"I may have accidentally sort of adopted five cats."
Miles barely made his way through the front door and all he could do was stare at his fiancé dumbfounded while he stood sheepishly in their living room with two cats curled up at his feet, two more tucked into both crooks of his arms and a fifth one perched on his shoulder. They were all stark white and he had to admit that he did admire the sharp contrast between the snow-coloured fur and his lover's jet black hair.
"Tristan. When we decided on getting a kitten instead of a less destructive puppy, it was never supposed to be plural. And what ever happened to going to the shelter together?"
"But babe, they came to us! A stray cat had a litter right behind the apartment and she abandoned them. We can't just break up a family! And since we'll be in class most of the time anyway they will have to keep each other company. Think about how fun it would be to come home to these guys. Please? They need each other just as much as they need us."
Miles tossed his wallet and keys down on the counter and inched closer to collected one of the kittens in Tristan's arms. It immediately started to purr and he was beginning to see the appeal.
All of a sudden, the cat on Tristan's shoulders pounced down to start pawing the keys, until he pushed it over with a satisfying clang. The boys thought it would play a similar game with the other object, but the kitty had other ideas once it deftly scooped it in its mouth. Then it promptly dashed away.
"Quick catch that cat, it stole my wallet!"
Tristan and Miles were scrambling to stop the kitty but it pounced on the recliner and leaped on the lamp which fortunately for them still wasn't fixed or else the poor creature would have burnt itself. Just as they were cornering it, the cat darted through their legs and was out the door in a white flash.
Miles raced out and chased the cat down the corridor, thankful that at least they were headed towards a dead end and not the stairs. But the kitten had an alternative agenda when it used its back paws to push against the wall to propel itself in the opposite direction. This time it didn't go far as it burnt all of its energy and dropped the wallet to curl up beside it. Miles then pocketed the item that was stolen from him and picked up the guilty convict by the back of its neck. He raised it above his head and looked directly in its eyes.
"They say that only dogs can be trained. But not under my roof. This behaviour will not do. You and your siblings better get ready for boot camp, Hollingsworth-style. And guess what? Your lot will be the first ones to have a go at it. Unfortunately for you, there will be a lot of trials and errors in the future."
He returned to the apartment, only to find Tristan sitting on their large rug, cuddling the other four kittens and keeping them entertained with string.
"Please stop petting the test subjects."