Hecate Hardbroom prided herself on being able to recognise her own cat in a crowd. So when an imposter came tapping on the window, sweet as he was and it was definitely a he (she couldn't help but notice), she felt annoyed that anyone would think she was so easily fooled. He had started trotting over to her garden to play a variety of tricks to catch her attention, play and beg for scraps. Today he was eyeing the dish of new potatoes she had set out on the ledge to cool.
'Not today, Satan' she muttered.
No matter how gloriously soft his fur was or however winsomely he'd gaze at her, she was not going to share her potatoes. She'd made the mistake of softening to him a few weeks after he'd made his first entrance which made him audacious about approaching her plate and using the blind cord as a toy.
Today she decided that enough was enough. She picked him up and proceeded to take him on a tour of the block, hoping that he would recognise his house and show her who his silly owner was so she could shout at them in an entirely reasonable manner.
Ada Cackle would like to say that she could pick out her cat in a line-up but she would easily admit that black cats were the hardest to distinguish so to find out which was one was hers, she would give it a bit of time and Pendell would make himself known by behaving badly or inappropriately, depending on what people's interpretation of that was. Sometimes he'd brazenly steal the chicken from your sandwich and sometimes he'd chew your shoelaces. Ada tried not to laugh when he behaved disgracefully and had been accused of spoiling him but she loved him dearly all the same.
The first time the other cat had glided into her garden, Ada had barely noticed as she was tending to her cacti, Cordelia and Petula who were not the friendliest of plants. So used to a familiar cat shape, she reached over and put it down on the kitchen floor. She didn't notice until the stranger had finished the bowl of food and looked up at her with appealing golden eyes, that she realised that she had just catnapped someone else's familiar. That was what she called pets because she didn't like the word pet.
'Where did you come from, sweetheart?'
No answering meow. This one was sitting politely, tail curled up under them. Ada crouched down and surveyed the imposter who was definitely not a male.
'Well I'm glad you enjoyed the meal but I'll have to let you out before Pendell gets home before he gets jealous.'
The cat followed her into the living room and jumped on a chair, curled up and took a nap.
A gutsy move thought Ada. She knew it wouldn't be long before she developed a soft spot for this well mannered stranger.
She was surprised when the cat kept coming back. So stealthy she never noticed her until she was right at her side. It was as if she knew that Pendell wasn't there and came to impudently steal his chair. Ada naughtily kept slipping her shreds of chicken whenever there was any for lunch.
Hecate was fuming. How did the owner of this cat not know where he kept going to? Stealing her food and leaping onto Morgana's chair every time she turned her back. He'd started to bump his head against her hand and it annoyed her that she automatically started tickling his ears. Felt disloyal to Morgana who didn't seem to realise that another cat had been in the house. He wriggled in her arms when she passed one of the houses on the street around the corner and she took it as her cue to stop. She took the figure reclining in the front garden to be the pesky neighbour with the powers of distinction of a pot plant. Hecate marched up to her and made a noise of irritation. The woman looked up innocently from her book.
'You seem to have mislaid something.'
The woman smiled but looked confused.
'Hello there. What did I mislay?'
Right at that moment, a black cat jumped off the windowsill and strolled up. Hecate nearly dropped the other one in shock. So this was where Morgana snuck off to.
'This is your cat.'
'Well, thank you' said Ada bemusedly. Hecate was holding him stretched out like a hand towel in her palms. 'Athough, Pendell makes it a point of mislaying me, not the other way around.'
Hecate refused to be charmed by this.
'That is my cat' she said pedantically.
Ada looked at the other cat.
'Yes. It is' she agreed. She waited. Just to annoy the other woman.
Hecate narrowed her eyes. She was unaccustomed to dealing with cheeky adults. The usual glare that she gave to children didn't work on this woman who placidly sat there and smiled at her. She seemed in no hurry to oblige.
'Aren't you going to take yours?' Hecate asked after a while. She felt wrong footed. It wasn't often that someone made her feel that way but the mischievous gleam in the other woman's eyes seemed to disable Hecate's severe demeanour, made her feel uncertain.
