Emma lay tummy down on her bedroom carpet propped up by her elbows reading a book. Gray Kitty lay next to her on her back gazing at the bedroom ceiling. Kitty often spent hours looking at the ceiling keeping watch for the tiny black spider that lived in the corner by the bathroom door. The spider lived under the edge of the crown molding and would scamper out several times a day to check her web in the corner by the door. Kitty knew that Emma was frightfully skittery about spiders and she knew it would be her duty to warn Emma should this tiny black spider decide to repel down the wall to the carpeted floor.
This day the spider was nowhere to be seen, so Kitty felt that it was safe to rest from her watching. She stretched her gray fluff arms above her head and realized that her dress had curled up around her fuzzy gray tummy. With a sniff of annoyance she tugged her skirt down and complained to Emma, “Why do I have to wear this dress all the time?”
Without looking up from her reading Emma replied, “Because it looks so cute on you.”
“Who wants to look cute anyway,” Kitty grumbled. “I want my pants back.”
This request caused Emma to stuff her left index finger into her book to keep her place while she rolled on her left side to look at Kitty.
“You can’t mean your blue velvet Tom Kitty pants that you wore home from the store can you?” Emma asked.
“Well, no,” Kitty admitted, “I don’t like those blue velvet pants either. It’s just that this dress gets in my way.”
“How does it get in your way?” Emma asked.
“Look at this,” Kitty said while she lifted her legs up into the air and propped her hips up on her hands. “When I do the bicycle exercise my skirt falls down around my tummy.” Kitty finished pedaling her bicycle in the air and with some effort rolled over and pulled herself up to stand beside Emma. “And then,” she continued, “When I bend over like this to do my toe touches my skirt falls down around my ears.”
Emma watched Kitty as she hung her arms down in an effort to touch her Kitty paws. “Kitty,” Emma laughed, “When ever is the last time you did your bicycle exercise or tried to touch your toes?”
Kitty sat on the floor with a flop. “Well,” she puffed, “I don’t do them very often, but when I do my dress definitely gets in the way.”
Emma reached out to smooth the black collar of Kitty’s pink knit dress. “You know Jane knitted this dress just for you. You look beautiful in pink.”
Kitty straightened the pink skirt over her out-stretched legs. “I do love pink,” she confessed.
“In the back you have that hole in the skirt for your tail to come through, too,” Emma reminded her.
Kitty twisted around to look at her long gray tail emerging form a fold in the skirt, “That is very handy,” she agreed.
“You know,” Emma added, “You also have that hole in your gray fluff where I am afraid your stuffing might come out if your lovely pink dress didn’t cover it up.”
“Do you like dresses?” Kitty asked Emma.
“Today I am wearing my blue jeans, but I do like to wear dresses on special occasions. In fact, Kitty, you are dressed just perfectly for a special occasion we are about to have.” Emma stood up and reached down for Kitty. “I hear milk and cookies calling us to the kitchen. I think it is time for afternoon tea.”
Kitty reached for Emma’s outstretched hands and was lifted into Emma’s arms. “You really think I look nice in my dress?” Kitty asked.
“You always look beautiful to me,” Emma replied. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m always hungry.” Kitty answered. “My dress never gets in my way when I eat.”