"Refusing to eat?" Renee furrowed her slender brows. "Is it sick?"
The nurse shook her head. "All the test results came back normal."
"I'll go take a look," Renee told Diana.
The moment she entered the boarding area, she saw the blue "princess" cat in its enclosure, curled into a ball, looking as if it had lost the will to live.
"Heard you haven't been eating lately?" Renee walked over and teased, "On a diet?"
The familiar voice instantly brought the listless blue cat back to life.
It immediately leaped to the door, giving Renee a mournful look. "SOB... You're finally here! You haven't come to see me in days! Do you have another cat on the side?"
Renee was left speechless.
She was exasperated. "You're not on a hunger strike just because I didn't come to visit, are you?"
The blue cat grew haughty. "Of course not! The food here is disgusting! I don't want to stay here, take me home!"
Renee laughed. "Just wait for your owner to come get you."
The blue cat fell silent.
The woman and the cat were silent.
After a long moment, the blue cat finally said, "She came."
Renee pressed her lips together, a sudden understanding dawning on her.
"You want to come home with me?" she asked.
The cat stared at her, its round, crystal-blue eyes full of cautious hope. "Can't I?"
Renee was at a loss.
Honestly, at that moment, she found it impossible to refuse a homeless little cat.
So when Renee appeared carrying the blue cat, Diana even wondered if her eyes were deceiving her.
"Renee, what's this?"
"Sis, this is my cat. Her name is Blueberry."
'The cat was the one who suggested the name change.'
'Renee, of course, had no objections. After all, she could never bring herself to call a dusty gray-blue cat "Princess."'
'She'd originally wanted to name it Bean or Cinder, but the little diva had refused.'
As Renee made the introduction, Blueberry let out a "meow" in a deliberately cutesy, high-pitched voice.
'It was her new owner's family, after all. She had to be a little humble.'
Diana was very surprised. As far as she could remember, Renee didn't really like small animals.
Zane and Jasmine tilted their heads back to look at the fluffy cat in their aunt's arms, their small, innocent faces brimming with curiosity and excitement.
'What a cute kitty!'
Renee noticed the two little ones staring, so she squatted down while holding Blueberry. "Want to pet her?"
Zane and Jasmine nodded their little heads vigorously, like eager chicks pecking at grain.
Two small hands reached out cautiously.
The kitty felt soft and warm.
'Today was the best day ever.'
'I got to eat my favorite coconut chicken, win an Ultraman figure from the claw machine, save the injured Bella, and pet the adorable Blueberry.'
'But one thing wasn't happy.'
'My sister and my aunt were bullied by a lot of people.'
**
In the early morning, the first rays of dawn were just beginning to peek over the mountains.
A light frost clung to the treetops, the streets were nearly empty, and early birds skimmed low over the power lines.
Renee was sleeping soundly when a piercing scream suddenly erupted from the living room.
She bolted awake, the screaming still ongoing.
It was her mother, Rhea Dempsey!
Renee quickly threw off the covers and rushed out. "Mom, what's wrong?"
When she saw the scene in the living room, she felt a strange pang of guilt.
Rhea was holding a slipper, while Blueberry was perched on the coffee table with an expression that seemed to say, 'What did I do wrong? I'm just a poor, terrified cat, too!'
"Mom..." Renee said weakly, "I messaged you last night that I brought a cat home. Didn't you check your phone...?"
Rhea looked like she'd been scared half to death.
She snapped, "Why would I be looking at my phone first thing in the morning! I think you just feel like I've lived too long and you're trying to send me to an early grave!"
"Don't say that." Renee went to her side, putting on a placating smile. "Mom, put the slipper down first. Let's talk this out calmly."
Rhea slipped the slipper back on her foot and glanced at the blue cat on the coffee table, her head starting to ache. "What's gotten into you lately? Why on earth would you bring a cat home?"
Renee: "I found her."
Rhea: "You..."
She then began to earnestly persuade Renee to get rid of the cat.
No one understood Renee's tendency to have fleeting interests better than her mother.
"Raising a cat is no small matter. Once you decide to keep one, you can't just abandon it..."
"They shed tons of fur every day, their poop stinks, and buying cat food all year is a big expense."
"And if it gets sick, that's a whole other ordeal..."
Renee listened patiently. "Mom, I've considered all of that carefully. I accepted all those things before I decided to keep her."
Rhea opened her mouth, but could only let out a heavy sigh and walk away, looking utterly defeated.
After receiving her lecture, Renee took Blueberry back to her room for a lecture of its own.
"You scared my mom!"
Blueberry replied indignantly, "I wasn't trying to scare her. I was just saying hello."
'If she hadn't known it was the new owner's family, she wouldn't have even bothered.'
Renee was speechless.
While Rhea Dempsey was getting the fright of her life from Blueberry at 5:30 AM, her husband, Dalton Jenson, was still dead to the world, snoring his head off in their room.
Two hours later, the same scene played out again.
Dalton Jenson was so startled he nearly twisted his ankle.
That evened the score in Rhea Dempsey's mind.
Blueberry was once again dragged back to the room by Renee for another lecture.
"I'm going to see Bella in a little while. You stay in the room and don't go running around. I don't want to come home and find you've been served up for dinner."
Renee gave Blueberry a thorough warning before leaving, still feeling uneasy.
When Renee got back from the vet, she opened the door to find Blueberry nestled comfortably in Rhea's arms.
She almost thought she'd walked into the wrong house. "Mom, since when do you pet cats?"
"Oh, our little Blueberry is just so charming," Rhea said, beaming, clearly in high spirits.
Renee looked at the smug-looking Blueberry. "What happened?"
Blueberry confessed honestly, "An annoying pest came to visit our mom this afternoon. I peed on her, and our mom was very happy."
Renee was speechless.
'Wait a second.'
'Why is it calling her "our mom" already?'
"Who came over this afternoon?" Renee sat down next to Rhea, ready for the gossip.
A look of disgust immediately appeared on Rhea's face.
"Who else? Old Hag Crawford, showing off about her daughter's job again. Said a bunch of rich heirs are chasing her daughter, giving her cars and gold... I couldn't even stand to look at how smug she was."
Old Hag Crawford, whose real name was Tiana Crawford, was one of Rhea's frenemies.
Rhea continued, stroking the kitten's head, "Showing off is one thing, but then she had to put me down. She asked where you're going to work after the New Year, if your sister has any suitors, and when you're finally getting rid of that used car of yours."
After saying that last part, Rhea was instantly filled with regret and quickly tried to backtrack. "Her saying they gave her a car, that's definitely a lie!"
Renee: "..."
'In the past, she would have immediately started whining about getting a new car.'
But now, she just said calmly, "Just ignore her."
Rhea's eyes flew wide with surprise.
'Renee has been so sensible lately. Could she be planning something big?'
"What's for dinner?" Renee kicked off her slippers and flopped onto the sofa.
Rhea replied, "Your dad said he's making lamb dumplings."
Renee thought for a moment, then asked, "Should we ask Sis to come over for dinner?"
Rhea: "..."
'Just when I thought she was being sensible, she starts stirring up trouble again.'
Rhea sighed helplessly. "Renee, it's already hard enough for your sister to raise two kids on her own. I'm begging you, please, just let her live her life in peace!"