My son called saying he’d come over the weekend to pick up Nuomi， who’d been staying with me. The moment I heard that， I panicked and raised my voice： 「Don’t bother coming！ Nuomi’s staying with me from now on！」
Nuomi is an orange-and-white cat my son practically forced on me six months ago. Back then， he insisted that his newly renovated apartment needed airing out and he couldn’t keep the cat for a while. He begged me relentlessly： 「Dad， just a few months—I’ll take her back as soon as the place is ready.」 Back then， I waved him off： 「Cat hair all over the house， plus cleaning the litter box—such a hassle！」 But my son kept pleading， and my daughter-in-law chimed in too： 「Dad， please， just help us out this once.」 Eventually， I reluctantly agreed.
Over the past six months， my son rarely even called to ask about Nuomi. But the cat stuck to me like glue—when I cooked in the morning， she’d rub against my legs by the kitchen counter； when I read the newspaper， she’d curl up in my lap and purr； at night， she’d even jump onto my bed and snuggle by my feet. I’d never had a cat before， but I gradually got used to having this soft little creature wandering around.
My son sounded surprised on the phone： 「Dad， since when did you change？ You used to complain about how troublesome she was.」
I snorted： 「You think you can just dump her here when it’s convenient and take her back when you feel like it？ It doesn’t work like that！ Nuomi’s closest to me now—I’m not letting her go.」
He tried to reason with me， but I hung up straight away. I looked down and stroked Nuomi’s head： 「Don’t mind him. From now on， you’re staying with your dad.」 She seemed to understand， nuzzling my palm with her face.
Later， my son made a special trip to my place to take Nuomi back. But the cat hid deep in the sofa crevice and hissed every time he came near. Helpless， my son said， 「Dad， you’re even more stubborn than the cat.」 I ignored him and just held Nuomi tighter in my arms.
Now， I feed her canned food every day. The neighbors tease me： 「Uncle， you used to dislike cats—now you’ve turned into a total cat dad！」 I play it cool and don’t admit it out loud， but secretly， it makes me happy. Though sometimes I wonder—keeping Nuomi from my son when she’s this sweet… is that a little selfish of me？
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