I wanted to name her Kathryn, because I knew the nickname Kat was soon to follow. Kat put kittens in my wife’s head so she suggested we call her Kit. Before long, there was a Kit-Kat in my wife’s belly.
We painted kittens in the room, cats cute and fearsome accompanied the cradle, changing table and toys.
We took classes, and told our friends we’d raise a fiery feline with the heart of a lion, body of a cougar and head of a fox.
But a fox isn’t a cat they’d say, but we’d just laugh. Kathryn will redefine feline, female, fiery, and fantastic.
But Kit-Kat turned into candy. We always said she’d be sweet, like Halloween’s first treat before you were filled to bursting,
into tears
over chocolate,
when it was gone.
A response to "A Temporary Matter" by Jhumpa Lahiri