Tea and Coffee, Vol. 1

Tea and Coffee, Vol. 1

From my bedroom door lay a trail of crumpled clothing and discarded wrappers. If you followed it up to the bed you would find a half naked man, dozing in the late morning sun. The soft patter of fur and claw against the wooden floor alerted me that indeed, someone was.

I opened half an eye and saw Tea looking at me with her large, glossy eyes. Her fur was short in length, and soft like a feathery plume. She was an Ocicat, an American crossbreed, with orangey white fur. As adults, Ocicats develop a thicker coat of fur dimpled with dark, amber spots but Tea, being only two months old, still had a uniform coat. I picked her up and lay her on my chest. The soft vibrations from her larynx sent a shiver up my neck. I furrowed my brow and let out a slow stream of air.

'Morning, Tea.' I said. Tea meowed back, in her calm and gentle way. In the hallway I could hear stamping. The sound was getting louder.

'Crap, is it feeding time already?' I thought.

'YELP!' 

Suddenly a black and caramel ball of fur lept onto the bed, and started clawing at my leg. 

'Ow! Coffee, cut it out!', I said, kicking him away. He snarled and jumped back on, onto my stomach this time. I tensed, remembering he had not had his claws trimmed in some time, but this morning he seemed to be in less of his brutish mood than usual. 

For a while I lay there, with two cats on my body, surrounded by clothes that should've been laundered and work that should've been completed. I smiled, soaking in the moment; the rays of light against my cheek, the smell of fur up my nostrils; the absurdity of it all. 

I opened my eyes, and saw two pairs looking back at me. Tea's, still innocent and learning, and Coffee's, wide and expecting. 

'Food', he seemed to say.