Tribulation [h.s]

17

"All the good girls go to hell
'Cause even God herself has enemies
And once the water starts to rise
And heaven's out of sight
She'll want the devil on her team
My Lucifer is lonely."

-

"What about Oreo?"

I shake my head. "Maggie... This is an orange cat. I don't think Oreo is a fitting name."

The little girl hums, agreeing with me. Pondering, she leans over the bathtub to rub the orange kitten's head lovingly. The kitten is surprisingly content. There's no hissing, scratching, or crying. I've never met a cat before that likes baths, but it seems that the kitten I found abandoned in a trash bag loves them.

"How about Skittles?"

I shrug. "Eh."

"Bubbles?"

"Hmm. Nah."

"Uhh..." Maggie purses her lips. "What aboutttt- oh! What about Cheddar!"

I give her a crazy look. "...Like, as in Cheddar Cheese?"

"Yeah!" Maggie giggles and has a hard time containing her excitement. "Cheddar Cheese!"

Of course, the kitten decides to let out a small meow, much to Maggie's delight.

It seems that I'm outnumbered here.

"Are you sure, Mags?"

She nods uncontrollably. "Yes! Cheddar Cheese, Cheddar Cheese!"

"Well," I smile, bending down to massage the kitten again with some more soap, scrubbing him clean of grime and dirt. He's a bit frail and underweight in the palms of my hands, but he trusts me, much to my surprise. He's only a few weeks old and was left for dead in a trash bag. I can't imagine what his first few moments were like, nothing good, I assume. Still, he trusts me. "I guess his name is Cheddar Cheese then," I say, smiling down at the kitten.

"Cheddar for short." She says with a final nod and puts her elbows on the edge of the tub, leaning over to gaze down at Cheddar.

After I finished washing Cheddar and patting him dry with a towel, I let him go to roam around the apartment. He's already started clawing at my furniture, but I'm beyond the point of caring. I bought the furniture at a yard sale a while ago, and it was one-hundred bucks for the love seat and armchair. The furniture is old, worn, and obviously past its years and on the verge of breaking. I paid for what I got through, but it's certainly better than the milk crates I used as makeshift couches before.

On the bright side, Cheddar does go to the bathroom in his litter box... Most of the time.

It's hard to stay angry with him, though. Those beautiful, different-colored eyes and his high-pitched meow melt my heart every time. On top of that, he loves cuddles, and he's hard to resist.

But Cheddar especially loves Maggie, and that's a big thing for me.

Maggie has trouble making friends, just like me, I suppose, so it makes me happy knowing she has a new friend that she can play and cuddle with, especially on the days I'm not around.

Walking out of the bathroom, I turn some TV on for Maggie in the living room before making my way to the kitchen. I turn the stove off once I decide that the spaghetti I started cooking a while ago is done. I stir the pasta sauce next, and I decide to let it simmer for a bit longer and strain the pasta in the sink while I'm waiting. While I'm putting Maggie's dinner together, I hear a familiar knock at the door and then the jingling of keys before Julie enters.