Chapter 2

Opening the door to her one-bedroom apartment, Brandi paused and took off her shoes pressing the toe to the heel and stepping out of each shoe. She left them by the small alcove near the front door and called out; “Crunchy! I’m home!”

Placing the bag of Chinese take-out on the counter in the kitchen, she sat at the table and within moments, a creature that some might call a cat came out to hop onto her lap. “Were you a good boy, today?” Brandi crooned as she worked her fingers along his head and torso. The cat let out a sound of pleasure that wasn’t quite a purr, but more like a gargling sound.

Crunchy had wandered onto the property where her parents lived, the previous fall. He was an old Tom who had seen some serious feral cat activity. His tail had been broken a few times and went in several directions. His left ear was a ragged mess from fights and his left eye was actually missing. Scars crisscrossed his body and there were places where no fur grew. Brandi found him huddled in a spot near the outside wall of the garage where warm air was being vented from the dryer in the laundry room. She felt her heart go out to the miserable looking creature and fed him.

Eventually she won his trust to the point where she managed to get him into a pet carrier and take him to see a vet. The rest of the ear was trimmed, the eye socket cleaned, and hundreds of dollars’ worth of antibiotics were administered. Surprisingly, even with a broken tail, the cat seemed to have adjusted to it, and for the time being, the vet recommended against giving the cat a ‘bob’ tail. When Brandi brought him home, her father looked at the cat and said; “Well, he’s clean now, but he’s still really crunchy looking!” The name stuck.

Crunchy knew that most of his “9 lives” had already been used up. He also knew that Brandi would love and protect him and make sure he was fed and cared for. As a sign of gratitude, he would sometimes bring her a gift.

Now some people might not understand that a small mouse or bird, neatly laid out for inspection was a gift, but Crunchy knew he had to make sure that Brandi was well protected and he was still a mighty hunter. She would heap praise upon the cat and when he wandered off, said gift was quietly disposed of in the trash.

Nibbling on a spring roll, Brandi couldn’t help but let her mind wander.

You really need a life!

Sunbeams pushed their way through the shears that were hung to prevent anyone from looking in the bedroom windows. Not that anyone really could see through them, since the apartment was on the second floor.

Brandi grunted as she mentally flipped a coin. Get up? Or roll over and enjoy a little more sleep? Crunchy made the decision moot, as he walked across her body and burbled in her face, telling her that his food dish was only a quarter full and starvation was close at hand.

“Okay! Give me a minute!” Dragging the thin blanket aside, Brandi stood and stretched. The old T shirt that covered to the knees moved gently as she shuffled to the kitchen to feed Crunchy. Sunday morning and a rare weekend day off.