So cinnamon

It’s midweek. 8.30pm and we’re already yawning. The day was quite tiring. I had an audit which thankfully, for the sake of my career, went well. Emme went for her first physiotherapy. She sprained her wrist while sleeping (?). And to avoid raising any queer curiosity, she actually told the doctor she got it while lifting the cooking gas can. The doctor then went and ask her how long she’s been working at the kedai runcit. I laughed and told her’ “The Prophet told us to tell the truth all the time”. Which she responded with the look-who’s-talking smirk. But our yawning frenzy most probably originated from two big plates of rice we managed to get into our digestive system in record time that evening. On any other night, we would have retired to the bedroom, cuddle up, talk about our day, and watch some movies or youtube – until we doze off. But that night stirred up some inexplicable uneasiness in us. We can’t seem to shake it off. Emme kept saying she has this craving for something sweet and I kept thinking about going to the bakery supply to get some ground cinnamon for my pumpkin cinnamon bun. And I felt old sitting Cleopatra style on the sofa deliberating and trying to muster the will to walk that 10 feet to the bedroom.

Granny Mea

That’s it! “Hun, get dressed. We’re going out tonight”, said Mea the young and restless. That startled Emme and she looked at me for a full 3 seconds calculating my sanity before replying, “Where to sayang?”. “Cheesecake for your sweetooth. What do you say?”, I said as I grab my pants (Of course, I was wearing pants initially but it’s not suitable for around town use…really, I was!). “Are you sure? Aren’t you tired?”, said my wife, still trying to understand the chain of events that led to my sudden animated state. “Yes honey, jom”, I said raising my eye brow in an attempt to look serious.

8.45pm and we’re already dressed. Emme went to get the car while I took out the garbage to a bin across the street. I waited for Emme to bring the car around but after almost 5 minutes she’s still parked. I went to check on her and saw her standing still behind the car. Holding a cat. A stray cat. And at that ‘uh-oh’ moment, I knew he’s a keeper for two reason; 1. I always have a soft spot for cats. 2. We can’t possibly leave him out here. There’s no way he could get food on his own and there’s a lot of hungry wild dogs in the neighborhood. Although I don’t know if we’re ready for him. We had just settled down. We can’t even get the house tidy for more than a day. Can we take care of another living being? Or am I thinking too much and blowing things way over proportion. I’ve had cats all my life. Why this one felt so…challenging?

Emme went to get some food for him and I waited in the car. Deliberating still. Are we ready...are we not. Where’s a daisy when you need one?

The cat is a mix breed Siamese. He’s got a hint of brown fur on his ears, feet and tail. His white coat is dirty from lying down on dusty concrete and tarmac. He’s too skinny for his size. He snooped around inside the car and marked the carpet with his nails. Assisted by my chest, he stood, looked into my eyes and pushed his bubble gum pink nose on my face. Gosh... you’re making this hard you adorable little furball you!

While he’s feeding, Emme looked at me and said, “Can we keep him?” which I immediately answered, “I don’t know honey. But let’s take him inside. We can’t leave him here”, when what I really wanted to say was, “yes”.

We kept him in the bathroom because that’s the only safe place we could think of at the moment. The cheesecake trip is still on so we went back out.

Emme and I sat frozen in the car. Staring at an obscured horizon, passing through the windshield and the wall. Not saying a word. I felt thrilled and worried. Of the commitment. The responsibility. Is he going to be happy with us? Is he going to be happy being a house cat? Is the house going to smell? And a million other question marks that multiplied with time.

I cranked up the car. We try to reason. Pros and cons. Fate and God’s will. How this is not a coincidence. How we’ll managed. Boarding when we’re out of town. Plenty of vets just a short drive away. The money we need to put aside for his upkeep. The house is going to smell different. It’s going to demand a big chunk of our time.

But he’s too cute.

We’re two suckers in denial. Truth is, we’re already sold.

Before we know it, we were already looking for a name. ‘Cheesecakes’, ‘Oreo’ and all dessert based names we could think off (that’s the disadvantage of figuring this out while you’re on the way to the bakery!)

“Cinnamon!” I said half screaming.

She smiled.

“Cinnamon”, Emme whispered. Perhaps trying to find out how the name would feel coming out of her lips.

She nodded and reached for my hands.

Cinnamon it is.

So Cinnamon, it’s going to take some time for us to figure out your favorite food and toys. I hope you will like it here. I am Mea. The clumsy one. That’s Emme. She’s smarter and naughtier than me. This is your home from now on. We’ll try our best to make you happy and healthy. If you hate the food we gave you, look at us dead on, meow and blink twice. We’ll try and work something out. We love you Cinnamon. We’re glad you chose us.