A/N: Just so you know... I wrote the Prologue after writing Ch. 1 so if some things don't line up and/or don't make sense... well, as with most of my stories, they are works-in-progress. But in the meantime, enjoy your stay in Cattail, NY. Also... I have never been to NYC, so if something seems off or wrong to you either ignore it or tell me how I can fix it.

-Purrs, Anglina

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Chapter 1: Holiday Plans

Rumpleteazer was bored. Bored, bored, bored. She remembered the Thanksgiving fun with her friends yesterday. They were probably all still asleep while she was stuck at work. She crossed her boot-clad legs, pulling her skirt down and sighed. She had no reason to be bored, but she was. She was one of the top designers, despite being young at age 26, for Kiara Feline Clothing Company. It was her dream job. Ever since she was a kitten, she'd always dreamt of working for Kiara Feline Clothing Company. They had one of the best lines out there. So she had drawn constantly and pushed herself through school. It had been hard there for a while, when her mom died in a car accident. She had no idea where her father was because her parents had divorced when she was too young to remember. So she ended up living with her best friend, Goldith and her family. Her only relative who lived even remotely close to New York City was her Aunt Jennyanydots and she lived in Cattail, NY. It was right outside of Albany. But despite everything, she continued to push herself through high school and then using money from her aunt, scholarships, and a loan, she pushed her way through design school, graduating with an AA in Fine Arts. She went to every store and every fashion event she could find to show off her portfolio. She was finally noticed by a rep. from Kiara Feline and signed on immediately. She'd been working there for about 9 months.

The calico queen pushed her short blonde hair out of her face and focused her bright blue eyes on the half finished sketch in front of her. As soon as she finished this, she could go home. It was the final piece in Kiara's new winter line. The New York Silver Plate Fashion Gala was set for December 20th and within the Kiara Feline runway space was a showcase for her work exclusively. She was well on her way to produce her own line, but she felt as if something was missing.

She looked at the drawing. It was a picture of a dress. It was A-line and came off the shoulders. There was a sash around the waist that gathered on the right side and was held there with a pin. It looked pretty good, but it seemed too bare. She picked up her charcoal pencil and chewed on the end of it. She then remembered a picture she'd seen a long time ago. It was a shirt and it had fur on it. Yes, that would work nicely. She'd add fur to the neckline and cuffs. Her pencil flew over the paper as the harsh lamp beat down on her drafting table. As soon as she finished, she threw her pencil down and shouted, "Yes!" she uncrossed her legs and stretched. She could finally head home. She was done for a while. Her boss had told her that she could have the time off until the show and then after that until a few days after New Year's.

But now, with nothing to do, that left her to ponder what she'd do for the holidays. She knew that she could always go with Goldith to New Jersey and visit her family. Goldith's family used to live in NY, but after the two friends had graduated high school, the rest of the family moved to Jersey where the rest of their clan resided. Just as she was gathering up her coat after cleaning up her table, her cell rang. Throwing her coat on, she fished around in her purse and pushed the phone to her pointed ear. "Hello? Oh, hi Aunt Jenny. Bye, Tucker!" she called to the night-watchtom as she left the sleek black and white building. "Yes I'm fine, Jenny. No, no I… I just left work. No I'm not working too hard." She gave a light laugh. "I'm gonna pick up some wine and indulge in a bubble bath and probably watch an old movie with Goldith and Alonzo. What? Oh, ok. I don't know. I have a show on the 20th. Yes, I'll be sure to get an invitation sent to you. Yes. Oh, I get my own time slot!" as she spoke this last part; she gave a little twirl on the sidewalk. Brrrr, it was cold. She pulled her wool coat closer to her body. She walked up 4th and ducked into the corner market to pick up the wine, still taking to Aunt Jenny. "I'm going to Goldith's. Yes, Alonzo will be coming." (Goldith's current boyfriend.) "I'll probably stay there until the show and then we'll drive back up. And after the show, we'll go back down for Christmas and New Year's. Well, I, yes… I suppose I could come for a visit. Do you still have your shop?" her aunt owned the main clothing shop in Cattail. It was such a small town that everybody knew everybody. Her aunt was also the resident busybody and hostess. "Ok. Yeah, I'll come. Can I help out in the shop? If I don't do something, during my break, I'll go mad." She suddenly stopped for a minute. Her muscles were frozen in shock. As she stood there, it was as if a small voice whispered 'Good, you're coming home.' She shook her head and tuned back to what Jennyanydots was saying.

