that older couples didn't go around doing all kinds of kissing. I think this is where he claims our four/five year age difference comes into play. I think he's crazy, but at least now I know it's not that he doesn't want to spend a lot of time kissing me, he just doesn't want to spend a lot of time kissing. I can compromise on this, especially since today he gave me a big bear hug to kind of prove his point. This is def quite the adventure I chose, that's for sure!
scullerymaid at 3:52 p.m.