Chapter eight: Confrontation
"Well, hello kit," Tugger smiled, "I haven't seen you around here before. You new to the Junkyard?"
"Yes," Asteria nodded, voice wavering and cheeks flushing pink.
"Well, you found me quickly, even for a queen your age. If you wanted to join the fan club, you could have just come out and asked," he added, fluffing up his mane and winking.
That did it. Asteria fluffed up her own mane and said in a voice coated with venom, "I don't want to join your fan club, I just want to be in your life."
Tugger's eyes grew as large as food dishes. "What?"
"I'm your daughter!"
"What!? Look kit, I think you must be mistaken."
"There's no mistake," Asteria snarled. She untied the spike around her neck and through it at Tugger's paws. "Look familiar?" she asked.
Tugger picked up the spike, astonished. He flipped his collar around and held it up to an empty space among the spikes. It fit like a glove.
"Where did you find this spike?" he asked, suspiciously.
"The night of the Jellicle ball when you were first an adult, it fell off your collar while you were mating with the only queen who noticed you when you were shy and soft-spoken," Asteria almost yelled, holding back the tears that threatened to come, "The queen who woke up alone the next morning alone, only to find you singing and crooning over every other queen in the junkyard. She left, Tugger heart-broken that the only tom she ever loved had used her, after all she did for him!"
Tugger was gapping at Asteria. His mind seemed to be working a mile a minute. "What . . . who . . ?" he began to splutter, further infuriating Asteria.
"Her name was Lillypaw, does that ring any bells Tugger?" she snarled.
Tugger gasped. His breathing slowed down and his paws began to shake, almost dropping the spike. "Lillypaw," he murmured, "I haven't thought of her in ages."
"Well, she couldn't stop thinking about you," Asteria told him, fire in her eyes, "She ran from the memories, from her home, from you, at full tilt, until she reached the country. Weeks later, she discovers she's pregnant, but because of her exhausting run, she put strain on her kittens. I was the only one who survived in a litter of three. She raised me on her own, too upset and humiliated to return to the one place she called home."
Tugger sat down on an orange crate, gripping the spike between his paws. "Where is she?" he asked, voice barely a whisper.
"She died," Asteria growled, "The strain on her body from he exhausting run finally took its toll and she died in her sleep two nights ago."
Tugger buried his face in his paws. She heard a deep moan, and then a sniff. "Everlasting cat," he moaned, "Lillypaw, she was my best friend. She taught me everything I know. How could I have done that to her?" Suddenly the great Rum Tum Tugger was crying. Big, wet tears rolled down his cheeks, through his whiskers and onto the spike in his paws.
Suddenly, Asteria felt her heart soften. At least this tom, her father, had a heart, even if it was occasionally blocked by his ego. Hesitantly, she approached Tugger and placed a paw on his shoulder. Tugger looked at her through wet eyes and wiped his nose with the back of his paw. He opened his mouth, but evidently had no clue what to say and shut it again.
"This is as hard for me as it is for you," Asteria whispered, losing the battle with the tears stinging her eyes, "When you feel ready to talk to your daughter, I'll be with Munkustrap. And if you're wondering . . ." she added, starting to slink off, "My name is Asteria." With that, she flicked her tail and ran off, tears soaking her face.