“Perfect.” could be heard resounding off the walls of an almost empty home. Devoid of any living beings beside the single occupant currently staring into a full-body mirror, adjusting his tie, the house was bare with not even a plant. Chester was simple and minimalistic, and his home decor reflected it as such. Perhaps that was why he was willing to wake up five days a week and work on tax forms. He didn’t need too many luxuries, and he kept his money for a rainy day. There was always something amiss in his house, or lack thereof, but could never figure what it was. He doubted something materialistic would cut it, and decided to wait for it to come.

Exiting his home, he noticed Margo hollering at a trashcan on the street. One wrinkled hand firmly grasping her cane, the other accusingly pointed at the garbage. “You get out, right now!” Her tight bun atop her head only seemed to accumulate more grey flyaways, her head shaking furiously. Chester took a few steps forward and saw a furry tail stick out of the trash. He brushed it off as Margo becoming more senile by the day, and began to enter his car. As he was about to start the ignition, he heard a piercing yell that caused him to hesitate.

“Chester!” Margo called, her attention straying away from the trashcan momentarily. “You come out here right now and help me get rid of this—this creature!” Her shrilly voice was clear, even through the windows of his car. He paused, unsure of his predicament. If he left now, he would still be on time for work, but would later face the wrath of Margo and her berates. If he stayed, Margo wouldn’t upset the rest of his street, but his boss would question his attendance. Flipping his phone, he conceded and sent a prompt message to his boss before stepping out.

As he took a few steps toward the offending trashcan, he found a stray cat meowing behind the bin. Chester quickly backed away and pivoted around to look at Margo. She already had her hunched back turned to him and walked slowly back into her home. The last thing he heard from Margo before her door slam shut was a “Make sure you take care of it!”

Turning back, Chester felt inexplicably anxious around the cat. All throughout his childhood, he had never been comfortable around animals. Every time he came near one, they would be quick to back away or bark at him in discomfort one way or another. Try as he might growing up, animals never liked him as much as he enjoyed their presence. He crouched down and slowly made his way toward the cat. The closer he got, the further back the cat went behind.

“Hey there…” he whispered softly to the cat. Chester stretched out his hand, but the cat only stared. He pulled his hand back and sighed. Using force to remove the cat would only lead to possible injuries, so he opted that option out. After several more failed attempts of coaxing the cat away from the trash, he quickly ran back into his home and brought out an opened can of tuna. He set the can inches away from the ca, allowing some space to not scare the animal away. After minutes of absolutely no progress, Chester sat down on the cold concrete, defeated.

“Kid or adult, animals still feel the same about me.” Exhaling dramatically, he couldn’t believe he had wasted away a whole morning for naught. About to dust himself off and head back into his home, a rustle by the trash caught his attention. His eyes flicked over to see the cat taking careful, calculated steps toward him. Too afraid to move, Chester resolved to stay still and allow the stray to do as it pleased. Evidently, it had been to tread toward him and sit on his lap, much to his surprise.

Cautiously, he lowered his hand to pet its head, prompting the stray to nuzzle its head into the palm of his hand. Chester had a wry smile. He wasn’t sure what brought the cat to change its mind about him, but he held no qualms. Never before had he been this close in contact with another animal, delighted by the current situation. Cradling the cat, he stood back up and met little resistance. Margo’s door remained slammed shut throughout the ordeal.

Looking back down at his new companion, the cat seemed to be staring directly at him, waiting for his choice. “Well,” he began, clearing his throat. “she told me to take care of you…”

I stared at my own reflection, showing my brown hair neatly combed and my white-collared shirt ironed. The last piece was tying my red tie into place. Adjusting it to the perfect length, I couldn’t help but say aloud, “Perfect.” I was ready for another day at work figuring out taxes. It wasn’t the best job in the world, but the salary definitely spoke wonders. The money was all set aside for a time I might need it. I’m fine with my life being simple and I’ve never been a fan of luxury items. My house could always use a bit of something, but I’ve yet to figure out what. It wasn’t a new TV set, that was for sure. Far too unnecessary.

Closing my front door, I heard Margo yelling again. She was a sweet old woman, really. If you ignored the fact that almost everything out of her mouth was some form of crotchety complaint. I only hoped I wouldn’t become like her once I reach the older stages in life. I could hear her hollering “You get out, right now!” I quickly glanced her way and saw she was yelling at a trash can on the street. Scratch that, she’s become even more senile. This was a new level of complaining from her. Although, did I see something furry pop from out of there?

