Tinkerbell

"I did something that's going to make you think I'm crazy," my friend Dawn confessed as she filled a kettle with water.

Turning a kitchen chair around, I sat facing her.  "More crazy than I already think you are?"

"Yes."  She opened the cupboard and took down a tin of tea.  "Tinkerbell wasn't feeling well, so I called a pet psychic."

I stifled my grin before it got out of hand.  Tinkerbell the cat slinked into the kitchen, giving me a superior look as she swished her tail in my general direction.

Dawn glanced back at me, obviously waiting for one of my witty remarks.  "You aren't going to say anything?"

"Truthfully, I'm stunned into speechlessness."

"It's not as crazy as it sounds though," she said, dropping tea bags into mugs and pouring hot water on top.  "I would have spent more at a vet, and they would have given her medication instead of offering a solution."

"And the pet psychic told you what was wrong with her?" 

"She had an irritable bowel.  I changed her food and gave her some herbs and now she's as good as new."  Dawn turned around and paused.  Then she admitted, "I asked the psychic about Tinkerbell's mental health as well."

I bit my lip.  When I was sure I could look appropriately serious, I said, "How is Tinkerbell's mental health?"

"Great."  My friend set a mug in front of me and joined me at the table.  "The psychic said Tinkerbell loves us very much.  She's very happy in the new apartment.  Also, she sees herself as dainty and feminine."

I looked at the large gray furball sauntering across the kitchen.  "Really?"

"I know, she's kind of big now, but when she was little we used to tell her how cute and petite she was.  But that's not the strange part."

"Do I want to know what the strange part is?"

She leaned across the table.  "You know how Tinkerbell sits in front of the fireplace and talks into the grate?  She's actually talking to fairies.  And you know her favorite mouse toy?  It's magical, which is why she places it in front of the fireplace.  She's offering it to the fairies as a gift."

A hint of a smile escaped my control.

"I know.  It sounds insane, doesn't it?"  Dawn grinned too.  "I meant to ask what the deal with Tinkerbell's tail is but I forgot."

We both looked at the cat.  At that moment, she started chasing and batting at her tail in a way that made her look possessed. 

I shrugged.  "Maybe there's a fairy riding it and she's trying to knock it off."

Dawn looked at Tinkerbell with new consideration.  "You know, that's a really good theory."