A Subtle Invitation

Kitty nodded and walked toward the tree where Ralphy was sitting, rubbing herself against it. She repeated this action several times. Ralphy kept talking nonstop, but Kitty ignored him and continued her routine. Then she leaped up into the tree.

Ralphy said, "It's good you came up. I was shouting so much I might have attracted the dogs' attention."

Kitty calmly lay on the tree.

Ralphy continued, "This morning, after you went into the garden, Hugo appeared, barking as he approached the garden gate. At the same time, Shooper and his friends were coming toward the garden. From a distance, Hugo was growling at them, and George Petiole was pulling his leash. Shooper was taunting Hugo, saying, 'Be quiet! You can't reach us,' and mocking him with his friends, which made Hugo very angry.

"At that moment, Hugo saw you and lost his temper, trying to reach you quickly. He lunged toward the gate. Shooper noticed this and jumped toward the garden gate, hanging onto the bars and climbing up. Meanwhile, his friend threw a stone at Shooper. Lucy was also at the gate, distracting George. Hugo was scratching at the gate, barking, trying to make Shooper come down. This gave you enough time to escape."

Kitty narrowed her eyes and said, "Ralphy, tomorrow you have an important mission. Come to our house at noon; I'll prepare some food for you."

She jumped down from the tree and headed toward the Petiole's garden. She looked inside through the bars. At night, Hugo roams the garden, so it's unlikely Lucy would be around. She wanted to see her.

She softly called, "Lucy, Lucy."

No response.

Hugo's barking was getting closer. She turned back and headed home.

Her mind was very confused. What did it mean? Why did Shooper want to save her? No, it wasn't because of me; he must have been after the loot. That's enough; I don't want to think about it anymore. Everything will become clear in time.

She ran a bit toward home. The wind tousled her fur. Her ears were perked up. She got tired, slowed down, and moved toward the corner of the wall on the sidewalk. She wanted something to eat. She never bent over trash cans, but tonight she was hungry.

It was night; no one would see.

She inspected two or three trash cans. Nothing. But beside the last one, she found a can of sardines. The lid was open, and it was full. She sat in a corner and started eating.

It was so delicious.

She ate it with great pleasure. When she finished, oil was dripping from around her lips and paws. She licked them and ran her tongue around her lips several times.

She set off again and reached home. She entered and went straight to her sleeping spot. After a few seconds, she fell asleep.

She woke up late in the morning. She hadn't even gotten up when she saw Niki.

Niki was curiously inspecting everything, peeking into the rooms. Again, she had something in her mouth that she was eating greedily. She glanced at Kitty from afar. When she was sure Kitty was asleep, she quietly left through the door.

She wanted to follow her, but she had other things to do.

She would investigate later.

She stretched and looked around the house for something.

How should she invite them?

She went to where she had hidden the loot. She inspected them one by one. Among them, a necklace made of fish skeletons caught her attention.

"This is good," she thought.

She picked it up and headed toward the door.

Oh, she had forgotten something.

What should she take for Ralphy?

She went to the kitchen and found a piece of dry French cheese.

She took it and went to the tree in the yard.

Ralphy was there.

"Kitty, I'm here," she said.

Kitty placed the cheese on the ground. Ralphy quickly picked it up and returned to the top of the tree. It seemed he felt that eating near Kitty might not be safe.

It took him a long time to eat.

Kitty shifted her weight from one paw to another and growled a few times.

Finally, he finished.

Kitty said to Ralphy, "Take this to Shooper to thank him for that day and tell him that regarding the morning negotiations, we four who live in this neighborhood want to meet them."

She gave the necklace to Ralphy and returned home.