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Sully had never, ever given up on a project, but he felt his resolve cracking. Was the cat truly a lost cause? Should he admit defeat, take her to the Yucca Hills Animal Rescue, and get back to his life?
A white-tipped paw danced from beneath the bed and slapped a feather into the ground. Sully was so surprised he almost lost his grip on the wand. The paw dragged the feathers into the darkness.
It was a tiny gesture, barely anything at all.
A huge grin spread across Sully’s face.
*
“Uh, you’re going to have to repeat that,” Hue Cairn said two days later. He looked at Sully with genuine concern. “’Cause I could’ve sworn you just said you wanted us to build a cat hotel.”
“No, no, no,” Sully reassured his friend. “That’s silly. It’s called acat condo, not a hotel. Well, they can also be called cat towers or cat trees. Here, check this out.” Sully ruffled through several sheets of careful sketches on his kitchen table before holding out a sheet to Hue. Sully knew he should try to play it casual, but honestly, he was proud as shit of his designs.
He’d spent far too long last night—his smartwatch documented four hours and 22 minutes of inactivity—mainlining DIY cat condo construction videos on YouTube and planning his own creation. The result was, in his not-so-humble opinion, an absolute masterpiece.
Hue grimaced as he accepted the paper and reviewed the four-story cat condo design that included platforms, ramps, hidey-holes, dangling toys, and more. Sully was especially proud of the cat hammock on the third level.
Hue set his tool bag on the kitchen table and arched an auburn eyebrow. “You haven’t been huffing the paint thinner, have you?”
“It’ll be great.” Sully ignored his friend’s worried gaze. “Sheba needs a place that’s all her own. Somewhere she can feel safe and powerful. Oh! And I also want to install cat steps on the wall.”
Hue almost choked. “Cat steps?”
“And have you ever heard of catios?” Sully pressed on. “They’re outdoor structures for cats. That’ll be down the road, but I’ve already started pulling together some designs, and…” Sully petered off as Hue gaped at him.
“Dude, what happened to you?” his friend asked. “Did you get possessed by the ghost of a 90-year-old woman?” Hue glanced around the room, suddenly suspicious. “You aren’t, like, feeling tempted to knit socks for the boys on the front or plant a victory garden, are you?”
Sully chuckled as he leaned against the counter. “I’m fine. Sheba has territory insecurity issues. The cat condo will give her an anchor point in the home and the steps will provide easy escape avenues from the room so she feels more comfortable.”
“You’ve gone off the deep end,” Hue grumbled. “We were going to install the carpet today.” He beckoned to the huge roll of carpeting sitting in the middle of the living room. It’d been delivered yesterday, and Sully hadn’t even updated his Ugly Duckling inventory sheet.
“We’ll get to the carpet,” Sully assured the larger man, “but we need to build the cat condo and the cat steps before I do any other work in the house. That way, if Sheba gets upset with all the noise of future projects, she’ll have a safe place to go.”
Hue groaned. “This is sad, man. You’ve turned into a crazy cat lady. Or crazy cat guy. Is that a thing?”
Sully prickled with defensiveness. “That’s rich, coming from the man who gives his dog massages.”
In the living room, Hue’s ancient basset hound issued loud snores from the ugly floral couch.
Hue puffed out his chest. “First of all, Janet has arthritis, so the massages are medicinal. Second, man and dog have been companions since time immemorial. Dogs are hunters, fighters, descended from wolves.”
Janet farted loudly, startling herself awake. She looked around, yawned, then plunked her head back down on the sofa. Within seconds, the snores recommenced.
“Descended from wolves, huh?” Sully asked.
“Damn right.” Hue insisted. “But man and cats? Nope. Doesn’t work. Cats are aloof. Cunning and vicious. Their hearts are made of ice. Naturally, they are the chosen pets of women.”
Sully shook his head. “There’s something seriously wrong with you, dude. You going to help me with the cat condo or not?”
Hue looked skeptically at Sully’s drawing still in his hand. A long moment passed. Finally, he sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
*
Several hours later, Hue was all too happy to accept Sully’s lunch invitation after they’d cut, shaped, and sanded all the individual pieces for the condo. The big man, now damp with sweat and covered in a dusting of wood shavings, sat at Sully’s kitchen table inhaling a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Sully leaned against the kitchen counter and nibbled at his own sandwich. His mind churned with his next action items. In the afternoon, he’d glue carpeting to the platforms, wrap the pillars in sisal rope, and then assemble all the pieces of the condo.
“Where is this cat anyway?” Hue grumbled looking around.
“She’s really shy,” Sully answered. “It’s a fear response.”