By this time, she'd reached the two-bedroom apartment she shared with Goldith and her current boyfriend. Her newest one, Alonzo, she'd been going with for almost 9 months. That was a record for her, for her relationships usually never lasted more than a month at most. She hoped that this time it would work out for her friend. Anyone could see that they adored each other and Alonzo was much nicer than some of the other toms she'd brought home. She threw her stuff on the floor and heard some quiet giggles coming from Goldith's bedroom. She rolled her eyes and continued to talk to Jenny. "Yes, I'll get the gas. Oh… well, ok. That's fine. Ok, if you really want to. Cool. Yeah, I need to wake my roommates up." She gave a quiet laugh. "Alright Aunt Jenny, I love you too and I'll see you in few days. Bye." She hit the 'end' button, unzipped her high heeled boots, and flopped down on the couch. Then she heard the giggles again. She sighed, grinned, and pushed herself up. She crept up to her friend's door, took a deep breath, and raised her fisted paw.

"OPEN UP IN THERE! I MEAN IT! NO SEX BEFORE DECEMBER 1ST!" she yelled as she pounded on the door and then pushed it open. The petite queen opened it just in time to see the black and white tom known as Alonzo tumble off the bed with a yell trying to grab some covers so that he wouldn't be exposed.

But at the same time, Goldith was trying to do the same. Only she screamed and lost the fight for the covers. They fell down around her brown waist. She sat, stunned and topless for a minute, then noticed Teazer laughing her head off. She lunged for her nightgown and shrieked, "RUMPLETEAZER! I'm gonna get you for that!" meanwhile Alonzo was still on the ground, tangled up in the down comforter, trying to find his clothes. He wasn't having much luck for they were on the dresser on the other side of the room. He glared at Teazer.

"Teazer, why'd ya haveta do that? We were comfortable!" he whined.

"Oh, suck it up, ya big baby." She replied while heading over to the dresser and picking up the toms' clothes. She headed back over to the bed, ruffled his brown hair, and dropped them on his head. "I'm sure you were comfy, but I brought us some wine. It should cure the post-feast hangover you have. Come on you big lump."

He grabbed his clothes and stood up, still clutching them to his body. He leaned down (he was 5'9 and she was 5'3") and kissed her blonde head. "Hi to you too darling."

She just smirked at this display of affection. He always did stuff like that. He was a very amorous tom. Then she headed to her room. She opened the door to find a mess. She sighed. Damn it! She forgot to clean this morning. Now, instead of a neat room, there were several days' worth of clothes, books, papers, pens, and pop cans scattered over her floor. It also hadn't helped that the wine had been flowing freely at the thanksgiving party the day before. A group of her friends got together and partied until around 1pm. Her bed wasn't much better. The white and blue comforter was pushed to one side of the mattress and the sheets were spread everywhere, trailing on the floor. Her 'bed' was really two mattresses placed on top each other on the floor. She didn't have a bed frame 'cause she spent her money on the supplies that she needed more often than vanity issues. She liked the frameless bed just fine. She sashayed over to her boom box, slipped a CD in and hit play. Dance music came blaring out of the speakers. She moved to the beat as she hurriedly picked up dirty clothes and plunked them into the dirty hamper. There, now she wouldn't forget them. Hell, she'd need them if she was gonna be gone for the holidays. Not that it was more than a three-hour trip to Cattail… but who wants to run back and forth just for clothes? Not her. Half an hour later, satisfied with the cleaning job and clad in PJ bottoms, camisole, and slippers, she made her way to the kitchen. There she found Goldith sitting on the countertop in her robe and right in front of her was Alonzo in his boxers and t-shirt. They made a handsome couple. His black and white to her dark brown and gold. The bottle of wine was open beside them and Alonzo was leaning towards Goldith and was apparently whispering sweet nothings in her ears judging by the smile on her face. "Why didn't ya'll wait for me? I'm the one who bought the wine, remember?" she teased as she rescued the bottle and took a long swig.

The two lovebirds blushed and Goldith piped up. "Well, you weren't out here and it was calling to us. Come on, tell you what, I'll buy another bottle tomorrow, k?"

Alonzo tore his face away from Goldith's neck and spoke. "Better yet, I'll take us all out to dinner and then…" he turned back to Goldith, "we'll have our own celebration." He pressed his nose to hers and she giggled.

Teazer laughed. "Yes to Goldith and no to Alonzo."

A look of disappointment passed across his face.

