Livora Gracely

Please admire the claws from a safe distance.

The Window Seat

The cat had chosen the best seat in the house, and the visitor had chosen the cat.

Rain ran down the window in crooked lines. From the cushion beneath it, Pip could see the garden gate, the puddle beside it, and the sparrow who had taken shelter under a flowerpot. The sparrow had been there for some time. Pip intended to stay until it came out.

Then the visitor arrived.

“Oh, look at you,” she said.

Pip looked. The visitor had a yellow umbrella, a bag of oranges, and wet shoes with long red laces. She also had a hand that seemed very interested in the top of his head.

Pip moved to the far end of the cushion. The hand followed.

“Hello,” the visitor said again, more softly this time.

Pip could still see the sparrow from the far end, but only if he stretched his neck past the curtain. He settled there and tucked his paws under his chest.

The hand came closer.

A Very Serious Paw

Pip had spent the morning washing each paw. His claws were clean and, in his opinion, quite impressive. He lifted one paw and spread the toes just enough to show them.

The visitor stopped.

For a moment, Pip thought they understood each other. He held the paw there while a drop of rain slid down the glass behind him.

“Oh,” she said. “You’re waving.”

Pip kept his paw raised.

The visitor took out her phone. “May I get a picture?”

From the kitchen, Mrs Hart appeared with a tea towel over her shoulder. She had invited her friend Ruth in to wait out the rain and was carrying two cups on a tray.

Ruth held up the phone. “Look at his little claws.” The camera clicked.

Pip’s ears tilted back. He watched the phone come nearer and leaned away until his tail touched the cold window.

Mrs Hart set the tray down.

“I think Pip would like a little more room,” she said.

Ruth lowered the phone at once. “Of course. Sorry, Pip.”

She stepped away from the cushion and sat at the other end of the sofa. Pip remained where he was, paw still in the air, until she had picked up her cup.

Then he put it down.

A Little More Room

The rain grew louder, tapping against the glass and dripping from the edge of the roof. Mrs Hart passed Ruth a plate of biscuits. Ruth chose one and began telling her about the new bakery near the bus stop.

Pip returned to the middle of his cushion. The sparrow was still beneath the flowerpot, though it had turned around and was now watching the rain from the opposite side.

Ruth laughed at something Mrs Hart said. Pip’s ears moved towards the sound, but his eyes stayed on the sparrow.

After a while, the rain softened. The sparrow hopped out, shook itself and flew to the gate. Pip rose so quickly that the cushion tipped beneath him. He caught his balance, put both front paws on the windowsill and watched the bird disappear over the wall.

“Well done,” Ruth said from the sofa.

Pip turned. She had not come any closer. She was looking at the window too.

He sat down again and considered the garden. The sparrow had gone, but water was still dropping from a leaf into the puddle. Each drop made a small circle that widened until it met the edge.

When Pip finally climbed off the cushion, he landed beside Ruth’s shoe. One red lace had come loose and lay across the carpet.

The Moving Lace

Pip touched the end with one paw. It moved.

He touched it again, and the end slipped under the side of the shoe.

Ruth looked down. Her hand shifted on the sofa, then stayed there. She kept her foot still while Pip reached beneath it and drew the lace out again.

The lace made a satisfying little curve. Pip sat beside it, pressed it to the carpet, and released it. It did not go far, but he tried once more to be certain.

Mrs Hart carried the empty cups back to the kitchen. Ruth watched Pip from where she sat. After a few minutes, she lifted her phone and turned its screen towards Mrs Hart.

“I did get one picture,” she said.

Pip looked up briefly. The phone was on Ruth’s lap, a comfortable distance away. He returned his attention to the lace.

Mrs Hart leaned over the sofa. On the screen, one pink paw filled most of the picture. Above it, Pip’s ears and one very serious eye were just visible.

“And the claws?” Mrs Hart asked.

Ruth enlarged the photograph. “All there.”

Pip gave the lace one last tap. Ruth’s shoe shifted a little, and the lace slid free beneath his paw.

He looked at the shoe. Ruth looked at him.

This time, her hands stayed on her lap.

Pip placed his paw on the lace again.