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It was not always that catnap visited his mother, almost never actually. Ever since he moved out he never really “had the time” or any other crappy excuse. But this time it was different, this time he was going with Dogday. Which was already nerve wrecking because what if his mother didn't like him? Or the other way around? Not like the second mattered to him that much. Some people might think that it is shameful the way catnap thinks about his mom, although he may have his reasons to be that way.
Catnaps mom was a very refined lady, married and had a kid with whom shall not be mentioned. Yet they came from a wealthy background and so they never went without a thing, you can say they were fed with a silverspoon. You could say that Catnap grew up to be “spoiled but not rotten” having grown up in an upper middle class yet eventually giving all of that up to start from scratch and continue his studies. Wanting to get away from the little part of his family that was left.
He is very thankful for his decision, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to meet dogday. Speaking of which was now parking the car in front of a very cute house that was bright and almost out of a fairy tale book. A big yard adorned with green plants and colorful flowers. In the entrance there she stood,a lilac colored cat, gentle yet empowering woman who clearly knew what her expectations were.
As Dogday put the car on Park he looked at catnap as if he already knew what troubled the cat, as if he could have read his mind. “Listen, it’s going to be okay. You don’t have to worry about anything, I'll try to set a good impression and we’ll have a good time” Dogday put a comforting arm around Catnap's shoulder, yet it didn't seem to have worked. “Dogday you don’t know my mother like i do, she will probably lose her mind to even see that i am dating you. She’ll probably kick us out even before we step foot in the place. Besides, why did you bring that anyway?” Dogday had thought that a kind gesture would not hurt, so he bought a pot full of blooming hydrangeas and a box of sweet bread. He had to give a good impression to his partner's mother and probably future spouse, if they were going to become a family then he would want to be a united one…if possible.
“I just wanted to do something nice,” he said as he exited the car. “ Besides who doesn’t love sweet bread!” They could both feel eyes on them, and it was obvious from who they were. It felt as if they were being scanned through every single nook and cranny in search of a single flaw. As they approached the porch Catnap gulped and decided to speak first.“ Hi mom…how have you been?”
His mother looked at him up and down, “ I have been good, well as far as you would know. You don’t bother to call your mother. Either way,are my son or my daughter?” This took dogday by surprise, he initially thought that he would have to stick to the cat’s birth gender at least for today, since he expected the cat to be closeted from his mother.“I'm your son, thank you mom.” for the first time since they arrived her glare seemed to soften, however it did not last long. “And who might this be?” Catnap seemed to tense up a little bit, not truly ready for it but denying their relationship would not be an option.
“This is Dogday, he is my boyfriend…” failing to contain his excitement, the dog stepped forward “Hello ma’am it is such a pleasure to finally meet you!” tail wagging wildly he presented his gifts “I brought you these presents, I hope they are to your liking. I really hope we can get to know each other!" Catnap felt as if he was a teen again, instead of his mother embarrassing his friend it was now the opposite. Although something strange happened, something so weird not even in his wildest dreams it would happen.
“Oh well what a pleasant surprise! I love hydrangeas if you haven’t noticed, my garden is full of them. Oh please come in!”
What.
The.
FUCK.
HIS MOTHER, getting along with someone she barely knew. A TOTAL STRANGER, that nonetheless WAS DATING HER SON. Catnap thought she was delirious, that she might be sick and that she was out of her mind. But no, Catnap’s mother was sitting on the sofa chair, while talking rather pleasantly to dogday. He even began to question if she even saw him there.
“Oh, so you guys live together?” Catnap’s mom asked, now all of them are seated in a very fancy living room. Which in catnap’s memory was only reserved to important guests and no foot was meant to step in besides hers. “Oh yeah, after years of dating we decided to move in together.” Dogday said, he really was not feeling as stressed as the cat was. “ I know living with my son can be rather challenging, I apologize in advance” Another sip of tea.
“Mom!” catnap wanted to be buried in the ground right now “well, im only speaking the truth, it’s from experience” She said as she laid down her tea. “ By the way, Catnap, you have gained weight from the last time I saw you. Well considering it has been a long time, you should really start to take better care of yourself.” At that point, Catnap needed some fresh air, so he excused himself and left the room.
