Picking up where we left off, I wrote a modern version of Puss in Boots. This story didn't turn out quite like I expected when I sat down to write it, but I still think it turned out well.
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| Wise guide or just a cat? Who can say? |
Diego had earned a top spot in the political web of his country. He had married a woman whom he loved and who loved him deeply. He had plenty of money and his campaign manager had just begun his bid for reelection. When Diego was asked the secret to his success, his rise from poor orphan boy to rich politician, he usually gave answers about persistence and luck. What he never said was that the secret to his success was currently sitting on the window sill and staring out the window.
"Anything interesting out there, Cat?" Diego asked, getting up to give his cat a scratch.
"No. Your security team is doing well," Cat replied. He had tried to give her a name, early on. She had refused, saying he should just call her what she was. He had settled on Cat.
The first few times he had heard Cat speak, Diego had been afraid. He'd even crossed himself, sure that his father had passed on a deal with the Devil to him. Now it was normal to Diego that one of his best advisors had four paws.
Diego nodded and sighed.
"You've been a politician for a long time," Cat observed, still looking out the window.
"Yes," Diego agreed. "A long time."
"Have you considered supporting your wife's bid for office?" Cat asked.
"She and I agreed we didn't want to be competitors in any race," Diego replied.
"Who says you have to be competitors?" Cat asked, her tail twitching.
For a moment, Diego was silent in his confusion. "I'm not running for president," he said flatly.
"That wasn't what I was suggesting." Cat turned away from the window to look at Diego.
Diego stared at her for a moment. "You're asking me to give up my seat?"
"I'm asking, as always, if you want me to help get you what you want."
Diego and Cat stared at each other for a moment. Diego was the first to look away.
"Let me think about it," he said at last.
"Of course," Cat replied, turning back to the window. "I have nothing but time."
Diego brought the idea up to his wife, Layla, later that night.
"You want to throw away everything you've worked so hard for?" She was incredulous.
"Not throw away, just make a change. And it's not fair to you to keep being a politician's wife when you could be a politician yourself."
Layla thought for a moment. "Don't step down for me," she said. "If you want to, then do it for you."
"I'm just so tired," Diego confessed. "I'm starting to think about getting a cabin somewhere with no neighbors around."
"It would be hard for me to campaign if I lived somewhere like that," Layla said sadly.
Diego nodded and put his hand on hers. "I know," he said. "And I can't ask you to give up everything you want for that. I'm just not sure if I can keep living this life."
"Even if it means losing me?" Layla asked softly.
Diego swallowed. "I don't know," he replied.
Layla sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "We'll both do some thinking," she said. "But know this, Diego, I love you and I always will. Whatever we decide."
"I love you too," Diego replied kissing her forehead.
It was a process. But on their next, far too short, vacation, Diego and Layla went to look at cabins just like Diego wanted. They brought Cat along, of course, and with a little work from Cat, they found the perfect cabin and were able to buy it.
"It can always be a vacation house," Diego said before they signed the papers.
Layla gave him a sad smile. "You've already decided," she told him. "Your mind just has to catch up to your heart."
Diego didn't have an answer for that, but when they got back to town, he asked his campaign manager to stop campaigning for him. He was stepping down.
When he told Layla, she hugged him tight.
"So, one of the best campaign managers I know is looking for someone to represent," Diego said with a crooked smile.
Layla kissed him. "If I do this, I won't be able to move into the cabin with you."
"I know," Diego told her. "I had a long journey to get to where I am now, chasing what I wanted. Now I'm realizing that what I want has changed." He paused. "I'm not sure I want to move out there full time. We'll just take this as it comes."
Layla hugged him again. A week later, she announced her bid for the race, using Diego's previous campaign manager.
It was so different to watch from the side lines. Diego hadn't realized how difficult it had been to be a supportive spouse for a political candidate. And he hadn't realized what kind of treatment Layla would get for being a woman daring to run for political office. He was there for her, especially at any event where the press would notice his absence. But occasionally, he slipped away to his cabin. Making small repairs, grinning the whole time. Cat watched from the corner and occasionally caught a mouse.
Layla won the seat that Diego had held.
Diego spoke at their event, thanking everyone who had voted for her. He said that Layla had been by his side for all of this before and that now he was honored to be by her side. That she would be one of the best for her country and the people in it.
The crowd cheered and Diego beamed. Proud of his wife and what she had accomplished. Knowing the beginning of her term would be difficult in different ways, Diego stayed in their home while she was settling in. But as she got more busy and needed less time to vent, Diego slipped away to his cabin more and more.
Eventually, at a date night Layla had defended tooth and nail to be able to keep, Layla talked about his cabin. "It looks wonderful with how much you've been fixing it up."
"Thanks," Diego replied. He had gotten used to wearing jeans and a t-shirt, not the suit needed to impress others. Wearing a suit now was uncomfortable, but he tried not to show it.
"I'm so glad you were able to do this," Layla said. "You've been happier lately."
"I have been," Diego replied with a smile. "And you're handling to rigors of office well."
Layla chuckled. "I'm dealing with the hard parts, but I love what I'm doing."
They were able to spend an hour or two together after dinner before Layla had to answer a call. Cat jumped up on the couch and eyed Diego.
"Is this what you want?" The question was asked without judgement.
Diego hesitated.
Cat shook herself a little. "If I got you here, I can certainly get you out."
"But I love Layla," Diego replied. "I can keep doing this. Staying at both places. It's good."
Cat started washing her side. "Suit yourself."
Diego began spending more and more time in the cabin and Layla spent more and more time in the office.
The divorce, when it came, was friendly. They agreed on how to divide everything and since they'd never gotten around to having kids, there was no need to decide how to handle that.
"Look me up whenever you're in town," Layla told him as they shook hands.
Diego smiled at her. "I will," he said. But they both knew he didn't intend to be in town often. That night he took the last of his things, and he and Cat went to live in his cabin. Diego was content with his new adventure in life.
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