Member-only story
Write Here Prompt: When Was the Last Time I Cried?
I Didn’t Cry, I Sobbed
Was it a Broken Heart or Tears of Joy?
It wasn’t the last time I cried, but it taught me something. I didn’t cry; I sobbed. I sobbed like a baby, not caring whether anyone was looking. My husband was driving away from the vet’s office, and I was in the passenger seat. My chest was heaving, snot rolling down my chin. It was the first time in my life I didn’t wipe the tears and snot away. It was the first time I didn’t care whether I was neat and tidy in public. I just let it all go.
Our black and white cat was often referred to as a tuxedo because he looked like he was wearing a tuxedo, right down to the white tip paws. He was shown to me just after I had taken in another kitten. I never expected to take in two kittens. I didn’t want two kittens, but life had other plans for me. I thought one was plenty, but my other kitten was struggling to be alone while I went to work. Maybe a playmate would help him, I thought. I called the shelter where I adopted the first all-gray, blue-eyed kitten, whom I named Ziggy.
As I walked past the cages, the woman pointed out a black-and-white kitten.
“The staff loves him,” she began, “because he nibbles on their neck.”
