After Thomas took me out to explore the farm, we sat down together on the hood of a black car sitting in the junkyard. I sat in my Loaf Pose, raptly contemplating my singular, inscrutable, ineffable Name as the heat from the metal warmed my stomach and the autumn sunshine warmed my back.
Thomas settled into his Loaf Pose next to me, his eyes half-closed with pleasure as he basked in the dry-leaf-scented air.
I was so enraptured by the perfection of the moment — the endless, beautiful moment — that a purr rose up from my core and gently vibrated through my body.
Thomas glanced at me, then looked away, gazing down the fields toward the flock of turkeys who lived in the lowlands. Then he looked back at me.
“Your fur is so shiny,” he said. “It’s like you’re made of diamonds.” His nose blushed from its usual sandstone color to a dark maroon.
The tip of my tail twitched with delight. “Thank you,” I said.
We sat silently for another eternal moment. I’d given up the idea of contemplating my Name because I was too busy trying to figure out all the feelings welling up inside me.
“I love your white boots and mittens,” I said. “You always keep them so clean.”
He turned his head away, but not before I saw his nose blushing again.
I really had to get back to contemplating my Name before I got in trouble. I re-settled myself into my Loaf Pose and watched a chicken as she made her way around the car, bug-bug-bug-bug, worrrrrming as she scratched and pecked at the ground.
Thomas re-settled himself next to me and busied himself with contemplating his own Name.
We'll always be loafing buddies!
I purred again and rolled over on my side, draping my tail across his rear leg.
He maneuvered himself closer to me, and pretty soon we were back-to-front. My foreleg was draped over his shoulder, our tails were curled up together, and both of us were purring our quietest, most peaceful purrs, each of us enjoying that eternal moment of warmth and sublime joy.
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.