Pawtastic! by Fleur Lind

A short story from Fleur Lind

Mr Snugglewhiskers Jr. Picture: Facebook

PAW-TASTIC! by Fleur Lind

The sign on the door said Mr Snugglewhiskers Jr.

I smoothed down my black whiskers, tweaked my ears and licked my lips nervously.

You can do it.

Remember, he's just a cat, I reassured myself under my breath.

I felt nervous. Was it hot in here, or was it just me?

I'd been moulting since spring, and here it was, over half way through summer and the fur was still flying off.

I reached up with my paw and knocked on the door.

"Come!” came the reply.

Hasn't he got a PF?

A Personal Feline to usher applicants in?

I gulped.

I pushed the door open gingerly and as I scanned the room, Mr S was sitting over by the window behind a huge desk.

He was wearing glasses that sat on the end of his nose.

He pushed them back up with a very sharp, shiny claw.

He looked up from a sheet of paper on his desk.

His stare was unnerving as he sized me up. He tapped his pen on the wooden table top. I gulped again.

Suddenly his whole persona lightened, his smile was warm.

"Hello, Sabrina. I'm Walter Snugglewhiskers.

"Clementine used to run this great facility, she has now retired, leaving me to take the reins.

"I am very impressed with your background.

"I see that your supervisory skills are second to none!” he commended.

I blinked. It was my turn to talk.

"Yes, hello, nice to meet you... and yes, I have been supervising my young humans for years. And the older ones.”

I hoped that was enough for a reply. I hated job interviews.

"Wonderful! The humans here are a good bunch but sometimes they lose the plot. I just need a cool cat to keep them on task. Can you do that for me?”

I wanted part-time work to keep busy. I wasn't like the lazy cats that wanted to sleep all day.

So I had applied at Carrisbrook Rest Home.

"Yes, I can,” I purred with confidence.

"Great! Can you start tomorrow? I have a chair for you that I think will be perfect.”

He got up from his desk and pushed a chair toward me.

It was covered in paw prints.

I beamed. My own chair!

"Thank you! This will be most pleasant.”

Fleur Lind