Princess

It was the 80s and at this time we could buy cats and dogs at the mall. I wanted a cat so very bad, my mom said I could. I only asked her for my whole life. I got so excited, my face went flushed and my heart began to race. Where she finally said we could and that means we need to go to the mall and if you know anything about a kid, the mall and cats, you must know that's a highlight of a lifetime. We get into our brown Ford Escort with yellow leather interior seats burn your butt. Make your legs sweat and get sticky like flies to a fly trap with a thawping suctioning wet adjustment we were on our way. As we got closer to the mall I thought to myself, I'll pick the cat that picks me. We went into the mall and I couldn't control my excitement, grinning ear to ear. We got to the pet store the had these 2 huge windows on each side of the entrance. One side had puppies and the other kittens. So many kittens, brown, black, calico, tan, and tuxedo. I again thought to myself, I'll choose the cat that chooses me. My mother tells the associate what we have planned and my mom takes my hand. We walk over to the door attached to the back of the display. They open the slide door and all the kittens scatter. Letting go of my thought, I guess I wasn't chosen. I started to get a tad bit sad when all of a sudden this adorable tuxedo cat charges her way meowing like she's singing the opera. She ran so fast, she tripped herself. And slid her way directly to me. I thought. This definitely is the cat for me. She jumped onto my shirt and held on for dear life. Her claws gripping onto my shoulder and screaming in my ear. She chose me and i choose her. My mom paid for her and we left. My face felt her fur and it was the best feeling id ever experienced. 

I named her Princess because she acted as such. To be honest she was a bitch. She was so fiesta, and her claws were sharp as fuck. We'd play this game where we would hide from each other than jump out when one of us would pass first. However, when she jumped out to scare me, it also included giving me bloody body parts.

Princess was an indoor outdoor cat. Quite often we would let her into the house and she would bring us guest. She enjoyed headless birds, kept us guessing what gift we would get next. She dropped a live mice once and my mom, myself and my brother all jumped on furniture while the cat chased it around. We never tried to scold her as she was doing it to show us love, but it was bloody, gruesome love. She once got caught under a chain linked fence and ripped her thigh down to the bone. She was so tough cause she walked up the flight of stairs like a champ knowing she was in so much pain. She ended up with a shot, stitches and antibiotics.  

We ended up having to move from California to Tennessee in 1995. My senior year. So that meant hauling a truck full of a 4 bedroom house, car in a hitch, 2 kids and 2 animals across the United States. It was also summertime, and hot as balls. Why do people say that? Are balls hot? Oh they are sweaty so..

So each state is a new experience of immense heat and eventually turning to ass sweaty humidity the closer to Tennessee we got. We made it through a variety of States each one more exciting than the next because every place we met new people, saw new things. We stopped in Arizona to visit family on the way. My brother and I were with my mom in the moving van and my dad was in our blue Pontiac. 1987 to be exact. I remember when they bought it. We had to sit at the dealership for what seemed like hours. But it paid off in the end that sucker made it through several states and managed to go back to Cali years later. I have to tell you, I hated everything about this trip. I was leaving my senior year of high school, I was miserable I had to leave all of my friends. I cried so much and my parents felt awful but my father wanted to be close to his mom at the end of her life, she was getting up there in she. See years prior my mom's mom Bess lived with us, so it was fitting to do for our other grandmother later in life. 

In fact that's who we visited on the way across the US. We stopped in Arizona to see my aunt and grandma. After my grandma Bess left us she went to live with her other daughter my aunt Marsha.  

I could talk about these 2 for a century, they were both characters.  

My parents were getting exhausted so we stopped at a hotel. This hotel was not the best but not the worst either. The bed lid inn in Oklahoma. That night Princess was just so upset. She kept crying. My parents couldn't take it so they locked her in the car.  

The next morning I got up and ran down to the car. To my utter shock and fucking devastation someone had opened the car door. Apparently her bellowing kept someone else awake as well. 

I lost my shit. I'm 17, I just lost everyone I've ever known in California. I'm stuck in a car or truck traveling in this heat, with my fucking brother. And a dog. What the fuck? I lose my cat. My Princess. The only thing that matters to me more than life itself. 

We spent hours looking for her. To no avail. We had to leave. My father was starting a new job and we needed to return the fucking truck so we couldn't stay to keep looking for her. I was devastated. I mean my fucking cat. Gone 

The next 2 days on the road I said nothing. My dad stopped in New Mexico and we met a native American lady on the side of the road. She had handmade jewelry she handcrafted for years and he bought me earrings. Like that bribe would work. They tried to give me all my favorite foods and my mom bought me a stuffed bunny rabbit. I still have to this day 30 years later.  

Nothing though could unbreak my heart. Nothing

We made it to Tennessee and yet again I found myself in misery. The house we were moving into was just so disappointing. Nothing like our home in California. I mean this place we dark and dingy. California the place we had was a 2 story town house several blocks from the beach. Tennessee was blocks from the lake and that simply didn't compare. Everyone was slow and the city shut down at 9pm.

My mom decided the next day to put an ad in the newspaper in Arkansas and check in with the hotel Bed Lid in. 3 days after we got a call. A man was driving his truck through town and saw a cat, he described her and said he thought he found her. If we were able to send him 50$ he can get a kennel and drive her to us.  

We lost our shit, thank the heavens I thought. My baby is coming home.  

Days went by and we heard nothing. Turned out the guy was actually in Arkansas and saw the ad he thought. hey I'll scam these nice folks out of 50$ and pull on their heart strings to do it.  

Fuck that guy. 2 weeks go by and I had just about given up hope. When my mom gets a call. It was the hotel. They said they had found cat and she is very skinny. Bald and dehydrated. See my cat was allergic to fleas. So we thought maybe just maybe this bald cat was ours.  

My mother looked at me and said I'll drive but if it isn't her I'll kill you.  

And I thought it better be or I just might never be happy again. 

We made it to the hotel after 10 long ass hours and I don't think she even stopped the car before I was jumping out. I dashed in the door and ran straight to the front desk. The manager greeted us and with sheer excitement I asked if we could see the cat. The manager who by the way looked like Mercedes Ruehls walked us down the hall straight into her office.

I saw the tan cat crate on the floor and I ran to open it. My heart was beating out of my chest. What if I'm wrong? What if this isn't her? I opened the door, my heart racing. She slowly glared up with me and made this face then with every ounce of strength she could muster, jumped into my arms.