Companionship seemed like a lost cause for James, or any man adjacent to him, really. Slowly losing his wife to a terminal illness brought out the worst in him—to the point where he was unsure of who had changed the most between the two of them once her time had come.

It might’ve been James, honestly; especially when one considers the fact that Mary died a bit earlier than what the doctors predicted.

“Hi, honey.” James sighs as he steps through the front door. He toes his Oxfords off, socked feet padding against hardwood floors towards the only lady in his life these days.

A hybrid cat that James had managed to scoop up for himself at an adoption event held near his workplace. It was such a spur of the moment thing, he still recalls that day. You were perched on a cat tree, mewling at every person who walked past you.

James was able to appreciate that—the desire to have someone want you enough to be a permanent fixture in their life. He signed the adoption papers five minutes into stepping on the pop-up event’s grounds.

“Sorry I’m home late, work held me back a bit. Did you get to eat what I left out for you?” James lets you teeter off the edge of your cat tree to meet his face, your upper body suspended in mid-air as you rub your snout against his cheek.