'No. When he wants to come back, he will. He seems very comfortable with you.'
On cue, Morgana bumped her head against the woman's elbow and Hecate felt uncertain, not knowing if she was annoyed or charmed that her cat had taken to this outsider. She was very selective and Hecate trusted her judgement. She watched the woman tickle Morgana the way that she liked it and wondered if she should have gone a different way about approaching this confrontation.
'She's a charming creature.'
Hecate warily agreed.
'I accidently fed her believing her to be mine. She started coming around a lot more and I hadn't the heart to turn her away.'
Hecate's face twitched. Was that a scowl? Ada couldn't tell.
'Can you not tell the difference between our cats?' She snapped.
'I'm afraid that as much as I adore black cats, I cannot say that I can immediately identify mine from another.'
Hecate snorted inelegantly at this.
'It was only when she looked up at me, did I notice. She has beautiful golden eyes.'
Hecate's face twitched again. Morgana did have beautiful golden eyes, it was true. But she didn't want to look too prideful about her familiar to this woman.
'Yes, well. She does. Be that as it may, if you are feeding her extra, it is not in her best interests to visit you.'
'Well we don't just have breakfast together. We sunbathe together, read together, tend to Petula and Cordelia together.'
'Who?' Asked Hecate sharply.
Ada nodded to the window.
'My cacti.'
'Oh.'
'My green fingers are rather tentative. I started off with some easy ones. Familiars could teach us a thing or two about being comfortable with nature.'
Hecate was taken back. She lowered Pendell with the emerald green eyes to the ground and gathered up her own cat who had started prowling towards her. She thought that she was the only person to call her pets that.
She said as much. Her hostess replied that she was glad that she did. Odd that she didn't feel so hostile towards this woman now. Pendell meowed at his mistress and settled his rump under her deckchair, flipped on his back, paws in the air for a snooze.
'He's a terribly lazy thing at times' remarked Ada. Hecate made a noise of agreement. Pendell was contrary, given to fanciful moods, explained Ada. Got bored easily. Hecate was glad that Morgana was much more gentle and restful.
'What a lovely name' said Ada.
'I named her after my grandmother actually.' Hecate felt a bit awkward in saying so. It wasn't a piece of information that she ever volunteered. Ada smiled encouragingly.
'Would you like some lemonade?'
Hecate wasn't prepared for an abrupt change in conversation. She hadn't expected to be offered refreshment while she was trying to muster her battle armour, either.
'That would be…acceptable' she said and Ada obligingly carried out another deckchair. Hecate perched on it warily and sipped at her glass. It was delicious.
'My grandmother's recipe. Everytime I make it, Pendell starts batting lemons about and chasing them. Occasionally he smashes things on the way.'
Hecate couldn't help tutting at that. So unruly.
'Luckily it was only IKEA stuff.'
Hecate's expression made her laugh. What a snob. Her house was probably furnished with vintage pieces.
'The good stuff is strategically placed around the house. Petula and Cordelia for example are placed on the antique table so that Pendell doesn't scratch it up. He won't go near the catci.'
Hecate grudgingly agreed that it was clever. A tug on her shoe diverted her attention in a most irritating manner.
'Pendell! Stop that!' Ada leaned over and wrestled him away from Hecate's boots.
'Sorry about that, he just loves shoes and shoelaces. If he were a female I would have named him Imelda.'
Hecate tried to stifle a giggle that had somehow crept up on her and ended up emitting an odd sound, quite unlike herself, a strange snorting hiccup. Her face twitched again. Ada looked amused. Despite their rocky start, she was warming to this woman. She poured her more lemonade and settled down, giving her new visitor opportunity to reveal more about herself. Hecate didn't realise how cleverly she was being drawn out of her shell and started to relax. The air rang with quiet chatter and gentle laughter.
They wouldn't notice the bored cats slinking off to Ada's back garden to destroy the daisies. They wouldn't notice the shadows lengthening and the light shifting. Not for a long time.