The last thing I needed was for Margo to drag me into another one of her shenanigans. I quickly hopped into my car, but just as I was about to start the ignition, she screamed my name. It was too late to escape. She said something about helping her and a creature, was it? I could still just leave for work, but she said she needed help. Knowing Margo, if I just up and left, I wouldn’t hear the end of it once work was over. One day should be okay. I wanted to slam my head against my steering wheel, but instead maturely took out my phone and texted my boss. Surely he would understand. I was one of the better employees at his firm.

As I got out of my car, I could feel Margo inwardly smirking to herself for her accomplishment. Now she didn’t have to deal with… the trash can. Walking over, I saw that there was actually a stray cat behind the trash can. I turned back to Margo to see that old woman simply walk back into her house and told me to “take care of it.” I grumbled and turned my attention back to the cat. My throat tightened and my hands were starting to feel balmy. I’ve never been good with animals. They always seemed to hate me when I was growing up, no matter how much I liked them and tried to be friendly. You could say it was practically a curse. This cat might just be bad news for me as well. But then again, all I had to do was get it to get away. Maybe to even just walk down the street a couple meters. Margo wouldn’t even know.

Let’s try the nice approach. “Hey there…” I coaxed it softly. No results, as expected. I tried a handful more times, being as gentle as possible. The stray just didn’t budge. I wanted to just leave and show up to work late. It wasn’t like I was going to get anywhere with it. Looking over, the cat was staring at me and I stared back. Maybe it was hungry? Cats like fish, right? I do have a leftover can of tuna in my fridge from yesterday. That should do the trick.

I ran back into my house, grabbed the can, and came back out. The cat was still sitting behind the trash, so I delicately placed the can a few inches away. I waited for a good ten minutes, and the cat did nothing. It just stared at me and the can, and did not move. I sighed and gave up. I didn’t care if my khaki pants would get dirty from the cement underneath it, I just needed to sit. All twenty-four years of my life, animals just would never warm up to me. Just as I was about to call it a day, a tiny sound came from the trash. Looking over, I saw the cat cautiously heading towards me.

Before I knew it, the cat was sitting on my lap. If I could dance out of joy, I would have, but nervousness kept me relatively still. I didn’t want to scare it off. Testing the waters, I wanted to see if the stray would let me at least lightly pet its head. Reaching over, I felt its soft fur underneath my palm, the pressure growing stronger not because my hand was pressing down, but it decided to nuzzle its head closer to me. I smiled. Margo did tell me to take care of the cat… so maybe a visit to the pet store was to be in order.

There it was, that sound again. Here I am, trying to water my daffodils and I hear an annoying whine of some sort. I knew it couldn’t have been from a baby, so it must have been a pesky animal of some sort. Setting my watering can back down on the ground—quite a stretch, really, these old bones can’t simply bend over as easily anymore—I did a once over of the street. There was nothing unusual. I couldn’t be going senile, have I? I thought I had a bit more time than that. I wasn’t going to up and leave until I found the source of that hideous noise. By my name, Margo, I refuse to let such a nuisance persist.

My eyes squinted and I heard the sound again. I stared hard at the trashcan across the street. There was a cat. An annoying, little feline that could damage my garden. Oh no, that will not do. I approached it ever so slowly, my cane in hand to support myself. How foolish I was, thinking my mere presence alone would scare the stray off. It stayed in place, making more meowing noises. Disgusting and irate.

“Get out of there! Go!” I yelled, feeling my throat get scratchy from the strenuous effort. My free hand balled into a fist and I shook it at the cat, hopeful that I would appear threatening enough that it would leave the premise. A meow was my response. I could feel my face scrunch and getting a bit pink from the blood rush. I shouted at the cat continuously, different remarks each time of how they were disgusting and that if it dared lay a dirty paw on my flowers it would lose eight of its nine lives.

Nothing was making the cat want to leave, despite the amount of time I spent berating the thing. I wasn’t going to be yelling at it all day, I had better things to do, but I wasn’t going to just tolerate hearing it mewl constantly either. The heavens seemed to have blessed me when I heard Chester enter his car. Such a nice man. Getting nowhere in life and alone in his house, but he never bothered me and always played his part as the helpful neighbor for me whenever I had woes. He simply couldn’t refuse me. “Chester!” I called.

“You come out here right now and help me get rid of this—this creature!” I demanded. I’m not sure why, but I was getting the feeling that he was perhaps a bit hesitant to help me? Now, why on earth would that be? There was never any need to hesitate to help an older woman with her problems. He came around though, as I saw him walk out of his car and towards the front of my house. I smiled inwardly and pointed out the feline behind the trash, “Make sure you take care of it!”

With that said, I went back into my home, pleased that my dear neighbor Chester would help a little old lady like me. This constituted for a cup of tea and mindless dramas on the TV.

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