"Sorry guys, I'm tired and not tomorrow, but Thursday, I'm going to drive up to Cattail for the holidays. No, I won't be coming to Jersey." She told them.

Goldith looked disappointed. "But I got a letter from them two weeks ago and little Bounder was asking for 'Aunty Teazer.'"

Rumple's smile disappeared. Bounder was Goldith's little adopted brother and had grown accustom to calling her 'Aunty Teazer.' "I'll miss him too, but I haven't seen Aunt Jenny in years. I lost count after 10. I need to go visit her. Besides, she still owns her shop, so it's not like I'll be bored while I'm there. When are you guys leaving?"

Goldith slid off the counter and went to the fridge looking for something to eat. "Tomorrow. We'll leave in the morning and then arrive in Jersey National Airport around 6."

"Oh, well, have fun. I'm going to bed. Night you two." But as Teazer headed off towards her room, the phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello? Oh, hi Poppylou. Yes, I'm fine. Mmm, uh-huh, yeah, no prob." She pulled the phone away from her ear. "Gold, it's mom!" Goldith's family was like her own and Poppylou always insisted on being called 'mom.'

Goldith pulled the phone out of Teazer's hand and stuck her tongue out. "Hi mom. What's up? We'll be over by 6… oh." her voice trailed off. "Oh, wow! I'm happy for him. Yeah, a bit, but if we all come, we'll eat you out of the house. Don't forget, Alonzo eats enough for the two of EEEEKKK!" the last part came out as a squeak. Alonzo pinched her sides. "Yes, I'm ok, mom. Alonzo's just bothering me." She stuck her tongue out at him and he pretended to pout.

He shuffled over to Teazer for comfort. She just laughed and pulled his face close to her chest. It was something they always did. The same routine happened every time Poppylou called.

"Yes, no… it shouldn't be a problem. Alright, I love you too. Yes, I'll send presents. Kisses to everybody. I need to go. Your other daughter is hitting on my tom. I love you all. Bye-bye." She hung up the phone. "All right, you slut, paws off! He's mine!" she growled playfully as Alonzo pulled away.

"Awe, come on baby. I love you more." He pleaded, giving her huge baby Pollicle eyes.

She just laughed and kissed him. He smiled hugely.

"Hey, what was that all about?" Teaze asked as she took a swig of the wine.

Her gold face fell. "Dad got a promotion and it involves a paid trip to the Caribbean for the holidays. Everybody in the immediate family is going except for us 'cause we don't live there. So, now, we don't have a place to go for the holidays. Hey, Teaze? Could we come with you?"

Rumple looked unsure. "Um, I don't know, I'll have to ask Aunt Jenny if she could house two more. Hold that thought." She grabbed her cell and scrolled through the phonebook until she came to Jenny's number. "Hi Jenny, it's Teazer again. No, no everything is fine. Actually, I was wondering if I could bring along two friends. Yes, it is them. Their family is going on a vacation offered by dad's work. So they don't have a place to go. Really? Great! No problem. Oh, before I forget, is there anything you want me to get you?" she quickly grabbed a piece of stray paper and a pen. "Uh-huh, ok. How many bolts? What colors? Oh yeah, the satin? No problem. Taffeta and what else? Yes I can get some of that nice knit. Ok, no problem. Ok. We'll see you in a few days. Love you. Bye." She hung up the phone and continued to write for a bit. She looked up. "We're going to Cattail, folks!" she threw her hands up in the air.

"Thank you much, this is gonna be awesome!" Alonzo yelled happily. He grabbed Goldith by the waist and spun her around.

"Hey! What about me?" Teazer asked, pouting. "I'm the one who's driving!"

In response, Alonzo let go of Goldith and proceeded to do the same thing to Rumpleteazer.

She clung to his strong shoulders and squealed for joy. "Ok, handsome, enough. Down boy, good boy. Here's a treat." He let her go and got on his hands and knees. She pushed her hair out of the way and leaned down and gave him a kiss on his head. "Good night, you two. Please don't make too much noise." She gave a warning look to the two goof-offs.

Two innocent expressions looked at her.

She shook her head and shuffled back to her room, yawning all the way. The day's activities were catching up to her. As she turned off the lights, her mind drifted to what early memories of Cattail she could remember. But as she started to fall asleep, a fuzzy picture of an old dilapidated house slipped into her mind. But it wasn't disturbing, it felt comfortable. Her tired mind decided not to dwell on it and soon she was fast asleep.

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