25
The cat enthusiast
This had been exactly the kind of magical Christmas that I dreamed of giving my unborn child––surrounded by love, friendship, laughter, and a touch of craziness when the kittens pounced and played. The only thing that could have made it better would have been if Derek could have been with us for all of it, rather than just in sporadic bursts. We made the most of our time with him, though, and I honestly couldn’t imagine being any happier.
As I went to the kitchen to clean up the mess from our meal, I saw the one member of our little makeshift family that just didn’t seem to fit in. Mittens, the tortoiseshell kitten with adorable white paws, was all alone, hiding under the table.
She was a master at finding spots where she could hide for some solitude. We had almos
