Day 33: In Which He's A Considerate Pet Dad
Jack was sprawled on the floor with a nest of black plastic scattered around him. He flipped through the instruction manual again, the pictures making less and less sense each time he looked at them. He groaned, letting his head fall back. The urge to just throw in the towel and toss everything out the balcony grew with every second he lied there accomplishing nothing.
He glowered at the culprit behind all his grievances: His cat had taken ownership of one of the panels and used it as her new sleeping accommodations.
"You know I'm doing this for you, right?"
The cat had no reaction to the sound of his voice.
"Diana, you useless cat. Get out of the way!" He kicked the panel under Diana's overweight body until she moved.
He picked the panel up and stared at it, almost as if he could intimidate a piece of plastic into doing his bidding. He was still trying to make sense of the instructions when Elsa showed up.
"Hi, Jack," she greeted him, and her voice sounded way raspier than usual.
He stared at her with an arched eyebrow. "Hello, neighbor. What happened to your voice?"
Elsa shrugged as she rested her elbows on the railing. "I woke up with a sore throat."
"You okay?"
"Probably just a bug." She looked at the explosion of plastic on the floor, then her eyes narrowed as they moved back to his. "What are you up to today?"
He gestured around him with the manual. "I bought Diana a treadmill."
"I didn't know they made those for pets."
Jack shrugged. "Yeah, it's like a hamster wheel, but for cats."
For a moment, there was silence, and he cautiously looked up at her. Elsa watched him while biting her lower lip, her expression a hilarious mix of skepticism and wonder.
"What is it, Elsa?" he asked with a smirk.
"Your commitment is definitely something, Jack," she mumbled with a sigh.
"Who knows? Maybe this will finally encourage Diana to move that fat ass of hers!" he shouted the last part throwing glares in the cat's direction.
Elsa groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I take it back. You're just a stubborn idiot—"
"Excuse me?!"
"—And I feel sorry for Diana."
