Alienated [✔] » k.th

28.

Joey

   "What's wrong with you? Why are you sneezing like that?" I asked Ricardo who just walked into the room.

   "I only sneeze like this when there's animals around."

   "The only animal that's here is Pincher, and he doesn't have any hair."

   "Then maybe it's some perfume you're wearing," he suggested.

   "I don't wear perfume." I turned my head to see unfamiliar hair on one of the throw pillows on the couch. "Maybe it has something to do with that yellow hair on that pillow."

He picked up the pillow and brushed it off.

   "V!" I called and in a blink of an eye he appeared in front of me. "Can you explain this yellow hair?"

   "Umm..." His eyes searched the room for an explanation. "Ok, it's time that I confessed. I have long yellow hairs that pop up all over my body and at certain times of the year... I shed."

Honestly, I would have believed him if a yellow cat hadn't ran down the hall and rubbed against V's leg.

   "Ok, well, explain that then." I gestured to the cat.

   "This is my offspring." He held it in his arms and rocked it. His face fell when he saw that I wasn't falling for it. "You don't believe me do you?"

   "No."

   "That's because I equivocated."

   "I know." I nodded.

   "What's equivocated?" Ricardo asked me.

   "It means he lied." I turned back to V.
"Ricardo is allergic to animal fur."

   "I apologize," he turned to Ricardo. "But, can I please keep it?"

   "No. I'm allergic."

   "I'll keep him in a bag so he won't shed everywhere."

   "Then he'll die."

   "Oh." V hung his head. It really broke my heart to see him so discouraged. "I don't want to get rid of Sunny."

   I picked Sunny up and he was calm, he didn't try to fight me or scratch.

   "You tamed him, V?"

   "I don't know what that means but, I guess so." He shrugged.

   "Please can we keep him?" I asked Ricardo who's eyes were red from the animal fur.

   "Babe, I'm allergic!"

   "I know but, you could just take some allergy medicine."

   "Fine. Whatever, just get that thing out of my face."

The three of us went to the pet store to get a bowl for the cat, a litter box, cat litter, cat food and a scratching post.

I made Ricardo wait in the car so he wouldn't burst into an itching frenzy.

We bought a yellow bowl and a yellow and blue collar.

   "He's so adorable!" V squeezed him. "Oh no, Pincher is going to be jealous. We should get him a collar and a litter box as well."

   "I don't think he'll need a collar... Or a litter box."

   "Well... We should get him something. A toy at least."

   "How about two rubber bands?"

   "What's he going to do with that?"

   "It'll clip his claws together and I won't have to worry about being pinched in the ankles when I'm trying to watch TV."

   "What about that?!" He pointed over to a small plastic red ball. "It's perfect." He picked it up and played with it in his hand. "Can we get it, please?"

   "Sure. Why not."

   "Yay!" He cheered.

We got back to the car and Ricardo had a lot to say.

   "Are you seriously keeping this cat? You know I'm allergic. Are you not concerned?" I just handed him his allergy medicine and drove back to the house to set things up for the cat.

   "Thank you for letting Sunny stay." V spoke when we were putting litter in the cat's litter box.

   "You're welcome. I actually have wanted a cat for the longest. I just never got the chance to get one."

   "Sunny wouldn't know what to do without me. He gets scared easily. He told me himself."

   "Oh, really?" I smiled.

   "Yes," he nodded. "He's very articulate." I nodded, acknowledging his words. "You don't believe me do you?"

   "Of course I do. You're a man of many talents. I wouldn't doubt that talking to animals is one of them."

   "Joey, I think you're really pretty."

I stopped what I was doing and turned my gaze towards him.

   "You really think so?"

   "Yes." He strokes Sunny as he walked past. "Your skin is very pleasing to look at. Especially when the sun shines on it and it glows. Your hair is really soft and it smells like fruit, and you have a very beautiful aura."

   "... Thank you..." I said feeling kind of weird that I was getting compliments from an alien. Not even Ricardo has uttered words like this to me.

   "Say, you're welcome, Sunny." He held the cat in his arms and lifted it up. It's claws came out as it reached for the ground.

   "Meow..."

   "He said you're welcome."