I sat cross-legged on the off-white carpet that covered the floor of my dad’s apartment, wringing my hands nervously. My mother crouched beside me, an arm around my shoulders. I couldn’t see my father from where I was sitting, but I could hear him making clicking noises with his tongue and the occasional “here, kitty kitty” as he attempted to draw the cat out of his hiding place under the bed in my dad’s room.

I glanced out of the sliding glass door into the cloudy afternoon, and couldn’t help but think of how my poor kitty, Leroy, had leapt off of the same second story balcony not that long ago before running off like a shadow into the night. It almost seemed like too much to hope that the black, two year old male who was currently cowering away from us was really my missing cat as Animal Control claimed he must be.

I had gotten a call from my dad earlier that week when he told me that we had finally found Leroy. It had been nearly two months, and I had begun to give up any dream that I might see him again, but now, maybe, just maybe, I had my kitty back.

I couldn’t afford to get my hopes up, as my mother had reminded me. It was more than likely to be just some stray who had wandered into the neighborhood, but I couldn’t help but think that it couldn’t be just coincidence that this cat matched Leroy’s description perfectly. All I could do was wait and see, and pray that Dad could get him out from under the bed at all. Not that it concerned me much that Leroy would be hiding from us. He had always been timid.

Suddenly, my mom tensed and tapped my knee rapidly, pulling my mind back to the situation. My dad had stopped his coaxing, and a dark paw was visible just behind the door frame.

I held my breath. It had been a little while, but I knew I could recognize Leroy if I could just see the cat’s face. I tried to quell my growing excitement with little success, though I told myself again and again that it probably wasn’t Leroy. I figured that I would rather hope for the best and prepare for the worst rather than face the same devastation I had felt when we had first lost Leroy, but I could barely stop myself from crawling over to see this cat for myself. I knew, though, that that would send him scurrying away again, and that we might never get him back out after a big scare, so I contented myself with wringing my hands more vigorously.

My heart pounded as a glistening black nose slowly appeared, sniffing the air cautiously. Another paw crept forward painfully slowly, testing the spongy carpet before the black cat put any weight on it.

Please be Leroy. Please be Leroy. Come on kitty, the suspense is killing me! Oh, please be Leroy....

Little by little, a round face came into view. I chewed my lip anxiously as the cat gradually padded his way around the corner to face us.

My heart sank, and tears sprang to my eyes. It wasn’t Leroy. This cat was much too large, and his face too broad. He stared at me and mewed. Even his voice was deeper than Leroy’s had been.

Clearly, my mother realized too. She squeezed my shoulder before calling out to my dad.

“No, this isn’t him.”

Dad materialized in front of the door looking disappointed.

“Oh? I could have sworn he was Leroy. They look exactly the same to me.”

I felt a flash of anger. We had been looking for my cat for two months now, and my father didn’t even know what he looked like. How would we ever find the right one if the man in charge of searching had no idea what he was looking for?

I nearly cried, but I managed not to, taking a deep breath to calm myself. I had known that there was very little chance that we would find Leroy, but it was still depressing, and I missed my kitty very much.

My parents looked at me sympathetically. Dad apologised again and again for getting our hopes up, and I told him that it was alright, really, and that I hadn’t actually expected it to be the right cat anyway. It wasn’t really true, though, and I felt a horrible lump in my throat.

Meanwhile, the impostor cat had moseyed on over to me and was sniffing the air in front of me. I held out a hand for him to smell and he darted back before slowly coming forward again, nose twitching.
He wasn’t Leroy, but he was still pretty cute.

I smiled as he rubbed his cheeks on my outstretched palm, purring loudly. Soon he had gotten even closer, nearly draping himself across my lap as he leaned into the hand that was stroking him.
My dad smiled sheepishly.

“Well, I’m glad you two are getting along,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“He seems like a sweet kitty. What’s going to happen to him?” I asked, hoping that Animal Control would soon find his real family.

“That’s the thing. The Animal Control lady called a little while ago saying that they couldn’t find anyone else looking for a black cat, and that he must be ours, so they aren’t going to take him back. So, he’s our new cat now.”

I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. Ours?

The cat meowed in protest, and I realized that I had stopped scratching him. When I didn’t start again, he reached out very carefully and tapped my knee with his paw, which prompted me to start rubbing his chin. He closed his eyes contentedly.

Honestly, this cat who had so easily taken the place of Leroy was much friendlier. Leroy hadn’t been very affectionate, either, and this cat certainly was interested in my attention.

“Okay. I think that’s alright,” I replied carefully.

“Excellent! All he needs now is a name,” Dad said. “Got any ideas?”

I thought for a minute looking down at the cat’s sleepy eyes. He was all black, like a burglar’s outfit, and he had sort of stolen the role of household pet.

“How about Crook?”

My parents shrugged and nodded.

As I stared down at Crook, who was now sprawled out next to my thigh, I realized that the feeling that I was about to cry had disappeared. I was still sad, of course. I loved Leroy. However, this new cat was now more than just some stray that Animal Control had picked up. He was mine, and I was going to make sure that I didn’t lose this one, he was too important.

This kitty was definitely much more than just a crook, and he seemed to know it as he snuggled up to me. Never did he stop purring.