The mouse sat on the edge of the sink with her eyes covered by two tiny paws. The cat flicked its tail in anticipation, padding over the bathroom tiles towards her. As he neared the basin, the cat leaned on his back legs in preparation. In one swift motion, he leapt through the air. His paw rested on the mouse’s tiny shoulder.
“Open your eyes!” he purred. His eyes beamed with excitement.
Esmeralda the mouse removed her paws, blinking at the blinding light until the fog cleared from her vision. Her tiny heart beat in anticipation. The bath opened up like an ocean before her, and she almost backed into the tap in familiar fright when something new caught her eye. She tentatively scuttled off the sink and onto the edge of the bathtub and gasped. Inside the walls of the deep, dark tub was a tiny ceramic swimming pool, just big enough for a mouse.
“Don’t worry about the bathtub remodel cost. Sydney is affordable enough nowadays,” the cat, Perry, said as he watched from the sink. The mouse squealed in newfound delight, rushing over to the small renovation. She dipped a toe into the warm water, tentative at first. Her excitement grew as she noticed the depth was shallow enough that her worries disappeared.
Overwhelmed with excitement, she fully submerged herself in one easy step. “Professionals for bathtub conversion aren’t easy to come by but this,” he motioned to the smile that stretched across her face, “is worth it. I owed you a favour for trying to hunt you so many times before we, uh…”
The cat was lost for words.
“Before we became friends,” the mouse replied, and the cat responded with a sheepish smile. It was much better being friends. Esmeralda motioned a tiny paw for him to join and he shook his head. With a flick of his tail, he turned and left her to soak in the bath alone. Some cat habits were too hard to break.