It wasn't the first time this month that Sean McKinley had found himself struggling with getting an uncooperative cat into her carrier, and as much as he wished he could avoid this battle, the fact that Catti was losing hair in those telltale circular patterns meant that a trip to the vet was going to be necessary to determine whether it was ringworm or not - and as lovely as Catti LuPone was, he wasn't going to attempt to carry her through the centre of New York City without her carrier.
A few weeks earlier, Mumbles had been having some sort of bird catching competition with Smitty, which resulted in Mumbles having a fall and breaking his leg (which was a lucky result, the vet had said.) As he only lived on the second floor, Sean was very glad that he hadn't gone for the higher apartments that had cheaper rent. Especially as his little family seemed intent on making life a pain for him.
It had all started after he'd returned from Uganda with Elder Thomas. He hadn't been expecting it to be all sunshine and rainbows, but he'd hoped it would have been a lot less awkward than it had been. He'd pretty much left the closet in Africa, but being back around the same people who had effectively forced him to "turn it off" for most of his life was definitely having a negative effect on him. After the "Welcome Back!" party, in which he used the excuse of being jetlagged far too many times to explain his lack of enthusiasm, he had decided that he didn't want to be as miserable as he had been before The Book of Arnold.
Finding it impossible to sleep without his companion next to him (he felt just so alone), he ended up in the kitchen around 2am, ready to explain to anyone that it was the time difference that was messing with him. He wasn't expecting his sister to already be sitting there, with a glass of milk. To this day, he's not entirely sure why he thought this was a good idea, but he remembers blurting out "I'm gay" to her, and she just nodded in return, telling him that she already knew. He did feel quite a bit better having told someone on this continent, even if it wasn't a surprise to her. What he hadn't been counting on was his younger brother overhearing their conversation, then asking their parents at breakfast what it meant when someone was gay.
He hasn't seen any of them in three years, now, and he actually prefers it this way. At least, he's now living in New York, the city that he's always dreamed of living in. He's also working as a part time theatre critic, which he's absolutely thrilled about, as it gives him enough time with his cats, and time to work on writing a book that might be slightly based on his life so far. One thing that he hadn't bargained on was just how many cats he'd have adopted.
Catti LuPone had been the first cat to enter his life. He'd just arrived in New York, and as he was walking over to the hostel where he was planning on staying until he'd found an apartment of his own, a small tabby cat had wandered over to him and started purring. He remembers giving her a token show of affection, before just walking off. But every day that he'd walk by that street corner, she'd always be sitting there, and she always recognised him. After listening to the OBC recording of Evita, he finally came up with the perfect name for her: Catti LuPone, and the first thing that he did after moving into his apartment was to bring her in. His landlord didn't mind – in fact, Mr. Murrow was almost as big a cat lover as he was, and loved meeting each of his friends.
The next two to join his family were Timothy and Smitty, and he'll never forget the day that he met them. He'd dreamed of living in New York for all his life, and being there meant that he had to attempt to do everything that he'd ever wanted to do as soon as possible. That included the event that he'd dreamed of attending ever since he'd first heard about it – Broadway Barks. He wasn't much of a fan of dogs, if he was honest, but he loved cats. Every time he saw the photos from the event, he'd see so many animals that he'd love to take home and care for. This time, he was actually able to follow through with this plan. Timothy was a shy cat, whereas Smitty thought she was a cougar, or some other wildcat – and he'd fallen in love with them even before Bernadette Peters had introduced them to the crowd! Luck was on his side, and his applications were successful for two of the many cats that he'd applied for. Luckily, it seemed that Catti was just as happy to have new members for the family as Sean was.
Kitten Chenoweth, Trekkie and Raoul had joined the clan in much the same way as Catti had, only it had taken him about a week each time to work out that they truly didn't have another home, and weren't just trying to get extra meals by being let into his apartment. Mumbles, however, was brought to him after another of Mr. Murrow's tenants had passed away, leaving him behind. It was at that point that he decided that he might have to find a better paying job before he adopted any more, and besides, seven cats was a good number to have. Occasionally, other neighbourhood cats would drop in for dinner, which he also enjoyed.
Sometimes late at night, he wonders if he's doting on his cats too much to cover up those feelings of being completely alone in the world. He knows that there are places that he could go to meet people like him, but he doesn't think he's quite ready for that step. It's all very well to dream about such encounters, but he doubts he could actually go through with anything if the situation arose. He's made a few contacts in the city, but none that he would go so far as to call them friends. It's at this point that his thoughts turn to the Uganda mission – what had happened to the rest of his district? He knew that Elder Thomas had returned home, but he had no idea if anyone else had returned to America, or if they were planning on staying out there in Africa. Unless things had dramatically changed technologically, he wasn't going to find out any time soon – he'd tried writing a letter to Kitguli a few times, and every time it had ended up unfinished and in the trash. Maybe they had tried to write, but of course he was no longer living at the address that they would have. Then Catti or Trekkie would jump onto his bed, and he'd cuddle them in place of a blanket or a plush toy, and everything would seem a little better.