Dogday wanted to go after him, but did not want to leave so suddenly, so instead he wanted to know more about Catnap’s mother. “So, Ma’am-”
“Oh please call me Mimmy!”
“Ms. Mimmy, I wanted to know if you were aware of catnaps' gender orientation.”
She began to swift in her chair “Of course i know about my son’s gender orientation, he is my son after all” she took back her cup of tea but did not drink from it, only stared at it in nostalgia “I remember the first time I knew, I saw him trying his dad’s clothes…” she has starting to giggle “That’s when he found my charliechaplin vhs’s and was obsessed with recreating the look.” she started laughing.
“Even though my son might be different, it doesn’t make him less of my son.” She looked at dogday, as if she was pleading almost begging “I just want him to be safe, I might have my traits and messed up as a mother…”
“But I don’t want him to think I do not care…”
Over at the catnap side, he was resting on the porch. “ lose weight? That is what you said last time you saw me…” He then felt a presence like a warm light, he already knew who it was. “So, what other embarrassing things she told you about me now?”
“Catnap, I think you should go back in there…”
“Why? So that she can say what else is wrong with me? So she can make me question my whole life decisions? She always does this, nothing is ever enough for her. Why don’t you go and sip tea with my mom and leave me alone, I bet she didn’t notice I was gone.” DOgday got closer and started caressing catnaps back, drawing circles with his thumbs.
“Listen, i know this is hard for you-”
“But WHY does she like you?” Catnap took his hands to his forehead. Now dogday was confused, was that not the whole point of coming here in the first place? “What do you mean by that?”
Dogday said “Isn’t that what the goal was?”
“I mean yeah, but it was not meant to be so quick. It makes me feel bad y'know? That I have this way of talking about my mother and now she comes off as an angel, it makes me feel like a bad person. She always makes me feel like a bad person, and how can she like a stranger more than her own kid?” Catnap was holding off his tears, it hurt so much but he didn’t want to cry in front of dogday and much less his mom.
“I don’t know, maybe I am a bad person, maybe she is right to hate me…”
Dogday took catnap in his arms and buried him on his neck. Stroking the back of his neck and holding him tight. “You are not a bad person, Catnap.”
“Because I love you.”
Catnap finally let his tears fall off his face, and hugged Dogday back. Dogday was down but determined. Mainly because there was nothing he could do to fix the problem between the cat and his mother. However there was one thing he could do, and it was something he was willing to do for the rest of his life. To love and comfort him regardless.
“Besides I don’t think your mother hates you” Dogday now directs catnaps face, meeting their eyes. Those who were soft and full of love, waiting and desiring to imprint the image of their loved one forever. Looking at his own reflection in those glossy eyes, that even though they were full of tears, still looked as beautiful as a moonlit lake. “Then why does she like you so much?.”
Dogday started to clean catnaps tears with his thumbs, “Maybe because she worries about you so much. She is happy that you have someone that will love you and take care of you, and it is a thing less to stress about because she knows you’ll be okay.”
Catnap grabbed and caressed dogday’s hands and leaned towards his touch. “Maybe we should go, we can visit again sometime later” This did not sound like a good idea to dogday, but he wanted to respect catnap’s wishes and let him handle the situation as much as he can. “ I’ll say goodbye to my mother first.”
They both made their way back inside, where the older was awaiting. Looking in the distance as if contemplating her past. She waked from her trance and noticed them on the door frame.
“Mom, I think it’s time for us to go, it's getting late….We’ll come back and visit you soon.” Catnap’s mother stood up in a hurry, walking towards them and stopping to meet her son’s face. “Catnap you…” she grabbed her son's chin and caressed his face “You need to comb your fur, it’s all matted” Catnap let out a sigh and avoided his mother’s eyes. “AND-... please, take care of yourself, there are so many bad people out there.” Her voice was shaking. “ I know it is selfish of me to say so, but I don't want to lose you. And I know I don't say it often, and you probably hate me for it. But I am very proud of you, simply for being you, catnap.”
With tears in both of their eyes, they hugged as if they would disappear if they were to let go. Catnap’s mother looked at dogday who was smiling brightly. She softly whispered
“Thank you.”
Which only made him even more happy than he already was. When they separated, they said their goodbyes and the couple went back to the car.
Once inside, Dogday let out a choked sob “I’m gonna call my mom when I get home…”