WHEN CHARLIE MET ALICE

"So how's Alice?" I asked my friend, Gabby, the other morning at work.

We were both toiling away, and I thought a little break for a short convo might make us both smile.

"Alice is good!," she said, with that contagious effervescent Gabby grin.  "She's a good mom, but  she keeps trying to get away friom her children."

"Ah, yes, like all mothers of young ones," I observed, with a chuckle. "Sometimes moms  just need a break."

Alice and Charlie, the kiddies' father, are the best of friends, Gabby noted. They eat together, nap together...

"Charlie really loves Alice," Gabby added.

Which is suprising, considering he is such a tomcat.

Oh, wait!  Did I mention that Charlie is truly a tomcat? A spunky, yellow Tabby, to be specific.

Yes, and Alice is an adorable black cat with just a bit of white.  They are, apparently, a match made in cat couple heaven.

Alice apparently just wandered up on Gabby's deck one day about a year ago, and she was greeted by Charlie, who -- as Gabby so vividly tells it -- just fell in love with her and started swatting away all other stray male cats who happened by.  He is apparently quite protective of his fellow feline/love interest.

Just a few weeks ago, when Alice was about to have her first litter of kittens, all of us at the office wanted daily updates on the sweet -- and very plump -- mama cat  How was she doing?  When did Gabby think they'd arrive? How many kittens did she think Alice would have?  Was the nursery ready?  I mean, we all but planned a baby shower for her.

As it turned out, Gabby did play midwife the night the smitten cat couple's offspring came into the world. She was right there, on the floor, by Alice's side. As for Charlie, well...probably better that he was elsewhere since, as we all know, tomcats are not always, um, the most loving fathers at first blush.
Sadly, one of the four kittens did not survive long. But the other three -- two gray male tigers and a beautiful and spirited Tortie, are alive and well. And if I didn't already have two full grown Torties, I'd insist on adopting Gabby's. Which means I'd also be looking for somewhere to live as the fam is not as fond of my cats as I am. But I digress.

But really?  Who can say no to a kitty?  They are so sweet, so cute, so innocent. So frisky.  I do have one friend, though, who prefers cats to kittens.  Go figure.

I had hoped to publish pictures of  Charlie and Alice and their kitties, but for some reason I can't download them from my email.  So I am posting "artists' renditions" of the so-much-in-love couple and their fam instead.

Always the diehard romantic, I can't help but wonder, of course, what it is about Alice that Charlie found so irresistable the day she wandered into his life totally by chance. What made him want to make her his?  What was it about Charlie that made Alice want to  stop wandering and stay put at Charlie's?  (Other than the fact that Gabby is probably the best,  most caring, most attentive mother-in-law a pregnant cat could ever hope to have.)

But sometimes, in the cat world, as in our human world, it's best not to ask too many questions. Just feel the love flow, and enjoy.