Dandelion

She Is No (hu)Man

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Today's the day, Journal!

Alex and I finally get to bring Eowyn home with us today! I know it's been a few weeks since my last entry, but not much has happened. I've started taking walks during the day, trying to get some strength back into my legs, but that's about it.

Oh, Alex just glanced over my shoulder at what I'm writing and told me that you have no idea who Eowyn is. Well, Journal, since you'll probably hear a lot about her from now on, I might as well tell you.

Eowyn is the name I picked for the kitten we're getting from Lizzy.

I chose it because Alex and I watched The Two Towers after we got home from meeting her the first time, and I told him that I thought the kitten's fur looked like Eowyn's hair, and he said I should name her after the character if I thought so.

I think he was joking, but he's come to like it, I think.

. . . Confirmed. He likes it.

I also picked the name because she isn't afraid to rough-house with her two brothers, and it makes me think of Eowyn's line from The Return of the King when she's fighting the Witch King of Angmar.

"You fool. No man can kill me," he says, and then Eowyn, who's been dressing like a man this whole time so she can participate in the battle, pulls off her helmet to reveal her beautiful face and long hair and says. . .

"I am no man," I giggled.

Alex looked up from his math homework (I'm so proud) at me, raising one eyebrow.

"I'm quoting Eowyn."

"Our cat?"

"Yes, Alex. I'm quoting a cat that can't speak. And I'm definitely quoting a cat that we don't even have yet."

Alex went back to his homework. "Dandelion?"

I hummed in acknowledgement, unlocking my phone to text Lizzy and Anna. The three of us had decided to try and write a play together, and Anna was trying to get one of the theater directors at school to agree to look it over when we were done. I typed out a quick message to the two of them, asking how it was going.

"How do you add fractions, again," Alex asked sheepishly from across the room.

"Make the bottom of the time signatures the same, Alex. Then add the top numbers."

He made a sort of, "Oh, I get it now," noise, and a few minutes later got up to stretch, loudly announcing that he was finished with math homework for the night and that he had to pee. I rolled my eyes. Boys.

When he came back, he was spinning his keys.

"Ready?"

I bounded out the door, down the stairs, and into the truck after him, kicking my feet happily and looking out the window as Alex started the truck. He reached over and took my hand, squeezing my fingers quickly before putting his hand on the gear shift.

He turned on the radio, and we drove through town with the windows down and the heat on full blast, the radio turned up so loud I could barely hear myself think.

I loved it.

When we got to Lizzy's house, she handed us the tiny cat (Though she was a lot bigger) in a small pet carrier. She looked at Eowyn like she was sad to see the little girl leave, and I gave her a hug with the promise that she could come visit whenever she wanted.

Lizzy seemed to like the name I'd chosen, going so far as to stick her fingers into the carrier to pet Eowyn one more time on the head and whisper, so only she and I could hear her, "She really is no man."

"No human, at least," I said, laughing as I climbed back up into the truck and held the plastic carrier holding my newest best friend tightly.

Lizzy waved until Alex and I were around the corner and out of sight.

The week-old snow crunched under my worn-out red Chuck T's as I carried Eowyn up the stairs slowly. Alex had gone ahead to make sure everything was set up for the kitten, but he'd left the door unlocked so I didn't have to deal with holding a cat and fighting with my keys to unlock a door that always got stuck when we tried to open it.

I opened the carrier and lifted Eowyn out carefully, setting her on the bed I shared with Alex, letting her sniff around if she wanted. When she sat down and looked at me with her gorgeous green eyes, I picked her up and carried her over to where her litter box was, behind the washing machine.

She pawed around in the litter for a little while, then stepped out to thread herself through my legs and around my ankles.

I showed her where her food was, then took her back into the bedroom and laid down on my back, letting her lay on my chest. After kneading my shirt for a few minutes on my belly, she finally decided she was ready to sleep.

She curled up on my chest with her tiny cheek against mine, and when I tried to set my hand down to pet her, I found that my hand covered her entire body.

Alex appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.

"I guess it's a staying in night, huh?"

"I don't know. Let's ask the cat," I said, falling silent and listening. "She seems pretty happy."

"You seem pretty happy," he observed. I nodded. Alex came over and sat on his side of the bed, pulling his shirt off and kicking off his jeans. He tossed his beanie onto his nightstand and climbed under the covers, resting his face on the shoulder that wasn't occupied by the cat's happy little butt. "Good," he said, leaning up to kiss my cheek. With my one free hand I reached across my body and half of his, tilting his head up to kiss him back.

Alex sighed contentedly, nestling his head back down on my shoulder and petting the newest addition to our little family.

"I'm glad you're happy, Dandelion," he said after a while, his voice getting heavy and I could tell he was starting to fall asleep when he yawned. "I'm happy too."

I think we fell asleep like that. Just me, Alex, and our definitely-not-a-man kitten, Eowyn. I say, "I think," because I'm pretty sure I dreamed after that, but the next solid memory I have is waking up on the morning of one of the worst days of my life, until that point.