The Cat Who Spent Nine Lives Saving Me Chapter 08
I put on a popular dance track. Domino strutted down an imaginary catwalk and landed a flawless backflip in front of the camera, while Sunny carried scattered toys back to the basket one by one.
In my furry costume, I twisted awkwardly to the beat.
Half an hour later, the audience had grown from a few hundred viewers to tens of thousands.
[Is my phone broken, or did that cat just flip three times?]
[I am willing to pay the ransom. Please mail those two balls of fur to me immediately.]
[A giant extrovert cat and a retired security dog. This pairing is perfect.]
My stamina was poor, so I sat down outside the camera’s view to rest. When I came back, Domino was sitting on Sunny’s head and ordering him to press the automatic feeder.
Gift animations covered the screen.
I read the comments aloud to them one by one. Domino’s ears stood perfectly straight, and Sunny’s tail swept back and forth like a windshield wiper.
“Everyone loves you, but work needs limits, too. That’s all for today. Say good night to everyone.”
Domino meowed. Sunny sat squarely in front of the camera and nodded with great solemnity.
Over the past year of illness, I had nearly forgotten what it felt like to laugh.
But after they appeared, my life felt like a frozen lake that had finally cracked open, letting light shine through from below.
The livestream brought online consultations from across the country. I accepted only four or five a day at forty dollars each. Customers also bought pet food from my online shop, and the business finally began to run steadily.
On Christmas Eve morning, I dressed Domino and Sunny in the red-and-green sweaters I had knitted for them.
As usual, Sunny went to look in on Eleanor’s old warehouse and whimpered in disappointment. Domino sprang out from behind a snowbank and smacked him on the head.
[Come home! Mom said we’re hanging stockings and roasting a turkey, and she’s making us a feast!]
“Come on.” I crouched down and embraced them. “Let’s go home for Christmas.”